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[HOW TO] KODI Linux on Amlogic TV Boxes
(2016-06-14, 05:22)AuXBoX Wrote:
(2016-06-13, 08:19)Josh.5 Wrote: Because this thread is written for Geniatech device, I've created a new thread here 279468 (thread).
Obviously we have recently expanded hardware support for the newer Amlogic M8 devices. So this new thread is for providing support for all those devices but is specific to the EmbER firmware.

If you have any bug reports or need help with anything, or you have a great idea of a new feature that you would like to see added to the OS, please post it there.


Thanks

Sorry Josh.5 i just saw you created a new Thread after i changed this one.

All good. I wanted to create a new thread for our firmware in light of our now moving forward to begin supporting the Amlogic m8 series of SoC.
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I've just added a DL link to the first lot of MXQ firmware on this new thread: LINK.
This new firmware is for MXQ with NAND Flash storage only. It will not boot emmc at this time.
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(2016-06-14, 05:41)Josh.5 Wrote: I've just added a DL link to the first lot of MXQ firmware on this new thread: LINK.
This new firmware is for MXQ with NAND Flash storage only. It will not boot emmc at this time.

Thanks keep up the good work
Press THANK USER if I Help
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(2016-06-12, 23:50)retsibsi Wrote: Well, having run my new MXQ M12 box on Ember for some days now I'm very happy with it. No glitches, straightforward playback without issues. There is one thing though (isn't there always?) I've just noticed, while the box has integral Bluetooth there don't seem to be any settings to enable it. Have I missed something obvious or has it simply not been included in Ember (v4.0)?

BT support is on their do to list. The device Bluetooth as used in Android though is only for controlling external devices such as a keyboard from what I could see. I don't think you can stream stuff into these boxes using BT.but not spent any real time on this. So someone correct me if I am wrong on that point.
Cheers
Raymw
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(2016-06-13, 06:40)ed_davidson Wrote: Hi all.
Using Ember 4.0 on M12 box. Twice now on boot I've had it hang at the KODI logo after the Jarvis screen. It will do this every time I reboot. The only thing I've found that works is to hold the reset button in and get to TV EmbER boot screen and pick reboot.
I'm not sure if it's a skin issue or an EmbER issue. I'm using the xonfluence skin.
Anyone else had this issue?


Sent from my iPhone

No such issue here but I only use the EmbER mod skin. It is an excellent looking skin so I suggest just using the default skin for now and changing it to the colour you prefer which is easily done. (mine is a lovely green !!) Hopefully your problem will then go away. But you must realise I am not one to keep changing skins as I am more concerned about the functionality and reliability of my box changing the colour is enough skin mod for me and at least I know that is built into the default skin so will not cause any possible problems which I really do not want.
Cheers
Raymw
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Updated First Page:
Reworked whole Tutorial
Press THANK USER if I Help
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(2016-06-14, 06:28)AuXBoX Wrote: Updated First Page:
Reworked whole Tutorial

Should refer now to KODI not XBMC of course Auxbox. So should read :-

"There are now 3 versions of Linux/KODI for Android TV boxes"

Thanks for great work in keeping this thread page 1 link up my friend.
Cheers
Raymw
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(2016-06-14, 07:04)raymw Wrote:
(2016-06-14, 06:28)AuXBoX Wrote: Updated First Page:
Reworked whole Tutorial

Should refer now to KODI not XBMC of course Auxbox. So should read :-

"There are now 3 versions of Linux/KODI for Android TV boxes"

Thanks for great work in keeping this thread page 1 link up my friend.

Haha good spotting
Press THANK USER if I Help
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HOW TO UNBRICK A MYGICA ATV1200 or ATV1220

Okay this is a reliable method for unbricking MyGica ATV1200 and ATV1220 boxes and other identical Geniatech models with different branding (e.g. a Sumvision X2 Cyclone). Many thanks to Josh at EmbER for his irreplaceable help and support without which this would not have been possible for me to have had a chance of succeeding. Using this method I have now successfully unbricked 5 boxes 2 X ATV1200 and 3 X ATV1220T boxes which are now all nicely running the latest EmbER firmware. But as per the usual caveat, you agree that you carry out the following procedures fully at your own risk of course.

Firstly you need to download the following three files, the last two are from my Public Dropbox folder, and please download these quite small files anew even if you already have files of the same or similar names, as there may well be differences, particularly with the 3rd file which has been importantly amended from an original that I had.

1. Amlogic BootcardMaker in English - Using link http://chinagadgetsreviews.blogspot.com....glish.html
2. MX_LINUX-EMPTY-BOOTCARD-FOR-GIT.zip - Using link https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1731...OR-GIT.zip
3. ATV1200 pins to short.jpg - Using link https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1731...0short.jpg

Step A. Okay the first task is to make a suitable SD boot card using the BootcardMaker.exe application found in Link 1 above. Note this version runs in English language and also in Windows 10, unlike earlier versions of this utility. So first unzip this downloaded .rar file into a suitable location on your PC (I use a cleared Temp folder on my C drive). Insert a suitable SD card of at least 1GB (I used a 4GB Class 4 card) into your PC SD card slot (or adaptor).
Run up the BootcardMaker.exe utility and VERY IMPORTANTLY make sure you locate your appropriate newly inserted SD card from the utillity's "Choose disk" option using the drop down list. Double check it is definitely pointing to your SD Card you wish to partition and format as whatever disk you point to will end up being totally reformatted and lose any data that was on it.
Next click on the Yes box in the "To Partition and Format" option.
Now click on the "Open" button in the "Choose your bin files:" settings option and you should see the u-boot.bin file which you must select.
Finally click on the "Make" button and you will see your SD card goes into the Windows normal quick format routine applet screen which you should say yes to and allow it to complete the format.

Step B Once BootcardMaker.exe has completed the special bootable formatting of your SD card then, by unzipping File 2 above, copy across all the files in the "MX_LINUX-EMPTY-BOOTCARD-FOR-GIT" folder just as they are from File 2 above. There will then be just 5 files in all which should importantly be on the root directory of your newly made special SD card. Your special bootable SD card used for unbricking your box is now ready for use.

Step C You now need to open up the case of your ATV1200 or ATV1220 by unscrewing and removing the three small cross headed screws on the rear of your box. Keep these screws in a safe place and then gently with say a small flat headed screwdriver prise open the top cover of your box taking care not to damage the case itself. For the ATV1220 box there is no need to remove the ribbon cables at the front as you can just lay the case top down in front of the box. You are now ready to start the unbricking procedure as detailed below.

Step D You will need a small electrical or similar flat headed screwdriver and a toothpick. First of all insert the newly created bootable SD card in the appropriate slot on your box. Next using the .jpg picture in File 3 above locate the two pins which you will need to short, these are pins 6 & 7 on the chip as shown by the red arrow. NOTE The ATV1220 mainboard is very similar so you can use the ATV1200 picture provided to easily identify the chip and the two pins as it is pretty much in the same place.

Step E With the box switched off with the power plug unplugged from the back we are now ready for the important unbricking stage. You must of course have an HDMI cable connected from the box to your TV / monitor and ensure that it is properly connected and working (test with another good device like a DVD player or Games console etc). So carefully with the small screwdriver short across the two appropriate pins 6 & 7, as per the red arrow in the picture, and using the toothpick press in and hold the recessed reset button ensuring that you felt it properly click in. Using a third hand (i.e. a helper) and, whilst still maintaining the pin shorting and toothpick pressed in reset button, now apply the power plug to the box so it powers up (front lamp lights red normally). Count about 5 to 10 seconds (no more) and remove the screwdriver from shorting the two pins but keep the reset button pressed in still and best to wait until you see some activity on your TV screen before removing the toothpick. YOU MUST NOT AT THIS STAGE SWITCH OFF YOUR BOX AS IT MAY TAKE UP TO TWO MINUTES BEFORE YOU SEE ANY ACTIVITY. You should then be dumped into the standard recovery screen and of course you can now remove the toothpick too.

If nothing happens after about two minutes then you need carefully repeat this complete Step E again and ensure that you have indeed shorted those two pins 6 & 7 which may in some cases require first gently scraping any insulating coating they may have over them. If all went smoothly then congratulations you have now successfully unbricked your box. But before moving on I suggest you carry out from the recovery screen a factory reset which will clear any possible unwanted content out of your box, then power off your box by removing the power plug.

Step F You can now flash the latest EmbER 3.0.1 public release firmware to your newly unbricked box in the normal way using your toothpick and a suitable SD card with the EmbER 3.0.1 files copied onto it. Your should find there is no need to first install any earlier MX Linux firmware as the box is now clear and will accept the EmbER firmware cleanly and reliably. You should then of course register your box by making a suitable donation of US$10 or more to unleash your EmbER firmware and update it to the latest fully activated EmbER firmware. That also shows your appreciation for all the good work that Josh and Cory carry out at EmbER including the huge help with this unbricking procedure

Step G Once you are happy all is working you can carefully reassemble your opened box using the three screws you removed and kept safe. Now enjoy your newly recovered box.

Please give your feedback whether that be confirmation that it all worked for you or in particular if you had any problems with the above instructions or if you found any errors.
Cheers
Raymw
Reply
Thanks for the in depth guide Ray. I know I tried a lot of ways to unbrick, not really knowing which method worked in the end.


Sent from my iPhone
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@Josh.5
Hey mate i can test out Ember for the All Black MXQ s805 if you want
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(2016-06-18, 15:04)ed_davidson Wrote: Thanks for the in depth guide Ray. I know I tried a lot of ways to unbrick, not really knowing which method worked in the end.


Sent from my iPhone

Thanks Ed. I assure you this method has been now well tried and tested and not failed me once yet.

Auxbox, as long as nobody reports problems with this unbricking method (which I doubt as it has been well tested ), then I can I ask you to maybe consider posting this unbricking procedure, or a link to it, on the front page of this thread along with your image download links. This way it will usefully be more easily found by other users of this forum, many of whom have reported bricking these particular M6 boxes.
Cheers
Raymw
Reply
(2016-06-19, 12:26)AuXBoX Wrote: @Josh.5
Hey mate i can test out Ember for the All Black MXQ s805 if you want

Hey Auxbox. Be careful with these black plastic MXQ S805 boxes as after I sent him a picture of the mainboard in mine (branded OTT on the packing box) it turns out this was now the 4th different clone he and Cory have seen. I tried installing this beta EmbER 4.0.1 firmware and it bricked my box and so far I have not managed to unbrick it, though not tried very much and put it aside as just not the time at the moment and anyway concentrating on the much better (IMHO) metal cased M12 S805 boxes, which are so reliable and run brilliantly in EmbER 4 firmware with KODI 16.1 Jarvis..

As these cheap plastic MXQ S805 different clone boxes are all pretty similar looking I get the feeling that maybe EmbER will choose NOT to release firmware for these boxes, as with so many incompatible clones on the market then it will not be worth all the frustration and problems that will occur for sure.. I have to advise that IMHO it is best right now to stick with the metal cased, still inexpensive, MXQ M12 S805 boxes and for which AFAIK no clones have so far been found.
Cheers
Raymw
Reply
(2016-06-19, 12:34)raymw Wrote: Auxbox, as long as nobody reports problems with this unbricking method (which I doubt as it has been well tested ), then I can I ask you to maybe consider posting this unbricking procedure, or a link to it, on the front page of this thread along with your image download links. This way it will usefully be more easily found by other users of this forum, many of whom have reported bricking these particular M6 boxes.

Done mate, i've put a link up on first page
Press THANK USER if I Help
Reply
(2016-06-18, 14:50)raymw Wrote: HOW TO UNBRICK A MYGICA ATV1200 or ATV1220

Okay this is a reliable method for unbricking MyGica ATV1200 and ATV1220 boxes and other identical Geniatech models with different branding (e.g. a Sumvision X2 Cyclone). Many thanks to Josh at EmbER for his irreplaceable help and support without which this would not have been possible for me to have had a chance of succeeding. Using this method I have now successfully unbricked 5 boxes 2 X ATV1200 and 3 X ATV1220T boxes which are now all nicely running the latest EmbER firmware. But as per the usual caveat, you agree that you carry out the following procedures fully at your own risk of course.

Firstly you need to download the following three files, the last two are from my Public Dropbox folder, and please download these quite small files anew even if you already have files of the same or similar names, as there may well be differences, particularly with the 3rd file which has been importantly amended from an original that I had.

1. Amlogic BootcardMaker in English - Using link http://chinagadgetsreviews.blogspot.com....glish.html
2. MX_LINUX-EMPTY-BOOTCARD-FOR-GIT.zip - Using link https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1731...OR-GIT.zip
3. ATV1200 pins to short.jpg - Using link https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1731...0short.jpg

Step A. Okay the first task is to make a suitable SD boot card using the BootcardMaker.exe application found in Link 1 above. Note this version runs in English language and also in Windows 10, unlike earlier versions of this utility. So first unzip this downloaded .rar file into a suitable location on your PC (I use a cleared Temp folder on my C drive). Insert a suitable SD card of at least 1GB (I used a 4GB Class 4 card) into your PC SD card slot (or adaptor).
Run up the BootcardMaker.exe utility and VERY IMPORTANTLY make sure you locate your appropriate newly inserted SD card from the utillity's "Choose disk" option using the drop down list. Double check it is definitely pointing to your SD Card you wish to partition and format as whatever disk you point to will end up being totally reformatted and lose any data that was on it.
Next click on the Yes box in the "To Partition and Format" option.
Now click on the "Open" button in the "Choose your bin files:" settings option and you should see the u-boot.bin file which you must select.
Finally click on the "Make" button and you will see your SD card goes into the Windows normal quick format routine applet screen which you should say yes to and allow it to complete the format.

Step B Once BootcardMaker.exe has completed the special bootable formatting of your SD card then, by unzipping File 2 above, copy across all the files in the "MX_LINUX-EMPTY-BOOTCARD-FOR-GIT" folder just as they are from File 2 above. There will then be just 5 files in all which should importantly be on the root directory of your newly made special SD card. Your special bootable SD card used for unbricking your box is now ready for use.

Step C You now need to open up the case of your ATV1200 or ATV1220 by unscrewing and removing the three small cross headed screws on the rear of your box. Keep these screws in a safe place and then gently with say a small flat headed screwdriver prise open the top cover of your box taking care not to damage the case itself. For the ATV1220 box there is no need to remove the ribbon cables at the front as you can just lay the case top down in front of the box. You are now ready to start the unbricking procedure as detailed below.

Step D You will need a small electrical or similar flat headed screwdriver and a toothpick. First of all insert the newly created bootable SD card in the appropriate slot on your box. Next using the .jpg picture in File 3 above locate the two pins which you will need to short, these are pins 6 & 7 on the chip as shown by the red arrow. NOTE The ATV1220 mainboard is very similar so you can use the ATV1200 picture provided to easily identify the chip and the two pins as it is pretty much in the same place.

Step E With the box switched off with the power plug unplugged from the back we are now ready for the important unbricking stage. You must of course have an HDMI cable connected from the box to your TV / monitor and ensure that it is properly connected and working (test with another good device like a DVD player or Games console etc). So carefully with the small screwdriver short across the two appropriate pins 6 & 7, as per the red arrow in the picture, and using the toothpick press in and hold the recessed reset button ensuring that you felt it properly click in. Using a third hand (i.e. a helper) and, whilst still maintaining the pin shorting and toothpick pressed in reset button, now apply the power plug to the box so it powers up (front lamp lights red normally). Count about 5 to 10 seconds (no more) and remove the screwdriver from shorting the two pins but keep the reset button pressed in still and best to wait until you see some activity on your TV screen before removing the toothpick. YOU MUST NOT AT THIS STAGE SWITCH OFF YOUR BOX AS IT MAY TAKE UP TO TWO MINUTES BEFORE YOU SEE ANY ACTIVITY. You should then be dumped into the standard recovery screen and of course you can now remove the toothpick too.

If nothing happens after about two minutes then you need carefully repeat this complete Step E again and ensure that you have indeed shorted those two pins 6 & 7 which may in some cases require first gently scraping any insulating coating they may have over them. If all went smoothly then congratulations you have now successfully unbricked your box. But before moving on I suggest you carry out from the recovery screen a factory reset which will clear any possible unwanted content out of your box, then power off your box by removing the power plug.

Step F You can now flash the latest EmbER 3.0.1 public release firmware to your newly unbricked box in the normal way using your toothpick and a suitable SD card with the EmbER 3.0.1 files copied onto it. Your should find there is no need to first install any earlier MX Linux firmware as the box is now clear and will accept the EmbER firmware cleanly and reliably. You should then of course register your box by making a suitable donation of US$10 or more to unleash your EmbER firmware and update it to the latest fully activated EmbER firmware. That also shows your appreciation for all the good work that Josh and Cory carry out at EmbER including the huge help with this unbricking procedure

Step G Once you are happy all is working you can carefully reassemble your opened box using the three screws you removed and kept safe. Now enjoy your newly recovered box.

Please give your feedback whether that be confirmation that it all worked for you or in particular if you had any problems with the above instructions or if you found any errors.

Great guide Ray. I've successfully unbricked a box that I had given up on with this method. Cheers!
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[HOW TO] KODI Linux on Amlogic TV Boxes5