I2S Audio Not Working on Orange Pi Zero 2W (Allwinner H618) with MAX98357A

[Uudya]

Armbianmonitor:
https://paste.next.armbian.com/egohivineg
Hardware:

• Board: Orange Pi Zero 2W (Allwinner H618)
• Audio Module: MAX98357A (I2S)

Connections:

• BCLK → PI13 (Pin 7)
• LRC/WS → PI14 (Pin 16)
• DIN → PI15 (Pin 31)
• 5V/GND → Properly connected

Software:

• Armbian Version: 25.5.0-trunk.147 (nightly)
• Kernel: 6.6.75-current-sunxi64

Configuration:
/boot/armbianEnv.txt:
overlay_prefix=sun50i-h618 overlays=i2s param_i2s=on

Problem:

• No sound output via MAX98357A.
• aplay -l returns "no soundcards found".
• dmesg | grep i2s shows no output, indicating the I2S driver is not loaded.
• Missing I2S overlay: Checked /boot/dtb/allwinner/overlay/ — no sun50i-h618-i2s.dtbo (only I2C overlays are present).
• Loaded sound modules: Only snd_soc_hdmi_codec (HDMI audio).

Steps Taken:

1. Verified physical wiring (BCLK/LRC/DIN, 5V/GND).
2. Updated to the latest nightly build (25.5.0-trunk.147).
3. Added overlays=i2s, param_i2s=on to /boot/armbianEnv.txt.
4. Tried manual driver load: modprobe sun8i-i2s (no effect).

Questions:

1. Is I2S support for Allwinner H618 available in kernel 6.6.75?
2. Are there plans to add sun50i-h618-i2s.dtbo in future releases?
3. Is there a workaround to enable I2S on H618 (e.g., custom DTB)?
4. Would upgrading to kernel 6.7+ resolve this?

Diagnostics:
uname -a:
Linux orangepizero2w 6.6.75-current-sunxi64 #1 SMP Sat Feb 1 17:37:57 UTC 2025 aarch64 GNU/Linux

cat /etc/armbian-release:
VERSION=25.5.0-trunk.147 BRANCH=current BOARD=orangepizero2w

dmesg | grep -i i2s: No output.

Request:
Any guidance or patches to enable I2S on H618 would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[phofman]

IMO a better place to discuss your specific issue would be some OrangePi or Armbian forum, where people knowledgeable of this specific SBC on Armbian gather.