Nick A Posted Saturday at 04:17 PM Posted Saturday at 04:17 PM @Rodrigo Campos The 20251226 build uses a newer kernel, but audio through the A/V out port is currently broken. I haven't had time to fix it yet, so if you don't need that port, feel free to use this version. 0 Quote
Brow Mosh Posted Saturday at 09:12 PM Posted Saturday at 09:12 PM On 2/5/2026 at 7:31 PM, Nick A said: Have you tried extracting your arndroid dts to find the gpio settings for emmc Yes @Nick A. Tried that also. On 2/5/2026 at 7:31 PM, Nick A said: (FEL) 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. 0 Quote
Nick A Posted Saturday at 11:03 PM Posted Saturday at 11:03 PM (edited) @Brow Mosh AI is wrong. Mainline supports - Your PMIC - Your DRAM timing - Your HDMI (Patches have been around for years but not accepted in mainline yet. I included it in my builds.) - Your regulators Supported in mainline but might need some dts changes. - Your weird SD wiring - Your eMMC layout ( Could be a gpio# issue) If you are booting into the kernel then I believe your SD is somewhat working. Maybe you need few tweaks to your dts or your DRAM settings are off. A failing or cheap SD card could also be your issue. Kernel boots Reaches userspace Shows login banner Without a DTS I can’t help you much. Also, can you post some boot logs. FEL over USB is your last option. It is possible. But I don't think your AI model will help much. I noticed with some AI models they will encourage you to quit when they can't find the correct information. The owner of the AI model wants you to pay for their deep learning version. Edited Sunday at 12:30 AM by Nick A 0 Quote
BoringName Posted 1 hour ago Posted 1 hour ago I've been trying to get the LCD working on my box. I've used Nicks image - Armbian-unofficial_25.05.0-trunk_X98h_bookworm_edge_6.12.11_xfce_desktop I've followed instructions for OpenVFD and tm16xx on these forums but both result in an Exec Format Error when I try to install the compiled module. From what I have read this is a version mismatch between the kernal and what the module was built with but when I compare uname -r with the vermagic of the module they match. I initially installed the linux headers from Nick's Github: linux-headers-edge-sunxi64_25.05.0-trunk_arm64_6.12.11. After I got the format error I tried installing headers from Armbian-config but get the same result. Make wouldn't work at all initially until I did a symlink between the relevant folders in usr/src and lib/modules. Maybe that stuffed something up? 0 Quote
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