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Android Pie 9.0.0 for Nitrogen8M

Android 9 Pie for Boundary Devices Nitrogen8M

Introduction

The Nitrogen8M is an ARM based single board computer (SBC) designed to leverage the full capabilities of NXP’s i.MX8M Quad processor. It includes an accessory kit option with a 5V Power Supply, Battery, and Serial Console Cable. The Nitrogen8M is designed for mass production use with a guaranteed 10 year life span, FCC Pre-scan results, and a stable supply chain. Industrial temperature and conformal coating options are available.

At a glance

Platform: Boundary Devices Nitrogen8M · SoC: NXP i.MX8M Quad · Android: 9 (Pie) · Kernel: 4.14

This BSP brings Android 9 (Pie) to the Boundary Devices Nitrogen8M SBC, supporting both the BD080MCC1 MIPI display and FullHD HDMI output. It includes Kynetics Update Factory for OTA updates along with GPIO and SPI handlers for hardware interfacing.

Release Notes

Here are some important remarks about our build:

  • Android 9.0 with Linux Kernel 4.14
  • Based on NXP release: p9.0.0_1.0.0-ga
  • Compatible with the Nitrogen8M single board computer
  • Compatible with the BD080MCC1 MIPI display (8 inches)
  • Compatible with any FullHD HDMI display
  • Userdebug build with permissive SELinux and disabled DM Verity
  • Android Verified Boot disabled
  • Android A/B partitions disabled,
  • This is an unsupported release. For commercial support please contact us.

The build includes the following Kynetics applications:

  • Update Factory: https://www.kynetics.com/ota-updates-android
  • SPI handler
  • GPIO handler

F-Droid is also included to allow installing Android applications directly from the device using the ethernet or the wifi connection.

Flash Instructions

The following steps will guide you through the installation of Android 9 on the Nitrogen8M.

Hardware Requirements

  • Nitrogen8M single board computer (2GB or 4GB of RAM)
  • The BD080MCC1 MIPI display (8 inches) or a FullHD HDMI display
  • The serial console cable adapter for the Boundary boards
  • A host computer running GNU/Linux, MacOS or Windows
  • Micro USB cable - used with fastboot and adb

Software Requirements

Software Preparation

On Linux systems, connect the serial cable from the board to the host computer.

Connect also the Micro USB cable from the micro USB connector of the board to the host computer to use fastboot. A USB 2.0 cable is recommended, as U-Boot could have some issues with USB 3.0 cable.

Then, enter fastboot mode on the Nitrogen8M board:

  • From U-Boot prompt, enter the following command: 
    => fastboot 0

From the Host PC: 

$ unzip BoundaryDevices_Nitrogen8M-AndroidOS-p9.0.0_1.0.0-ga-dev-1.0-SNAPSHOT-[date].zip -d nitrogen8m_p900
$ cd nitrogen8m_p900
nitrogen8m_p900$ sudo ./flash_fastboot.sh

Frequently Asked Questions

What display options are supported by this Android 9 BSP for the Nitrogen8M?

This release is compatible with the Boundary Devices BD080MCC1 MIPI display (8 inches) and any FullHD HDMI display. Both can be used out of the box without additional configuration.

Does this BSP include support for OTA updates?

Yes, Kynetics Update Factory is pre-installed and enables over-the-air application and system updates. Visit kynetics.com/ota-updates-android for more details.

Is commercial support available for this release?

This is an unsupported community release. For commercial-grade support, production-ready images, or custom development on the Nitrogen8M, please contact Kynetics.

Can I install Android applications without Google Play?

Yes, F-Droid is pre-installed and allows you to browse and install open-source Android apps directly on the device over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, without requiring Google Play Services.

Which RAM variants of the Nitrogen8M are supported?

Both the 2 GB and 4 GB RAM configurations of the Nitrogen8M single board computer are supported by this release.

Enjoy the Art of Coding™