how-to

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments on How to Upgrade SMA-Q Smartwatch Firmware

How to Upgrade SMA-Q Smartwatch Firmware

I’ve started testing SMA-Q smartwatch, and so far I’ve had lots of issues with Bluetooth connectivity. The watch can rarely pair with my Android smartphone, and I was unable to enable features like Anti-lost and Sedendary alerts as the app would always report there was no connection. The company has sent me instructions to upgrade the firmware, and it seems to have improved things a little. So first you need to install SMA Services app by scanning the QR code on the user’s manual, or download the apk by following this link. Once this is done you can register, or skip registration. Now go to Setting, and select Connect watch. You should see a circle as on the left side above reading Searching watch, then Bluetooth Connecting, before seeing a message the connection was successful. You’ll probably them want to tap on Upgrade app, before tapping on Firmware upgrade (local […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments on How to Root Amlogic S905 based MINIX NEO U1 Box in Windows and Linux

How to Root Amlogic S905 based MINIX NEO U1 Box in Windows and Linux

MINIX NEO U1 is a great device, but if you have some apps that require root access, the firmware is not rooted by default. AndroidPC.es just posted instructions to root the device in Windows, and I’ve also adapted Daemonium’s batch script for Windows as a shell script in order root the device from Linux. Please note that this will break OTA firmware update, so you’ll have to upgrade firmware manually after rooting. The most steps are common between Linux and Windows Enable Developer options, by going to Settings->Advanced Settings->About Mediabox, and click 6 or 7 times in the Build number section, until the new menu is enabled. Go back once, and access Developer options to make sure USB debugging is enabled Now go to Settings->Network to check and note your IP address (WiFi or Ethernet) Download and extract AndroidPC.es_MINIX_NEO_U1_root_v01_Daemonium.zip They also asked to install WiFi adb in your system, but I […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Nandland Go Board is a $50 Board for Learning FPGA, VHDL & Verilog Programming (Crowdfunding)

Nandland Go Board is a $50 Board for Learning FPGA, VHDL & Verilog Programming (Crowdfunding)

There are many FPGA boards on the market at various price points, but many assume you already have the technical knowledge to program the bard with Verilog or VHDL, and may not be suited to beginners. Nandland Go Board is a $50 board that targets beginners with tutorials to get started with blinking LEDs, controlling buttons, received data through the UART interface, showing display patterns via the VGA interface and more. Go Board specifications: FPGA – Lattice ICE40 HX1K with 1280 logic cells, 64Kbit RAM, and one PLL. Storage – 1Mb flash Clock – 25 MHz on-board clock Video Output – VGA Connector Display – Dual 7-Segment LED Display USB – 1x micro USB connector for power, communication, and programming Expansion – PMOD connector Misc – 4x user LEDs, 4x push buttons Power – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – N/A The board will be programmed using Lattice Semi […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on How to extract kernel.img with mkboot script

How to extract kernel.img with mkboot script

As I tried instructions to install Linux on Amlogic S905 Android TV boxes yesterday, I wanted to extract kernel.img file found in Android firmware, but Google did not help that much until I found mkboot part of mkbootimg_tools scripts. But first let’s see how kernel.img is created… Google provide a Python script called mkbootimg that combine the kernel image (e,.g. zImage), a rootfs/ramdisk and the device tree (DTB) file with a command line that looks like:

However, AFAIK the company does not provide a “unmkbootimg” script, and mkbootimg can only be used to create kernel.img, not decompile it. But that’s what mkboot does, and it works for kernel.img and recovery.img. Let’s retrieve the necessary files first:

mkboot is a bash script so we can use it right away:

So it can be used both for unpacking and repacking kernel.img to/from the output directory. Let’s run the command […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 118 Comments on How to Run Headless Linux on Amlogic S905 Devices Such as MINI MX or K1 Plus

How to Run Headless Linux on Amlogic S905 Devices Such as MINI MX or K1 Plus

A few week ago, I had been informed that Amlogic S905 U-boot and Linux source code was released, and one person use the code and other resources to load a minimal Ubuntu 14.04 image to his K1 Plus TV box and released the installation instructions and the image (Thanks olin!). I also have K1 Plus here, but since I’ve just finished reviewing Beelink MINI MX, I decided to use the latter instead. The instructions below boot Linux from the (micro) SD card, and can still boot Android if you remove the SD card. Modifying U-boot environment The instructions include opening the box, and connecting or soldering a USB to TTL debug board to access U-boot and change some parameters. But later once an image with network is working, you could also build and load fw_setenv and fw_saveenv, and do the same steps with an Android shell and without the need […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Quick Start Guide for LinkIt Smart 7688 (Duo) Board

Quick Start Guide for LinkIt Smart 7688 (Duo) Board

Mediatek Labs has announced LinkIt Smart 7688 development boards powered by Mediatek MT7688 WiSoC earlier today, but I was selected for a close beta several weeks before the launch, and I’ve had time to play a little with the boards, so today I’ll report my experience getting started with LinkIt Smart 7688 amd 7688 Duo by writing a Quick Start Guide showing how to setup the boards, upgrade firmware, access the serial console, run “Blink LED” sample applications with Python and JavaScript, as well as the Arduino IDE, and connect to the Internet. Initial Setup You’ll only need a micro USB cable and a computer with WiFi and USB ports to get started with the board. The green LED (top) for the MCU will turn on immediately, while the red LED (bottom) for WiFI will blink once, and only turn on continuously after 5 seconds, and within 30 seconds after […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 130 Comments on How to Update Firmware on Amlogic S905 TV Boxes

How to Update Firmware on Amlogic S905 TV Boxes

Videostrong has just sent me a new firmware for K1 Plus mini PC based on Amlogic S905 processor. The procedure is basically the same as for previous Amlogic devices, but I’ve still documented the step to follow an update. Please note that devices from decent brands should have OTA updates implemented, so it may not be needed, except for the cheapest devices, or in case of network issues. The firmware update procedure below can be done in any computer, including the Android TV box itself. The firmware is specific to K1 Plus, so if you have another TV box, you’ll need to change the download link to the firmware for your device. Download the firmware file (e.g. K1 Plus 2015-11-23.rar) Extract the compressed file to the root of a micro SD card, or on any other external storage. You should have a few files as shown above, including a zip […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on How to Build Brillo Operating System from Source Code and Run Brillo Emulator

How to Build Brillo Operating System from Source Code and Run Brillo Emulator

Google formally launched Brillo operating system a few weeks ago. The new operating system is a stripped down version of Android that targets Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and more recently the company pushed the source code to their servers. So I’ve given it a try by checking out the code, building Brillo emulator for Intel/AMD, and running it in Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit. First you’ll need to retrieve the source code:

It took a few hours here with some errors the first time, so I tried again and I finally got the code a few hours later. Once this is done, set the build environment and configuration:

Lunch will bring a list of possible builds:

You could also run the “Brillo emulator” on ARM, and edison-eng must be the build for Intel Edison board. Now you can start the build:

It has to complete 21491 different tasks, […]

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