Other Systems

In addition to openFyde/FydeOS, the XpressReal T3 supports other operating systems, such as Linux and Android. The list of supported OS will be constantly updated, with new entries being added from time to time. You can check the latest available OS images from our Resource Download page to experiment with different systems.

Install Custom Linux Image

Our Linux OS images are built with the Yocto Project. Use balenaEtcher to flash a downloaded image to a microSD card, then boot your XpressReal T3 from it.

Refer to the Getting Started Guide for flashing instructions.

Install Armbian Image

Armbian is a Debian-based Linux distribution that is optimised for ARM-based single-board computers (SBCs). It is a popular choice for developers and enthusiasts who want to run Linux on their XpressReal T3. You can download the image from our GitHub Releases page and flash it to a microSD card using balenaEtcher. Then, boot your XpressReal T3 from the microSD card.

Install OpenWrt Image

OpenWrt Project is a Linux operating system targeting embedded devices. Instead of trying to create a single, static firmware, OpenWrt provides a fully writable filesystem with package management. This makes it an excellent choice for network enthusiasts, developers, and power users who want to unlock advanced networking features on their XpressReal T3.

To get started, download the latest OpenWrt image from our GitHub Releases page (Which image to choose?). Flash the image to a microSD card, insert it into your XpressReal T3, and power on the device to boot into OpenWrt.

Install Home Assistant Operating System (HAOS) Image

Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform that prioritises local control and privacy. It is powered by a global community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts, and is perfect for running on the XpressReal T3.

Home Assistant Operating System (formerly HassOS) is a Linux-based system optimised to host Home Assistant and its add-ons. We’ve built HAOS images for XpressReal T3.

For more information, refer to our open-source GitHub repository.

Install Android Image

Caution

If you have installed Android and want to revert to openFyde or another Linux system, you must do so via “Recovery Mode”.

This process requires a USB-to-TTL converter. Please ensure you have this device, otherwise you will not be able to switch back from the Android system.

Download the Android Image from our Resource Download page and extract the .zip archive. You will find two folders inside: lk and image. The contents are used as follows: files in the lk folder need to be uploaded to the XpressReal T3 through the serial port, while files in the image folder need to be copied to a USB drive.

1. Enter recovery mode

Follow the instructions in the Unbrick the XpressReal T3 to put your XpressReal T3 into Recovery mode.

2. Upload files with Y-modem

Press h in keyboard, then send RTD1619B_hwsetting_BOOT_LPDDR4_32Gb_ddp_s1600_final.bin file by Y-modem protocol:

Press d in keyboard, then send uda_emmc.bind.bin file, when it finished, press g to write uploaded file to eMMC.

Press d in keyboard, then send boot_emmc.bind.bin file, when it finished, press b1 and b2 to write uploaded file to eMMC.

3. Reboot to uboot

After upload and write those files, replug the power supply to reboot XpressReal T3, it will enter uboot by default:

Enter the following commands to setup sysparam

sysparam default
sysparam save

4. Copy image to USB drive

Copy all the files in image folder to the root of the USB drive, then plug the USB drive to the USB 3.0 Type-C port.

Caution

Make sure the file system of your USB drive is FAT32 and the sector size of FAT32 is 512 because the uboot XpressReal T3 used only support this sector size.

Your can prepare the file system with the this command in a Linux console:

mkfs.vfat -S 512 /dev/sdXXX

5. Install Android to eMMC

Plug the USB drive to XpressReal T3, type usb start to confirm your USB drive has been recognised as Mass Storage Device, then type boot ru in uboot to start the installation:

Wait for a while, when it finishes, XpressReal T3 will reboot to Android.

Note

Restoring openFyde from an Android System

To restore openFyde from Android, you need to flash the firmware of the XpressReal T3 to the stock one, then refer to the Getting Started guide to install openFyde OS.

Use the following instructions to restore to stock firmware.

• download stock firmware from https://github.com/XpressReal/xpressreal/tree/main/recovery-fw

• connect XpressReal T3 with your computer and copy the downloaded firmware to Android with adb

adb push Downloads/rtd1619b_emmc_bind_4gb.bin /storage/emulated/0/Download/rtd1619b_emmc_bind_4gb.bin

• flash firmware

adb shell # connect to android shell with adb
su        # change to root

echo 0 > /sys/block/mmcblk0boot0/force_ro # disable eMMC boot area read-only
echo 0 > /sys/block/mmcblk0boot1/force_ro

dd if=//storage/emulated/0/Download/rtd1619b_emmc_bind_4gb.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0boot0 bs=4096 # flash firmware
dd if=//storage/emulated/0/Download/rtd1619b_emmc_bind_4gb.bin of=/dev/block/mmcblk0boot1 bs=4096

• the firmware of XpressReal T3 has been restored, you can install openFyde now

If the Android system is broken or adb is not available, please refer to the instructions in the Unbrick the XpressReal T3 to revert your XpressReal T3 to openFyde.

Further reading

• Read Building Custom Linux for how to build system images using Yocto.