Allwinner H6

[Werner]

On 6/11/2021 at 2:49 PM, eric971 said:

My box have a 4gb ram ?!!

No, it does not. If your box was advertised with 4GB of memory then you have been scammed. The H6 SoC can only handle up to 3GB max. Everything beyond is fake.

[balbes150]

ver 20210614 kernel 5.10.43

 

the kernel config has changed significantly. the core is now common to all rk3399\rk3328\jetson-nano\h6

[eric971]

Hi,

thank you for the answers.

Bests regards.

[Joel Mercedes]

On 6/11/2021 at 8:49 AM, eric971 said:

Hi,

I use the "hexdump" u-boot-sunxi-with-spl-h6-noname.bin file and the balbe's 150 Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_bullseye_current_5.9.0_desktop.img.xz image with my H6 tvbox and all works fine. I use the sun50i-h6-tanix-tx6.dtb. The wifi, hdmi video and sound are working but the amount of ram memory is only 3gb (2gb + 1gb for the swap). My box have a 4gb ram ?!!

But the Armbian_21.05.0-trunk_Aw-h6-tv_focal_current_5.10.27_xfce_desktop.img.xz don't works.

I try to compile the u-boot and the spl.bin file don't works. What options do i choose for this compilation ?

I have choose plat = sun50i_h6 for arm-trusted-firmware, and tanix_tx6_defconfig with crust to obtain scp, and tanix_tx6_defconfig with u-boot.

 

Can Hexdump explain to me what is wrong ?

 

Can someone explain to me how to transfer the os from sd card to tvbox memory flash ? There is no nand-sata-install option in the armbian-config menu.

 

Thank.

u-boot-sunxi-with-spl-h6-noname.bin 577.54 kB · 1 download

 

To install system from the sd card to the mmc memory, I used this bash file.

so i have used this and work for me,

but in my case I had a backup of the original system, and I repaired it several times to be able to install it in those two scripts,
Remember that you must have a backup so that you do not damage the equipment.files.zip

[gio]

Hi all

i'm new to TvBoxes world and to Linux in general: i would like to ask:

what are the differences between these 2 "branch". I'm speaking about buster version to install on a T95 Max.

 

https://users.armbian.com/balbes150/arm-64/

 

https://users.armbian.com/balbes150/aw-h6-tv/

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by gio

[SteeMan]

While there are other differences, based on what you have described the biggest difference for you is that the "arm-64" builds are no longer maintained.  Those builds from October 2020 are the last that will be made.  Whereas the "aw-h6-tv" builds are being currently maintained by balbes150 and are current with the latest kernel patch releases.

[unmesh]

On 3/4/2021 at 9:04 AM, MBB said:

I am pleased to report the 20210303 images (I tested Focal) work great (copying to EMMC using standard Armbian method) on the T95 Mini box.  FYI, this is my favorite TV box as it is small, has a nice enclosure and good thermal properties (CPU usually around 50-55 degrees).  And it is available < $20 (USD) on Alibaba in small quantities.

 

@MBB

I ordered one of these from Amazon to try out with hirsute.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have to edit any files since that seems to have worked for you. I can always try focal too.

 

Flashed the hirsute image to a 8GB microSD card and the box booted right up though the 4K LG TV it is connected to flickers/tears. I got all the way through entering setup information and could see the XFCE screen which is still not stable

 

After doing some additional reading, I added the following to /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf which fixed the flickering at initial boot

Quote

drm_kms_helper.edid_firmware=HDMI-A-1:edid/1920x1080.bin video=HDMI-A-1:1920x1080@60

 

In XFCE, I managed to get into Applications -> Settings -> Display and changed the setting to 1080p which fixed that too.

 

The remaining thing is that the graphical splash screen where it asks for the password at login (or after logout from XFCE) is in a weird resolution.

 

Thanks

Edited August 3, 2021 by unmesh
Status updates provided

[unmesh]

Wanted to add that I purchased a HDMI to DVI cable and hooked up the T95 Mini to a 1920x1080 PC monitor after reversing the change to /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

 

Everything works fine now.

 

Hopefully this extract from dmesg output means the flash is eMMC and I don't have to open the box to check :-)

 

[    5.007627] mmc1: new high speed MMC card at address 0001
[    5.031035] mmcblk1: mmc1:0001 MAG2GC 14.6 GiB
[    5.035956] mmcblk1boot0: mmc1:0001 MAG2GC partition 1 4.00 MiB
[    5.042251] mmcblk1boot1: mmc1:0001 MAG2GC partition 2 4.00 MiB
 

[gio]

Hi, i use this image (Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_buster_current_5.9.0) in my T95 Max 2GB-16GB (it use nand, not emmc). All is working except blue usb port (it is not enabled at all, even 5V is not present), so i decided to try new image "Armbian_21.08.0-trunk_Aw-h6-tv_buster_current_5.10.53" with this configuration:

LABEL Armbian

  LINUX /boot/Image

  INITRD /boot/uInitrd

  FDT /boot/dtb/allwinner/sun50i-h6-tanix-tx6.dtb

  APPEND root=UUID=cedc9b9e-e8cd-4d09-a883-c69de8b0b477 console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty0 mem=2048M video=HDMI-A-1:e rootflags=data=writeback rw no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 bootsplash.bootfile=bootsplash.armbian

 

It start but only 1GB of ram is detected instead of 2GB... I'm missing something? With previous image ram amount is reported correctly.

 

[Crypto_Dino]

Hello im new in flashing linux on devices and i have a question about my tv box
its a Q Plus 4+32GB 6K Quad Core android 9.
I tried to install Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_bullseye_current_5.9.0_desktop.img.xz on it but when I boot up while pressing the resett button nothing happens.

I pressed the button over a minute but nothing than silence, not even hdmi connection.

The configs in extlinux.conf were:

# aw h6
FDT /dtb/allwinner/sun50i-h6-tanix-tx6.dtb
APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 video=HDMI-A-1:e
#APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 mem=2048M video=HDMI-A-1:e
And I used the u-boot-s905x2-s922 and u-boot-s905x-s912 renamed them to u-boot.ext but both didnt work.

also here are some images of the box inside

https://imgur.com/b3p7N6l

https://imgur.com/zjZZjtT

https://imgur.com/F2IIk5b

https://imgur.com/Ov0Rs7T

and the box itself

https://imgur.com/490D0If

 

Hopefully someone can help me with that, thanks.

[SteeMan]

@Crypto_Dino I'm not sure which instructions you are following, but you aren't using the correct latest builds for the h6, nor following instructions correctly.  The latest builds by balbes150 for the Allwinner H6 are located here:  https://users.armbian.com/balbes150/aw-h6-tv/

As for instructions you mention renaming files to u-boot.ext.  That is an instruction for Amlogic CPUs not the Allwinner H6.

[Guest]

something wrong when i install in emmc

https://imgur.com/a/JbUTAmI

[Crypto_Dino]

@SteeMan
Thank you but now my problem is when i burn the image on a sd with etcher i cant see the files inside 
i also followed this turtorial https://i12bretro.github.io/tutorials/0008.html but nothing did work.
Im using a 32gb sd card
and here is an image of the sd card space https://imgur.com/HYSFQMa

im not sure but i think i cant open it because the first 16mb arent used or sommething
 

I hope you can help me with that probelm. Thanks

[SteeMan]

@Crypto_Dino if I recall correctly balbes has moved to using ext3 files systems for his builds.  So you will need something that can read a ext3/linux file system in order to see the contents of the image on your sd card

[SteeMan]

@Crypto_Dino. Also, the instructions you linked to are at least two years old. Many items listed there have changed.  For example the uenv.txt file is no longer used and instead the boot process uses the standard extlinux.conf file.

Unfortunately I don't have much familiarity with H6 based tv boxes so I'm not able to provide a set of directions for you.

[SteeMan]

14 hours ago, fatbill27 said:

something wrong when i install in emmc

https://imgur.com/a/JbUTAmI

Please describe your problem and what you have done.  Also, I can't see the linked image, please attach any relevant images as an attachment to your post.

[Crypto_Dino]

@SteeMan
I found a other way to install it

But still thank you for trying to help me

[Dan MacDonald]

Hi Balbes150

 

I would like to use the cedrus hw video decoder to play 4K h264 videos with mpv on my T95 Max.

 

Before I head down that road, does your H6 kernel already include these patches for Linux 5.10:

 

https://github.com/LibreELEC/LibreELEC.tv/tree/master/projects/Allwinner/patches/linux

 

jernej and ubobrov say they are required to get cedrus video decoding working. All the patches with 'media' in the name and patch 31 for 10bit HEVC.

 

Maybe we could package a video decoding kernel if you don't want to include these in the main kernel?

 

Thanks

[balbes150]

All patches that do not conflict are included.

[jernej]

6 hours ago, Dan MacDonald said:

I would like to use the cedrus hw video decoder to play 4K h264 videos with mpv on my T95 Max.

Starting 5.12, no kernel patches are needed for H264. With 5.14 (due in about a week or two), only HEVC needs patches. Other supported codecs (MPEG2, VP8, H264) do not.

 

You still have to make sure that you have enough CMA memory available. 4k videos can be pretty demanding in worst case. I would suggest 256 MiB just to be on the safe side.

[Erario]

On 4/29/2021 at 1:13 PM, drookie said:

Hello,

 

I have a bunch of Allwinner H6 boxes branded as "MX10Pro 6K" (pic easily searchable in google), which seem to be a derivative of Tanix. What's more complicated that I have'em of two different hardware revisions (don't really know what the vendor revision tag is, but they look slightly different and work radically different). So, say I have 1 box of older "A" revision and 10 of more recent "B". I run them with sun50i-h6-tanix-tx6.dtb profile on latest Armbian_21.05.0-trunk_Aw-h6-tv_buster_current_5.10.27
 image. The "A" revision works just fine, but "B" one has only one of 4 USB ports working.

 

Any chance I can make the other 3 work ? What info should I provide to diagnose why they don't work ?

 

Thanks.

Same issue here with MX10 Pro model B and the official latest Armbian TVBox image, only one usb working.
Try with this image and all the four usb port work fine, even if XR819 internal wifi will not work anyway: https://yadi.sk/d/zaTis6kklxUhug

[Willy Moto]

Hi all,

 

I am new to the Armbian Linux.

Just managed to flash the latest trunk image [ Armbian_21.08.0-trunk_Aw-h6-tv_focal_current_5.10.53.img.xz ] to a MicroSD, and successfully booting up on my TV box:

===========

 

Tanix TX6 Mini

 

CPU:   Allwinner H6

RAM:  2GB

Storage:   16GB emmc

MicroSD:    32Gb SDHC SanDisk Ultra A1 Class10

 

Image download from:    https://users.armbian.com/balbes150/aw-h6-tv/

 

===========

 

 

I was running Armbian on MicroSD.  After connected to wired LAN network, the logon screen prompted me to upgrade some security packages.

 

I tried to run the command "sudo apt update", and then "sudo apt upgrade".

Everything seemed to be smooth during the upgrade, but, I can no longer boot into Armbian after system reboot.

 

I took out the MicroSD card & was able to boot into the Android OS of the TV box. 

Hence, I presume while the upgrade process was smooth, but something got overwritten during the upgrade and Armbian Linux could not boot anymore.

 

 

Is it OK to perform apt upgrade on a "trunk image"?  Or, should I check something else to troubleshoot further?  

Your advice is really appreciated.   Thanks.

 

NB:   Upon checking other Armbian image repository,  trunk build is comparable to nightly image so there would be no support.  Being a TV box does not help either as it's not supported hardware. 

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Willy Moto
Clarify after some checking

[Willy Moto]

On 8/25/2021 at 9:46 PM, Willy Moto said:

I was running Armbian on MicroSD.  After connected to wired LAN network, the logon screen prompted me to upgrade some packages.

 

I tried to run the command "sudo apt update", and then "sudo apt upgrade".

Everything seemed to be smooth during the upgrade, but, I can no longer boot into Armbian after system reboot.

 

I took out the MicroSD card & was able to boot into the Android OS of the TV box. 

Hence, I presume while the upgrade process was smooth, but something got overwritten during the upgrade and Armbian Linux could not boot anymore

 

 

 

I think I found out the reason:   

It appears the culprit of failure to boot after  sudo apt upgrade  was due to upgrading the Kernel package [  linux-image-current-station ].

 

The Workaround for now is to freeze Kernel upgrade by  sudo armbian-config 

then select   System  =>  Freeze  (Disable Armbian kernel upgrades)

 

Afterwards:   running    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade   should be fine now, as the Kernel image upgrade process will be skipped.

 

 

[ILikeLinux]

can someone explain to me how to install armbian on my tv box https://www.ebay.de/itm/284291055548 

i searched for so long but i could not finde any video or a download link that helped me

so i just ask here

thanks

[drookie]

18 minutes ago, ILikeLinux said:

can someone explain to me how to install armbian on my tv box https://www.ebay.de/itm/284291055548

Depends on whether is has an umass port of any kind/form-factor. According to the photos I can get, - it does not. If I'm right from this point it's a reverse-engineering quest, rather than a merely undocumented Linux installation task.

[Willy Moto]

On 9/26/2021 at 8:47 PM, ILikeLinux said:

can someone explain to me how to install armbian on my tv box https://www.ebay.de/itm/284291055548 

i searched for so long but i could not finde any video or a download link that helped me

so i just ask here

thanks

 

The TV box looks like a Q-Plus TV box.

Please go through an earlier post in this discussion thread, as another user reported to have Armbian working but without wifi, bluetooth:

 

=================

 

I believe balbles150 already customized the AW-H6-TV box image to be bootable on all Allwinner H6 TV boxes which are compatible with Tanix TX6 model DTB.

You can simply use any SD card image flashing tool such as USBImager [ https://gitlab.com/bztsrc/usbimager ] to make a bootable SD card / Micro-SD card (depending on your TV box card slot) .

 

If the TV box is compatible with Tanix TX6 DTB,  it should boot Armbian from SD/Micro SD card directly. 

No need to tinker with the DTB configuration anymore with the latest image.

[charlesrg1]

Just a heads up I've a V96 Mini working fine. WIFI, 3GB of Ram, 32GB of Flash (+-44MB/s)

Just finished deploying OctoPrint into it. Happy with this little box. i wanted a PI but it's double the price.

 

[ILikeLinux]

Am 26.9.2021 um 18:52 schrieb Willy Moto:

 

The TV box looks like a Q-Plus TV box.

Please go through an earlier post in this discussion thread, as another user reported to have Armbian working but without wifi, bluetooth:

 

=================

 

I believe balbles150 already customized the AW-H6-TV box image to be bootable on all Allwinner H6 TV boxes which are compatible with Tanix TX6 model DTB.

You can simply use any SD card image flashing tool such as USBImager [ https://gitlab.com/bztsrc/usbimager ] to make a bootable SD card / Micro-SD card (depending on your TV box card slot) .

 

If the TV box is compatible with Tanix TX6 DTB,  it should boot Armbian from SD/Micro SD card directly. 

No need to tinker with the DTB configuration anymore with the latest image.

Wich armbian image i have to choose i tried the newest ones from Mega.nz and burned them with Rufus but all didnt work for me

[Willy Moto]

7 hours ago, ILikeLinux said:

Wich armbian image i have to choose i tried the newest ones from Mega.nz and burned them with Rufus but all didnt work for me

 

Try the URL hosted on official Armbian server ( the URL which ends with  armbian.com in the domain ),  posted by balbes150 in the 3rd post of this thread.

You may also find suggestion on tools for burning USB  aka  USBImager , as stated in my few posts back.

[dorin]

Hi, thanks for the great work.

Did I miss somehow the information about how to backup original android firmware? I booted from sd on a TX6, ran armbian-config but the only option I found was to burn image to flash, which I haven't done yet for obvious reasons (I'm not even sure yet if it's eMMC or NAND).