@AndroidNewbie Do you have the image of the box?

@AndroidNewbie, what kind of help do you expect to receive?

@Ducdanh Nguyen, are you sure it was my modified update.zip (hint: open it with any archiver and see for file "wipedata.flag" - is it there?)? Are old settings and apps stays in place after flashing? Are update.zip located in root of sd card? If all answers is yes, then try to update using usb flash drive instead of sd card.

@Sergey Lepeshkinok

Hey @Sergey Lepeshkin, your information proved very helpful! I have a tv box in the same vein as yours, but mine is version Z01S-V13.3, so they probably revised it a little bit.

Thanks for finding the UART pins! I will try it out and post what I find! My objective here is to overclock it, install active cooling and a heatsink, and see how it runs some emulators.

Btw, quick question, performance wise the box would be faster on Armbian or Android? Thanks!

Well, this version of the PCB seems the most locked up of all. I tried ADB with all USBs, no dice, no root, i soldered the wires to the UART test pins (See image below) but with my setup (also see image below) i could not get any logs via TIO in Linux.
Also, the toothpick method does not shows a menu, but goes straight to updating, so ALSO there is locked up, so i cannot go to recovery.
Any ideas? i'm pretty out of ideas at this point.

Are the wires badly soldered? both shows 3.3V, so i suppose not.
Is my USB-To-TTL badly configured?

Btw, my PCB is Z01S-v13.3, 2025.05.20.

Any help is appreciated.

@Octavio Cuatrochio, your box is locked no more than others. ADB over USB doesn't work on all versions. su works only through uart console. Toothpick method is only for recovery from backup partition (so 'upgrade' is not really upgrade - it's reflashing from backup).

What to check:

1. Check you haven't shorted Tx and Rx to +3.3V. bus (trace between two test points).

2. Are Gnd's of the usb converter and tv box connected?

3. You have some switches on usb converter - what it is for? I/O voltage select?

4. Make sure you open serial port on PC with 115200 8n1 settings without hardware or software flow control.

5. 

7 hours ago, Octavio Cuatrochio said:

Are the wires badly soldered? both shows 3.3V, so i suppose not.

You've checked it while lines was free-floating or connected to usb converter? If last, make measurements without usb converter connected.

 

About performance of Android and Armbian: idk. Current Android firmware is 32-bit. But, according to datasheet, Hi3798MV310 have 64-bit core. So, if you manage to create 64-bit build of Android or Armbian, I suppose it should have slightly better performance.

Hey @Sergey Lepeshkin, thanks for the fast reply. I will check what you mentioned.

I was thinking, could i modify the recovery.zip from the recovery partition so when it reflashes it gives the box "su" rights? that would be via software and no need to connect wires. If my idea is not possible, i will keep trying with the UART.

Thanks for the advice.

@Octavio Cuatrochio, you need root privileges to modify any partition at runtime.

If you want to modify firmware, get update.zip to your PC, modify it, and flash using android's Settings->About->Local update.

Hey @Sergey Lepeshkin, i got the cable after 1-2 months now, i tried adb and all of them didn't regonize, only the middle port of the side, but i can't connect to it, it also beeps like theres a connection conflict, any solution? (There is no root on the board i tried using root detector and magisk), any help appreciated

 

EDIT:

here are the commands i tried:

C:\Users\UX305\Downloads\DUC DANH\6. CODING\ADB\platform-tools-latest-windows\pl
atform-tools>adb devices
List of devices attached


C:\Users\UX305\Downloads\DUC DANH\6. CODING\ADB\platform-tools-latest-windows\pl
atform-tools>adb connect 192.168.1.15
cannot connect to 192.168.1.15:5555: No connection could be made because the tar
get machine actively refused it. (10061)

C:\Users\UX305\Downloads\DUC DANH\6. CODING\ADB\platform-tools-latest-windows\pl
atform-tools>adb shell
adb.exe: no devices/emulators found

C:\Users\UX305\Downloads\DUC DANH\6. CODING\ADB\platform-tools-latest-windows\pl
atform-tools>

 

Edited December 28, 2025Dec 28 by Ducdanh Nguyen

As I said above, there is no usb otg functionality.

If you want shell as ordinary user - install any app which allows access to shell (I'm using "Admin hands" in local shell mode) on your tv box. In this mode 'su' refuses to escalate privileges.

If you want root access, you should connect using uart (see my messages above). You will get access to u-boot and android console. There you can execute 'su' and it will give you root privileges.

@Sergey LepeshkinThanks for the clarification.
Could you please recommend a specific USB-to-UART (3.3V TTL) adapter model that you know works well with this TV box?
A product name or chip (CP2102 / FT232RL / CH340, etc.) would be really helpful.

@Ducdanh Nguyen, virtually every adapter will work. I'm using DFRobot multiplexer v.1.0 (FT232R-based): https://wiki.dfrobot.com/Multi_USB_RS232_RS485_TTL_Converter__SKU_TEL0070_

@Sergey Lepeshkin it's been a while but could this work? it's a ft232rl usb to ttl

@Duc Yes, it should. Before connecting, switch it to 3.3V IO level.

@Sergey Lepeshkin thanks for the quick reply! i ordered it and pulled out the dtb, kernel, ram settings (hope this help building the armbian)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19oQF4U7VyI9lDBRBOuTHgxHQBjBO7cAt?usp=drive_link