Quick Start Guide

Welcome to the OpenStick community! This guide takes you through the fundamental workflow of taking a stock Qualcomm MSM8916 4G LTE USB modem and transforming it into a hackable Linux device.

Golden Rule: Always Backup First!

Every physical modem has unique radio calibration partitions (fsg, modemst1, modemst2) that store your factory IMEI and cellular frequency calibrations. If you wipe these partitions without a backup, your modem will permanently lose cellular connectivity. Never skip the backup step!

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The 4-Step Road to Linux

flowchart LR
    Step1["1. Identify Board<br/>(Check eMMC vs NAND)"] --> Step2["2. Backup Partitions<br/>(Save IMEI & QCN)"]
    Step2 --> Step3["3. Flash LK2ND<br/>(Secondary Bootloader)"]
    Step3 --> Step4["4. Install OS<br/>(Debian / postmarketOS / OpenWrt)"]

Step 1: Identify Your Hardware

Before plugging in your device or flashing any images, pop open the plastic snap-on cover and inspect the circuit board:

• Check the board model silkscreen (e.g., UFI001B_MB_V02, UFI003, UZ801_V2.2).
• Confirm whether your flash chip is eMMC (black BGA chip with pins underneath) or NAND (rectangular chip with visible side legs). eMMC has first-class mainline Linux support.
• 👉 Read the full Device Identification Guide to match your exact revision.

Step 2: Extract & Save Your Calibration Data

Connect your device to a computer. Use Qualcomm EDL mode or adb root access to dump your partition table and modem calibration partitions:

• modemst1
• modemst2
• fsg
• fsc

Store these files safely in cloud storage or a secondary drive.

• 👉 Follow the detailed Emergency Backup & Safety Checklist.

Step 3: Install Essential Drivers & Tools

Install the necessary developer tools on your host computer:

• fastboot and adb (Android platform tools)
• edl.py (Qualcomm Emergency Download Mode programmer tool)
• Qualcomm 9008 USB drivers (Windows) or standard udev rules (Linux/macOS)
• 👉 See Essential Tools Setup.

Step 4: Flash Your Operating System of Choice

Choose the operating system suited for your project:

• Debian (OpenStick Base): Best for general Linux workloads, Python scripts, Docker containers, and servers.
• postmarketOS: Upstream alpine-based mainline Linux distribution with regular security updates.
• OpenWrt: Ideal for turning your dongle into a full-featured travel router, Wi-Fi hotspot, or VPN client.

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What Can You Do Once It’s Running?

Once booted into Linux, your dongle connects to your computer over USB with full Ethernet networking (192.168.68.1). You can:

1. ssh user@192.168.68.1 to access a full Bash terminal.
2. Run standard apt update && apt install packages.
3. Configure cellular internet with mmcli / NetworkManager.
4. Host web apps, run automation bots, or build home automation nodes.