[Armbian newsletter] - Github Highlights

This week's work centers on new board and SoC enablement, a broad wireless driver and firmware overhaul, and continued kernel, boot, and installer refinements.

Board support expanded on multiple fronts. A new RK3562 family was introduced alongside the KICKPI K3B with mainline U-Boot and Linux, and mainline 7.2 bring-up landed for the S5P6818 platform covering NanoPC-T3+, NanoPi M3, and Fire3. The FriendlyELEC NanoPi R28S, Wildfire Lubancat 3 v2, OrangePi CM5 Base edition, and SpacemiT Musebook (current branch) were added, while the Mixtile Edge2 and Blade 3, Orange Pi 5 Max/Ultra, and Banana Pi M2 Ultra received targeted fixes for Bluetooth, eMMC, Ethernet, and thermal behavior.

Wireless support saw substantial cleanup and expansion. The rtl8723ds driver underwent an extensive warning-elimination pass — addressing -Wmissing-prototypes, -Wempty-body, -Wmaybe-uninitialized, -Wrestrict, and -Warray-bounds findings — with parallel improvements to rtl8189es/fs, rtl8192eu, rtl8852bs, and uwe5622. Firmware additions include MT7986 Wi-Fi and Airoha EN8811H blobs, AIC8800 D80 SDIO names, and AP6212 NVRAM for S5P6818 boards, complemented by Bluetooth and 5 GHz Wi-Fi fixes on Rockchip and AYN Odin 2 targets.

On the platform side, the mainline kernel was bumped to 7.3-rc2, a critical stmmac resume-ordering backport restores Ethernet after suspend on RK3588, and sunxi 6.18 and 7.2 gained fixes for eMMC boot hangs and post-reboot Ethernet loss. The installer engine now supports extlinux boards and native USB/NVMe boot on RPi-style hardware, zram-config was corrected for modern kernels, and BSP changes make SSH host key regeneration power-loss safe. Build infrastructure improvements include ORAS gitball use for U-Boot, better shallow-export handling during merge windows, and expanded CI coverage.

#Armbian #EmbeddedLinux #Rockchip #SBC #KernelDevelopment

Changes

• Add board image for lubancat-3-v2. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#450
• Add board-images/bananapir3mini.png. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#445
• Add CI to build kernel module on chance. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/wifi-rtl8852bs#29
• add watchdog for failed workflows. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/wifi-rtl8852bs#30
• aic8800: add generic D80 SDIO firmware names. by @sormy in armbian/firmware#138
• aml-c400-plus: fix boot chain migration and resolve OverlayFS CI failure. by @jomadeto in armbian/build#10682
• aml-c400-plus: migrate to modern U-Boot v2026.07 and improve boot chain. by @jomadeto in armbian/build#10548
• arm64: dts: rockchip: add FriendlyELEC NanoPi R28S. by @wukibaka in armbian/linux-rockchip#542
• arm64: dts: rockchip: add Wildfire Lubancat 3 v2. by @hqnicolas in armbian/linux-rockchip#549
• arm64: dts: rockchip: mixtile-edge2: fix Bluetooth wake GPIOs and enable eMMC HS400ES. by @evtest-hash in armbian/linux-rockchip#544
• armbian-install: sd mode on RPi-style boards, + native (full USB/NVMe boot). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1021
• Ayn Odin 2: add SDL gamepad mappings. by @Clownacy in armbian/build#10681
• AYN Odin2 updates. Edge kernel to 7.2.3, fixing 5GHz wifi not working. by @kasimling in armbian/build#10625
• BACKPORT rkr5.1: ARM: dts: rockchip: rk3502: add 2M alignment for CMA address. by @vidplace7 in armbian/linux-rockchip#543
• be nicer to git upstreams; use ORAS gitball for u-boot as well as kernel. by @rpardini in armbian/build#10655
• board images: add a minimum object size, re-crop the 32 images outside the bounds. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#442
• board-images: add NanoPC-T3/T3 Plus and NanoPi Fire3/M3 renders. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#443
• board-images: add reComputer RK3576 Module Dev Kit. by @Lesords in armbian/armbian.github.io#449
• board: add FriendlyELEC NanoPi R28S. by @wukibaka in armbian/build#10601
• brcm: add AP6212 (BCM43430) NVRAM for FriendlyARM S5P6818 boards. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/firmware#140
• bsp: survive power loss during SSH host key regeneration. by @Mkiring in armbian/build#10696
• cfg80211: keep the ndev alias alive for the wdev-based ops (fix the CONFIG_RTW_DEBUG=y build). by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#24
• ci(unit-tests): post-merge dispatch runs the tests the merge changed. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1006
• ci: auto-label PRs "Work in progress" from review state. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10294
• Declare the last two undeclared functions (-Wmissing-prototypes 2 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#23
• desktops/xmonad: run the session under GNOME Flashback, add autostart. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1019
• docs(contribute): add S5P6818 as a new-board(-family) example. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1208
• docs: publish software category hubs at /software//. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1020
• docs: retire the /User-Guide_Armbian-Software/ URLs. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1202
• download-images-report: do not flag virtual boards as non-standard. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1217
• download-images-report: drop the virtual boards listing. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1219
• Draw dialog borders with Unicode box characters. by @iav in armbian/configng#1016
• Extension Brostrend-AIC8800: skip for kernel > 7.2. by @Shadowrom2020 in armbian/build#10652
• firmware: refresh the apt index before the repository madison check. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1022
• firstlogin: prefer the GNOME Flashback xmonad session when it can start. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10663
• Fix -Wempty-body (114 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#11
• Fix -Wformat-truncation in the 8723D coex debug output (13 -> 0). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/rtl8723ds#21
• Fix -Wmaybe-uninitialized in the proc write handlers (36 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#13
• Fix -Wrestrict (58 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#12
• Fix clang warnings: -Wmissing-prototypes (330 → 2) and mismatched header guards. by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#6
• fix shallow export during merge window, rework mirrors across retries. by @rpardini in armbian/shallow#13
• fix sunxi edge build and patch maint. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10664
• Fix two clang findings: dead recv-frame helpers, inverted HT/VHT test in phydm_debug. by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#17
• fix(autoconfig): add missing Wi-Fi country codes. by @hlhc in armbian/imager#190
• fix(rockchip64): fix Bluetooth on Orange Pi 5 Max and Ultra. by @fbernier in armbian/build#10673
• fix(rockchip64): remove conflicting rfkill node on orangepi-5-max. by @fbernier in armbian/build#10667
• generate_targets: classify S5P6818 as slow HW (XFCE, not GNOME). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#448
• gl-mt2500-v2: stop shipping Airoha firmware in the BSP. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10686
• gnome: add gnome-tweaks and libopengl0 to minimal tier. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#929
• helios64: fix stray /thermal_zone0 symlink. by @iav in armbian/build#10640
• images: generate /etc/armbian-release so repository switching works. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/docker-armbian-build#42
• Import two long-carried armbian/build patches, with authorship. by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#7
• initial introduction of OrangePi-CM5-Base edition. by @ECO1AI in armbian/build#10643
• install engine: read the partition table without opening the disk for writing. by @iav in armbian/configng#1017
• install-engine: support extlinux boards when repointing root. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#985
• Introduce RK3562 family and KICKPI K3B (mainline U-Boot and mainline Linux). by @retro98boy in armbian/build#10613
• Introduce xiaomi-sheng-thp to fix touch issues. by @code002-2 in armbian/build#10631
• Keep the log arguments referenced when CONFIG_RTW_DEBUG is off. by @iav in armbian/wifi-rtl8852bs#27
• luckfox-rk3308b-nova: use bootph-all for the SPL console. by @crackerjacques in armbian/build#10688
• mainline: bump to 7.3-rc2. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10661
• maintenance-private-packages: also render the table on the run summary. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/ci#68
• mediatek: add MT7986 Wi-Fi and Airoha EN8811H firmware. by @SuperKali in armbian/firmware#141
• menu: draw dialog borders with Unicode box characters. by @iav in armbian/build#10660
• modules/software: add HedgeDoc (and fix module_postgres sidecar handling). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#741
• Move cfg80211_roam_info off the stack in rtw_cfg80211_indicate_connect(). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/rtl8723ds#22
• mvebu: fix the carried patches (PWM, atheros, gpio-keys) and enable drivetemp. by @iav in armbian/build#10605
• net: stmmac: fix dead Ethernet after suspend on RK3588 (backport the 6.15 phylink/stmmac resume ordering). by @defcom5-rockchip in armbian/linux-rockchip#548
• oci: link pushed packages to their GitHub repository. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10584
• patching.py: render the failed-patches table at the terminal width. by @iav in armbian/build#10641
• phydm: fix broken include guards in phydm_features.h and phydm_kfree.h. by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#8
• proc: read only what was written in the sa_query / tx_deauth / tx_auth handlers. by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#16
• recomputer-rk35xx-common.inc‎: fix ttyGS0 login loop under PrivateDevices. by @Mkiring in armbian/build#10475
• Revert "aml-c400-plus: migrate to modern U-Boot v2026.07 and improve boot chain". by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10665
• rockchip64-7.2: Mixtile Blade 3: fix pwm-fan tacho & regulator; levels. by @rpardini in armbian/build#10656
• rtl8189es/fs: bump pins to c204f13 / 1c2f168. by @iav in armbian/build#10670
• rtl8189es/fs: move the pins to 2fef6c67 / 185ab67f (warning cleanup). by @iav in armbian/build#10691
• rtl8192eu: move the pin to e84384b5 and drop the set_monitor_channel patch. by @iav in armbian/build#10695
• rtl8723ds: bump pin to b5c8a00 (warning fixes, 7.3 compat). by @iav in armbian/build#10669
• rtl8852bs: bump pin to 643a4990 (no_printk log stubs). by @iav in armbian/build#10676
• runners: fix label fallback, runner listing and parameter handling. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1023
• S5P6818 (NanoPC-T3+ / NanoPi M3 / Fire3): mainline 7.2 bring-up. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10674
• SpacemiT K1: Disable CSI by default on BPI-F3 and MusePI Pro. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#10685
• SpacemiT K1: Musebook: Add to current branch. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#10659
• sunxi-6.18: add sun8i-r40-emmc compatible, fixes eMMC boot hang (Banana Pi M2 Ultra). by @trueell in armbian/build#10635
• sunxi-6.18: dwmac-sun8i: fix Ethernet lost after warm reboot on external-PHY H616/H618 boards. by @seupedro in armbian/build#10492
• sunxi-6.18: enable USB0 OTG as host on Banana Pi M2 Ultra (sun8i-r40). by @trueell in armbian/build#10636
• sunxi-7.2: add sun8i-r40-emmc compatible, fixes eMMC boot hang (Banana Pi M2 Ultra). by @trueell in armbian/build#10637
• sunxi-7.2: enable USB0 OTG as host on Banana Pi M2 Ultra (sun8i-r40). by @trueell in armbian/build#10672
• tests: add Proxmox VE install test (trixie only). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1015
• u-boot/filogic: fix two defects in the Airoha PHY driver. by @SuperKali in armbian/build#10679
• uefi-x86-7.2: update applet2 patches from t2linux/linux-t2-patches@1637df4. by @rpardini in armbian/build#10657
• unisocwifi: size the reply buffers with sizeof instead of a runtime length (-Wvla-larger-than 2 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/uwe5622#21
• Update cfg80211_port_authorized conditions to match 6.1.172 rk35xx. by @ii343hbka in armbian/bcmdhd-dkms#9
• Use C99 flexible array members for the trailing variable-length arrays (-Warray-bounds 30 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/rtl8723ds#18
• uwe5622: bump pin to 6eb2184 (-Wvla-larger-than 2 -> 0). by @iav in armbian/build#10671
• zram-config: don't write read-only max_comp_streams on modern kernels. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10677
• Automatic refresh repository README. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/bcmdhd-dkms#10
• Automatic refresh repository README. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/ci#34
• Automatic refresh repository README. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/hastebin-ansi#8

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