[PROBLEM] Fresh install on RPi 5: Kodi UI has no text

[dianereese]

(14th Jan, 2025 08:21 AM)Gyuunduh Wrote:  Software
XBian version: Latest as of 14 January 2015, both 32- and 64-bit
XBMC/Kodi version: 21.1 Omega
Overclock settings: none/stock

Hardware
Device type and model: Raspberry Pi 5 4 GB
Power supply rating: Official 27 W PSU
SD card size and make/type: Some Adata 32 GB
Network (Ethernet or wireless): Both
Connected devices (TV, USB, network storage, ...): LG 42" tv via HDMI, network both wired and wireless

Log files
Link to logfile(s): Don't have any right now and don't know how to produce relevent ones.

Problem description:
I have a perfectly working Xbian setup running on Raspberry Pi 3B+. I bought a Raspberry pi 5 and a new microHDMI cable and PSU to go with it and did a fresh install to import my home directory but I have sprunki retake the same problem the user here is having. The rainbow boot screen, text, Xbian splash screen and Kodi Nexus startup animation all play perfect, but once I get to the actual Kodi UI and set up wizard, the visuals are glitched: There is no text anywhere but the UI elements otherwise seem to be there. There are also some unclear vertical columns in the blue background color. Transferring the xbian-home-backup file didn't solve the issue.

Everything else works: SSH, CEC etc. but the Kodi UI is unusable. I tried both 32 and 64 bit versions of Xbian, even LibreELEC but it had the same problem. I tried Retropie and Raspberry pi OS and they both work perfect and my TV works with Rasperry Pi 3B+ Xbian.

The problem is already fixed in an OpenELEC nightly build from around the christmastime of 2024, linked in the Kodi forum post above. I tried a nightly build of OpenELEC and I'm watching a movie with it as I'm typing this. I don't know what fix or settings change is implemented there, but I hope it's also coming to XBian.

How to reproduce:
Get a Raspberry Pi 5, install latest Xbian and hope for the worst.

To get XBian working on your Pi 5, the Mesa drivers need to be updated to a version that supports the Pi 5’s GPU properly. Mesa 23.3 (released November 2023) introduced initial Pi 5 support, but full compatibility, especially for later revisions, may require Mesa 24.x or specific patches. OpenELEC’s fix likely pulls from Mesa’s Git repository or applies a custom workaround.