Skip to main content

Ubuntu User Guide

Default username and password​

username : ubuntu
password : ubuntu

Accessing the device​

Option 1: HDMI display, USB keyboard and mouse​

You can see the desktop environment on the HDMI display.

Option 2: SSH​

The SSH service is enabled by default. You can check the device IP address on your router's management page, or use angryip on your PC to scan and find the device IP.

$ ping ip-of-device
$ ssh ubuntu@ip-of-device

On the first login, you will be forced to change the password. Please follow the on‑screen prompts.

Option 3: Serial port​

Refer to NIO 12L Serial Usage.

Add repository and install video hardware packages​

$ sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mediatek-genio/genio-public
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install mediatek-vpud-genio1200
$ sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-plugins-base
$ sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-plugins-good
$ sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad
$ sudo rm ~/.cache/gstreamer-1.0/registry.aarch64.bin

Update kernel​

Download and install the latest kernel packages:

$ wget https://dl.radxa.com/nio12l/images/ubuntu/radxa-nio-12l-kernel-5.15.0-1029.33-packages.tar.gz
$ tar zxvf radxa-nio-12l-kernel-5.15.0-1029.33-packages.tar.gz
$ sudo dpkg -i radxa-nio-12l-kernel-5.15.0-1029.33-packages/*.deb

After installing the kernel, you must reboot for it to take effect.

Using the Radxa Display 8HD touchscreen​

Step 1: Update the kernel to the latest version​

The latest kernel version is 5.15.0-1029.33.

Step 2: Add the radxa-nio-12l-radxa-display-8hd DT overlay​

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string radxa-nio-12l-radxa-display-8hd.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo radxa-nio-12l-radxa-display-8hd.dtbo

Step 3: Run the genio-flash board-assets command​

$ genio-flash board-assets

Step 4: Put the board into download mode​

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the desktop displayed on the 8HD touchscreen.

Common hardware interfaces: I2C, UART, SPI, etc.​

NIO 12L has a 40‑pin expansion header. UART1 and PWM cannot be used at the same time.

I2C​

I2C-2​

PIN#Function
3SDA2
5SCL2

I2C‑2 is enabled by default in the system. You can see the device node with:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ ls /dev/i2c-2
/dev/i2c-2

I2C-3​

PIN#Function
27SCL3
28SDA3

Steps to enable I2C‑3:

  1. Add the i2c3 DT overlay.

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string i2c3.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo i2c3.dtbo
  1. Run the genio-flash board-assets command
$ genio-flash board-assets
  1. Put the board into download mode

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the device node:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ ls /dev/i2c-3
/dev/i2c-3

I2C-4​

PIN#Function
22SCL4
32SDA4

Steps to enable I2C‑4:

  1. Add the i2c4 DT overlay.

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string i2c4.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo i2c4.dtbo
  1. Run the genio-flash board-assets command
$ genio-flash board-assets
  1. Put the board into download mode

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the device node:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ ls /dev/i2c-4
/dev/i2c-4

UART​

UART1​

PIN#Function
12UART1_TXD
26UART1_RXD

To use UART1, you need to modify the board hardware. For example: Remove resistors R95338 and R95322. Add 0‑ohm resistors R95339 and R95319.

Steps to enable UART1:

  1. Add the uart1 DT overlay.

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string uart1.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo uart1.dtbo
  1. Run the genio-flash board-assets command
$ genio-flash board-assets
  1. Put the board into download mode

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the following kernel log:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ sudo dmesg | grep ttyS1
[    0.476376] 11001200.serial: ttyS1 at MMIO 0x11001200 (irq = 289, base_baud = 1625000) is a ST16650V2

SPI​

SPI1​

PIN#Function
7SPIM1_CSB
11SPIM1_CLK
13SPIM1_MO
15SPIM1_MI

Steps to enable SPI1:

  1. Add the spi1-spidev DT overlay.

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string spi1-spidev.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo spi1-spidev.dtbo
  1. Run the genio-flash board-assets command
$ genio-flash board-assets
  1. Put the board into download mode

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the device node:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ ls /dev/spidev1.0
/dev/spidev1.0

SPI2​

PIN#Function
19SPIM2_MO
21SPIM2_MI
23SPIM2_CLK
24SPIM2_CSB

Steps to enable SPI2:

  1. Add the spi2-spidev DT overlay.

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string spi2-spidev.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo spi2-spidev.dtbo
  1. Run the genio-flash board-assets command
$ genio-flash board-assets
  1. Put the board into download mode

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the device node:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ ls /dev/spidev2.0
/dev/spidev2.0

PWM​

PIN#Function
12PWM

Steps to enable PWM:

  1. Add the gpio104-pwm DT overlay.

Go to the top‑level directory where the Ubuntu image files are stored on your host PC. Edit the u-boot-initial-env file. Find the line starting with list_dtbo= and append the string gpio104-pwm.dtbo. For example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo gpio104-pwm.dtbo
  1. Run the genio-flash board-assets command
$ genio-flash board-assets
  1. Put the board into download mode

Refer to NIO 12L Enter Download Mode

This will update the new u-boot-initial-env to the device from the host.

After powering off and rebooting the device, you should see the device files:

ubuntu@mtk-genio:~$ ls /sys/class/pwm/pwmchip0/
device  export  npwm  power  subsystem  uevent  unexport

Enable Multiple DT Overlays Simultaneously​

You can enable multiple DT overlays at the same time, for example:

list_dtbo= gpu-mali.dtbo video.dtbo ddr-8g.dtbo i2c3.dtbo i2c4.dtbo gpio104-pwm.dtbo spi1-spidev.dtbo spi2-spidev.dtbo

This allows you to enable multiple hardware features in a single configuration without having to modify the u-boot-initial-env file multiple times.

Install Qt​

Install qtcreator:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y qtcreator

Using NeuroPilot (APU)​

Please refer to NPU Environment Setup.

    You need to be logged into GitHub to post a comment. If you are already logged in, please ignore this message.

    Radxa-docs © 2026 by Radxa Computer (Shenzhen) Co.,Ltd. is licensed under CC BY 4.0