# NanoPi Zero2 headache
**URL:** https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [15 March 2026 20:42 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041 "2026-03-15T20:42:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jclsn](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jclsn)
#### Post date: [15 March 2026 20:42 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/1 "2026-03-15T20:42:36Z")
I recently bought this device because it was the only small board with eMMC and onboard ethernet. Love the hardware, but the BSP support is horrible. They use an ancient U-Boot 2017.09 version, which doesnβt support extlinux. There are 8 (wtf?) different partitions created and their official Alpine image uses an immutable rootfs overlayed with a data partition, so you canβt even run docker on this thing π The kernel is dumpeed onto the disk and doesnβt seem easily upgradable unless you overwrite it with dd π«
I saw DietPi is the only distro that supports this board. I just flashed the image and examined it. It uses the same weird 8 partitions. I saw that there are some u-boot-current and u-boot-edge packages, which (so I hope) are not this vendor crap.
`linux-u-boot-nanopi-zero2-current.deb 2026-03-12 12:10 487K`
`linux-u-boot-nanopi-zero2-edge.deb 2026-03-12 12:02 487K`
`linux-u-boot-nanopi-zero2-vendor.deb 2026-03-12 12:00 487K`
Did you succeed in building an up-to-date U-Boot image that works with extlinux? I also tried upgrading the kernel and the DietPi wouldnβt boot anymore. Whatβs the right way of having something newer than the vendor 6.1 kernel?
---
### Author:  [@Joulinar](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/Joulinar)
#### Post date: [16 March 2026 21:57 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/2 "2026-03-16T21:57:37Z")
Best to my knowledge, there is no mainline kernel yet. Something we are working on still.
---
### Author:  [@jclsn](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jclsn)
#### Post date: [17 March 2026 15:19 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/3 "2026-03-17T15:19:43Z")
Guess Iβll have to live with it then. I saw the device tree for this board in the mainline kernel tree though.
Is there a way to install DietPi on the eMMC?
---
### Author:  [@Joulinar](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/Joulinar)
#### Post date: [17 March 2026 15:49 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/4 "2026-03-17T15:49:37Z")
> [@jclsn](#):
>
> Is there a way to install DietPi on the eMMC?
Multiple. Depends if it is a new image or the running system. At least an idea you will get from [Moving a running DietPi system to a USB stick/disk or an onboard eMMC β DietPi Blog](https://dietpi.com/blog/?p=1236)
---
### Author:  [@lbmh](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/lbmh)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 18:10 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/5 "2026-03-26T18:10:35Z")
Greetings!
On a NanoPi Zero2 with an 256 GB emmc, on dietpi v10.2 I get
```auto
root@DietPi:\~# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
mmcblk2 179:0 0 233G 0 disk
ββmmcblk2p1 179:1 0 4M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p2 179:2 0 4M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p3 179:3 0 4M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p4 179:4 0 16M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p5 179:5 0 40M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p6 179:6 0 32M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p7 179:7 0 32M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p8 179:8 0 1G 0 part /mnt/be95d575-9e1a-4195-a21c-b7599e643c8d
ββmmcblk2p9 179:9 0 1G 0 part
ββmmcblk2p10 179:10 0 230.8G 0 part
mmcblk0 179:32 0 29.7G 0 disk
ββmmcblk0p1 179:33 0 29.7G 0 part /
mmcblk2boot0 179:64 0 4M 1 disk
mmcblk2boot1 179:96 0 4M 1 disk
```
but I dont see it in
dietpi-drive \_manager
```auto
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ€ DietPi-Drive_Manager βββ
β Please select a drive to see available options. β
β - User data location: RootFS (/mnt/dietpi_userdata) β
β ββ mmcblk0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------β β
β /dev/mmcblk0p1 : / | ext4 | Capacity: 29.1G | Used: 2G (7%)
β ββ mmcblk2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------β β
β /dev/mmcblk2p8 : /mnt/be95d575-9e1a-4195-a21c-b7599e643c8d | ext4 | Capacity: 986.5M | Used: 663.4M (67%) β
β /dev/mmcblk2p9 : Not mounted | ext4 | Capacity: 1G β
β ββ Global Options -----------------------------------------------------------------------β β
β Idle Spindown : Set a global idle duration, before drives power down β
β ββ Add / Refresh Drives -----------------------------------------------------------------β β
β Add network drive : Select to mount networked drives β
β Refresh : Scan for recently added/removed drives β
β β
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ,β
```
Any ideas on how to see mmcblk2p10 in dietpi-drive \_manager ? Thanks in advance.
---
### Author:  [@Joulinar](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/Joulinar)
#### Post date: [26 March 2026 18:34 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/6 "2026-03-26T18:34:30Z")
It seems thereβs still a FriendlyELEC image on the eMMC? That doesnβt make any sense, does it? Why not just flash a DietPi image onto the eMMC directly and boot from that? That way you save on the SD card. And if the Zero 2 absolutely has to boot from an SD card, Iβd wipe the entire eMMC first and create just one partition.
---
### Author:  [@jelbo](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jelbo)
#### Post date: [17 April 2026 17:05 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/7 "2026-04-17T17:05:32Z")
Just got the NanoPi Zero2 (amazing hardware!) as well with eMMC and flashing DietPi to the eMMC is not straightforward. Iβm trying the USB method, with driver. The [FriendlyElec provided RKDevTool v3.30](https://wiki.friendlyelec.com/wiki/index.php/NanoPi_Zero2) does not accept DietPi\_NanoPiZero2-ARMv8-Trixie.img (Loading firmware failed!), but reading this topic, it seems that it expects a specific partition layout.
What is the suggested way? I have a TF to eMMC adapter that I can try (but I need to disassemble the device, inckluding wifi antennae), but if the board expects a specific partition layout on eMMC, I shouldnβt even have to try.
---
### Author:  [@Joulinar](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/Joulinar)
#### Post date: [17 April 2026 18:35 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/8 "2026-04-17T18:35:24Z")
Quite easy to get the NanoPi Zero 2 up from eMMC. Just boot of TF card and flash the image to eMMC using `dd` commend. Takes less than a couple of minutes.
---
### Author:  [@jelbo](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jelbo)
#### Post date: [17 April 2026 19:05 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/9 "2026-04-17T19:05:07Z")
Thank you for the reply. Do you speak from personal experience or is the dd method linked earlier possible more complicated than just the straightforward approach? The article and latest comment mention specific difficulties with NanoPi device and eMMC.
(Iβve already spent 3 hours on just getting DietPi to run from microSD, failed twice, now running a stock image on eMMC and Iβm about to go mad, lol.)
---
### Author:  [@Joulinar](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/Joulinar)
#### Post date: [17 April 2026 19:23 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/10 "2026-04-17T19:23:59Z")
I have a NanoPi Zero 2 running from SD card as well es from eMMC. No issues at all
Doesnβt matter what image you run from SD card, you are able to flash a DietPi image to eMMC. It canβt be easier and more straightforward.
```auto
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
DietPi v10.2.3 : 21:20 - Fri 04/17/26
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
_____ _____ _ _________
| _ \ (_) ___| |_ | _ \ (_)|__ /|___ \
| | | || | / _ \| __|| |_) || | / /__) |
| |_| || || __/| |_ |__ / | | / /_ / __/
| ____/ |_| \___ | \ __||_| |_|/____ || _____ |
- Device model : NanoPi Zero2 (aarch64)
- Uptime : up 1 minute
- Kernel : 6.18.21-current-rockchip64
- CPU temp : N/A
- LAN IP : 192.168.0.89 (eth0)
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
root@DietPiZ2:~#
```
```auto
root@DietPiZ2:~# lsblk -o name,fstype,label,size,ro,type,mountpoint,partuuid,uuid
NAME FSTYPE LABEL SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT PARTUUID UUID
mmcblk0 57.6G 0 disk
ββmmcblk0p1 ext4 57.6G 0 part / 2120620e-87bb-4a85-82e3-383120c3d0ba e6a2f6a2-8f94-4c53-8265-9d7d6f5b1b95
mmcblk0boot0 4M 1 disk
mmcblk0boot1 4M 1 disk
root@DietPiZ2:~#
```
---
### Author:  [@jelbo](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jelbo)
#### Post date: [18 April 2026 19:13 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/12 "2026-04-18T19:13:03Z")
Reading [Moving a running DietPi system to a USB stick/disk or an onboard eMMC β DietPi Blog](https://dietpi.com/blog/?p=1236#step-3-move-operating-system) , it says that I need to set the file system to read only before copying the microSD cardβs contents to eMMC. It also warns me that β_If you set the file system to read only, an access via SSH is not possible after the reboot, i.e. in this case you need access to the local console (via keyboard and monitor)._β
After the `dd` copy, I need to shutdown the system and start it without the microSD and then β_change the root filesystem back to read/write_β.
Wouldnβt that be impossible over SSH, since SSH access is not possible after the reboot? I donβt have UART access.
I decided to go ahead without the RO step. Everything worked fine!
```auto
root@DietPi:~# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
mmcblk0 179:0 0 14.5G 0 disk
ββmmcblk0p1 179:1 0 14.4G 0 part /
mmcblk2 179:32 0 58.2G 0 disk
ββmmcblk2p1 179:33 0 4M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p2 179:34 0 4M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p3 179:35 0 4M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p4 179:36 0 16M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p5 179:37 0 40M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p6 179:38 0 32M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p7 179:39 0 32M 0 part
ββmmcblk2p8 179:40 0 1.7G 0 part
ββmmcblk2p9 179:41 0 56.4G 0 part
mmcblk2boot0 179:64 0 4M 1 disk
mmcblk2boot1 179:96 0 4M 1 disk
```
```auto
root@DietPi:~# dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/dev/mmcblk2 bs=1M status=progress
15514730496 bytes (16 GB, 14 GiB) copied, 300 s, 51.7 MB/s
14804+0 records in
14804+0 records out
15523119104 bytes (16 GB, 14 GiB) copied, 302.183 s, 51.4 MB/s
```
```auto
root@DietPi:~# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
mmcblk0 179:0 0 14.5G 0 disk
ββmmcblk0p1 179:1 0 14.4G 0 part /
mmcblk2 179:32 0 58.2G 0 disk
ββmmcblk2p1 179:33 0 14.4G 0 part
mmcblk2boot0 179:64 0 4M 1 disk
mmcblk2boot1 179:96 0 4M 1 disk
```
^ I had to expand the 14.4G mmcblk2p1 partition to fully use the 64G eMMC.
---
### Author:  [@Joulinar](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/Joulinar)
#### Post date: [18 April 2026 20:50 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/13 "2026-04-18T20:50:07Z")
the `ro` is needed if you transfer a running system itself. It basically should ensure a consistent status. It is not needed if you flash an image directly from a running SD card.
Which image did you used to boot of your SD card? I can try to replicate your steps. The wifi module should not have an effect to the system, if you still try to use ethernet.
---
### Author:  [@jelbo](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jelbo)
#### Post date: [19 April 2026 13:04 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/14 "2026-04-19T13:04:38Z")
> [@Joulinar](#):
>
> Which image did you used to boot of your SD card? I can try to replicate your steps. The wifi module should not have an effect to the system, if you still try to use ethernet.
This is a reaction to my deleted post, I think. I thought DietPi wasnβt booting well, but my Unify clients list is just unreliably slow. I think it only lists DietPi after the initial setup fully finishes, even though the Zero2 had gotten an IP address for quite a while. So in the end, everything works as described. Thanks for your help!
---
### Author:  [@jelbo](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jelbo)
#### Post date: [29 April 2026 06:11 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/15 "2026-04-29T06:11:51Z")
> [@Joulinar](#):
>
> the `ro` is needed if you transfer a running system itself. It basically should ensure a consistent status. It is not needed if you flash an image directly from a running SD card.
Am I not doing exactly that with `dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/dev/mmcblk2 bs=1M status=progress` from a running system that booted from SD? Afaik Iβm not flasing an image, but copying the SD card to eMMC.
Asking this, because Iβm setting up a second Zero2 and had an issue that could be related to consistency.
---
### Author:  [@jclsn](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/jclsn)
#### Post date: [10 May 2026 13:49 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/16 "2026-05-10T13:49:29Z")
Bit late to the party, but I just successfully flashed the eMMC with this adapter by Radxa
> **[Radxa RockPi\_EMMC2USB3.0 Externer Speicherkartenleser USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1)...](https://www.ebay.de/itm/397620540319?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=707-127634-2357-0&ssspo=qgvpAy32S2-&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=e5_el3gkSbu&stype=1&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)**
>
> Der Adapter mit echter USB3.0-Performance! Das perfekte Werkzeug, um Ihre Software-Images mit USB3.0-Geschwindigkeit auf Ihr eMMC-Modul zu ΓΌbertragen. UnterstΓΌtzt unter Windows und Linux. Schreibgeschwindigkeit bis zu 150MB/s.
Worked like a charm!
---
### Author:  [@system](https://dietpi.com/forum/u/system)
#### Post date: [8 August 2026 13:49 UTC](https://dietpi.com/forum/t/nanopi-zero2-headache/25041/17 "2026-08-08T13:49:45Z")
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