X92 TV Box S912, Android 6, 3/16GB, Dual WiFi, Gig Lan

[mxqpro]

Thanks for your continuous advice.

I start from the Vasily rom obviously, and use update&backup app to perform the update, using stock recovery.

As I said earlier, I'm unable to boot in TWRP, or do something wrong.

You followed different instruction. 

The way to boot is to copy 3 files (aml_xxxx, dtb.img and kernel.img ) onto SDCard, and overwrite the kernel.img with twrp.img ( ie delete kernel.img and rename twrp.img as kernel.img ).







 

[Jancales]

Should it be better to first flash the Android 6.0 image 08052017 with burning tool, and then do the OTA?

Is this device q201 or not?

[mxqpro]

Should it be better to first flash the Android 6.0 image 08052017 with burning tool, and then do the OTA?

Is this device q201 or not?

That will be the proper way. 

This device is q201 but various ROMs have been adapted to run on it but sebsequently identify itself as something else other than q201.

Only stock roms persistently identify itself as q201.

 

[Jancales]

This is becoming very tiresome, and I guess gonna throw the towel.

Image is the content of my SD card, where kernel is the renamed twrp, and update is the 20170916 OTA.

It boots in TWRP, but TWRP sees my SD card as empty.

[Jancales]

copied the update package to a USB drive, and then TWRP detected it, but still error 7 this is a q201_N device.

So flashed May Android 6.0 firmware first, then did OTA September update.

Seems not too bad, but there are errors, as with obviously every firmware for this device.

Some apps install properly, others not, so will see what the future gives.

[Jancales]

So here is my final verdict.........if anyone is interested.

I've been testing with 2 devices 3/16Gb, well actually 3 but one with stock 7.1.2 threw in the towel after just 2 days, and I then started flashing the other 2 devices.

On all devices I replaced the stock heat sink with a 40 x 40 x 11 HS, available on the bay for less than $1, which I mount with adhesive thermal paste

I flashed every stock and custom rom I could find here or on Google. This include the Rikomagic - Vasily and a bunch of stock firmwares available anywhere, and none of them satisfied me.

Some of them had really big issues, as you can read in my previous posts. Vasily was the best of a bad bunch, but I didn't like the boot logo and when applying a mod to enable the lcd display the usb slots became invisible. It is also is based on an early version of Vorke Z6 firmware, and they all suffer from distorted boot logo after a few days.

It started already after about 15 reboots.

Finally I flashed stock A 6.0, the May 08 stock on 1 device, and the September 16 on the other.

Both ran better than the stock 7.1.2 they came with, but not really satisfied, as some apps acted strange.

I have a Thai Live TV app ( Devtab) available on Playstore that runs on A 5.1 - A 6.0 and A 7.1, but doesn't run properly on any firmware on this device. It did run on the Vasily rom though.

With the stock 6.0 the devices would run 79 - 80 °C with Kodi after about 1 hour.

I then applied the Ugoos OTA posted by Logic in post #201 on both devices, and never looked back.

Still can't run the Thai TV app, but firmware runs much smoother, and Kodi, with the very same stream, max out at 67°C.

I hope my feedback is useful to someone.

[stasio]

I then applied the Ugoos OTA posted by Logic in post #201 on both devices, and never looked back.

Still can't run the Thai TV app, but firmware runs much smoother, and Kodi, with the very same stream, max out at 67°C.

I hope my feedback is useful to someone.

Did you try other versions of Ugoos, except 0.3.0_1 from post #201...?

On 4pda you have links......for X92 (with ugoos kernel - wifi and display (clock) on the console panel do not work)

Here or here is official Ugoos links....

[Jancales]

Did you try other versions of Ugoos, except 0.3.0_1 from post #201...?

On 4pda you have links......for X92.

Here or here is official Ugoos links....

No I didn't try any other versions, as i didn't even know this was possible

I tried a online OTA update today, and it downloaded but failed during install.

Can I install just any of the Ugoos files you linked to on a X92?

Because yes I would like to try a more recent version, but I don't fancy another brick.

[stasio]

Yea, try links from 4pda for X92...should be OK.

Edit:

you can also check LibreElec instead of Android.....

The configuration is on an external SDCard and does not disturb the internal flash at all.
You can select which to boot from at my preference. Android or LibreElec.

1) Download https://kszaq.libreelec.tv/s912/8.2/...8.2.2.3.img.gz

2) Write the image to SDCard using this http://mxqproject.com/files/win32dis....5-install.exe

3) Replace the SDcard original dtb.img with this (depending on memory size )

https://kszaq.libreelec.tv/s912/8.2/device_trees/100Mbit_Ethernet/gxm_q201_2g.dtb

https://kszaq.libreelec.tv/s912/8.2/device_trees/100Mbit_Ethernet/gxm_q201_3g.dtb

4) Insert SDCard, pressing/hold the reset button, insert power.

In Kodi LibreElec is giving higher quality playback ( normally the Kodi websites always highly recommend LibreElec ).

[Jancales]

Yea, try links from 4pda for X92...should be OK.

Edit:

you can also check LibreElec instead of Android.....

The configuration is on an external SDCard and does not disturb the internal flash at all.
You can select which to boot from at my preference. Android or LibreElec.

1) Download https://kszaq.libreelec.tv/s912/8.2/...8.2.2.3.img.gz

2) Write the image to SDCard using this http://mxqproject.com/files/win32dis....5-install.exe

3) Replace the SDcard original dtb.img with this (depending on memory size )

https://kszaq.libreelec.tv/s912/8.2/device_trees/100Mbit_Ethernet/gxm_q201_2g.dtb

https://kszaq.libreelec.tv/s912/8.2/device_trees/100Mbit_Ethernet/gxm_q201_3g.dtb

4) Insert SDCard, pressing/hold the reset button, insert power.

In Kodi LibreElec is giving higher quality playback ( normally the Kodi websites always highly recommend LibreElec ).

This is not about LibreElec, but about X92 firmware. I know LibreElec but not of use to me.

Are the 4pda files modded for X92 or is Ugoos AM3 firmware compatible with X92?

So can I flash firmwares downloaded directly from the Ugoos site?

[stasio]

This 4pda files is posted in X92 thread and its for X92.....
From Ugoos site ...not sure...probably should be modded for X92 ("Ported firmware").

[Jancales]

This 4pda files is posted in X92 thread and its for X92.....
From Ugoos site ...not sure...probably should be modded for X92 ("Ported firmware").

On the 4pda site there is for each version the OTA zip and the kernel in a separate file.

What would I need the kernel for, which changes does it make, and how do i apply it?

[stasio]

As posted earlier.....with ugoos kernel - wifi and display (clock) on the console panel do not work on X92.

Btw,
on 4pda is OTA zip and OTA zip with Ugoos kernel.

[Jancales]

As posted earlier.....with ugoos kernel - wifi and display (clock) on the console panel do not work on X92.

The wifi and display work on the boxes I installed the ugoos 0.3.0, so obviously the kernel was not included.

As I understand it, the kernel is actually the heart of the operating system, but correct me if I'm wrong.

So if the X92 kernel wasn't replaced, the why the box runs so much cooler with the ugoos firmware?

[mxqpro]

So here is my final verdict.........if anyone is interested.

I've been testing with 2 devices 3/16Gb, well actually 3 but one with stock 7.1.2 threw in the towel after just 2 days, and I then started flashing the other 2 devices.

On all devices I replaced the stock heat sink with a 40 x 40 x 11 HS, available on the bay for less than $1, which I mount with adhesive thermal paste

I flashed every stock and custom rom I could find here or on Google. This include the Rikomagic - Vasily and a bunch of stock firmwares available anywhere, and none of them satisfied me.

Some of them had really big issues, as you can read in my previous posts. Vasily was the best of a bad bunch, but I didn't like the boot logo and when applying a mod to enable the lcd display the usb slots became invisible. It is also is based on an early version of Vorke Z6 firmware, and they all suffer from distorted boot logo after a few days.

It started already after about 15 reboots.

Finally I flashed stock A 6.0, the May 08 stock on 1 device, and the September 16 on the other.

Both ran better than the stock 7.1.2 they came with, but not really satisfied, as some apps acted strange.

I have a Thai Live TV app ( Devtab) available on Playstore that runs on A 5.1 - A 6.0 and A 7.1, but doesn't run properly on any firmware on this device. It did run on the Vasily rom though.

With the stock 6.0 the devices would run 79 - 80 °C with Kodi after about 1 hour.

I then applied the Ugoos OTA posted by Logic in post #201 on both devices, and never looked back.

Still can't run the Thai TV app, but firmware runs much smoother, and Kodi, with the very same stream, max out at 67°C.

I hope my feedback is useful to someone.

I was a little puzzle why the boot image I prepared works on my system but it does not work on your system.

And now I have a newer hypothesis ( hopefully it's the final actual cause ). It is quite common for most firmware to load the usb driver with a parameter otg_device=1. It seems the parameter limits the system in such a way that it only allows either the sdcard and the usb storage to be used one at one time, not simultaneously.

Maybe because it is done so that it limits the current withdraw from the system.

This would be able to explain why I don't see such problem when you consistently able to see the problem.

I have now changed the boot.zip with parameter otg_device=2. Base on my testing, it nows can detect attached usb storage from boot, even when one boots from sdcard.

As with the temperature, my observation is that Kodi raises temperature higher than other applications. My physical mod allows it to lower to temperature to about 55 deg C with Kodi, and if not using Kodi, it goes to around 50 deg C.

Here is the picture. (Sorry have to attach it external as freaktab is complaining size is too big ).

The fan is actually a fan which I took from a old notebook cooling pad. For illustration, I displaced the fan one corner just to show the holes on top cover.