yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Google TV General] :
I received my hdmi plugs from aliexpress (the tindie guy was out of stock), and I installed the addressing wire mod and programmed the devices (best as I can tell) successfully, but no joy. I programmed one plug each for sdc and usb.

Does this method have any reliance whatsoever on a functioning bootloader?

Suppose a device had the bootloader erased or programmed with an incorrectly encrypted bootloader, would this method still work? Does all of the logic that transfers booting to sdc/usb happen in bootrom code?

I prepared the sdc with the uboot.bin and the ini file, the same as amlogic's own boot card maker does. And I tried both a correctly encrypted bootloader (within the overall aml .img package) and a non-encrypted bootloader on the sdc card. I seem to remember reading somewhere that a SoC that has a bootrom key for the bootloader will still be able to detect and boot a non-encrypted bootloader if the bootrom code sees the AML flag early in the header somewhere.

I'm going to do some more testing on a less broken device and see if I learn anything.

Edit: Finally got it working.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Nope. It pushes device into DFU mode.

Yeah. It's all in bottom.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
Were you able to successfully flash LineageOS and everything?

I'm have the latest firmware update on my onn device (dopinder); it reports:

Firmware version: 1.01.35

Android security patch level: February 5, 2022

Build: onn-user 10 QT 20220325 release-keys

I cannot for the life of me get into recovery. I didn't have any trouble enabling Developer options, toggling USB debugging, or granting access to PC (Windows) after running ADB. I did have to manually change the driver from "ADB Device " to "Android Bootloader Interface" to have it recognized in fastboot, though.

I had no trouble with fastboot flashing unlock (at least, I didn't get back any errors and the device restarted with a factory reset, so I assume it worked). I was able to flash the recovery image using fastboot flash recovery <recovery_filename>.img.

This is where I'm stuck, though. How do you get into recovery? fastboot reboot recovery doesn't do anything; it reports "Rebooting into recovery" but hangs there, never says OKAY or FAILED on its own. If I disconnect the device, it says FAILED (Status read failed (Too many links)), but I'm guessing that's just because I disconnected it.

The guide says:

Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation. Do not reboot into the existing OS, since it will overwrite the recovery you just installed!

Run adb reboot recovery

Of course, you can't run ADB from while in fastboot, so that doesn't make any sense. I can't boot into recovery to sideload via ADB, and I can't boot into the OS to run ADB because that overwrites recovery.

Can you use the hardware button to get into recovery after flashing it? I tried holding it while powering on, but doing that doesn't have the device show up in Windows at all, so I can't use ADB or fastboot.

@npjohnson: do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Am I running a later build (20220325) that may have broken the process?

EDIT: I restored the factory image 20210519 and rebooted into bootloader since I assume it was still unlocked. It shows up in fastboot, but I run into the same issue where I can't access the recently flashed recovery. I assume I'm missing something obvious.
[Google TV General] drmarble:
I think you need to fastboot boot <recovery_filename>.img

It should boot into recovery.

Good luck.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
I appreciate the response, but that doesn't work, either. I should have mentioned that, as I've tried it already (and just now again, just in case). It simply does nothing, but reports that it's fine. Just stays on the ONN. logo.
[Google TV General] famewolf:
I tried both the 19.1 and the 18.1 files...only the 18.1 ones worked....the fastboot boot filename.img will work for the 18.1.

It froze repeatedly when trying to use it however so I eventually flashed stock back.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
Yep, I just tried the procedure with 18.1 recovery and it worked as expected. Looks like the issue with is with the 19.1 recovery itself not loading (rather than an issue with dopinder).

@npjohnson: is there anything I can to do help sort this out? Any logs I can capture or something? It appears only that the 19.1 recovery won't load when booted from fastboot (unless someone else has had success with 19.1 on dopinder and wants to chime in!).
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
I flashed the 19.1 recovery and tried to reboot to sideload and now literally nothing shows up on the screen at all. USB connects and disconnects everytime I plug it up but that's all I get....
[Google TV General] rczrider:
Which device? Were you able to get into LineageOS recovery at all, or (like me) are you stuck at getting into LOS recovery after flashing it?

If you're on dopinder (the onn device) and can't get into LOS recovery, I think we're in the same boat. I also think the issue is with the 19.1 recovery, since 18.1 works.

I keep wondering if there's a way to boot into 18.1 recovery, sideload the 19.1 zip, then reboot to bootloader and flash 19.1 recovery...but I'm too afraid to try that, in case it bricks my device. I think I'll wait for the dev.

EDIT: I had been using the 20220421 files, but also tried the original 19.1 files dated 20220419. Same result, can't get into LOS recovery.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Just adb sideload the update.

It will work regardless of showing things.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Will look into it.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
Thank you! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, if you need logs or something!
[Google TV General] BerkeKan:
Hey everyone. I'm sorry if this was answered, but I have a question.

It is not possible to install LOS on an up-to-date Sabrina, is it?
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Nope.
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
I can't sideload anything. I said it connects then immediately disconnects. There are no devices listed in device manager that reflect any new device or any adb devices.
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
Yeah dopinder. I flashed the 19.1 recovery and rebooted and Android loaded fine (didn't flash 19.1 LOS yet).. then I rebooted to sideload and it just kept freezing on the AndroidTV screen... Then it just stopped showing picture all together when I plug it in
[Google TV General] ShinyDiamond234:
Hi everyone, it seems like I've run into a problem. I had LOS 18.1 installed on my dopinder and it was working fine, and I tried to update it to LOS 19.1 once the update came out. I flashed it with adb sideload like the guide says to, but now it's been stuck on the android tv logo for an hour now. I think I have soft bricked it. What should I do to fix this? Any help is appreciated.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
I'm guessing that's because when you flashed 19.1 recovery and booted into 18.1, your 19.1 recovery was overwritten by 18.1. That means when you did "adb reboot recovery", it booted 18.1 recovery. You then flashed the 19.1 ROM, but recovery was still 18.1 (because 19.1 was overwritten when you rebooted). So there's a mismatch: 18.1 recovery and 19.1 ROM.

The issue is getting back into fastboot to flash the 19.1 recovery (or go back to 18.1 or stock). I'm not super familiar with dopinder, but holding the hardware button while booting doesn't seem to take us to fastboot like you might get with a Pixel device. The computer alerts me that it's mounted briefly, but then unmounted; there's no device in Device Manager and neither "adb" nor "fastboot" commands show a device that's connected.

Of course, I could be way off. I'll wait for the dev to chime in and confirm or correct.
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
I was never able to flash 19.1 or even boot into the 19.1 recovery. I flashed 19.1 recovery and never got it to load and never was able to flash 19.1 LOS. So it should have 19.1 recovery with 18 LOS
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
**delete... accidentally double posted...**
[Google TV General] :
The instructions indicate not to do that:

I'm not sure that it is exactly true that booting into the OS will necessarily overwrite the recovery partition. But still the instructions do indicate not to do it, but rather to immediately reboot into the recovery partition that you just flashed.

How did you do that, from the running OS?
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
I didn't purposely. I rebooted to sideload from recovery but it didn't go to sideload it just booted as normal....
[Google TV General] jareddlikewhoaa:
Also, would that even matter when I already had LOS Recovery and LOS installed prior?
[Google TV General] RDS5:
dynalink 4k wont boot into lineage 19.1 recovery, i thought it was just me being stupid (i didnt read the rest of this forum to realize the 19.1 recovery was broken) so i foolishly entered the fastbootd mode of lineage os recovery (because 18.1 recovery did flash, keep in mind im still on the stock os) and so i tried flashing lineageos 19 recovery from the fastbootd mode. yeah, that caused it to get softbricked, but the good news is that when i hold the side button, it shows up as "amlogic usb" under LSUSB, so its obvious its able to still enter burn mode.

my question is, how do i use amlogic burn mode and burning tool? im using linux but im alright with using windows on a spare computer to use the burning tool (preferably the graphical one). i dont know what firmware files to flash for wade.

yes, i am a complete noob at anything amlogic, this is my first amlogic device, so please go easy on me.

my issue is that all the guides online show them opening one .img file, but the linked firmware files are not one .img file, but they are a zip file with a bunch of .img files, so im completely clueless what to do, and i dont want to brick it more and lose amlogic burning mode and have to purchase an hdmi jig to fix it.
[Google TV General] TabascoJoe:
Install this driver: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q3Hwrmx-YCrw9U5JGtI2Ocn06zPkjrEG/view?usp=sharing

Download the Windows folder from here: https://github.com/osmc/aml-flash-tool/tree/master/tools

Extract the zip file and enter it from the cmd line

Run: `update.exe bulkcmd fastboot`

Will get you back to fastboot and able to reflash the correct recovery (18.1)

This is the method I debricked mine
[Google TV General] RDS5:
i didnt see these posts until now, but thank you alot. ive written a small guide that hopefully makes it a little easier for anyone trying to do this, and flash completely back to stock.

what i ended up doing was downloading the linux tool and then i put all the firmware files in the same directory (extracted files from the original post .zip stock firmware).

now i have all the firmware files (like bootloader.img, super.img and others) in the same folder, and i have the update tool for linux in it too.

now i run "./update bulkcmd fastboot" and this reboots it into fastboot mode.

now i open up the flash-all.sh file (which is included with the firmware file i downloaded for wade) and i copy and paste all the commands from there, which flashes the stock firmware back onto the device.

flash-all looks like this on wade, probably does on others too:

#!/bin/bash

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img

fastboot reboot-bootloader

fastboot flash boot boot.img

fastboot flash dtb dtb.img

fastboot flash dtbo dtbo.img

fastboot flash logo logo.img

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

fastboot flash super super.img

fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img

fastboot -w

fastboot reboot

fastboot -w failed on me, not sure what it does but i think it formats data, which would explain the next step.

now the device rebooted after fastboot reboot, but it rebooted into recovery.

from recovery, i navigated to factory reset and clicked it (dynalink 4k can navigate recovery from its remote, not sure if the others can. you could probably use a usb otg adapter to do so anyways, but im not sure if those work from the stock recovery).

after it factory reset, i rebooted it from the recovery and it started booting back into android. it then started and now it functions again! seems like the firmware is a little different, but its still the stock os and seems to work fine from my (extremely bare) testing.

anyways, im greatful for the help, and i hope this guide helps anyone who's bricked their device have less of a headache. incase your using windows, you could either use a bootable flashdrive along with another drive to hold the firmware files and such, or you could use update.exe but that requires drivers to be installed. i used the linux usb method, even if all my computers are linux, i decided to anyways because i wanted to have it unified into one and i didnt want alot of leftover stuff (i prefer to be organized, especially when this little linux box i have i use for code compiling and i dont wanna mess with it too much, even if it was free so its not much of a loss if something catastrophic happened to it).
[Google TV General] TabascoJoe:
Not sure if more direct, but definitely an alternative...

Power off, by disconnecting micro-usb...

With dopinder you can hold down the button while powering it up...

If connected to a PC, once Windows recognizes it you can let go...

If powered from wall hold it for about 5 seconds and let go.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
TO ANYONE WHO SEES THIS, DON'T DO IT. My device is now (at least) soft-bricked.

This didn't work for me for LOS 19.1 recovery.

At least, it didn't work like you described it should. Yes, the command fastboot reboot fastboot worked in that it rebooted - whereas fastboot reboot recovery did nothing - but it just boots to the ONN logo screen and PowerShell just reports <waiting for any device> and nothing shows up in Device Manager.

I'm convinced there's a problem with the recovery image for LineageOS 19.1 for these devices (dopinder, anyway). Because the method as outlined works fine for 18.1. I have yet to see anyone confirm that they've been able to get into 19.1 recovery for dopinder.

My device is now soft-bricked, stuck at the ONN logo screen. It won't boot up anymore, whereas previously flashing 19.1 recovery would let it reboot into the system.

I don't know how this has ever worked for you; it's never worked for me. Windows will recognize it for a heartbeat and then it disconnects. I've tried different cables and ports, as well as tried playing with holding the button for shorter and longer times upon boot-up and it never boots into fastboot in a way that Windows recognizes.

Except the device isn't recognized in Windows Device Manager once it's bricked. I don't see how using an installer for drivers is going to make it appear when Windows doesn't even see it.
[Google TV General] TabascoJoe:
So...

I had the same issue...

19.1 recovery is broken and should be taken down.

Windows see it for a half second than disconnects...

Everything you describe is what mine was doing...

I thought I had a brick too...

What made the difference was the driver...

Install the driver and Windows will see it and stay connected...

Don't ask how, but it worked.
[Google TV General] :
Sorry this happened. A reboot into recovery/fastbootd should not cause this sort of boot loop. In any case I will delete my post.

Do you have the update.exe utility and the burn mode worldcup drivers installed? If not, see this post from the developer earlier in this thread about where to get them.

Burn mode uses different drivers than fastboot/adb. Also, the button has to be pressed long enough to get into burn mode as opposed to recovery mode. That may be why device manager isn't seeing it. But still, install the burn mode drivers to have any chance at a burn mode connection.

It is very rare that a device can't get into burn mode. But you do need to have the correct burn mode drivers installed.
[Google TV General] :
Would someone who has had trouble installing 19.1 on the onn device list whether or not they were starting the installation from 18.1 or from the factory OS, and if the latter, which version of the factory OS?

I want to reproduce the process on my device from start to finish. There have been a lot of factory OTA updates for the onn device since 18.1 was released. All of them are listed in another thread. I'll check which work and if there was a particular OTA where things went south vis-a-vis the bootloader from that ota being unable to boot the 19.1 recovery.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
Yep, see here: https://xdaforums.com/t/unofficial-...-g12-sm1-family-devices.4313743/post-86814603
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
19.1 on dopinder is broken - rest of devices are fine.

We know why. We know how to fix it.

I will fix it as soon as I'm able. Noted in OP it's broken.
[Google TV General] :
The build proper is broken, or just the recovery method of installing the build?

If the build were installed by means other than using the custom recovery, it still wouldn't work?
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
likely both
[Google TV General] RDS5:
are you sure its not broken on wade too? at least on the firmware i used to be on, flashing recovery 19.1 didnt actually work. ill probably try flashing 19.1 recovery on the walmart firmware i am on now, maybe it'll work. if it doesnt ill post another reply.
[Google TV General] RDS5:
i didnt get time to test tonight, ill test tomorrow.
[Google TV General] rczrider:
Thanks for taking a look and thanks for all that you do! We appreciate it!
[Google TV General] RDS5:
UPDATE: i am not able to flash the 19.1 recovery to wade. i cant boot from it either, however, i am able to boot into the lineage 18.1 recovery, so this is a 19.1 issue.

commands used:

adb reboot bootloader
sudo fastboot flash recovery ~/Downloads/lineage-19.1-20220421-recovery-wade.img
sudo fastboot boot ~/Downloads/lineage-19.1-20220421-UNOFFICIAL-wade.zip (im using sudo because my udev rules are wrong and im too lazy to fix it)

it just locks up at this point and nothing happens, i cant even do fastboot reboot and i have to pull the power.

adb reboot bootloader
sudo fastboot flash recovery ~/Downloads/lineage-18.1-20220319-recovery-wade.img
sudo fastboot boot ~/Downloads/lineage-18.1-20220319-recovery-wade.img

after running boot it boots into the 18.1 recovery.
[Google TV General] RDS5:
could it be that wade's broken too? im unable to boot into 19.1 recovery for wade..
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Nope.

Half of our devs use wade, and are using it to test today's changes.
[Google TV General] RDS5:
.

but mine wont boot into recovery 19.1, am i doing something wrong? (im pretty sure i am, but i dont know what since repeating the same exact steps im doing for 19.1 works on 18.1).

maybe i should try flashing 18.1 and then flashing 19.1 because so far i have been trying to flash completely from stock, and maybe that doesnt work for 19.1
[Google TV General] RDS5:
i tried to flash lineage 19.1 from 18.1 as an upgrade, it failed although at first it was booting into 19.1 (but it was extremely buggy, anything that tried to overlay would just cause blankscreens, making it unusable), but trying to reboot into recovery (to perform an update) would fail.

are you guys running a different build than whats available? because for me its not working at all.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Yea, we fixed hardware OMX - but it has other issues now - really just stop updating, we are working on making it official. I'll upload new builds if they get fixed.
[Google TV General] RDS5:
alright, im going to wait until it becomes official and flash 19.1, for now ill stay on 18.1

honestly tho, im actually so impressed with all the work done by the lineageos team to maintain all these devices, you guys are all just amazing.
[Google TV General] kennkanniff:
Can you reupload this file? I debricked a Sarbrina with it once before.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Uhhh remind me what that did and I can rebuild it?
[Google TV General] kennkanniff:
I rebooted me into fastboot straight after the exploit. Without the need to replug it in. I had to run an unmodified version of the exploit first though.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
https://download.ods.ninja/Android/firmware/sabrina/sabrina-repair.bootloader.bin

Try that?
[Google TV General] kennkanniff:
Sadly does not work. It boots me straight to bootlogo and I can not see it with fastboot. There must be something wrong with Sabrina recovery too.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
same file-link, new version - pls try again.
[Google TV General] :
What usually resets the boot reason in the environment when a recovery boot fails?

And why does it sometimes not happen, and just keeps pounding away at recovery boot attempts?
[Google TV General] kennkanniff:
still no luck, thanks though.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
you just need your reboot reason cleared?
[Google TV General] :
Does the logo display flicker ever so slightly for a moment before it gets stuck on the logo?

A recovery boot attempt almost always has a slight flicker in the logo display before it attempts to boot to recovery.

That would be one way of knowing if you're stuck in a recovery booting loop. Of course, a uart log would tell the complete story.

When I've had devices stuck in a recovery booting loop, flashing the entire env partition using burn mode always cured it. Do you have a backup of your env partition? If you could use the exploit to flash an env backup, that should fix it.
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
I can reset your env if you want?

That's easy.

But it will mean you need to unlock BL again.
[Google TV General] :
How would go about it? Cause the environment to reset to the default environment? Or?

If you reset the environment to the default, couldn't you just immediately follow that with a setenv to the lock variable? I've found that if the lock variable is toggled momentarily, and lands on the value that matches what it was when the data partition was initially set up, the data will be fine.

This applies only if the variable is set directly, not if an unlock is requested via the fastboot protocol.
[Google TV General] ChriMo:
I search for a HDMI player device with an as basic Android (TV) as possible, so no online logins, not even into Google account. I'm happy using F-Droid, Aurora Store or even manual APK install:

mainly MKV etc. files encoded in h264, h265 (possibly AV1 in the future)

mainly local WLAN/LAN network share (SMB/CIFS Samba, Linux, Windows, etc.) or storage-device over USB-OTG

720p/1080p output is enough for me, even if the files have a higher resolution like 4k (maybe useful for enough performance with AV1)

a remote also supporting IR remote control of the TV (HDMI input, Volume) would be great

in combination with the used TV the HDMI CEC Support and TV-USB Port Power might be a thing

The device should be available in Central Europe and unlocking/flashing not overly complicated. I made a short search:

sabrina - Chromecast with Google TV: ca. 65 € (IT, DE)

wade - (Walmart) Dynalink 4K Box: ca. 70 € (IT)

dopinder - Walmart Onn UHD Box: ca. 60$ (US)

deadpool - Google ADT-3: not (anymore) available in shops?

I also have the sheldon/p Fire TV Stick Lite/3rd gen (ca. 20-25 €) on my radar which has Lineage OS 18.1 (A11) available. I found no other devices with LineageOS 18/19 Custom ROM?

Interested which device with pure LineageOS 19.1 might do the job for my requirements well.
[Google TV General] retyre:
If you're stuck in a recovery bootloop, you should first try writing back a misc partition that does not contain the recovery flag. If that doesn't work, try tricking the device by redirecting recovery to boot, i.e., build this u-boot:

run_command("mmc dev 1; setenv lock 10100000; setenv recovery_part boot; save", 0);
[Google TV General] Code_z_:
Fellas I need help, I think I bricked the onn

I ended up using the 18.1 recovery to sideload the 19.1 rom -- now am stuck on the 'androidtv' logo screen with no recognition on pc

I tried the stuff that was mentioned including the worldcup drivers + update.exe however the update.exe command gives a no [worldcup device] device after scan - can not find device

any help would be greatly appreciated!
[Google TV General] Code_z_:
I tried this and got the errors I described in the previous comment
[Google TV General] npjohnson:
Download and try again