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Installing an Operating System on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit

Mixtile Edge 2 Kit comes with Debian 11 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 Mixtile Edge 2 Kit 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 Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
  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 the upgrade_tool_v2.22_for_linux package and unzip it.

  2. Move upgrade_tool to the bin directory 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 (recommended for regular updates):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb), run:

        reboot loader

      • If you cannot enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit:

        1. Open the shell of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
        2. Press and hold the Recovery button, power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting it to a PC via a USB-C cable, and then wait about 2 seconds before releasing the Recovery button.

    • MaskRom (for bootloader failure):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (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 Mixtile Edge 2 Kit:

        1. Open the shell of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
        2. Press and hold the MaskRom button, power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting it to a PC via a USB-C cable, and then wait about 2 seconds before releasing the MaskRom button.

    Note: If the connection fails, try another cable or add a 12V power adapter.

  4. Verify if Mixtile Edge 2 Kit is connected to the computer:

    ugprade_tool ld

    If a message similar to the one below is displayed, your Mixtile Edge 2 Kit has been connected to the computer successfully:

  5. (Optional) Download rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.bin and then run the command below to flash it to Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (replace rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.bin with its actual path). This step is only required for installing a raw image in the MaskRom mode. If you install in Loader mode or use a Rockchip image, skip this step.

    sudo upgrade_tool db rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.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.

Installing an OS on macOS

  1. Download the upgrade_tool_v2.13_for_mac package and unzip it.

  2. Go to the upgrade_tool_v2.13_for_mac directory and make upgrade_tool executable. Enter your admin password if prompted.

    cd upgrade_tool_v2.13_for_mac
sudo chmod u+x upgrade_tool

    If you are alerted that the app developer cannot be verified:

    1. Open System Settings.
    2. Click Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click the Open Anyway button to confirm your intent to open or install the app. macos-open-app-anyway

  3. Enter a boot mode as needed:

    • Loader (recommended for regular updates):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb), run:

        reboot loader

      • If you cannot enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit:

        1. Open the shell of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
        2. Press and hold the Recovery button, power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting it to a PC via a USB-C cable, and then wait about 2 seconds before releasing the Recovery button.

    • MaskRom (for bootloader failure):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (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 Mixtile Edge 2 Kit:

        1. Open the shell of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
        2. Press and hold the MaskRom button, power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting it to a PC via a USB-C cable, and then wait about 2 seconds before releasing the MaskRom button.

    Note: If the connection fails, try another cable or add a 12V power adapter.

  4. Verify if Mixtile Edge 2 Kit is connected to the computer:

    ./upgrade_tool ld

    If a message similar to the one below is displayed, your Mixtile Edge 2 Kit has been connected to the computer successfully: edge2-recognize-device-on-mac-with-upgrade-tool-ld

  5. (Optional) Download rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.bin and then run the command below to flash it to Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (replace rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.bin with its actual path). This step is only required for installing a raw image in the MaskRom mode. If you install in Loader mode or use a Rockchip image, skip this step.

    ./upgrade_tool db rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.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.

Installing an OS on Windows

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

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

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

  2. Download RKDevTool_v3.19_for_windows and unzip it. Then, find RKDevTool, right-click the file, and click Run as administrator.

    run-rkdevtool-as-administrator

  3. Enter a boot mode as needed:

    • Loader (recommended for regular updates):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (e.g., through a monitor, SSH or adb), run:

        reboot loader

      • If you cannot enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit:

        1. Open the shell of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
        2. Press and hold the Recovery button, power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting it to a PC via a USB-C cable, and then wait about 2 seconds before releasing the Recovery button.

    • MaskRom (for bootloader failure):

      • If you can enter the terminal of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit (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 Mixtile Edge 2 Kit:

        1. Open the shell of Mixtile Edge 2 Kit.
        2. Press and hold the MaskRom button, power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting it to a PC via a USB-C cable, and then wait about 2 seconds before releasing the MaskRom button.

    Note: If the connection fails, try another cable or add a 12V power adapter.

  4. Open RKDevTool, and you can see that Mixtile Edge 2 Kit is now found as a Loader/MaskRom device:

  5. Install the image to Mixtile Edge 2 Kit in RKDevTool. The installation process varies depending on the image type (rockchip or raw) you use. You can find the image type from the image’s filename.

    • RockChip image:

      1. Choose the Upgrade Firmware tab and click Firmware. In the dialog box that is displayed, choose the image file you downloaded.

        select-image-file-in-windows

      2. Click Upgrade to start installing the image:

        start-upgrade-in-rkdevtool

        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 rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.bin.

      2. Choose the Download Image tab, right-click an item and choose Clear Items from the short-cut menu 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 that is displayed, select the rk356x_spl_loader_v1.13.112.bin file.

      4. Right-click an item, choose Add Item from the short-cut menu, 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.

Booting up the OS

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

  1. Power on Mixtile Edge 2 Kit by connecting the USB-C cable to the device’s USB-C port and to a compatible power adapter. Then plug the adapter into a wall outlet.
  2. (Optional) Connect Mixtile Edge 2 Kit to the Internet via an Ethernet cable.
  3. (Optional) Connect Mixtile Edge 2 Kit to a monitor via an HDMI cable.

If your Mixtile Edge 2 Kit is connected to a monitor, you should see the OS interface (take Debian 11 as an example):

debian-start-up-page

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