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A December 2022 report described the $8 Ox64 as a three-core RISC-V board intended to run Linux, but its author had not yet booted Linux. Ethernet, Wi-Fi and the SD card were reported as nonfunctional at the time, and getting firmware onto the board required UART wiring and several tool workarounds.
A December 2022 report on the $8 Ox64 described an inexpensive RISC-V board with three different cores that its author hoped to use as a Linux computer, but Linux had not yet been started. The author said Ethernet, Wi-Fi and the SD card were not working at the time, and documented several obstacles to flashing even an initial firmware image.
The report, published on the blog The Little Engineer That Could, said the Ox64 was based on the BL808 RISC-V chip and could run Linux rather than only a bare-metal or no-MMU kernel. That was the project’s promise, not a demonstrated result in the first post: the writer said further firmware components and an operating system still needed to be flashed.
Getting the board to accept firmware was itself difficult. The author said it could not be programmed over USB in the manner of some familiar development boards and instead needed a UART connection through its TX/RX pins. The report also described the vendor’s Dev Cube flashing program crashing under Ubuntu on Wayland, a CH340G USB-to-serial adapter failing its handshake, and the need to use an RP2040 board as a serial bridge.
Even after configuring that bridge, Dev Cube did not flash the board, according to the post. The author instead used bflb-mcu-tool and reported modifying its UART interface code to remove DTR and RTS handling. After flashing a low-level image for the BL808’s M0 core, the author received serial output indicating memory initialization and that the E907 core had started. That was evidence of communication and an initial firmware step, not confirmation that Linux had booted.
What the Low Price Required
The report captures the trade-off behind an $8 experimental computer: a low purchase price did not make it a ready-to-use Linux machine. At the point described, buyers faced nonworking connectivity and storage features, specialized flashing steps, and a need to troubleshoot software and hardware interfaces. Those barriers matter to anyone evaluating the board as a practical computer rather than as a development project.
For hobbyists familiar with serial consoles, embedded processors and Linux boot chains, the Ox64’s three-core RISC-V design offered a low-cost way to explore a less common processor architecture. But the post’s results were preliminary. Its output showed that a firmware image had begun running; it did not establish the board’s Linux performance, reliability, or usefulness for everyday tasks.
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The Board Before Linux
The 2022 post was explicitly an early-stage account, not a review of a finished Linux system. Its author warned readers to approach the board cautiously, noting that Ethernet, Wi-Fi and SD-card support were unavailable in the reported setup. The price and processor configuration were presented as reasons for interest, while the state of the software and peripherals remained a major limitation.
The reported procedure moved through several distinct stages: establishing a serial link, loading a bridge program onto an RP2040, adapting the flashing utility, and sending an initial BL808 firmware image. The author said the next work would involve flashing code to the D0 core and then the operating system. The post ended by pointing readers to a planned Part 2; it did not give the outcome of that later attempt.
Linux Boot Still Unreported
The first post did not establish whether the author later booted Linux, or whether the board’s Ethernet, Wi-Fi and SD-card functions became usable. It also did not provide independent testing of the advertised price, compatibility, performance or the three-core configuration. Those points should not be treated as verified outcomes based on this report alone.
The author referred readers to a second part, but the source material here does not include its results. The exact state of the board and its software beyond the described initial flash therefore remains unknown.
The Planned Second Installment
The next development identified by the author was a Part 2 covering further setup. The post said the remaining work included flashing firmware for the D0 core and then attempting to load the operating system. Whether those steps succeeded is not stated in the first report.
For readers considering the board, the report’s practical takeaway is to check later documentation and current hardware and software support before treating the Ox64 as a functioning Linux computer. The December 2022 account documents an early experiment, not a current status update or a completed Linux installation.
Key Questions
Did the author successfully run Linux on the Ox64?
No Linux boot is reported in the December 2022 post. The author said more firmware steps and the operating system still needed to be flashed.
What did the author say the Ox64 cost?
The report described it as an $8 computer. It does not provide enough information to verify the price’s availability or whether it included shipping or other costs.
What was working after the initial flash?
The author reported receiving serial output from the board after flashing a low-level BL808 image. That showed the board was communicating with the PC and the image had started; it did not prove that Linux or all hardware features worked.
Which features were reported as unavailable?
At the time of the post, the author said Ethernet, Wi-Fi and the SD card were not working. The report does not establish their status in later versions or at present.
What setup equipment and software did the report use?
The author used an RP2040 board as a serial bridge, picoprobe, and bflb-mcu-tool after Dev Cube and a CH340G adapter did not work as expected. The process also required wiring UART pins and editing the flashing tool, according to the post.
