see 0009634
downgrading back to 2025.1c makes it work
(and by downgrade, i mean installing 2025.1c from scratch)

kali-nethunterpro-2025.3-pinephonepro.img
also works.

for clarity, 2026.1 and 20260301 don't work.\
(kali-nethunterpro-2026.1-pinephonepro.img and kali_phosh_pinephonepro_20260301.img)

2025.4 and prior versions worked, but 2026.1 and the latest 20260301 version don't work.
here is a table that shows my testing (KALI NETHUNTER PRO, on a PINEPHONE PRO):

KALI VERSION        HOTSPOT    TETHER

2025.1c             works      works
2025.1c -> upgrade (lockout)
2025.3              works
2025.4              works      works
2026.1              fail       fail
20260301            fail

the "report issue" page isn't working, and i'm still having trouble with finding the best version for the pinephone pro, so i'm going to document that stuff here:

2025.4 and 2025.3 both don't automatically make the micro sd card visible in the files app (portfolio).

2025.1c makes the micro sd card visible, but it can't update, which was already reported in another ticket and has a manual solution.

i plan on testing 2025.2 to see if it both has hotspot and tethering working AND can update AND makes the micro sd card available...

2025.2 doesn't make the micro sd card available in portfolio (the files app).

so the best solution i know of is to use 2025.1c, fix the inability to update, and deal with all the bugs 2025.1c has (like gnome-software alerting that "updates are out of date"), and change the osk (on-screen keyboard) to squeekboard because the stevia keyboard doesn't even have cursor keys

see 0009157 for how to get "apt update" to work

after further testing (trying to get my phone to work), i am now switching to 2025.3 as the best version. as you can see on my test table below, 2025.3 has working hotspot and tethering, and allows me to use squeekboard. it really is a bummer that it doesn't automatically recognize micro-sd cards like 2025.1c did, but 2025.1c's phone app is not reliable. 2025.3's phone app seems more reliable. and as an added bonus, 2025.3 actually ships with the squeekboard osk as default, making my life so much easier.

KALI VERSION        HOTSPOT    TETHER   MICROSD  UPDATE   KEYBOARD     PHONE

2025.1c             works      works    works    fail     stevia       fail*
2025.1c -> upgrade (lockout)  (lockout)(lockout)(lockout)(lockout)    (lockout)
2025.2              works               fail     works
2025.3              works      works    fail     works    squeekboard  works  <-- best version
2025.4              works      works    fail     works?   stevia-only  works
2026.1              fail       fail     fail     works?
20260301            fail
upgrade             fail       fail     fail     fail?    stevia-only  fail

hotspot fail: the hotspot does create a network between the phone and a computer, but does not provide internet access.

tether fail: no internet, and no connection at all.

microsd fail: the microsd card fails to show up in "portfolio" (the files app), and therefore is difficult to access, requiring technical expertise.

update fail: running "sudo apt update" fails

keyboard: the default keyboard
stevia-only means that when "sudo update-alternatives --config Phosh-OSK" is run, selecting squeekboard and rebooting will create a scenario where there is absolutely no onscreen keyboard. a usb keyboard must be plugged in in order to recover the device. squeekboard does not work!

phone fail: making/receiving calls does not work.

• i believe the phone app on 2025.1c used to work, but it didn't for my latest test, and i rebooted several times just to confirm it. in the past, 2025.1c used to work with the phone app but sometimes it wouldn't work and i would have to reboot. it is strange that after one boot it would work, and then after another it wouldn't. i don't know why it was so random, but that's how it was.

i know a lot of these bugs themselves are caused by upstream problems, not kali packaging problems, but i would say that if kali just chose the right packages then most if not all of these bugs could be avoided. for example:

• what package change in 2025.2 caused the micro-sd card to stop being setup properly? how can i downgrade to the 2025.1c package that worked?
• what package change in 2025.4 made it so that selecting squeekboard resulted in having no keyboard whatsoever (requiring special hardware to rescue the system)? how can i downgrade that to 2025.3?
• what package change in 2026.1 killed hotspot internet and tethering? how can i downgrade that to 2025.4?