Problems with Jetpack 6 and GPIO

Hello everyone,

I created this post as a suggestion from my answer on the forum: jetson-gpio-has-could-not-determine-jetson-model-error

In December 2024, I posted about an issue I was having with the pins on the Jetson Nano Orin (see original thread). My problem was that I couldn’t read or send signals through the GPIO pins. At the time, someone suggested modifying the pimmux file, which I tried, but it didn’t work. It’s worth noting that I was using Jetpack 6, so I updated to version 6.1 and repeated the process, still with no success.

Due to the lack of a solution, I attempted a downgrade following instructions from another forum thread, but that also failed. I even thought my device might be defective, so I purchased a second Jetson. With the second device, I installed Jetpack 6.1, but the problem persisted; once again, after modifying the pimmux file, the pins still didn’t function.

Then I tried the downgrade once more; however, something went wrong and I couldn’t install Jetpack 5 from the SDK, which forced me to buy a third Jetson. On this new device, I directly installed Jetpack 5.1.4, and this time the pins worked perfectly.

After resolving the pin issue, I began developing my project since I needed to connect various sensors and components:

  • Infrared Sensor (GY-906)
  • Ultrasonic Sensor (JSN-SR04T)
  • Luminosity Sensor (GY-302)
  • IR Camera
  • RPLIDAR A2M8
  • Infrared Sensor (HW-691)
  • Magnetometer (HMC5883L)
  • GPS (HW-658)
  • Stepper Motor (HW-658)

So far, everything is functioning flawlessly. In my spare time, I continued working on the downgrade process and, fortunately, managed to install Jetpack 5.1.4 on hte first device, which also allowed the pins to operate correctly.

Hi jesus.d.coral,

Sorry for the inconvenience in using GPIO on Jetson.
Sysfs to control GPIO is deprecated in JP6.x and there’s a known issue about controlling GPIO in JP6.
Please apply the patch from 40hdr - SPI1 gpio padctl register bit[10] effect by gpiod tools in JP6 - #20 by KevinFFF if you are using JP6.x.

Are you using the devkit or custom board for Orin Nano?

May I know how did yo configure them in pinmux spreadsheet?
Could you share the screenshot of the configurations there?

Hello Kevin,

I was using the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit. Due to the project’s urgency, I didn’t take a screenshot of the PIMUX, since it wasn’t necessary with JetPack 5.
I’ve seen the post about the patch for the GPIO issue, but I’m honestly not sure how to implement it. I’ll be receiving a new Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit by midweek for a new proyect, so I might encounter the same problem. As soon as it arrives, I’d like to try out the patch solution.

It’s for me to better knowing your state and in case you’ve configured something wrong.

Please refer to the instruction in Kernel Customization — NVIDIA Jetson Linux Developer Guide to clone and build the kernel source. The patch should be applied for the kernel driver.

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