Updating

Update Manager

Problems

System / Kernel (black screen)

Updating “System” breaks KlipperScreen
- Cause: Stock armbian kernels are incompatible with KlipperScreen
  - kernel on KlipperScreen is linux-5.16.20-rockchip64 (Version: 22.05.0-trunk)
    - This kernel is not found on the armbian servers (latest version: 5.16.11-rockchip64)
  - All standard kernels are incompatible:
    - Screen stays black
    - WiFi is not working
    - “/dev/spidev*” is not created (ADXL543 acceleration sensor requires spidev)
- Fix:
  - Revert to old kernel
    See Factory reset using Sovol’s armbian-update.deb
    - Option a) Factory reset (kills all prior settings)
      - Download the armbian-update.deb and flash it using an USB-stick (as shown in the previous link).
    - Option b) Revert just kernel (keeps settings)
      - Upload armbian-update.deb to your KlipperScreen.
        E.g. using the web-frontend: Navigate to “Machine” and use the “upload file” button (or use scp or whatever for uploading).
      - Use ssh/putty to log into your KlipperScreen.
      - Change into the directory where you uploaded armbian-update.deb to.
        For the mainsail example: cd ~/printer_data/config
      - Extract kernel package:
        dpkg -x armbian-update.deb xtract
      - Install (downgrade) kernel:
        sudo dpkg -i xtract/root/system_deb/linux-image-edge-rockchip64_22.05.0-trunk_arm64.deb
      - Install (downgrade) the dtb file:
        sudo cp xtract/home/mks/rk3328-roc-cc.dtb /boot/dtb/rockchip/
  - Keep that kernel-version (choose one of the following options):
    - Option a) Don’t update “System” at all.
    - Option b) Keep just that kernel-version (allows updating “System”):
      sudo apt-mark hold linux-image-edge-rockchip64 linux-dtb-edge-rockchip64
    - Option c) Freeze the kernel using “armbian-config”.

Armbian Buster: End Of Life

Sovol’s KlipperScreen still uses the outdated Armbian “buster” version, they’ve not released a newer firmware version to the current day (Oct. 2024). The repositories for this version have been taken offline in spring 2024.

Updating the system packages using apt (e.g. apt-get update or apt-get upgrade) does not work any longer, because these updates do not exist any more.
The missing system updates make it more and more difficult updating the Klipper components. E.g. recent “KlipperScreen” service versions depend on Python-3.8, but the device is stuck at Python-3.7.
At least one can not accidentally brick the device by updating the kernel or .dtb files any longer, as these files simply do not exist any longer.
It is possible to flash a recent Armbian version, but it takes more than just a few mouseclicks.
See these guides:
- Rebuilding from scratch using Maxim’s Armbian bookworm:
  - My recent guide (Armbian v25): Rebuilding v25 (MKS-PI)
  - My previous guide (Armbian v24): Rebuilding v24 (MKS-PI)
  - Vasyl’s guide: https://github.com/vasyl83/SV07update
- You can also find a readily prepared image (built as on my guide) here: Image (MKS-PI v24.2)

KlipperScreen / Python 3.8

The last version of KlipperScreen that works with python 3.7 is v0.4.1. I guess the easiest fix is resetting KlipperScreen to that revision and never updating it afterwards. That means:

Log into the KlipperScreen using SSH or Putty and enter the following commands:
cd ~/KlipperScreen
git reset --hard v0.4.1 (I haven’t tested this, but it is taken from the KlipperScreen FAQ at https://klipperscreen.readthedocs.io/en/latest/FAQ/)

Other options are:

Revert the whole system to its original state by flashing the emmc card with Sovol’s image (and not updating afterwards): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A1-Rw1vDPUT4pnvMOBWTd098l2aShehC/view
Flash a recent armbian image to the emmc card (then you can update afterwards).
Maybe its possible to manually download, compile and install python 3.8, but I’d expect many issues with that (possibly missing dependencies, too little free space on the emmc). https://devguide.python.org/getting-started/setup-building/

Moonraker Timelapse

The moonraker timelapse script has a dependency check at the starts, which prevents the installation on the outdated Armbian buster version. By removing that check, it should be possible to install the timelapse script. See Gergo’s Youtube guide

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