Re: [BUG] rockchip: v2026.07 fails to boot on GameForce Ace (RK3588S)

On Tue, Aug 18, 2026 at 09:04:31AM +1000, Daniel Martin wrote:
> That's great, thanks for the update Chris.
> So maybe I'm missing something...
> I didn't try `Arm Trusted Firmware` but I used rk3588_bl31_v1.54.elf
> without Optee.
> Does it need Optee? I assumed not as other RK3588 devices don't.

No, it doesn't, though I boot with it anyway.

Note that in digging through the code again I *did* find a bug and a
possible issue, though neither would stop the device from booting
successfully. I'm going to push a bugfix soon to fix the following
issues:

1) CONFIG_TARGET_GAMEFORCE_ACE_RK3588S=y is not set in
gameforce-ace-rk3588s_defconfig, but it should be.

2) Since recovery from the internal eMMC isn't simple, we really should
set the default u-boot,spl-boot-order for this device to *always* favor
the external sdmmc.

I'll push a fix upstream soon to handle these two issues, but neither
of them would cause a boot failure like you have experienced.

Thank you,
Chris

> 
> Let me try again on the weekend with ATF & LInux 7.2.
> 
> Dan
> 
> On Tue, 18 Aug 2026 at 03:34, Chris Morgan <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, Aug 14, 2026 at 10:02:05PM -0500, Chris Morgan wrote:
> > > On Sat, Aug 15, 2026 at 10:06:23AM +1000, Daniel Martin wrote:
> > > > Thanks for the further details Chris,
> > > >
> > > > It would indeed be great if we could move this device to mainline end-to-end.
> > > > Let me know how you get on with v2026.07 and if possible, test your
> > > > DTS with the stable kernel (7.1.8 or similar).
> > > > When I reverted uboot, I encountered inconsistent I/O issues with the
> > > > latest stable kernel, therefore I ended up going back to the BSP.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks for all your work, we appreciate the effort.
> > > >
> > > > Dan
> > >
> > > I've just tested booting the device with a completely unmodified
> > > version of Arm Trusted Firmware (checked out at tag v2.15.0), U-Boot
> > > (checked out at tag v2026.07 and changing nothing from the
> > > gameforce-ace-rk3588s_defconfig), loading Linux 7.2 (tag v7.2-rc7) via
> > > extlinux boot method and it seems to be working. I do note that it
> > > seems to be slower to boot since I upgraded A-TF and U-Boot to the most
> > > recent releases, so I'll troubleshoot that some more next week as I try
> > > to install a fully up to date Ubuntu 26.04 on it.
> > >
> > > I know you said it's hard to get a serial port on it, but if you
> > > continue to have problems booting it that might be required to
> > > troubleshoot it further. Otherwise I can send you my binaries if
> > > need be.
> > >
> > > Thank you,
> > > Chris
> >
> > I'm afraid I cannot seem to recreate the problem, and I'm going to need
> > a serial dump of the kernel logs. I'm sorry to ask that of you, but it
> > will help further debug what the issue may be on your end. So far I've
> > tested using a mainline kernel (v7.2 checked out this morning), U-Boot
> > v2026.07, Arm Trusted Firmware (mainline master, checked out this
> > morning OR the rkbin version, rk3588_bl31_v1.54.elf), optionally with
> > Optee (master, checked out this morning). In each case the device boots
> > successfully for me running Debian 13 (Forky) with my own mainline
> > kernel.
> >
> > I'm going to test installing Ubuntu 26.04 and fusing some OTP keys
> > later today, I'll let you know if I encounter further issues.
> >
> > Thank you,
> > Chris
> >
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Sat, 15 Aug 2026 at 07:40, Christopher Morgan
> > > > <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm having trouble with my usual email client, so I'm sorry if this message is formatted weird.
> > > > >
> > > > > I have tested the device most recently with 2026.04 with the default defconfig options. I am using mainline Arm Trusted Firmware though, not the Rockchip versions. Using Rockchip's A-TF should work, but again it's not something I've tested. I can note that if you're using mainline A-TF along with mainline Optee, you need to pass CONFIG_SPL_ATF_NO_PLATFORM_PARAM=N, otherwise the device will fail to boot because it won't protect the Optee regions. (For mainline A-TF CONFIG_SPL_ATF_NO_PLATFORM_PARAM is optional unless you use Optee, for Rockchip's BL31 you need CONFIG_SPL_ATF_NO_PLATFORM_PARAM=Y).
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm going to test the device next week and see if I encounter any issues with it. I'll report back if I find out anything weird.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thank you,
> > > > > Chris
> > > > > ________________________________
> > > > > From: Quentin Schulz <[email protected]>
> > > > > Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 10:22 AM
> > > > > To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>
> > > > > Cc: Chris Morgan <[email protected]>
> > > > > Subject: Re: [BUG] rockchip: v2026.07 fails to boot on GameForce Ace (RK3588S)
> > > > >
> > > > > +Cc Chris who maintains this board and may be able to help.
> > > > >
> > > > > I somehow didn't receive this mail in my inbox, here's my attempt at
> > > > > quoting text from a mail I didn't receive (and it's also not available
> > > > > on lore.kernel.org...).
> > > > >
> > > > >  > Hello,
> > > > >  >
> > > > >  > I am experiencing a total boot failure on the GameForce Ace handheld
> > > > >  > console (Rockchip RK3588S) when trying to run mainline U-Boot
> > > > >  > v2026.07.
> > > > >  > The device fails to initialize or display any output during the
> > > > >  > initial handshake.
> > > > >  > Unfortunately, due to the tightly integrated form factor of this
> > > > >  > handheld device, it is exceptionally difficult to break open the
> > > > >  > casing and wire up a UART serial console to capture early boot logs.
> > > > >  > The target operating system (Batocera Linux) environment is running
> > > > >  > the mainline Linux 7.1.5 kernel.
> > > > >  > Given the complete lack of visible console output, I wanted to check:
> > > > >  >
> > > > >  > 1. Has the GameForce Ace board target been actively tested with the
> > > > >  > v2026.07 release?
> > > > >  > 2. Are there any specific or updated build instructions, BL31/TPL/SPL
> > > > >  > combinations, or proprietary Rockchip firmware binary requirements
> > > > >  > (rkbin) needed for this release that may differ from previous
> > > > >  > versions?
> > > > >  >
> > > > >  > For reference, the build configuration used was: gameforce-ace->
> > > > > rk3588s_defconfig
> > > > >  > TF-A / BL31 version: rk3588_ddr_lp4_2112MHz_lp5_2400MHz_v1.21.bin /
> > > > >  > rk3588_bl31_v1.54.elf
> > > > >  > Compiler: GCC 14.3
> > > > >  > Linux 7.1.5 uses the rk3588s-gameforce-ace.dts
> > > > >  >
> > > > >  > Any guidance on known regressions regarding this target, or
> > > > >  > recommendations on how to isolate the stage where it hangs without a
> > > > >  > hardware UART, would be greatly appreciated.
> > > > >  >
> > > > >
> > > > > If you have a known working version of U-Boot, maybe start a bisect with
> > > > > that commit as good and 2026.07 as bad to isolate a commit that broke
> > > > > the board.
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheers,
> > > > > Quentin
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > >
> > > > Kind Regards,
> > > >
> > > > Daniel
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Daniel