Shield Android TV rooted

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runswithascript

runswithascript

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2012
160
6
Dublin
I have made some progress on this. I switched from Ubuntu 15.10 to Windows 10, and after seeing Fastboot had an unrecognised warning in device manager I installed a driver. I have now been able to boot into twrp, but I cannot navigate the menu to select install, it is not recognising the two mice and keyboards I have connected, although those same devices work fine if I boot normally into Android. The lights do not even turn on the mice and keyboards.

Any ideas?
 
TylerDurdenK

TylerDurdenK

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2009
413
23
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2, 10.1, 8.4
Google Pixel
I've followed the guide but get stuck here:

After typing "fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img" I am showed the nvidia logo for about 30 seconds then the shield just boots normally.

This is copied from my CMD window.

C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools>fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [ 0.922s]
booting...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.922s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

But it doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?
 
M

Miamijerry

Member
Mar 28, 2016
28
2
TylerDurdenK said:
I've followed the guide but get stuck here:

After typing "fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img" I am showed the nvidia logo for about 30 seconds then the shield just boots normally.

This is copied from my CMD window.



But it doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Depending on what image or version you currently have installed, I would try one of these TWRP;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tv/general/recovery-twrp-2-8-6-0-shield-tv-variants-t3140926
 
L

Lucky6909

New member
Apr 25, 2016
2
0
teletype said:
I just managed to get TWRP running on the new Shield console, and installed SuperSU successfully. Two caveats: the display is upside down, and the USB host ports don't work. I had to plugin a mouse via an OTG cable in order to interact with it. ETA: That's only an issue when booted to TWRP. Everything's working fine in the stock ROM after rooting.

Procedure:
- enable developer tools / USB debugging
- adb push supersu.zip /sdcard
- adb reboot bootloader
- fastboot oem unlock
- fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img
- unplug USB cable, connect mouse via USB, install SuperSU

TWRP boot image is attached. Off to explore...

EDIT: by request, some more detailed instructions:

  • On the Shield device, head to Settings -> About, and click "Build number" 7 times. This will enable Android's Developer options.
  • Go to Settings -> Developer options, and enable USB debugging.
  • Install the ADB/fastboot drivers and utilities if you don't already have them. When "adb devices" shows your Shield, you're good to go.
  • Download and extract recovery.zip from this thread.
  • Head to the SuperSU forum and download the latest version.
  • Open a command prompt and navigate to the directory where you downloaded everything. (Google this for your OS if you don't know how).
  • With the Shield still booted, run "adb push supersu.zip /sdcard" (change supersu.zip to appropriate file name). This will upload the SuperSU update zip to your device, which you'll install from TWRP.
  • If that worked fine, run "adb reboot bootloader". Your device should shut down, and display the Fastboot screen after a few seconds.
  • FOLLOW THE NEXT THREE INSTRUCTIONS AT YOUR OWN RISK. This WILL wipe all your user data, back it up with ADB first if you want to preserve it. DISCLAIMER #2: I have no idea if there are any DRM keys or anything that get wiped when this is done (this was the case on my Xperia Z3 Compact). I will say that Grid streaming still works fine after doing this.
  • This step will unlock your bootloader to enable booting unsigned images.
  • Run "fastboot devices" and make sure your Shield is visible.
  • Run "fastboot oem unlock" and follow the prompts on the screen. Your bootloader is now unlocked.
  • Now, boot the TWRP image with: "fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img" - Note: I used this instead of "fastboot flash" so I could keep the stock recovery around, to grab an image of it after rooting.
  • You should now see a TWRP recovery menu (upside down for now).
  • Connect a keyboard or mouse via OTG cable, and select "Install", navigate to your SuperSU zip, select it, and follow the prompts.
  • Click "reboot" and you should now be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


Hi,
I follow the procedure and arrive till> Connect a keyboard or mouse via OTG cable, and select "Install", navigate to your SuperSU zip, select it, and follow the prompts.
At this point the mouse or mouse doesn't respond.
Any ideas?

Thanks.
 
runswithascript

runswithascript

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2012
160
6
Dublin
My rooted Nvidia Shield Android TV is prompting me to install an OTA updated related to Shield accessories.

Can somebody please either edit this guide, or create a new one, that details step by step how to backup, install update, re-root (an already rooted shield), and then restore?
 
P

psxfan

Member
Sep 7, 2014
9
0
I have a 2015 version of Shield TV pro that was rooted, but the new 5.0 update removed the root...My question is: Do i have to unlock the bootloader again, or just go right to loading the TWRP and booting the recovery image? I'm asking because I want to restore the Root, but don't want to have to re-install all the apk's. Thanks!
 
D

darkuni

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2010
378
75
psxfan said:
I have a 2015 version of Shield TV pro that was rooted, but the new 5.0 update removed the root...My question is: Do i have to unlock the bootloader again, or just go right to loading the TWRP and booting the recovery image? I'm asking because I want to restore the Root, but don't want to have to re-install all the apk's. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Unlocking the bootloader is a one time thing (at least so far).

Rooted Android 6 -> OTA to Android 7 just fine (normally OTAs won't install if rooted - this one does)
Root is removed by the OTA but nothing else is touched
Re-Root using tutorial (following the "skip unlocking bootloader")
Profit :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: basheim, D-an-W and psxfan
P

psxfan

Member
Sep 7, 2014
9
0
darkuni said:
Unlocking the bootloader is a one time thing (at least so far).

Rooted Android 6 -> OTA to Android 7 just fine (normally OTAs won't install if rooted - this one does)
Root is removed by the OTA but nothing else is touched
Re-Root using tutorial (following the "skip unlocking bootloader")
Profit :)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know....
 
D

darkuni

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2010
378
75
g1dtf said:
Trying to re-root my 2015 after updating to 5.02 however when I type "Fastboot boot twrp.img" I am getting "data transfer failure" error and the shield reboots. I have tried pulling the USB after issuing the command but cant get it to boot into TWRP to install SuperSU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Your fastboot driver is either out of date, or the wrong driver is probably being used.

Go to FASTBOOT, then open Device Manager and find the fastboot driver. If it doesn't say "FASTBOOT" or "BOOTLOADER" in the name and says something like "ADB COMPOSITE", then change driver, choose from the list, find NVIDIA, and select ADB BOOTLOADER.

I saw this first hand when writing my tutorials.
 
  • Like
Reactions: D-an-W
T

tman777

Member
Dec 14, 2015
24
3
darkuni said:
Unlocking the bootloader is a one time thing (at least so far).

Rooted Android 6 -> OTA to Android 7 just fine (normally OTAs won't install if rooted - this one does)
Root is removed by the OTA but nothing else is touched
Re-Root using tutorial (following the "skip unlocking bootloader")
Profit :)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse



Would you happen to know WHAT is changed when you run "fastboot oem unlock"? Is it the "blob" file or the "boot.img" that contains the bootloader?

Also why does the bootloader remains unlocked when you get OTA or flash a retail recovery? You would think that updating would overwrite whatever contains the unlocked bootloader.


:
 
D

darkuni

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2010
378
75
tman777 said:
Would you happen to know WHAT is changed when you run "fastboot oem unlock"? Is it the "blob" file or the "boot.img" that contains the bootloader?

Also why does the bootloader remains unlocked when you get OTA or flash a retail recovery? You would think that updating would overwrite whatever contains the unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I will not profess to understanding what it does exactly. I do know that it is not something that is altered from an OS perspective - meaning nothing will ever lock it or unlock it; that HAS to be done consciously by a user.

Someone else might be able to give a more technical definition.
 
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victormetal92

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  • 27
    T
    teletype
    I just managed to get TWRP running on the new Shield console, and installed SuperSU successfully. Two caveats: the display is upside down, and the USB host ports don't work. I had to plugin a mouse via an OTG cable in order to interact with it. ETA: That's only an issue when booted to TWRP. Everything's working fine in the stock ROM after rooting.

    Procedure:
    - enable developer tools / USB debugging
    - adb push supersu.zip /sdcard
    - adb reboot bootloader
    - fastboot oem unlock
    - fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img
    - unplug USB cable, connect mouse via USB, install SuperSU

    TWRP boot image is attached. Off to explore...

    EDIT: by request, some more detailed instructions:

    • On the Shield device, head to Settings -> About, and click "Build number" 7 times. This will enable Android's Developer options.
    • Go to Settings -> Developer options, and enable USB debugging.
    • Install the ADB/fastboot drivers and utilities if you don't already have them. When "adb devices" shows your Shield, you're good to go.
    • Download and extract recovery.zip from this thread.
    • Head to the SuperSU forum and download the latest version.
    • Open a command prompt and navigate to the directory where you downloaded everything. (Google this for your OS if you don't know how).
    • With the Shield still booted, run "adb push supersu.zip /sdcard" (change supersu.zip to appropriate file name). This will upload the SuperSU update zip to your device, which you'll install from TWRP.
    • If that worked fine, run "adb reboot bootloader". Your device should shut down, and display the Fastboot screen after a few seconds.
    • FOLLOW THE NEXT THREE INSTRUCTIONS AT YOUR OWN RISK. This WILL wipe all your user data, back it up with ADB first if you want to preserve it. DISCLAIMER #2: I have no idea if there are any DRM keys or anything that get wiped when this is done (this was the case on my Xperia Z3 Compact). I will say that Grid streaming still works fine after doing this.
    • This step will unlock your bootloader to enable booting unsigned images.
    • Run "fastboot devices" and make sure your Shield is visible.
    • Run "fastboot oem unlock" and follow the prompts on the screen. Your bootloader is now unlocked.
    • Now, boot the TWRP image with: "fastboot boot twrp-2.8.6.0-shieldtv-unofficial.img" - Note: I used this instead of "fastboot flash" so I could keep the stock recovery around, to grab an image of it after rooting.
    • You should now see a TWRP recovery menu (upside down for now).
    • Connect a keyboard or mouse via OTG cable, and select "Install", navigate to your SuperSU zip, select it, and follow the prompts.
    • Click "reboot" and you should now be rooted.
    View
    7
    agrabren
    agrabren
    Quick warning for Pro owners: OEM Unlock takes about 92 minutes. Just be warned and ready for it...
    View
    4
    S
    Steel01
    Well, life has finally caught up to me. I need to take a break for a couple weeks. I may work on some small stuff during that time, but I won't be making any big pushes for anything. If somebody else wants to pick up and finish sooner, everything I've done is on Github. The patches against multirom are here (of interest are the ones with aarch64 in the name) and the repo can be used to build cm, twrp, and multirom (only twrp working, of course). The cm-12.1-mrom branch of the foster kernel has the attempt at a kexec patch. Don't know if it works because multirom hasn't worked right yet. Last I tried, the fdt patch didn't compile, so that might need reverted and fixed. CM is like I mentioned last post, no change there. And somehow, the twrp recovery image needs to slim down 3-4 MB. Probably easiest to trim the kernel and split the defconfig for cm and twrp.
    View
    4
    Z
    zulu99
    alwaysbless said:
    Doh instructions mean touch button on the shield itself lmao - I was thinking it was the controller smh. in the end i just hardware rebooted back into fastboot mode and now im trying to flash zulus custom system img to console. Not sure what step i missed as I followed instructions to a T just seems like after unlocking bootloader it was done for some reason.

    @zulu99 - I dled your system img of 125 mb and when i go to flash it only appears to be writing smaller size 64578 kb / 23221 kb).

    target reported max download size of 67108864 bytes
    erasing 'system'...
    OKAY [ 0.405s]
    sending sparse 'system' (64578 KB)...
    OKAY [ 1.563s]
    writing 'system'...
    OKAY [ 3.630s]
    sending sparse 'system' (23221 KB)...
    OKAY [ 0.583s]
    writing 'system'...
    OKAY [ 0.864s]
    finished. total time: 7.045s

    Also, when i follow your instructions for ./fastboot -w it just hangs there and does nothing (should it take 30+ min?).

    @op - I also tried booting and flashing twrp recovery linked in your first post and was unable to get into recovery using either method.

    I think imma just try and go back to the stock ota since not having much luck does anyone have any ideas how to flash that back via fastboot? Lollipop roms look much different so all Im seeing is a boot.img and this dat file which looks it probably has everything in due to its size but not sure what to do with it.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    The rar file is 245MB and when you extract the system.img the size of system.img is 665MB

    I think you have problem with your pc / usb otg cable, specially if the command fastboot -w, that just clear user data , not work.

    On shield is just little hard to go in bootloader mode:

    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

    The first day was hard to go in fastboot, wont to others devices, but after 2 or 3 times, all is simple and work well.
    I flashed my Shield millions times.


    So. The the important fact is that with full android firmware the device became really useful. Work very well and the hardware is strong.
    Specially you can have all android apps without limitations directly from Google Play.

    For the controller i can use it wired but with the trick above i can use it also from my couch. Tested many things and all work very well.

    But i repeat, this is just the start.

    https://goo.gl/ko3G4m

    I hope to see a specific thread for this device in xda forum so i can help better.
    View
    3
    D
    dongbot
    Not really sure where to put this since there's no Shield TV section but once you root it you can enable hardware mpeg-2 decoding pretty easily

    In an adb shell run the following:
    su -
    mount -oremount,rw /system

    download /system/etc/media_codecs.xml

    Add the following to the <decoders></decoders> section:
    HTML: 
            <MediaCodec name="OMX.Nvidia.mpeg2v.decode" type="video/mpeg2">
            <Feature name="adaptive-playback" />
        </MediaCodec>

    Re-upload the file to the device replacing the current one. Reboot the device and mpeg-2 decoding will be enabled. You can also do this for vc1 by adding the following:
    HTML: 
            <MediaCodec name="OMX.Nvidia.vc1.decode" type="video/vc1">
            <Feature name="adaptive-playback" />
        </MediaCodec>


    Your first version I used adb shell and just manually installed su from twrp so unsure if it worked as I don't have the proper cable for mouse control :(
    View

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