Problem with boot on new buy device new android firmware not boot armbian after pin touch.
- need downgrade device use this tool and burn old version android
- here is manual web site
- viz. copy this
Posted November 1, 2024 (edited)
Howdy y’all. (It’s something people in southern USA say). hehe. I want to eventually setup a mini NAS server via Gigabit ethernet using this device. So, I recently purchased this same tv box as @Yvan P. described and I successfully installed Armbian_community_24.11.0-trunk.273_Aml-s9xx-box_oracular_edge_6.11.3 (2.64 GB img file). It was more time consuming and challenging than I originally thought. I’ll explain.
My box included Android firmware version PPR1.180610.11.20230208 and Kernel 4.9.113 built on 08FEB2023. Trying to boot any custom OS like Armbian via SD card in TF slot or USB flash drive in either 2.0 port or 3.0 just boot looped the H96 logo again ‚n again. I had to downgrade the firmware. I followed instructions that I found on github here and on xda-developers here, but I used an alternative method in TWRP. *The following is a LONG explanation. Get ready! ☺
Download the 2022 firmware file as a zip or img, (another copy here) the Amlogic Bootcard maker and TWRP. Prepare a micro SD card with one partition, formatted as FAT32. Also prepare a USB flash drive (or USB card reader) with one partition, formatted as FAT32. Copy the 20220516 firmware file to the USB flash drive. Make the SD card bootable with Amlogic Bootcard maker or Burn card maker software. Copy recovery-twrp_x96max-20220601-1253.img to the root of the SD card and rename the file to recovery.img on the SD card. With power cord disconnected, tv box off, Insert SD card in TF slot of tv box, and insert USB flash into the USB 2.0 port. Connect a USB mouse to the blue USB 3.0 port so you can click on buttons. Use a toothpick to press and hold the reset button inside the 3.5mm AV port. Keep holding the AV button and connect the power cord. Keep holding button until TWRP appears on screen, and swipe right to allow modifications.
Recommended to backup all the partitions here to the SD card or USB flash drive, and keep a the second copy somewhere safe, especially Recovery. Under „select partitions for backup“ make sure they don’t say „0MB“. If they do, then there is a problem and you shouldn’t continue – stop. Troubleshoot and fix the problem – ask questions online. Otherwise, continue… ☺
For backup of the existing firmware, click Backup, Select Storage and choose the Micro SD card or USB OTG (##MB). Select all partitions and swipe right to do the backup. No need for compression. Wait. Go back to the main menu with back (bottom left corner), and select Install. Click Select Storage then select USB OTG (##MB), and OK button. Depending on which firmware file you want to use, the „franklin-ota-eng.qmx_srv.zip“ file should appear. Or click Install Image and the „“AML_user_H96MaxX3_9_20220516.1821.img“ file should appear. Click on the file, and swipe right to do the install. Wait, and do not do anything until you see IMAGE FLASH COMPLETED. After you see the COMPLETED message, remove the SD card and USB flash drive and go to the main menu and click Reboot, System. Let Android boot, and check the version of Android in the settings. It should be PPR1.180610.011.20220516 and kernel 4.9.113, May 16 2022.
Now we can boot Armbian from the SD card and make sure it works, updates and reboots properly. I used the standard instructions for writing an Armbian image to a SD card. I selected the server image „Armbian_community_24.11.0-trunk.273_Aml-s9xx-box_oracular_edge_6.11.3.img“. Copied u-boot-s905x3 to u-boot.ext, and set /dtb/amlogic/meson-sm1-h96-max.dtb in extlinux.conf . I disconnected power cord, inserted SD card into TF, held reset button in the audio jack, and connected power cord still holding the button for 15 seconds. Armbian logo came up and I released the button. All 4GB RAM (3.69GB usable) is good, ethernet is good at 1 Gigabit, but there is no sound, no bluetooth and no wifi. That’s alright because I will use this as a mini NAS server and maybe an ad blocking DNS server via Gigabit ethernet. I froze the kernel in armbian-config, ran „apt update“ and rebooted. There were some error messages about initramfs but nothing bad. It rebooted and started alright. For smoother ‚n faster data transfer, I should replace my cheap old cat5e cables and probably get a better and brand-name gigabit switch. I hope this helps future aml tv box enthusiasts