Which MXIII-G do I have? (Netxeon MXIII-C_V1.1)

[Bruur]

Hi,

I've recently purchased a couple of new MXIII-G 2GB/16GB boxes. These come with Lollipop firmware. When I look in Android into Settings and then into the details about the box, its shows this version of the software: 201L1. Can anybody identity the box I have? because due to the problems I have I don't think it's a main stream MXIII-G. The board show this: Netxeon MXIII-C_V1.1_20160223, other MXIII-G's I've seen show this on the mainboard: M82G_V2.0_20150902 (those work perfectly)

Now the problem I have with this firmware is that it doesn't allow me to flash anything any more. When I flash via a MicroSD card, it just shows the GoogleTV logo and the screen goes blank and this repeats until I give up and let go of the hidden recovery button. Then it boots into Android again.

The problem is even bigger when I flash the box using the USB Burning tool to rollback to a Android version which hopefully allows flashing via microSD. This simply bricks the device. I've tried Android firmware versions 108L, 106L1, 104L1, 101L1. The light on the power button stays red and there is no HDMI output any more. I can still flash firmware via the USB Burning tool but even all though the tool tells me the burn is successful, the box remains bricked.

Now I found a way to unbrick it so it boots up with a method I've described here (using S812C firmware??). But now, the remote and ethernet doesn't work. Can anybody help me identify the box? I've never heard of a S812C. It looks like a MXIII-G but, the firmware it accepted is closer to a MS8+

[Bruur]

I had a breakthrough yesterday. I managed to install Android firmware via SD which was for the M8S+ box. Everything works except the remote control. Then I tried to install OpenElec firmware for the M8S+ box on this box via SD and this worked too! Except for again the remote control. I found a partial fix for the remote. But I still can't power off and on the box using the remote. Also the box changes Mac address every time the box reboots, which is not OK.

So apparently the box contains hardware which is closer to the M8S+ box.

[Bruur]

I decided to keep a log of my progress here on reflashing the box:

Remote troubles
So far I can't find Android firmware in where the remote works. The rest seems fine, Ethernet, Wifi all seems to work in Lolipop. Since I'm a more OpenELEC / LibreELEC guy, I'm focussing more on getting this to work on the box. I have OpenELEC working on this box using this. For the remote I copied the remote.conf from the original Android version of the box and placed it in /storage/.config/remote.conf and restarted the box. This works partially, the OK button doesn't work and the power button on the remote doesn't work. Nor does the the button on the top powers the box off, even after pressing it for 10 seconds.

For the OK on the remote button, I managed to set it using the Kodi Keymap Editor Add-on. This made it work again on the remote, making the box functional again.


Powering off troubles
What is also weird is that suspending the box via the shutdown menu in OpenELEC in Kodi works, but there is no way to power up except from unplugging the power and plugging it back in. I'm looking for a working remote.conffile for OpenELEC which fixes this, but so far no luck. Also, I'm not sure this that a good remote.conf configuration would fix this.


Fixating the MAC address
I fixed this using the info in this post placing the file 99-mac-address.rules into /storage/.config/udev.rules.d. I found out that you can basically give your box any MAC address using this method.

[bobinh2otown]

Try this....Comment 663


http://forum.xda-developers.com/andr...3160863/page67

[Bruur]

Yep, that works! I've tried the TWRP method the moment this was posted on XDA. It restores the box to Lollipop 5.1 with a slightly tweaked Kodi installation on it.

Better still, to recover the box to the original firmware the firmware and instructions mentioned on this post works the best:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=67077787&postcount=692

However, I'm more interested in OpenELEC or LibreELEC firmware which in which everything works right away on this specific box. The MX3G OpenELEC and LibreELEC builds available do not work for the new versions of the MXIII-G 2GB/16GB which are rolling out the factories right now. These come with Netxeon MXIII-C_V1.1 and I've also seen V1.2 versions around.

You can flash it with a M8SPlus version of OpenELEC, but this needs some tweaking to get the remote to work and powering off and on again doesn't work at all.

[bobinh2otown]

Wish I had time.
I been buying these boxes and imo with their price and specs this is the best bang for the buck.
Ive notice them going from 50 dollars up to 100 which imo its better then a gboxq and q2 .

People say no reason to load openelec because it runs just as good on Android 5.1 and alot more choices like in gaming and or Android apps.
I know its not as fast as the Nivdia but it has just as many features and add a bluetooth controller for 20 bucks and you paid 2 times less then

[drakulaboy]

i have this box with this board too, the firmware is working fine, and remote too

[Bruur]

i have this box with this board too, the firmware is working fine, and remote too

I'm guessing you have the Android 5.1 firmware running on it?

If anybody found the perfect OpenELEC or LibreELEC firmware for it, let me know! There are a lot of people who just want an optimal Kodi experience and are willing to sacrifice all the other benefits Android has to offer. Most Android apps work better on tablets or smartphones anyway, because they were designed for a touch interface.

[drakulaboy]

I'm guessing you have the Android 5.1 firmware running on it?

yeah, i want too to try OpenELEC, but this box does not have SDCard slot only MicroSDHC, i guess i will buy one SDHC card to try

[bobinh2otown]

Anyone getting the google play store bug?
I have boxes where they work perfectly and others google play store crashes whenever you type a few letters or characters..
I have not found a work around and spent at least 5 hours trying for a solution .. Some say its the searches that closes it others say its a privacy guard.
I dunno... But I have gotten the bug on some boxes and then not others.. Same make and model .. 2GB 16GB

[kenmills]

Hey Bruur,
I'm following this post closely also. I just got lumbered with a Netxeon MXIII-C_V1.2. I can't get any OpenELEC or LibreELEC builds to run on it.
If you come across anyone who has a working build, please let me know!

I contacted Wilro, but he has been offline for weeks.

Cheers,
Ken

[Bruur]

I have OpenELEC working on this box, but not via any official build. I used the following procedure:

• Boot box with original software (in case the box is bricked or doesn't contain original software use this info to restore it, I can recommend using the USB Burning tool and the 201L1 .img file)
• Note the MAC address of the box (found in: System > Network > Ethernet) when an Ethernet cable is inserted, you need this later to fixate the MAC address in OpenELEC
• Install using hidden button method via microSD card Lollipop for M8S+, using this firmware (unpack files in root of microSD card)
• When Lollipop main menu shows, power box off by unplugging the powerplug, because the remote doesn't work on this firmware
• Install using hidden button method via microSD card an OpenELEC version for the M8S+ (see the 2 versions below)

The following firmware works using this procedure on the MXIII-G 2GB/16GB with the latest boards (Netxeon MXIII-C_V1.1 and Netxeon MXIII-C_V1.2)

• OpenELEC 6.0.0 for M8S+ (with Kodi 15.2 Isengard)
• OpenELEC 6.95.1 for M8S+ (with Kodi 16.0 Jarvis)

Flashing this will result in a box with OpenELEC, but the remote will not work (control via a USB mouse does) and the MAC address changes with every update. This latter is annoying if you want to control Kodi using a smartphone app. Also it can cause other unexpected results in Kodi.

Fixing remote
For the fix of the remote control I constructed this remote.conf file which fixes this:

#*********************************************************************************************************
#this file is configuration for each factory remote device
#     work_mode      0 :software mode  1 :hardware mode
#    repeat_enable      0 :disable repeat 1 :enable repeat
#
#    factory_code      each device has it's unique factory code.
#              pattern:custom_code(16bit)+index_code(16bit)
#              example: 0xff000001 = 0xff00(custom cod)  0001 (index)
#
#    release_delay      unit:ms.release will report from kernel to user layer after this period of time
#              from press or repeat triggered.
#
#    debug_enable      0 :debug disable  1 :debug disable
#
# SW MODE:
#    bit_count      how many bits in each frame
#    tw_leader_act      time window for leader active
#    tw_bit0          time window for bit0 time.
#    tw_bit1          time window for bit1 time
#    tw_repeat_leader  time window for repeat leader
# REG
#    reg_base_gen      set value for PREG_IR_DEC_BASE_GEN
#    reg_control      set value for PREG_IR_DEC_CONTROL
#    reg_leader_act      set value for PREG_IR_DEC_LEADER_ACTIVE
#    reg_leader_idle      set value for PREG_IR_DEC_LEADER_IDLE
#    reg_repeat_leader set value for PREG_IR_DEC_REPEAT_IDLE
#    reg_bit0_time      set value for PREG_IR_DEC_BIT0_TIME
#*************************************************************************************************************
#amlogic NEC remote
factory_code    = 0x7f800001
work_mode          = 0
repeat_enable = 1
repeat_delay = 40
repeat_peroid = 39
release_delay    =    121
debug_enable     = 1

fn_key_scancode    = 0x15
left_key_scancode  = 0x1c
right_key_scancode = 0x48
up_key_scancode    = 0x44
down_key_scancode  = 0x1d
ok_key_scancode    = 0x5c
pageup_key_scancode = 0x04
pagedown_key_scancode = 0x1b

mouse_begin
        0 0x1c
        1 0x48
        2 0x44
        3 0x1d
mouse_end

key_begin

; Code    = IR keycode
; Linux   = Linux keycode
; Android = Android keycode
; Button  = Description button on remote
;
; Buttons with a * are not mapped to physical buttons on the harmonay remote.
;
; Code  Linux  Android              Button
; ----  -----  -------------        ------
    0x4d 113 ; VOLUME_MUTE          Mute
    0x56 114 ; VOLUME_DOWN          Down
    0x4e 115 ; VOLUME_UP            Up
    0x25 105 ; DPAD_LEFT            Left
    0x26 103 ; DPAD_UP              Up
    0x27 106 ; DPAD_RIGHT           Right
    0x28 108 ; DPAD_DOWN            Down
    0x0d 28  ; DPAD_CENTER          Ok
    0x1b 158 ; KEYCODE_NUMPAD_DOT   Return
    0x53 1   ; HOME                 Home
    0x51 31  ; POWER                Power button / Code 31: shutdown menu & 116: power down
    0x49 139 ; KEYCODE_F9           Menu
    0x52 23  ; NOTIFICATION         Mouse button /  (mapped to 'i' button, or 'info' in XBMC)
    0x31 2   ; 1                    1
    0x32 3   ; 2                    2
    0x33 4   ; 3                    3
    0x34 5   ; 4                    4
    0x35 6   ; 5                    5
    0x36 7   ; 6                    6
    0x37 8   ; 7                    7
    0x38 9   ; 8                    8
    0x39 10  ; 9                    9
    0x30 11  ; 0                    0
    0x58 2c  ; Z (Zoom/Aspect)      1/a button
    0x44 14  ; EXIT                 Return
    0xbd 0xa3; ZOOMIN (next track)  FR (<<) button
    0xbb 0xa5; ZOOMOUT (prev track) FR (>>) button
    0x09 166 ; MEDIA_STOP           Red (Media) / was Linux code 61 (moved to yellow)
    0x11 164 ; MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE     Green (Music) button / was Lunux code 60 (moved to blue)
    0x54 61  ; TBD                  Yellow (Web) button
    0x4f 60  ; TBD                  Blue (App) button

key_end

repeat_key_begin
    0x4d 113 ; VOLUME_MUTE          Mute
    0x56 114 ; VOLUME_DOWN          Down
    0x4e 115 ; VOLUME_UP            Up
    0x25 105 ; DPAD_LEFT            Left
    0x26 103 ; DPAD_UP              Up
    0x27 106 ; DPAD_RIGHT           Right
    0x28 108 ; DPAD_DOWN            Down
    0x0d 28  ; DPAD_CENTER          Ok
    0x1b 158 ; KEYCODE_NUMPAD_DOT   Return
    0x53 1   ; HOME                 Home
    0x51 31  ; POWER                Power button / Code 31: shutdown menu & 116: power down
    0x49 139 ; KEYCODE_F9           Menu
    0x52 23  ; NOTIFICATION         Mouse button /  (mapped to 'i' button, or 'info' in XBMC)
    0x31 2   ; 1                    1
    0x32 3   ; 2                    2
    0x33 4   ; 3                    3
    0x34 5   ; 4                    4
    0x35 6   ; 5                    5
    0x36 7   ; 6                    6
    0x37 8   ; 7                    7
    0x38 9   ; 8                    8
    0x39 10  ; 9                    9
    0x30 11  ; 0                    0
    0x58 2c  ; Z (Zoom/Aspect)      1/a button
    0x44 14  ; EXIT                 Return
    0xbd 0xa3; ZOOMIN (next track)  FR (<<) button
    0xbb 0xa5; ZOOMOUT (prev track) FR (>>) button
    0x09 166 ; MEDIA_STOP           Red (Media) / was Linux code 61 (moved to yellow)
    0x11 164 ; MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE     Green (Music) button / was Lunux code 60 (moved to blue)
    0x54 61  ; TBD                  Yellow (Web) button
    0x4f 60  ; TBD                  Blue (App) button
repeat_key_end

Copy this code into a text file, rename it to remote.conf and placed it in /storage/.config/remote.conf by connecting to it via SMB and selecting the configfiles folder. After a reboot the box accepts the original remote again. I assigned the more exotic buttons (Yellow, Blue, 1/a) using the Kodi Keymap Editor Add-on to specific functions in Kodi.

Fixating the MAC address
I fixed this using the info in this post placing the file 99-mac-address.rules into /storage/.config/udev.rules.d. I found out that you can basically give your box any MAC address using this method. I assigned the box the original MAC address I noted down in the original Lollipop firmware .

Power on/off issues
Powering the box off doesn't work. The closest thing you can do in Kodi is suspending the box via the shutdown menu in Kodi, but there is no way to power up except from unplugging the power and plugging it back in. So far I didn't find a solution for this, except from leaving the box on.

[kenmills]

This is awesome info Bruur, I'm working on it now.

If you, or anyone, is working on creating a build for this box - I got some information from the manufacturer on what they changed in this version:

"before, MXIII-G no PMU circuit, it is easy broken. from 2016-4, mxiii-g add PMU Circuit Protection function, so firmware infrastructure changed, firmware update to MXIII-C 2XX version"

Cheers,
Ken

[kenmills]

Hey again Bruur!

Awesome mate - I got it up and running!

Working on the remote now. I can't seem to get Keymap Editor to recognize the Blue or Yellow remote buttons. I can map everything else... Does it not recognize the IR code? You were able to get yours mapped, yes? DO you mind posting the contents of your keymaps gem.xml?

Cheers, and THANKS!
Ken

[Bruur]

Maybe you have a slightly different remote?

SSH into the box and find out which codes belong to the Yellow and Blue button using the "dmesg" command. Fiddle around with the buttons on the remote and see which codes flash by. The so-called scancodes of the remote all start with "0x" by the way. That helps to look through the data scrolling by. There is a lot of helpful information in this post about finding remote codes and editing the remote.conf file.

With my remote the following codes are given:

• Yellow (Web) button: 0x54
• Blue (App) button: 0x4f

In the remote.conf I've mapped these to the Kodi codes of 61 and 60. Maybe these last values are not recognised? By the way, I have it working under Kodi 15.2. I haven't checked if these buttons work under Kodi 16.