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A DEAD META PORTAL TURNED INTO A HOME ASSISTANT PANEL

Meta wound the Portal platform down. A free MIT-licensed launcher called Immortal installs over USB-C with ADB and turns it into a device you actually own.

by starbrightlab

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

HomeAutomation

difficulty
●●○○○
time
an evening
license
MIT
repo
repo ACTIVE201 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Videos
1
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COMPAREE VERDICT

Immortal is a custom launcher for discontinued Meta Portal devices: Portal, Portal+, Portal TV, Portal Go and the later Android 10 models. It replaces Meta's home screen with a fullscreen app grid, a photo-frame screensaver (Immich, SMB, WebDAV, iCloud albums), MQTT integration for Home Assistant, RTSP camera viewing, timers, a Wi-Fi intercom between Portals, and synced whole-home audio via Snapcast and Music Assistant. The provisioning kit installs it over USB-C with one double-click; a restore script brings the Portal back to stock. The app store is a hosted JSON catalog, and the launcher itself can update over the network without a cable. Used Portals sell for very little (about 20 dollars in Anoraker's video). Before you start, enable ADB on the Portal (Settings > Debug > ADB Enabled); the kit even downloads adb for you if your computer does not have it. The first-gen Portal+ has a broken Android installer dialog (a Meta display overlay renders it white-on-white), but the provisioning kit fixes that automatically. After that, the app store and sideloading work through the standard Android installer. The honest limits are the Portal's own: no Google Play Services and no root, so apps that need Google sign-in or DRM may not run.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —The APK, provisioning scripts, and app-store catalog JSON are all in the repository.
  • —Installation is a double-click script (Provision-Portal.command / .bat) that fetches the latest release over USB-C with ADB enabled.
  • —Restore-Portal script reverses everything — the device goes back to stock Meta software.
  • —MIT licence — commercial use, modification, and redistribution are all allowed.
  • —First-gen Portal+ (Android 9) has a broken installer dialog (white-on-white); the provisioning kit fixes it by disabling Meta's display overlay.
  • —No root is possible: the bootloader cannot be unlocked, so deeper firmware changes are not possible; Immortal runs as a normal app.

Parts to buy

2 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

Can I build this?

Printnothing required
Buya used Meta Portal, a USB-C cable, and optionally a self-hosted Immich server or network share for photos
Toolsa computer (macOS, Linux, or Windows); the kit downloads adb automatically if it is missing
SkillsBeginner: enable a setting on the Portal, plug in a cable and double-click a script. Home Assistant and multi-room audio need more setup.
Timean evening: run the provisioning kit, then configure MQTT, photo sources, or multi-room audio if you use those features
Cost$: used Portals go for about $20 (Anoraker's video); everything else is free software
SafetyNone beyond ordinary electronics care; the work is software only. The Portal Go has a built-in battery. The README says provisioning modifies device settings and is use-at-your-own-risk (reversible, but no guarantees).

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

Please Don't Throw Away This Dead Smart Display10:55

Video by Anoraker (11 Jul 2026): why the Portal failed, ADB access, installing the Immortal launcher, other community apps, and limitations and privacy concerns.

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Gallery

Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Check which Portal generation you have (docs/first-gen-portals.md) (If you have a first-gen Portal+ or Portal TV, read this first: it explains the broken installer dialog and how the kit fixes it.)
  2. 2.Enable ADB on the Portal (docs/install.md) (On the Portal: Settings > Debug > ADB Enabled. When the Portal asks 'Allow USB debugging?', tap Allow.)
  3. 3.Connect the Portal over USB-C and run Provision-Portal.command (macOS/Linux) or Provision-Portal.bat (Windows) from provisioning/ (The script fetches the latest release automatically and installs it. On first-gen Portal+ it also fixes the broken installer dialog.)
  4. 4.Optional: configure MQTT for Home Assistant (docs/guides/home-assistant.md), set up multi-room audio (docs/guides/multi-room-audio-setup.md), or add photo sources in screensaver settings (All optional — the launcher and screensaver work out of the box.)

Resources

Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Skipping the ADB step. The kit needs ADB enabled on the Portal (Settings > Debug > ADB Enabled) and you must tap Allow on the 'Allow USB debugging?' prompt, otherwise the install cannot proceed.
  • First-gen Portal+ (Android 9) ships with a broken Android installer dialog — it renders white-on-white. The provisioning kit fixes this by disabling Meta's display overlay, but if you skip the kit or set DISABLE_INSTALLER_OVERLAY=false in config.env, sideloading will fail.
  • The bootloader cannot be unlocked and there is no root, so deeper firmware changes are not possible. Immortal works entirely within the constraints of a standard Android user-space app.
  • Google Play Services are not present and cannot be added. Apps that depend on Google for sign-in, push notifications, or DRM may not work. Aurora Store installs many apps that do not need Play Services.
  • USB-C thumb drives do not mount reliably on Portal Go. Copy screensaver photos to the device's own storage instead while it is plugged into a computer.
  • Shizuku's server (used for Aurora Store's silent installer on first-gen Portals) may be killed by the firmware right after launch. The provisioning kit detects this and tells you; the fallback is Aurora's Session installer with the overlay fix applied.

Does this work on all Portal models?

It targets Meta Portals on Android 9 (the 2018 Portal / Portal+ and the Portal TV) and Android 10 (the 2019 and 2021 models, including Portal Go). Touch models and the remote-driven Portal TV are both supported. Installation needs ADB enabled on the Portal (Settings > Debug > ADB Enabled).

Can I go back to Meta's software?

Yes. Run Restore-Portal.command or Restore-Portal.bat from the provisioning folder. The kit is documented as fully reversible.

Do I need a Home Assistant server?

No. The launcher, photo frame, app store, timers, and intercom work without it. MQTT integration for Home Assistant is optional; the repo has a setup guide (you need an MQTT broker such as the Mosquitto add-on).

Can I install apps from the Play Store?

Indirectly, via Aurora Store (available in Immortal's app store). Portal has no Google Play Services, so apps that depend on Google for sign-in or DRM may not work. Many others do.

Does the photo frame need an internet account?

No. Point it at a folder on the device, a network share (SMB), a self-hosted Immich server, or a WebDAV server. iCloud shared albums and a keyless Lorem Picsum / Unsplash feed are also supported, but local sources work entirely offline.

What is the multi-room audio setup?

Immortal can group Portals as synced whole-home speakers using Snapcast and Music Assistant. Every Portal in the group shows what is playing (title, artist, cover art, play/pause/skip) on its home header and screensaver, not just the one driving playback. AirPlay cast into a group works too.

Community builds

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Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

Used Portals sell for about $20 now, and the whole install is reversible. If you already have one sitting in a drawer, what would you use it for first — the photo frame, the Home Assistant panel, or the security camera viewer?

CompareeTEAM6d ago

The first-gen Portal+ (Android 9) has a broken installer dialog (white-on-white), but the kit fixes it automatically by disabling Meta's display overlay. After that, the app store, self-update, and sideloading all work through the standard Android installer. The multi-room audio feature is the deepest integration — it syncs playback across Portals and shows now-playing metadata on every screen in the group. The project also has a fleet-management service for managing multiple Portals over Wi-Fi (deploy apps, push config, read logs) without reaching for a USB cable each time.

starbrightlab

starbrightlab built Immortal to keep Meta Portal devices alive after Meta wound the platform down. The name is a play on Portal and on keeping the hardware usable long-term. The project includes a launcher, screensaver, app store, fleet-management tools, and a provisioning kit that handles quirks like the first-gen Portal's broken installer dialog.

GitHub

Star the project on GitHub

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