Is there an Android TV box that can successfully run Armbian?

 

I got two boxes on the hopes that it would work but I failed in my efforts so far

 

1. X98: I found out that Linux kernel doesn't have the .dtb files for this box so it won't work for now. Maybe I can derive it from S905W but I haven't tried it yet.

 

2. X96-Air: I could run Armbian [1] on the SD card but when I tried to install it on the eMMC, it stopped booting altogether. Now it won't even boot with SD card inserted.

 

Is there an Android box which supports 5GHz wifi that can definitely run Armbian? Thanks!

 

[1]: I used a release from a person that uses Armbian's name without permission and wastes Armbian's ressources by sending their users to Armbian for support.

Edited December 7, 20223 yr by Werner
Link adjusted

First please read the FAQ item on Armbian TV Box support: https://forum.armbian.com/topic/16976-status-of-armbian-on-tv-boxes-please-read-first

 

Second, since you are not using armbian code (the location you downloaded from has no ties to armbian even though they use our name).  You should ask support questions from where you downloaded your code.

Thanks! that was helpful. I'm surprised to hear that their code is not Armbian. May I know why?

 

It's also been hard to figure out what is firmware and what is not firmware. From what I understand, as long as I use a kernel that has the <box_name>.dtb in it, it should be able to boot right?

 

Can I pick something from https://github.com/armbian/community that says `aml-s9xx-box` instead and see if that works instead?

They have forked from Armbian and added additional layers.  They do not participate in Armbian core development nor post in the forums, so other than taking our code (which this is open source so that is fine), they have no relationship  with the Armbian community.  But because they continue to use the Armbian name, people come here for support, but since we don't make the builds or really know what they contain we can't support code we don't produce.

 

5 minutes ago, JayJay said:

as long as I use a kernel that has the <box_name>.dtb in it, it should be able to boot right?

Not necessarily.  TV Box manufacturers have a habit of changing hardware (to produce the lowest cost devices) but reuse the same marketing names for the devices.  The internal components can vary significantly and therefore a dtb may or may not work for any given box.

 

7 minutes ago, JayJay said:

Can I pick something from https://github.com/armbian/community that says `aml-s9xx-box` instead and see if that works instead?

Sure, that is what those builds are for.  https://forum.armbian.com/topic/17106-installation-instructions-for-tv-boxes-with-amlogic-cpus