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Install LineageOS on
Banana Pi M5

Warning: The provided instructions are for LineageOS 20. These will only work if you follow every section and step precisely.
Do not continue after something fails!

Basic requirements

Read through the instructions at least once before actually following them, so as to avoid any problems due to any missed steps!
Make sure your computer has adb and fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
Enable USB debugging on your device.
Boot your device with the stock OS at least once and check every functionality.
LineageOS is provided as-is with no warranty. While we attempt to verify everything works you are installing this at your own risk!

Preparing for installation

This generation of Amlogic devices come with a unique boot mode called “Burn Mode”. aml-flash-tool is Radxa’s wrapper script for Amlogic’s official update tool for interfacing with burn mode on recent Amlogic devices. aml-flash-tool is only available for Linux. It will run perfectly fine in a VM.

Flashing the initial image and firmware using `update`

Note: Please note that no matter what Devkit you have, this firmware requires an eMMC module and will not work if you only have an SD Card. We will not change this due to performance requirements.

Download aml_upgrade_package.img file from here.
Power off the device, and boot it into burn mode:
- Press and hold the SW5 button on the board, and plug into your PC.
Download and install aml-flash-tool:
```
git clone https://github.com/radxa/aml-flash-tool.git && cd aml-flash-tool && ./INSTALL
```
Note: Please note this will require your user’s sudo password, as the script requires direct hardware access, which requires root privileges.
Flash the downloaded image file to your device by running (replace <aml_upgrade_package.img> with the actual filename!):
```
sudo ./aml-flash-tool.sh <aml_upgrade_package.img>
```
Note: These flash packages were built by LineageOS Developer Stricted from officially supported LineageOS repositories, by using lunch to select the device, then run m aml_upgrade.
The script will flash the firmware and boot directly into an outdated but functional version of LineageOS. Please proceed with the installation instructions to complete the installation process.

Installing LineageOS from recovery

Download the LineageOS installation package that you would like to install or build the package yourself.
- (Optionally): If you want to install an application package add-on such as Google Apps (use the arm architecture), please read and follow the instructions on Google Apps page
If you are not in recovery, reboot into recovery:
- Run adb reboot recovery.
Now tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one).
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the LineageOS .zip package but do not reboot before you read/followed the rest of the instructions!
- On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideload.
- On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb sideload filename.zip.
  Tip: Normally, adb will report Total xfer: 1.00x, but in some cases, even if the process succeeds the output will stop at 47% and report adb: failed to read command: Success. In some cases it will report adb: failed to read command: No error or adb: failed to read command: Undefined error: 0 which is also fine.

Installing Add-Ons

Note: If you don’t want to install any add-on (such as Google Apps), you can skip this whole section!

Warning: If you want the Google Apps add-on on your device, you must follow this step before booting into LineageOS for the first time!

Repeat the sideload steps above for all desired packages in sequence.

Note: Add-ons aren’t signed with LineageOS’s official key, and therefore when they are sideloaded, Lineage Recovery will present a screen that says Signature verification failed, this is expected, please click Continue.

All set!

Once you have installed everything successfully, you can now reboot your device into the OS for the first time!

Click the back arrow in the top left of the screen, then “Reboot system now”.

Note: The first boot usually takes no longer than 15 minutes, depending on the device. If it takes longer, you may have missed a step, otherwise feel free to get assistance.

Get assistance

After you’ve double checked that you followed the steps precisely, didn’t skip any and still have questions or got stuck, feel free to ask on our subreddit or in #LineageOS on Libera.Chat.

Install LineageOS on Banana Pi M5