Huck's Journal of Sorts

EDIT: Replaced download link with a fixed version as the previous one had a seemingly-intact yet broken boot.img that works fine at first glance, but would cause an error message if you attempt to perform an OTA update. Alright, I'm sure some of you may remember the now-infamous guide on how to turn that LeapFrog Epic demo unit you bought off eBay into a fully-functional device last year. It did work well by all intents and purposes, even going so far as being able to connect to LeapFrog services and download apps off their store, but the problem here is it relied on a method involving a workaround using a modified demo ROM, and the hidden Write Memory feature in SP Flash Tool (The secure boot feature in some MediaTek devices actually has this loophole where most critical system images e.g. boot and recovery are checked if they're properly signed on bootup, but system isn't for whatever reason, likely due to FOTA updates or something). Not to mention that the modifie...

Right now I am currently looking for the following devices to aid in servicing LeapFrog Epics: I honestly don't know if this would actually help with the locked bootloader situation we're having with LeapFrog, but I do have at least some hope on circumventing the restriction they somehow implemented. I understand if they did lock down the device somewhat for security's sake, but this basically left hobbyists, especially those who have been working with LeapFrog devices, in the dark, just as when kernel sources are available upon request. I know this sounds a bit embarrasing for me to ask for something from you guys, but if anyone is willing to spare a dime or two, please let me know so I can continue on helping parents like you and fellow hackers alike.

EDIT: If you have any inquiries or are getting stuck with updating the ROM, kindly let me know either on the LeapFrog Epic Guy page on Facebook, or on my personal Facebook account .  ...or as what I call it, KermitMod. :P My previous post about the Epic was quite a mouthful, but here's a link to the edited ROM for ex-demo units to be converted to retail. I basically had to edit the demo firmware to work around the issue of the bootloader being locked, preventing ROM backups from other Epics to be flashed through normal means. https://mega.nz/#!cuhHFYTC!GC6wU1MxDybNX_tU50aMpHbFnb3TjAh5dVaWn_cNj8Y As what I wrote earlier, this ROM has to be flashed using a feature tucked away in SP Flash Tool, i.e. Write Memory. You can't flash this as you would with any MediaTek device, as it would give out an authentication error. A bonus feature I added for this is support for Google Play services, allowing owners of ex-demo units to download content off Google Play Store like YouTu...

EDIT 2: This tutorial is now outdated and will not work on Epic Academy Edition demo units. See this post for an updated method. EDIT: If you have any inquiries or are getting stuck with updating the ROM, kindly let me know either on the LeapFrog Epic Guy page on Facebook, or on my personal Facebook account . I've been getting a lot of inquiries lately from parents asking how does one convert a store demo unit to a retail one. Apparently a number of Epics, mine included, were sold on eBay, Craigslist and other classifieds, are programmed with a demo ROM meant for displays on Toys R Us, Best Buy, Fry's or whatever outlet these things are sold. The real caveat here is this: the boot loader is locked, making straightforward ROM flashing mostly impossible (hence why I wrote an open letter to LF asking if they can provide an unlocked bootloader). Now before you lose hope and say "Oh this is a waste of $50! Why did I even buy this crappy toy?", there is actually ...

EDIT: If you have any inquiries or are getting stuck with updating the ROM, kindly let me know either on the LeapFrog Epic Guy page on Facebook, or on my personal Facebook account . OK, so a bit of a rant, though for one I gotta give LeapFrog some credits to this. Sure, repairs are a service centre away, and the main market for this device are kids and their parents, but what about the more tech-savvy parents (e.g. geeks or tinkerer types) who'd certainly re-purpose or service their kids' Epics either because it broke down or gone on a boot loop for some reason? You see the main thing with this is the preloader, or other words the bootloader, is locked from tampering, making it next to impossible to use custom ROMs or kernels. You can somehow subvert this by editing just the system.img offline assuming you extracted it off your device, or in the case of backups, backing up the whole ROM image, boot/recovery and other images included, to a single ROM_0 file, and flas...

Felt like sharing this as most of them South Asian GSM bloggers are, suffice it to say, being scrooges or something, asking for $$$ to have the firmware package's password to be unlocked as a rather low-brow way to earn money. Not that I have anything against them, mind you, but as I said on my previous post, this business model of theirs only serves to inconvenience both clients and technicians alike.     I dumped this off my Galaxy S7 clone, a few weeks or so after I got the phone off the service centre when they repaired it as I made the unfortunate mistake of flashing the wrong ROM. It should work with certain Galaxy S7 replicas using preloader_gxq6580_weg_l.bin as the preloader; mine's the one with the plastic frame and the microphone pin on the wrong side of the device. Firmware info: CPU: MT6580 SW:0000 Ver: CA00 Downloading Boot8 ... EMMC Size: 0x01C3000000 Flash Type: EMMC INT/EXT RAM  Size: 0x0+0x0 Reading infr(EMMC)... id:Z6U030HA_V105En ...

OK, this isn't to say that I have anything against those who maintain "GSM" repair sites and such, nor am I going to be too sour at them either. It's that if there's anything that truly grinds my gears when it comes to smart device servicing, it's the practise of locking down most if not all firmware RAR/ZIP files with a password, and charging people a fee to have that particular SP Flash Tool package unlocked. Let's say you, or your client, has an obscure Xperia clone bought off some flea market stall or on DHGate (assuming you managed to troll the Customs bureau or DHL). You, or that client of yours, forgot to back up the stock firmware, and out of haste managed to mess it up royally and ended up with a non-functional device. In the case of a name-brand, legitimate handset, it's only the matter of googling for "Lenovo A369i stock ROM" or something like that. Some lesser-known phones or tabs would understandably be harder to find firmwa...