Factory Reset Failed - Dead Box??

M

Martink0646

Member
Hi All,

I've had my U1 for a few years & it has been a faithful servant. Had some problems with Kodi that appear box related (not Kodi) or OS related (i.e. 5.1.1 being too old). Before I put it out to pasture or re-purpose it I thought I would try a factory reset & install what I needed to.

I chose 'factory rest' & 'erase everything'. The box now has the blue 'Power' led on but there a blank screen is showing. I have tried the hard reset method with a pin in the hole underneath but nothing...

I am using an HDMI switch so I bypassed that & still nothing. The strange thing is that there seems to be some signal as when I power the U1 on, the HDMI splitter auto switches to the U1's input but I supose that may just be a voltage being detected on the HDMI cable, I'm not an expert on how that works.

Has anyone got any ideas or suggestions before I throw it away? I was on the latest firmware.

Thanks.

MartinK
 
Martink0646 said:
Hi All,

I've had my U1 for a few years & it has been a faithful servant. Had some problems with Kodi that appear box related (not Kodi) or OS related (i.e. 5.1.1 being too old). Before I put it out to pasture or re-purpose it I thought I would try a factory reset & install what I needed to.

I chose 'factory rest' & 'erase everything'. The box now has the blue 'Power' led on but there a blank screen is showing. I have tried the hard reset method with a pin in the hole underneath but nothing...

I am using an HDMI switch so I bypassed that & still nothing. The strange thing is that there seems to be some signal as when I power the U1 on, the HDMI splitter auto switches to the U1's input but I supose that may just be a voltage being detected on the HDMI cable, I'm not an expert on how that works.

Has anyone got any ideas or suggestions before I throw it away? I was on the latest firmware.

Thanks.

MartinK
Click to expand...

Edited: OP had already factory reset his device, (missed that lol).

There's no guarantees, but the trick at the link I'll paste in below may also work with your U1 to re-flash the firmware as @Marty has suggested without losing all of your existing settings & data as well. (Certainly worth a try given that the alternative will wipe everything.)

Details here... https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/minix-u9-h-wont-start.1707/page-3#post-17497

The U1 firmware itself & full instructions for the use of the USB burning tool guides are here (respectively).

https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/neo-u1-install-the-firmware-with-the-burning-tool.177/

https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/neo-u1-013fw.44/

Let us know how you get on, or if you need additional assistance ;).
 
Last edited:
Martink0646 said:
Hi All,

I've had my U1 for a few years & it has been a faithful servant. Had some problems with Kodi that appear box related (not Kodi) or OS related (i.e. 5.1.1 being too old). Before I put it out to pasture or re-purpose it I thought I would try a factory reset & install what I needed to.

I chose 'factory rest' & 'erase everything'. The box now has the blue 'Power' led on but there a blank screen is showing. I have tried the hard reset method with a pin in the hole underneath but nothing...

I am using an HDMI switch so I bypassed that & still nothing. The strange thing is that there seems to be some signal as when I power the U1 on, the HDMI splitter auto switches to the U1's input but I supose that may just be a voltage being detected on the HDMI cable, I'm not an expert on how that works.

Has anyone got any ideas or suggestions before I throw it away? I was on the latest firmware.

Thanks.

MartinK
Click to expand...
It could be related to your post here...
https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/4k-settings.2729/post-21045

Have you been messing with resolutions?
 
Hi.

Quick question...Do I have to use the OTG because I don't have a USB 'A' to USB 'A'. I have loads of USB 'A' to USB 'B':mad:. Can I use a USB 'A' to USB micro', bypassing the OTG cable?

MartinK
 
Villa said:
It could be related to your post here...
https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/4k-settings.2729/post-21045

Have you been messing with resolutions?
Click to expand...

I haven't been 'messing' with resolutions but I think I see where you're going with this. I have reset the U1 & I am trying to view it on a 4K display. I have selected the correct HDMI input & the screen is blank even though the HDMI switch is sensing 'something'. I'm pretty sure that the screen would show any signal being output by the U1 from 480p up to 2160p.

After a reset what is the default output or does it depend on (sense) the display it's being output to?

MartinK
 
Martink0646 said:
I haven't been 'messing' with resolutions but I think I see where you're going with this. I have reset the U1 & I am trying to view it on a 4K display. I have selected the correct HDMI input & the screen is blank even though the HDMI switch is sensing 'something'. I'm pretty sure that the screen would show any signal being output by the U1 from 480p up to 2160p.

After a reset what is the default output or does it depend on (sense) the display it's being output to?

MartinK
Click to expand...
try hot unplugging the hdmi cable and then re plugging at the minix end
 
Villa said:
That is the cable you are supposed to use!

If you do not have the MINIX supplied cable then any Data cable should be OK.
If it is a charge only type then it will not work.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I have the Minix OTG cable but I have no way of connecting my PC to the U1 as I don't have a male USB 'A' to male USB 'A' cable which I would need.

What I do have is a USB 'A' to micro USB which would fit into the OTG port on the U1. If I plugged that in I could obviate the need for a cable I don't have.

I was asking if this would work as I have no knowledge of what an OTG cable does? Is it a simple converter or does it add anything/change the signal in anyway?

MartinK
 
Martink0646 said:
Hi.

Quick question...Do I have to use the OTG because I don't have a USB 'A' to USB 'A'. I have loads of USB 'A' to USB 'B':mad:. Can I use a USB 'A' to USB micro', bypassing the OTG cable?

MartinK
Click to expand...

Martink0646 said:
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I have the Minix OTG cable but I have no way of connecting my PC to the U1 as I don't have a male USB 'A' to male USB 'A' cable which I would need.

What I do have is a USB 'A' to micro USB which would fit into the OTG port on the U1. If I plugged that in I could obviate the need for a cable I don't have.

I was asking if this would work as I have no knowledge of what an OTG cable does? Is it a simple converter or does it add anything/change the signal in anyway?

MartinK
Click to expand...

YES!! A normal "data" micro USB cable should also work fine. If it's just a charging cable it won't work. (Some do sometimes find that certain cables may not work, however. Should that happen, try another if you have more than one data micro USB cable available.)

Martink0646 said:
I haven't been 'messing' with resolutions but I think I see where you're going with this. I have reset the U1 & I am trying to view it on a 4K display. I have selected the correct HDMI input & the screen is blank even though the HDMI switch is sensing 'something'. I'm pretty sure that the screen would show any signal being output by the U1 from 480p up to 2160p.

After a reset what is the default output or does it depend on (sense) the display it's being output to?

MartinK
Click to expand...

FYI... I have multiple U9-H's that are ordinarily absolutely fine without any problems from them at all. (Yes, I know it's not a U1 but the two devices are pretty closely related.) However, for some inexplicable reason one of them would frequently do the exact same thing but only when connected via an AVR, (obviously with the capability of switching to different HDMI inputs). A re-flash was required each time it happened & the device was immediately restored, albeit wiped.

(Eventually, I swapped my U9-H's around so the device that repeatedly did this was used with a direct connection to another TV & none of them have done it again ever since.)

My point is, that as long as you have your U1 connected via your elaborate system of HDMI splitters/matrix or HDMI to ethernet adapters, there's a chance you might end up seeing this very problem crop up repeatedly. (Something to do with the HDMI switching itself was definitely part of the cause & I experienced it repeatedly until I did swap my devices around but I'm guessing you don't have multiple U1's to shuffle them about too.)

Once you've got the device back up & running with a firmware flash this time, & if it should happen again in the future, next time try this trick & it may get you straight back into the device otherwise intact ;)......

.... https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/minix-u9-h-wont-start.1707/page-3#post-17497
 
OK, so I've connected the U1 via a micro USB cable. I am not sure if it is connected as nothing is showing in 'Explorer'. To test the cable I connected an Android tablet & that showed in Explorer so it is a data enabled cable.

Should the U1 show in Explorer on the PC? If it doesn't (and I know the cable is fine) then does this mean the U1 is dead? Is there any other way to check?

Thanks again.

MartinK
 
Martink0646 said:
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I have the Minix OTG cable but I have no way of connecting my PC to the U1 as I don't have a male USB 'A' to male USB 'A' cable which I would need.

What I do have is a USB 'A' to micro USB which would fit into the OTG port on the U1. If I plugged that in I could obviate the need for a cable I don't have.

I was asking if this would work as I have no knowledge of what an OTG cable does? Is it a simple converter or does it add anything/change the signal in anyway?

MartinK
Click to expand...
You were very clear! :)

You use the USB A to Micro USB only. You do not use the short OTG adapter cable.
 
ArcticWolf said:
YES!! A normal "data" micro USB cable should also work fine. If it's just a charging cable it won't work. (Some do sometimes find that certain cables may not work, however. Should that happen, try another if you have more than one data micro USB cable available.)



FYI... I have multiple U9-H's that are ordinarily absolutely fine without any problems from them at all. (Yes, I know it's not a U1 but the two devices are pretty closely related.) However, for some inexplicable reason one of them would frequently do the exact same thing but only when connected via an AVR, (obviously with the capability of switching to different HDMI inputs). A re-flash was required each time it happened & the device was immediately restored, albeit wiped.

(Eventually, I swapped my U9-H's around so the device that repeatedly did this was used with a direct connection to another TV & none of them have done it again ever since.)

My point is, that as long as you have your U1 connected via your elaborate system of HDMI splitters/matrix or HDMI to ethernet adapters, there's a chance you might end up seeing this very problem crop up repeatedly. (Something to do with the HDMI switching itself was definitely part of the cause & I experienced it repeatedly until I did swap my devices around but I'm guessing you don't have multiple U1's to shuffle them about too.)

Once you've got the device back up & running with a firmware flash this time, & if it should happen again in the future, next time try this trick & it may get you straight back into the device otherwise intact ;)......

.... https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/minix-u9-h-wont-start.1707/page-3#post-17497
Click to expand...

Thanks. the "Once you've got the device back up & running" is the issue :)

Oh well, I was looking for an excuse to buy an Nvidia Pro although they seem to be rarer than rocking horse s**t at the moment.

MartinK
 
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