Create the following Makefile alongside your custom driver source code ( msm8953_custom_mod.c ):
The you are targeting (e.g., camera, display, Wi-Fi, custom I2C device).
: Adreno 506, supporting Vulkan 1.0, OpenGL ES 3.1, and OpenCL 2.0. msm8953 for arm64 driver
static int __init dummy_init(void)
Most MSM8953 devices use eMMC 5.1 via a controller. Create the following Makefile alongside your custom driver
If you have tinkered with mid-range Xiaomi (Redmi Note 4/4X, Mi A1), Motorola (Moto G5S Plus), or ASUS devices from the 2016–2019 era, you have met the (codenamed sdm450/sdm625 ). This 64-bit Octa-core Cortex-A53 SoC has been the workhorse of the Android world.
# Clone the mainline or long-term stable (LTS) kernel repository git clone https://kernel.org cd linux # Set up environment variables for ARM64 cross-compilation export ARCH=arm64 export CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-linux-gnu- # Alternative for Clang: export CC=clang CLANG_TRIPLE=aarch64-linux-gnu- # Load the default Qualcomm defconfig reference profile make defconfig # Verify or enable specific MSM8953 options via menuconfig # Ensure CONFIG_ARCH_QCOM, CONFIG_PINCTRL_MSM8953, and CONFIG_CLK_QCOM_GCC_8953 are enabled make menuconfig # Compile the kernel image and device tree blobs make -j$(nproc) Image.gz dtbs Use code with caution. If you have tinkered with mid-range Xiaomi (Redmi
Getting a functional ARM64 driver stack on the MSM8953 requires moving away from the "downstream" (Android-specific) 3.18 or 4.9 kernels and toward the (current stable releases). 1. Device Tree (DT) Configuration
While robust, MSM8953 support on mainline Linux is still subject to the following quirks:
Audio support is one of the most actively developed areas. The MSM8953 uses the Qualcomm Low-Power Audio Subsystem (LPASS), which is often paired with a WCD9335 audio codec. Patches have been submitted to introduce a basic sound card setup and a compatible-based approach for overriding register values in the WCD-analog driver. While it’s not yet "plug-and-play" for all devices, basic audio is functional. The community provides Use Case Manager (UCM) configuration files, which are essential for getting ALSA to work correctly.