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Dear Armbians, Armbian point releases are times when our entire team works diligently to stabilize our highly complex ecosystem. We understand that, despite our best efforts, there will always be some issues that may not work perfectly. We estimate that resolving bugs and adding new features for each release takes thousands of hours to be completed. This is what the Armbian and its community contributes on top of the vanilla Linux code, which is aggregated at common points, usually referred to as mainline. The code, contributed by many individuals, is intended to be stable. However, given the complexity of the Linux kernel and its maintenance by a diverse group of people, there are no uniform standards, and code quality can vary. Nevertheless, it remains the best we have. Stay Updated with Nightly Builds We are not far from the previous point release, and if you wish to stay updated with daily changes, you are welcome to do so. To switch to nightly automated builds, follow these steps: Run sudo armbian-config Select System and then, Nightly Please note that this is not recommended for production environments, as these builds are not thoroughly tested. However, in most cases, they should work well. Before making this switch, we recommend checking our automated tests. If they are passing, you should be in a good position. Some features might still have issues, and we encourage you to engage with our developer community to help resolve them. Our team is too small and will always remain too small to address all issues alone, we can’t fix problems arising from the contributions of thousands of people. Only with your assistance we can achieve this. If you require a specific feature to work or if you want to take some of our burden away, consider sponsoring our developers, who are professionals dedicated to this work. Switch to Recent Kernel Versions If nightly builds are not sufficiently current for you, you can switch even further – to the most recent kernel versions. This option is only for those willing to take risks: Run sudo armbian-config Select System and then, Other This will provide options for kernels that you can switch to for your hardware. For example, most hardware in the previous release came with kernel v6.6, and here you will be able to roll back to the previous 6.1 or try the most recent 6.9.y / 6.10.y. Please be aware that you are entering a bleeding-edge area where stability may be compromised, but you might find that everything works well. Happy hacking! Best Regards, The Armbian team The post Armbian Leaflet #25 first appeared on Armbian. View the full article

Dear Armbians, We’re excited to announce a new Armbian release: Armbian 24.5.1 Havier! This release focuses on stability and UX improvement, with an emphasis on stable builds and the hardwares we support the most. The changelog of this release is just massive! Key highlights Reproducible Armbian OS and Armbian build framework are tightly connected. Framework can build custom Debian or custom Ubuntu. Armbian Ubuntu is made from LTS or latest packages and is cleaned from all Canonical packaging including snapd. By default, we provide the latest critical packages also in the LTS package base. Armbian Jammy and Noble comes with highly optimized, specially built for each hardware platform, on top of mainline kernel 6.6.y or from SoC vendors, ZFS 2.2.4 and always the latest deb packaged Chromium, packed as .deb, comes with 3D and video acceleration where possible, VS Code, Thunderbird, Firefox, preinstalled Linux Userspace x86 and x86_64 Emulator on aarch64 hardware and several others. Armbian provides cleaned, improved, but stays close to the standard Debian and Ubuntu experience. To keep 100% compatibility, we tend to keep things that work well as they are. We stick to a minimalistic approach – less is more. Excellent Hardware Support Armbian excels in providing exceptional hardware support for single board computers. Our team maintains a large and diverse selection of hardware. We specialize in Rockchip flagship SoC RK3588, and Allwinner devices, we look forward to adding more Qualcomm devices. Our highly productive developer community integrates everything into the fast and user-friendly Armbian build framework (SDK). Rolling builds We are aware that many of you would like to run the latest code. For this reason, we provide daily rollercoaster aka rolling builds with Debian Testing / Trixie or Ubuntu Oracular, also with desktops which are under heavy development, such as KDE Plasma. We delayed releasing those in our stable channel as they are too immature. Unofficial Images In addition to platinum or standard support, where we usually have at least one person behind, Armbian provides many unofficial images for boards that are not fully tested and supported at https://github.com/armbian/community. Most of those images work just fine, but are untested. If none of the ready-made images suits you, build your custom version of Armbian image. Perhaps you want to start your own Linux distribution? By using Armbian, this becomes very easy! We provide complete tooling. Home Assistant and Other Tools Do you want to speed up installation of your Home Assistant to almost any device that is out there? We provide ready to run images for many, but you can build your own in no time with the help of the build system and its extension framework. Which is in use to automatically build Home Assistant, OpenHab and Armbian Security (Trixie with Kali Linux tools). This provides a clean security oriented experience. Recommendations for Production use For production environments, we recommend: hardware that has platinum or standard support label. For devices with these labels, we have people who are maintaining the code and we offer professional support. using stabilized point releases around Armbian Linux 6.6.y and user space Jammy and Armbian Bookworm. becoming Armbian Silver or Gold support partner to get access to professional services and help us pay common software support bills. How Armbian cover the bill? 1% of software development, that comes without fun factor, is covered by the community donations. Any loss we are trying to mitigate with the help of partners. Sadly, a large part of the R&D bill still remains unpaid. We are mitigating this by dropping support on areas where loss is the biggest. If we do not receive enough volunteer help or funds from professional support, support degradation will become noticeable 6-12 months after we stop maintaining certain sections. If you would like that we continue investing our precious time on the same level, perhaps on different levels, you need to step up and help. Remarkable Contributors We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the individuals who have contributed immensely to the growth and success of Armbian. The Armbian superstars of this release: @rpardini @igorpecovnik @ColorfulRhino @amazingfate @paolosabatino @efectn @hqnicolas @chainsx @belegdol @viraniac @FantasyGmm @lanefu @kernelzru @JohnTheCoolingFan @alexl83 @pyavitz @brentr @Tonymac32 @aiamadeus @monkaBlyat @SteeManMI @hzyitc @The-going @EvilOlaf @iav Support Staff: Didier, Lanefu, Adam, Werner, Aaron and many others have dedicated their expertise and time to provide support and guidance. We also extend our gratitude to our esteemed partners. Your contributions and support are invaluable in shaping the Armbian community and its success. Thank you for your continuous support to the Armbian community! The Armbian team The post Armbian 24.5.1 Havier first appeared on Armbian. View the full article

Dear Armbian Community, We are excited to announce that our new release is approaching quickly, with an estimated release date of May 25th. Our team is working actively on the final touches, focusing on stability and fine-tuning advanced features such as 3D and video acceleration. We’re utilizing the best available methods, as there are multiple options to consider. We are adjusting our build targets to include stable, rolling and application-specific builds. Stable Releases: For those who prefer a more reliable and tested environment. Rolling Releases: For the latest updates and experimental features. Applications: Optimized builds for specific applications. We will continue to support Jammy (old stable Ubuntu) while gradually introducing Noble as the latter has numerous bugs from upstream user space applications. Official Partnership with Radxa: We are thrilled to announce a new official partnership with Radxa. This collaboration will enhance support for their newly released RK3588 boards, bringing more robust and reliable options to our users. Community Engagement and Giveaways: One of our current giveaways is nearing its end, but don’t worry – a new one is here! Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities. Focus Areas: As we approach the release date, we ask for your help, especially in the areas of desktop acceleration and desktop environments. While we have covered base OS system features well, your contributions and feedback are invaluable. Community Poll Results: We recently conducted a poll to understand our community’s involvement in open-source projects. Here are the results: I’m an active contributor: 28.6% Contributed occasionally: 31.7% Not yet, but I’d like to: 28.6% No, why?: 11.1% These results are based on 63 votes and show a vibrant and engaged community, with a significant number of active and occasional contributors. For those who haven’t contributed yet but would like to, we encourage you to get involved. Your participation can make a significant difference! Thank you for your continued support and contributions. Together, we can make Armbian even better! Best regards, The Armbian Team The post New Release Approaching Fast! first appeared on Armbian. View the full article

Dear Armbian Community, At Armbian, we’re committed to providing stability without compromising on cutting-edge features. With that in mind, we deliver four point releases per year alongside our daily rolling releases, ensuring you have access to the best of both worlds. We’re gearing up to roll out new point release images featuring the latest kernel and packages by the end of May! Focus on Testing and Bug Hunting It’s time that we all shift our focus towards testing and bug hunting. Let’s prioritize closing any pending issues that require minimal effort, reserving the rest for post-June 1st. Notable Changes in the Pipeline Enabling Ubuntu Noble builds while keep providing highly stabilised and optimised Jammy based userspace On Debian side, we are keeping Bookworm We keep well maintained and proven desktops: XFCE, GNOME, and Jammy based KDE Neon Most popular Rokchip SoC is getting vendor kernel upgrade to 6.1.y with a focus on delivering a fully functional desktop experience. We will refresh well maintained Home Assistant, OpenHab and Kali images for various boards. Addressing all known issues in our sources. Get Involved! We encourage everyone in the community to actively participate: Check open Jira tickets on our participation page, Report or browse open issues on our GitHub repository, Review, close, or tag your pull requests here, Propose new images for dedicated applications, If maintaining contributions becomes overwhelming, consider this alternative. Someone else may pick it up for the next release. Spread the word about our latest release on various forums. What Else Are We Missing? Your input matters! You are welcome to share any additional suggestions or ideas you believe could enhance our community. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Armbian project. Warm regards, The Armbian Team View the full article

Greetings Armbian Community, We’re thrilled to share our latest strides in enhancing partnerships, expanding support, and advancing innovations within the Armbian ecosystem. Here’s a roundup of recent developments: 1. Strengthening Partnerships in Shenzhen: We’ve embarked on a mission to fortify our collaborations with partners in Shenzhen, aimed at fostering better support for our community. During our visit, we engaged with both existing and potential partners to deepen our ties and enhance the services we offer to you. Read more 2. Platinum Support and Giveaway for Bananapi M7: We’re excited to announce the launch of platinum support and a special giveaway for the latest Bananapi M7, a collaborative effort between Bananapi and ARMSOM. This initiative aims to provide unparalleled assistance and rewards to our valued users. Learn more 3. Expansion of Community Build Framework: Our community interaction has led to the integration of several new boards, including SakuraPi and H96 TV box, into our build framework. Additionally, we’ve upgraded u-boot on 32-bit Rockchip devices and successfully ported Khadas Edge 2 to kernel 6.1. Moreover, FriendlyElec NAS now runs on mainline-based kernels, enriching our ecosystem with more versatile options. 4. Ongoing Upgrades and Future Ventures: In the pipeline, we have several exciting upgrades underway. We’re working on upgrading the Odroid XU kernel to version 6.6 and adding support for Orangepi 5 PRO. Furthermore, we’re introducing mainline kernel support for Orangepi Zero 2W, and our team is eagerly diving into the development of the new Radxa Rock 5 ITX board and Rock 5C. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to elevate the Armbian experience! Best regards, The Armbian Team View the full article

Dear Armbian Community, We’re thrilled to announce that Armbian development is currently at full throttle, with significant improvements to our build framework and daily bug fixes. Our community of regular contributors has grown, and we’re witnessing increased utilization of the build framework. Here are some highlights of what’s been happening lately: Framework Enhancements: We’ve been diligently working on enhancements to our build framework, focusing on areas such as kernel config management, libc generation, kernel debugging, and kernel security checks. Hardware Support: In collaboration with Sinovoip, we’ve added new platinum supported hardware which brings higher level of support. In collaboration with Radxa, we’ve integrated the new Zero 3E/3W boards into our build framework, expanding our hardware support. Additionally, we have several boards in staging: Bananapi M4 Zero, Rock S0, and several community added targets: Orangepi Zero 2W, FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS, X96 Mate TV Box. Home Assistant Integration: We’ve incorporated additional fixes for Home Assistant, further enhancing Armbian-powered Home Assistant deployment. Updated images with these fixes have been released. If you encounter any issues, please report them here. Rockchip Kernel Updates: Following recent upgrades of Rockchip vendor kernels, the entire Rockchip family now benefits from the first open-source panthor driver implementation. While this marks significant progress, it’s important to note that these images are experimental and may contain bugs. Download them from the board download pages under “Daily/Rolling releases from CI pipeline.” Code Review Initiative: In light of recent incidents, such as the backdoor discovered in a widely used open-source tool (xz), we recognize the importance of robust code review processes. We’re actively seeking community members who can contribute to improving our code review practices. If you’re passionate about open-source and want to make a difference, consider applying to become a code reviewer here. Thank you for your continued support and contributions to the Armbian project. Together, we’re building a stronger, more secure open-source ecosystem. Warm regards, The Armbian Team View the full article

Dear Armbian Community, Here are the latest news! With each new Armbian release, we bring you plenty of improvements. However, we also encounter some new bugs along the way. While some are our own doing, most come from various sources. Much of the software we distribute is common and maintained by third parties upstream, with our main focus on single board computers. Challenges and Improvements During the first week after the release, we faced some problems with the package repository. Our system is highly automated, but sometimes things don’t go smoothly. While trying to improve things, we accidentally caused a delay in updates for two weeks. We’re working hard to fix these issues and make our processes smoother for the future. Rockchip Kernel Developments We’ve been busy improving Rockchip vendor kernels, and we’re currently working on porting and testing their new 6.1.y release. KDE Plasma Desktop Integration Even though we were in the final stages of our release cycle, we managed to include the brand new release of the KDE Plasma desktop. Now, all supported boards come with KDE Plasma Neon v6.1 desktop images, based on the Ubuntu package base. These images offer the latest stable Armbian kernels and LTS package base, without the bloatware or Snap, giving you the best desktop experience. Documentation Enhancement Initiative We’re committed to improving our documentation. We’ve updated our Pull Request templates to make it easier for people to contribute. If you’re interested in helping us improve our documentation, join our upcoming Documentation Follow-up Meeting for more collaboration. Stay tuned for more updates and improvements! The Armbian team. View the full article

Dear Armbian community, We’re excited to announce the latest Armbian release,24.2, codename: Kereru! This update comes with a plethora of changes, making the Armbian experience even better. Highlights of Completed Actions Closed Projects In recent developments, we’re proud to announce the completion of several projects geared towards refining the Armbian experience. Notably, we’ve resolved DNS resolution issues associated with Debian Bookworm, ensuring smoother connectivity for users. Furthermore, our team has optimized the performance of HDMI consoles on Khadas VIM1S and VIM4 devices, alleviating previous sluggishness. Additionally, we’ve successfully tackled the complexities of Rockchip patch maintenance, streamlining operations for enhanced stability. Moreover, our hardware compatibility has been expanded with the inclusion of Xiaomi Mi10, Orangepi Zero3 and ASUS Tinker-Edge-R, broadening the range of potentially maintained devices. Lastly, users of Khadas VIM1S & VIM4 can now benefit from the latest kernel advancements with the implementation of the latest Amlogic kernel 5.15.y drop. Closed Tasks In our ongoing commitment to improving Armbian’s functionality, we’ve achieved significant milestones in various tasks. Among these accomplishments is the introduction of a new feature enabling the convenient display of download links, enhancing user accessibility. Furthermore, we’ve seamlessly integrated Odroid M1 into the rockchip64 family, ensuring a cohesive user experience across devices. Additionally, the integration of Ubuntu 24.04 Noble into our build framework provides users with expanded options for operating systems. Moreover, we’ve prioritized kernel updates, ensuring that all current kernels have been upgraded to 6.6 LTS, incorporating the latest enhancements. Furthermore, the addition of Home Assistant extensions further enriches Armbian’s functionality, while security measures such as LVM support, CRYPTROOT, and enhanced system configurations bolster system integrity. Lastly, the introduction of Cloud-init support underscores our commitment to user convenience and choice, while the inclusion of support for Radxa Rock S 0 expands device compatibility options. Solved Bugs In our ongoing efforts to provide a seamless user experience, we’ve diligently addressed various bugs and issues. Notable resolutions include rectifying network interface card failures on Orangepi One+, ensuring consistent connectivity for users. Additionally, we’ve successfully resolved issues with Edge Kernel disrupting WiFi and Bluetooth support for RockPI-S devices, restoring functionality. Furthermore, errors related to package removal and systemd unit enablement have been rectified, minimizing potential disruptions during system maintenance. Moreover, desktop compatibility issues with the Cinnamon desktop on Vim4 have been resolved, ensuring a smooth user experience across devices. Additionally, optimizations have been made to reduce image loading times on Khadas VIM1S/VIM4 Bookworm, enhancing overall system performance and responsiveness. The complete list of actions have be accessed here. Remarkable Contributors, Supporters and Partners We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the individuals who have contributed immensely to the growth and success of Armbian. Remarkable Contributors: @adeepn, @alex3d, @amazingfate, @belegdol, @brentr, @chainsx, @efectn, @EvilOlaf, @glneo, @h-s-c, @hzyitc, @iav, @igorpecovnik, @lanefu, @msdos03, @paolosabatino, @prahal, @pyavitz, @rpardini, @schwar3kat, @SteeManMI, @tdleiyao, @Tonymac32, @viraniac, @xlazom00 Support Staff: Didier, Lanefu, Rafal, Adam, Werner, and many others have dedicated their expertise and time to provide support and guidance. We also extend our gratitude to our esteemed partners. Find out more about them here. Your contributions and support are invaluable in shaping the Armbian community and its success. Thank you for your continuous support to the Armbian community! The Armbian team View the full article