Alex Dorokhin

Thank you for investigating the driver support for the MAX98357A! However, the absence of maxim,max98357a in the kernel drivers is expected behavior. Here’s why: The MAX98357A is a "dumb" I2S amplifier Unlike other Maxim devices (e.g., MAX9286 for cameras), the MAX98357A does not require a dedicated kernel driver. It works as a raw I2S-to-analog converter and relies on the I2S interface itself, configured via ALSA and the SoC’s I2S driver. The real issue is I2S driver support for Allwinner H618 For the MAX98357A to work, the I2S controller driver (e.g., sun8i-i2s) must be enabled in the kernel. In the OP’s case (kernel 6.6.75), this driver is missing for the H618. Here’s how to fix it:

Hardware: Board: Orange Pi Zero 2W (Allwinner H618) Audio Module: MAX98357A (I2S) Connections: BCLK → PI13 (Pin 7) LRC/WS → PI14 (Pin 16) DIN → PI15 (Pin 31) 5V/GND → Properly connected Software: Armbian Version: 25.5.0-trunk.147 (nightly) Kernel: 6.6.75-current-sunxi64 Configuration: /boot/armbianEnv.txt: overlay_prefix=sun50i-h618 overlays=i2s param_i2s=on Problem: No sound output via MAX98357A. aplay -l returns "no soundcards found". dmesg | grep i2s shows no output, indicating the I2S driver is not loaded. Missing I2S overlay: Checked /boot/dtb/allwinner/overlay/ — no sun50i-h618-i2s.dtbo (only I2C overlays are present). Loaded sound modules: Only snd_soc_hdmi_codec (HDMI audio). Steps Taken: Verified physical wiring (BCLK/LRC/DIN, 5V/GND). Updated to the latest nightly build (25.5.0-trunk.147). Added overlays=i2s, param_i2s=on to /boot/armbianEnv.txt. Tried manual driver load: modprobe sun8i-i2s (no effect). Questions: Is I2S support for Allwinner H618 available in kernel 6.6.75? Are there plans to add sun50i-h618-i2s.dtbo in future releases? Is there a workaround to enable I2S on H618 (e.g., custom DTB)? Would upgrading to kernel 6.7+ resolve this? Diagnostics: uname -a: Linux orangepizero2w 6.6.75-current-sunxi64 #1 SMP Sat Feb 1 17:37:57 UTC 2025 aarch64 GNU/Linux cat /etc/armbian-release: VERSION=25.5.0-trunk.147 BRANCH=current BOARD=orangepizero2w dmesg | grep -i i2s: No output. Request: Any guidance or patches to enable I2S on H618 would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!