Skip to main content

Update BIOS Firmware

Prerequisites​

Prepare the following hardware in advance:

  • Board: Radxa Orion O6N
  • Power: DC 12V Power Adapter
  • BIOS update media: USB drive
  • Display: HDMI / DP cable and a monitor
  • Input devices: keyboard and mouse (for GUI operation)
Recommended accessories

Create a BIOS Update USB Drive​

Format the USB drive​

Format the USB drive as FAT32. Other file systems may prevent the BIOS update media from being accessed correctly, causing the BIOS firmware update to fail.

Prepare the BIOS update media​

Go to the Downloads page to download the BIOS firmware, then copy the downloaded contents to the root directory of the USB drive.

The BIOS firmware package contains the following files:

BuildOptions
BurnImage.efi
cix_flash_all.bin
cix_flash_ota.bin
EnrollFromDefaultKeysApp.efi
FlashUpdate.efi
Shell.efi
startup.nsh
VariableInfo.efi

Update the BIOS Firmware​

Hardware setup​

Remove any bootable media from the board (such as a USB drive, NVMe SSD, etc.) to prevent the system from booting directly.

  1. Insert the prepared BIOS update USB drive into the board’s USB port
  2. Connect the monitor to the board using an HDMI / DP cable
  3. Connect a USB keyboard to the board
  4. Power the board with a power adapter

Enter the BIOS screen​

BIOS screen

If the system detects that there is no bootable media, it will automatically enter the BIOS screen.

After powering on the board, when the Radxa logo and progress bar appear on the monitor, press the “Esc” key briefly to enter the BIOS screen.

Radxa logo screen

BIOS screen

Update the BIOS firmware​

On the BIOS screen, select Boot Manager -> UEFI Shell.

Boot Manager screen

After entering the UEFI Shell, press ESC to cancel auto-update, then manually switch to the target drive to update the BIOS firmware.

UEFI Shell screen

danger

When updating the BIOS firmware, ensure stable power throughout the process. A power loss may cause the update to fail and the board may no longer boot.

  1. Enter the BIOS directory

The mapping table in the UEFI Shell shows the detected drives. You can use the ls command to list files on each drive to identify which one is the BIOS update USB drive.

As shown, the BIOS update USB drive is FS2, so enter FS2: to switch to that drive.

BIOS update USB drive

If only one drive is connected, the BIOS update USB drive will usually be FS0.

  1. Update the BIOS firmware

Run startup.nsh and press Enter to update the BIOS firmware.

radxa@UEFI-Shell$
startup.nsh
  1. Reboot the system

After the update completes, unplug and reconnect the power adapter to reboot the system.

Flash BIOS Firmware Using a Programmer (Only When System Cannot Boot)​

For advanced users who need to recover from a corrupted BIOS or prefer direct hardware access, you can use a Serial Flash programmer (such as CH341A) to flash the BIOS firmware (cix_flash_all.bin) directly to the SPI NOR Flash chip. This method completely bypasses the operating system and works even when the device cannot boot.

Preparation​

  1. Prepare hardware
  • Programmer: CH341A / CH341B programmer recommended
  • 1.8V adapter
  • SOP8 clip
  • Linux PC
  1. Download BIOS firmware

Visit the Downloads page to download the BIOS firmware. The firmware downloaded from the radxa-dl website is in zip format and requires two extractions:

user@linux$
unzip orion-o6-bios-v1.x.x.zip # The BIOS filename for Orion O6N is similar
cd orion-o6-bios-v1.x.x # Enter the extracted directory
gzip -d cix_flash_all.bin.gz
  1. Install flashrom tool
user@linux$
sudo apt-get install flashrom

Assemble the Programming Clip​

  1. Set the CH341A/B programmer to flash mode Set the programmer's jumper to flash mode. Refer to the programmer's manual for the specific position.

  2. Place the 1.8V adapter on the CH341A/B programmer's clip and lock the lever

  1. Place the SOP8 clip on the 1.8V adapter's pins and lock the lever

  2. Clip onto the Flash ROM chip

Clip onto the removed Flash ROM chip. Ensure the clip's pins correspond correctly to the chip's pins - the red wire is pin 1 of the SOP8, which corresponds to the pin marked with a circular dot on the chip. Refer to the "Remove SPI Flash Chip" and "Install SPI Flash Chip" sections below for steps on removing and installing the BIOS chip.

Flash BIOS Firmware​

  1. Insert the programmer and boot the PC

Insert the assembled programmer into the USB port of a Linux PC.

  1. Check programmer recognition
user@linux$
sudo flashrom -L | grep ch341

If output similar to the following appears, the programmer is recognized successfully:

Supported USB devices for the ch34la_spi programmer
  1. Check chip recognition
user@linux$
sudo flashrom -p ch341a_spi -n

If output similar to the following appears, the chip is recognized successfully:

Found Winbond flash chip "W25Q64.W" (8192 kB, SPI) on ch341a_spi.
  1. Flash BIOS firmware

Ensure the programmer and chip are stably connected during this step to avoid flash failure due to power loss or unstable connections.

Make sure the cix_flash_all.bin file to be flashed is in the current directory.

user@linux$
sudo flashrom -p ch341a_spi -w cix_flash_all.bin

Wait for flashing to complete. The following message indicates successful flashing:

Verifying flash... VERIFIED.
  1. Reboot the system

After the update completes, unplug and reconnect the power adapter to reboot the system!

    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