In technical terms, FEL (which stands for “Firmware Easy Life” or similar) is the boot ROM routine that executes when the SoC cannot find a valid bootable image in NAND flash, SPI flash, or on an SD card. In this state, the chip presents itself to the host as 1f3a:efe8 and waits for commands over USB — allowing you to upload, run, or burn firmware directly from your computer.
Refers to the specific revision chip architecture version or silicon stepping of the Allwinner SoC family (such as the A10, A13, A20, or A31 series) active during the connection.
: On Linux systems, you generally do not need to install any special drivers. The kernel's native USB stack ( usbfs subsystem) and the libusb library provide direct and full access to the FEL device. usb vid 1f3a&pid efe8&rev 02 3 driver
To make the computer recognize the device for flashing, you typically need to install a specialized driver, such as the or a generic WinUSB driver.
Click Next . If Windows warns that the publisher cannot be verified, choose "Install this driver software anyway" . In technical terms, FEL (which stands for “Firmware
Locate the subfolder named or UsbDriver inside the extracted folder. It must contain the configuration layout files ( .inf ), such as aw_usb.inf . Step 2: Manually Update via Device Manager
When your PC detects this ID, the device is typically in a low-level "Bootstrap" mode called . In this state, the device's standard operating system (like Android) is not running. Instead, it is waiting for a computer to send data, usually to: Flash new firmware or a custom OS. Recover a "bricked" or non-responsive device. Perform low-level hardware debugging. How to Install the Driver : On Linux systems, you generally do not
: Assigns the sub-state to the sunxi SoC OTG connector in FEL/flashing mode .
FEL mode is a low-level recovery mode built into the Allwinner processor's BootROM. It allows the device to communicate with a computer over USB to flash firmware, boot images, or recover a "bricked" device. You typically see this ID when:
This may indicate that the driver is installed but the device is not responding, often due to power management or driver conflict issues.