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Please use a build that isn't 7 years old. https://www.armbian.com/amlogic-s9xx-tv-box Read the FAQ and the install instructions linked there

moving to amlogic tv box forum

device x92 android tv, amlogic s912, armbian file: Armbian_5.84_Aml-s905_Debian_stretch_default_5.1.0-rc1_20190507.img

Armbian now has a community supported build target for amlogic TV Boxes (aml-s9xx-box). You can now build your own builds directly with the Armbian build system. This is now an opportunity for members of the community to move the support for amlogic TV boxes forward within the Armbian framework. If you are not familiar with the Armbian build system check out the Armbian developer documentation. If you have idea on how you would like to see things evolve/change please use this forum to share your thoughts and ideas and submit PRs for any code changes you would like to see. I am currently testing this code against the four different amlogic based boxes I own, but would appreciate others testing as well. Once I have completed my testing, I will be updating the FAQ amlogic install instructions with this information.

So.... I am the winner of a Inovato Quadra4K from a drawing at my amateur radio club meeting. Yeah! Cool! It runs a software called HamClock automagically.... BUT WAIT! There is MORE! You can exit that app and run other applications... Providing you have a mouse & keyboard (because I am a native WinWeenie) or keyboard if you are a Linux forever personage. It also has a wireless interface that I would like to configure so it doesn't have to have an Ethernet tail tied to a port on our ISP router. I would rather it was mounted to a HDMI TV or monitor. So, I need the keyboard (and because I am a longtime WinWeenie and rodent dependent) mouse to reconfigure it. I would like to have it use a USB Logitech Unifier Nano dongle with wireless keyboard/mouse. By the way, the brilliant man that came up with this computer is trudging the same path I am, fighting cancer. His fight has gotten so tough he has shut down his company. I hope he gets better. Is there already a compiled binary for this with directions,,. or do I have to master the dark arts of programming routines, subroutines, interrupts, memory fetches, writes, threads and all that then compile it into something the machine understands? Please understand I didn't even take typing in high school, so college was a real bear.... When I was in high school Jobs and Wozniak were still dumpster diving behind Xerox-Park Corporation and Radio Shack. Any takers on this one? Thanks in advance, Dave, The-Other-One

Hi everyone, I’m experiencing a recurring and very specific issue with my TX2 TV Box, with the following specifications: SoC: Rockchip RK3229 RAM: 2GB DDR3 Storage: NAND flash (not eMMC!) Board: Generic TX2 board 🛑 Main Issue The system shuts down abruptly at exactly 29 minutes and 47 seconds of uptime (i monitoring via htop). It always shuts down at this time. It’s not a clean shutdown or reboot — it behaves as if the power was cut off. No meaningful logs appear in journalctl or dmesg, and the shutdown is instantaneous and silent. 🧪 What I’ve Tried: Disabled idle and sleep functions: Masked systemd-logind Set IdleActionSec=0 and HandlePowerKey=ignore Tried different kernel versions: Legacy: Armbian 22.02.0-trunk Focal legacy 4.4.194 Mainline: Armbian Jammy kernel 5.15 Attempted to disable the watchdog: Boot parameter nowatchdog Kernel parameter rcu_cpu_stall_timeout=0 Created a systemd service to periodically write to /dev/watchdog Tried to remove dw_wdt module (modprobe -r), but it either auto-loads or refuses to unload (watchdog did not stop) Tried building a custom kernel with CONFIG_DW_WATCHDOG=n, but the process failed due to gcc-arm-linux-gnueabi toolchain issues. Used config-rk322x to properly set RAM, NAND, and Wi-Fi chip before first boot + update/upgrade. Tried adding sudo systemctl mask sleep.target suspend.target hibernate.target hybrid-sleep.target ⚠️ Additional Critical Note: The system does not work at all when flashed to eMMC/flash — only boots properly from NAND or SD card. Any image written to internal flash does not boot. Therefore, booting from NAND is required, which may be related to the watchdog being active by default on NAND-based boards. ❓ My Question: Has anyone with a TX2 or RK3229-based NAND board experienced this same issue? Is this a known watchdog timer issue on NAND models? Is there any stable image or device tree overlay known to work for this configuration? Any tips to fully disable the watchdog either via software or kernel patch? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!

I Have an A96X with rockchip RK3228 and i tried booting armbian on it, but I got no display on HDMI. I connected a serial adapter to it and here is the information it displays when trying to boot: ▒▒▒▒DDR Version V1.05 20160805_dbg In 300MHz DDR3 Bus Width=32 Col=10 Bank=8 Row=15 CS=1 Die Bus-Width=16 Size=1024MB mach:2 OUT Boot1 Release Time: 2016-03-15, version: 2.31 ChipType = c 275 No.1 FLASH ID:2c 64 44 4b a9 0 ECC:60 SdmmcInit=0 0 BootCapSize=0 UserCapSize=76f5000 FwPartOffset=2000 , 0 StorageInit ok = 1520008 SecureMode : SBOOT_MODE_NS hdr 0x0:ff a1 0 0 1b 0 0 0 f0 f2 2e 68 f0 f2 2e 68 hdr 0x0:a4 81 0 0 4e 23 0 0 f0 f2 2e 68 f0 f2 2e 68 hdr 0x0:ff a1 0 0 3 0 0 0 f4 f2 2e 68 f4 f2 2e 68 hdr 0x0:a4 81 0 0 44 0 0 0 f4 f2 2e 68 f4 f2 2e 68 hdr 0x0:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 hdr 0x0:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 hdr 0x0:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 hdr 0x0:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SecureMode : SBOOT_MODE_NS Loder code check ok! theLoader 0x60000000, loadaddr: 0x2000 Loder code check ok! theLoader 0x68400000, loadaddr: 0x4000 INF TEE-CORE:init_primary_helper:319: Initializing (1.0.1-63-g23e91df-dev #16 Tu e Mar 7 10:07:15 UTC 2017 arm) INF TEE-CORE:init_primary_helper:320: Release version: 1.8 INF TEE-CORE:init_teecore:79: teecore inits done U-Boot 2017.02-RK322X-06-02276-ga7c7ca8-dirty (May 19 2017 - 11:16:15) CPU: rk322x cpu version = 3 CPU's clock information: arm pll = 600000000HZ periph pll = 600000000HZ ddr pll = 600000000HZ codec pll = 500000000HZ Board: Rockchip platform Board Uboot as second level loader DRAM: Found dram banks: 1 Adding bank:0000000060000000(0000000040000000) Reserve memory for trust os. dram reserve bank: base = 0x68400000, size = 0x00100000 128 MiB GIC CPU mask = 0x00000001 rk dma pl330 version: 1.4 remotectl v0.1 pwm freq=0x11e1a3 pwm_freq_nstime=0x355 SdmmcInit = 0 0 SDCard Update. storage init OK! Using default environment Writing env to storage... done GetParam W: Invalid Parameter's tag (0x00000000)! Invalid parameter No pmic detect. SecureBootEn = 0, SecureBootLock = 0 #Boot ver: 0000-00-00#0.00 empty serial no. normal boot. no fuel gauge found no fuel gauge found read logo on state from dts [0] no fuel gauge found 'recovery' does not seem to be a partition nor an address Unable to boot:recovery try to start backup 'backup' does not seem to be a partition nor an address Unable to boot:backup try to start rockusb Can anybody point me to the right direction? I'd really like to turn this piece of junk into something useful 😄 Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

@Kevin su I just bought a TV Box with SV6256P and planned to port the driver and in my first search I found your post. Excellent work!

Hello friends, in general, a friend gave me an x96q TV set-top box, I want to install armbian on it and then install klipper and use it on my 3d printer, I'm not good at this, maybe someone can help

This week in Armbian development saw significant advancements across kernel, firmware, and build targets. The release of 6.18.y kernel UEFI images marks a major update, alongside expanded desktop build options including Cinnamon and KDE Neon for UEFI systems. Notable board support enhancements include the addition of custom build targets for Amlogic TV Boxes, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W as a virtual board, and improved support for Orange Pi 3 LTS and Odroid M2 devices. Automation improvements streamline inventory rebuilds and board data management, while new features such as Armbian board auto-detection and browser enablement for Riscv64 boards enhance usability. Several bug fixes and configuration updates address issues across Hyper-V images, kernel configs, and u-boot versions. The changelog also highlights upgrades to wireless firmware, dependency management, and support for BTRFS on NanoPi R3S-LTS, reflecting ongoing efforts to broaden compatibility and stability. 6.18.y kernel UEFI images are out. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#221abl: feat: add extraargs from armbianEnv for mkbootimg. by @CodeChenL in armbian/build#9341Add -hyperv suffix to REDI_VARIANT for Hyper-V images. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#216Add Cinnamon and KDE Neon desktop builds for UEFI. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#209Add cloud image extensions to UEFI minimal targets. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#211Add custom build targets for Amlogic TV Boxes. by @SteeManMI in armbian/armbian.github.io#224Add ENABLE_EXTENSIONS to UEFI desktop targets. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#210Add KDE Neon and RISC-V XFCE desktop targets. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#214Add Raspberry Pi Zero 2W board as virtual board. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#223Add remote execution method for inventory rebuild. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#222Add REMOVE_EXTENSIONS blacklist support to generate_targets.py. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#217ath12k: Upgrade to WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00302-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICON…. by @kasimling in armbian/firmware#118Automation: when board data changes on push, execute inventory rebuild at armbian.github.io. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9354BPI-M4-Zero / KickPi K2B: Update u-boot to v2026.01, ATF to lts-v2.12.9 and fixup the KickPi K2B linux DTS. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9340Enable Browsers on two Riscv64 boards. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#219Extension: Bump Nvidia propriatery driver. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9338feat: add Armbian board auto-detection and toast notification system. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#91feat: add Dependabot configuration for dependency management. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#70File was removed while it remained in series control file. . by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9339Fix errors in .editorconfig. by @iav in armbian/build#9363Fix file_extension extraction for Hyper-V cloud images. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#215Fix K3 issues - APT Caching, PB2, Missing KConfig. by @Grippy98 in armbian/build#9349KDE Neon: drop conflicting packages in order to assemble KDE desktop. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9337kernel configs: disable unprivileged BPF. by @neheb in armbian/build#9082khadas-edge2: remove legacy uboot. by @efectn in armbian/build#9367Limit exposed.map to maximum 2 entries per board. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#220meson64: ressurect 6.12 as BRANCH=oldlts. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9350Odroid M2: Move main build target to CURRENT kernel branch. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9357Odroid-M2: update uboot to v2025.10. by @mlegenovic in armbian/build#9359Orange Pi 3B: Update config. by @dust-7 in armbian/build#9370OrangePi 3 LTS: Add DTS and DEFCONFIG to u-boot v2026.01. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9352OrangePi 3 LTS: Add ethernet support to u-boot defconfig. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9365OrangePi 3 LTS: Fixup u-boot LED nodes. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9358OrangePi 3 LTS: Update crust and u-boot defconfig. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9372OrangePi 3 LTS: Use extlinux, remove aw859a-wifi.service, update current defconfig, etc.... by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9362Promoting Opi 3LTS and Odroid M2, demoting cubox-i and Jetson Nano. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9353Radxa E52C: add mainline U-Boot support and kernel target configuration. by @okrc in armbian/build#9366radxa-e54c: board config: remove wayland-sessions-mask extension. by @schwar3kat in armbian/build#9351Refactor mesa-vpu extension: add architecture-specific browser selection. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9347Remove Rockchip gpio patch, already applied upstream. by @tparys in armbian/build#9368Restore qemu performance fix for Ubuntu Noble. by @tparys in armbian/build#9371Restructured qcom/sm8550/ayn directory. by @Squishy123 in armbian/firmware#117Rock 5B Plus: Add GPIO names to edge dts. by @JohnTheCoolingFan in armbian/build#9348Support BTRFS on NanoPi R3S-LTS. by @clarkmcc in armbian/build#9343View the full article

http://blog.armbian.com/content/images/2026/02/githubhighlights-2-1.webpThis week in Armbian development saw significant advancements across kernel, firmware, and build targets. The release of 6.18.y kernel UEFI images marks a major update, alongside expanded desktop build options including Cinnamon and KDE Neon for UEFI systems. Notable board support enhancements include the addition of custom build targets for Amlogic TV Boxes, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W as a virtual board, and improved support for Orange Pi 3 LTS and Odroid M2 devices. Automation improvements streamline inventory rebuilds and board data management, while new features such as Armbian board auto-detection and browser enablement for Riscv64 boards enhance usability. Several bug fixes and configuration updates address issues across Hyper-V images, kernel configs, and u-boot versions. The changelog also highlights upgrades to wireless firmware, dependency management, and support for BTRFS on NanoPi R3S-LTS, reflecting ongoing efforts to broaden compatibility and stability. 6.18.y kernel UEFI images are out. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#221abl: feat: add extraargs from armbianEnv for mkbootimg. by @CodeChenL in armbian/build#9341Add -hyperv suffix to REDI_VARIANT for Hyper-V images. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#216Add Cinnamon and KDE Neon desktop builds for UEFI. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#209Add cloud image extensions to UEFI minimal targets. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#211Add custom build targets for Amlogic TV Boxes. by @SteeManMI in armbian/armbian.github.io#224Add ENABLE_EXTENSIONS to UEFI desktop targets. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#210Add KDE Neon and RISC-V XFCE desktop targets. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#214Add Raspberry Pi Zero 2W board as virtual board. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#223Add remote execution method for inventory rebuild. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#222Add REMOVE_EXTENSIONS blacklist support to generate_targets.py. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#217ath12k: Upgrade to WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00302-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICON…. by @kasimling in armbian/firmware#118Automation: when board data changes on push, execute inventory rebuild at armbian.github.io. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9354BPI-M4-Zero / KickPi K2B: Update u-boot to v2026.01, ATF to lts-v2.12.9 and fixup the KickPi K2B linux DTS. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9340Enable Browsers on two Riscv64 boards. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#219Extension: Bump Nvidia propriatery driver. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9338feat: add Armbian board auto-detection and toast notification system. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#91feat: add Dependabot configuration for dependency management. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#70File was removed while it remained in series control file. . by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9339Fix errors in .editorconfig. by @iav in armbian/build#9363Fix file_extension extraction for Hyper-V cloud images. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#215Fix K3 issues - APT Caching, PB2, Missing KConfig. by @Grippy98 in armbian/build#9349KDE Neon: drop conflicting packages in order to assemble KDE desktop. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9337kernel configs: disable unprivileged BPF. by @neheb in armbian/build#9082khadas-edge2: remove legacy uboot. by @efectn in armbian/build#9367Limit exposed.map to maximum 2 entries per board. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#220meson64: ressurect 6.12 as BRANCH=oldlts. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9350Odroid M2: Move main build target to CURRENT kernel branch. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9357Odroid-M2: update uboot to v2025.10. by @mlegenovic in armbian/build#9359Orange Pi 3B: Update config. by @dust-7 in armbian/build#9370OrangePi 3 LTS: Add DTS and DEFCONFIG to u-boot v2026.01. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9352OrangePi 3 LTS: Add ethernet support to u-boot defconfig. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9365OrangePi 3 LTS: Fixup u-boot LED nodes. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9358OrangePi 3 LTS: Update crust and u-boot defconfig. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9372OrangePi 3 LTS: Use extlinux, remove aw859a-wifi.service, update current defconfig, etc.... by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9362Promoting Opi 3LTS and Odroid M2, demoting cubox-i and Jetson Nano. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9353Radxa E52C: add mainline U-Boot support and kernel target configuration. by @okrc in armbian/build#9366radxa-e54c: board config: remove wayland-sessions-mask extension. by @schwar3kat in armbian/build#9351Refactor mesa-vpu extension: add architecture-specific browser selection. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9347Remove Rockchip gpio patch, already applied upstream. by @tparys in armbian/build#9368Restore qemu performance fix for Ubuntu Noble. by @tparys in armbian/build#9371Restructured qcom/sm8550/ayn directory. by @Squishy123 in armbian/firmware#117Rock 5B Plus: Add GPIO names to edge dts. by @JohnTheCoolingFan in armbian/build#9348Support BTRFS on NanoPi R3S-LTS. by @clarkmcc in armbian/build#9343View the full article

Dear All, First I would like to thanks all the contributors to armbian, What a great OS for our small SBC ! Context: I run succesfully latest Armbian on a X9T 4K TV Box (amlogic s912) from SD Card 2GB (following instructions here The Problem: I would like to run armbian from emmc (16GB on this box) for better reliability and performance. So, I run the install-aml.sh script, I had some error (no boot.ini ...), but the process seems to finish successfully Next Reboot: It's seems my boot partition is Not OK ... something missing ... For reference See bellow for reference the succesfull boot from the sdcard If I boot from SDCard, I can inspect the /boot and root partition on emmc, everything seems ok On the emmc partition, the /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf is correctly modified: extlinux.conf LABEL Armbian LINUX /Image INITRD /uInitrd #FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxbb-p200.dtb #FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxl-s905x-p212.dtb #FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxl-s905w-tx3-mini.dtb FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxm-q200.dtb #FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-g12a-x96-max.dtb #FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-g12b-odroid-n2.dtb append root=LABEL=ROOT_EMMC rootflags=data=writeback console=ttyAML0,115200n8 console=tty0 rw no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles And the disk partion on the emmc fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk1 Disk /dev/mmcblk1: 14.64 GiB, 15724445696 bytes, 30711808 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disklabel type: dos Disk identifier: 0x09170000 Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type /dev/mmcblk1p1 1953792 2953215 999424 488M c W95 FAT32 (LBA) /dev/mmcblk1p2 2955264 30711807 27756544 13.2G 83 Linux If you can help me .... Thx in advance Nico

Have you tried the install instructions and build from here: https://www.armbian.com/amlogic-s9xx-tv-box/

TV Box Status Information Template Version 1.0 TV Box Name (example: TX3 mini): T9 CPU (example: amlogic s905w): RK3328 Armbian build file name: Armbian_community_25.11.0-trunk.367_Rk3318-box_trixie_current_6.12.54_minimal.img DTB file used: rockchip/rk3318-box.dtb Kernel Version: 6.12.56-current-rockchip64 Distribution Installed (focal, buster, etc): trixie Working Ethernet (Yes/No):Yes Max Ethernet Speed that works (100/1000): 100 Max Does wifi work (Yes/No): Yes 2/5 Does bluetooth work (Yes/No): Yes Does HDMI audio work (Yes/No): Yes - after last update , (also analog and spdif ports are available - not tested). Additional Comments (provide any additional information you feel is important): IR Receiver yes 5 Digit display working: yes MASKROM PINS for recovery flashing available on the back side. SOC RK3328 RAM 4Gx4 D9PQL VFD DRIVER FD6551 WLAN CHIP SP6330 32 GB EMMc KLMBG2JENB VT RT9045 vfd.conf rk3318-t9.dtso Log android gpio T9.txt

Hello. I have this MX10 Box S android TV box, it works well with the latest Armbian community build (Armbian_community_25.8.0-trunk.309_Rk322x-box_bookworm_current_6.12.35_minimal.img). However, I have this specific binary that is 64bit that I would like to run on my box and this build of armbian is 32bit only. Is there a 64bit build of armbian for rk322x anywhere? Thanks!

Yes @Nick A. Tried that also. Copilot mentioned this to me: 🟦 If you want to keep fighting this board… I can help you explore: - FEL mode flashing - Using the vendor Android recovery to write eMMC - Dumping the vendor kernel and trying to boot it - Porting the vendor MMC driver (very advanced) But I want to be honest with you: none of these paths are easy, and none guarantee success. Now, I asked it to elaborate on the idea: Let’s unpack this in a way that actually makes sense, Brow — because FEL sounds simple (“just plug in USB and flash it”), but on H618 TV boxes it becomes a whole different beast. I’ll keep it clean, structured, and honest. --- 🟦 Why FEL mode sounds easy On paper, FEL is Allwinner’s built‑in USB recovery mode: - You connect the box to a PC - Press a button or short two pads - The SoC enters FEL - You use sunxi-fel to upload U‑Boot or write eMMC In theory, it’s the “ultimate backdoor” for fixing a broken board. --- 🟥 Why FEL is complicated on your specific device Your Transpeed 8K618‑T is not a dev board. It’s a mass‑produced TV box with: - No FEL button - No exposed pads - No documentation - No schematic - No guarantee the USB port even supports FEL - Vendor boot ROM sometimes disables FEL - USB port may be wired through a hub or switch - Some boxes require opening the case and shorting tiny test pads - Some require holding reset while powering - Some require UART strap pins - Some require a special cable - Some simply do not support FEL at all So the first complication is: You don’t know how to enter FEL on this board. --- 🟥 Second complication: FEL only gives you RAM access FEL lets you: - Upload a U‑Boot binary into RAM - Execute it - Use that U‑Boot to access eMMC But here’s the catch: You must provide a U‑Boot binary that supports your hardware. Mainline U‑Boot does not support: - Your weird SD wiring - Your PMIC - Your DRAM timing - Your eMMC layout - Your HDMI - Your regulators Vendor U‑Boot does, but: - You don’t have the vendor U‑Boot binary - You don’t have the vendor DRAM init code - You don’t have the vendor MMC driver - You don’t have the vendor DTB So even if FEL works, you still need a working U‑Boot image to upload — and we don’t have one. --- 🟥 Third complication: writing eMMC through FEL is slow and fragile Even if you get FEL working and even if you get a working U‑Boot: - Writing eMMC over FEL is extremely slow - If the connection drops, you brick the device - You must manually partition eMMC - You must manually install boot0, boot1, U‑Boot, DTB, rootfs - You must manually fix extlinux.conf - You must manually fix environment variables This is not like flashing a Raspberry Pi. It’s more like doing open‑heart surgery with a butter knife. --- 🟥 Fourth complication: your board’s MMC subsystem is already unstable We’ve already seen: - SD card hangs - MMC controller wedges - Linux freezes on /dev/mmcblk* - Armbian initramfs fails - MiniArch freezes - Vendor kernel is the only thing that works If the MMC hardware is unstable under Linux, it may also be unstable under FEL‑booted U‑Boot. Meaning: Even if FEL works, you might not be able to write eMMC reliably. --- 🟦 So why did I say FEL is complicated? Because on a proper Allwinner dev board, FEL is easy. But on a cheap TV box with undocumented wiring, FEL becomes a puzzle with these problems: | Problem | Why it matters | |--------|----------------| | No FEL button | You don’t know how to enter FEL | | Unknown test pads | You may need to open the board | | Vendor may disable FEL | Some boxes block FEL in BOOT0 | | USB wiring unknown | FEL may not work on the exposed port | | Need vendor U‑Boot | Mainline U‑Boot won’t boot your hardware | | Need vendor DRAM init | Otherwise RAM won’t initialize | | Need vendor MMC driver | Otherwise eMMC won’t be writable | | MMC hardware unstable | Even FEL‑booted U‑Boot may hang | This is why FEL is not a magic fix here. --- 🟩 Could we try FEL anyway? Yes — if you want, I can guide you through: - Checking if FEL is available - Finding the FEL pads - Using sunxi-fel - Dumping BOOT0 - Dumping vendor U‑Boot - Rebuilding a hybrid U‑Boot - Flashing eMMC manually But I want you to understand the reality: It’s a research project, not a guaranteed solution. --- 🟦 If you want to try FEL, I can walk you through step 1 right now Step 1 is simple: Connect the box to your PC via USB‑A to USB‑A cable, then power it on. On your PC, run: ` sunxi-fel version ` If it prints something → FEL works. If it says “no device found” → we need to try hardware tricks. Just tell me if you want to go down this path.

Inspired by the incredible work @jock and @ilmich have done to make the RK322x platform stable on mainline Linux, I decided to tackle the application side of things. My goal was to turn these "e-waste" TV boxes into fully functional, low-latency Android Auto head units for our cars. This fork of OpenAuto is built as one of my "Is it possible to turn this into that?" projects. It turned out to be one heck of a nightmare to pull off, but at the same time a lot of fun because I can see the potential of these TV Boxes as something you can actually put in your car and turn into a usable head unit! System Requirements Target Device: RK322x TV Box (e.g., MXQ Pro 4K). OS: Armbian Bookworm or Trixie (Kernel 6.1+ recommended). RAM: 1GB recommended. FFMPEG Installed: This build requires a specific build of ffmpeg that can be found here. Release: v2.0.0-alpha This release represents a major architectural overhaul. I have removed heavy dependencies (PulseAudio, QtAudio, GStreamer) in favor of a lean, direct-to-hardware pipeline using RtAudio (ALSA) and FFmpeg v4l2_request. Download: https://github.com/Harleythetech/openauto-rk3229-armbian/releases Technical Details Video Engine: Switched from GStreamer to a custom FFmpeg + V4L2-Request backend. Leverages the v4l2drmprime patch set for Zero-Copy rendering. Enables full hardware H.264 decoding on Rockchip stateless decoders. Result: Stable 1080p 60fps stream on a 1GB RAM device. Audio Overhaul: Replaced PulseAudio and QtAudio with RtAudio. This creates a direct, low-latency path to the ALSA hardware driver. Display: Targets linuxfb (Framebuffer) by default instead (eglfs and ffmpeg have issues when you run them together due to DRM master lock) Configuration This release requires a specific ALSA configuration to allow audio mixing (dmix) without PulseAudio. Create/Edit /etc/asound.conf: pcm.!default { type asym playback.pcm "dmix_hdmi" capture.pcm "plug_null" } ctl.!default { type hw card 0 } pcm.plug_null { type plug slave.pcm "null" } pcm.dmix_hdmi { type dmix ipc_key 1024 ipc_perm 0666 slave { pcm { type hw card 0 device 0 } format S16_LE rate 48000 channels 2 period_size 512 buffer_size 4096 } bindings { 0 0 1 1 } } Known Issues Invisible Cursor: The mouse cursor works but is currently invisible when the FFmpeg video backend is active (rendering layer order issue). Backend Fallback: In rare edge cases where DRM initialization fails, the app may incorrectly default to Qt software output. Probably more, i haven't tested it that much Development Status: Active & Seeking Contributors Currently, I am the sole maintainer focusing on the RK322x platform (specifically the RK3229). I am actively looking for developers interested in expanding support to other devices (such as RK3328, RK3399, or Allwinner H3/H6). If you have experience with C++, Qt, or V4L2/DRM and want to help turn these TV boxes into capable head units, contributions are highly welcome! Repository: https://github.com/Harleythetech/openauto-rk3229-armbian Credits: @jock and @ilmich for ffmpeg patches and the csc-armbian-for-rk322x-tv-box-boards opencardev for openauto and aasdk

This is required to use Armbian on the amlogic TV boxes. Enabling multiboot is one of the steps on the install instructions.

Have you used Armbian on other amlogic TV Boxes? I would never recommend using an amlogic TV Box as a mini pc. The graphical performance is poor. See the FAQ for TV boxes pined in this forum.

I put extra dtb files that I download on /boot/amlogic . For example I find that devmfc uses meson-sm1-ac2xx-generic.dtb on /boot/dtb/amlogic. So I copy it to Armbian boot partition on dtb/amlogic/meson-sm1-ac2xx-generic.dtb Then I edit extlinux/extlinux.conf label Armbian_community kernel /Image initrd /uInitrd fdt /dtb/amlogic/meson-sm1-ac2xx-generic.dtb append root=UUID=7dc5c0a3-acfc-4d51-a066-6c14d983a9de rootflags=data=writeback console=ttyAML0,115200n8 console=tty0 rw no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles I also test with other dtb files ad of course with the stock (default) image of Armbian just when donwload it, I use balenaetcher to write image on sd-card put it on a usb with sd-card reader and boot the tvbox, but doesn't work at all. The u-boot that I use is the u-boot-s905x3 that I copy to a directory and rename as u-boot.ext and then copy It to /boot. I oly try to run Armbian Systems from here → https://www.armbian.com/amlogic-s9xx-tv-box/ And I find devmfc when I search on google for " Debain s905x tv boxes" → thiss ystem works perfect, I only need to put on sd-card and put the sd-card on the usb with the sd-card reader and Tv Box shows HKSERIES and then go enter on the system devmfc. But I want some graphical friendly image to test the performance of tvbox as mini pc and because this I try to install xfce version of armbian. Thanks.

I have installed Armbian community images several times on different tv boxes that have an Amlogic S905x3, and usually there was no sound ♫. I wanted to get sound out of the tv box. So, I purchased a generic USB sound card audio dongle from Aliexpress for about $2 to $3 USD. (see attached photo). The USB audio device is described in Linux as a Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec (USB PnP Sound Device device 0 USB Audio), and when you run the command lsusb you will see the id numbers 08bb:2902. However, the specific hardware chip in the device that you receive may be different. I updated the databases for repositories by running sudo apt update -y and installed necessary packages to support the USB audio device and to use a graphical desktop such as XFCE4, for example: sudo apt install -y smplayer alsa-base alsa-oss alsa-tools alsa-utils alsamixergui pulseaudio pavucontrol pavumeter You can use smplayer or vlc or another as long as it is modern media player or audio player. Now make a backup copy of these two text files /etc/modules and /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf and save the backup copies in your home directory. Without quotes, edit the text file /etc/modules and write “snd-usb-audio” at the end of the file. Also, edit the text file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf and change a few things. Put a hash # symbol in front of every “options snd-usb-audio index=-2” that you see in the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf . I found two of them. Add these two lines of text to the bottom of /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf without quotes. "alias snd-card-0 snd-usb-audio" "options snd-usb-audio index=0" Make sure that your user is in the 'audio' group. Run the usermod command against a regular user (not root) that you want to use often. And reboot. sudo usermod -a G audio {username here} sudo reboot Login to the graphical desktop, open the volume control program by clicking on the panel Applications, Multimedia, PulseAudio Volume Control. Click the Configuration tab at the far right of the volume control program and change the profile to Analog Stereo. * Important – now connect a headset, earphone, or amplifier to the 3.5mm (⅛’’) 🎧 headphone receptacle on the USB audio dongle and play some sounds, music or youtube. You can use wav audio files in the directory /usr/share/sounds/alsa/ if you don't have an internet connection.

I've got this Android TV stick: https://shopee.com.my/RUBY-Smart-TV-24-Inch-Android-TV-Murah-TV-32-Inch-WiFi-4K-HDR-LED-Television-WiFi-Youtube-Netfli-i.1246310125.27851733843 Tried to run a progressive web app (PWA) and just learned that PWA is not supported by Android TV OS. I've found that since it's just a SBC, I can install any other OS on it and stumbled upon Armbian. Since I'm new, I would like to know what images is supported with this board and any related guides to install it. This board has 1 full HDMI port, 1 USB type A port for data, and 1 USB type C port for power only (this is just my assumption). No SD card slot. I just need it to be able to run a modern and latest browser to run the PWA. Thanks for all the help 😀

Hello - if someone get this type of TV Box from ebay (10€ ) - and dont have an GoogleAccount or do not want use the ADB way. The switch is located in one corner but not soldered. Use a small cable to put GND from end of arrow where the pointing of arrow in picture - to do the reset - (during restart just hold some seconds and device did start from SD-Card -) This device also features a RX/TX -Console and Jtag Interface - you find it if you take closer look.

Hi, after reading the very entertaining thread regarding the BPI-W2 and the following opening of the bsp-kernel on github, I became curious and when prices dropped for the Lake-1-TV-Box, I decided to play around with it. Without very much documentation there was a bunch of trial and error and still many things are not absolutely clear to me, but finally I could boot an armbian build today: _ _ _ | | __ _| | _____ / | | | / _` | |/ / _ \ | | | |__| (_| | < __/ | | |_____\__,_|_|\_\___| |_| Welcome to ARMBIAN 5.68 user-built Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS 4.9.119-rtd1295 System load: 1.49 0.74 0.31 Up time: 3 min Memory usage: 4 % of 1631MB IP: CPU temp: 46°C Usage of /: 11% of 7.2G [ General system configuration (beta): armbian-config ] New to Armbian? Check the documentation first: https://docs.armbian.com Thank you for choosing Armbian! Support: www.armbian.com This is still connected over the serial port and completely untested. I had to use the strange chained double-u-boot and load kernel and dtb manually (from raw sd card sectors), so it is not even close to alpha. But it seems, that this can be improved. I plan to make a repeatable build config, but do not expect some really usable stuff anytime soon. The situation with the lack of mainline support was already discussed in the other thread and the future does not look very bright here. This is more or less a personal playground at the moment. But if anyone is interested, you can leave comments or questions here. Sticky part (updated 03-03-2019): RTD1295-Devices: Tested: Lake 1 Home Cloud TV Box Untested: Beelink SEA 1, Zidoo X9s, Zidoo X8, Zidoo X10, Probox2 AVA, WD My Cloud Home, ... All development and tests thus far have been done on the Lake-1-TV-Box. It can not be ruled out, that the other boxes have other u-boot-versions/-configurations. Prerequisites: Mandatory: Serial connection soldered to the PCB (to reach the u-boot-shell) and a suitable terminal software. Further information here: https://en.opensuse.org/HCL:Lake1 (I can not confirm that „SD rescan“ does not work. Only „fatls“ and „fatload“ never worked for me, that’s why raw sector reads are used.) Recommended: Access to a Windows-PC, a USB-male-to-male-cable and the knowledge to re-flash the device by yourself. If you are not comfortable in doing this, DON’T DO IT!!! YOU CAN BRICK YOUR DEVICE FOREVER !! Current installation process (booting from SD-Card): Build a full-OS-image with armbian selecting „lake1“ from this fork: https://github.com/Staars/build. This will create an image with kernel image and dtb written to sectors before the root partition. The u-boot-build of armbian is not used. Write the image (using etcher) to an SD-card. For the moment we will not touch the eMMC of the target device and therefore will work as non-destructive as possible. This might change in the future and it should be no problem to implement a eMMC-only solution, but at the moment there is no solution in sight, that would let you dual-boot Android and Linux. Create a terminal connection to the serial pins of your target device and intercept the boot process immediately after power up to reach the first u-boot-shell. Now we have to edit the BOOTCMD the following way: env edit bootcmd sd read $kernel_loadaddr 800 954a; sd read $fdt_loadaddr a440 5d; env set bootargs earlycon=uart8250,mmio32,0x98007800 console=ttyS0,115200 noinitrd root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootfs=ext4 init=/sbin/init; b2ndbc; bootr env save This is a relatively harmless operation and can be reversed with the insertion of 'bootr' in step 2. The Android-installation on the eMMC stays untouched. 4. Now at every boot the device will initialize the SD (which can fail!!), load the image and dtb, change the bootargs and call the second u-boot, which then will (hopefully) boot the kernel. U-boot: At the moment u-boot will be build, but not used. Because of bootloader encryption this will likely stay that way. We can build the fsbl-parts, but without the proper encryption the boot stops, when the first part (hw_setting) is loaded. A separated u-boot-fork at https://github.com/Staars/u-boot-rtd is used for the armbian build, but that does not really matter. We must use the vendor-u-boot and we can not do real scripting (no RUN-command) but only chaining of commands. Kernel: The starting point from Sinovoip was labeled 4.9.119, but this is very likely not the whole story. Some parts are even newer and some are probably older, given the fact that git-cherry-picking showed possible updates when used with the stable linux-4.9-branch below tag:4.9.119. The additional phoenix drivers were partly integrated in the kernel-fork on https://github.com/Staars/linux-kernel-rtd/tree/latest_patched as an extra folder to keep them in one place. If there should be really an adoption of this platform in the future, it might be a good idea to go the other way around and merge the soc-specific parts into a generic linux-4.9.-fork. This is a bit of work, but it should be possible. The fork is currently patched to 4.9.174 New kernel fork started at https://github.com/Staars/linux-stable/tree/linux-4.19.y (not 4.20 because of LTS) and armbian build config updated. DTS/DTB: This is a minimal changed version for the banana-pi w2. Bluecore.audio: I do not really know if this (audio firmware?) is useful outside of Android. It is written to the SD-Image (directly behind the DTB), but not loaded. What works: -SATA-port (incl. booting with /root on SSD with bootarg 'root=/dev/sataa1') -WLAN (onboard 8821AU), but there are very short freezes every few seconds -simple software install (i.e. OMV) -reboot/restart works, but can take some time -bluetooth What does NOT work: -bluetooth -halt/restart Things to do: -waiting for someone, who confirms, that this is repeatable on other setups -working on the DTS/DTB -test Ethernet, USB -HDMI-in/-out or graphics in general (very low priority for me) -eMMC-only-install (must check first, where it is safe to write data) -test 4.19 (functional regression expected) Board_Pics:

There's no armbian community image available to this device, don't flash images from other users, you will need to build your images, for tv-box it's all at your own risk, build your armbian image by applying this custom files use this DTS