firmware News - Page 20 of 32 - CNX Software

December 21, 2015August 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

How to Upgrade Rockchip Firmware in Linux for RK3288, RK3328, RK3368, RK3399, etc..

I’ve been looking for ways to upgrade firmware on Rockchip RK3368 based GeekBox in a computer running Ubuntu 14.04, but while they’ve provided firmware update instructions for Windows, which remains basically the same as upgrading firmware on Rockchip RK3288, there’s no such information for Linux. However, I could remember than Radxa Rock supported upgrade_tool utility, but since the tool linked on Radxa website might be outdated, I instead searched for some RKtools repository on Geekboxzone Github account, and I was lucky enough to find one. Here’s what I did to flash Light Biz OS to GeekBox with my Linux computer: Get the tools, and make sure upgrade_tool is there.

git clone https://github.com/geekboxzone/lollipop_RKTools.git
cd lollipop_RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool
unzip Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23.zip 
cd Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23/
ls -l upgrade_tool 
-rw-rw-r-- 1 jaufranc jaufranc 3013546 Dec 17  2014 upgrade_tool

git clone https://github.com/geekboxzone/lollipop_RKTools.git

cd lollipop_RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool

unzip Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23.zip

cd Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23/

ls -l upgrade_tool

-rw-rw-r-- 1 jaufranc jaufranc 3013546 Dec 17 2014 upgrade_tool

Download and extract the firmware, e.g. Cross_Lollipop_BizOS_V151208.7z:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-full
7z x Cross_Lollipop_BizOS_V151208.7z

1 2	sudo apt-get install p7zip-full 7z x Cross_Lollipop_BizOS_V151208.7z

Now connect a USB cable to the USB OTG port of your device or board. In case of GeekBox that’s the micro USB port. Now as the board is powered on, keep […]

December 18, 2015December 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

DietPi is Lightweight, Easy to Use Debian Based Distribution for Raspberry Pi, ODROID, and Orange Pi Boards

Raspberry Pi, Hardkernel ODROID, and Orange Pi are some of the most popular and cost effective development boards on the market today, and one British developer, going under Fourdee nickname, has released a lightweight distribution called DietPi working for all Rasbperry Pi boards, ODROID-C1(+), ODROID-XU3/XU4, and Orange Pi PC, with Orange Pi 2 and Orange Pi Plus support coming soon, as well as a VMWare virtual machine also available for evaluation. The compressed downloads are about 80 to 100MB depending on the target, the image that can be dump with dd or Win32DiskImager requires a 1GB or greater micro SD card as the image itself is about 500MB large, Internet access (Ethernet or Wifi), and optionally a USB Drive to allow installation on a USB drive for better performance, which of course does not apply if you have an eMMC module with your ODROID board. The image also contains some […]

December 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

How to Upgrade SMA-Q Smartwatch Firmware

I’ve started testing SMA-Q smartwatch, and so far I’ve had lots of issues with Bluetooth connectivity. The watch can rarely pair with my Android smartphone, and I was unable to enable features like Anti-lost and Sedendary alerts as the app would always report there was no connection. The company has sent me instructions to upgrade the firmware, and it seems to have improved things a little. So first you need to install SMA Services app by scanning the QR code on the user’s manual, or download the apk by following this link. Once this is done you can register, or skip registration. Now go to Setting, and select Connect watch. You should see a circle as on the left side above reading Searching watch, then Bluetooth Connecting, before seeing a message the connection was successful. You’ll probably them want to tap on Upgrade app, before tapping on Firmware upgrade (local […]

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

How to Root Amlogic S905 based MINIX NEO U1 Box in Windows and Linux

MINIX NEO U1 is a great device, but if you have some apps that require root access, the firmware is not rooted by default. AndroidPC.es just posted instructions to root the device in Windows, and I’ve also adapted Daemonium’s batch script for Windows as a shell script in order root the device from Linux. Please note that this will break OTA firmware update, so you’ll have to upgrade firmware manually after rooting. The most steps are common between Linux and Windows Enable Developer options, by going to Settings->Advanced Settings->About Mediabox, and click 6 or 7 times in the Build number section, until the new menu is enabled. Go back once, and access Developer options to make sure USB debugging is enabled Now go to Settings->Network to check and note your IP address (WiFi or Ethernet) Download and extract AndroidPC.es_MINIX_NEO_U1_root_v01_Daemonium.zip They also asked to install WiFi adb in your system, but I […]

December 14, 2015March 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 42 Comments

Review of MINIX NEO U1 Media Hub

We’ve already seen that MINIX NEO U1 has some impressive hardware to offer with a good thermal solution, and high-end chips for storage and WiFi, as well as some neats additions like RTC support. But obviously the most important is to find out how the box performs, so I’ve put it through it spaces with video playback and features testing, as well as some benchmarks. First Boot, OTA Firmware, Settings and First Impressions The device has three full-sized USB 2.0 ports, which become four once we had the provided USB OTG adapter to the remaining micro USB port. So I’ve connected a USB 3.0 hard drive, the RF dongle for NEO A2 Lite air mouse, a USB hub with a USB webcam, a USB keyboard, and the RF dongle for Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as USB powered speakers to the micro USB port. After inserting HDMI, optical audio […]

December 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Light Biz OS Firmware, Android and Ubuntu Image, and Android SDK Released for GeekBox (RK3368)

GeekBox is an upcoming Android TV box based on Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor that doubles as a system-on-module and development board. The company has now uploaded the Android 5.1 SDK, including Linux 3.10.79 kernel, on github. It’s not for the Android SDK for RK3368, but at least it’s not just an outdated tarball, and will hopefully be regularly updated directly on github. Beside the source code, the company also released three firmware image including Rockchip’s Light Biz OS desktop operating system based on Lollipop: Biz OS for GeekBox – V151208 (8th of December 2015) Android and Lubuntu dual boot image – V151129 (29th of November 2015) Android 5.1 image – V151129 (29th of November 2015) It’s quite possible those images will also work on other Rockchip RK3368 platform with some modifications, e.g. an updated device tree file for a given hardware. I’ve downloaded Biz OS adn the dual boot image, […]

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

OTA Updater is an Open Source App to Update Android Firmware

Yesterday, I received G9C TV box, but since Google Play is not exactly working perfectly, I decided to postpone the review until I get a new firmware. I did notice however that the firmware did not include Update&Backup app as found on K1 Plus, but instead an OTA Updater app, also called OTA Update Center, that happens to be an open source app with source code available on Github. Android already has a framework for OTA updates, but that app could make it easier implement OTA firmware updates for your own platform, or simply because you want to push your firmware, or as some people called them “ROM”, to multiple users. The software will allow you to update the “ROM” and kernel as long as both updates are configured correctly, which is apparently not the case for S905-G9C… The setup instructions are quite simple, explained on OTA Update Center website, […]

December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

How to extract kernel.img with mkboot script

As I tried instructions to install Linux on Amlogic S905 Android TV boxes yesterday, I wanted to extract kernel.img file found in Android firmware, but Google did not help that much until I found mkboot part of mkbootimg_tools scripts. But first let’s see how kernel.img is created… Google provide a Python script called mkbootimg that combine the kernel image (e,.g. zImage), a rootfs/ramdisk and the device tree (DTB) file with a command line that looks like:

./mkbootimg --base=0 --kernel_offset=0x01080000  --kernel ${KERNEL} --ramdisk_offset=0x01000000 --ramdisk ./${ROOTFS} --second ${DTBFILE} --output ./kernel.img

1	./mkbootimg --base=0 --kernel_offset=0x01080000 --kernel ${KERNEL} --ramdisk_offset=0x01000000 --ramdisk ./${ROOTFS} --second ${DTBFILE} --output ./kernel.img

However, AFAIK the company does not provide a “unmkbootimg” script, and mkbootimg can only be used to create kernel.img, not decompile it. But that’s what mkboot does, and it works for kernel.img and recovery.img. Let’s retrieve the necessary files first:

git clone https://github.com/xiaolu/mkbootimg_tools

1	git clone https://github.com/xiaolu/mkbootimg_tools

mkboot is a bash script so we can use it right away:

cd mkbootimg_tools
./mkboot 
<Unpack and repack boot.img tool>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not enough parameters or parameter error!
unpack boot.img & decompress ramdisk：
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; mkboot [img] [output dir]
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; mkboot boot.img boot20130905
Use the unpacked directory repack boot.img(img_info)：
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; mkboot [unpacked dir] [newbootfile]
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; mkboot boot20130905 newboot.img

cd mkbootimg_tools

./mkboot

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Not enough parameters or parameter error!

unpack boot.img & decompress ramdisk：

    mkboot [img] [output dir]

    mkboot boot.img boot20130905

Use the unpacked directory repack boot.img(img_info)：

    mkboot [unpacked dir] [newbootfile]

    mkboot boot20130905 newboot.img

So it can be used both for unpacking and repacking kernel.img to/from the output directory. Let’s run the command […]