Hisilicon Kirin 980 Driver

The Kirin 980 includes a DesignWare-based PCIe controller. The driver ( PCI: kirin ) provides PCIe host support, sharing common functions from the PCIe dw-host framework. While power-on functions were originally developed on the hi3660 SoC, other functions are common across the Kirin series. The driver currently lacks support for low-power modes, suspend/resume, hotplug, and MSI features.

As the Kirin 980 ages, modern games and applications may struggle. Recommended mitigations include:

For the average user, the "Kirin 980 driver" is a closed, functional black box. EMUI and HarmonyOS use the proprietary ARM Mali driver and HiAI stack perfectly. hisilicon kirin 980 driver

Proprietary Mali driver fails to load on kernel update Solution: DKMS should automatically rebuild the driver. If not, manually run:

The Kirin 980’s hardware abstraction relies heavily on Device Tree source (DTS) and Device Tree source include (DTSI) files. These files describe the hardware configuration to the Linux kernel, including details about CPU cores, interrupts, clock providers, memory-mapped I/O regions, and peripheral devices. The device tree follows a three-layer include model: SoC layer + peripheral layer + board-specific layer, allowing the same Kirin 980 SoC to be used across different Huawei and Honor devices. The Kirin 980 includes a DesignWare-based PCIe controller

If you prefer a lightweight setup without installing the entire HiSuite ecosystem, you can install the standalone Google USB Driver modified for Huawei devices.

The Kirin 980 has been widely praised for its performance, power efficiency, and feature-rich capabilities. It's a popular choice among gamers, photographers, and heavy users who require a reliable and powerful processor. The driver currently lacks support for low-power modes,

(presented at Black Hat) provides an in-depth look at the Kirin 980's secure boot and SoC fabric [2]. Interconnects

The Hisilicon Kirin 980 was a watershed moment for Huawei and the mobile semiconductor industry. Announced in August 2018, it was the world’s first commercial 7nm process mobile SoC (System on a Chip) and the first to feature Cortex-A76 cores and a dual-NPU (Neural Processing Unit). Powering iconic devices like the Huawei P30 Pro, Mate 20 Pro, and Honor View20, the Kirin 980 remains a capable chipset even years after its release.

You cannot update the GPU driver on stock EMUI/HarmonyOS without root. If you have root (Magisk):