Have not done much with rooting android devices in years and recently bought an Atoto A6 for a work van. I started messing around with it at home. Was able to gain root with Kingoroot and the replacing it with SuperSU. I emailed them about unlocking the bootloader but I'm not sure whoever responded even knew what I was talking about. Although ADB was working with system booted, I was not able to connect to the unit in fastboot. If you boot into recovery, it automatically runs an update and reboots. And if you boot into Fastboot with acc powered, fastboot automatically restarts. So using adb to reboot into bootloader and then removing power from acc would get me to a fastboot screen(although screen is off, putting power back to acc would show screen at fastboot mode) but I was never able to connect. I was trying different things to boot into an actual recovery, the A6 has no physical buttons, just a small hole for the reset. At some point it completely stopped responding. None of the sensor buttons light up and nothing on the screen. The micro sd I had in no longer works either. I did have update.zip backed up. Anyone know if there would be a way to use that to boot from a new micro sd or any other ideas to try, any help is appreciated.
The a6 has a mediatek mt8127. Was coming up as Alps A6. The build was alps/full_A6_series/A6_series:6.0/MRA58K/1506516231:user/test-keys . I did have it apart and have pics of the board, don't know if they would be useful though.
Upon further review, board mounted reset button was screwed up, all good now. Would be nice to figure out the bootloader on this, although I don't have it installed in a vehicle, this unit seems to run pretty well. Not a fan of the the launcher setup and appearance .
stabone00 said:
Upon further review, board mounted reset button was screwed up, all good now. Would be nice to figure out the bootloader on this, although I don't have it installed in a vehicle, this unit seems to run pretty well. Not a fan of the the launcher setup and appearance .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you "unbricked" it, and glad somebody is willing to risk rooting it. That might go on my weekend project list, would appreciate more details on Kingroot and how you swapped it with SSU. I miss ad blockers, among other things.
I got the same unit from Amazon last week (2gb touch only version), but wish I had opted for the physical button model now.
My biggest complaint is the damned FM radio app, which by default comes on when it comes out of sleep, and there's no obvious way to disable it. The volume level on FM is like 2x streaming/MP3 volume so it blasts you when starting the car if you forget to turn volume way down when you get out. I'd love to know the actual app name so I could disable it entirely, since I never listen to broadcast radio anyway.
Oh, and the parallax on the thing is annoying, getting a finger lined up on small touch targets takes some practice.
Other than that issue, I'm not unhappy with the unit. 2-second boot is legit, and living in Florida and an open sunroof junkie, I'm especially pleased with the screen brightness.
Using CarWebGuru instead of the default Atoto launcher makes for a much better experience, and I like the fact that the Atoto controls on the bottom (home, back, multi-tasking, brightness, mute) all remain there no matter what launcher you choose.
Sound quality using my car's factory amp (via a Metra CANBUS harness) is surprisingly good too, I can't tell much difference between the A6 and the Pioneer FH-X730 it replaced at the volume levels I like, though there is some RF bleed from the SoC. And it's a near-perfect fit in a Schoshe double-din GM dash kit, there's not enough room for a toothpick around the edges of the screen and the dash kit inner bezel.
For rooting use KingOroot. You need the one for windows, the app on the unit itself won't do it. Then just google replacing kingoroot with Supersu, there are lots of threads about it. You could try the simple version but I ended up manually replacing files to do it, it's not bad at all. I wouldn't be to worried about bricking it, I have been trying all different things to get to a bootloader and at worst it re-updated and was working fine. What i did with the reset button, Ive done to othere devices, those surface mount buttons are junk. After doing a ridiculous amount of research, I found that MTK units don't enable fastboot. The preloader is what you have to get into to do anything, using mtk drivers. I could catch it right when its booting, installs the mtk vcomm drivers, but jumps right out. Once you are in that you need their flash tool, SDflash and there is MTKtools. So once thats figured out, i'm hoping to be able to get a custom recovery on. Without fastboot, it seems a bit more tricky, without that reset button I could be missing something simple. Hopefully more people start screwing with these, I doubt the people at Atoto are going to be of much help. So far tho, it seems like a decent unit. Let us know if you find out anything.
So far I was able to extract the boot and recovery img files. You can connect to the preloader using SP Flash by setting it up to read
Ima let you do the heavy lifting on this one Stabone.
For now, I'm just frustrated on the damn FM app opening at startup and it's nested in the Atoto firmware somewhere, not an isolated app.
One other quirk, on my car (with GM 11bit CANBUS), the illumination signal seems to be flipped from what Atoto is expecting...lights on means brighter screen, lights off means dim. I've tried it with both an Axxess and PAC CANBUS adaptor, so it's not the harness' fault. Just using the NONE setting for now and manually dimming the screen myself.
I sure hope stabone00 keeps working on this. I have been following this thread closely. I have been wanting to root this but I have it installed in the car now. why cant this be easy like a nexus 7. I am very afraid of bricking it and I really like the head unit
Not sure what happened to my last post, it should've been a bit longer then that, hah, oh well. Anyway I'm a little stuck here. After finding out as much as I did, I was going to try a few things. I'm running a dual boot laptop with opensuse as my main and a windows 10, for occasions as such, the tools used for this head unit are more abundant for windows(at least found easier). So recently I wiped my systems and now am having this Rsa Key Fingerprint issue when trying to connect with adb. I'm spending way to0 much time on this as it is, lol. But running into this bs is really pain. Now I've tried for hours to do something here but it's almost as someone's watching what i'm doing and countering my moves. Now I've factory reset this thing about four times and never lost root. After struggling with this rsa fingerprint issue, I did a factory reset and now SuperSu is gone, although I can't say for sure totally cause I still have not access to ADB. Any suggestions for the rsa issue, let me know, otherwise I'm not going to be wasting much more time with this. BTW, anyone getting anywhere with this, you need the modified version of MTK android tools to recognize this unit. I have boot and recovery img's and a scatter file if needed.
Got passed issue with adbkeys. Now I accidentally flashed a recovery when it was not ready. I am now stuck in a boot loop. Made lots of backups, but for some reason, none contain the preloader.bin. Not sure why that happened, but that is needed to flash backups with SP tools. If anyone could send me that, it would be great. I can't pull it cause I can't get it to connect to mtk droid tools. Maybe there is another way, but I don't know it.
stabone00 said:
Got passed issue with adbkeys. Now I accidentally flashed a recovery when it was not ready. I am now stuck in a boot loop. Made lots of backups, but for some reason, none contain the preloader.bin. Not sure why that happened, but that is needed to flash backups with SP tools. If anyone could send me that, it would be great. I can't pull it cause I can't get it to connect to mtk droid tools. Maybe there is another way, but I don't know it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same unit. If you can tell me how to pull it, I'd be happy to help.
smithkt said:
I have the same unit. If you can tell me how to pull it, I'd be happy to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried anything with it yet? There's quite a bit to it. The info is all searchable on here, you are looking for mediatek devices, sp flash tool, mtk droid tools. Let me know if you have adb and drivers installed. All the info needed for this unit is available , but there is a lot of info on mediatek devices, so it's a lot to look at. You need to have developers options enabled and oem unlocked and usb debugging on . If you can connect to your unit through adb, thats a start. Don't attempt anything with fastboot, it's not enabled on this unit. You'll then want to look for the modified version of mtk droid tools 2.5.3. If you are able to connect with that, I'll tell you what to do next. Not so sure my unit is recoverable, i've lost the startup atoto screen and can no longer connect with sp flasher. Hopefully there is something that can be done.
stabone00 said:
Have you tried anything with it yet? There's quite a bit to it. The info is all searchable on here, you are looking for mediatek devices, sp flash tool, mtk droid tools. Let me know if you have adb and drivers installed. All the info needed for this unit is available , but there is a lot of info on mediatek devices, so it's a lot to look at. You need to have developers options enabled and oem unlocked and usb debugging on . If you can connect to your unit through adb, thats a start. Don't attempt anything with fastboot, it's not enabled on this unit. You'll then want to look for the modified version of mtk droid tools 2.5.3. If you are able to connect with that, I'll tell you what to do next. Not so sure my unit is recoverable, i've lost the startup atoto screen and can no longer connect with sp flasher. Hopefully there is something that can be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I haven't done anything with it yet. I wasn't planning on rooting the device. The only reason it's not in my car already is it's been 10-20 F and I don't have a garage. I have the thing sitting on my kitchen table so I can play with it.
I'll look through the info and see what I can do.
smithkt said:
No I haven't done anything with it yet. I wasn't planning on rooting the device. The only reason it's not in my car already is it's been 10-20 F and I don't have a garage. I have the thing sitting on my kitchen table so I can play with it.
I'll look through the info and see what I can do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it hooked up with two switches, one feeds constant and other switch, and other switch feeds acc. Rooting it isn't too bad, but if you look into how the sp flasher is used, you could make a stock rom before doing it. I'm hoping there are test points on the board that can be used to get this flashed again. I'm not sure how it got this far gone. I had it bootlooping at the ATOTO startup, tried to flash the original boot and recover, seems like it wiped the preloader.
Have you had luck in unbricking your atoto?
I'm thinking about buying one also buy would like to root with kingroot and put a recovery into stereo if it's possible. Let me know your success is possible.
Thanks
Steven
scoolro said:
Have you had luck in unbricking your atoto?
I'm thinking about buying one also buy would like to root with kingroot and put a recovery into stereo if it's possible. Let me know your success is possible.
Thanks
Steven
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far it seems to be a very solid unit. Rooting it isn't an issue. I had been trying different things with this unit and at one point I thought it was almost unbrickable. It still might be, just haven't found a solution for my issue (which was completely my fault), although I'm pretty confident there is one. There is a lot of info about mediatek devices on here, a bit different approach when flashing a custom recovery.
Overall I was liking the unit, hadn't seen any issues some of the others had. Hope to see more people getting involved.
I hope you get the unit working soon.
I'm thinking about getting the same unit and I want to root it so I can get ADAWARE and XPOSED app installed. I'm also thinking about getting a Bluetooth media steering control for it also.
I've only seen the Atoto A6 on Amazon.ca for about $280. Hopefully there is another site that sells cheaper.
Again good luck and keep us informed with your progress if possible.
Steven
Atoto offered a to replace the unit with the PB model, as this one is no longer available. After doing as much research as I did, I am certain that this can be fixed. There should either be a way for force the preloader or get into a meta mode/ flashing mode. I'm going to keep it and see. I'm ordering the PB as soon as it is available again on Amazon.
So driving home from work today, I noticed an update pending for the A6. Was in a good coverage area (using a MiFi hotspot, btw, not my phone), downloaded it at a long stop light, hit install, and after reboot, I got the dead Android ERROR! graphic. About **** myself, thought I might have bricked it. At the next red light, I did a reset (I keep a slim toothpick in the console now, for just such emergencies) and I'm back to the old November build.
I ended up sending my 62721p back and am waiting for the pb model.
Did you have it rooted?
stabone00 said:
I ended up sending my 62721p back and am waiting for the pb model.
Did you have it rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, couldn't be assed, it's basically a Poweramp/Waze/Spotify machine for me now, figured I don't need root for that, and all the cool root-level stuff the Rockchip and Sofia units get isn't available for this thing anyway.
Did get the update to stick the second time around, but noticed no changes in functionality. MCU got updated as well.
Related
well Yeah.. so i bought this stick just now on ebay thinking it should be good enought to give away for streaming some live tv and so on, but
this had obviously the WIFI problem and there i was..
Not beeing able to use WIFI i started to search for different roms and after a couple days constantly searching HOW TO- and downloading different ROMS and watching youtube on how to flash i set up to the task once again..
Beeing able to flash both Nvidia tablets, Samsung Telephones, and Xiaomi i felt confident that i would be able to fix this..
But no, i had a couple different roms that started up With start screen but then that was it, nothing more i couldnt get past start boot logo on either of the 3 roms i thought was correct so i startd to search for same chip roms as this has the 3229 rockchip and the AS something number wifichip..
But then after flashing With a unknown rom it wouldnt start up again or even get recogniced by the computer usb again..
I tried the reset button, i tried shortcutting pin 6-7 and most likely all other as well but no Luck..
There is a blue light but its only halfway as Bright as when the stick was ON and working.
So its like its stuck in some low Power recovery or i dont know..
At least it lights up when i plug it in.
this is the stick With the red "plastic antenna"
Its not an antenne after all by lokking at it but maybe it serves some purpose of making People think its an antenna..
Any suggestions will be apreciated as now i consider it as Waste and after just spending 35 USD on it i would like it to at least get it back so i can sideload some games on it and give it away rather than putting it in the trashcan..
I attach link to the crap i bought so you get the idea of what it is and to also avoid..
Thank you all for all help!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252678580408
veralynn said:
well Yeah.. so i bought this stick just now on ebay thinking it should be good enought to give away for streaming some live tv and so on, but
this had obviously the WIFI problem and there i was..
Not beeing able to use WIFI i started to search for different roms and after a couple days constantly searching HOW TO- and downloading different ROMS and watching youtube on how to flash i set up to the task once again..
Beeing able to flash both Nvidia tablets, Samsung Telephones, and Xiaomi i felt confident that i would be able to fix this..
But no, i had a couple different roms that started up With start screen but then that was it, nothing more i couldnt get past start boot logo on either of the 3 roms i thought was correct so i startd to search for same chip roms as this has the 3229 rockchip and the AS something number wifichip..
But then after flashing With a unknown rom it wouldnt start up again or even get recogniced by the computer usb again..
I tried the reset button, i tried shortcutting pin 6-7 and most likely all other as well but no Luck..
There is a blue light but its only halfway as Bright as when the stick was ON and working.
So its like its stuck in some low Power recovery or i dont know..
At least it lights up when i plug it in.
this is the stick With the red "plastic antenna"
Its not an antenne after all by lokking at it but maybe it serves some purpose of making People think its an antenna..
Any suggestions will be apreciated as now i consider it as Waste and after just spending 35 USD on it i would like it to at least get it back so i can sideload some games on it and give it away rather than putting it in the trashcan..
I attach link to the crap i bought so you get the idea of what it is and to also avoid..
Thank you all for all help!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252678580408
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi.
I think I have the same device as you. And also I tried to flash another rom without success, so until I find a good rom, its just a small brick.
I also been in the same situation as you, but you have to short pins 7-8 to revive. Its the pins facing the middle of the device, and counting from the device edge/side.
Good luck. If you find a working rom for it, let me know
No, i have had no luck. Piece of **** device.
Got 80% refund from seller after a couple weeks of complaining.
Just throw it away and buy a ZAPPATI media player or a Nvidia shield if you dont use any 3D.
veralynn said:
No, i have had no luck. Piece of **** device.
Got 80% refund from seller after a couple weeks of complaining.
Just throw it away and buy a ZAPPATI media player or a Nvidia shield if you dont use any 3D.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi again.
If you ever revive your dongle, you can get a working rom from the following link:
http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3229-devices/firmware-roms-tools-bg/623420-mk809iv-rk3229-bricked-how-to-unbrick?p=646882#post646882
It worked for me
Thanks. I will try. Any tips in how to revive it??
I also have an mk809iv. I couldn't get developer options to show after tapping build number but it said "no need you are already a developer" (I assume its preunlocked?) I got bored and decided to flash a rom. I have the rockchip factory tool and rockchip batch tool. I tried flashing an update and the problems began lol
OK..... The stick now doesn't have a blue led on AT All. Tried original mains power source different USB cables different ports on laptop etc.
When I connect it to the TV it doesn't show up on the hdmi. Have I really fried it properly ?
Is there a way to use command on pc or adb shell or something to unlock the bootloader. In batch tool I can see the device after shorting pin 6/7 method but when I load firmware and start to flash then it comes up with failed at boot every time and on different versions of the tool.
I rooted the device before with King root (not king o root) and flashed supersu via rom installer app. Assuming that developer options are open by default, the device should be rooted now...... Right? ?
Anyway is there a way to uninstall all the software and reinstall the manufacturers firmware via the pc ? I have included pics of the board, but when looking at other people's pics the have a lot more chips and nand chips etc mine has one chip on the back and on the other side what I presume to be a heat sync (look like a bit of a tin can
Lol)
I have been on many forums for about 48hrs straight now ? and still can't find answers *sigh*
Recap:- 1 is it fried
2 if not can I sort it via pc
3 HOW?! lol
One last thing, would it run on cyanogenmod 11 ? it's an android device running kit kat and my gingerbread S2 is now on cm11 or are the internal "gibbons" different ?
Many thanks to anyone who can lend me a hand ??
Sorry for the n00b'ness of this post. I tried to post the link directly to the unit, but the forum is preventing me from doing so. If you search for "H276L" on seicane(dot)com, it's the more expensive (8-core) unit.
I'm highly considering buying this unit, but I want to make sure there are ROMs that are being developed for it. I had an MTCB Joying unit in my last car that worked like crap until I found a good ROM for it on here. If this unit's platform isn't being developed on here, I have no interest in buying it. Being a Jeeper, it'd be super handy to have my trail apps (Gaia GPS, AllTrails, etc.) run directly on my head unit, but if I'm going to spend $ on my HU, I'm gonna get one really worth my while.
TIA!
-A
Looking for Roms!
Hello,
I recently did purchase this unit and I have been extremely unhappy with the stock ROM. I am looking now to root the device later today (putting together a tutorial right now. I am still looking for a ROM however. The initial unit seriously has no apps that function fully. Every app force closes or doesn't function as expected. I am extremely technical and can usually fix any issues. I worked with Seicanes (non-existent) support for the last month with no success. They will require you to pay shipping to and return (so basically if you ship it back and want another you are spending a few 100 more). I am going to try and root and install custom ROM instead, if I can find one.
Thanks,
Brady
aklino said:
Sorry for the n00b'ness of this post. I tried to post the link directly to the unit, but the forum is preventing me from doing so. If you search for "H276L" on seicane(dot)com, it's the more expensive (8-core) unit.
I'm highly considering buying this unit, but I want to make sure there are ROMs that are being developed for it. I had an MTCB Joying unit in my last car that worked like crap until I found a good ROM for it on here. If this unit's platform isn't being developed on here, I have no interest in buying it. Being a Jeeper, it'd be super handy to have my trail apps (Gaia GPS, AllTrails, etc.) run directly on my head unit, but if I'm going to spend $ on my HU, I'm gonna get one really worth my while.
TIA!
-A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jerkface41606 said:
Hello,
I recently did purchase this unit and I have been extremely unhappy with the stock ROM. I am looking now to root the device later today (putting together a tutorial right now. I am still looking for a ROM however. The initial unit seriously has no apps that function fully. Every app force closes or doesn't function as expected. I am extremely technical and can usually fix any issues. I worked with Seicanes (non-existent) support for the last month with no success. They will require you to pay shipping to and return (so basically if you ship it back and want another you are spending a few 100 more). I am going to try and root and install custom ROM instead, if I can find one.
Thanks,
Brady
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Brady,
Please keep me posted. I pulled the trigger on this guy 2 days ago -- waiting for it to ship. I had an Eonon unit in my Cadillac, and it was the same story. Support is useless, stock ROM is crap, but with the right ROM, it becomes awesome.
-A
aklino said:
Thanks Brady,
Please keep me posted. I pulled the trigger on this guy 2 days ago -- waiting for it to ship. I had an Eonon unit in my Cadillac, and it was the same story. Support is useless, stock ROM is crap, but with the right ROM, it becomes awesome.
-A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
After many trial and error attempts I was able to finally find an extremely amazing OS! Malaysk is the way to go once you get your Seciane Unit. Everything works fully and is extremely easy to use. The installation was really easy honestly and it didn't take long to get it to work correctly. If you go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=3590033 you can view the forum based on the unit you have and get the correct firmware. I used the free (LITE) version for about 1 week and then decided to pay the $20 to the developer to get the full version (SO WORTH IT!!). @Malaysk did an amazing job and this is the way to go!
Thanks,
Brady
jerkface41606 said:
Hello,
After many trial and error attempts I was able to finally find an extremely amazing OS! Malaysk is the way to go once you get your Seciane Unit. Everything works fully and is extremely easy to use. The installation was really easy honestly and it didn't take long to get it to work correctly. If you go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=3590033 you can view the forum based on the unit you have and get the correct firmware. I used the free (LITE) version for about 1 week and then decided to pay the $20 to the developer to get the full version (SO WORTH IT!!). @Malaysk did an amazing job and this is the way to go!
Thanks,
Brady
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brady, thanks for this link. I have h221 and it appears I might be able to use the rom. What I can't do is get into recovery, and I can't get into developers options. I'm on a stock Android 9 and for some reason, they disabled the ability to tap the build # seven times to get to developers options. Did you have this problem, and how did you get into recovery mode. I searched everywhere and tried all combos of holding the reset button, no luck. I emailed secaine but no luck so far. Any help appreciated, Thanks johnm
Update and recovery instruction
Great to hear! I actually had the exact same issue as you and I found that seicane was of no help. However I finally figured out how to get into recovery mode (don’t need to do anything with rooting or getting into developer options). To get into recovery you should have a pin hole reset button. Do the following steps.
1. Hold in reset button until unit powers off and you see side buttons blink (10-20 seconds it usually took)
2. Immediately after this happens let the reset switch go
3. Immediately after this hold in button again until lights blink once (about 1-2 seconds)
4. Press and release button a third and final time and it will boot into recovery mode. (Quick press release)
After I got into recovery I wiped cache, then factory reset, rebooted, installed the recoveryinstaller apk file (included with Rom download) it reboots you and installs new rom and you will be good to go!
Thanks,
Brady
I'm wondering if anyone here has dealt with an ATOTO A6 bootlooping after doing playstore updates. From what I could gather from their support site, it's fairly common and usually a reset fixes it.
Well I have this problem as it stopped booting after doing a bunch of playstore updates. Did them one day, let the truck sit overnight and next morning turned it on and unit boots up to the first boot image and that's it. Never goes further.
I've been trying to work with ATOTO for a week now, and I think they are truly clueless. They told me I needed the remote control and it could reset the system. They acted like it would start a full blown system recovery and then I'd have a "fresh" unit again. So I followed their commands after getting the remote in and nothing. It acts no different than hitting the reset button on the front of the unit.
Has anyone gone through this? I have a feeling I will have to ship it to them all the way on the other side of the country, but it's been less than 6 months. I really can't see having to ship this out to them every 6 months to be fixed. It seems to me that there should be a way to force a full system recovery just like any android phone or tablet I've ever owned or messed with when something goes wrong. I don't have a male to male USB cable to mess with it myself.
So I am really just hoping someone has already been through this and figured it out and my google fu sucked and the countless threads I've read, I've just missed the right one
Quick question before i purchase one...
So i am a bit of a fiddler, and enjoy writing software, So im wondering, would it be possible to completely wipe android off a XTRONS head unit, and replace it with a custom linux distribution?
For those who are wondering why? - I have complete control over my car's canbus network after reverse engineering the entire interior CAN system, so i would like to write custom UI apps on a Linux device that lets me control various aspects of the car. A pi has worked as a prototype, but does not look pretty at all in the car. If i could somehow replace it with an android head unit, it would be fantastic!
Any help appretiated.
UKSFM99 said:
So i am a bit of a fiddler, and enjoy writing software, So im wondering, would it be possible to completely wipe android off a XTRONS head unit, and replace it with a custom linux distribution?
For those who are wondering why? - I have complete control over my car's canbus network after reverse engineering the entire interior CAN system, so i would like to write custom UI apps on a Linux device that lets me control various aspects of the car. A pi has worked as a prototype, but does not look pretty at all in the car. If i could somehow replace it with an android head unit, it would be fantastic!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to do a lot of reverse engineering. Possibly much more then you want to. Note that it is not a phone. There is a lot of hardware around it that is controlled via the MCU. All brand units still use all kind of broadcasts / events/ services etcetera to get info and controls back and forth, so closed source, instead of Android automotive. Your CAN bus is only one detail.
There have been multiple projects like this, including projects where they combined several "linux compliant" hardware parts to build a unit from scratch. As far as I know none is successful.
Well, I bought a head unit last night. Exact model is IN89M209PL.
I do have a fair amount of reverse engineering knowledge, so first stage would be to do a ton of data tracing on a rooted ROM, for basic things like touch screen and brightness / LED controls. Once I have that, in theory the hardest part would be getting it to boot Linux. (Writing device drivers is fairly easy once I can understand the protocol).
I shall keep this post updated as I find new things though, obviously if the whole Linux idea is a total flop, I suppose the next best thing is a bare bones custom android ROM, where only the apps I need are installed and use a custom build launcher to serve as a dashboard UI for the car.
I made some progress!
So turns out the unit is rk3326 based, and after gaining root via adb, I was able to browse all the partitions on the device.
It looks like it's using uboot to boot android, using custom kernel command line args to boot the kernel, the bootloader appears to be default (like what you get on the rock64).
The only step now would be to get uboot to boot off the sdcard rather than emmc storage, then I can get full Linux!
Regarding proprietary hardware, the canbus communication is done using a serial device (ttyV0) which relays can frames directly to the headunits OS,
Screen and touch controls seem to be using default Linux kernel drivers, so no modifications will be needed driver wise!
Watching this with interest, good luck!
Well currently the issue is in uploading the firmware via maskrom. It appears the unit will disconnect mid way through flashing. I've tried about 10 times and it keeps cutting off anywhere from 40% to 70% complete
UKSFM99 said:
Well currently the issue is in uploading the firmware via maskrom. It appears the unit will disconnect mid way through flashing. I've tried about 10 times and it keeps cutting off anywhere from 40% to 70% complete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After this disconnected flash: is it still working or bricked?
And after how many minutes? And always after the same time?
Some units have a watchdog in the MCU that checks for "illegal" operations on the unit.
You are one of the first on this car unit forum that knows how to flash via the mask Rom (and I'm not one of those users although I do know what it is and why and for what reason it is used.).
surfer63 said:
After this disconnected flash: is it still working or bricked?
And after how many minutes? And always after the same time?
Some units have a watchdog in the MCU that checks for "illegal" operations on the unit.
You are one of the first on this car unit forum that knows how to flash via the mask Rom (and I'm not one of those users although I do know what it is and why and for what reason it is used.).
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Click to collapse
@surfer63, this is no new way to get a bricked RK back to life.
I use RK-Batchtool since years now and could get a completely bricked PX5 back again with flashing in MASKROM.
By the way @UKSFM99, there is a nice thread here https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...px3-5-headunit-mod-recover-flash-som-t3766892 wich should be helpful.
I think it would be a good idea to get the SOC off from the board to get this working.
rigattoni said:
@surfer63, this is no new way to get a bricked RK back to life.
I use RK-Batchtool since years now and could get a completely bricked PX5 back again with flashing in MASKROM.
By the way @UKSFM99, there is a nice thread here https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...px3-5-headunit-mod-recover-flash-som-t3766892 wich should be helpful.
I think it would be a good idea to get the SOC off from the board to get this working.
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Click to collapse
I've tried that and doesn't work.
It's a random amount of time (between 1 and 2 minutes) before it randomly resets.
After leaving it in my desk all day I've noticed it seems to be rebooting even if it's just plugged in in maskrom mode! I don't even have to flash it for it to reboot back into maskrom
UKSFM99 said:
I've tried that and doesn't work.
It's a random amount of time (between 1 and 2 minutes) before it randomly resets.
After leaving it in my desk all day I've noticed it seems to be rebooting even if it's just plugged in in maskrom mode! I don't even have to flash it for it to reboot back into maskrom
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Click to collapse
I remember about someone who ran into the same issue and had to unsolder 2 Pins from a chip.
I don´t know where and what, because I never ran into this issue in the past. May be @marchnz remembers and can link you to the right point.
rigattoni said:
I remember about someone who ran into the same issue and had to unsolder 2 Pins from a chip.
I don´t know where and what, because I never ran into this issue in the past. May be @marchnz remembers and can link you to the right point.
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Click to collapse
That would be really useful is @marchnz remembers...
However I managed to flash a custom kernel at least. Got kernel 4.4 working for Ubuntu
Awesome work! Which DE are you planning on running with it?
UKSFM99 said:
That would be really useful is @marchnz remembers...
However I managed to flash a custom kernel at least. Got kernel 4.4 working for Ubuntu
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Click to collapse
As posted elsewhere (crossposts...) use a jig, not the mainboard. The MCU will cut power to the SOM and risk mainboard/SOM damage.
Ive written about this extensively in my OTG/Recovery posts, with documented steps and images, use that.
jrobbom5 said:
Awesome work! Which DE are you planning on running with it?
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It's a strange one. This sits in my W203 mercedes and I'm part of a group who enjoy hacking those cars.
Tldr; it's gonna be running a ported version of MBUX interface so it'll look like a stock mercedes infotainment system.
Hardest part will be writing the interface code to hijack calls MBUX components are making to hardware and converting them for my headunit and car
Hey!
While I was calibrating my fingerprint, phone suddenly turned off and went to recovery with screen off.
I managed to reflash stock rom through fastboot and it boots to system fine, but the screen stays off and the front camera keeps trying to open while playing the MIUI camera sound (sometimes, while booting, the camera does manage to open once, kinda like it's calibrating). Some playing around with ADB and it seems that the SIM isn't recognized either.. antenna maybe?
I opened the phone up and checked everything, there's no visible issues with the electronics, however it could just be the inside of a cable that died?
Does anyone know what this could be? I noticed the screen, fingerprint reader and antenna are all connected to the same removable PCB, but the camera isn't so that's odd.
Aren't we moving way too fast here? Like wtf is happening rn?
First: Explain in detail from the beginning please if you want help.
Second: Please state exactly what is your issue, and the ROM version of your device.
I don't think what you just did is the cause of whatever problem you're facing, do you mind telling me the source from which you got this phone? Otherwise you might want to send it to a service center.
XDHx86 said:
Aren't we moving way too fast here? Like wtf is happening rn?
First: Explain in detail from the beginning please if you want help.
Second: Please state exactly what is your issue, and the ROM version of your device.
I don't think what you just did is the cause of whatever problem you're facing, do you mind telling me the source from which you got this phone? Otherwise you might want to send it to a service center.
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Click to collapse
It's a bit of a long one, so I didn't want to bother too much with the details if anyone knew what those specific issues could be caused by, here goes though:
I am on a Mi 9T bought on Amazon Italy in July 2019. I cannot comfortably send it to a repair center due to every authorized shop around here is just a drop-off point for Xiaomi RMA. I talked to them and, due to (>6 months old) glass damage to the screen and back of the phone, they intended to charge me way more than I can afford, as "solving issues covered by the warranty would require us to replace the accidentally damaged components"
As for what happened:
I was running LOS 17.1 with no issues for a few months. I went to unlock the phone and I heard the reboot vibration, which sent me to recovery (softbricked) but with no screen signal. I assumed it was just a software problem, so I flashed MIUI 12 (global, V12.0.7.0.QFJMIXM) to see what would happen.
As it completed, the phone rebooted itself, the MIUI logo popped up and it went to system (seemingly) without any issues.
I went through the initial wizard and played around with it. everything seemed fine and I even made sure the screen did work in recovery and fastboot. Later, when I went to setup the fingerprint reader, the screen went blank for half a second when I first touched it, and then the same screen death -> reboot to recovery.
The phone was softbricked again, though, this time, reinstalling MIUI didn't yield the same success. Now:
MIUI boots "normally" again
The screen isn't working at all
The front camera opens, as if it's calibrating, when system boots up
The front camera randomly tries to open again every now and then, failing to do so as if the motor is stuck, while MIUI plays the camera closing sound.
Meddling through ADB, the antenna doesn't seem to be working, but I can't be 100% sure due to the methods used
The power and volume buttons, speakers, and the charging light all work.
I have opened the phone up myself, thoroughly checked every cable, connection and PCB, but there is no sign of damage. I put it back together and the same issue continued.
My best guess is that something inside the fingerprint reader went bad and shorted something else.
What that something else is, I couldn't find out. Given the antenna, screen and FOD are all connected to the same little PCB which then runs a couple cables to the motherboard, I am now in the process of finding a couple replacement cables to see if that fixes anything.
As I mentioned before, repair centers are not an option due to the lack of anyone who's willing to help me for less than a good chunk of the price of the phone.
Interesting. So basically what happened is due to the initial soft brick and accordingly you flashed a global MIUI 12 ROM, which in return brought you to the second soft brick which caused some issues within the hardware of the device.
Now you're stuck with a faulty screen, a faulty camera and a faulty antenna.
I don't have the skills to play around with the motherboard and the phone circuit. And I don't care which youtube tutorial you saw, you should have NEVER done that - Of course unless you're actually experienced in that manner, then I apologize for speaking with such prejudice -
I can't help you if you messed up your phone circuit since I have no knowledge about android hardware, however I can safely assume that what caused your issue isn't related to hardware.
I think the issue is caused by an incomplete flashing of a ROM (In this case MIUI 12 global) OR flashing a different variation from your device.
e.g. you flashed only the ROM, but didn't flash the other components of the ROM.
Needless to say, flashing a variation of the ROM that isn't meant for you device can be a disaster recipe.
I recommend flashing LOS again, since you can't go back on Xiaomi devices due to rollback protection.
XDHx86 said:
I don't have the skills to play around with the motherboard and the phone circuit. And I don't care which youtube tutorial you saw, you should have NEVER done that - Of course unless you're actually experienced in that manner, then I apologize for speaking with such prejudice -
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand why you'd think that and have seen people do similar stupid things, however I didn't watch any youtube video and know what I'm doing quite well.
I made sure I flashed the correct rom through fastboot to restore everything to stock. I did try to reflash LOS and whatever else (though it's kind of a pain with adb shell), but it doesn't fix the problem, sadly.
That's why I'm betting on a HW issue.
The fingerprint reader and everything else worked flawlessly in LOS for months, but it made the screen go blank and bricked the device in both LOS and fully functional, stock MIUI.
Currently, I'm battling with this damn thing to get USB debugging working while booted to system, so I can do a few things like cast the screen to my PC and see what works from there.
I have access to fastboot and recovery, but everything I know (editing build.prop or patching the boot image) didn't work so far. Do you have any idea what I could do to get that done?
angometry said:
Currently, I'm battling with this damn thing to get USB debugging working while booted to system, so I can do a few things like cast the screen to my PC and see what works from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the touch screen is dead then you can use mouse and OTG cable.
If it is completely black then you can get usb c to HDMI cable (Also usb c hub might work, like this one). Or you can use playstore on pc to download and install apps like (Screen stream over HTTP) on your device, just make sure your device is connected to the internet and you're signed in on your phone as well, you might have to type in the screen password if you have one.
angometry said:
I have access to fastboot and recovery, but everything I know (editing build.prop or patching the boot image) didn't work so far. Do you have any idea what I could do to get that done?
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Click to collapse
I don't know why bother with build.prop unless you have the wrong fingerprint prop. Then you can get the correct one from your device's stock ROM, though I think this is irrelevant to your issue.
All I can think of is:
Wiping dalvik cache, though you might have already done that.
Trying other custom ROMs from here.
You may try to get your device rollback index and installing a MIUI ROM that has index higher than it, and see if that works.
That is as far as I can help, unfortunately.
I have zero knowledge when it comes to hardware, so I can only help with software issues. If none of my solutions worked then sorry for wasting your time :/
XDHx86 said:
If it is completely black then you can get usb c to HDMI cable (Also usb c hub might work, like this one).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, does it actually just automatically use it as a 2nd screen if I connect it via HDMI?
XDHx86 said:
I don't know why bother with build.prop unless you have the wrong fingerprint prop. Then you can get the correct one from your device's stock ROM, though I think this is irrelevant to your issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't explain myself, I'm looking for a way to enable USB Debugging without a screen. Thinking that using adb in twrp is the best way, but I can't manage to do it. Do you have any ideas?
If I can get it on, I can then use things like scrcpy to get screen signal through USB.
Main problem with everything else is that the screen is 100% dead. Even with usb otg I don't know how I could possibly get through the setup wizard haha
angometry said:
Wait, does it actually just automatically use it as a 2nd screen if I connect it via HDMI?
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Click to collapse
I haven't tried it myself, however it should detect it as a second monitor. Give it a try the cable isn't costly at all anyway.
angometry said:
I'm looking for a way to enable USB Debugging without a screen. Thinking that using adb in twrp is the best way, but I can't manage to do it. Do you have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP has debugging mode on by default, however that strictly applies to recovery and fastboot modes only as debugging mode is pretty powerful and can cause security issues. So you better forget about it.
I saw one of my friends who owns an authorized service center use some cable connections to get the screen to display on another touch screen. If you have the capabilities and resources I recommed trying it, though don't mess too much with the motherboard.
Just a question though, can you confirm if the touch is working? If not then there's a chance - Although slight - that this is just a UI problem (Which is pretty common in MIUI ROMs for some reason). In that case deleting dalvik cache or completely reflashing the ROM might solve the issue.
I may not do much help but certainly someone there can help so it's better if you include "usb debugging" in the title and/or the tags. Like changing the title to "Enabling usb debugging without screen" or "Screen is dead, need help to flash ROM"
Using proper title and proper tags can get the right person to help.