Armbian for H313 X96-Q LPDDR3 TV-Box

[sicxnull]

Currently working on a build for this device. It boots and is about 90% functional on 6.6 and 6.7 Kernel


https://github.com/sicXnull/armbian-build/tree/X96Q-TVBOX-LPDDR3

Working
- Desktop
- Ethernet
- Wifi

Not working

- DTS could use some work. Right now it does not detect internal EMMC so installing to EMMC is not an option. 
- Likely other things i've missed. 

I've uploaded two images to my git. 

Full w/Mate Desktop
Minimal/Server

Feel free to compile this yourself if you don't trust my images, it's encouraged. Changes are on the X96Q-TVBOX-LPDDR3 Branch

Full W/Desktop

./compile.sh build BOARD=x96q-tvbox BRANCH=current BUILD_DESKTOP=yes BUILD_MINIMAL=no EXPERT=yes KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no KERNEL_GIT=shallow RELEASE=bookworm

Minimal/Server

./compile.sh build BOARD=x96q-tvbox BRANCH=current BUILD_DESKTOP=no BUILD_MINIMAL=yes EXPERT=yes KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no KERNEL_GIT=shallow RELEASE=bookworm

 

[sicxnull]

Update - PR Merged https://github.com/armbian/build/pull/7101

Please use the main repo to compile this. I'd edit the OG post but i cannot for some reason
 

./compile.sh build BOARD=x96q BRANCH=current BUILD_DESKTOP=yes BUILD_MINIMAL=no EXPERT=yes KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no KERNEL_GIT=shallow RELEASE=bookworm

 

Edited August 20 by sicxnull

[svsruof]

How can I install this image on device? I recorded the image on an SD card, inserted it into the device, pressed the button in the AV input and turned on the power. The X96q splash screen appeared, quickly disappeared and nothing else happens.

[sicxnull]

Quote

How can I install this image on device? I recorded the image on an SD card, inserted it into the device, pressed the button in the AV input and turned on the power. The X96q splash screen appeared, quickly disappeared and nothing else happens.

Power off unit. Burn to SD card, insert SD card, power on.  You don't need to press the button in the AV port

Your board looks different and has a different ramchip. I'm assuming it's not the LPDDR3 version but i could be wrong. 

Edited August 26 by sicxnull

[عبدالملك]

Sir, I want to ask you if I need a computer and how to install the system exactly?

Edited August 27 by عبدالملك

[svsruof]

My device start with adnroid if i dont press the button

[bladyle]

Just tested your build and it working good. When I compiled with cinnamon there was a problem with cinnamon panels. 

I have noticed two problem only for now:

 - one of the usb ports don't work for me ( the one farther from sd card slot)

 - i have display flickering on 4k resolution, if lower resolution is selected no problem 

[Ciremya_]

Hello sicxnull,

 

I've been following your topic since the beginning as I bought the same Android STB and have also been trying to run it on Linux since August 14th !

 

With termux on the stock android there seems to be 2Gb of RAM, but on your Armbian “Minimal/Server” build I'm getting down to 914Mb.

 

On stock Android :

                total        used        free      shared     buffers
Mem:             1.9G        907M        1.0G        6.4M        524K
-/+ buffers/cache:           906M        1.0G
Swap:            1.4G        138M        1.3G

On your Armbian Build :

Any clues about this gap?
Is it because RAM is shared with graphics?

cya~

[sicxnull]

10 hours ago, bladyle said:

Just tested your build and it working good. When I compiled with cinnamon there was a problem with cinnamon panels. 

I have noticed two problem only for now:

 - one of the usb ports don't work for me ( the one farther from sd card slot)

 - i have display flickering on 4k resolution, if lower resolution is selected no problem 

Confirmed on my end too, only 1 of the USB ports work. Ill take a look at the dts. 

I honestly only tested on 1080p monitor, so the 4k thing never came up for me, ill see what i can find out. 

I'm no pro with building DTB's, and it's my hope others can contribute to this box and make it perfect, but i'll continue to learn and contribute as time goes on. 

 

 

5 hours ago, Ciremya_ said:

Hello sicxnull,

 

I've been following your topic since the beginning as I bought the same Android STB and have also been trying to run it on Linux since August 14th !

 

With termux on the stock android there seems to be 2Gb of RAM, but on your Armbian “Minimal/Server” build I'm getting down to 914Mb.

 

On stock Android :

                total        used        free      shared     buffers
Mem:             1.9G        907M        1.0G        6.4M        524K
-/+ buffers/cache:           906M        1.0G
Swap:            1.4G        138M        1.3G

On your Armbian Build :

Any clues about this gap?
Is it because RAM is shared with graphics?

cya~

Odd, i just fired up bookworm w/cinnamon. I will upload 24.11 6.6.44 to my repo or you can compile it yourself from the main armbian repo

Edited August 29 by sicxnull

[Nick A]

Hi sicxnull

I was looking at your DTS.. why is ehci0 and ohci0 disabled?

 

&ehci0 {

+ status = "disabled";

 

+&ohci0 {

+ status = "disabled";

+};

 

For your internel emmc you probably have to set the correct gpio. Check your original android DTS see if it's setting PF6 or another gpio PI16.

 

cd-gpios = <&pio 5 6 GPIO_ACTIVE_LOW>; /* PF6 */

cd-gpios = <&pio 8 16 GPIO_ACTIVE_LOW>;    /* PI16 */

 

Also,  if you install to emmc you might need this u-boot patch to boot armbian. Not sure if the H313/H616 has the same emmc boot problems as H618.

https://github.com/NickAlilovic/build/blob/main/patch/u-boot/u-boot-sunxi/107-sunxi_mmc-dec-f_max-to-12MHz-to-get-emmc-reliable.patch

Edited September 2 by Nick A

[sicxnull]

On 9/1/2024 at 4:29 PM, Nick A said:

Hi sicxnull

I was looking at your DTS.. why is ehci0 and ohci0 disabled?

 

&ehci0 {

+ status = "disabled";

 

+&ohci0 {

+ status = "disabled";

+};

Honestly, i took the dtb from a OPi Zero3 (i think) so that was likely disabled by default. i believe enabling will fix the USB issue listed above (will test and fix if so). Still learning here when it comes to customizing the DTS.
 

 

On 9/1/2024 at 4:29 PM, Nick A said:

For your internel emmc you probably have to set the correct gpio. Check your original android DTS see if it's setting PF6 or another gpio PI16.

 

cd-gpios = <&pio 5 6 GPIO_ACTIVE_LOW>; /* PF6 */

cd-gpios = <&pio 8 16 GPIO_ACTIVE_LOW>;    /* PI16 */

I will check this out, along with your other recommendations. Much appreciated! I opened this thread for feedback like this so the box can be 100% sometime in the future. 

 

Edited September 2 by sicxnull

[Nick A]

H313/H616 is very similar to H618. If you read the H618 thread you might find some useful information. 

Edited September 3 by Nick A

[jschwart]

I understand that the device tries to boot from SD card if it sees one over the internal flash? The internal flash stays intact in that case?

 

Is there a way to determine which X96-Q version one has without opening it up? Maybe though an adb shell?

[sicxnull]

 

4 hours ago, jschwart said:

I understand that the device tries to boot from SD card if it sees one over the internal flash? The internal flash stays intact in that case?

 

Yes it will boot from SD card first

 

 

4 hours ago, jschwart said:

Is there a way to determine which X96-Q version one has without opening it up? Maybe though an adb shell?

Easiest way os to just pop the cover off on the bottom, it's just held on by some clips and look at the board. 

[zra123]

Hello, I have X96Q 2\16 BA301-141 V5.1 DDR3L, miniarch starts and installs into memory, tried your images, according to uart it says, no ddr support. Help me start

[sicxnull]

This image is for LPDDR3

[Nick A]

You need to edit these patches or create your own. Then add them to the armbian build. 

 

u-boot:

https://github.com/warpme/minimyth2/blob/master/script/bootloaders/u-boot-h616/files/163-add-x96-q-ddr3-v5.1-defconfig.patch

 

Linux Kernel:

https://github.com/warpme/minimyth2/blob/master/script/kernel/linux-6.10/files/0651-arm64-dts-allwinner-h313-add-x96q-v5.1-TVbox.patch

 

 

 

Edited September 18 by Nick A

[sicxnull]

Been doing some digging the last few days and see that Miniarch has a fantastic setup for X96-q LPDDR3 so i ended up switching over to those DTS files with minimal changes needed

USB and EMMC both work now. No Wifi on edge, but will look into that further. 

Installing to EMMC will break it, will look into this. 

https://github.com/armbian/build/pull/7276

Will upload some builds to my fork. 
 

Edited September 18 by sicxnull

[Nick A]

Quote

Installing to EMMC will break it, will look into this. 

 

Have you tried Miniarch's EMMC patch?

https://github.com/warpme/minimyth2/blob/master/script/bootloaders/u-boot-h616/files/107-sunxi_mmc-dec-f_max-to-12MHz-to-get-emmc-reliable.patch

[sicxnull]

1 minute ago, Nick A said:

Have you tried Miniarch's EMMC patch?

 

No, but i'm about to 😎

Thanks @Nick A!

[going]

12 часов назад, Nick A сказал:

Have you tried Miniarch's EMMC patch?

https://github.com/warpme/minimyth2/blob/master/script/bootloaders/u-boot-h616/files/107-sunxi_mmc-dec-f_max-to-12MHz-to-get-emmc-reliable.patch

This is a bad patch.
The problem is different.

[Nick A]

Do you have any info on what the problem might be? 

[sicxnull]

2 hours ago, Nick A said:

Do you have any info on what the problem might be? 

yes, any feedback you have @going would be great. This board is like 95% ready to go at this point. solving EMMC boot would be huge 

[bladyle]

Quote

Been doing some digging the last few days and see that Miniarch has a fantastic setup for X96-q LPDDR3 so i ended up switching over to those DTS files with minimal changes needed

USB and EMMC both work now. No Wifi on edge, but will look into that further. 

Sound good. Will wait to upload some builds to test them although i need wifi so need stable kernel I guess.

[sicxnull]

2 minutes ago, bladyle said:

Sound good. Will wait to upload some builds to test them although i need wifi so need stable kernel I guess.

Should have some up tonight. 

[going]

23 часа назад, sicxnull сказал:

Installing to EMMC will break it, will look into this. 

https://github.com/armbian/build/pull/7276

You are incorrectly adding patches to the build system.
Patches should be extracted using the "git format-patch" command and should contain small explanations of what and for what reason these changes were made.

You should not add the patch somewhere in the middle of the series list.
This can lead to subsequent patches being applied incorrectly and becoming inapplicable.
As a result, we get a compilation error at best, or incorrectly compiled code at worst.

[going]

1 час назад, sicxnull сказал:

3 часа назад, Nick A сказал:

Do you have any info on what the problem might be? 

yes, any feedback you have @going would be great. This board is like 95% ready to go at this point. solving EMMC boot would be huge 

 

CONFIG_SUPPORT_EMMC_BOOT=y
CONFIG_SYS_MMCSD_RAW_MODE_U_BOOT_SECTOR=0x40
CONFIG_MMC_SUNXI_SLOT_EXTRA=2

This should be present in the default configuration for the device.

And please post the UART output if possible.
If that's not possible, then I won't be able to help.

[going]

18 часов назад, Nick A сказал:

Have you tried Miniarch's EMMC patch?

https://github.com/warpme/minimyth2/blob/master/script/bootloaders/u-boot-h616/files/107-sunxi_mmc-dec-f_max-to-12MHz-to-get-emmc-reliable.patch

This patch is bad.
It changes the general code and has an impact on other devices.
Armbian cannot afford such behavior.

 

I apologize for the short remark.

Most likely, the TV set-top box already has a boot code in eMMC on the boot0 partition.
This prevents the Armbian code, which is located on the first main section, from running.

[sicxnull]

34 minutes ago, going said:

You are incorrectly adding patches to the build system.
Patches should be extracted using the "git format-patch" command and should contain small explanations of what and for what reason these changes were made.

You should not add the patch somewhere in the middle of the series list.
This can lead to subsequent patches being applied incorrectly and becoming inapplicable.
As a result, we get a compilation error at best, or incorrectly compiled code at worst.

okay. thanks for the feedback. 

[sicxnull]

19 minutes ago, going said:

Most likely, the TV set-top box already has a boot code in eMMC on the boot0 partition.
This prevents the Armbian code, which is located on the first main section, from running.

Nope. Miniarch installs to EMMC fine. 

Either way, i'll figure it out.