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Installing an Operating System on Mixtile Blade 3

Mixtile Blade 3 (hereinafter referred to as Blade 3) comes with Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop pre-installed. Sometimes, you may want to upgrade/downgrade it to another version or install a different operating system. This tutorial describes how to install an operating system to Blade 3 on the platforms below:

  • Linux distribution
  • macOS
  • Windows

The installation process varies depending on the platform you use. You can follow the platform-specific installation guide to install an OS.

Preparations

To install an OS, you’ll need to:

  1. Have a computer.
  2. Have a cable to connect your computer to Blade 3.
  3. Download the target OS image you need and unzip it. Here are some of the available images:

Important: Before you start, make sure you have backed up all important data.

Installing the OS on different platforms

Installing an OS on a Linux distribution

If you are using a Linux distribution, such as Debian and Ubuntu, follow the instructions below:

  1. Download and unzip upgrade_tool_v2.22_for_linux.

  2. Move upgrade_tool to /usr/local/bin and make it executable:

    cd upgrade_tool_v2.22_for_linux
sudo mv upgrade_tool /usr/local/bin
sudo chown root:root /usr/local/bin/upgrade_tool
sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/upgrade_tool

  3. Enter a boot mode as needed:

    • Loader mode (recommended for regular updates):

      1. Power on Blade 3 and connect it to your computer:

        1. Connect the near-corner USB-C port of Blade 3 to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
        2. Connect one end of the USB-C cable to Blade 3’s near-HDMI USB-C port and the other to your computer.

      2. Wait about 30 seconds for Blade 3 to be running, then enter Blade 3’s terminal (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb) to reboot it in loader mode:

        reboot loader

    • MaskRom mode (for bootloader failure):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Blade 3 (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb), run:

        sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=1M count=32

        Warning: This command removes all files from your device. Make sure you have backed up all important data.

      • If you cannot enter the terminal of Blade 3:

        1. Open the Blade 3 shell and turn position 4 of the SPST dip switch to ON.

          blade3-spst-four-position-dip-4-on-for-maskrom

        2. Power on Blade 3 and connect it to your computer:

          1. Connect the near-corner USB-C port of Blade 3 to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
          2. Connect one end of the USB-C cable to Blade 3’s near-HDMI USB-C port and the other to your computer.

    Note: If the connection fails, try using other cables.

  4. Verify if Blade 3 is connected to the computer:

    ugprade_tool ld

    If a message similar to the one below is displayed, your Blade 3 has been connected to the computer successfully:

  5. (Optional) Download MiniLoaderAll.bin and flash it to Blade 3 (replace MiniLoaderAll.bin with its actual path). This step is only required for installing a raw image in the MaskRom mode.

    upgrade_tool db MiniLoaderAll.bin

  6. Install the image (replace update.img with the actual path of your target image file). The installation command varies depending on the image type (rockchip or raw) you use. You can find the image type from the image’s filename.

    • Rockchip image:
    sudo upgrade_tool uf update.img
    • Raw image:
    sudo upgrade_tool wl 0 update.img

    It may take several minutes for the installation to complete. If Upgrade firmware ok (RockChip images) or Write LBA from file (100%) (Raw images) is displayed, the installation is done.

  7. (Optional) If you have turned position 4 of the SPST dip switch to ON, turn it off.

  8. Restart Blade 3 (see Booting up the OS).

Installing an OS on macOS

  1. Download and unzip upgrade_tool_v2.13_for_mac.

  2. Go to upgrade_tool_v2.13_for_mac and make upgrade_tool executable.

    cd upgrade_tool_v2.13_for_mac
sudo chmod u+x upgrade_tool

    If you are prompted that the developer can’t be verified, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

  3. Enter a boot mode as needed:

    • Loader mode (recommended for regular updates):

      1. Power on Blade 3 and connect it to your computer:

        1. Connect the near-corner USB-C port of Blade 3 to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
        2. Connect one end of the USB-C cable to Blade 3’s near-HDMI USB-C port and the other to your computer.

      2. Wait about 30 seconds for Blade 3 to be running, then enter Blade 3’s terminal (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb) to reboot it in loader mode:

        reboot loader

    • MaskRom mode (for bootloader failure):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Blade 3 (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb), run:

        sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=1M count=32

        Warning: This command removes all files from your device. Make sure you have backed up all important data.

      • If you cannot enter the terminal of Blade 3:

        1. Open the Blade 3 shell and turn position 4 of the SPST dip switch to ON.

          blade3-spst-four-position-dip-4-on-for-maskrom

        2. Power on Blade 3 and connect it to your computer:

          1. Connect the near-corner USB-C port of Blade 3 to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
          2. Connect one end of the USB-C cable to Blade 3’s near-HDMI USB-C port and the other to your computer.

    Note: If the connection fails, try using other cables.

  4. Verify if Blade 3 is connected to the computer:

    ./upgrade_tool ld

    If a message similar to the one below is displayed, Blade 3 has been connected to the computer successfully:

    blade3-recognize-device-on-mac-with-upgrade-tool-ld

  5. (Optional) Download MiniLoaderAll.bin and flash it to Blade 3 (replace MiniLoaderAll.bin with its actual path). This step is only required for installing a raw image in the MaskRom mode.

    ./upgrade_tool db MiniLoaderAll.bin

  6. Install the image (replace update.img with the actual path of your target image file). The installation command varies depending on the image type (rockchip or raw), which can be found in the image’s filename.

    • Rockchip image:
    ./upgrade_tool uf update.img
    • Raw image:
    ./upgrade_tool wl 0 update.img

    It may take several minutes for the installation to complete. If Upgrade firmware ok (RockChip images) or Write LBA from file (100%) (Raw images) is displayed, the installation is done.

  7. (Optional) If you have turned position 4 of the SPST dip switch to ON, turn it off.

  8. Restart Blade 3 (see Booting up the OS).

Installing an OS on Windows

Unlike macOS and Linux distributions, Windows has an intuitive UI for you to install an OS:

  1. Download and unzip DriverAssistant_v5.12, and click DriverInstall.exe to install the driver.

    Note: If you have installed an older driver version, uninstall it first before installing the latest one.

  2. Download and unzip RKDevTool_v3.19_for_windows. Run RKDevTool as administrator.

  3. Enter a boot mode as needed:

    • Loader mode (recommended for regular updates):

      1. Power on Blade 3 and connect it to your computer as follows:

        1. Connect the near-corner USB-C port of Blade 3 to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
        2. Connect one end of the USB-C cable to Blade 3’s near-HDMI USB-C port and the other to your computer.

      2. Wait about 30 seconds for Blade 3 to be running. Then, choose the Upgrade Firmware tab and click Switch.

      You can now see Blade 3 is recognized as a Loader device as follows:

      blade3-enter-loader-mode-on-windows

    • MaskRom mode (for bootloader failure):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Blade 3 (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb), run:

        sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=1M count=32

        Warning: This command removes all files from your device. Make sure you have backed up all important data.

      • If you cannot enter the terminal of Blade 3:

        1. Open the Blade 3 shell and turn position 4 of the SPST dip switch to ON.

          blade3-spst-four-position-dip-4-on-for-maskrom

        2. Power on Blade 3 and connect it to your computer:

          1. Connect the near-corner USB-C port of Blade 3 to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
          2. Connect one end of the USB-C cable to Blade 3’s near-HDMI USB-C port and the other to your computer.

    Note: If the connection fails, try using other cables.

  4. Install the OS. The installation process varies depending on the image type (rockchip or raw), which can be found in the image’s filename.

    • RockChip image:

      1. In the Upgrade Firmware tab, click Firmware. Then choose the image file in the dialog box displayed.

        blade3-installing-os-on-windows-select-rockchip-firmware

        blade3-select-image-file-in-rkdevtool-on-windows

      2. Click Upgrade to start installing the image:

        blade3-start-firmware-upgrade-in-rkdevtool-rockchip

        The installation may take several minutes to complete. If you see the message below, the installation is done.

        finish-upgrade-in-rkdevtool

    • Raw image:

      1. Download MiniLoaderAll.bin.

      2. In the Download Image tab, right-click any item and choose Clear Items to clear unnecessary items.

        edge2-raw-image-clear-items-loader-mode

      3. Click the blank cell of Loader on the right. In the dialog box displayed, select the MiniLoaderAll.bin file.

      4. Right-click an item, choose Add Item, and set its Name to image.

      5. Click the blank cell of the image item, select the raw image in the displayed dialog box, and then set Storage to EMMC for this item.

      6. Select the two items Loader and image, click Write by Address, and click Run to start installing the image.

        The installation may take several minutes to complete. If you see the message below, the installation is done.

  5. Restart Blade 3 (see Booting up the OS).

Booting up the OS

Important: If you have turned position 4 of the SPST dip switch to ON, make sure you have turned it off before booting up the OS. Otherwise, it will keep entering the MaskRom mode.

Once the installation is complete, boot up the new system as follows:

  1. Power on Blade 3 by connecting the near-corner USB-C port to a PD (Power Delivery) adapter using a compatible cable, then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
  2. (Optional) Connect Blade 3 to the Internet via an Ethernet cable.
  3. (Optional) Connect Blade 3 to a monitor via an HDMI cable.

If your Blade 3 is connected to a monitor, you should see the OS interface (take Ubuntu as an example):

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