DGX Spark OOBE Ethernet Fix

The Problem

The DGX Spark recovery image (version 1.120.38) has a bug in the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) where ethernet connectivity is not detected. The OOBE checks for internet access by making an HTTPS request to connectivity-check.ubuntu.com. If this request fails, the OOBE assumes there is no network connection and forces users through the WiFi setup page — even when ethernet is connected and working.

The Fix

This patch modifies the HasInternet() function in the OOBE service binary (oobe-service) to always return true. This causes the OOBE to skip the WiFi setup page and proceed directly to the system update step.

The patch is an 8-byte modification to the ARM64 machine code at a known offset in the binary:

	Original	Patched
Assembly	str xzr, [sp, #112]	mov w0, #1
	strb wzr, [sp, #55]	b <epilogue>
Hex	ff 3b 00 f9 ff df 00 39	20 00 80 52 4d 00 00 14
Effect	Check connectivity-check.ubuntu.com	Always return "connected"

Prerequisites

• Linux (tested on Arch Linux, should work on Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora)
• ~40 GB free disk space (for decompressing the filesystem image)
• Required packages: xz, e2fsprogs (for e2fsck), xxd
• Optional: fuse2fs (from e2fsprogs) — avoids needing root/sudo for mounting

Installing dependencies

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S xz e2fsprogs xxd

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install xz-utils e2fsprogs xxd fuse2fs

Usage

1. Download the DGX Spark recovery image (version 1.120.38)
2. Place patch-oobe-ethernet.sh in the same directory as the tarball or extracted folder
3. Run the patch script:

# From the directory containing the tarball (auto-extracts):
./patch-oobe-ethernet.sh

# Or point directly at the tarball:
./patch-oobe-ethernet.sh dgx-spark-recovery-image-1.120.38.tar.gz

# Or point at an already-extracted directory:
./patch-oobe-ethernet.sh usbimg.customer
./patch-oobe-ethernet.sh usbimg.customer/usb

4. After patching, create your USB recovery drive as usual:

cd usbimg.customer
sudo ./CreateUSBKey.sh

Supported Version

This patch is specific to DGX Spark FastOS version 1.120.38 (build date 2026-02-25). It will refuse to run on other versions.

Important

Only use this patch if your DGX Spark is connected via ethernet. The patch skips the WiFi setup page entirely. Since the system update step immediately follows, you need ethernet connectivity for the OOBE to proceed smoothly. WiFi can still be configured after setup through the standard Ubuntu network settings.

Notes

• The patch only affects the initial OOBE setup flow. Once the OS is installed and updated, normal network management works as expected.