Introduction
Quick overall look into the Surface tablets running Windows RT
THIS PAGE IS STILL WIP, EXPECT THINGS TO CHANGE
The hardware is old and outdated by today's standards! If you're looking to buy one for any use please DON'T. There are tons of x86 or even 64 bit ARM based tablets for such!
Those who want to play around and more, you're welcome to do so :)
The history, recapped
The Surface, commonly called Surface RT, was a Microsoft's first ever tablet computer announced in October 2012. Back then the specs for money were excellent, long lasting battery and full desktop grade word processing and the unique form factor made the hardware highly sawed after in schools. In general use the tablet was a total failure, locked down operating system with lack of 3rd party support in official app store drove the platform to death in following years.
Around when the tablet launched and limitations were spotted people started to look into exploiting the operating system to run unsigned applications. First exploits allowed you to do so but not everything was possible due to the nature of Windows RT.
About a year after the launch Microsoft announced the successor Surface 2 with a much improved design and hardware upgrades. Curse still lasted as the tablet ran Windows RT 8.1 from the factory.
In general the tablets were loved by students and enthusiasts but it didn't last for long. Before Windows 10's launch Microsoft prepared both Surface tablets to receive a Windows 10 update only to cancel it right before launch. This lead to people completely abandoning the platform.
Data breach
Both tablets were left abandoned with few clinging to them as a quick word processor or a Netflix machine, this was about to change when Microsoft had a data breach which leaked a lot of stuff including a fully functional Enterprise build of Windows 10 15035 for ARM. Community woke up and dug out the tablets from their graves for the time period only to slowly forget the full existence again.
Before Linux
Microsoft released an update at one point which included a debug policy, also called Golden Keys, which can be used to unlock the tablets to load unsigned EFI applets
The 'Golden Keys' unlock (CVE-2016-3287 / CVE-2016-3320) discovered by @never_released allows bypassing the SecureBoot mechanism which prevents loading code not signed by Microsoft.
This exploit only works when your tablet has never been updated past Nov 2016
Can be reverted with a BMR image from Microsoft
Around mid to late 2020, an exploit named Yahallo started to show up. This exploit requires Golden Keys to work as it's unsigned, if successfully booted it executes a UEFI variable service exploit which takes over TrustZone. Result is a permanently disabled SecureBoot state on all Tegra platforms running Windows RT. An essential key to the whole project that follows it
Linux now
Fast forward to late 2020 the progress of Open Surface RT project got us closer and closer to Linux on Surface RT. Around the same time, an exploit known in Switch hacking community "Fusee Gelee" was implemented for the Tegra 3 based Surface RT. How it works is by exploiting the bootrom to remove any security restrictions, pretty much like native boot would be. Sadly in current state it's tethered only. In early 2021 we successfully booted to desktop with mostly working hardware. Currently we're running any ARM based distro fine on Surface RT tablets, but what about Surface 2? Yes even Surface 2 can do so, it shares a lot of hardware similarities so it sort of works but it's not reliable enough yet.
2022-23 recapped
Oddly enough the tablet saw an increased interest but also improvements to the work done in hacking it. We've gained better Linux support for both models and also Android that can be run untethered, fun stuff. Of course the community discord server alone saw some noticeable changes. There's still ways to go but will be worth it.
What to look forward for in 2024
Plans are to tidy up the loose ends and finalize the fundamentals like a robust and easy to follow guide with user friendly setup. Too early to say anything else but this year should be more interesting...
Destiny of the hardware
The hardware is old, tablets are from the early phase and obviously lack any proper support. While the Linux support is okay for anything that's 32 bit ARM it won't be long as the architecture is EoL (end of life).
The work done must be appreciated as it shows that even when the company refuses to be any help you got the community who will take the control. Linux on a Surface RT was nothing but a dream until now...
Current status can be monitored in official Open RT discord or GitBook, both linked on the next page
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