CoreELEC Amlogic-ng(4.9 kernel) for S905X/S905D/S905W - FunHouse builds

On my two S905X boxes I also had bootloops. With one (A95X A1) this went away after I updated Android to version 7.1.2. Now the -ng builds boot and run fine.

I need to find a working Android 7 firmware for the other one (mecool/akaso HM8)…

Thanks @mmpp00, I flashed bootloader from Nexbox A95X Android 7.1 image via USB and got -ng build on my box working.
@notFound @DigiTo you can try this method, it works.

Well, I will wait a bit for info from CE Team whether they can fix it for android 6 or not

A bootloader created before 9 June 2017 (Android 6)
GXL devices will not have enough space for the bl30/bl31 blobs .
@Portisch has a fix and will advise.

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9.2.4.2 - still bootloops
Fix is not yet included in stable build?

Did you try to inject bl301 again after the update?
Maybe also search for an updated Android version for your device.

Not sure what you mean.
I can’t run CE-NG build, all I can see is CE logo and version in top left.
After few seconds box is getting restarted.
There’s no error, just restart all the time so I guess there’s no way to inject bl301?

There is no official update for this box, user made software only and im kinda afraid that it will brick device :stuck_out_tongue:

Aah, I thought it was related to the bl30/bl31 blobs problem described by @kostaman above.
Did you try a fresh installation on a spare sd card?

Yes, im doing fresh install on another sd card and im holding reset button on first boot.

Since last post i have tested an Android 6.01 s905D 1GB/8gb box with Team CE
Real serious issues trying 1GB box with dtb.img and NG Kernel 4.9
Spent hours catching logs.
Time needed for a POSSIBLE fix

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FWIW, updating my X96 S905X 2/16G to Android 7.1.2 allows it to run the NG 9.2.4.2, in a stable manner. No more segmentation faults locking up the device and making it unusable. Is there some special sauce in Android 7.1.2 that makes it possible or was the stock firmware for my box just garbage? Who can say, but it finally works.

Thanks DEVs, you folks are amazing!

To try and give the simplest answer.

The vendors firmware doesn’t just include android, but also the boot loader which is made up of a couple different binary blobs.

Besides handling booting the device, these bits also handle some hardware access for the running OS, and stay running in a separate secure thread on the device. The kernel talks to this thread, and makes requests of it when it needs certain things.

This is were the the problems with old firmware come into play. The kernel expects to ask for stuff in a certain way, and get a certain answer back. As development continues some of this ends up changing, either to fix issues or to make things more flexible or efficient.

Normally when a vendor updates firmware, they update both the boot loader and kernel at the same time, so there doesn’t end up being any issues. This hasn’t been an issue for CoreELEC in the past because the 3.14 kernel was just as old as the old firmware. But, the 4.9 kernel is much newer, so there is a chance of issues with older firmware, and having a miscommunication that causes a problem. I have patched a few such issues, and will try to fix more of them when possible.

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Hi guys, I have two 1/8GB S905X boxes, an X96 and a Trongle X4, both kernel 3.14 internal installs. I’d like to upgrade them to NG but I don’t have their stock Android which IIUC is needed to upgrade internal installs.

Does anyone know if this ROM works on them?

Ahhh. Thanks for the explanation. Makes more sense now.

I haven’t had any experience with that one, I personally used the Tanix TX7 firmware, google: HQYG-TX7-nikodi-20180104. Wifi drivers, etc work on my X96. According to some lengthy forum reading on XDA/Freaktab, (which is how I came to it, however long ago), it’s reported to work on many boxes. I’ve personally used it on a few S905x varieties without issue. On one box, I wasn’t able to boot to CE using the toothpick method, I had to use the update from within Android method.

If you don’t have a working stock firmware, I’d personally be cautious as if it doesn’t work, you’re kinda hooped.

Tanix firmware is for 2GB hardware

Through Burn Card Maker, the original firmware is flashed without problems, this firmware is not. (vontar x96 1/8/100 s905x original firmware android 6.0.1-17.06.09).

I have a vontar x96 1/8/100 s905x original firmware android 6.0.1-17.06.09. CoreELEC-Amlogic-ng.arm-9.2.4.2-Generic.img.gz -constant reboot (bootloop). CoreELEC-Amlogic -.arm-9.2.4.2-Generic.img.gz - ok.

There is another issue with 1gbdevices which we have identified.
Issues with 4.9 Kernel
Stay with 3.14 for the time being.

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Well, I’ll do that.