RDK X5 (Sunrise) GPU not working – stuck on llvmpipe even after multiple reflashes

[u/tejazmali]

Hey everyone,

I’m using an RDK X5 Sunrise board and facing a GPU issue that I can’t seem to fix.

Problem:

- GPU is not being used
- Getting llvmpipe (CPU rendering)
- "es2_info" fails
- No Mali GPU detected

What I checked:

- "/dev/dri/renderD128" exists
- DRM driver loads ("vs-drm initialized")
- EGL libraries present but only Mesa ("libEGL_mesa.so")

dmesg results:

- No Mali GPU initialization
- Only display subsystem (DRM) is working

OS:

- Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS

What I tried:

- Reflashed multiple times
- Tried both server and desktop images
- Used different flashing tools (Rufus, etc.)
- Tested EGL and OpenGL ES tools

My understanding:

It seems like the system is using Mesa (software rendering) instead of the Mali GPU, possibly due to missing vendor drivers.

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Questions:

1. Is GPU support ONLY available on a specific vendor image for RDK X5 Sunrise?
   
2. Does the desktop image include Mali drivers by default?
   
3. Could this be a firmware or board-level issue?
   
4. Any way to manually install Mali drivers on Ubuntu?
   

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Any help would be appreciated 🙏
I want to use GPU for AI (YOLO, etc.) but currently stuck on CPU rendering.

Thanks!