Any way to update Kodi correctly from libreelec 8.2.5 to a higher version? (WETEK PLAY 1 OPENELEC EDITION)

Hello, I have a wetek play 1 openelec edition. I 've been using libreelec 8.2.5 for quite some time, but the builds that i like to use all got updated and some plugins no longer work correctly (i get an error about a python dependency 2.26 not being satisfied, i googled that and i read that it means the kodi version is old and needs to update.) So the only way to use the builds that i want is to update libreelec to 9.02.

The problem is that, any way that i try to update to 9.02, either via the update function in libreelec 8.2.5 (which always worked perfectly by the way) or by moving the update file to the updates folder via a windows pc, i end up with a broken libreelec os...it even says on the libreelec site that the 9.02 image for wetek play 1 is broken, and that i should use the .tar file instead, but i still end up with a "bad" libreelec install (more specifically, things like the menu button on the remote don't work at all and the subtitles button is missing altogether, plus, sometimes when i reboot, i get a bios-like screen with corrupted files that need to scan to "fix" which takes about 10 minutes and then reboots but changes nothing.)

I found this thread that claims to solve the problem , but unfortunately my knowledge on any other OS than windows is really limited, and i could not understand how to do it properly 
Wetek Play 1: After upgrade to Alpha 006 (from LE 8) no upgrade/downgrade possible

So , i am running out of options here....

My first and most important question is : can i use the android apk which is available here Downloads | Kodi | Open Source Home Theater Software to turn my wetek play openelec to an android kodi box?
If so, what files exactly do i need to put on my sd card? and also, do i use the needle trick with the update hole at the bottom of the device to do it?
Secondly ,does anyone have ANY other suggestions apart from libreelec on how to update to kodi leia? Core ELEC would be great, but unfortunately it does not support wetek play 1.....


I sincerely apologize if my post is written in a confusing manner, but english is not my native language...plus i am really desperate for a solution!
Thank you all in advance