[BUG] Raxda Rock Pi 4A serial console output stops prematurely

[FUKAUMI Naoki]

Hi Anand,

On 12/2/25 02:09, Anand Moon wrote:
> Hi Quentin/ FUKAUMI,
> 
> On Mon, 1 Dec 2025 at 16:12, Quentin Schulz <quentin.schulz at cherry.de> wrote:
>>> U-Boot TPL 2025.10-1 (Oct 31 2025 - 11:12:15)
>>> lpddr4_set_rate: change freq to 400MHz 0, 1
>>> Channel 0: LPDDR4, 400MHz
>>> BW=32 Col=10 Bk=8 CS0 Row=15 CS1 Row=15 CS=2 Die BW=16 Size=2048MB
>>> Channel 1: LPDDR4, 400MHz
>>> BW=32 Col=10 Bk=8 CS0 Row=15 CS1 Row=15 CS=2 Die BW=16 Size=2048MB
>>> 256B stride
>>> lpddr4_set_rate: change freq to 800MHz 1, 0
>>> Trying to boot from BOOTROM
>>> Returning to boot ROM...
>>>
>>> U-Boot SPL 2025.10-1 (Oct 31 2025 - 11:12:15 +0000)
>>> Trying to boot from MMC1
>>
>> I believe this means you booted from eMMC. (MMC2 should be SD card as
>> far as I remember)
>>
>> When you boot from SPI flash, you should see "Trying to boot from SPI"
>> first, if it fails then it'll try to boot from eMMC and then SD card.
>> This is due to
>>
>> u-boot,spl-boot-order = "same-as-spl", &sdhci, &sdmmc;
>>
>> in arch/arm/dts/rk3399-u-boot.dtsi + SPL_SPI* symbols in your .config.
>>
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for config config-1 ... OK
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for Image atf-1 ... sha256+ OK
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for Image u-boot ... sha256+ OK
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for Image fdt-1 ... sha256+ OK
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for Image atf-2 ... sha256+ OK
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for Image atf-3 ... sha256+ OK
>>> ## Checking hash(es) for Image atf-4 ... sha256+ OK
>>> load_simple_fit: Skip load 'atf-5': image size is 0!
>>>
>>>
>>> U-Boot 2025.10-1 (Oct 31 2025 - 11:12:15 +0000)
>>>
>>> SoC: Rockchip rk3399
>>> Reset cause: POR
>>> Model: Radxa ROCK Pi 4A
>>> DRAM:  4 GiB (total 3.9 GiB)
>>> PMIC:  RK808
>>>
>>> You see, I could not control the UART with the key pressed.
>>
>> Because you don't have the audio-supply patch for this U-Boot maybe? Or
>> you didn't actually flash your newly compiled U-Boot on the device this
>> U-Boot loads from.
>>
> My board’s SPI flash is running an outdated firmware that lacks the
> auto-supply patch.
> which results in the UART console being locked

As Quentin said, your board is booted from eMMC. This is why "kill SPI 
flash" didn't work.

Please try to erase eMMC, e.g. `blkdiscard /dev/mmcblk0` on Linux.

Or, please make & insert bootable SD and press & hold maskrom button 
(i.e. kill eMMC) while power on.

Best regards,

--
FUKAUMI Naoki
Radxa Computer (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

> Thank you for your support and guidance. I understand that this
> process is tedious
> and challenging to resolve. I will continue debugging the kernel to
> enable erasing
> the SPI flash.
> 
> I have a working development board available for testing and development.
> regardless of the SPI flash status.
> 
> Please allow me some time to debug this issue.
> If I find a solution, I will share the details.
> 
>> Cheers,
>> Quentin
> 
> Thanks
> -Anand
>