Orange Pi ILI9341 / ILI9488 Framebuffer Display Setup

Short description:
Automated setup scripts for testing and enabling SPI TFT displays (ILI9341 / ILI9488) on Orange Pi using the Linux framebuffer (fbtft) and optional X11 fbdev support.

What this does

  • Installs required framebuffer tools (fbi, kbd)
  • Loads the fbtft kernel module with custom GPIO/SPI parameters
  • Tests framebuffer output on /dev/fb0
  • Maps the Linux console to the TFT display
  • Persists module loading and parameters across reboots
  • Configures X11 to use the framebuffer device (fbdev)

Notes

  • Scripts were written for validation and testing
  • GPIO pin numbers and rotation may need adjustment per board
  • Designed for SPI TFT panels (ILI9341 / ILI9488)
  • X11 configuration is optional but included for completeness

Result

After reboot, the TFT panel should:

  • Act as a Linux console framebuffer
  • Display images via fbi
  • Be usable by X11 through the fbdev driver
#!/bin/bash
# Orange Pi fb_ili9341 display setup script

set -e

# Colors
GREEN="\033[0;32m"
YELLOW="\033[1;33m"
NC="\033[0m" # No Color

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Installing required packages...${NC}"
sudo apt-get update -y
sudo apt-get install -y fbi kbd

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Loading fb_ili9488 kernel module...${NC}"
sudo modprobe fbtft custom name=ili9341 busnum=1 cs=1 \
  gpios=reset:73,dc:70,led:69 rotate=90 speed=65000000 bgr=1 txbuflen=65536

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Kernel logs (last 10 lines)...${NC}"
dmesg | tail

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Testing framebuffer...${NC}"
sudo fbi -vt 1 -noverbose -d /dev/fb0 || echo -e "${YELLOW} fbi test failed, continuing...${NC}"
sudo con2fbmap 1 1
sudo con2fbmap 1 0

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Configure console font...${NC}"
echo -e "Recommended: ${YELLOW}UTF-8 (en_US), Optimal charset, Terminus, 6x12 font${NC}"
read -p "Run dpkg-reconfigure console-setup now? (y/n): " fontset
if [[ "$fontset" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
    sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup
else
    echo -e "${YELLOW}Skipped console font configuration.${NC}"
fi

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Setting panel-ilitek-ili9341 to auto-load at boot...${NC}"

# Ensure module loads
echo "fbtft" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/fbtft.conf > /dev/null

# Add module options
sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/fbtft.conf > /dev/null <<EOF
options fbtft custom name=fb_ili9341 busnum=1 cs=1 \
gpios=reset:73,dc:70,led:69 rotate=90 speed=65000000 bgr=1 txbuflen=65536
EOF

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Ensuring fbcon is mapped correctly in boot args...${NC}"
if ! grep -q "fbcon=map:1" /boot/orangepiEnv.txt; then
    echo "extraargs=fbcon=map:1" | sudo tee -a /boot/orangepiEnv.txt > /dev/null
    echo -e "${GREEN}Added fbcon=map:1 to /boot/orangepiEnv.txt${NC}"
else
    echo -e "${YELLOW}fbcon=map:1 already present in /boot/orangepiEnv.txt${NC}"
fi

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Creating X11 fbdev config...${NC}"
sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d
sudo tee /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-fbdev.conf > /dev/null <<EOF
Section "Device"
    Identifier "myfb"
    Driver "fbdev"
    Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb1"
EndSection
EOF

echo -e "${GREEN} Setup complete! Reboot to test your display.${NC}"

#!/bin/bash
# Orange Pi fb_ili9488 display setup script

set -e

# Colors
GREEN="\033[0;32m"
YELLOW="\033[1;33m"
NC="\033[0m" # No Color

echo -e "${GREEN}==> Creating X11 fbdev config...${NC}"
sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d
sudo tee /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-fbdev.conf > /dev/null <<EOF
Section "Device"
    Identifier "myfb"
    Driver "fbdev"
    Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb1"
EndSection
EOF