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Frequently asked questions

What is Armbian?

Armbian is a lightweight Linux distribution optimized for single board computers (SBCs). It provides a reliable, standardized Debian or Ubuntu-based environment tailored to work across many different ARM devices.

In addition to prebuilt images, Armbian includes a powerful build framework that lets you customize kernel versions, desktop environments, and other system components to fit your needs.

Why no universal image?

The x86 architecture includes BIOS or UEFI, providing a standardized interface. In contrast, most SBCs lack such consistency. Although the ARM ecosystem is improving via ARM ServerReady and SystemReady certifications, adoption is limited. Vendors often have tight budgets and minimal engineering resources, and there’s little incentive to go beyond basic boot functionality.

Instead of following standards, vendors usually fork U-Boot and apply minimal changes needed to boot their boards.

Why does Armbian need help?

Building and maintaining support for diverse custom hardware requires substantial time, infrastructure, and expertise—similar to commercial software development, but without licensing revenue. Armbian supports a wide range of ARM-based boards, often with minimal or no vendor assistance and limited user contributions. As a result, our team takes on the full responsibility for board bring-up, patching, testing, and ongoing maintenance, largely funded out of pocket.

In addition to the software, we maintain forums, documentation, and user support, all of which demand consistent effort. A dedicated group of just 10–15 volunteers sustains the project in their spare time. While some projects repackage and redistribute our work, the core maintenance responsibility remains with us.

We also face commercial entities that leverage our work—sometimes contributing only superficial changes—adding further pressure to our limited resources. That’s why we kindly ask for your support in helping us sustain and grow Armbian.

Why things stop working?

Vendors often base their software on fixed, vendor-specific LTS kernels and custom U-Boot forks, which may lack long-term upstream maintenance or open-source availability.

Armbian, by contrast, tracks and contributes to mainline kernel development to provide modern features and improved security. However, if drivers are not upstreamed or properly ported, certain hardware functions may not work or may break over time.

Our development focus is on maintaining the CURRENT kernel branch, which is selected for having sufficient maturity and stability for general use. EDGE kernels, as the name implies, are based on the latest upstream kernel versions — often including release candidates — and are not suitable for production deployment. These kernels are assembled for early adopters and development purposes only. Their experimental nature means higher risk of regressions and broken functionality.

Due to limited resources, Armbian prioritizes basic functionality and integration testing, not full validation of all features across all supported devices. While we do identify many issues, some remain unresolved for extended periods — sometimes months or even years — due to a significant shortage of development capacity.

What do WIP, EOS, CSC mean?

These indicate support status:

  • .conf: Official Configuration. Boards with this status are supported by the Armbian team and benefit from Standard or Platinum support levels, depending on vendor involvement, stability, and available maintenance resources.
  • WIP: Work In Progress. Early development; not ready for production.
  • CSC: Community Supported Configuration. Maintained by the community, not the core team.
  • EOS: End of Support. No further updates or maintenance.

Can I help without tech skills?

Absolutely! Non-technical help is equally valuable. Without community help, developers must do everything: run infrastructure, moderate forums, answer support, manage partnerships, and fundraise—on top of development.

https://www.armbian.com/contact/

You can help with documentation, moderation, translations, outreach, fundraising, or promotion—freeing developers to focus on what they do best.

Why no support for old OS?

Armbian has limited resources, unlike larger projects. Supporting outdated OS releases like Ubuntu Focal or Debian Buster, which may lack upstream maintenance, diverts resources from improving current versions.

We focus only on the latest stable releases of Debian and Ubuntu.

Why no support for TV boxes?

A few vendors provide schematics, upstream support, and occasional assistance, which helps. But most TV boxes lack documentation, change hardware without notice, and use closed-source bootloaders.

Nearly all Armbian images for these devices are unofficial community hacks. Despite the large market, the cost of support is high, and public interest in sustaining it is low. Supporting these devices would be unsustainable for our small team.

Will my board be supported?

Maybe. Official support depends on factors like documentation, SoC vendor transparency, sample availability, and—most critically—a willing maintainer.

When vendors collaborate with Armbian, the chance of support significantly increases.

Which WiFi works right away?

WiFi compatibility depends on Linux kernel driver support. Adapters using Intel, Atheros, or Realtek chipsets tend to work better out of the box.

For performance and compatibility details, see:
https://docs.armbian.com/WifiPerformance/

Note: Results may vary by board, due to power limits, USB/PCI quirks, and driver maturity.

Why is my image not listed?

Creating and maintaining images for all combinations of kernel, userspace, and desktop across all boards is technically and financially unfeasible. We provide a carefully chosen set of default images per board.

However, using the Armbian build framework, you can easily create custom images. It’s well-documented and accessible to moderately experienced users.

If enough users show interest in a specific configuration, we may adjust build targets accordingly.