How to flash new custom kernel in ODROID-U2 Android devices

In order to support different external devices, one can want to compile custom kernel for Android. Thanks to mdrjr from ODROID, you can get one without creating your development environment, have a look at his post here: http://forum.odroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=1162

As mdrjr stated, in order to use your new kernel, one need to flash it into the device.

You can simply copy the new file zImage onto device local storage (sdcard) and use terminal, which is a standard application of ODROID HardKernel Android stock image.

  1. You need to root your device before start, in my case, it means installation of 1.7.1 firmware update from hardkernel.
  2. In rooted ODROID-U2, busybox is already installed, so you don’t need to install it from Google Play.
  3. Open your terminal, switch in the root by typing a command as follows:
    su
  4. Type the following command:
    busybox dd conv=notrunc seek=2455 bs=512 if=/mnt/sdcard/zImage of=/dev/block/mmcblk0
    sync
    exit
  5. Power off your device
  6. Switch on your device (in my case simple restart doesn’t help)
  7. You are done…
You are done, as at next switch of of the device it starts with the new kernel