Meta Portal family

Note

One model has been examined on hardware: the Portal 10” (2nd gen). Its page carries what was measured, including what works, what does not, and the setup steps that matter. Portal support, including both Portal profiles, arrives with version 1.0 of the panel app; earlier versions run a Portal on the Generic profile. Everything about the other models on this page comes from Meta’s developer documentation and public owner reports, and has not been checked on a unit.

Meta (formerly Facebook) sold the Portal as a video-calling smart display from 2018 until it stopped selling consumer models in 2022 (MobileSyrup, June 2022). Every Portal runs Android underneath Meta’s own interface, and Meta’s developer documentation describes an ADB Enabled switch under Settings › Debug on every model (Meta, Portal setup for Android apps). That switch is what lets Panel Assistant install its panel app, and it makes the Portal one of the very few cheap, widely available smart displays that can become a Home Assistant panel without root.

That makes it an attractive second-hand buy: a well-made 10 in screen with a camera, microphones, a speaker and a privacy slider, often for very little money. It also comes with conditions that a purpose-built wall panel does not have, chiefly a Meta account that has to stay signed in and a debugging connection that does not survive a restart. Read the 10” (2nd gen) page before you buy.

Also sold as

Facebook Portal, Meta Portal, Portal (2nd gen), Portal 10”, Portal Mini, Portal+, Portal Plus, Portal Go, model WD50JM (the 10” 2nd gen), device codenames omni and aloha, Meta’s software package prefix com.facebook.aloha.

Models and support

Model	Released	Screen	Android	Device codename	Status with Panel Assistant
Portal (2nd gen)	2019	10.1 in, 1280×800, landscape	10	omni (measured)	Preliminary: one unit tested, with its own hardware profile
Portal Mini	2019	8 in, 1280×800	10	omni (one owner report)	Family profile; untested
Portal+ (2nd gen)	2021	14 in, 2160×1440	10	not yet reported	Untested; the family profile applies only if it reports omni or aloha
Portal Go	2021	10.1 in, 1280×800, battery	10	not yet reported	Untested; the family profile applies only if it reports omni or aloha
Portal (1st gen)	2018	10.1 in, 1280×800	9	aloha (owner reports)	Family profile; untested. An older platform with fewer sensors: reported to have ambient light but no motion sensor
Portal+ (1st gen)	2018	15.6 in, 1920×1080, rotating	9	aloha (owner reports)	Family profile; untested
Portal TV	2019	none; plugs into a television	9	ripley (owner reports)	Not supported: it has no screen or touch input of its own

Android versions follow Meta’s developer documentation, which lists the 2nd-gen family, Mini and Go on Android 10 and the 1st-gen models on Android 9. Both are above Panel Assistant’s minimum of Android 8.0.

How to tell which model you have

The 10” (2nd gen) carries model number WD50JM on its label. That is the number to look for in a second-hand listing, because sellers often list every generation simply as “Portal”, and the 1st gen is a different, older platform.

Once the panel app is installed, it identifies the Portal from what Android reports about the device, not from the name Meta prints on the box:

• A Portal reporting model Portal and device codename omni is treated as the 10” (2nd gen) and gets its own profile, with the camera, microphones and light sensor switched on as measured.
• Any other Portal reporting omni (the Android 10 platform, which the Mini is reported to share) or aloha (the Android 9 platform of the 1st-gen Portal and Portal+) gets the Meta Portal family profile. That profile keeps the panel’s real screen-off and Meta’s launcher handling, but leaves the camera and microphone to the panel’s own checks rather than assuming them, and claims no light sensor or screen density, because none of that has been measured on those models.
• A Portal reporting anything else, including the Portal TV’s ripley, runs on the Generic profile.

The panel app’s diagnostics show which profile was chosen and why. If you own a Portal Mini, Portal+ or Portal Go, the device codename it reports is the single most useful thing you can send in: it decides whether the family profile matches, and one report would move that model up the panel list.

What applies to the whole family

These points come from Meta’s documentation or are properties of Meta’s shared software. They were confirmed on the 10” (2nd gen) and are expected, not proven, on the other models.

• ADB is a Meta setting, not Android’s developer options. It is under Settings › Debug › ADB Enabled, and Meta’s documentation says to enter your PIN if prompted. On the tested unit the PIN was the one set for the Meta account during setup.
• Setup needs a Meta sign-in before Settings can be reached. Meta offers Facebook and WhatsApp sign-in; only Facebook worked for us. Keep that account signed in for as long as you use the Portal as a panel; the 10” (2nd gen) page explains why.
• No root. Retail Portals ship locked production builds with no su, and no bootloader unlock is known. Panel Assistant does not need root on a Portal, but root-dependent self-update and screenshot-based remote control are unavailable. The tested Portal runs Android 10, below the Android 11 requirement for Accessibility screenshots without root.
• Meta’s own WebView. The tested Portal renders web content with Meta’s own build of the Chromium WebView (131), which is current enough for Home Assistant dashboards with no update. Meta’s software keeps its own packages up to date in the background.
• Meta is winding Portal down. Meta stopped selling Portals in 2022 and has withdrawn features since. Expect more of Meta’s own services, and possibly sign-in methods, to stop working over time. The panel app does not depend on any of them, but the Meta account and the ADB switch it gates are outside anyone’s control but Meta’s.

Sources

• Meta for Developers: Portal setup for Android apps: the Settings › Debug › ADB Enabled procedure, the supported model list and each model’s Android level.
• MobileSyrup, June 2022: Meta discontinuing consumer Portal models.