BETA. NOT OFFICIAL. LibreELEC 8.0.1 Kodi 17.1 Test T8 Mini

[ChrisM]

This 8.0.1 test firmware has now been replaced by a 8.0.2 test at https://droidboxforums.com/threads/beta-not-official-libreelec-8-0-2-kodi-17-3-test-t8-mini.10104

Text below is being kept for reference purposes


THIS UPDATE IS FOR THE T8 Mini.
Only a T8 Mini already updated to Android 6 can use this update. Please check your OTA Updates application first if you are still running Android 5
If you have a different device, do not follow the instructions in this thread, at best it won't work, at worst it could brick your device.
There is a similar thread for T8-S Plus v2 owners here - h**ps://droidboxforums.com/threads/beta-not-official-libreelec-8-0-1-kodi-17-1-test-t8-s-plus-v2.9380

Long term members will know the score, you can skip a paragraph or two...

This file is likely to be part of an OTA update in the near future. It is not yet official. If you do not want to factory reset your device, or don't have the time to report any issues found, please wait for our next official OTA update.

However, if you know what the Recovery menu is, how to access it, and are happy to help trace issues to their root cause, LibreELEC 8.0.1 with Kodi 17.1 is available for your DroidBOX T8 Mini.
The same file can be used on a T8-S Plus v2, see the thread linked to at the top.


File to download: h**ps://1drv.ms/u/s!AlRdlhGu3fjihkkI3piHPcIxo5qi

What to do:

• Copy the ZIP file (do not decompress it, you should only have one file called LibreELEC-DroidBOX.aarch64-T8Mini-8.0.1-update.zip to copy, and it should be just over 140Mb) to an SD memory card
• Turn your DroidBOX off and safely eject the card from your PC/Mac/other device, and insert the card in the DroidBOX T8 Mini memory card slot
• Holding down the Restore button on the right hand side (behind the USB socket), press the power button once to turn on the T8 Mini. DO NOT LET GO OF THE RESTORE BUTTON YET.
• Once you see the Recovery menu on screen, release the Restore button.
• Click on the "Apply Update from EXT" option.
• This time, click the "Update from sdcard" entry.
• Finally, click on LibreELEC-DroidBOX.aarch64-T8Mini-8.0.1-update.zip file
• Once the process completes, select the Reboot now option.

Changes I've noticed so far:
WiFi networks - when you head to the Connections area of the LibreELEC Configuration program add-on, you will need to select a network and click on refresh - nearby WiFi networks aren't shown by default here once you've connected to your own WiFi network.

Pulse CEC Adapter error message has returned


Let us know if you encounter any issues, the more detail the better.

edit: New url in place for download, is the same file still

 

[ChrisM]

You will also find a new system has been but in place to switch between Android and LibreELEC.
You can continue to use whichever method you prefer, but should you wish you can click the Menu button on your remote control (normally two or three horizontal lines) to switch to the other operating system when you boot up.

 

[John Holt]

I have installed update on my T8 Mini (Android 6) as described above. When I boot into LibreELEC I get the following message.....

NEVER TOUCH boot= in extlinux.conf / cmdline.txt!
If you don't know what you are doing,
your installation is now broken.

Normal startup in 60s...

Then it freezes as it tries to boot!
I have tried leaving it for some time, but it just hangs!
Have also done factory reset which makes no difference!
Any suggestions?

 

[ChrisM]

@admin Just the one report of this so far

@John Holt Would you mind flashing the ZIP again please, just in case this occurred during an issue with flashing the first time round.

 

[John Holt]

Have tried flashing zip again and it's still the same. Have even downloaded it again and copied it onto a different SD card with the same result.

 

[ChrisM]

Solution found. Sorry for the delay.

Open ES File Explorer.
Scroll down on the left and expand the last entry.
Turn on Root mode. Wait a few seconds before clicking anything, you'll likely get a request from SuperSU to grant ES File Explorer root priviliges, but it can take a few seconds to appear
Now expand the LOCAL menu on the left (towards the top).
Click the Device / entry
Open the SYSTEM folder
Open the PREINSTALL folder
Now delete the largest APKs. You can click the View entry towards the bottom to change the level of detail shown (so you can tell file size at a glance).

You can now return to Android's Recovery menu and flash the ZIP again.
LibreELEC has been growing in size, it looks like this update is just a little bit too big for some environments. Removing those APK files creates enough space.

 

[John Holt]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I seem to have lost root access. SuperSU says no binary is installed.
I used to have root, so I assume I lost it on the last update!
This means I can't remove the APK's from the PREINSTALL folder.
Any easy way of reinstating root access?

 

[ChrisM]

Can you drop us an email ( [email protected] ) please @John Holt with your order ID/full delivery address please? We'll get your device back to the original state, rooted.

 

[John Holt]

Thanks for your help. LibreELEC 8.0.1 installed and seems to be working ok. Will let you know if I have any issues!

 

[ptrtng]

Ok. Let me tell you how I reduced my droidbox to Recovery-Mode-Only-Mode

Droidbox T8-Mini
Hardware Revision: p200_2G (recovery says so)
Libreelec 7 Version: something with Kodi 16.1
Android Version: did NOT check. (I had the OTA app running before flashing though. It didnt report updates)

• - downloaded the file in the above notice: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlRdlhGu3fjihkkI3piHPcIxo5qi
• - saved it on a usb stick formatted vfat32
• - booted into recovery
• - installed from EXT
• - reboot

=>

• - Infinite LibreELEC boot screen
• - not reachable via LAN

"Well," I thought, "then at least I can try the new android update (T8-ota-20160416.zip)". I recall the exact moment. I knew it was a BAD idea:

• -booted into recovery
• - installed T8-ota-20160416.zip from usb
• - rebooted

=>

• - infinite Android boot screen flashing every 3 secs.

After that in recovery:

• - factory reset
• - wiped cache
• - reboot

=>

• boot-screen in both modes
• recovery is available.

Thats the current situation.

Another observation: A subsequent installation of LibreELEC-DroidBOX.aarch64-T8Mini-8.0.1-update
lead to a message telling, that the update was supposed to be for another droidbox. IIRC: T8-S Plus v2

I just now discovered this link:
https://droidboxforums.com/threads/...ini-ota-not-allowing-subsequent-updates.9146/

Do I suspect correctly, that I already had Android 6 on my device?

Could you point out a links to recover from here?

 

[ptrtng]

I just now discovered this link:
https://droidboxforums.com/threads/...ini-ota-not-allowing-subsequent-updates.9146/

Do I suspect correctly, that I already had Android 6 on my device?

Could you point out a links to recover from here?

• - downloaded ota id fix https://droidboxcloud.co.uk/index.php/s/DrUrGMBH1L2R2RT/download
• - reinstalled, T8-ota-20160416.zip
• - reinstalled LibreELEC-DroidBOX.aarch64-T8Mini-8.0.1-update

=> Infinite boot-loop / stuck

 

[ChrisM]

T8-ota-20160416.zip is an update for the original T8 model, rather than the T8 Mini.
Can you e-mail us ( [email protected] ) please with your order ID or the full delivery address and we'll get the right file sorted out for you to flash your device back to normal again hopefully.

 

[lordtoran]

I haven't updated to this build yet because of the report of a boot loop. One question: Is video postprocessing supported? On the older 7.0.3 build I don't seem to have that option in either the playscreen or in Kodi's acceleration settings, and some SD videos exhibit quite bad blocking and ringing artifacts without it.

 

[ChrisM]

@lordtoran I'm running a slightly different version of the test firmware right now, but I don't see the post-processing option there.
I've checked under Settings as well as the Video Settings area you can get to when a video is playing already.

You've already tried disabling acceleration/which codecs acceleration is used for?

 

[lordtoran]

I see I had enabled acceleration of MPEG4 for all resolutions, not just the default 720p and up. Going back to the default helped a bit with the image quality in low-bitrate videos. Disabling acceleration (amcodec) altogether indeed made the postprocessing option available but of course HD movies would stutter.

Generally, low-bitrate videos (also with unaccelerated codecs like WebM/VP8) seem to have slightly more artifacting (especially color blocking) in LibreELEC compared to Android (with vanilla Kodi 17.1). The postprocessing option is always there on Android even with acceleration enabled, and according to the wiki, it is supposed to reduce macroblocking.

 

[ChrisM]

Thanks for the feedback, will pass on.

 

[ChrisM]

Please switch to https://droidboxforums.com/threads/beta-not-official-libreelec-8-0-2-kodi-17-3-test-t8-mini.10104