Newbie trying to resurrect a friend's old AMLOGIC S812 tv box

[JohnShaver]

Further to the subject, I've previously managed to resurrect my son's old "mX iii 4k" / AMLOGIC S802 / Android 4.4.2 box forbuse with KODI 17. Because of the success I had with his, he asked if I could look at his friend's box ... it's externally marked as "M8S" on top + "Smart Media Player Model: S812" on the bottom. When I open the case and look at the PCB board I can see "XT-S812-V10" & "2015-08-04".
(Note: at this point, I don't believe it's an "M8S+" box which I understand from some posts it might actually be)

I looked through this site (and others I could find), and understand as a staring point that a "simple" reset to "Factory Settings" might help me make this box functional again. I've tried versions of the "toothpick" reset method with no luck so far. (I don't know if I'm using the correct sequence of steps, but I have tried).

That said, the basic symptom I have right now, that I'm trying to get beyond, is that when the box powers up ... I see a black screen then
a) a tiny and very brief flicker of activity in the lower left corner of the TV screen
b) then immediately the TV displays the MBOX "logo" ( / splash screen) ... but it doesn't change from this screen and display the actual MBOX app UI.

When I try the "toothpick" reset method, I'm expecting to first see the Android "recovery screen" options that I can see people have posted on this site, but I'm only getting to the MBOX screen which I expect is being displayed AFTER I'd expect to see the ANDROID boot "recovery options" screen}.

Any pointers / suggestions on how I can move beyond the MBOX "splash" screen? Why my "toothpick" Factory Reset" sequence doesn't seem to be giving me the expected results?

John

[neomode]

Hello,

Okay, the best way to recover the Box is by using your PC.

For this you need the following:
1x USB A to A Cable
1x USB Burning Tool
1x Firmware for your Box

Download and Install the USB Burning Tool, these will also install the Drivers needed for the Flashing.
Second Download the Firmware and Load it in USB Burning Tool and press Start.
Now take a Paperclip and press the Reset Button in the AV Hole and Connect the USB Cable while pressing the Reset Button.

Finish your Box should Work again.

Neomode

[JohnShaver]

Thanks very much Neomode. I'll tollow the process steps you've recommended. I appreciate the guidance of someone with experience helping other people ... especially giving me a pointer to the actual firmware you think is appropriate for my particular box.
John

[neomode]

Thank you and no problem at all.
The Firmware i have you works on the most S812 Voice without any issue.

Neomode

[JohnShaver]

Neomode, I tried the procedure you suggested but unfortunately no success. It's not a problem since the actual owner hasn't been able to use it for a couple of years now anyway. Now it's simply a "challenge" for me that I'll play with a bit more until I either get it working or give up. For what it's worth this is what happened.

1. I started the USB Burning tool on my WINDOWS PC
2. told it to use the Firmware .IMG file you suggested (i.e. the .ZIP file you suggested which gave me a .IMG file after I unzipped it)
3. did the Paperclip process (= hold the Reset button and keep holding it, when I plug in the USB connection to the PC)
4. the USB tool started processing and ran for about 4 minutes and at the end told me it got to 100% successfully
(The only confusing thing at this point was the usage notes at the bottom right side of the Tool's screen ... points 5 & 6 that seem to try to explain how you should disconnect things before you close the tool. After the tool says it's done the burn successfully, I don't know whether the actual process sequence of disconnecting the box from the PC and Closing the Tool is critical to the success of the entire Burning process).

Anyway, I took the box to the TV, connected it to the TV using an HDMI cable, plugged in it's power cord, pressed the Power button on it's remote
... but now I'm not even getting stuck at the MBOX logo on the TV. Now the TV is simply telling me "NO SIGNAL" on the HDMI port I'm using for the TV Box. (I also tried a different HDMI cable, but get the same result).

If any of my comments suggest something else I could try, I'd certainly appreciate it. Otherwise I'll simply continue to try to play with it for a bit longer.

Regardless of whether or not you have any other suggestions, thanks again for your help.

PS: re the firmware file you suggested ... you described it as for "S812 Voice" ... I'm just wondering why you added "Voice" to the description. I was thinking all I needed was some version of firmware for my "S812" (I don't believe it has any kind of "Voice" function. The box is over 2 years old based on the date printed on the PCB board).

John

[clarkss12]

Try this link and see if it matches your box.

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s812-aa/others-aa/552995-m8-s812-unbrick-help-pls

[neomode]

Forget about the Voice only matching the original
hardware. Cause they have an remote control with voice.
For the other thing I look again.

Regards
Neomode

[JohnShaver]

Thanks for the suggestion, Clarkss12. In fact I had previously looked at the thread you've pointed me to, because it does have people talking about PCB boards that are marked "XT-S812-V10" & "2015-08-04" like mine.

The problem I had with this thread is that I haven't been able to understand it. What I mean is
a) what's the particular tool I should use (i.e. is the "AMLOGIC USB Burning Tool (for WIN)" the same as "amlogic sd formatter" someone also mentions in this thread?)
b) as someone more familiar with reading and understanding this thread, can you maybe pick out a specific Firmware file reference that you'd try if you were me?

Bottom line, in this thread, I can see some people that seem to say they found a solution and others saying they couldn't with the same file, so as a newbie, I can't really make heads or tails out of this thread.

But again, thanks for your help.

[clarkss12]

Thanks for the suggestion, Clarkss12. In fact I had previously looked at the thread you've pointed me to, because it does have people talking about PCB boards that are marked "XT-S812-V10" & "2015-08-04" like mine.

The problem I had with this thread is that I haven't been able to understand it. What I mean is
a) what's the particular tool I should use (i.e. is the "AMLOGIC USB Burning Tool (for WIN)" the same as "amlogic sd formatter" someone also mentions in this thread?)
b) as someone more familiar with reading and understanding this thread, can you maybe pick out a specific Firmware file reference that you'd try if you were me?

Bottom line, in this thread, I can see some people that seem to say they found a solution and others saying they couldn't with the same file, so as a newbie, I can't really make heads or tails out of this thread.

But again, thanks for your help.

First thing is to verify which box you have, from the link I posted, this is the box they are referring to, is this the box you have??

https://chinagadgetsreviews.com/download-latest-android-lollipop-5-1-1-stock-firmware-for-m8s-tv-box.html

[JohnShaver]

First thing is to verify which box you have, from the link I posted, this is the box they are referring to, is this the box you have??
https://chinagadgetsreviews.com/down...8s-tv-box.html

Yes, my box looks physically identical to the picture in the link ... with 1 exception ... my box is marked on top as "M8S", not "M8S+".

Also, I don't claim to know but I think, that because of the age of my box (date printed on the PCB board is "2015-08-04") I think my board is an ANDROID v4.4.2 based box, not an ANDROID v5.1.1 based box that's described in the picture..