How you can help test upcoming Armbian 26.02 images?

[Igor]

We are opening public testing for upcoming Armbian images. The goal is to verify that the right images are built and that basic functionality works before boards are moved to the main download pages.

You don’t need to be a developer. Simple testing and short reports are enough.

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1. Download testing images

Testing images are available here: https://fi.mirror.armbian.de/incoming/igorpecovnik/  Pick the image matching your board and choose desktop if applicable. 

Once image is confirmed working, the board will be:

• Moved to the main download pages
• Added to Armbian Imager

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2. Check that expected images exist

Before testing, please verify that:

• Your board is listed
• The expected image variants exist

If an image (variant) seems to be missing:

1. Check the release target definitions:
   https://github.com/armbian/armbian.github.io/tree/main/release-targets
2. If the image should exist, check build logs to see if it failed:
   https://github.com/armbian/os/actions/runs/21642728389

If you are unsure, report it anyway.

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3. Flash and boot

Flash the image using Armbian Imager: https://imager.armbian.com

Boot the board and check whether it reaches:

• Login prompt (CLI images)
• Desktop (Desktop images)

If the board does not boot, serial output or photos help.

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4. What to test

Please focus on basic functionality:

• Boot reliability and reboot
• Networking (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)
• Display and GPU, if applicable
• Installer and first-boot experience

Advanced features can wait. Stability comes first.

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5. UEFI ARM64 images

If your board might support UEFI on ARM64, please test those images on them. Working UEFI images allow us to reuse targets and reduce the number of generated images.

Reference:
https://github.com/armbian/armbian.github.io/blob/main/release-targets/reusable.yml

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6. Community-supported boards

Some boards are currently released as community-supported: https://github.com/armbian/community/releases 
We want to promote suitable boards to standard support which brings more image variants and much faster download. This requires:

• Confirmation that basic functionality works
• Send a PR to change status from .csc to .conf
• A community member willing to step up as maintainer

If you rely on such a board and want it promoted, this is the time to help.

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7. Reporting

When reporting test results, please include:

• Board model
• Image name and variant
• What works and what does not
• Logs or serial output if available

Even short reports like “Board X, image Y, boots and networking works” are useful.

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Thanks to everyone helping with testing. Early feedback directly improves the release quality!

[Igor]

What I have already tested:

 

• UEFI x86 KDE Neon, Gnome, Ubuntu minimal
• MusePI Pro Xfce
• Odroid M1 KDE Neon