Data

Tools

Indexes

Applications

Experiments

Awesome

An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.

https://github.com/christitustech/uboot-orangepi-rk3399


https://github.com/christitustech/uboot-orangepi-rk3399

Last synced: about 1 month ago
JSON representation

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

          
# uboot-orangepi-800



U-Boot 2022.04 bootloader package for the **Orange Pi 800** (Rockchip RK3399). Pre-built binaries sourced from Manjaro ARM 22.07. These were rebuilt based on this source, with a new dts and dtb as of 26.04.13 for use with arch linux arm. 



This package provides everything needed to boot: the bootloader images, a baseline `extlinux.conf`, and the `rk3399-orangepi-800.dtb` device tree (not included in the stock `linux-aarch64` package).



---



## Requirements



- An SD card (8GB or larger recommended)

- A host machine running Linux

- `parted`, `mkfs.fat`, `mkfs.ext4`, `bsdtar` (`libarchive`), `dd`, `blkid`

- The `uboot-orangepi-800` package built locally (see below)



---



# Automatic Install Scripts



Host machine with sdcard (8gb): *Note: Find sdX with `lsblk` and replace in the commands below.*



```

git clone https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/uboot-orangepi-rk3399

cd uboot-orangepi-rk3399

sudo ./install_sdcard.sh /dev/sdX

```



On Orange Pi 800 after first boot:



```

sudo ./install_emmc.sh

```



# MANUAL BUILD INSTRUCTIONS



No cross-compiler needed — ships pre-built binaries. The package targets `aarch64` but contains no compiled code, so build it on any Linux host with `--ignorearch`:



```bash

git clone https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/uboot-orangepi-rk3399

cd uboot-orangepi-rk3399

CARCH=aarch64 makepkg --ignorearch

```



This produces `uboot-orangepi-800-2022.04-1-aarch64.pkg.tar.zst` in the current directory. The `CARCH=aarch64` prefix ensures the package is tagged for the correct architecture regardless of the build host. Keep it there for the steps below.



> **Note**: `makepkg` is an Arch Linux tool. On non-Arch hosts, install it via your distro or use an Arch Linux container. Alternatively, on the OPi 800 itself after first boot you can run `makepkg` natively without `--ignorearch`.



---



## Install Arch Linux ARM on an SD Card



Replace **`sdX`** with your SD card device (e.g. `sdb`). Run all commands as **root**.



### Step 1 — Partition the SD card



> The boot partition must start at sector **62500** (~30 MB from the start) to leave room for the U-Boot images written directly to the raw device.



```bash

parted -s /dev/sdX mklabel gpt

parted -s /dev/sdX mkpart boot fat32 62500s 1GiB

parted -s /dev/sdX set 1 boot on

parted -s /dev/sdX mkpart root ext4 1GiB 100%

```



### Step 2 — Format and mount



```bash

mkfs.fat -F32 -n BOOT /dev/sdX1

mkfs.ext4 -L ROOT /dev/sdX2

mkdir -p boot root

mount /dev/sdX1 boot

mount /dev/sdX2 root

```



### Step 3 — Extract the Arch Linux ARM root filesystem



```bash

wget https://archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz

bsdtar -xpf ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz -C root

mv root/boot/* boot/

```



### Step 4 — Install bootloader files and configure boot



Extract the package onto the boot partition (installs `idbloader.img`, `u-boot.itb`, DTB, and `extlinux.conf`):



```bash

bsdtar -xf uboot-orangepi-800-*.pkg.tar.zst -C boot --strip-components=1 boot/

```



Patch `extlinux.conf` with the real root `PARTUUID`:



```bash

ROOT_PARTUUID=$(blkid -s PARTUUID -o value /dev/sdX2)

sed -i "s|root=/dev/mmcblk1p2|root=PARTUUID=${ROOT_PARTUUID}|" boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

```



Set up `/etc/fstab`:



```bash

BOOT_UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/sdX1)

ROOT_UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/sdX2)

printf "UUID=%s\t/boot\tvfat\tdefaults\t0 2\nUUID=%s\t/\text4\tdefaults\t0 1\n" \

  "$BOOT_UUID" "$ROOT_UUID" >> root/etc/fstab

```



### Step 5 — Flash U-Boot to the SD card



```bash

dd if=boot/idbloader.img of=/dev/sdX seek=64    conv=notrunc,fsync

dd if=boot/u-boot.itb    of=/dev/sdX seek=16384 conv=notrunc,fsync

```



### Step 6 — Copy package and unmount



```bash

mkdir -p root/home/alarm

cp uboot-orangepi-800-*.pkg.tar.zst root/home/alarm/

sync

umount boot root

```



---



## First Boot



1. Insert the SD card into the Orange Pi 800.

2. Connect an Ethernet cable.

3. Apply 5V USB-C power.



U-Boot finds `extlinux/extlinux.conf` on the boot partition and loads the kernel automatically.



Log in via SSH (use your router's DHCP table to find the IP) or serial console (**ttyS2, 1500000 baud, 8N1**):



| Account | Username | Password |

|---|---|---|

| User | `alarm` | `alarm` |

| Root | `root` | `root` |



---



## Post-Boot Setup



Initialize pacman and register the package so future upgrades reflash U-Boot automatically:



```bash

pacman-key --init

pacman-key --populate archlinuxarm

pacman -Sy --noconfirm --needed archlinuxarm-keyring

pacman-key --populate archlinuxarm

pacman -U /home/alarm/uboot-orangepi-800-*.pkg.tar.zst

```



The `.install` hook will offer to reflash U-Boot to `/dev/mmcblk1` on install and upgrade.



---



## Optional: Copy Installation to eMMC



Once the system is running from the SD card, you can migrate it to the on-board 64 GB eMMC (`/dev/mmcblk0`) and expand the root partition to fill it. Run all commands as **root** while booted from the SD card.



> **Note**: This will erase everything currently on the eMMC (including any factory Android/OrangePi OS image).



### Step 1 — Install rsync



```bash

pacman -S rsync

```



### Step 2 — Partition the eMMC



```bash

parted -s /dev/mmcblk0 mklabel gpt

parted -s /dev/mmcblk0 mkpart boot fat32 62500s 1GiB

parted -s /dev/mmcblk0 set 1 boot on

parted -s /dev/mmcblk0 mkpart root ext4 1GiB 100%

```



### Step 3 — Format



```bash

mkfs.fat -F32 -n BOOT /dev/mmcblk0p1

mkfs.ext4 -L ROOT /dev/mmcblk0p2

```



### Step 4 — Mount eMMC partitions



```bash

mkdir -p /mnt/emmc/{boot,root}

mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/emmc/boot

mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 /mnt/emmc/root

```



### Step 5 — Copy boot partition



```bash

cp -a /boot/. /mnt/emmc/boot/

```



### Step 6 — Copy root filesystem



The `--one-file-system` flag keeps rsync from crossing into `/boot` (FAT) or any other mounted filesystems:



```bash

rsync -aAX --one-file-system \

  --exclude=/proc --exclude=/sys --exclude=/dev \

  --exclude=/run  --exclude=/tmp --exclude=/mnt \

  / /mnt/emmc/root/

```



### Step 7 — Flash U-Boot to eMMC



```bash

dd if=/boot/idbloader.img of=/dev/mmcblk0 seek=64    conv=notrunc,fsync

dd if=/boot/u-boot.itb    of=/dev/mmcblk0 seek=16384 conv=notrunc,fsync

```



### Step 8 — Update extlinux.conf to point at the eMMC root



```bash

EMMC_ROOT_PARTUUID=$(blkid -s PARTUUID -o value /dev/mmcblk0p2)

sed -i "s|root=PARTUUID=[^ ]*|root=PARTUUID=${EMMC_ROOT_PARTUUID}|" \

  /mnt/emmc/boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

```



### Step 9 — Update /etc/fstab on the eMMC root



```bash

EMMC_BOOT_UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/mmcblk0p1)

EMMC_ROOT_UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/mmcblk0p2)

printf "UUID=%s\t/boot\tvfat\tdefaults\t0 2\nUUID=%s\t/\text4\tdefaults\t0 1\n" \

  "$EMMC_BOOT_UUID" "$EMMC_ROOT_UUID" > /mnt/emmc/root/etc/fstab

```



### Step 10 — Unmount and reboot



```bash

sync

umount /mnt/emmc/boot /mnt/emmc/root

reboot

```



After reboot, U-Boot will find the eMMC bootloader first (eMMC is `mmcblk0`, the primary boot device) and load the kernel from the eMMC boot partition. The SD card can be removed once the eMMC boot is confirmed working.



---



## Notes on Hardware Support



The bundled `rk3399-orangepi-800.dtb` is sourced from Manjaro ARM 22.07. Hardware support status based on the OPi 800 schematic (V1.8, 2022-11-08):



| Hardware | Chip | Works with bundled DTB |

|---|---|---|

| PMIC | RK808-D | ✅ Yes (required for boot) |

| RAM (4GB LPDDR4) | 4× LPDDR4 BGA200 | ✅ Yes |

| eMMC (64GB) | eMMC 5.0 BGA169 | ✅ Yes |

| SD card | TF-CKT01-009D | ✅ Yes |

| Ethernet | YT8531C (Motorcomm 1GbE) | ✅ Yes |

| HDMI output | RK3399 internal | ⚠️ Partial |

| USB 2.0 / USB 3.0 | RK3399 TypeC PHY | ⚠️ Partial |

| WiFi / Bluetooth | AP6256 (BCM43456 via SDIO+UART) | ❌ No — needs vendor kernel + firmware |

| Audio | ES8316 codec (I2C1 + I2S0) | ❌ No — needs vendor kernel |

| Speaker amp | XPT8871 (GPIO-controlled) | ❌ No — needs vendor kernel |

| Keyboard MCU | HT68FB571 (USB HID via USB0) | ❌ No — needs vendor kernel |

| VGA output | CH7517 eDP-to-VGA bridge | ❌ No — no mainline driver |

| RTC | BL5372 (I2C) | ❌ No — needs DTS node |

| 26-pin GPIO header | I2C / SPI / UART / PWM / GPIO | ⚠️ Partial |



For WiFi, the AP6256 uses the standard `brcmfmac` driver but requires firmware from the `linux-firmware` package and proper DTS SDIO/GPIO nodes.



For full hardware support, you must build the OrangePi vendor kernel from source — no AUR package exists:



- Repository: [orangepi-xunlong/linux-orangepi](https://github.com/orangepi-xunlong/linux-orangepi)

- Branch: `orange-pi-5.10-rk3399`



After installing a custom kernel, U-Boot picks up the new kernel and DTB from `/boot` automatically via `extlinux/extlinux.conf`.



---



## Troubleshooting



### No Ethernet



The board boots and HDMI/keyboard work, but Ethernet has no link.



**1. Check if the interface appears (note: it may be named `end0`, not `eth0`):**

```bash

ip link

```



**2. Check kernel messages for GMAC/PHY errors:**

```bash

dmesg | grep -iE 'eth|gmac|phy|motorcomm|yt8|stmmac|dwmac'

```



**Known failure: `stmmac_hw_setup: DMA engine initialization failed`**



This is caused by a PHY driver chain failure:



1. The YT8531C PHY attaches as **`[unbound]` → Generic PHY** because the `motorcomm` kernel module is not loaded.

2. The Generic PHY does not handle the YT8531C's reset GPIO, so the PHY never provides the required 125 MHz RGMII clock to the GMAC.

3. Without that clock, the GMAC DMA reset times out → `Failed to reset the dma` → `DMA engine initialization failed` → `Hw setup failed`.



**Root cause:** The `motorcomm` module must be loaded *before* the `dwmac-rk` GMAC driver probes the PHY bus at boot. If Generic PHY claims the YT8531C first, loading `motorcomm` later won't rebind it — and `ip link set end0 up` will return `RTNETLINK answers: connection timed out` because the GMAC DMA is still waiting for the RGMII clock that Generic PHY never provides.



**Step 1 — make motorcomm load at boot (before GMAC probes):**

```bash

echo "motorcomm" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/motorcomm.conf

reboot

```



**Step 2 — after reboot, confirm motorcomm bound the PHY (not Generic PHY):**

```bash

dmesg | grep -iE 'motorcomm|Generic PHY|stmmac_hw_setup|Failed to reset'

```

You should see `motorcomm` in the PHY driver line and no `DMA engine initialization failed`.



**Step 3 — the interface is named `end0`, not `eth0`**



The kernel renames `eth0` to `end0` via systemd predictable network naming. This is normal, but ALARM's per-interface `dhcpcd@eth0.service` won't apply to `end0`, so the interface stays down even after motorcomm fixes the PHY.



Enable dhcpcd globally so it handles whatever name the interface gets:

```bash

systemctl enable --now dhcpcd.service

```



Or bring it up manually for immediate access:

```bash

ip link set end0 up

dhcpcd end0

```



**Immediate fix without reboot — manually rebind the PHY (if you cannot reboot):**

```bash

echo "stmmac-0:00" > /sys/bus/mdio_bus/drivers/"Generic PHY"/unbind

echo "stmmac-0:00" > /sys/bus/mdio_bus/drivers/motorcomm/bind

ip link set end0 up

dhcpcd end0

```



**Check if the Motorcomm PHY driver is available:**

```bash

modinfo motorcomm 2>/dev/null || echo "module not found"

```



If `modinfo motorcomm` returns "Module not found", the mainline `linux-aarch64` kernel was built without it and the vendor kernel is required (see Hardware Support table above).



**Summary of causes:**



| Cause | Symptom | Fix |

|---|---|---|

| `motorcomm` not loaded at boot | `PHY driver [Generic PHY]`, `Failed to reset the dma`, `connection timed out` | `echo motorcomm > /etc/modules-load.d/motorcomm.conf` + reboot |

| `dhcpcd@eth0.service` active but interface is `end0` | motorcomm loads fine, DMA OK, but no IP address | `systemctl enable --now dhcpcd.service` |

| PHY driver missing from kernel | `modinfo motorcomm` → "Module not found" | Needs vendor kernel |

| DTB/mainline GMAC clock mismatch | `dwmac-rk` probe fails entirely in `dmesg` | Needs vendor kernel |