[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wildchill:
TVpad3

Hi,

I actually have TVpad3 which is very similar to your TVpad2, and Im very keen on having Android developed for these TVpads.

Theres probably thousands of these wasted devices around the world after the TVpad pirate network got shutdown.

Ive searched high and low, and so far have Not found any trace of any custom Android development anywhere.

So hopefully we can kick start something here !

This is what I know so far ....

Since the devices run on highly stripped-down Android OS, we know these devices can run android and should be a potential for custom Android development.

Unfortunately theres little hardware or development info out there for these devices.

But as far as I know, the hardware platform for these models are all based on Telechip TCC89xx chips.

https://www.telechips.com/eng/Product/consumer_pro13.asp

I have a TVpad3 personally, which I believe is based on a Telechips TCC8925.

Ive found that there are a few similar devices out there based on this platform, including the Pandawill CX-01 TV sticks which have very similar specs to TVpad3 (512mb RAM, 4gb Flash).

So we definitely know that the TVpad's hardware is capable of running full blown Android !

http://www.cnx-software.com/2012/06...v-box-powered-by-telechips-tcc8923-cortex-a5/

http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/36988-cx-01-cortex-a5/

Telechips has released platform sources here, with the latest being Android KitKat... its a bit old but could have potential for a starting point...

https://www.telechips.com/technical_support/kor/opensource/opensource_list.asp

I havent found anything about booting these devices into Recovery or ADB.

But there seems to be some mention of a "FWDN" mode here:

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/other-tv-players/4695-cx-01-information-by-tatubias

http://tvpadtalk.ca/discussion/506/how-to-unbrick-your-tvpad1

http://androtab.info/arm/telechips/how-to-update/

http://auswitch.xyz/2012/08/16/how-to-upgrade-firmware-for-cx-01-mini-pc/

From what I can gather, FWDN works in conjunction with a Windows-based utility used to flash firmware over a USB cable.

And this poses the biggest problem for TVpads, they DONT have any peripheral USB port !

I've pulled my TVpad3 apart, and found what appears to be provision for a USB header, but im not sure if these are functional even if a USB socket was soldered in ?

If we can get a functional USB peripheral port working, then that would lead us to the Second problem, that is, HOW to activate FWDN mode on the TVpad ?

From what I can gather, different Telechip TCC89xx based devices seem to have different ways to enter FWDN mode.

Some devices require a certain key combo to be pressed during power up, while others need a hidden button pressed or certain pins on the circuit board to be shorted.

So before we can even think about developing Android, we need to figure out those two issues...

1 - USB connectivity, so that we can flash it with FWDN tool.

2 - How to enter FWDN mode, so that the FWDN tool can talk to the TVpad.

If we can overcome these two issues, then we can start building sources.

Or even flash ROMs from similar Telechip TCC89xx based devices.

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone out there.

And I hope we can really make some progress here :)

.