Pre-Tutorial Blurb/Disclaimer:
This tutorial uses a variety of ideas found in other posts including the stickied one on this forum but aims to help people with a specific problem, a soft bricked M8 box or a clone of one. That mean you're either stuck in a boot loop that cannot be remedied by formatting data using a recovery like TWRP, the box is failing to update due to not being able to mount certain partitions or there is simply no picture at all. The only thing that matters is that your blue light at the front of the box IS ON. If it's not, follow the beginning steps of JustMe's guide HERE. The reason why I'm making a second guide is because I had to do a lot of reading in multiple posts with varying information and methods in order to find a method that actually worked for me. This tutorial will explain in detail how to fix a soft brick and will include all links and detailed instructions. From what I've gathered at least in the few boxes I've done this method to, you DO NOT need to open the box or probe any points. In fact the last boxes I opened did not even have pins in the spots that the previous ones did. If you have an older box that does still have pins you may need to short them, but attempt to without probing first. I'm not guaranteeing this will work for you, but it has worked flawlessly for me. So without further adieu, let's begin.
What you'll need:
A soft bricked M8 or M8 clone. I've only tried the above method on M8's but it should work for M8N's and M8S'.
A toothpick or non metallic stick of some sorts. (I use a Q-Tip with the cotton on one end cut off, it fits perfectly in the A/V port.)
A male-male USB cable. Here are some links if you don't already have one. CANADA USA UK
A USB stick or SD card
Files to download:
USB Burning Tool V2.0.4.3
PROBOX update img file
ROM of your choice. I suggest Finless, JustMe or Stane
That's it!
Instructions:
1. Extract the zipped PROBOX2 img file somewhere you can easily find it.
2. Install the USB Burning Tool to your PC. In this case I'm using Windows 8.1 but it should work on Windows 7 and Windows 10 as well. It's essential we install this BEFORE we plug our M8 into the PC so our drivers are installed correctly. If you are having driver installation issues you may need to disable driver signature enforcement. A detailed tutorial on how to do that can be found HERE.
3. Once installed, open the USB Burner Tool. Unlike the older version posted in the sticky, this version has english enabled by default. Select File, Import Image and navigate to the directory where you extracted the PROBOX2 img file. Select the PROBOX2-EX-20150129.img and hit open. A window titled image checker will verify the img file we've just selected and the path to the file will now be displayed at the bottom of the USB Burner Tool window.
Time to plug our M8 into the PC. There were a few different ways to do this in other guides but this way worked for me, you experience may vary.
4. Insert the stick into the back of the M8 until you hear the click we're all so used to. Once the reset button is pressed, continue to hold it down and insert the USB cable FIRST. You'll notice that the blue light should light up on it's own as the M8 draws power from the USB cable, Windows will make the device connect sound and will install the driver automatically. Once the sound is heard you can depress the recovery button and remove the stick from the AV port. At this point plug in the wall power supply cable into the power port of the M8 so it's not just running on USB power from your PC.
5. If all went well you should now see a Device ID and port number displayed in USB Burning Tool. Congrats, we're almost there. You shouldn't have to touch any of the configuration boxes but just to be sure make sure only the top 2 options (Erase flash & Erase bootloader) are selected. If everything looks OK we're ready to take the plunge. Click Start and let the program work it's magic. You will see a green progress bar slowly move across the screen. It should take between 3 and 4 minutes to complete. It may look like it's hanging on a number in the 90's for a while but don't worry, it will finish. If all goes well and there are no errors you should be ready to test the flash.
6. Time to see if all went well. Click the stop button on USB Burning Tool once the flash is successful at 100% and remove both the power and USB cable from the device. Now, hook it up to your TV via HDMI, plug in the power and you should see the SPLASH SCREEN OF SWEET VICTORY (PROBOX splash) and be well on your way to having a fully functioning M8 again.
7. Let the box boot to the welcome screen and unplug it. Then place the zipped ROM to the root of the SD or USB stick. Insert it into the box. Then do the ol' toothpick method. Insert the stick into the back of the M8 without the power cable plugged in, wait for the click and insert the power cable. Once you see the dead droid you can remove the toothpick. Select wipe data and confirm. Then select apply update from EXT. If your update zip is on an SD card select, you guessed it, sdcard. If your update is on a USB stick select udisk. Navigate to your file and select it. The box will write the new ROM to the device. If successful, you'll be returned to the main screen of the recovery. select reboot and hope. If all went as planned you should now see the splash screen and the ROM should function as intended.
CONGRATS! You've managed to unbrick your soft-bricked M8!
If you have any questions feel free to ask them here so everyone can see the answers. PM's aren't any good if they only solve an issue for a single person. I'll do my best to reply but I'm sure some of the bright young minds on this forum would also be happy to assist you. Happy modding everybody.
This tutorial uses a variety of ideas found in other posts including the stickied one on this forum but aims to help people with a specific problem, a soft bricked M8 box or a clone of one. That mean you're either stuck in a boot loop that cannot be remedied by formatting data using a recovery like TWRP, the box is failing to update due to not being able to mount certain partitions or there is simply no picture at all. The only thing that matters is that your blue light at the front of the box IS ON. If it's not, follow the beginning steps of JustMe's guide HERE. The reason why I'm making a second guide is because I had to do a lot of reading in multiple posts with varying information and methods in order to find a method that actually worked for me. This tutorial will explain in detail how to fix a soft brick and will include all links and detailed instructions. From what I've gathered at least in the few boxes I've done this method to, you DO NOT need to open the box or probe any points. In fact the last boxes I opened did not even have pins in the spots that the previous ones did. If you have an older box that does still have pins you may need to short them, but attempt to without probing first. I'm not guaranteeing this will work for you, but it has worked flawlessly for me. So without further adieu, let's begin.
What you'll need:
A soft bricked M8 or M8 clone. I've only tried the above method on M8's but it should work for M8N's and M8S'.
A toothpick or non metallic stick of some sorts. (I use a Q-Tip with the cotton on one end cut off, it fits perfectly in the A/V port.)
A male-male USB cable. Here are some links if you don't already have one. CANADA USA UK
A USB stick or SD card
Files to download:
USB Burning Tool V2.0.4.3
PROBOX update img file
ROM of your choice. I suggest Finless, JustMe or Stane
That's it!
Instructions:
1. Extract the zipped PROBOX2 img file somewhere you can easily find it.
2. Install the USB Burning Tool to your PC. In this case I'm using Windows 8.1 but it should work on Windows 7 and Windows 10 as well. It's essential we install this BEFORE we plug our M8 into the PC so our drivers are installed correctly. If you are having driver installation issues you may need to disable driver signature enforcement. A detailed tutorial on how to do that can be found HERE.
3. Once installed, open the USB Burner Tool. Unlike the older version posted in the sticky, this version has english enabled by default. Select File, Import Image and navigate to the directory where you extracted the PROBOX2 img file. Select the PROBOX2-EX-20150129.img and hit open. A window titled image checker will verify the img file we've just selected and the path to the file will now be displayed at the bottom of the USB Burner Tool window.
Time to plug our M8 into the PC. There were a few different ways to do this in other guides but this way worked for me, you experience may vary.
4. Insert the stick into the back of the M8 until you hear the click we're all so used to. Once the reset button is pressed, continue to hold it down and insert the USB cable FIRST. You'll notice that the blue light should light up on it's own as the M8 draws power from the USB cable, Windows will make the device connect sound and will install the driver automatically. Once the sound is heard you can depress the recovery button and remove the stick from the AV port. At this point plug in the wall power supply cable into the power port of the M8 so it's not just running on USB power from your PC.
5. If all went well you should now see a Device ID and port number displayed in USB Burning Tool. Congrats, we're almost there. You shouldn't have to touch any of the configuration boxes but just to be sure make sure only the top 2 options (Erase flash & Erase bootloader) are selected. If everything looks OK we're ready to take the plunge. Click Start and let the program work it's magic. You will see a green progress bar slowly move across the screen. It should take between 3 and 4 minutes to complete. It may look like it's hanging on a number in the 90's for a while but don't worry, it will finish. If all goes well and there are no errors you should be ready to test the flash.
6. Time to see if all went well. Click the stop button on USB Burning Tool once the flash is successful at 100% and remove both the power and USB cable from the device. Now, hook it up to your TV via HDMI, plug in the power and you should see the SPLASH SCREEN OF SWEET VICTORY (PROBOX splash) and be well on your way to having a fully functioning M8 again.
7. Let the box boot to the welcome screen and unplug it. Then place the zipped ROM to the root of the SD or USB stick. Insert it into the box. Then do the ol' toothpick method. Insert the stick into the back of the M8 without the power cable plugged in, wait for the click and insert the power cable. Once you see the dead droid you can remove the toothpick. Select wipe data and confirm. Then select apply update from EXT. If your update zip is on an SD card select, you guessed it, sdcard. If your update is on a USB stick select udisk. Navigate to your file and select it. The box will write the new ROM to the device. If successful, you'll be returned to the main screen of the recovery. select reboot and hope. If all went as planned you should now see the splash screen and the ROM should function as intended.
CONGRATS! You've managed to unbrick your soft-bricked M8!
If you have any questions feel free to ask them here so everyone can see the answers. PM's aren't any good if they only solve an issue for a single person. I'll do my best to reply but I'm sure some of the bright young minds on this forum would also be happy to assist you. Happy modding everybody.
Comment