▷Tutorial: install Ubuntu Desktop on your Android device! 🥇

Faced with the interest aroused by the installation of Android 4.3 on your PC, here I am again with a new tutorial Linux-themed, but for Android.

We will see how to install outright,. And as the Ubuntu Touch version is not yet compatible for all our devices, we can't wait and you can gladly follow this tutorial to install the OS on your smartphone or tablet.

Installing Ubuntu on your Android device thanks to!

Introduction

Firstly, I want to say that this tutorial can also be adapted to install another Linux distribution such as Fedora, Debian, Backtrack, OpenSuse ou encore ArchLinux.

But because the Ubuntu OS is one of the best known currently, we will install the latter via this tutorial. Also, I realized what will follow.

Downloading and installing Ubuntu

It's time to install your Ubuntu system on your Android device. Know that you will not have any backup or manipulation to do on your Android since. Thus, you can launch Ubuntu at your convenience from your smartphone or tablet, and return to the Android interface at any time.

However, to be able to install Ubuntu, your device must be rooted, it is mandatory, otherwise you will not be able to use the correct applications to perform the installation.

If needed, . We can go ? So let's go !

Preparation of tools

To get started, you will need to download. So do not deprive yourself and recover them via our links:

[appbox googleplay com.zpwebsites.linuxonandroid] [appbox googleplay jackpal.androidterm] [appbox googleplay android.androidVNC]

The first application will. The second will install a UNIX Terminal on your device and the last will be useful for setting up a VNC, or a virtual control network.

With this, it will be necessary to have a file explorer capable of extracting archives (ZIP type in particular). If you don't have one, I advise you to download this one:

[appbox googleplay com.estrongs.android.pop]

For the prerequisites, we're good to attack the rest, now that you have everything you need. So, .

Setting up the OS

First of all, which will ask you for “root” rights to be used:

During startup, utilities will be installed (including BusyBox essential for system installation), so wait until the end of the treatment:

Open the left side panel and choose “Install Guides” :

I told you there are several Linux distributions available, but we'll stick to Ubuntu. So press “Ubuntu 12 Install Guide” :

Rest assured, reading point of the guide, but enough to recover the image of the OS. On the new window, tap “Download Image” :

Then, choose the image of your choice according to your preferences (and the size of your storage space). :

Core Image : it is the basic system, without graphical interface which requires at least 400 MB of free space.
Small image : plan at least 1 GB of free space to use this version of the OS which has a light desktop environment (LXDE) and some basic programs (Firefox, Image viewer,…).
Large Image : if you have more than 1 GB of free, you will be able to take advantage of this more complete version, with the Unity desktop and a long list of programs.

To cut the pear in half, and have enough to test a graphical interface for you, but the choice is yours.

Pay attention to the sizes of the files to be recovered and which will also be extracted, as these will require space as mentioned in this screenshot:

Continue by downloading the archive “From Sourceforge” and select a browser on your mobile device to download as standard:

Once the file is downloaded, use your file explorer (for this tutorial I made use ofEZ File Explorer as suggested earlier) and create a folder at the root of your microSD by pressing the button "New" (with a +):

Choose "Folder" :

Then give it a name, for example "Ubuntu" and validate:

Now go to the folder "Download", where the Ubuntu archive should be:

Select the file and press the button. "More…" and choose “Extract to” :

Browse the tree to extract the archive in the previously created folder, and wait for the extraction time:

Now, complete the installation by going back to the Linux Installer application, in the side panel, do “Launch” :

Press "Settings" at the top right and choose "Add" :

Go find the decompressed image earlier in the folder that we created and give a name of your choice for the system:

Everything should be ready now!

System launch

It's time to start our freshly made system. To do this, press “Start Linux” and the UNIX Terminal application should start, and ask for “super-user” rights:

At the question “MD5 file found, use to check .img file ?”, answer by typing “y” (for “Yes”) and enter (the keyboard key with the arrow at the bottom right):

For the rest, you are asked to enter a UNIX password,. Do not be worried that what you type does not appear, it is normal (Linux security requires):

Answer “y” to the question “Start VNC Server ?”, we'll need it for next, and whatever you want in the next question if you plan to use an SSH server (if you don't know what it is, don't start it):

The next step is important. You will need to enter the screen resolution of your smartphone or tablet. Normally you should know it, if not, feel free to inquire to enter it as lengthxwidth (as shown in the example) and press Enter:

The Ubuntu system finally launches, and you should arrive at what is called the prompt with a hash (#) as below:

As indicated, you can shut down the system by typing the command “exit”, or by directly closing the terminal application with the cross:

As it is written on the screen above, locate on your screen the line “New ‘X' desktop is localhost…” and above all, the number displayed after the two points, it will be very useful to us later.

If you've picked an Ubuntu image with a GUI, you're going to think I drove you around for it. Okay already, that's not bad, but you asked for a graphical Ubuntu, well, you have it. Simply, you have to ask him kindly to start the environment, which we will see right away.

To do this, now start the last application that we downloaded, namely “androidVNC” and complete the information as indicated:

Nickname : put the name you want to identify your system.
Password : this must be identical to the name of the OS you have installed. Since this is Ubuntu, the password is “ubuntu” (lowercase).
Address : type “localhost” or “127.0.0.1”

Port (The Harbour District) : enter the number “5900”
Username : it corresponds to the system user name, ie “root”.
Color format : select “24-bit color (4 bpp)”.

Finally, you can save your configuration if you want with “Import/Export settings”. The fateful moment has arrived: press the button “Connect” to launch Ubuntu.

If you have arrived here, I am pleased to report that you run the Ubuntu system on your Android device!

Use of the system

Right now, we'll configure the interface for you to do. To do this, press the Menu button on your device (the one to the left of the "Home") and press “Input mode” :

Choose “Touchpad” (but you are free to test the other options later):

We finished ! Congratulations to you ! Ubuntu is now operational, as it would be on your computer. And to show the possibilities of this one, I made a few miscellaneous items that you can view in the following gallery:

Using the explorer and the contextual menu.
Testing the “Start menu” and running the Calculator program.
Change the wallpaper in the desktop settings.
Launching the terminal and executing UNIX commands.
Installation via the shell of a text editor (Gedit) and gcc (the GNU compiler for compiling code in C language).
Coding of a mini “Hello” on the text editor, compilation of the script and launching the program from the command line.

Remember that I have installed the “Small” version of the system and that it has very few programs. But the possibilities are huge and you can install all the programs you want, as long as you have free memory on your smartphone or tablet of course.

Finally, the last minute info: to simulate the right click of the mouse, all you have to do is. It is also the same for grabbing and moving a window.

Conclusion

You see ? It didn't take too long to install on your precious. Hope the system is working fine on your device,.

I am waiting for all your comments to tell me if everything went well for you, if not, we will see as usual how to resolve the problems encountered in order to share it with everyone on!