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November 27, 2013May 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

How to Fix Slow GPS Lock on Mediatek MT65xx based Smartphones

I’ve recently purchased ThL W200, an Android 4.2 smartphone powered by Mediatek MT6589T quad core processor, and I’m trying to test a few things including GPS. I’ve enabled access to my location, GPS, and Google’s location service using Wi-Fi and mobile network. In Google Maps, I could get a somewhat accurate position thanks to mobile network location, but it was clear it could not lock GPS. I’ve also tried Nike+ Running, an application that keeps track of your running sessions with GPS, gives you some audio feedback as you run (distance, time and speed), and compares your performance to the average, and your social network friends. When I wanted to start running, the app complained about weak GPS signal, and tried to lock GPS for about 10 minutes, until I decided to give up. So I tried to find a solution, and Google pointed me to an article on Gizchina […]

November 19, 2013June 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

How to Flash Rockchip RK3066 / RK3188 Firmware in Linux

Rockchip provides 2 tools to update the flash: RkBatchTool – Used to upgrade firmware with a single file RkAndroidTool – Used to flash the NAND flash with image corresponding to particular partition, e.g. system.img. kernel.img, boot.img. recovery.img. etc… One problem is that the company only provides these tools for Windows, so if you’re using a Linux based operating systems, you’d have to run a Windows XP or 7 virtual machine in VirtualBox or VMWare, which is an inconvenience, and requires a license in theory. To work around this issue, I’ve tried to use ReactOS, an open source operating systems compatible with Windows XP, but although the USB drivers appeared to install properly, RKAndroidTool failed to recognized my device (MK908). But a member of Mini PCs community informed me about a tool called RkFlashKit, written in Python and using GTK, that can flash firmware to Rockchip RK3066 and RK3188 devices in […]

November 8, 2013July 11, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 39 Comments

DriverAssistant – Simplified Method to Install Rockchip USB Drivers in Windows XP/7/8/10

When you need to root or upgrade Rockchip RK3066 or RK3188 devices, you’ll usually have to connect your device to your computer via USB, and in Windows, installing specific drivers (ADB drivers) is usually needed. However, many people seem to have problems with installing the proper driver, and their device may not be recognized properly. To simplify the task for Windows users, Rockchip has written a tool called RK Driver Assistant to automatically install the correct drivers on different Windows versions. Here’s how to install the drivers with this tools.There’s no need to connect your Rockchip device during this procedure. Download and extract RK_DriverAssitant.zip [Update: More recent versions of the tools can be found in Rockchip-Linux account in Github] Double click on DriverInstall.exe in Release_DriverAssitant directory to start the utility If you’ve already tried to install USB drivers for Rockchip devices, make sure to click “Uninstall Driver” first Then click “Install […]

September 27, 2013September 27, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

How to Root Rockchip Devices in Linux

Rooting methods for devices based on Rockchip RK3066 and Rk3188 are usually only provided for Windows, so if you run Linux as your main operating system, you would either need to find a Windows based devices, or run Windows in a virtual machine. Luckily, Linux users may not have to switch to Windows anymore thanks to the instructions provided in one article that I’ll summarize below. The steps below are for Ubuntu / Debian based systems, but should be easily adaptable to other distributions. Set up ADB access to the device Install adb:

sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

1	sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

Edit/create /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules with the following line in order to let standard users connect to the device:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2207", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

1	SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2207", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

Make sure that the Linux user is part of group “plugdev”:

groups user

1	groups user

Reload of the USB access rules to get the latest one on:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules

1	sudo udevadm control --reload-rules

Add your device USB Vendor ID to adb list. e.g.:

echo "0x2207" &gt;&gt; ~/.android/adb_usb.ini

1	echo "0x2207" >> ~/.android/adb_usb.ini

Restart the adb […]

August 24, 2013August 24, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Cydia Impactor Provides an Alternative Method to Root Android Devices via Windows or Mac OS X

Cydia Impactor is a GUI tool for working with Android devices from computers running Windows or Mac OS X. It can be used to reboot the device, enter fastboot mode, access the shell, scan for USB drivers for your device, and a bit more. But its key feature is to provide root access to many Android devices by exploiting of the Android “Master Key” vulnerability, and if it does not work falling back to a different signature verification bug. There are other tools (e.g. unlockroot, Moborobo,…) or methods to provide root access, but if those do not work or you have troubles installing drivers, Cydia Impactor may be worth a try. I did try on MK908 and T428 mini PCs in a Windows XP netbook, but for some reasons the software could not detect the USB connection (with USB debug enabled in Android), although Moborobo did. But Benjamin, who tipped me […]

August 8, 2013August 8, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

NVIDIA Releases Source Code, Binaries, and Android Build Instructions for the SHIELD Gaming Console

This morning I’ve read bad news for the open source community. Jean-Baptiste Quéru, leader of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) has decided to quit the project because AOSP cannot run on the latest Nexus 7 as Qualcomm (lawyers) impeded the project, and Google is unable to released factory images or necessary binary drivers for the GPU. But there’s also good news, as Nvidia has just released source code and binaries to allow developers to fully build an Android image for its SHIELD gaming console. If you want to build an image for the latest image available, following the steps below. Get the code

mkdir ~/shield-open-source
cd ~/shield-open-source
repo init -u git://nv-tegra.nvidia.com/manifest/android/binary.git -b rel-roth-ota-1-partner -m secureos/jb_roth.xml
repo sync -j5

mkdir ~/shield-open-source

cd ~/shield-open-source

repo init -u git://nv-tegra.nvidia.com/manifest/android/binary.git -b rel-roth-ota-1-partner -m secureos/jb_roth.xml

repo sync -j5

Build the Android image (Provided you’ve already setup your Linux PC do build AOSP):

cd ~/shield-open-source
export TOP=`pwd`
cd vendor/nvidia/licensed-binaries
./extract-nv-bins.sh
cd $TOP
. build/envsetup.sh
setpaths
lunch thor-userdebug
mp dev

cd ~/shield-open-source

export TOP=`pwd`

cd vendor/nvidia/licensed-binaries

./extract-nv-bins.sh

cd $TOP

. build/envsetup.sh

setpaths

lunch thor-userdebug

mp dev

Done (mp dev took about one hour for my machine). You should now have the required binary images in out/target/product/roth/ directory. Enter fastboot mode before flashing the binaries by one […]

July 27, 2013July 27, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Chromecast Open Source Code: Linux Kernel, Toolchain, Bootloader, and More

Google has made quite a stir by introducing Chromecast, and entering the HDMI TV Stick market. We already know the device is based on Marvell 88DE3005 SoC with 512 MB, and since the product are already been shipped to customers in the US, it was just a question of time before the release of the open source code, and everything you need appears to be available at https://code.google.com/p/chromecast-mirrored-source/ Let’s have a look at what we have in the different repositories: Wiki – Empty… Kernel – Linux 3.0.8 source code Prebuilt – Binary toolchain: arm-unknown-linux-gnueabi-4.5.3-glibc Toolchain – Source code for the toolchain above. External – Source code for alsa-libs, dnsmask, libexit and nss sdk – bootloader and DirecFB 1.6.1 vendor – Looks like qt source used in some netflix app (not sure) Chromium – README explaining how you can download Chromecast Chromium source code: 1.8GB tarball + you need to contact […]

July 25, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 53 Comments

Wandboard Quad Unboxing, Getting Started with Android and Linux (via The Yocto Project)

After my review of the Wandboard Dual in February, I’ve now received Wanboard Quad development board powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad Cortex A9 processor, with 2 GB RAM, HDMI output, Gigabit Ethernet, and SATA. The board is available from several distributors including Mouser ($139), DigiKey ($144.38) and FutureElectronics ($125). I’ll start by showing some unboxing pictures of the board, as well as pictures of Wandboard Dual and Quad side-by-side. Then I’ll explain how to install Android and Linux on the board, build the images from source, run some benchmarks, and test different features. Wandboard Quad Unboxing Ive received the board via UPS in a large box that contained the package below. This is exactly the same as Wandboard Dual, except for the sticker. There’s just the board inside the package, and it would just look like Wandboard Dual with all connectors on the top, and the EDM module at the back, […]