Nova3 boot loop. Help needed

bbarou · 12-04-2023, 05:38 PM

Hi all,

I tried several times to reset my Nova3 using the factory wipe but it would not work.
There was always data and settings remaining.
So I booted in fastboot and issued the following commands :
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase cache.

The device is now stuck in a boot loop.
I can reliably enter fastboot again but I can't get it to enter recovery.

Any help is appreciated.

Renate · 12-05-2023, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbarou

fastboot erase userdata

I think that the "fastboot -w" (wipe userdata) is the better option.
It leaves you with a filesystem, vs. erased.

There are button gymnastics to get you to recovery.
They are arcane, so you may need to try a few times.
Press and hold the power button until it has an effect.
Keep holding for another 5-10 seconds or so.
Release the power button and press it five times and release.

Code:

_____________________ _ _ _ _ _

Just push the button around twice per second.
You don't have to get all frenetic.

Of course it's much easier to get the timing correct if you are monitoring the debug UART output.

bbarou · 12-05-2023, 08:16 AM

Thanks, I'll try when I get home.

I the meantime, I just read that magisk messes with recovery.
I''ll also reflash the original boot.img see if it' s any help.

Thanks for your help.

Renate · 12-05-2023, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbarou

I the meantime, I just read that magisk messes with recovery.

I think there are some occasions where that is true, but I believe all the Onyx just need the boot image.
I've got Magisk on my Poke5 and the recovery is stock.
Or was, until I modified it.

bbarou · 12-05-2023, 04:18 PM

I can't get the timing right apparently....
I'm kind of piss of at Onyx Boox right now, if only they provided the images I would sort it out already.

I reflashed the original boot image to no avail.
I also did fastboot -w, it reformated cache and userdata, but the problem persists

PS D:\Downloads\Android platform-tools> .\fastboot.exe -w
mke2fs 1.44.3 (10-July-2018)
Creating filesystem with 6298619 4k blocks and 1574880 inodes
Filesystem UUID: cca7ec32-939d-11ee-8a61-614a0cad8210
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
4096000

Allocating group tables: done
Writing inode tables: done
Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

mke2fs 1.44.3 (10-July-2018)
Creating filesystem with 65536 4k blocks and 65536 inodes
Filesystem UUID: ccb81882-939d-11ee-8f27-278f5ac42a76
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
32768

Allocating group tables: done
Writing inode tables: done
Creating journal (4096 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

Erasing 'userdata' OKAY [ 0.107s]
Sending 'userdata' (4272 KB) OKAY [ 0.029s]
Writing 'userdata' OKAY [ 0.006s]
Erasing 'cache' OKAY [ 0.083s]
Sending 'cache' (120 KB) OKAY [ 0.018s]
Writing 'cache' OKAY [ 0.012s]
Finished. Total time: 0.442s

Anyway, I'll just have to keep trying.
Thanks A LOT for your help. You wouldn't happen to have a recovery image for a NOVA3 by chance?

Renate · 12-06-2023, 06:59 AM

Recoveries are hard to come by because they are rarely updated.
If they work at all they leave it at that.
Your only chance is to have somebody who has EDL working or Magisk to pull a copy for you.
But why would you presume that there is a problem with your recovery?

Also, when you say "boot loop" do you mean that the device resets itself automatically or that it just stalls somewhere?

Since you can get to fastboot, what does either of this do?

Code:

fastboot reboot recovery
fastboot reboot-recovery

bbarou · 12-06-2023, 09:31 AM

By boot loop I'm mean it's stuck for hours with the progress bar.
If I long press the power button it just stops the progress bar and sit there (there no way I can tell if it's REALLY off).

I didn't say I think there a problem with my recovery, I just can't get it to boot into it. With a recovery image I could try fastboot boot recovery.img

I already tried fastboot reboot recovery / reboot-recovery, I just get the same boot screen with the progress bar as the normal boot.

Renate · 12-06-2023, 10:02 AM

I'm confused (my normal state).
I never see any "progress bars" on Onyx devices.
Is it trying to do factory reset?

Have you experience with EDL, Have you used an EDL cable? Does the Nova3 respect the EDL cable? Is this thing easy to take apart?

You've tried "fastboot boot boot.img"? You do have a boot image somewhere?

I'd use EDL to pull misc to see if it has some factory reset command in it that is failing.
You could wipe misc, but on A/B devices you might be digging yourself a deeper hole.

bbarou · 12-06-2023, 12:03 PM

The progress bar just above "Boox" on the boot screen:

Yes fastboot boot works.
I tried with 2 different official boot images and the same images but rooted. All with the same result.

I have no experience with edl but I manage twice, by chance, to boot to edl. I need to find suitable drivers for it though.
Apparently I was in 900e mode and not 9008.

ottischwenk · 12-06-2023, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renate

I'm confused (my normal state).
I never see any "progress bars" on Onyx devices.

Hmmm - download shows one, check shows one, update shows one

Renate · 12-06-2023, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Hmmm - download shows one, check shows one, update shows one

Oh, you're right.
It wasn't until recently (with the new payload updates) that I actual did an in-system update on my Poke5.
But since I downloaded the update on the desktop I only had the update progress bar.

bbarou · 12-06-2023, 01:01 PM

Sorry I onnly answered half your questions in my previous reply.

The Nova3 looks like a pain to open, there are no screws. Looks like I'd have to go and fetch the heat gun, I'd rather avoid it.

To my knowlege it is not an A/B device.
What's the purpose of the misc partition?

Renate · 12-08-2023, 06:39 AM

In older devices the misc partition is only for boot commands to recovery.
In newer devices it also stores A/B current slot information and retry counts.

Since you can get to fastboot:

Code:

fastboot getvar all
fastboot getvar current-slot

You shouldn't see any _a or _b and current-slot will be undefined.
If this is ok, then you are single slot and misc is very simple.

To boot to regular system:

Code:

fastboot erase misc
fastboot reboot

To boot to recovery:

Code:

fastboot flash misc misc-rec
fastboot reboot

But if recovery is broken you could get stuck in broken recovery.

Just rename this file.

Renate · 12-09-2023, 02:56 PM

So, on the 5X power thingie...
I bricked my Poke5 and tried to do it. I couldn't.
So I soldered back the UART to look how the timing went.
So here it is:

Your device is bricked.
You press power until it reacts, then release it.
Your device flashes twice and shows the Onyx logo screen.
Your devices starts to flash again.
Press and hold the Power button for 3 seconds.
The logo screen should have gone all white.
Now release and press 5X power.

jljtgr · 12-10-2023, 08:48 PM

It would have been nice if the pogo-pins (on devices that have them?) could enter the extra modes like on Android phones. Most things see them as volume keys, so why not?

Even after getting the power button combo working several times months ago... I would not look forward to having to do it again.

12-04-2023, 05:38 PM	#1
bbarou Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: PRS-T1, Boox Nova3	Nova3 boot loop. Help needed Hi all, I tried several times to reset my Nova3 using the factory wipe but it would not work. There was always data and settings remaining. So I booted in fastboot and issued the following commands : fastboot erase userdata fastboot erase cache. The device is now stuck in a boot loop. I can reliably enter fastboot again but I can't get it to enter recovery. Any help is appreciated.

12-06-2023, 06:59 AM	#6
Renate Wizard Posts: 2,319 Karma: 9999999 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5	Recoveries are hard to come by because they are rarely updated. If they work at all they leave it at that. Your only chance is to have somebody who has EDL working or Magisk to pull a copy for you. But why would you presume that there is a problem with your recovery? Also, when you say "boot loop" do you mean that the device resets itself automatically or that it just stalls somewhere? Since you can get to fastboot, what does either of this do? Code: fastboot reboot recovery fastboot reboot-recovery

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12-05-2023, 08:16 AM	#3
bbarou Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: PRS-T1, Boox Nova3	Thanks, I'll try when I get home. I the meantime, I just read that magisk messes with recovery. I''ll also reflash the original boot.img see if it' s any help. Thanks for your help.

12-05-2023, 04:18 PM	#5
bbarou Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: PRS-T1, Boox Nova3	I can't get the timing right apparently.... I'm kind of piss of at Onyx Boox right now, if only they provided the images I would sort it out already. I reflashed the original boot image to no avail. I also did fastboot -w, it reformated cache and userdata, but the problem persists PS D:\Downloads\Android platform-tools> .\fastboot.exe -w mke2fs 1.44.3 (10-July-2018) Creating filesystem with 6298619 4k blocks and 1574880 inodes Filesystem UUID: cca7ec32-939d-11ee-8a61-614a0cad8210 32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 4096000 Allocating group tables: done Writing inode tables: done Creating journal (32768 blocks): done Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done mke2fs 1.44.3 (10-July-2018) Creating filesystem with 65536 4k blocks and 65536 inodes Filesystem UUID: ccb81882-939d-11ee-8f27-278f5ac42a76 Superblock backups stored on blocks: 32768 Allocating group tables: done Writing inode tables: done Creating journal (4096 blocks): done Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done Erasing 'userdata' OKAY [ 0.107s] Sending 'userdata' (4272 KB) OKAY [ 0.029s] Writing 'userdata' OKAY [ 0.006s] Erasing 'cache' OKAY [ 0.083s] Sending 'cache' (120 KB) OKAY [ 0.018s] Writing 'cache' OKAY [ 0.012s] Finished. Total time: 0.442s Anyway, I'll just have to keep trying. Thanks A LOT for your help. You wouldn't happen to have a recovery image for a NOVA3 by chance?

12-06-2023, 09:31 AM	#7
bbarou Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: PRS-T1, Boox Nova3	By boot loop I'm mean it's stuck for hours with the progress bar. If I long press the power button it just stops the progress bar and sit there (there no way I can tell if it's REALLY off). I didn't say I think there a problem with my recovery, I just can't get it to boot into it. With a recovery image I could try fastboot boot recovery.img I already tried fastboot reboot recovery / reboot-recovery, I just get the same boot screen with the progress bar as the normal boot.

12-06-2023, 10:02 AM	#8
Renate Wizard Posts: 2,319 Karma: 9999999 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5	I'm confused (my normal state). I never see any "progress bars" on Onyx devices. Is it trying to do factory reset? Have you experience with EDL, Have you used an EDL cable? Does the Nova3 respect the EDL cable? Is this thing easy to take apart? You've tried "fastboot boot boot.img"? You do have a boot image somewhere? I'd use EDL to pull misc to see if it has some factory reset command in it that is failing. You could wipe misc, but on A/B devices you might be digging yourself a deeper hole.

12-06-2023, 12:03 PM	#9
bbarou Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: PRS-T1, Boox Nova3	The progress bar just above "Boox" on the boot screen: Yes fastboot boot works. I tried with 2 different official boot images and the same images but rooted. All with the same result. I have no experience with edl but I manage twice, by chance, to boot to edl. I need to find suitable drivers for it though. Apparently I was in 900e mode and not 9008.

12-06-2023, 01:01 PM	#12
bbarou Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2016 Device: PRS-T1, Boox Nova3	Sorry I onnly answered half your questions in my previous reply. The Nova3 looks like a pain to open, there are no screws. Looks like I'd have to go and fetch the heat gun, I'd rather avoid it. To my knowlege it is not an A/B device. What's the purpose of the misc partition?

12-09-2023, 02:56 PM	#14
Renate Wizard Posts: 2,319 Karma: 9999999 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5	So, on the 5X power thingie... I bricked my Poke5 and tried to do it. I couldn't. So I soldered back the UART to look how the timing went. So here it is: Your device is bricked. You press power until it reacts, then release it. Your device flashes twice and shows the Onyx logo screen. Your devices starts to flash again. Press and hold the Power button for 3 seconds. The logo screen should have gone all white. Now release and press 5X power.

12-10-2023, 08:48 PM	#15
jljtgr Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 16 Join Date: May 2023 Device: BOOX Nova Air C	It would have been nice if the pogo-pins (on devices that have them?) could enter the extra modes like on Android phones. Most things see them as volume keys, so why not? Even after getting the power button combo working several times months ago... I would not look forward to having to do it again.

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