Firmware Installation

Prerequisites

• A microSD card (16GB or larger, good quality recommended — SanDisk or Kingston work well).
• A computer with an SD card reader.
• Download tools:
  • Firmware image → from GitHub Releases
  • 7-Zip (for decompressing) → https://7-zip.org/download.html
  • Balena Etcher (for flashing) → https://etcher.balena.io/

Important: This is for G80CA-MB boards (often Panel 8 or Panel 9 variants). Panel 9 devices need an extra DTB tweak after flashing.

Step-by-Step Installation

1. Download and Decompress the Firmware

• Go to https://github.com/southoz/ArkOS-G80CA-MB/releases
• Download the latest .img.xz (or similar compressed) file.

• Use 7-Zip to extract it → right-click → 7-Zip → Extract Here from Windows Explorer or open the file in the 7-Zip client.

• You should now have a .img file (e.g., ArkOS_...img).

2. (Optional but recommended) Verify the File

• Check the SHA1 hash (listed on the release page) matches your extracted file to ensure no corruption.

3. Flash the Image to the SD Card

• Open Balena Etcher.
• Click Flash from file → select your extracted .img.
• Click Select target → choose your SD card (double-check — it will be erased!).
• Click Flash! and wait (5–15 minutes).

4. Panel 9 Devices Only – Important DTB Fix (Skip this step entirely if you have a Panel 8 device.)

• After flashing, re-insert the SD card (or safely eject + re-insert) — your computer will show a BOOT partition.
• Download the special Panel 9 DTB file: rf3536k4ka.dtb.panel9fnfix.1512MHz
• Copy it to the BOOT partition root.
• Delete the original file named rf3536k4ka.dtb (this is the Panel 8 version).
• Rename your new file → from rf3536k4ka.dtb.panel9fnfix.1512MHz → to rf3536k4ka.dtb.

5. Insert and Boot

• Safely eject the SD card.
• Insert it into the right-hand TF slot
• Power on the device.
• First boot will take 1–2 minutes — it expands partitions and sets up.

Recommended: Dual SD Card Setup for ROMs (Highly Suggested!)

Use a second SD card in the left slot so ROMs aren't on the OS card (makes updates much easier).

• Format the second card as exFAT.
• Name/volume label it exactly EASYROMS.
• Download and extract EASYROMS.zip to the root of this card.
• Insert into left slot.
• If the system is not reading from the second SD card, select "Options" -> "Advanced" -> "Switch to SD2 for ROMs"

Stuck on Logo During First Boot

• Bad FLash:
  • Check the hash of the extracted image and ensure it matches the release page.
  • Reflash with Balana Ethcher as described above. Ensure you let the verify stage run and make sure the flash is successful. Users who have used Rufus have reported this issue.
• Bad SD Card.
  • Users have reported that the issue was resolved by using a different SD card.