Hi all,
I'm trying to boot Armbian from USB on a Foxconn BANDOTT BA101 (Amlogic S905D, 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC — same SoC/RAM/storage as a Phicomm N1, originally shipped with Android TV 7.1.2). I'm running purely from USB, never touching eMMC.
What works
Armbian_24.5.0_amlogic_s905d_jammy_6.6.28_server_2024.04.25.img (ophub build)
Flashed to USB with balenaEtcher
Plugged into the box, powered on
Boots directly with no modifications — no manual u-boot.ext, no dtb edits, no extlinux changes
Network, IR, HDMI all good
What doesn't work
Armbian_community_26.2.0-trunk.821_Aml-s9xx-box_resolute_current_6.18.26.img (official community build)
I tried the following on this image, in order:
As-is flash to USB → stuck at the Android boot logo, never proceeds.
Generated/copied u-boot.ext for S905D into the boot partition → still stuck at Android logo.
Selected meson-gxl-s905d-phicomm-n1.dtb as the FDT (this is the dtb that the working 24.5.0 image uses).
Edited /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf to match the working 24.5.0 image exactly — same kernel/initrd path style, same APPEND line (root=, rootflags, console=, etc.), same FDT pointing at meson-gxl-s905d-phicomm-n1.dtb.
After all four steps, the 26.2.0 image still won't boot — the box hangs at the Android logo and never hands off to U-Boot/kernel from USB.
Question
Given that the 24.5.0 ophub S905D server image works out of the box, and the 26.2.0 community Aml-s9xx-box image fails even after replicating the working boot chain (u-boot.ext + N1 dtb + matching extlinux.conf), what else differs between these two images that could prevent USB boot on a stock-Android S905D box?
Specifically I'd like to understand:
Does the community 26.2.0 / kernel 6.18 image use a different boot script signature (aml_autoscript / s905_autoscript) that the stock Android U-Boot on these boxes won't chain-load?
Is there a known incompatibility between kernel 6.18 / the resolute-current package set and the S905D mainline u-boot used by the 24.5.0 build?
Is the official "Aml-s9xx-box" community image even intended to boot on locked Android TV boxes from USB, or is it built only for boards that already run mainline u-boot from eMMC?
Any pointers appreciated. Happy to attach a serial console log if someone can suggest where in the boot chain to look.
Thanks!
extlinux.conf
uEnv.txt
Hi all, I'm trying to boot Armbian from USB on a Foxconn BANDOTT BA101 (Amlogic S905D, 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC — same SoC/RAM/storage as a Phicomm N1, originally shipped with Android TV 7.1.2). I'm running purely from USB, never touching eMMC. What works Armbian_24.5.0_amlogic_s905d_jammy_6.6.28_server_2024.04.25.img (ophub build) Flashed to USB with balenaEtcher Plugged into the box, powered on Boots directly with no modifications — no manual u-boot.ext, no dtb edits, no extlinux changes Network, IR, HDMI all good What doesn't work Armbian_community_26.2.0-trunk.821_Aml-s9xx-box_resolute_current_6.18.26.img (official community build) I tried the following on this image, in order: As-is flash to USB → stuck at the Android boot logo, never proceeds. Generated/copied u-boot.ext for S905D into the boot partition → still stuck at Android logo. Selected meson-gxl-s905d-phicomm-n1.dtb as the FDT (this is the dtb that the working 24.5.0 image uses). Edited /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf to match the working 24.5.0 image exactly — same kernel/initrd path style, same APPEND line (root=, rootflags, console=, etc.), same FDT pointing at meson-gxl-s905d-phicomm-n1.dtb. After all four steps, the 26.2.0 image still won't boot — the box hangs at the Android logo and never hands off to U-Boot/kernel from USB. Question Given that the 24.5.0 ophub S905D server image works out of the box, and the 26.2.0 community Aml-s9xx-box image fails even after replicating the working boot chain (u-boot.ext + N1 dtb + matching extlinux.conf), what else differs between these two images that could prevent USB boot on a stock-Android S905D box? Specifically I'd like to understand: Does the community 26.2.0 / kernel 6.18 image use a different boot script signature (aml_autoscript / s905_autoscript) that the stock Android U-Boot on these boxes won't chain-load? Is there a known incompatibility between kernel 6.18 / the resolute-current package set and the S905D mainline u-boot used by the 24.5.0 build? Is the official "Aml-s9xx-box" community image even intended to boot on locked Android TV boxes from USB, or is it built only for boards that already run mainline u-boot from eMMC? Any pointers appreciated. Happy to attach a serial console log if someone can suggest where in the boot chain to look. Thanks! extlinux.conf uEnv.txt