Hi, did you solve this problem? I want to install Andriod with SD card and Ubuntu with NVMe, but I don’t konw how to chose boot from SD card. It always boot from NVMe, if I insert NVMe.
(English is not my mother language, Maybe my grammar seems rude, but I’m very sincere.)
No, I haven’t had any luck trying to boot from microSD since flashing for NVMe boot, even with NVMe removed.
I have exactly the same problem.
Matter of fact, I was dd-ing an image to the NVME but had a power outtage at 71% so the image got corrupted. It would even boot to command line but won’t accept any login for root. So I reflashed an image to SD and wanted to reflash the NVME but whenever it’s plugged in, it will boot into the corrupted OS.
I tried with various SPI images as well. The zero image, the recommended one, I also found a ‘no NVME’ in the forums here. None of this worked…
Any thoughts, help?
Can at least somebody simply state ‘it’s not possible to influence the boot order’ if that’s true such that I and others know? 
https://www.google.com/search?q=rockchip+boot+process
This sadly doesn’t work this way. Since I am not Radxa staff, I can say it loud 
users are extremely lazy - most of usually never research if perhaps this question / problem was already answered and also stops quickly while expecting someone else will do the bulk of research, spent days on it, and provide solution … It doesn’t go that way.
I think it would help if you connected to the serial console and posted the output. That said radxa disabled output for uboot, You can only see the output from the idbloader. So you need a uboot image that outputs to serial console if it goes wrong in uboot.
Only then you can see where the boot sequence stops doing what you need it to do.
Hej,
I’ve seen your toxic posts in may any threads. Where I am grateful for your criticism regarding my will for a detailed google/forum/community search, I need to assure you that is more a lack of knowledge rather than my lack of wiggling with those novel SBCs.
I also highly acknowledge your unwillingness to not fully read my posts that clearly state I have tried the obvious such as flashing SPI with the zero img or even a nonvme image provided by the community and described the fact that even then, the Rock5B gives boot priority to the problematic SSD over a functional OS on SD that would boot nicely w/o the SSD being connected.
So I really don’t undestand your cynic unhelpful comments your spread throughout this forum. Maybe just… leave.
I will try and see what the derial console will tell me but as it boots into the only partially installed SSD OS I don’t expect helpful error output from there, Eric. The damaged SSD image does not even allow me to even log on.
Try and use serial console to see why it doesn’t boot from SD…
That means you still need to learn something? (or is this cynical too?)
I have to assume you didn’t do research as most people don’t. I apologise for hurting your feelings. Usually its the other way around.
This means SPI boot loader favorise NVME. Why? Someone decided this is the right way … If you want to boot from SD card, removing / flashing zeroes to the SPI flash should help (that is why i gave you google search hint - you could figure that out on your own). And yes, serial console …
To be very obvious now for you:
I have so fucking many zeros on my SPI that I can see them. Still boots NVME over SD with a functional (at least bootable) OS on both.
@jessicat
From the Radxa wiki which SPI did you select? There are three with the last being for armbian ( NVME).
I am in the opposite of you. When I followed the instructions on that link I chose the first SPI (release version) and I am able to boot from SD and EMMC. I am not able to boot from NVME. Not sure if this helps.
It does. I used the first SPI (release, no serial console) but also rewrote to zero.img as well as the nonvme.img that was provided by a community member in the forum.
I also wrote to SPI both via maskroom / win PC as well as booting from SD only and dd into mtdblock all the above mentioned images.
All I wrote there I underline it.
Do it get the files from radxa page.
Do the clean spi flash and it will always work perfect.
You have not cleared the SPI. If you were to actually clear SPI from u-boot, the system would not start with NVMe under any circumstances. The launch will work exclusively from the SD card. If you do not use power supplies with PD - you have the opportunity to install the correct u-boot on the SPI and have a normal start from the SD card in any NVMe state (you can have a NVMe system and run any other system from the SD card in any NVMe state).
Do not mislead people, the regular u-boot Radxa has errors and the wrong order of launching from devices. In case of any problem with NVMe, users will have to physically disconnect NVMe, erase it manually on a PC and repeat the entire process of installing the system on NVMe again, the SD card will not work.
Check here (stable-5.10-rock5 branch):
Even if your device starts with SD (as it always should if it is a valid SPL boot.) then U-Boot get’s started from SD card. But then:
It seems then that NVME is checked first, only for presence, and if present chosen as boot device.
I would change the order here and build a new u-boot and write it to SD card, If I were you.
Thanks Eric for pointing that out!
I also ran into this issue. I flashed the SPI and installed the Debian image from the downloads page on my NVMe drive. Whenever I had the SD card and NVMe drive plugged in at the same time it wouldn’t boot from the SD card and always from the drive.
After purchasing a USB to NVMe adapter so that I can use my PC to flash Armbian onto the drive it would actually boot from the SD card if both are plugged in at the same time, and not from the NVMe drive. My best guess is that it’s an issue when booting from an SD card and then flashing the NVMe drive with Debian directly on the Rock 5.
Another thing to note is that it could also just be an issue with the Debian image version listed on the downloads page. Looks like it’s dated 20221031 at the time of writing, but the latest available on GitHub is 20230201. Although this is unconfirmed.
Hi everyone!
I am totally new into SBC but I try to understand it…
I read this thread but at the end I don’t understand… it’s possible to change the SPI for booting via SSD (NVME) but when inserting an SD card to boot the OS on there?
My idea is to boot Android 12 from the internal SSD (NVME) and to boot Batocera from the Micro SD card and using the SSD (NVME) as storage in there….
This is an option you think? Help would be appreciated 
and sorry for my dumb questions… 
Kind regards and have a nice day! jeroen
I had this issue (and I still have it).
The problem as I see it is as follows: It is true that if the SPI is zeroed, it loads the SD card. However, the SD card checks which device to boot from as well. So the SBC boots up, loads the SD card, that sees a working NVMe and then boots that, skipping the SD card.
See [SOLVED] Boot problem (my own fault; not USB PD related) where there was a solution, but for some reason I can’t get this to work anymore.