Android TV 9 on S905w based TV boxes, at last

[alexxsis]

Hi everyone, Happy New Year and Christmas! (Yes, in Russia we celebrate in this order, deal with it )
OK, first of all I have bought on gearbest the Alfawise S95 tv box on Android 7.1 and deadly upset about it performance. The box was extremely slow, I'd got one by one forceclose of application and even forceclose of the core. After digging of Internet I findout that Alfawise S95 is clone of Tanix TX3 mini (one of it revision), so I went to Tanix's site find TX3mini firmware, but stand upset cos I haven't get any performance advantages comparing original firmware. Even ALICE UI could not make me happy.
But thanx of FreakTab for helping hand not for the first time I've found post of ricky divjakovski https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv-...ely-responsive
I studied it and reflash my box with this firmware, the box starts work a little bit faster but not as I wanted, so I decide to give up and bought XIAOMI MI4S box at flash-sale on Pandao.
Alfawise goes to my parents house which I visit few days in a month. But one day I find topic on 4pda.ru people talks about A95X F1 box on the same element base but which has an Oreo 8.1 firmware. I decide to flash it into Alfawise for a luck, cos I no more depend on it and have no fear even it's bricks. But for my big surprise firmware suite the box besides losing LED display in front of box I can deal with it.
I've been ready to stop when I read a post of soldiaz https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv-...the-final-port which find a way to flash Android TV 9 on S905W based boxes (with some limitations). So I decide to try and flash this firmware with some trouble but success in the end got worked device but with workless wifi. I don't like it and after conversation with topic author he told me he just convert firmware from original work of user DaivietPDA from Thailand https://daivietpda.com/2019/10/rom-t...by-daivietpda/
Thanx Google for it's Translate service I can read this post in Russian. In this post author describes how to reflash Tanix TX3mini box into Android TV 9. I catch the thing that before flashing ZIP update Your box must have firmware with Oreo 8.1 Android. I can't find firmware from Tanix with 8.1 for TX3mini BUT I already had an 8.1 based firmware for A95X F1!. And I decide to rollback to A95X F1 firmware and then update it with ZIP to ATV9.
And BINGO! I've got completely worked device with worked wifi and even more worked LED!

I collect all files You need to make it in my Yandex Disk https://yadi.sk/d/dz2ciEBdFbQagg
(please share files with your clouds to prevent locking download from my account!)

And there is instruction
1. Flash Your box with A95X F1 firmware with full erase and bootloader, You can get errors of flash, just stop a process, disable radio buttons of erasing of flash and bootloader and repeat the process until success.
2. Boot and tune the box until WiFi connect (usually the end of wizard).
3. Put ZIP onto USB Pen drive, find builtin update application, set local update, point to zip, check WIPE DATA and start update procedure. After it done box reboot into ATV You just have to set Your language cos it reset to Thai.

If you like DaivietPDA's work, you can buy him a coffee

[sagert]

Can you check this twrp 3.3.1 from VVitaly with 4pda? She is in the topic of creating and porting twrp 4pda.Page 130 Message 2593.VVitaly write that it is suitable for many amlogic.



??????https://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?show...#entry92355662

[alexxsis]

Actually not. I made this post to share the solution. I don't like experiment after I get reachmy target. I don't need a custom recovery on device I won't modify. Sorry but you have to do it yourself.

[Shippy]

Hi Alexxsis !

I had a noob question:

I ask because looks like you have been experimenting with Android ROMs quite a bit !

Is it possible to run an Android ROM for Amlogic from SD card boot, much as can be done with Libreelec.tv or discourse.coreelec.org (without touching eMmc)?

[alexxsis]

Hi Alexxsis !

I had a noob question:

I ask because looks like you have been experimenting with Android ROMs quite a bit !

Is it possible to run an Android ROM for Amlogic from SD card boot, much as can be done with Libreelec.tv or discourse.coreelec.org (without touching eMmc)?

Sorry man, I'm just know how to read instructions carefully. I'm a Windows help desk admin, and at Linux I'm good, as far as good I can read manuals. That's why I always point source of information.

[alexxsis]

If somebody tested this method and reach success, please write back model of your tv box. I think this sequence suites more than one type of box.

[soldiaz]

Actually not. I made this post to share the solution. I don't like experiment after I get reachmy target. [...] . Sorry but you have to do it yourself.

Not that cool since you demand help from others....guess sagert just asked for help on downloading...stupid behavior

[alexxsis]

Not that cool since you demand help from others....guess sagert just asked for help on downloading...stupid behavior

??? He asked to check recovery but not ask for downloading. There is no problem to register at site and download file. 4PDA allow to download files ONLY after complete registration process.
Stupid behavior is to made somebody to do thihgs you can do yourself

[alreadyused]

Thanks for sharing. I plan to follow your instructions soon.There is also an instruction on youtube for ATV but that solution has problems with the VFD then.

[hannah]

Hello,

My TV BOX is A95X F1 and this below instruction works. Remote and Wifi are working.

I collect all files You need to make it in my Yandex Disk https://yadi.sk/d/dz2ciEBdFbQagg
(please share files with your clouds to prevent locking download from my account!)

And there is instruction
1. Flash Your box with A95X F1 firmware with full erase and bootloader, You can get errors of flash, just stop a process, disable radio buttons of erasing of flash and bootloader and repeat the process until success.
2. Boot and tune the box until WiFi connect (usually the end of wizard).
3. Put ZIP onto USB Pen drive, find builtin update application, set local update, point to zip, check WIPE DATA and start update procedure. After it done box reboot into ATV You just have to set Your language cos it reset to Thai.

I will add a point about how to change the default language to the language of your choice.
This link has an instruction how to change the language in Android 9.
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-...nguage-android

```
Step 4: Activate the language that you want to use in Android

You have added the display languages that you are interested in. However, the default display language is still the one that you have used so far: English. To change the active display language, tap and hold the lines near the name of the language that you want to use, and drag it to the top of the list.
```

Thank you for sharing this post.

Regards
Hannah

[alreadyused]

So, i did it yesterday. I could change the language but how do you drag and drop the language ? I plugged in a mouse and could not do it and the remote control cannot do it also.
My biggest problem was the USB Burning Tool. You know that the USB delivers also power ? But sometimes it is not enough and you need the power cable also.

The order in which you connect USB, power and press the reset button is difficult. Also you have to plug in the USB cable into the USB port next to the SD card (which supports OTG), the other USB port does not work.
You need the USB Burning tool to see the device at least once so that you can press the start button. Usually it was visible only a short time until it disconnected.

I had the best result in already starting the Flash/Burn process and then starting the TX3 mini with pressing reset all the time and then plugging in USB with or without powerline until windows makes a sound that it recognized the device. Then you can release the reset button and soon after the burn tool starts to flash the Android 8 firmware for A95.

With A95 firmware the VFDs where out of order.
Only after flashing daivietpda ATV 9 the VFDs worked again.

Another Update: I cannot get Wifi to work. Who can ? I have a revision A which means the first model of Tanix TX3 mini without bluetooth and a strange wifi module that was replaced in later models.

So finally: I tested around 10 different firmwares (i am now a pro with USB Burning Tool) and only the firmware TX3Max-20171228.img had a working Wifi Driver but even then the connection was bad so don't care for this and use LAN i advise (or use a usb wifi adapter).

I was not happy with ATV 9 also so after installing TX3Max-20171228.img i could boot coreelec from SD and then with installtointernal 2 times it is now flashed on my Tanix TX3 mini.

[alexxsis]

So, i did it yesterday. I could change the language but how do you drag and drop the language ? I plugged in a mouse and could not do it and the remote control cannot do it also.
My biggest problem was the USB Burning Tool. You know that the USB delivers also power ? But sometimes it is not enough and you need the power cable also.

The order in which you connect USB, power and press the reset button is difficult. Also you have to plug in the USB cable into the USB port next to the SD card (which supports OTG), the other USB port does not work.
You need the USB Burning tool to see the device at least once so that you can press the start button. Usually it was visible only a short time until it disconnected.

I had the best result in already starting the Flash/Burn process and then starting the TX3 mini with pressing reset all the time and then plugging in USB with or without powerline until windows makes a sound that it recognized the device. Then you can release the reset button and soon after the burn tool starts to flash the Android 8 firmware for A95.

With A95 firmware the VFDs where out of order.
Only after flashing daivietpda ATV 9 the VFDs worked again.

Another Update: I cannot get Wifi to work. Who can ? I have a revision A which means the first model of Tanix TX3 mini without bluetooth and a strange wifi module that was replaced in later models.

So finally: I tested around 10 different firmwares (i am now a pro with USB Burning Tool) and only the firmware TX3Max-20171228.img had a working Wifi Driver but even then the connection was bad so don't care for this and use LAN i advise (or use a usb wifi adapter).

I was not happy with ATV 9 also so after installing TX3Max-20171228.img i could boot coreelec from SD and then with installtointernal 2 times it is now flashed on my Tanix TX3 mini.

Look at original post on https://daivietpda.com/2019/10/rom-t...by-daivietpda/
And choose correct update for your board. Maybe that what suites me don't fit to your board, so try different update rom.

[alexxsis]

Thanks for sharing. I plan to follow your instructions soon.There is also an instruction on youtube for ATV but that solution has problems with the VFD then.

This solution is the one for me to get working VFD but not only the wifi is works too. For now I stopped any recearch for my device cos it fully functional and works as good as never before.

[jpdm36]

This solution is the one for me to get working VFD but not only the wifi is works too. For now I stopped any recearch for my device cos it fully functional and works as good as never before.

Hi Alexxsis,

Followed your instructions and it worked perfectly for me everything works which is great, added new life to an older box, thank you.

[hawkdown77]

Hi alexxsis ... how r you?
im trying to put wifi working but i cant....
what was the wifi chip in your box?