Measy U4K and B4K upgrade to 4.2.2 with CS918S firmware

[ADD]

Hi everyone!

Good news! I finally did it and upgraded my Measy U4K to android 4.2.2 using the CS918S firmware.

First of all, let me share my experience and impressions after having played with it over the past week-end.

1. Performance
It is so much faster and fluid as if they took your bicycle and gave you a Ferrari!
Antutu scored 20'000 first time I launched it. And this is at 1008MHz CPU clockspeed!!!
Before installing this fw I hated to surf on this device as it was a nightmare (browser shutdowns, very slow page rendering). Once you started a torrent download it dramatically slowed down the UI. Now it is like WOW!
I could surf / watch movies / play Beach Buggy while dowloading a torrent like as if nothing was going on in the background. Amazing!

2. Cooling
As it's well known, A31 generates more heat than RK3188 because of its 40nm process node. More surface, more heat. So, I'd strongly suggest modding your device to get the best out of it. See my mod here

3. HDMI passtrough
Haven't tried it yet. Will keep you updated on this one. Update 1: it works!!! Tried AC3 5.1. This is the first passthrough capable android miniPC I know!

4. WiFi/BT
Now the bad news. I don't know if this is a bug of my device or if it's definitely not working. But I saw with my own eyes that WiFi was on and I could see all the networks around including my own once I flashed the firmware. Then I turned WiFi off. After rebooting I could no longer switch it back on. U4K and CS918S use the same chipset RTL8723, so I don't see the reason why it would not work. Looks like a driver problem. I tried to reflash it several times with no luck. Even though I'm still very happy because now it really does what it was supposed to. Will keep you posted.


Flashing firmware

I disclaim all the responsibilities. You are doing it at your own risk.

Tested on Win7 PC

Before flashing I warn you once again: you may or you will loose your wifi/bt functionality, so be prepared and grab your Ethernet adapter.

Step 1
First download the firmware file here (thanks to Geekbuying for sharing the firmware and to mitchell4you for posting the link) and unpack it on your PC.

Step 2
Connect Measy to your PC using microUSB. Important: make sure WiFi/BT is switched on.

Step 3
Download and install PhoenixSuite on your PC while Measy is connected. Do the version upgrade if asked to.

Step 4
Run PoenixSuite from your desktop. It should recognize your device. Click on firmware (anchor icon) and browse to the .img file you unpacked in step 1 and hit Upgrade button.

The process runs 3-4 min and then it boots up.

Important: First thing you do when upgrade is over, you connect your Measy to your WiFi. I skipped this point and probably this is the reason why I lost WiFi.

That's it folks! Enjoy your new firmware!

[opengl1971]

Thanks for the info , i have 2 questions:

1-is this rooted ?
2-Does this firmware has a 1080p kernel version ?

I have a rk3188 device and the only thing that holds my back from buying Allwinner A31
Devices is the lack of 1080 roms , in fact there is one found here:

http://www.armtvtech.com/armtvtechforum/viewtopic.php?f=205&t=2166&sid=f852bf3f25df707d3bd43eb4dbe8ba21

But it is old and many users reported that it is buggy.

[ADD]

Thanks for the info , i have 2 questions:

1-is this rooted ?
2-Does this firmware has a 1080p kernel version ?

I have a rk3188 device and the only thing that holds my back from buying Allwinner A31
Devices is the lack of 1080 roms , in fact there is one found here:

http://www.armtvtech.com/armtvtechforum/viewtopic.php?f=205&t=2166&sid=f852bf3f25df707d3bd43eb4dbe8ba21

But it is old and many users reported that it is buggy.

1. Yes
2. 720p upscaled to 1080p

But it you want to change it to true 1080p you can do it yourself.

Android uses frame buffer for video output. The frame buffer is initialised once upon the boot. The initialisation parameters are defined in the sys_config (script.bin) file which is stored in the bootloader. The default values are set to 720p. You just need to change the next parameter (from default 720p (5) to 1080p (10))

screen[0]_output_mode =10
and
screen[1]_output_mode =10

(used for tv/hdmi output, 0:480i 1:576i 2:480p 3:576p 4:720p50 5:720p60 6:1080i50 7:1080i60 8:1080p24 9:1080p50 10:1080p60 11: pal 14:ntsc)

Note that after the first boot the output will be downscaled to 720p. You will have to change it in android screen settings back to 1080p.

[dynamic_d]

Measy b4k

1. Yes
2. 720p upscaled to 1080p

But it you want to change it to true 1080p you can do it yourself.

Android uses frame buffer for video output. The frame buffer is initialised once upon the boot. The initialisation parameters are defined in the sys_config (script.bin) file which is stored in the bootloader. The default values are set to 720p. You just need to change the next parameter (from default 720p (5) to 1080p (10))

screen[0]_output_mode =10
and
screen[1]_output_mode =10

(used for tv/hdmi output, 0:480i 1:576i 2:480p 3:576p 4:720p50 5:720p60 6:1080i50 7:1080i60 8:1080p24 9:1080p50 10:1080p60 11: pal 14:ntsc)

Note that after the first boot the output will be downscaled to 720p. You will have to change it in android screen settings back to 1080p.

I have the measy b4k. I hate how laggy it is. Do you know how to make a backup of my current rom just in case this don't work?
Thanks in advance

[ADD]

I have the measy b4k. I hate how laggy it is. Do you know how to make a backup of my current rom just in case this don't work?
Thanks in advance

Sorry, I don't know how to do it. I was not even thinking a minute when I got this new firmware either to flash it or not. The old fw was so slow that I was thinking of throwing it into the dustbin and buy something newer, CS918S for example (what an irony So, i gave it a try. Now this is my favorit stick I'm going to use for couple of years for sure...

[dynamic_d]

Sorry, I don't know how to do it. I was not even thinking a minute when I got this new firmware either to flash it or not. The old fw was so slow that I was thinking of throwing it into the dustbin and buy something newer, CS918S for example (what an irony So, i gave it a try. Now this is my favorit stick I'm going to use for couple of years for sure...

ah you said "stick" so you dont have a measy b4k box . You think this might work on the measy b4k? without losing stuff like wifi?? did yoy finally get everything working on yours by the way?
I would love flash this because my current one sucks...big time.
anyways thanks in advance and great work figuring out this could be flash on our devices i truely hate the standard software and measy dont do anything to help.

[ADD]

ah you said "stick" so you dont have a measy b4k box . You think this might work on the measy b4k? without losing stuff like wifi?? did yoy finally get everything working on yours by the way?
I would love flash this because my current one sucks...big time.
anyways thanks in advance and great work figuring out this could be flash on our devices i truely hate the standard software and measy dont do anything to help.

No, I don't have B4K. But they have identical hadrware. So far haven't found a solution for wifi. I'm not bothered much as I have ethernet connection. Up to you whether to flash it or not. On B4K you have ethernet, so in the worst case scenario you'll have a network.

[dynamic_d]

No, I don't have B4K. But they have identical hadrware. So far haven't found a solution for wifi. I'm not bothered much as I have ethernet connection. Up to you whether to flash it or not. On B4K you have ethernet, so in the worst case scenario you'll have a network.

Thats a good point. dont even use the wifi but I have a flymouse that uses the bluetooth unfortunately.....damn what a hard choice. it is stupid software so I will think about that.

[ADD]

Thats a good point. dont even use the wifi but I have a flymouse that uses the bluetooth unfortunately.....damn what a hard choice. it is stupid software so I will think about that.

I'm pretty sure my wifi/bt problem will be resolved once I flash an upgraded fw for CS918S if there'll be any.
Till then your input is appreciated in this thread.

[opengl1971]

1. Yes
2. 720p upscaled to 1080p

But it you want to change it to true 1080p you can do it yourself.

Android uses frame buffer for video output. The frame buffer is initialised once upon the boot. The initialisation parameters are defined in the sys_config (script.bin) file which is stored in the bootloader. The default values are set to 720p. You just need to change the next parameter (from default 720p (5) to 1080p (10))

screen[0]_output_mode =10
and
screen[1]_output_mode =10

(used for tv/hdmi output, 0:480i 1:576i 2:480p 3:576p 4:720p50 5:720p60 6:1080i50 7:1080i60 8:1080p24 9:1080p50 10:1080p60 11: pal 14:ntsc)

Note that after the first boot the output will be downscaled to 720p. You will have to change it in android screen settings back to 1080p.

Thanks add for your very detailed reply.

Based on my work on rk3188 here:

http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?6681-Change-resolution-from-real-720p-to-real-1080p-on-the-fly-useing-just-1-kernel-%28POC%29/page5

Normally there are 2 files one that holds the frame buffer resolution and the other
That holds the hdmi resolution you need them both as there is no point in drawing
in 1080p internal frame buffer then out put it in 720p to hdmi , you have change hdmi
resolution to 1080p as well.

So the document says that script.bin file holds the frame buffer resolution but didn't say
Where is the file that holds the hdmi output resolution (the one that is equavilant to
rk29_display.cfg file on rk3188 devices)

How is the antutu score and general performance on 1080p kernel ?

[ADD]

I have no idea, i have no Linux machine to extract the bootloader.
I could only assume that in 1080p mode it would perform at around 17000-18000 given its powerful gpu.

[dynamic_d]

measy b4k

I'm pretty sure my wifi/bt problem will be resolved once I flash an upgraded fw for CS918S if there'll be any.
Till then your input is appreciated in this thread.

Im going to flash this tomorrow and test it out (saturday 21 dec).
Hopefully it works and this helps out many people. I scowered the whole internet for a while and not even measy helps. Im very thankfull for freaktab. they made my neo x7 better than minix did.
Anyways I shall report my findings saturday. cheers

[ADD]

Im going to flash this tomorrow and test it out (saturday 21 dec).
Hopefully it works and this helps out many people. I scowered the whole internet for a while and not even measy helps. Im very thankfull for freaktab. they made my neo x7 better than minix did.
Anyways I shall report my findings saturday. cheers

Good luck with flashing. Hope your WiFi/BT will have no problem. Just remember before flashing rom to enable both BT and WiFi on B4K and then start the procedure. Once it's over first thing you do you connect to your home network using wifi.

Keep us posted, cheers!

P.S. forgot to mention that it's better to have your device attached to your TV so that you can see what's going on on the screen.

[dynamic_d]

Good luck with flashing. Hope your WiFi/BT will have no problem. Just remember before flashing rom to enable both BT and WiFi on B4K and then start the procedure. Once it's over first thing you do you connect to your home network using wifi.

Keep us posted, cheers!

P.S. forgot to mention that it's better to have your device attached to your TV so that you can see what's going on on the screen.

ok got it. so while flashing leave it attachted to the tv...do I need to click anything on the screen or something that it needs to be on?

[ADD]

ok got it. so while flashing leave it attachted to the tv...do I need to click anything on the screen or something that it needs to be on?

Yes, you leave it connected with android booted and switch USB debugging on. Then when you install PhoenixSuite it should recongnize your device and install all the necessary drivers. Once done, you launch PhoenixSuite. No need to press anything on B4K, Phoenix will do the rest.