RADXA Q6A only blinks green light

Dragon Series Q6A
1

Hello Folks,

having bought myself a Radxa Q6A 12GB v1.214 on Christmas, due to many problems in my and my friends and associates life only now I could get to work on it.

First I tried the USB stick with the Windows 11 on it, and I got absolutely nothing. When the eMMC module was connected, it only blinked the green light like https://youtube.com/shorts/n12QaUSI0CY

Next, I thought that the SPI firmware might be old. So I found the T3 image from https://release-assets.githubusercontent.com/github-production-release-asset/1049102469/6a3abea3-5ad8-4e96-aa1b-5cd5596cda5c?sp=r&sv=2018-11-09&sr=b&spr=https&se=2026-01-28T03%3A28%3A03Z&rscd=attachment%3B+filename%3Dradxa-dragon-q6a_noble_kde_t3.output_512.img.xz

and made it onto a 16GB SD card. When I remove the EMMC module and USB stick, and insert the SD card, the system shows a stuck green lamp. Even after many minutes of waiting, the system does not boot and the blue LED does not light up. The HDMI port also is shown as inactive, and the mouse which is backlit also gets no power.

In short, I think the board has some kind of issue. I already opened a refund request to AliExpress, but would still like to ask for help here. Even if AliExpress allows me to destroy the board, I would send it back to help the Radxa (I would pay for it, no worries, I have an office in Slovakia and the post is cheap there).

I tested the power supply with OrangePi and Raspberry Pi, and also the SD card (before putting the new image on it), and all worked well. On site, I have an oscilloscope and maybe I can get a logic analyzer working. But I do NOT have ANY kind of equipment for DDR measurements and do NOT know anything about DDR measurement.

Cordially yours

Tam

2

Hi Tam,

It sounds like a firmware issue rather than a hardware defect. Please follow the steps in the link below to manually update the SPI firmware first: Radxa Dragon Q6A firmware snapshot

The T3 image you tried is very old. After updating the firmware, please try the latest RadxaOS build (currently T7) from here: radxa-build/radxa-dragon-q6a Currently the latest version is T7.

As for the issue with the eMMC module, could you please confirm the brand and where you bought it? (Note: Orange Pi eMMC modules are not compatible and will cause the board to shut down immediately).

3

Hello,

thank you. Sorry for being slow.

Let me reiterate that the problem occurs also without the eMMC module connected. I will buy a RADXA one, when I have the process computer booting.

In the mean time, let us make the right. Which type of A to A cable do you want me to use? Do you think this one is a good:

https://www.alza.hu/EN/alzapower-core-usb-a-to-usb-a-3-2-gen-1-0-5m-black-d6969294.htm?gad_campaignid=15975948399&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhOfLBhCCARIsAJPiopN9NjvSz7GGQXjiWi8cyvQClt2n_a7GrTJygpTU2uy1a_0sesuF8DIaAjRqEALw_wcB&kampan=adw4_prislusenstvi-pro-mt_pla_all_obecna_kabely-redukce-a-radice_c_1007633___576389798280_~130922288085~

It is a USB A to USB A cable, both sides male. And then, when I have the unit in firmware download mode, which of the four USB ports do I use?

Tam

4

The download port is the USB 3.0 blue one, check the image here:

Entering EDL Mode | Radxa Docs

5

I actually had the same issue with an OrangePi eMMC module (I’ve used these before with Rock boards, never had any issue). I’ve successfully updated BIOS to the latest release (Jan 20), but that didn’t help.

What did help was swapping the module for a Radxa one (based on a chip from the same vendor, Foresee) - with that one the board boots just fine.

6

Hi Ivan,

As explained here, OrangePi eMMC modules are not compatible with the Q6A.

7

What would happen if I were to hypothetically cut the UFS side of the connector off of the Orange Pi eMMC module (or desolder it), and then put a piece of tape over the metal PCB pads? Would this make it work? From what I’ve read, it seems to be that the UFS side of the connector is all GND on orange pi modules, but the eMMC side is compatible.

I’m asking because I have an unused Orange Pi eMMC module lying around that I would like to use with the Q6A.

8

We did not test this, in theory maybe it can work, but you should try by yourself.

9

Just tried it. Works great on Armbian at least. Though I have not tried booting from it. Have not, and am not planning to try Radxa OS. mmcblk0 below is eMMC, mmcblk1 is SD card.

user@radxa-dragon-q6a:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0
Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 232.96 GiB, 250139901952 bytes, 488554496 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
user@radxa-dragon-q6a:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk1
Disk /dev/mmcblk1: 59.48 GiB, 63864569856 bytes, 124735488 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: D3743B78-18C1-4235-9D36-B0261B24FB0B

Device          Start       End   Sectors  Size Type
/dev/mmcblk1p1   8192    540671    532480  260M EFI System
/dev/mmcblk1p2 540672 124735454 124194783 59.2G Linux root (ARM-64)
user@radxa-dragon-q6a:~$ sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/mmcblk0

/dev/mmcblk0:
 Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 784 MB in  3.00 seconds = 261.20 MB/sec
user@radxa-dragon-q6a:~$ sudo hdparm -t --direct /dev/mmcblk1

/dev/mmcblk1:
 Timing O_DIRECT disk reads: 216 MB in  3.01 seconds =  71.87 MB/sec
10

Hello @tamhanna

Did you manage to fix this or did you return the board? Think I’m having the same issue but not an easy pathway for me to return the board unfortunately.