Help to unbrick a TVbox x96 S905x

    Thanks Chewiit for your always clear and concise answers. I'm going to continue experimenting with this OS to see if I can get the remote control to work.

    Quote from chewitt

    It's impossible to guess what might cause Kodi to get stuck on the logo without seeing log files. If there is an issue in the OS it might be visible from the UART output. If there's something in Kodi .. you can enable persistent logging via the LE settings add-on and then check the logs (or look for crash logs) on the next clean boot.

    Yeah, reading in other thread, that was the first thing I did. If the problem occurs again, I'll check the log file to see if there's any indication of the cause. Anyway this doesn't always happen, and it seems random when it does. At first, I thought the cause was a missing input method, but after further testing, I realized it was just a coincidence.

    Quote from Sniperassault

    In the System info menu, It's say that i have 1gb of RAM. This is because is a Fake Box?

    No, the RAM is fine. Only the processor is fake. 1GB is the remaining free space that can be used for system needs. The remaining 1GB, a small portion of which is reserved for the bootloader, the rest for the kernel.

    Quote from Sniperassault

    PD2: Sometimes when i turn on or restart the box it gets stuck on the Kodi Logo. Is there a fix for that or is it normal since it is not a 100% image made for this box?

    This is probably because you connected the box to the USB port instead of using the original power supply. Depending on which USB port you were using to power the box, the u-boot will automatically boot into ‘burn mode’ because the eMMC module was removed. Another reason, of course, could be a lack of power. Not a good idea :)

    Use the original power supply or something similar.

    As always, thanks bumerc for your great help!

    I'm using (I think) the original charger. It's 5V 2.2A . I've never thought it would be convenient to power it directly through USB.
    Also, as I mentioned before, this doesn't usually happen all the time. At first, I thought it was because I had to press the Enter key as soon as the Kodi logo appeared, since the times I didn't, it would get stuck on that logo. But after several tests, it turned out to be a coincidence.
    If this happens to me again and i can access the debug logs, i will upload it, in case you know what is causing this issue.

    edit: This happened to me a couple of times, so I was able to get the log file and the crash file. I'm attaching them below in case anyone has any clue as to what the problem might be.

    Log file

    crash file

    Edited once, last by Sniperassault: update (October 22, 2025 at 3:35 AM).

    AFAICT neither log shows anything unusual /shrug

    I would suggest using the AMLGX .tar file in my testing share as this is running a newer kernel (6.17.4 not 6.16-rc3) and the newer Kodi version also has bugfixes. If you're going to use the TX3 device tree you should stop/disable/mask 'display.service' as this is started to drive the VFD display which your box doesn't have.

    Understood! I'll test them and report back if there are any improvements.

    Last question: I was able to get the remote control to work(If it's usefull for someone the x96max toml file works perfectly) but I'd like to know if it's possible to turn the box on with the power button. I can easily turn it off or suspend with the remote, but I haven't found a way to turn it on or wake up. Not even with the keyboard i can wake up the box. If there is any fix for this let me know, since the only way so far is to unplug the DC cable and plug it again.

    Quote from Sniperassault

    Last question: I was able to get the remote control to work(If it's usefull for someone the x96max toml file works perfectly) but I'd like to know if it's possible to turn the box on with the power button. I can easily turn it off or suspend with the remote, but I haven't found a way to turn it on or wake up. Not even with the keyboard i can wake up the box. If there is any fix for this let me know, since the only way so far is to unplug the DC cable and plug it again.

    Your remote's factory_code and power key code must be included in the u-boot suspend-fw (bl301). Find them and post them here.

    I had already found the power key code, but I don't know (or didn't understand) how to find the Factory_code. This is how i got the power key code which i assume that is 0x140:

    1046.823517: lirc protocol(nec): scancode = 0x140

    1046.823692: event type EV_MSC(0x04): scancode = 0x140

    1046.823692: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_down: KEY_POWER(0x0074)

    1046.823692: event type EV_SYN(0x00).

    1046.956640: event type EV_KEY(0x01) key_up: KEY_POWER(0x0074)

    1046.956640: event type EV_SYN(0x00).

    Sniperassault

    I added a link in #43 above. If the vendor custom code matches, you'll be able to wake the box from deep sleep by double-pressing the power button. The easiest way to find the custom code is from the original remote.conf file, which you unfortunately don't have, or from the Android kernel log (the output of the meson-ir driver). You don't have that either.

    Yeah its works for power on and wake up the box! But there is a bug... When I put the box into suspend mode and go to wake up the box, it gets stuck on a green screen. Kodi continues to work because I can still hear audio from the TV.

    Could it be because I'm using the Nightly build?


    PD: Could you tell me what the Factory_Code was? So I can keep it just in case.

    Thanks Bumerc! I'm going to try the stable build to see if it fixes it. Likewise, if I turn it off, it can be turned on without any problems. As long as that works, I'm happy:)

    Post update: I tried the 12.90.1 and 12.2.0 build and i still have the same bug. I'm reporting this in case this bug is also present on other boxes. I personally can live with that so no problem for me XD.

    Also i noticed that with this u-boot (or maybe because now i use the p281.dtb instead the tx3 mini?) I have more RAM available. Before, it appeared I had 1GB. Now, it shows 2GB.

    What build do you recommend for daily use? I was thinking of giving the box to my dad, since he has an old non-smart LED TV, and it will be useful for him to watch movies and series on it.

    Edited 2 times, last by Sniperassault (October 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM).

    Quote from Sniperassault

    Also i noticed that with this u-boot (or maybe because now i use the p281.dtb instead the tx3 mini?) I have more RAM available. Before, it appeared I had 1GB. Now, it shows 2GB.

    What build do you recommend for daily use? I was thinking of giving the box to my dad, since he has an old non-smart LED TV, and it will be useful for him to watch movies and series on it.

    Oh, that's confusing. I'm assuming it's u-boot (although both recognize 2048mb), since the 'memory' node is the same for tx3 mini and p281 dtb (1024mb). Only in VIM1 dtb is the 'memory' node = 2048mb.
    So if you were to use AML-u-boot again, the dtb 'memory' node should be corrected to 2028mb. But anyway, ask chewitt if he would add a p281_2g dtb for your device.
    Since I haven't used LE/CE for several years, I can't really recommend anything, but I would still switch to the builds with the latest kernel and Kodi. Oh yes, I partially retract post #38 :)

    • Best Answer

    Mainline u-boot overwrites the 'memory' node in device-tree with what it detected, so 1MB is corrected to 2MB, whereas Amlogic u-boot uses the value described in device-tree, hence all the 1g/2/3g dtb variants you find in vendor kernel sources.