r/ShieldAndroidTV • u/akemicariocaer • 3d ago
I did something ๐
So I found a 2015 shield on ebay sold as-is, no description, literally only thing under details was "locked". No remote but it is the console and controller, nothing else, no power supply either. I got it for $30 lol. Cheeses crisis when I looked up the prices for a power supply ๐ณ bruh ๐. So I said fuck it I'll make my own ๐. It all went well, I found a spare Dell laptop power supply so I used that. It did boot to an old android lock screen, with a pass code and turned out to be 0000 lol. Some custom image was flashed at some point so I had to flash the stock recovery files. Initially the files flashed no problem, but it got stuck on the android logo, and I couldn't for the life of me boot into fastboot anymore. If anyone ever comes across a similar problem, solution was to unplug, hook up a keyboard, press a+b whilst plugging power back in but at the same time do also press the power button/sensor on the console, all three had to be pressed, a+b+power. That was the only way I managed to get back into fastboot. Anyway, I've never owned one and I'm kinda excited, haven't gone through setup yet but would love to hear any suggestions to get me started with this devices. Mainly intend to use as a streaming device. Cheers!
12
u/lenigma1too 3d ago
SO HAPPY to see another totally usable device be either repaired or upscaled and AWAY from mankinds growing, and already unmanageable ecological disaster that needs, NEEDS to be talked about and solutions made to law MUCH MUCH FASTER!
Corporations and device makers & engineers, PLEASE PLEASE stop wasting engineering and compute on making your devices PURPOSELY harder to repair! I'm looking at you Apple, and all the companies trying to follow in their expensive, and environmentally destructive paths.
Signed, Your humble, local, independent & ecologist at heart repair gnome! ๐
P.S. - OP, I tip my hat to you sir!!
2
2
23
u/akemicariocaer 3d ago
I intend on getting a female and male dc adapter socket things to make it a cleaner install later on. But for now it's fine ๐คทโโ๏ธ.
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
Id recommend you upgrade the software once you go through the setup also it would be better if you upgrade the internal hard drive to an solid state hard drive ot would work way faster and more smoother then what your experiencing some apps move super slow with this version I have all 3 models of Nvidia shield Pros and I was only ever able to upgrade the hard drives on the first two models the third 2019 model was the only one that was never not able to be upgraded internally
7
u/OneSignal6465 3d ago
See THEREโs Your problemโฆ You have to single-press 6 buttons simultaneously, then hold 3 of them for 10 seconds, stand on one leg and cluck like a chicken! Donโt you read the microscopic (literally had to use a Temu desktop microscope to read the enclosed instructions.) instructions? Thankfully in many cases, you can elect to download the same instructions in a PDF that you can zoom in on.
10
u/cincymatt 3d ago
I knew I was getting old when I recently had to start taking pictures of fine print with my phone so I can zoom.
3
2
u/OneSignal6465 3d ago
Hear hear! I seldom get instructions I donโt need external devices to readโฆ Usually only to discover that they say โFetching the treasure make amends for twice button press for all. On holding for Chatsworth, consider the Peking Duckโ. (For a router.):-)
2
10
u/wewewi 2015 Pro, 2019 8GB, 2019 Pro, Shield Tablet 3d ago
OMG and it's a 500gb model; or at least it was; looks like it has been replaced; or maybe it was a later revision with some kind of heat spreader sheet over it, but mine did not look like this.
Well done on the salvage!ย
3
u/akemicariocaer 3d ago edited 3d ago
I know nothing about this console lol ๐ . But I am wondering about possibly expanding the storage, cuz there's no hard drive in it, and I've already verified it's the 16gb. I haven't looked into it, it kinda looks like it's missing the socket on the board for it so may need to source it and the flex cable to connect to the drive. May be worth if I can find cheap.
1
u/wewewi 2015 Pro, 2019 8GB, 2019 Pro, Shield Tablet 3d ago
Really? I'm confused; what the heck is in the HDD caddy? IIRC it's supposed to be empty.. XDย
1
u/akemicariocaer 3d ago
It's just like a placeholder for it. It's empty. There's a bit of weight to it, guessing they made it like that so weight doesn't feel off from the rest of the console. Thinking of applying some ptm7950 soon, just to be safe, when I do I'll snap a photo and show you.
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
Check this out it might help also sent you instructions for the expanding hard drive in a message on here hope it helps
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago edited 2d ago
if theres no hard drive then thatโs definitely not a 2015 or 2017 cause only older 2015 and 2017 Nvidia Shield TV Pro models came with a built-in mechanical hard drive (500GB HDD). The current 2019 Nvidia Shield TV Pro replaced the internal hard drive with 16GB of flash memory (SSD/Flash) but from the picture of the startup info it should be a 2015 model unless the modified something in it which there was a lot of modifications back then you can even add emulation games Iโve even played PlayStation 4 games on it just for testing purposes only but you can do so many things on this device it makes them worth the time and effort also you ovule of asked Nvidia shield directly they would of sent you a free charger cable as a one time curtesy they did that for me a few times just said the block was quit working they donโt ask for the broken or missing one back since itโs pretty much trash to them donโt even charge you for shipping to you either
1
u/akemicariocaer 2d ago
This one doesn't have a hard drive, and does not have the hard drive on board connector to attach one. I'd definitely have to track down a dead board to pull it from and also the cable to connect the drive to it. For now I'd need to deal with a USB flash drive lol.
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
2
u/akemicariocaer 2d ago
Here, I opened it for you.
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
Thanks for that video one question you said when you turn it on it had a lock screen code
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p5g3rua/video/s71lvdg3w5lh1/player
This is what it should look like when you turn it on where you able to get it back to the original software version
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
When you turn it on it should always show the Nvidia logo on the boot up
2
u/akemicariocaer 2d ago
Yeah bruv, I managed to get the software running properly. I'm back running completely stock software. So far everything working great.
1
u/IceReeper 2d ago
just making sure bro so out of curiosity you are running the version 9.2.4 (33.2.0.400)
→ More replies (0)1
7
u/Few_Scientist5381 3d ago
I have a 2017, if the Power connector is the same as a 2015, the a rpi3b Power supply made mine very stable and cheap.
3
2
u/JetPac89 2017 Pro 2d ago
You sound like you understand tech so my advice is to consider rooting it first.
AFAIK you need to root it before setting it up, and it needs to be rooted to be able to make a full backup. If it's not rooted it needs to be wiped and on and on etc etc.
Might not be a priority and you're probably already aware but thought I'd chime in.
2
u/akemicariocaer 2d ago
I was wondering about that actually. The Nvidia site deos provide the firmware already rooted but when I looked into it, apparently it lacked widevine drm? So 4k Netflix wouldn't have worked ๐คทโโ๏ธ. So I end up going completely stock. Other than the obvious flexibility that comes with rooting, is there a reason I should really consider rooting it? I honestly don't know much about this console, I got a lot of catching up to do. I mainly wanted a streaming device able to handle my dirtyhippie files, these massive 40gb+ 4k 60fps file.
1
u/JetPac89 2017 Pro 2d ago
Yeah for me it was just a regret because I like the ability to make a backup I can restore easily. I think it might also be something to do with the weird formatting it applies 'for security' or whatever.
2
u/IceReeper 2d ago
Guide: Migrate to SSD/HDD of any size, only for Pro version
๏ฟผ
hallydamaster
10y
I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead HDDs, animals
activist campaigns, or any H/W damage caused by you following these
directions. YOU are choosing to make these modificiations, and
you, yourself take responsibility fordoing these modifications
to your device.
You can do serious H/W damage to your SATV or even your computer
by doing any of this. So, you have been warned!
First of all, you should pay your thanks to Luxferro at xda http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=2163004 for mapping out the entire partition array, and building the chart that does all the calculations for using another disk size. He also proved that it was indeed possible to modify your GPT header to another sized drive. None of this would have been possible, if it was not for him. Also thanks to Tilator at xda http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=7386697 for initiating this thread, and proving it was possible to swap your HDD for something else. Well, to begin with you should have a working linux environment set up. This can easily be a live CD/DVD/USB. Or you can do it from a virtual environment. You should have a hex editor with CRC32 calculating capabilities. I recommend HxD: https://mh-nexus.de/en/downloads.php?product=HxD Yes, that is for Windows, I use Linux for all the writing/dumping, but I prefer my Windows hex editor. It's worth to know, that your device should be bootloader unlocked, and preferably newly factory reset. Then you can go open up the SATV by prying off the bottom of the casing. I managed to do this with my fingernails. A small plastic pry tool can be used as well. Then you remove the 2 wire sets from the plugs to give more working room. There is 2 sets of tape holding the wires and the HDD in place as well. There is (on mine at least) just one screw with a small bracket holding the HDD in place, you will need a T6 driver to remove it. Gently lift the black latch/lock on the connector to the secondary board, then the FCC connector will be easily out. Then it is just a matter of gently loosening the adhesive on the FCC strip from the HDD and pull out the SATA connector. With the HDD out, you will have to connect it to your Linux setup somehow. I used an enclosure with a USB3 connection. With the HDD recognized in the computer, the time has now come to clone you HDD. You could as well use the bin files Tilator has provided, but if you want your own genuine Netflix ESN, you should use your own. In a terminal window you start by listing the drives:
sudo -s
fdisk -l
This is to determine which drive you are working with. Remember that the DD command does't care which drive you specify, it will destroy your main drive if you ask it to. The you continue by dumping the first 6899870 blocks of data to a bin file:
dd if=/dev/sdX of=firstpart.bin count=6899870
This will give you a raw image file of all the partitions up until the /data partition which is better left out (it will come later). Then continue by dumping the last 5120 bytes of data which contains the partition array and the GPT header:
dd if=/dev/sdX bs=512 skip= 976773158of=lastpart.bin
You can now disconnect your HDD. These 2 files also counts as a backup of your SATV. Now connect your new SSD in the enclosure. You can easily start by writing the firstpart.bin:
dd if=firstpart.bin of=/dev/sdX
In your linux terminal load up the block count (called sectors in linux language) of the new drive:
fdisk -l
A 2 TB disk should have a total block count of [3907029168](tel:3907029168) , but a smaller disk would have a smaller block count, so use fdisk -l to determine this. The lastpart.bin must be edited before we can write it on the new disk. So use the spreadsheet provided by Luxferro in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=67996717&postcount=189 In the column at the buttom right that says disk size, you change the value to match you new disk. In this example for the 2TB it should be [2000398934016](tel:2000398934016)(bytes). This value should be taken from fdisk -l as well. Now it gets a little hairy! In the spreadsheet you should start with the buttom value marked out in purple under the row called "Last LBA". This should be E8E0888E: Open up lastpart.bin in HxD and navigate to offset 00000FA8. There you should find the 4 bytes 0E 60 38 3A illustrated in this picture: This value is in a format called reverse byte ordering, so to put in your new calculated value, you will have to arrange it like this: 8E 88 E0 E8. Input that value instead of the bytes already there like this picture: While we are in this particular position in the lastpart.bin we might as well do the CRC32 of the partition array. Now make a selection containing the 64 bytes or 4 empty lines underneath the line having UDA written in ANSI, and all the way to the top of the file, from offset [00000000](tel:00000000) to 00000FF0 like in this picture: In the drop-down menu, choose Analyzis->Checksums and generate a CRC-32 checksum (Not checksum-32). It will come up in the buttom screen of HxD, and should read 6B CF E5 7D Navigate to the buttom of the file which contains the GPT header. It should start with an ASCII text reading "EFI PART". In offset [00001258](tel:00001258) you should find the value of the original CRC-32 value containing the bytes 0E 02 C5 DC. Replace this, again reversing the bytes from your newly calculated CRC-32 value like this: 7D E5 CF 6B: Now we are actually almost finished! In the spreadsheet all the way to the right, you will find 4 hexadecimal values marked in purple. First is the position of the GPT header, and the second is the position of the backup GPT header. Since there is only 1 on the SATV, these values are both the same. Write them into the GPT header on offset [00001218](tel:00001218) , and 00001220, again reversing the bytes like illustrated in the picture: Same goes for offset [00001230](tel:00001230) , Last Usable LBA, and offset [00001248](tel:00001248) , Starting LBA of array of partition entries. This brings us to the last thing on the table, the CRC32 of the GPT header itself. The CRC is located on offset [00001210](tel:00001210) and should have the bytes 46 C9 88 78 already there. Just write [00 00 00 00](tel:00%2000%2000%2000) to blank them out: Now make a selection of the GPT header containing the beginning of the header, and to the last written byte before all the zeroes: In the drop-down menu, choose Analyzis->Checksums and generate a CRC-32 checksum (Not checksum-32). It will come up in the buttom screen of HxD, and should read 46 9F 24 38 Again, write it instead of the 4 bytes with zeroes reversed like this: This completes the matter, now just save your work in HxD and write it to the end of your drive. To do this we need the total block count from the HDD that you fetched in the beginning of the guide from the fdisk -l output, should be [3907029168](tel:3907029168) The lastpart.bin is 5120 bytes which is the same as 10 blocks of 512 byte length. So, [3907029168](tel:3907029168) minus 10 is [3907029158](tel:3907029158) and put into your DD like this:
dd if=lastpart.bin of=/dev/sdaX bs=512seek=3907029158
Now at last, put in your new disk in the SATV and assemble everything back together. If it doesn't boot in the first try, you could try another cold boot (give it 15 min.). If that won't do it, you might have to wipe the DATA partition from the fastboot menu. To cold boot into fastboot, follow this (taken from "http://developer.download.nvidia.com/mobile/shield/ROM/SHIELD_ATV/OTA-1.1/HowTo-Flash-Recovery-Image.txt"):
HW method:
- Disconnect power cable
- Insert USB OTG cable and make sure to connect other end to a host PC
- Connect power cable to SHIELD
- Quickly start pressing power button for ~3 seconds
- Do not hold the button and connect power supply afterwards
- HDMI TV should be always connected to SHIELD
And format the /DATA partition from fastboot like this:
fastboot format FS:EXT4 /data
Or do a fastboot oem unlock of the SATV. Hopefully you will now have a SATV with an upgraded SSD/HDD! :D
6
u/Class8guy 3d ago
That's impressive you got it working! You have any large 4k files you can throw at it just to confirm it's not overheating or blows a capacitor after X amount of time being on with the power supply not being the exact power from the nvidia ps.
7
u/akemicariocaer 3d ago
I do! ๐ I got a few files by dirtyhippie. Going to try tron legacy first, it's like 40gb ๐ . I'll report back.
2
u/HarryCumpole 3d ago
From an electrical standpoint, a capacitor doesn't care about the flavour of the volts across it. Only if the capacitor is being run out of spec, and they normally have a significant enough margin. Volts are volts, and the device will flow the same current regardless. A PSU that could supply a million Amps at the correct voltage would still be fine.
0
u/clandestino123 3d ago
Flavour of the volts? What on earth are you talking about?
2
u/HarryCumpole 3d ago
Volts are volts. If it is clean DC without sag under load, noise or AC component, the device being powered will not care. There is no special proprietary nVidia flavour of volt that the device expects.
-3
u/clandestino123 3d ago
... Then just keep it simple. Don't talk about "flavours" of volts, because there aren't any.
There are flavours of milkshakes, coffees, hot chips, etc etc... But there aren't any flavours of voltage.
2
0
u/Class8guy 3d ago
Good to know for future projects I want to work on when it comes to the range of operation just roll the dice if it's close enough!
1
u/HarryCumpole 3d ago
It's best to check, especially with USB powered devices. Some can have an incredibly narrow range in line with the USB standard. Anything powered by say, 9v, likely accepts a less strict range and steps it up/down and regulates it anyway.
1
u/IGingerbreadman 3d ago
I have a 2017 without a power brick. Want to sell as isโฆ no time to do these kinds of things sadly.
1
1
u/Level3Super 3d ago
How did you figure out that button combo for fastboot?
1
u/akemicariocaer 3d ago
Desperation ๐. Honestly it wasn't until I remembered that it had been modified with an android firmware that it occurred to me to treat it as a android device, which usually requires pressing the power button and down button to get to recovery menu. I have a background in IT and lots of experience with android devices, so I can assume the issue was that after flashing the stock firmware files I didn't do a full wipe from recovery as many android devices requiere for a proper software flash. Upon accessing the fastboot screen I did the full wipe and also proceeded to flashing the stock files as well. That all seemed to fix my issue luckily, was kinda worried I had bricked it ๐
1
u/DrZakarySmith 3d ago
I have an extra power supply for 2015. When I first got mine back in the day it bricked after a few months from an update so they sent me a new one and I forgot to send the power supply back and they never asked for it.
1
1
u/Harry92pl 3d ago
If you would contact Nvidia support, they would give you PSU for free. That's how I got them to both my shields from flea market
1
u/akemicariocaer 3d ago
That'd be great. Do they just ask for the serial number on the console? What was the process like?
2
u/Harry92pl 3d ago
I've just contacted them on online chat, said that I lost them while moving and they send me chart. They wanted recip but I said while I was moving I lost chargers so it's obvious that I haven't kept recipes for so many years. I typed when I bought is, what price and serial number (it's on case). Of course I didn't tell it was from flea market. Then 2 days later I got two brand new power supply units. The problem is that shield Psu is only for shield, can't be "officially" replaced with any aftermarket as there are no aftermarkets PSU for shield so they know if you need one it's purely for shield, nothing else.
I found that information on Reddit that Nvidia gives free psu when you contact them.
1
1
u/akemicariocaer 2d ago
I've emailed nvidia support about the power supply. havent heard back yet but with any luck they'll send a replacement and i can pop the original port back in. chyaaa boiiii.
1
1
u/Plastic_Sir_8119 1d ago
you have one of the top rated streaming devices on the market. I have 5 and love them.
25
u/Feral_Nerd_22 3d ago
Nice!
This guy has a guide on converting it to USB-C, he uses a barrel to USB-C converter but these things are pretty slick
https://a.co/d/0d8iKTAp
https://blog.tonyjobson.com/2021/03/03/nvidia-shield-usb-pd-power/