How to Resize Partitions and Update Firmware in MXQ-4K TV Box (Rockchip RK3229)

Since I’ve received MXQ-4K Android TV box yesterday, I have started to play with it, and so far I can’t say I’m impressed, as while the device automatically detected the maximum resolution (3840×2160 @ 60 Hz) for my television, I could not play any of my 4K samples smoothly with either the pre-installed Kodi 15.2, Video and Video Player apps, there’s no power off mode (only standby), and the “internal partition” is only 0.96GB large which can quickly become an issue if you plan on installing several apps.

MXQ-4K_Storage

Since GeekBuying has released the stock firmware, I decided to try to adapt the method to resize the partitions for GeekBox (RK3368) to MXQ-4K.

Rockchip RK3229 Firmware Modding

I’ve used a computer running Ubuntu 14.04, and assume you have most tools pre-installed. The first step is to download the firmware (MXQ-4K_ota_ok_20160127.img update.img), and install the tools to extract it :


The last step will do the job, and the output should look like:


You’ll need to download and run RK_ParamEd.exe. It’s a windows program, but it runs just fine in Ubuntu with wine :


Now open output/parameter-rk322x-trust in the program, and change userdata partition size to a value larger than currently, and to be safe I increased the size to 4096 MB.

Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge

Now save the file overwriting parameter-rk322x-trust.

Now you are supposed to us mkupdate.sh script to create the firmware file, but remember the tools we have installed are for Rockchip RK3368 based Geekbox device, so we have to make a few modifications. First edit mkupdate.sh and replace the line:


with:


We can also see Loader.bin is linked to RK3368 bootloader, and it’s probably a good way to brick your device if you don’t change this:


So let’s do use RK3229 bootloader instead


Copy one more file and run the script:


That’s the output of the script:


So now our new update.img should have a cool 4096MB partitions. Let’s check this by flashing the firmware.

Flashing MXQ-4K (Rockchip RK3229) Firmware

You’ll need a toothpick or other non-conductive sharp object, and a USB type A to USB type A cable.

Make sure MXQ-4K is turned off, insert the toothpick in the S/PDIF connector until you press the button, and keeping pressing while you power on the device, and release the button after a few seconds. If nothing shows on the HDMI screen, it’s probably a good sign.

Now connect the USB cable between the USB port on the rear panel of MXQ-4K and your computer, and the following upgrade_tool command if you are using Linux:


If successful, the output should look like:


The complete process will take a while, and the system will automatically boot to Android with the very first boot taking a little longer than usual. I could then get to the Android launcher, so at least I did not brick the device. But what about the partition size?
MXQ-4K_Larger_PartitionNot quite the 4GB space I expected, but 3.81GB is still good to me. Missing accomplished. I’ll share my image (887 MB) if somebody is interested.

If you are using Windows, you should be able to upgrade the firmware by using RKBatchTool 1.8, and following these instructions.

If you want other tips and tricks for MXQ-4K,  you may want to check out Carlos Garcés’ Blog where you’ll find how to root the device, and enter recovery mode.

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20 Comments
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marchi
marchi
8 years ago

Great work, can you share the image? Can I flash this from SD?

8 years ago

@marchi
No. To flash from SD you need to create a signed update.zip package.

8 years ago

wine RK_ParamEd.exe is mandatory?
Can be used resize.sh that is also at geekboxzone utils?

Marko_vl
Marko_vl
8 years ago


Do you know if the March stock rom has the same partitions size than february version? If it has the same, it will be in your mind in the future to make the same partitions size changes and update your image? Thanks!

Marko_vl
Marko_vl
8 years ago


Ok, thanks for the work!!!

Hany
Hany
7 years ago

cnxsoft
can we use external SD card as internal memory as rk3229 working on kitkat

mohaned
mohaned
7 years ago

if can give me the link for custom firmware ? pls upload the edit room here or send it to my email

olivier
olivier
7 years ago

hello, I can not do this tutorial with Windows 10, anyone could make me the procedure to 4GB on my firmware. thanks for the help

my firmware : http://uptobox.com/8c3o0hho71e5

olivier
olivier
7 years ago

Hello and thank you for your answer. unfortunately I do not know .I do ‘m going back to 4.4 because no other solution . thank you

olivier
olivier
7 years ago

@olivier
resolved ! use RK3xxx_firmware_tools_5.78.35.00 in windows10

zhunggg
zhunggg
7 years ago

hi,How to open xz file?

zhunggg
zhunggg
7 years ago

thx for you reply

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