Thanks everyone, as explained above I tried everything and couldn't make it work. Getting the specifics of the machine (any android box) is not just the first thing to recovery, it's also the key to success. In my case it was impossible despite having the hardware with me, being able to read the chip ids, the processor, memory, etc. It was impossible, and I couldn't get a single picture on the web of an identical device.
Trying to make this thread useful to anyone facing the same situation with any Android TV Box, this is my contribution:
- Always try to get detailed reports on your device before flashing any rom or upgrading anything.
- Try to get as much information possible about your device on the web, put attention on getting the same, identical pictures and read other user experiences, remember there are many devices claiming to be X or Z model and that's not something you can trust, in many cases that's false.
- Always try to make a backup, one that would be useful if things fail (so copying your files to some USB doesn't mean you have a backup).
- Try to search and find the worst case scenarios and how people solved the issues, or if they couldn't solve it.
I did all that, I have flashed several different devices in the past, both by upgrade or flashing roms, also managed to reprogram small chips. Even so everything failed this time, how? why? Easy:
- I couldn't get detailed specs from the device. Sure I downloaded apps and checked the android specs on screen, well it turns out manufacturers can fake that, many devices out there that are SLOW and people try to upgrade them to light versions are actually SLOW because they don't have the claimed RAM memory, they can also fake other things like RAM type or processor. Sure some software can be more clever detecting hardware than other but just deal with the fact some cases are already a lost cause.
- Do not trust the printed specs and I'm not talking about the box, I'm talking about the info on the chips. Many manufacturers use their own codes, (I've worked electronics before) so you can't identify the parts, well they can also print fake specs on PCB and on the chips.
- Sometimes your backups might fail to be useful if you can't boot your machine in any way.
My device can't be identified, or the chips despite the printed letters. The original tools for backup didn't work (designed for that processor) claiming to be S905X, in fact the only TRWP that worked (out of many diff ones) was the S912, not the S905X despite whatever is printed on the chip. I tried a gazillion roms, both S905X and S912, none worked. Regardless of this many issues, some boxes do have only 512 of ram, if that's the case you are fried, most roms out there are for 1G RAM or more, 512 being a very rare case, mostly of fake specs.
Yes I tried the terminal, didn't work, I couldn't get anything there. Just wasted my time. I really tried everything.
The box was sent to the garbage after desoldering some useful parts like connectors.The end, it's garbage, it's gone. I now have an official X96 with 2G of ram, more space, really fast, awesome, everything works as expected. It's not my first Android Box but it's the one I love the most out of past experiences.
You can find detailed tutorials on how to flash devices, detailed tutorials on how to recover and unbrick, just remember: some devices are fake and you can't solve something unless you know what it really is, some OS can run on diff devices, some OS/Roms can only work on specific devices.
You have been warned, I didn't know about this "fake specs" being so common, now I know. Good luck and thanks for passing by.
