Upgrading the MeCool M8S Pro+

    Hi all. I have a MeCool M8S Pro+ that i am trying to upgrade from LibreELEC 8.2.3.1 to 9.2.8.5 from https://github.com/dtechsrv/LibreELEC-AML .

    The github page just says

    Quote

    To install the update, you must copy the 'tar' file to the Update folder via SMB, and then restart the device. The update process will start automatically after the restart

    I have placed the .tar file (LibreELEC-M8S-Plus.arm-9.2.8.5.tar) in the Update folder via SMB and rebooted, but i just get the same old version and no upgrade process starts. Is there a way to manually start the update? Why is it not starting automatically, if that's what should happen?

    I might add that after a reboot, the Update folder gets emptied...

    Quote from appas

    Hi all. I have a MeCool M8S Pro+ that i am trying to upgrade from LibreELEC 8.2.3.1 to 9.2.8.5 from https://github.com/dtechsrv/LibreELEC-AML .

    The github page just says


    I have placed the .tar file (LibreELEC-M8S-Plus.arm-9.2.8.5.tar) in the Update folder via SMB and rebooted, but i just get the same old version and no upgrade process starts. Is there a way to manually start the update? Why is it not starting automatically, if that's what should happen?

    I might add that after a reboot, the Update folder gets emptied...

    Mecool M8S Pro+ and OTT M8S+ are not the same box at all.

    In addition, several of Mecool M8S Pro+ models are available, so I need an accurate model number. The plain model (without additional letters) is equipped with the S905X SoC, but the "L" version is built with S912. (The S912 is not even supported by me.)

    Moreover, updating from v8.2 to v9.2 is not recommended just because the first use native 64-bit Kodi and with native 64-bit binary add-ons, while the second uses 32-bit Kodi (only the kernel is 64-bit).

    Quote from dtech

    In addition, several of Mecool M8S Pro+ models are available, so I need an accurate model number. The plain model (without additional letters) is equipped with the S905X SoC, but the "L" version is built with S912. (The S912 is not even supported by me.)

    My box says S905X 2GB/16GB.

    Quote from dtech

    Moreover, updating from v8.2 to v9.2 is not recommended just because the first use native 64-bit Kodi and with native 64-bit binary add-ons, while the second uses 32-bit Kodi (only the kernel is 64-bit).

    So is it better to keep using the old version on this box?

    Thanks for the help.

    Quote from dtech

    I suggest you try to make a clean install on an sd card with S905/MXQ-4K-Pro_2G image.

    You need to copy your old remote.conf to the root directory of the card.

    Ok, I tried that image, both the update route and with a clean image. The update just booted to the old version of LibreELEC, as before (and wiped the Update directory). The SD card made with LibreELEC-AML.USB-SD.Creator did not boot - the box fell back to booting from internal NAND, meaning it started the built-in Android OS when that card was inserted.

    Quote from appas

    Ok, I tried that image, both the update route and with a clean image. The update just booted to the old version of LibreELEC, as before (and wiped the Update directory). The SD card made with LibreELEC-AML.USB-SD.Creator did not boot - the box fell back to booting from internal NAND, meaning it started the built-in Android OS when that card was inserted.

    Okay, I suggested that you skip the update. It won't work either because neither the device model nor the architecture match.

    Did you use the toothpick method when booting from the SD card? If not, please use it, beacuse I suspect that the aml_autoscript of version 8.2 and 9.2 are quite different, and it only runs again if the toothpick method is used.

    I don't think my box has a reset button; there is a whole in the bottom, but there is no "click" when I try to push a SIM card removal tool in there.

    However, the new LibreELEC booted from the card, after all (don't know why, as there were no changes made), so I am now running the new version!

    Now, to install all of the add-ons... I am currently facing some trouble installing the Transmission add-on - the Kodi Wiki says it "has been marked as broken in the repository: Violation of our piracy policy", but I guess that's no longer in the scope of this thread.

    Thank you for helping me with the upgrade!

    edit: Actually, looks like I have no network connectivity on the new install. Could you help me with that, still?

    In the System info > Network, it says "Link: Not connected". Under LibreELEC > Connections, nothing is shown. Previously, this is where I connected to my Wifi.

    Do I need to do something to enable the Wifi on my device, to get my AP to show here?

    Edited once, last by appas (September 9, 2022 at 11:48 AM).

    Quote from appas

    edit: Actually, looks like I have no network connectivity on the new install. Could you help me with that, still?


    In the System info > Network, it says "Link: Not connected". Under LibreELEC > Connections, nothing is shown. Previously, this is where I connected to my Wifi.


    Do I need to do something to enable the Wifi on my device, to get my AP to show here?

    I need some log from your box. Please log in to the box via SSH over Ethernet, then put this in the command line:

    dmesg | paste

    ... and post the link you received here. Hopefully, something will be revealed about the state of your wifi, because unfortunately I don't know what kind of wifi chip is in your box.

    Can you possibly do the same under version 8.2?

    Unfortunately, I didn't get much closer to the wifi, but it seems that there is some kind of SDIO wireless chip on the motherboard.

    We should somehow find out what is causing your boot issues, because we can't move on to the next step.

    Try creating a new SD card first. But before that, perform a complete overwrite format on it with this program: SD Card Formatter.

    Then use this to write the previous snapshot image to the card: LibreELEC-AML USB-SD Creator.

    Also, make sure you only use SDHC cards (max. 64 GB), as these boxes are not really compatible with SDXC.

    Ok, so I formatted an SD card using the SD Formatter, then installed the snapshot on it. It still would not boot.

    The card is SDCX, but I don't think that's the issue, as the previous 9.2.5 version boots from the same card, and the working install is also on an SDXC card.

    I'm going back to the 8.2.3.1 install, for now. Thanks for all you've done to try and help me.