Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
La Frite AML-S805X-AC is a compact single-board computer (SBC) developed by Libre Computer. It's designed for hobbyists, educators, and developers seeking an affordable and open-source-friendly platform. There is SPI NOR Flash GD25LQ128D (128Mbit, 16MB) on the back of the board which stores the U-Boot bootloader. This video demonstrates two different methods for updating the bootloader. The first method is recommended for intermediate users as it is easier and uses a USB stick. The second method is more advanced as it requires booting the board in USB Boot Mode and flashing the firmware using a bash script from the open source project pyamlboot.
Libre Computer provides the following pre-compiled U-Boot binaries:
https://boot.libre.computer/release/aml-s805x-ac/
Method 1:
Follow the steps below to flash U-Boot firmware provided by LibreComputer LibreELEC does not need a minimum version to boot, but newer U-Boot firmware fixes some graphical on-screen glitches seen in the early boot stages. To update:
1. Download the latest aml-s805x-ac-spiflash.img and flash it to a USB stick
2. Connect the USB drive to the OTG socket next to the GPIO header
3. Power on the board
4. The existing U-Boot checks if the new image matches existing firmware, and when it does not the firmware will be updated.
5. When the upgrade completes power off the board and remove the USB stick
Method 2:
1. Install dependencies on the PC:
sudo apt install wget python3 python3-usb git
2. Clone branch gxl of git repository pyamlboot
git clone -b gxl github.com/libre-computer-project/pyamlboot.git
3. Download aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin
https://boot.libre.computer/release/aml-s805x-ac/aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin
4. Connect LaFrite USB OTG port (next to the GPIO header) to a PC using a USB cable
5. Press and hold the boot button on LaFrite while plugging in the microUSB connector for powering the board.
6. Verify that LaFrite appears as a USB device using lsusb
7. Execute flash-firmware.sh and provide the absolute path to aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin, for example:
./pyamlboot/pyamlboot ~/Downloads/aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin
8. Observe the serial terminal to verify the upgrade is successfully, for example with the screen app and the baud rate 115200
The video also features a quick test for booting Linux from a USB stick. The image has been built with the latest release of the Yocto Project Walnascar from April 2025 using BSP layer meta-meson: github.com/superna9999/meta-meson
📚 Useful Links
===
https://boot.libre.computer/release/aml-s805x-ac/
anavi.org/article/312
La Frite AML-S805X-AC is a compact single-board computer (SBC) developed by Libre Computer. It's designed for hobbyists, educators, and developers seeking an affordable and open-source-friendly platform. There is SPI NOR Flash GD25LQ128D (128Mbit, 16MB) on the back of the board which stores the U-Boot bootloader. This video demonstrates two different methods for updating the bootloader. The first method is recommended for intermediate users as it is easier and uses a USB stick. The second method is more advanced as it requires booting the board in USB Boot Mode and flashing the firmware using a bash script from the open source project pyamlboot.
Libre Computer provides the following pre-compiled U-Boot binaries:
https://boot.libre.computer/release/aml-s805x-ac/
Method 1:
Follow the steps below to flash U-Boot firmware provided by LibreComputer LibreELEC does not need a minimum version to boot, but newer U-Boot firmware fixes some graphical on-screen glitches seen in the early boot stages. To update:
1. Download the latest aml-s805x-ac-spiflash.img and flash it to a USB stick
2. Connect the USB drive to the OTG socket next to the GPIO header
3. Power on the board
4. The existing U-Boot checks if the new image matches existing firmware, and when it does not the firmware will be updated.
5. When the upgrade completes power off the board and remove the USB stick
Method 2:
1. Install dependencies on the PC:
sudo apt install wget python3 python3-usb git
2. Clone branch gxl of git repository pyamlboot
git clone -b gxl github.com/libre-computer-project/pyamlboot.git
3. Download aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin
https://boot.libre.computer/release/aml-s805x-ac/aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin
4. Connect LaFrite USB OTG port (next to the GPIO header) to a PC using a USB cable
5. Press and hold the boot button on LaFrite while plugging in the microUSB connector for powering the board.
6. Verify that LaFrite appears as a USB device using lsusb
7. Execute flash-firmware.sh and provide the absolute path to aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin, for example:
./pyamlboot/pyamlboot ~/Downloads/aml-s805x-ac-boot.bin
8. Observe the serial terminal to verify the upgrade is successfully, for example with the screen app and the baud rate 115200
The video also features a quick test for booting Linux from a USB stick. The image has been built with the latest release of the Yocto Project Walnascar from April 2025 using BSP layer meta-meson: github.com/superna9999/meta-meson
📚 Useful Links
===
https://boot.libre.computer/release/aml-s805x-ac/
anavi.org/article/312
