Google Pixel Slate

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Information

Model Name : Google Pixel Slate
Manufacturer : Google
Form Factor : Chromeblet
Release Date : November 26, 2018
Target Market : Consumer

Technical Specifications

Architecture : x86_64
RAM : 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB
Storage : 32 GB, 64 GB. 128 GB, 256 GB
Processor : Intel Celeron 3965Y, Intel Core m3-8100Y, Intel Core i5-8200Y, Intel Core i7-8500Y(x86_64)
Expandable Storage (SD/MicroSD) : No
Screen Resolution : 12.3 inch 3000 x 2000
Touchscreen : Yes
Stylus Support : Yes
Linux Application Support : Yes
Linux GPU Support : Yes
Parallels Windows VM : Yes
Board Name : Nocturne
Codename : nocturne
User ABI : x86_64

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Introduction to the Google Pixel Slate

The Google Pixel Slate is a Chromeblet released by Google on November 26, 2018 as a Consumer focused device powered by a Intel Celeron 3965Y, Intel Core m3-8100Y, Intel Core i5-8200Y, Intel Core i7-8500Y with a base clock speed of 1.5 GHz. The internal codename for the Google Pixel Slate is Nocturne which is used to build recovery media for your Chromeblet or to create a custom build of ChromiumOS. The Google Pixel Slate launched with ChromeOS R71 and is currently on R. The Google Pixel Slate comes with 32 GB, 64 GB. 128 GB, 256 GB of internal disk space and 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB of system RAM.

The Google Pixel Slate is a high end device that is perfect for developers and powerusers who wish to take advantage of all of the features that ChromeOS has to offer. The Google Pixel Slate is able to effortlessly multitask multiple demanding tasks. The Google Pixel Slate works well with Android Studio and most developer IDEs and toolsets. The Google Pixel Slate also can run most Linux desktop applications and command line based applications. Chromeblets such as the Google Pixel Slate typically have higher end processors such as the Intel i5 or Intel i7 series of processors.

The Google Pixel Slate is also capable of running a Windows Virtual Machine in Parallels on higher end configurations with deep integration into ChromeOS. This is currently only available on Enterprise Managed Chromeblets and requires the purchase of a special Parallels License as well as a Windows License. If you intend to run a Windows Virtual Machine on your Google Pixel Slate, it is highly advised to purchase the version with the highest amount of RAM and built in Disk Space available. Running Windows in a virtual machine on your Chromeblet will require that your hardware configuration has at least 64 GB of built in storage, you cannot install Windows onto a external drive such as a MicroSD card or external hard drive. dd

Accessories for your Google Pixel Slate

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Maintaining Your Google Pixel Slate

Maintaining your Google Pixel Slate is important to prolong the life of your Chromeblet. This section of the guide will provide a overview of the basics of maintiaing your unit.

Exterior Cleaning

Wipe all exterior serfaces occasionally with a wipe designed to clean electronics such as a Electronic cleaning wipes. Do not spray any chemicals onto your Chromeblet. Your screen should be cleaned with a soft cloth and a small amount of glass cleaner applied directly to the cloth or use a specially designed Electronics Glass Cleaning Wipes. Avoid any harsh chemicals as this may damage your Chromeblet.

Charging your Google Pixel Slate

Entering Developer Mode on the Google Pixel Slate

Access your Google Pixel Slate recovery meny by

Factory Reset Your Google Pixel Slate (Powerwash)

Before you perform a factory reset of your Chromeblet, it is important that you backup all data to Google Drive or a external storage device. Once the recovery process has started, it is impossible to recover your data.

A Powerwash can only be done by the device owner/primary user of the device, If you have a managed ChromeOS deivce from a company or school, you will need to contact your school administrator or companies support desk for assistance.

The steps to perform a powerwash are

  1. Open the ChromeOS Settings Application
  2. Select "Advanced"
  3. Select "Reset Settings"
  4. Select "Reset" under "Powerwash"
  5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the powerwash

Recovery using a Factory Image

When the recovery is complete, you will be asked to remove the flash drive and your Google Pixel Slate will automatically reboot.

Creating a Factory Image for Google Pixel Slate

In order to create a Factory Recovery Image for your Google Pixel Slate, you need to obtain a blank 8+ GB USB Flash Drive or a 8+ GB USB-C Flash Drive. The contents of this flash drive will be erased when a recovery image is created.

As the process of creating a Factory Recovery Image performs low level operations on the USB flash drive, you will need to have the ability to run applications as a administrator on MacOS (sudo), Linux (sudo) or Windows (uac elevation). ChromeOS is coded with a exception to this rule and will allow the creation of a factory recovery image without any administrator privileges.

Creating a Factory Recovery Image via the ChromeOS Recovery Tool (Mac, Windows, ChromeOS)

You will need to download the Chromebook Recovery Tool from the Chrome Web Store. This can be done on any Windows, MacOS or ChromeOS device running the Chrome or Chromium web browser. This tool is called the "Chromebook Recovery Tool" however it will allow you to create a Factory Recovery Image for any ChromeOS device.


Enter the model number of your Chromeblet, which is "Nocturne" and press the space button on your keyboard to search. If you are running the ChromeOS Recovery Tool on the device you are planning to recover, you can cluck on the pre-defined hyperlink above the search bar.


Insert your 8+ GB USB Flash Drive or a 8+ GB USB-C Flash Drive into a USB or USB C Port and select the USB drive from the drop down followed by continue.

Creating a Factory Recovery Image via Etcher (Linux, Mac, Windows)

NOTE : The steps for "Linux" below are only intended to be used on computers running Linux as the primary operating system. It is not intended for use within the ChromeOS Linux Environment (Crostini), if you are on a ChromeOS device, you will need to create a Factory Recovery Image via the ChromeOS Recovery Tool.

1) Download and install Balina Etcher for your platform 2) Download the ChromeOS Factory Recovery Image via (PathGoesHere) 3) Extract the Zip Archive to obtain the recovery .bin file 4) In Balina Etcher, select the "Flash from file" and select the ".bin" file you extracted in the previous step. 5) Insert your 8+ GB USB Flash Drive or a 8+ GB USB-C Flash Drive into a USB or USB C Port and select the USB drive under "Select Target" 6) Select "Flash!" to begin the flashing process.

Creating a Factory Recovery Image via the Linux Recovery Tool (Linux)

NOTE : The steps for "Linux" below are only intended to be used on computers running Linux as the primary operating system. It is not intended for use within the ChromeOS Linux Environment (Crostini), if you are on a ChromeOS device, you will need to create a Factory Recovery Image via the ChromeOS Recovery Tool. If your Chromeblet is in Developer Mode, it is possible to use the steos below to create a Factory Recovery Image however it is strongly advised to use the ChromeOS Recovery Tool.

Google maintains a Command Line ChromeOS Recovery Tool specifically for those who use Linux as the primary operating system, you will need to run the following commands on the terminal of your choice. 


wget https://dl.google.com/dl/edgedl/chromeos/recovery/linux_recovery.sh
chmod +x linux_recovery.sh
sudo bash linux_recovery.sh

You will be asked for the model of your Chromeblet, enter Nocturne followed by enter

Creating a Factory Recovery Image via Command Line (Linux)

NOTE : The steps for "Linux" below are only intended to be used on computers running Linux as the primary operating system. It is not intended for use within the ChromeOS Linux Environment (Crostini), if you are on a ChromeOS device, you will need to create a Factory Recovery Image via the ChromeOS Recovery Tool. If your Chromeblet is in Developer Mode, it is possible to use the steos below to create a Factory Recovery Image however it is strongly advised to use the ChromeOS Recovery Tool.

1) Install the following packages via your distributions package manager (apt, dnf, emerge, yum, etc) : unzip, wget

2) Insert your USB Flash Drive and run the command "lsblk" to identify the block storage device of your USB Flash Drive. This will likely be something such as /dev/sdb but this will vary based on the number of disks attached to your computer. It is strongly advised to remove any USB flash drives aside from the one thar you are planning to use for your Chromeblet recovery images disk.

3) Run the following commands, replacing the XX with the name of the device you identified in the previous step. 


wget image
unzip image
sudo dd if=image.bin of=/dev/sXX

Accessing The Google Pixel Slate Recovery Menu

Backup all data to Google Drive or a external storage device. Once the recovery process has started, it is impossible to recover your data.

When the recovery is complete, you will be asked to remove the flash drive and your Google Pixel Slate will automatically reboot.

Entering Developer Mode on Google Pixel Slate

You can place your Google Pixel Slate into developer mode and gain access to additional debug and development features in ChromeOS. It is not advised to put your primary device into developer mode as it can allow you to compromise the security and stability of your Chromeblet. Devices placed into developer mode will emit a loud audable sound on boot as well as display a warning message for several seconds to advise the user that their device is in developer mode. Depending on any changes you make to your device, it may prevent you from being able to get future upgrades from Google unless you restore your Chromeblet using a factrory image.

The ability to put your Chromeblet into developer mode may be disallowed by your administrator if you are a managed device issued by a school or business.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • The process of converting your Chromeblet into and out of developer mode will perform a factory reset of your Chromeblet. It is important to backup all data to Google Drive or a external storage device.
  • Some Android applications that enforce certain security restrictions may not function on a Chromeblet placed into developer mode, these include some streaming media applications such as Disney+ or Netflix.

If you wish to place your Chromeblet into developer mode, please follow the steps below:


ChromiumOS Build Instructions

When a Google Chromebook is past its End of Life (EOL) Date, it will stop getting upstream security updates and features. You can extend the life of your Chromebook by building your own version of ChromiumOS from source. The build process cannot be done on a Chromebook but can either be done on a dedicated server or virtual machine.

It is best to follow the instructions to setup your ChromiumOS build server and review the instructions to build ChromiumOS via the Building ChromiumOS From Source section of this guide. Once you have your build server setup, issue the following commands to build your ChromiumOS distribution from source inside of the cros_sdk


export CHROMEOS_VERSION_DEVSERVER="http://YourIPAddress:8555"
export CHROMEOS_VERSION_AUSERVER="http://YourIPAddress:8555/update"
export CHROMEOS_RELEASE_TRACK="stable-channel"
./build_packages --board=nocturne
./build_image --board=nocturne --noenable_rootfs_verification dev base

Your images will be stored in your build directory under src/build/images/nocturne/latest/

You may flash this image to a USB Flash Drive and use it to boot your Google Pixel Slate. From there, you can install the image by running the following command in a TTY shell. 


sudo /usr/sbin/chromeos-install

Board Configuration

The board configuration for the Google Pixel Slate is obtained from the upstream source code for ChromiumOS and may not be available for all boards. 


# Copyright 2020 The Chromium OS Authors. All rights reserved.
# Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be
# found in the LICENSE file.

# This board only supports a single config, defined below, as it is a
# migrated pre-unibuild device.
device-config: &device_config
  audio:
    main:
      cras-config-dir: dmic10
      ucm-suffix: dmic10
  brand-code: NBQS
  fingerprint:
    board: nocturne_fp
    fingerprint-sensor-type: on-power-button
    sensor-location: power-button-top-left
  firmware:
    build-targets:
      base: whiskers
      coreboot: nocturne
      depthcharge: nocturne
      libpayload: nocturne
      ec: nocturne
      ec_extras:
      - nocturne_fp
    image-name: nocturne
  hardware-properties:
    form-factor: CHROMEBOOK
    psu-type: battery
  identity:
    platform-name: Poppy
    smbios-name-match: Nocturne
  name: nocturne
  power:
    als-smoothing-constant: '0.3'
    battery-stabilized-after-startup-ms: '25000'
    charging-ports: |-
      CROS_USB_PD_CHARGER0 LEFT
      CROS_USB_PD_CHARGER1 RIGHT
    disable-dark-resume: '0'
    internal-backlight-als-steps: |-
      19.88 19.88 -1 15
      29.48 29.48 8 40
      37.59 37.59 25 100
      47.62 47.62 70 250
      60.57 60.57 180 360
      71.65 71.65 250 500
      85.83 85.83 350 1700
      93.27 93.27 1100 6750
      100.0 100.0 5250 -1
    internal-backlight-no-als-ac-brightness: '47.62'
    internal-backlight-no-als-battery-brightness: '47.62'
    keyboard-backlight-als-steps: |-
      40.0 -1 30
      0.0 10 -1
    low-battery-shutdown-percent: '3.0'
    set-wifi-transmit-power-for-tablet-mode: '1'
    suspend-to-idle: '1'
    wake-on-dp: '1'
  ui:
    power-button:
      edge: top
      position: '0.1'
    side-volume-button:
      region: screen
      side: left

# Required dunder for chromeos-config to support a single device.
chromeos:
  devices:
    - skus:
        - config: *device_config