Ethernet port on Orange Pi 3B is not working

Troubleshooting
1

The internet does not work on the ethernet port of the Orange Pi 3B with DietPi and Kernel 6.18.
It only works on Ubuntu Jammy with Kernel 5.10 provided by the manufacturer of the Orange Pi.

The yellow LED on the ethernet port blinks, but it does not connect to the network, even when trying automatic connection or manual configuration with a static IP.

At the moment, I am using a USB ethernet adapter, which works perfectly on DietPi.
However, I would like to use the native Ethernet port of the Orange Pi.

Required Information

  • DietPi version
    G_DIETPI_VERSION_CORE=10
    G_DIETPI_VERSION_SUB=2
    G_DIETPI_VERSION_RC=3
    G_GITBRANCH=‘master’
    G_GITOWNER=‘MichaIng’
  • Distro version: trixie
  • Kernel version: Linux STSD 6.18.16-current-rockchip64 #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Mar 4 12:25:12 UTC 2026 aarch64 GNU/Linux
  • Architecture: arm64
  • SBC model: Orange Pi 3B (aarch64)
  • Power supply used: 5V 3A
  • SD card used: eMMC

This solution works very well with Ubuntu Jammy and kernel 5.10.
But unfortunately it does not work with newer kernel versions

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/OrangePI/comments/1aojmn3/orange_pi_3b_ethernet_doesnt_work/

io -4 0xFDC60284 0x3f3f3f3f
io -4 0xFDC6028C 0x003f003f
io -4 0xFDC60298 0x3f003f00
io -4 0xFDC6029C 0x3f3f3f3f
io -4 0xfdc60388 0xFFFF0049

2

Apparently @MichaIng solved this problem in 2024, but the issue still persists in kernel 6.18. Should I use kernel 6.11 instead?

3

You have a v1.1 revision, right? These Ethernet issues were one of the reasons for the v2.1. It seems to appear after a while, somehow: Orange Pi 3B v1.1 Ethernet adapter not working ¡ Issue #7490 ¡ MichaIng/DietPi ¡ GitHub

Please test this on DietPi:

sudo ethtool -s eth0 advertise 0x0f

Taken from the same Reddit thread.

EDIT: There are two dedicated issues with the Ethernet of this board. One was a misconfigured device tree, which we fixed. The other is a hardware damage that seems to appear after a while, with only workarounds available, like these io commands (where no one knows what they are doing).

1 Like
4

Yes, I have the Orange Pi 3B v1.1.1 board.
Thank you for your help!

5

Had this problem too, the solution in the end was to nuke and reflash the SPI. Also - the topic is in the wrong category

6

What is the version of your board? Is it the Orange Pi 3B version 1.1.1?
Which program or command did you use to format and rewrite the SPI?

7

Yup it’s 1.1. As for the software, there are many guides on the Internet, just Google. No special software needed

8

Sorry for the inconvenience. I’m a beginner.

Did you use the official rk3566_MiniLoaderAll.bin from Orange Pi?
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_dkTZ6LD8JnoQ2PHpuud_FapzYD1Imtp

Did you need to update the configurations rk3588_Linux_pcie.cfg (loader) or rk3566_rkspi_loader.img (U-Boot)?

Was the reset you performed similar to this one?
http://www.orangepi.org/orangepiwiki/index.php/Orange_Pi_3B#Using_RKDevTool_to_clear_SPIFlash

9

No I don’t touch OrangePi stuff. Just use dd to erase it, alternatively (if your WiFi is working), you can install mtd-utils and use flashcp. There should be a way to do it from dietpi-config too, I think.

10

Last question. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Which bin/cfg image did you use to reflash the SPI?

Where can I download it?

11

I don’t think I ever downloaded any images. I just relied on those available in tools from armbian or dietpi.

12

In dietpi-config > Advanved Options, you should see “Flash SPI bootloader”. In installs the needed packages, in case, automatically.

That is pretty interesting, I was not even aware it has an SPI flash, or forgot it, and that it is obviously used with higher priority than the bootloader on the eMMC/SD card? I never liked this. Either there needs to be an explicit switch to choose, or the eMMC/SD card bootloader should be preferred, as it is much more likely to fit to the OS on the very same card.

So the original old U-Boot the old revision was shipped with initializes the Ethernet in a way, that does not work with mainline Linux (anymore). But better than my prior assumption, that it is a hardware defect.

1 Like