Android on LG ARENA

We are trying to port ANDROID on LG KM900 Arena.

Startseite - Android on Arena

We need all the help that you can give.

TNX

kingrz,

you might wonna gain some info from the stranded project or from here?
And even better , have a look on the www if there is a linux kernel/android that supports the soc processor first, otherwise you are in to a hugh list of work?

edit, if no link on the web helps you better start with looking for jtag support in case you brick the arena, and looking for a serial debug port might be very interesting!

goodluck!

TNX

The kernel is almost compiled.

that is a good thing!
how will it be booted?

Originally Posted by evow04

that is a good thing!
how will it be booted?

We have no good idea how to boot it!!!

Originally Posted by evow04

kingrz,

you might wonna gain some info from the stranded project or from here?
And even better , have a look on the www if there is a linux kernel/android that supports the soc processor first, otherwise you are in to a hugh list of work?

edit, if no link on the web helps you better start with looking for jtag support in case you brick the arena, and looking for a serial debug port might be very interesting!

goodluck!

Do you have any idea for jtag support or for a serial debug port?

Hey,
we need more help by experienced devs for out project please..
we already found some things out but we need devs :\
Thanks

Hey,

It is not that easy for one to help out without having the device itself.
The thing i missed browsing the web are breakdown pictures from the device it self, but maybe that is cause the device is hard to open (well that was my first opinion when i had the device in my hands in a shop.

For the serial debug you can pretty much follow all steps that are been used for m8/other devices. You will need to find a set of 3~4 pins close to eachother. As you may have read you will have 1 ground, 1 vcc, a TX and maybe a RX pin. Key here is that allmost every device uses 3.3/5 voltage for vcc, rx is mostly passive and will show a small reading when powering the device, tx can be found by using an internal pc speaker - you will hear cliks when the port/device is used and you will have voltage readings too.
readings that can be used as guideline :
VCC/TX +-3.29V | RX +-2.36V | ground 0V
Once you found the pins a hyper terminal session will need to be tweaked cause you need the connection setting for propper readings..

this pdf can be helpfull for you : hacking embedded linux

Jtag.. that is harder much harder.
There are tools to scan for jtag but it may harm your device, once i had a decent link with lots of information how to find it by using basic science/formulas of how electronics work, but it seems i lost the hyperlink, if i do not forget i will check on my pc at work it could contain a backup. But a google search could help? Anyway since it a lg device it could be much easier for you guys to find out. Cause some isp place a simlock onto it that can be removed or some shops provide maintenance by using jtag so i am sure that jtag pins/tools will be described somewhere on the web or could be found with some help of such shop...

So the difference between 2 options is that the first (serial) could provide you with bootlogs for study/boot options to boot an other kernel. the second (jtag) could let you backup the main storage to analyze/edit/replace it with custom software to boot from of course jtag is best to know if you will make some big changes cause that is the only way to recover your briked device.

now for booting.. well you could erase all default boot options and place your custom linux bootloader into it (lots of information to find on the web about bootloaders for example uboot/blobloader/.. or see how r3wdy did the single boot in the beginning of the android/howto boot kernel topic) Ofcourse you could add an option with the current loader or place another one after it like Banxian did with Tinyloader.
For the last options you really would need to know something about the os used by lg for example: does it use a normal linux kernel, does it use a linux loader, isnt there anything opensource on the os used...?

ps this could contain some usefull info to handhelds.org | XDA | Howard | hackaday | instructables | ...

anyway i hope i helped a bit

Thank you!!!
We think it's kinda Linux based but we're still trying to find out everything.
Wow, when we started this some weeks ago, we didn't even thought we could find out what we got now!

PS: Instructables and hackaday? Wtf xD I check this site always but for other stuff.. anyway, thanks again!!

Edit // With breakdown pics you mean a disassembled arena? I'll get some for you :P

Edit // Ok. Service Manual for LG Internal Use only :P
There are good pictures at the half of the pdf
And a Disassembling Guide with bad pics..

Edit // XDA.. down now but I already posted there ages ago and the guy said it's impossible without checking the datasheet or something about the Arena

Originally Posted by evow04

anyway i hope i helped a bit

TNX

You are the BEST.

So when is this expected to be done?
I heard its not possible becaue the Arena's processor is nowhere nearly fast enough to run Android :/

Originally Posted by Chishty1

So when is this expected to be done?
I heard its not possible becaue the Arena's processor is nowhere nearly fast enough to run Android :/

Android needs at minimum a 200mhz processor. LG Arena has a 312 Mhz ARM926EJS processor.

Originally Posted by xPatriicK

PS: Instructables and hackaday? Wtf xD I check this site always but for other stuff.. anyway, thanks again!!n

well what can i say, one can learn alot by reading what other people do

minimum a 200mhz processor. LG Arena has a 312 Mhz

but i think it would make it a slow phone to be honest.. however by stripping down as much un-needed packages and optimize the ones you need a linux device can be powerfull (look for example at damn small linux it provides new life to old 80486 pc´s)

err.. i must say that if we had such a service manual android would be fully up and running on m8, no really : i wish we had such manual!
all things a dev would need are described so only thing you now need are some devs with such a phone to experience abit.

The manual show all internal devices and connection pins, it describes all jtag pins and uart rx/tx pins and it even says how to dump a log through serial or how to flash through usb.. say i can not add anything more then if you cant lay your hands on the tools you can read the manual to hardwire a jtag/serial cable directly to the pcb to use alternative tools to do it ...

Now mostlikely you would like to know an approach to get started.. well try to get a firmware package, try to flash the device to see if it works (the basic flash system), then extract a fw package , modify the boot files flash again and reflash to original just to verify flashing works.
Then build a uboot: flash it in and see what happpens? If nothing reflash to original and keep on working on a good bootloader till one loads?

Do not waste your time for now and focus on a bootloader, building a kernel is peanuts once you passed the loader ;-)

edit,
i know i am not really specific but it is hard to do without the device

Originally Posted by evow04

i know i am not really specific but it is hard to do without the device

Yeah but that's already really helpful!
What kind of Firmware package do you mean? Just a Firmware package with Android or what? Afaik a guy already tried to flash the Android Firmware of another LG phone but it didn't work, (stuck on LG Logo?? Not sure!!)

Thanks again

Edit //

Originally Posted by fragger255

tell him please, that wie have the original bootloader, and also the cracked iphone bootloader, so we can , when its possible, leran from this structure,
the main thing is, find all the driver in the firmware, they must everywhere.

I think "leran" means learn :P

I wouldn´t worry to much about bootloaders from other devices like the iphone since the loader need to be a fully accesible source for you as dev to test, modify and then test again. If you would start from scrap i really would advice uboot since it is the best document loader out there ánd it is in fact a small linux system on its own.. Surplus on uboot is that if you manage to find a developersboard (somewhat like the smd6410 that we know meizu used for m8 s3c6410 soc) you will be able to find a uboot-/android-/linux-kernel´ish source tree that is optimized allready for your soc cpu.

I also read abit on the forum and it is a really good idea like one of your members mentions to get a plug, cut it to the wiring to allow you to solder on cable to perform testing somewhat like i did with my usb cable here.
You should be able to connect usb debug as far as i read the service manual, but i guess you could also reach jtag through the connector (not sure but that is my first impression)
Once you have log file from the boot system, backup the log it could contain hidden clue´s..

about the remark from fragger255 , i did not completly understand it but i asume that i understand his point. If the lg os is indeed a linux os one might try to extract as much as possible from the system (=driver information), and do you guys have the lg bootloader or is it just the firmware package? And what filesytem is been used for the package, can it be extracted?

And did you guys check the pif-100 device yet? I mean what it exactly does and so on?

ps you guys allready checked the tinyloader from banxian? the full source is in git here .

Originally Posted by evow04

...
And did you guys check the pif-100 device yet? I mean what it exactly does and so on? ...

Here is a video of LG developers using pif-100!

http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/data/K...RT-USB-all.zip

Originally Posted by kingrz

Here is a video

mm can not run it on my corporated computer, will try later if i have some more time.
So anyone allready tried to extract a firmware package?

Originally Posted by evow04

mm can not run it on my corporated computer, will try later if i have some more time.
So anyone allready tried to extract a firmware package?

The firmware has been extracted on its minimum files and has been moded to.
But before someone will put Android on it, will pass allot of time, because (my opinion) there's no one capable now and there will not be as soon as we stop to talk about it and start to do something. I'm no programmer I'm just trying to help this project, but I think that they are almost all scared to break their phones!

there is some sense in it.
Once you guys figured out how to use the jtag for recovering the phone everything will speed up i think!

(still did not have time to see the link about pif100, i am very busy lately, sorry)

Originally Posted by evow04

(still did not have time to see the link about pif100, i am very busy lately, sorry)

The link is here! Have a look when you can!