Friendlyelec NanoPi M5

Thu Jun 18 15:27:12 CEST 2026

Hi Jonas,

On Mon, 8 Jun 2026 at 15:45, Jonas Karlman <jonas at kwiboo.se> wrote:
>
> Hi Alexey,
>
> On 6/8/2026 3:56 PM, Alexey Charkov wrote:
> > On Mon, Jun 1, 2026 at 3:45 PM Jonas Karlman <jonas at kwiboo.se> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi Alexey,
> >>
> >> On 6/1/2026 11:52 AM, Alexey Charkov wrote:
> >>> On Sun, May 31, 2026 at 10:26 PM Simon Glass <sjg at chromium.org> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Hi Alexey,
> >>>>
> >>>> On Mon, 25 May 2026 at 01:57, Alexey Charkov <alchark at flipper.net> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Sat, May 23, 2026 at 4:41 AM Simon Glass <sjg at chromium.org> wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Hi Alexey,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> On Fri, 22 May 2026 at 00:24, Alexey Charkov <alchark at flipper.net> wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Hi Simon,
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 3:22 AM Simon Glass <sjg at chromium.org> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> Hi,
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> I am trying to make Friendlyelec NanoPi M5 (RK3576) work with
> >>>>>>>> mainline. I found the note about needing a workaround so have tried
> >>>>>>>> kwiboo/rk3576 at
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> https://github.com/Kwiboo/u-boot-rockchip.git
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> I am building like this:
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> $ ROCKCHIP_TPL=~/dev/rkbin/bin/rk35/rk3576_ddr_lp4_2112MHz_lp5_2736MHz_v1.09.bin
> >>>>>>>> BL31=~/dev/rkbin/bin/rk35/rk3576_bl31_v1.20.elf um build
> >>>>>>>> nanopi-m5-rk3576
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> FWIW, upstream TF-A master branch works well as BL31 on RK3576, though
> >>>>>>> it's most probably unrelated to the issue you're seeing
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> OK, thanks.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> Image 'simple-bin' is missing optional external blobs but is still
> >>>>>>>> functional: tee-os
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> /binman/simple-bin/fit/images/@tee-SEQ/tee-os (tee-os):
> >>>>>>>>    See the documentation for your board. You may need to build Open Portable
> >>>>>>>>    Trusted Execution Environment (OP-TEE) and build with TEE=/path/to/tee.bin
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> Image 'simple-bin-spi' is missing optional external blobs but is still
> >>>>>>>> functional: tee-os
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> /binman/simple-bin-spi/fit/images/@tee-SEQ/tee-os (tee-os):
> >>>>>>>>    See the documentation for your board. You may need to build Open Portable
> >>>>>>>>    Trusted Execution Environment (OP-TEE) and build with TEE=/path/to/tee.bin
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> $ dd if=/tmp/b/nanopi-m5-rk3576/u-boot-rockchip.bin of=/dev/sda seek=64
> >>>>>>>> 18579+0 records in
> >>>>>>>> 18579+0 records out
> >>>>>>>> 9512448 bytes (9.5 MB, 9.1 MiB) copied, 1.99658 s, 4.8 MB/s
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> I get no serial output at all booting from SD card. Is there a special
> >>>>>>>> trick I am missing? I have confirmed that the Alpine Linux image works
> >>>>>>>> OK.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Dumb question: did you flip the switch on the back side of the board
> >>>>>>> from FSPI1 to UFS/SD?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Yes it is set to UFS/SC.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> If yes, then having no serial output at all most likely means the
> >>>>>>> boost.bin trick from Jonas' WIP patch didn't apply, because the DDR
> >>>>>>> trainer unconditionally spits out some logs on the debug UART during
> >>>>>>> early init.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> The SD card might also be finicky, so if you happen to have an SPI
> >>>>>>> flash equipped board then you can flash U-boot there instead via
> >>>>>>> Maskrom. Just remove all other storage, connect a USB A-A cable to the
> >>>>>>> top USB 3.0 port, and power it up while holding the maskrom button.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I am not sure how to power the board other than through the
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Then:
> >>>>>>> rockusb download-boot rk3576_loader_fspi1_v1.13.100.bin
> >>>>>>> # note the zero below, because u-boot-rockchip-spi.bin already has a
> >>>>>>> 64-sector offset baked in, unlike u-boot-rockchip.bin:
> >>>>>>> rockusb write-file 0 u-boot-rockchip-spi.bin
> >>>>>>> rockusb reset-device
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> With this I was able to get it to SPL:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> DDR 2f85f4b2d4 cym 24/11/07-19:07:28,fwver: v1.09
> >>>>>> In
> >>>>>> ch0 ttot6
> >>>>>> ch1 ttot6
> >>>>>> ch0 ttot7
> >>>>>> LPDDR5, 2736MHz
> >>>>>> channel[0] BW=16 Col=10 Bk=16 CS0 Row=16 CS=1 Die BW=16 Size=1536MB
> >>>>>> ch1 ttot7
> >>>>>> channel[1] BW=16 Col=10 Bk=16 CS0 Row=16 CS=1 Die BW=16 Size=1536MB
> >>>>>> Manufacturer ID:0xff
> >>>>>> CH0 RX Vref:24.1%, RX DQS Vref:29.6%, TX Vref:19.0%,0.0%
> >>>>>> DQ roc:
> >>>>>> p4 n2, p6 n7, p5 n0, p1 n0, p0 n0, p0 n4, p3 n0, p7 n0, p3 n0,
> >>>>>> p4 n2, p5 n0, p2 n2, p0 n2, p7 n0, p2 n0, p6 n0, p7 n0, p6 n4,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> DQ rds:l0 l0 h1 l0 l0 l0 l0 l0, l0 l0 h1 l0 l0 l0 l0 l0
> >>>>>> DQS roc: p2, n0, p1, n0
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> CH1 RX Vref:25.7%, RX DQS Vref:29.2%, TX Vref:20.0%,0.0%
> >>>>>> DQ roc:
> >>>>>> p2 n0, p7 n0, p2 n0, p1 n0, p2 n0, p0 n1, p3 n0, p5 n0, p7 n0,
> >>>>>> p6 n0, p3 n2, p3 n0, p2 n0, p2 n0, p6 n0, p0 n0, p0 n2, p0 n0,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> DQ rds:l0 h2 l0 l0 l0 l0 l0 h1, l0 l0 l0 l0 h1 l0 h1 l0
> >>>>>> DQS roc: p2, n0, p2, n0
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> stride=0x3, ddr_config=0x2
> >>>>>> hash bank_mask0-3 0x0 0x2100 0x44200 0x88400, rank_mask0 0x0
> >>>>>> change to F1: 534MHz
> >>>>>> ch0 ttot6
> >>>>>> ch1 ttot6
> >>>>>> change to F2: 1320MHz
> >>>>>> ch0 ttot8
> >>>>>> ch1 ttot8
> >>>>>> change to F3: 1968MHz
> >>>>>> ch0 ttot6
> >>>>>> ch1 ttot6
> >>>>>> change to F0: 2736MHz
> >>>>>> ch0 ttot7
> >>>>>> ch1 ttot7
> >>>>>> out
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> U-Boot SPL 2026.01-00014-gf6f1066339a5 (May 22 2026 - 18:32:58 -0600)
> >>>>>> Trying to boot from MMC1
> >>>>>> Card did not respond to voltage select! : -110
> >>>>>> spl: mmc init failed with error: -95
> >>>>>> Error: -95
> >>>>>> SPL: Unsupported Boot Device!
> >>>>>> SPL: failed to boot from all boot devices
> >>>>>> ### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> It seems to boot from SPI but then try to switch to MMC?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Sifting through my local tree I also noticed I've got the following
> >>>>> patch to set the pin config for SPI flash on NanoPi M5:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> https://github.com/flipperdevices/u-boot/commit/ffb0d6c9b4893d6a8c2fe51efc3dd5914857615e
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Would you mind giving it a try?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The node itself and its properties are already in the upstream DTS, so
> >>>>> it _shouldn't_ really be required, but maybe the bootph-* markers
> >>>>> didn't propagate for me as-is and I didn't have the willpower to
> >>>>> investigate further :)
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> I also found that if I 'dd if=/tmp/image of=/dev/sda count=2000' from
> >>>>>> the good Alpine image, it ends up in the U-Boot I built (although of
> >>>>>> course I have not built the earlier parts).
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Another way to get it to boot without relying on a particular storage
> >>>>> configuration or the prebuilt image is to load an upstream binary
> >>>>> directly to RAM over Maskrom:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> export BL31=[...] ROCKCHIP_TPL=[...]
> >>>>> make nanopi-m5-rk3576_defconfig rockchip-ramboot.config
> >>>>> make -j$(nproc)
> >>>>> rockusb download-sram u-boot-rockchip-usb471.bin
> >>>>> rockusb download-ddr u-boot-rockchip-usb472.bin
> >>>>>
> >>>>> SPI boot is supposed to work fine though. Did you use the
> >>>>> u-boot-rockchip-spi.bin or u-boot-rockchip.bin image?
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>> Loader binary can be assembled from rkbin blobs, or alternatively
> >>>>>>> taken from e.g. here:
> >>>>>>> https://dl-linux-images.flipp.dev/u-boot/u%3D1afdc52186635bb599642064ee7c23f539b73e3c/rk%3D495eec7a93220b1269e915e684c5667250462a3d__tfa%3Dfc3691b5022abd9feba6c37330005b7437cccf9f/nanopi-m5/rk3576_loader_fspi1_v1.13.100.bin
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> rockusb tool: cargo install rockusb --example rockusb --features=nusb
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Thanks very much for taking the time to help with this!
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Always welcome!
> >>>>
> >>>> It was booting from UFS, but since U-Boot SPL didn't have it enabled,
> >>>> it didn't complete.
> >>>
> >>> Indeed, the boot-from-UFS series [1] is still pending Kever's
> >>> attention for the Rockchip-specific part. Neil merged the common UFS
> >>> bits a while ago, and I'm using it all the time on several RK3576
> >>> boards.
> >>>
> >>> [1] https://lore.kernel.org/u-boot/20260311-rk3576-ufs-v6-0-c7c353739242@flipper.net/
> >>>
> >>>> So I've erased that and am using your method of booting over USB - BTW
> >>>> it is very slow, doesn't seem to use bulk mode.
> >>>
> >>> I think there was some peculiarity about the boot ROM taking a while
> >>> to verify the checksum of the usb472 image, rather than the USB
> >>> transfer itself taking long. It might need further investigation.
> >>
> >> The very very slow boot time using ramboot on rk3576, around 10 min vs
> >> 30 seconds, is due to changes done in commit c6bba31dbdd4 ("rockchip:
> >> spl-boot-order: Defer probe of boot device").
> >>
> >> The delay of probe done in that commit correctly result in clk driver
> >> not being probed in SPL when running ramboot, and because no clk driver
> >> is probed, cores run at very slow rates until OS change core rates :-)
> >>
> >> My ci branch contains a commit to fix this, and other, I just need to
> >> find some free time before it reaches the list, see commit "WIP:
> >> rockchip: clk: init clocks in spl for rk3576" at [2].
> >
> > Hi Jonas, it does indeed look like painfully slow clocks, but
> > cherry-picking this patch alone doesn't seem to turn the tide for me.
> > It still takes about 6 minutes from the moment `rockusb download-ddr`
> > completes until there is any SPL output on the console.
> >
> > Is there any other change I need to apply for it to take effect?
>
> 6 minutes sounds very long and strange, is there some issue with rockusb?
>
> I did a quick test in my labgrid using close to v2026.07-rc3 + that
> patch and loading usb471.bin + usb472.bin takes around 2.1 seconds, and
> around 13-15 seconds from DDR init until SPL banner is printed.
>
>   INFO         StepLogger:   → RKUSBMaskromDriver.load(filename=None)
>   INFO    SSHConnection(h:    Created new SSH connection to noble
>   INFO    ManagedFile(loc:    Synchronizing /srv/u-boot/rk3576-sige5/u-boot-rockchip-usb471.bin to noble
>   INFO    ManagedFile(loc:    Synchronizing /srv/u-boot/rk3576-sige5/u-boot-rockchip-usb472.bin to noble
>   INFO         StepLogger:   ← RKUSBMaskromDriver.load() [2.134s]

Yes, this matches what I see.

>
> No real change there, what took long before that commit was starting
> Linux, kernel boot could take around 5-10 minutes, now just 15-30
> seconds, if I trust dmesg timestamps.
>
> I use labgrid PR1721 [3] to ramboot into my boards, when working on that
> I noticed that use of pre-calculated crc tables helped loading speed a
> lot, maybe rockusb is at fault or help slow things down for you?
>
> My test run above was on a ArmSoM Sige5 board.
>
> [3] https://github.com/labgrid-project/labgrid/pull/1721
>
> Regards,
> Jonas
>
> >
> >> [2] https://source.denx.de/u-boot/contributors/kwiboo/u-boot/-/commits/ci
> >
> > Thanks a lot,
> > Alexey
>

Regards,
Simon