// hidden feature unlocked

Samsung DeX
on Linux & W*ndows

Run a full desktop from your budget A-series phone — no HDMI, no official support, fully functional on One UI 8.

One UI 8 required A06 / A56 confirmed Android 16+
// visual confirmation
Samsung DeX Proof Vertical
Confirmed: Click to view high-res proof of DeX active on Galaxy A06.
// requirements
Phone
Samsung A-series
Android
16 / One UI 8
Tool
scrcpy 3.x
Connection
USB or WiFi ADB
// step 1 — enable dex on phone
01
Unlock the hidden DeX setting
Go to Settings → search "Keyboard" → tap Samsung DeX (appears under Connected devices, below keyboard options). Open it. That's the DeX activation screen.
Samsung Settings search showing Samsung DeX under Connected devices
Settings → search "keyboard" → tap Keyboard › Samsung DeX (under Connected devices)
This setting exists on One UI 8 even on budget A-series devices — Samsung left it in the shared codebase. It's real, it works.
// step 2 — connect via adb
02
Enable USB debugging
Settings → About phone → tap Build number 7 times → Developer options → enable USB debugging. Then plug phone into laptop.
bash
adb devices # verify phone is detected
// step 3 — fix minimum width
03
Set minimum width to 411
Without this, the phone screen looks blurry and icons are tiny while DeX is running. This is the standard phone form factor value.
bash
adb shell wm set-minimum-width 411
// step 4 — launch dex
04
Install scrcpy
bash
sudo apt install scrcpy # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo pacman -S scrcpy # Arch
Needs scrcpy 3.x minimum for --new-display flag. Check: scrcpy --version
05
Launch DeX
bash
scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080/160 --window-title="DeX"
Your phone screen stays normal. DeX opens as a separate window on your laptop. Keyboard and mouse work automatically.
06
Save as alias (optional but do it)
bash
echo 'alias dex="scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080/160 --window-title=DeX"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
Now just type dex in terminal. Done.
04
Install scrcpy on W*ndows
powershell
winget install Genymobile.scrcpy
Or download from github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy/releases and extract the zip.
05
Launch DeX from CMD/PowerShell
powershell
scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080/160 --window-title="DeX"
Make sure ADB drivers are installed. Samsung USB drivers from samsung.com/us/support/downloads work best.
06
Save as batch shortcut
batch
REM Save as dex.bat somewhere in PATH
@echo off
scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080/160 --window-title="DeX"
// wireless mode (no usb)
—
Connect over WiFi
Developer options → Wireless debugging → enable → note the IP:PORT shown.
bash
adb connect 192.168.x.x:PORT
scrcpy --new-display=1920x1080/160 --window-title="DeX"
UM
Documented by Uzair Mughal. Linux method found by Uzair Mughal — LimeOS contributor, Linux kernel contributor, confirmed Linux enjoyer. Tested on Samsung Galaxy A06 (SM-A065F) running One UI 8 / Android 16.
Full Proof