Install Linux on the H96 Max X3

The H96 Max X3 tv box is notable for being cheap, containing a gigabit Ethernet port, 4GB RAM, and an S905X3 processor. Depending on your needs it might be the perfect mini-server if a Raspberry Pi 4 is too expensive for you.

Armbian Linux installation:

1. Join in a moment of silence to honor balbes150 who makes this all possible :)

2. Download your desired Armbian image (I used Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_buster_current_5.9.0.img.xz) and load it onto a microSD card using Etcher

3. Eject and re-insert SD card

4. Download h96max-x2-test-bus80-gpu-volt.dtb into the BOOT/dtb/amlogic folder (credit: root-stas ...and yes, I know it says "x2" in the filename but ignore it)

5. Open the BOOT/extlinux folder and edit extlinux.conf to replace all the file contents with this and save and close:

LABEL Armbian
LINUX /zImage
INITRD /uInitrd
FDT /dtb/amlogic/h96max-x2-test-bus80-gpu-volt.dtb
APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyAML0,115200n8 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0

6. In the BOOT drive, rename u-boot-s905x2-s922 to u-boot.ext

7. Eject the microSD card and load into the H96 Max X3 device

8. Plug an Ethernet cable into the device

9. Insert a dull toothpick into the AV hole on the device and push until you feel a slight click

10. With the internal AV button pressed, use other hand to connect the power supply and wait 15 seconds and then remove the toothpick from the AV hole.

11. Wait about a minute and then SSH into the device with username root and password 1234 (you can check your router to look for the new IP device or tools like an IP scanner or nmap).

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If you don't see an SSH login after a couple minutes, unplug and retry the toothpick method again. If you still don't see an SSH login after a few tries you'll likely need to reflash the stock firmware:

If you don't have one, buy a USB-to-USB data cable.

Unplug the unit, disconnect the Ethernet cable, and remove the microSD card.

On a Windows machine install the USB Burning Tool and reboot.

Next, download the firmware for the H96 Max X3

Follow this guide to install the firmware.

Repeat steps 6-10 to get an SSH prompt.

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12. After Armbian is configured, run /root/install-aml.sh to install Armbian to the internal eMMC chip.

13. Once the script indicates the copy is complete run shutdown now then unplug, remove the SD card, and plug in device. The device should now boot into Armbian directly from the internal eMMC chip.

Success!

As a bonus, you can install DietPi for a faster system:

apt-get update

apt-get install -y gpg systemd-sysv ca-certificates sudo wget locales --reinstall
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MichaIng/DietPi/master/PREP_SYSTEM_FOR_DIETPI.sh -O PREP_SYSTEM_FOR_DIETPI.sh
chmod +x PREP_SYSTEM_FOR_DIETPI.sh
./PREP_SYSTEM_FOR_DIETPI.sh

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Performance compared to Raspberry Pi 4:

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB RAM) 32-bit:

• CPU Performance: Duration = 8.80 seconds (lower is faster)
• CPU Temp: Idle = 38'c | Full load = 48'c
• RootFS: Write = 18 MiB/s | Read = 41 MiB/s
• RAM: Write = 339 MiB/s | Read = 606 MiB/s

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB RAM) 64-bit:

• CPU Performance: Duration = 7.27 seconds (lower is faster)
• CPU Temp: Idle = 45'c | Full load = 52'c
• RootFS: Write = 18 MiB/s | Read = 22 MiB/s
• RAM: Write = 448 MiB/s | Read = 1163 MiB/s

H96 Max X3 (4GB RAM):

• CPU Performance: Duration = 11.44 seconds (lower is faster)
• CPU Temp: Idle = 44'c | Full load = 50'c
• RootFS: Write = 57 MiB/s | Read = 146 MiB/s
• RAM: Write = 481 MiB/s | Read = 878 MiB/s