Board: NanoPi NEO Air
SoC: Allwinner H3 (sun8i platform)
Armbian Release: Bookworm (Debian 12 base) - Tested with both beta and stable repositories.
Problem Description:
The SPI device node (/dev/spidev0.0) does not get created on Armbian Bookworm for the NanoPi NEO Air, preventing the use of SPI peripherals. This issue occurs despite correctly enabling the sun8i-h3-spi-spidev overlay in /boot/armbianEnv.txt.
Diagnosis / Root Cause:
Through troubleshooting, it was determined that the essential kernel module required for the Allwinner SPI controller, spi-sunxi.ko, is missing from the standard kernel image packages provided by Armbian for Bookworm on this platform.
Affected Kernels / Repositories Tested:
- current branch:
Kernel version: 6.12.23-current-sunxi (Package: linux-image-current-sunxi 25.5.0-trunk.496)
Tested using both beta and stable (apt.armbian.com) repositories after reinstall attempts.
Result: spi-sunxi.ko module missing. modprobe spi_sunxi fails ("Module not found").
- legacy branch:
Kernel version: 6.6.75-legacy-sunxi (Package: linux-image-legacy-sunxi)
Tested using both beta and stable (apt.armbian.com) repositories after reinstall attempts.
Result: spi-sunxi.ko module missing.
Evidence:
1. Overlay Configuration: /boot/armbianEnv.txt contains overlays=sun8i-h3-spi-spidev.
2. Overlay File Presence: The compiled overlay file /boot/dtb-KERNEL_VERSION/overlay/sun8i-h3-spi-spidev.dtbo is present for both current and legacy DTB packages.
3. Missing Module Confirmation (find command):
# Tested on both 6.12.23-current-sunxi and 6.6.75-legacy-sunxi after reinstalling linux-image-* packages
find /lib/modules/$(uname -r) -name spi_sunxi.ko
# (Command produces NO output)
4. Missing Module Confirmation (dpkg -L): (Example for legacy kernel, same result for current)
uname -r
# Output: 6.6.75-legacy-sunxi
dpkg -L linux-image-legacy-sunxi | grep -i spi
# Output shows spidev.ko and other SPI modules, but NOT spi-sunxi.ko:
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/net/dsa/b53/b53_spi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/net/dsa/microchip/ksz_spi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/nfc/nfcmrvl/nfcmrvl_spi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/nfc/st-nci/st-nci_spi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-cadence-xspi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-dln2.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-fsi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-microchip-core-qspi.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-microchip-core.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-mux.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-mxic.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-sifive.ko
# /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spidev.ko
5. Device Node Missing:
ls /dev/spi*
# Output: ls: cannot access '/dev/spi*': No such file or directory
Expected Outcome:
The linux-image-{current,legacy}-sunxi packages should include the spi-sunxi.ko module for the sun8i (Allwinner H3) platform. When the appropriate overlay is enabled, the kernel should load this module, and the /dev/spidev0.0 device node should appear, allowing SPI communication.
Request:
Could the Armbian team please investigate why the spi-sunxi.ko module is not included in the Bookworm kernel packages for the sun8i platform and restore it in a future build?
Thank you!
Board: NanoPi NEO Air SoC: Allwinner H3 (sun8i platform) Armbian Release: Bookworm (Debian 12 base) - Tested with both beta and stable repositories. Problem Description: The SPI device node (/dev/spidev0.0) does not get created on Armbian Bookworm for the NanoPi NEO Air, preventing the use of SPI peripherals. This issue occurs despite correctly enabling the sun8i-h3-spi-spidev overlay in /boot/armbianEnv.txt. Diagnosis / Root Cause: Through troubleshooting, it was determined that the essential kernel module required for the Allwinner SPI controller, spi-sunxi.ko, is missing from the standard kernel image packages provided by Armbian for Bookworm on this platform. Affected Kernels / Repositories Tested: - current branch: Kernel version: 6.12.23-current-sunxi (Package: linux-image-current-sunxi 25.5.0-trunk.496) Tested using both beta and stable (apt.armbian.com) repositories after reinstall attempts. Result: spi-sunxi.ko module missing. modprobe spi_sunxi fails ("Module not found"). - legacy branch: Kernel version: 6.6.75-legacy-sunxi (Package: linux-image-legacy-sunxi) Tested using both beta and stable (apt.armbian.com) repositories after reinstall attempts. Result: spi-sunxi.ko module missing. Evidence: 1. Overlay Configuration: /boot/armbianEnv.txt contains overlays=sun8i-h3-spi-spidev. 2. Overlay File Presence: The compiled overlay file /boot/dtb-KERNEL_VERSION/overlay/sun8i-h3-spi-spidev.dtbo is present for both current and legacy DTB packages. 3. Missing Module Confirmation (find command): # Tested on both 6.12.23-current-sunxi and 6.6.75-legacy-sunxi after reinstalling linux-image-* packages find /lib/modules/$(uname -r) -name spi_sunxi.ko # (Command produces NO output) 4. Missing Module Confirmation (dpkg -L): (Example for legacy kernel, same result for current) uname -r # Output: 6.6.75-legacy-sunxi dpkg -L linux-image-legacy-sunxi | grep -i spi # Output shows spidev.ko and other SPI modules, but NOT spi-sunxi.ko: # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/net/dsa/b53/b53_spi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/net/dsa/microchip/ksz_spi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/nfc/nfcmrvl/nfcmrvl_spi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/nfc/st-nci/st-nci_spi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-cadence-xspi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-dln2.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-fsi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-microchip-core-qspi.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-microchip-core.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-mux.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-mxic.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spi-sifive.ko # /lib/modules/6.6.75-legacy-sunxi/kernel/drivers/spi/spidev.ko 5. Device Node Missing: ls /dev/spi* # Output: ls: cannot access '/dev/spi*': No such file or directory Expected Outcome: The linux-image-{current,legacy}-sunxi packages should include the spi-sunxi.ko module for the sun8i (Allwinner H3) platform. When the appropriate overlay is enabled, the kernel should load this module, and the /dev/spidev0.0 device node should appear, allowing SPI communication. Request: Could the Armbian team please investigate why the spi-sunxi.ko module is not included in the Bookworm kernel packages for the sun8i platform and restore it in a future build? Thank you!