Boox Leaf 2 general discussion

[Renate]

I'm not sure that you're making a good connection.
Did you see the TX "wiggle" on the voltmeter when you rebooted?
Are you sure that you haven't mixed up ground and RX.

Edit Wiggles only when it's booting.

Did you read the previous post above, I just edited it.

Use the long side of the pins at a 45° angle tensioned lightly against the pads.

If you're in doubt, just connect ground to metal and use a single pin of the RX on the USB to the TX of the Leaf2.

I just went to fastboot another couple of times.

[denisuu]

Originally Posted by Renate

I'm not sure that you're making a good connection.

How much of a wiggle would you expect? From cold-boot into recovery is only 11 seconds. It goes from 1,5v to v1,77 then goes up and down a bit until it stays at 1,79v.

I just read the previous post.

I did what you said, I'm getting output now in Putty now but it looks like this on baud 115200 and 9600.

▒ ▒▒▒(▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒8▒▒▒▒▒▒▒|>▒
r▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒`▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒2`▒▒▒▒?▒▒~▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒`0<▒?▒~▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒|▒▒▒▒▒▒|

Edit: I'm testing the other baud speeds now.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by denisuu

I'm testing the other baud speeds now.

How about 921600?

[denisuu]

Originally Posted by Renate

How about 921600?

No doesn't work either, should I see scrolling text? On some I don't see anything until I move the pin a bit. Then I just get one scrabbled symbol.

[Renate]

If you're moving the pin and getting garbage that's just a bad connection.

On the USB, still at 1.8V level connect TX to RX (just on the USB) and see if you can type to yourself. It really should be 115.2k. Are you using Putty?

Are you using metal as your ground and not a pin now? And just trying to get the TX out of Leaf to go to USB RX?

[denisuu]

The tricky part is that every time I push the power-button I move the device a bit. I now made sure it can't move, reseated the pin and was able to extract a boot-log.

You were right, the baud speed is 115200.

I'll send you a PM.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by denisuu

You were right, the baud speed is 115200.

Ok, the log looks fine, a bit different from mine, but let's give it a try.
Hook up the USB TX to Leaf RX.
Don't worry about getting it correct now, just get proof of principle.
As soon as you see text squirting across the screen, hold the backspace key down and pay attention to where it stalls.

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Barty

I have a Libra 2 so I'm very interested to hear this. They're both 300 dpi so I'm unsure what sharper means. I guess you mean contrast? How do they look with the lights off? Is the background on one lighter than the other? Is the text on one darker the other? Thanks

Sharper means just that. The text, using the same font at the same size, looks slightly blurrier on the Libra 2 screen. The contrast on the Leaf 2 can also be adjusted to have the text look darker than on the Libra 2 thus increasing also the contrast.

I just opened the same book side by side in Koreader on both devices and increased the contrast to the max setting on the Libra 2. The blackness/contrast is about the same. The Leaf 2 display just seems clearer.

I then tilted them towards the light, and the Leaf 2 was slightly more reflective.

I therefore think it's the matte finish on the Libra 2 that makes the text seem slightly less clear, a bit fussier, smudged out, blurry, etc etc. The positive aspect of this is that the screen is also slightly less reflective.

They are two of the tops screens available, and I guess it's just a question of what has a higher priority: less reflectivity or better clarity.

The background colour is more or less the same.

I use them both with the frontlight off. I don't like the warm frontlight on the Libra 2; it's not warm enough and looks horrible to me. I don't really know what the frontlight on the Leaf 2 is like, as I read it by a desk lamp.

Originally Posted by denisuu

MyDeepGuide has a video where he compares the two: Boox Leaf 2: In-Depth Review

I wouldn't upgrade to the Leaf 2 if I already had the Libra 2,unless PDF support or better performance is important. If I didn't have an e-reader I would pay the extra €30 for the Leaf 2.

Unless you hold them next to each other you probably couldn't tell much difference in screen quality. I borrowed a friends Libra 2 for while before my (white) Leaf 2 arrived, if the device is just used for reading books, both are great devices!

My opionion:

Libra2:
+ Better buttons, waterproof, more user friendly.
- Bigger, weighs more, terrible performance for anything else than e-books.

Leaf2:
+ Beautiful design, weighs less, handles PDF's well, a lot of flexibility.
- Not as intuitive, not waterproof, no kernel sources.

My Deep Guide's comparison doesn't matter: he had the black version, which has lower contrast/sharpness according to reports on the Onyx Boox subreddit by people who have both. This isn't really surprising since the glass layer obviously decreases legibility to some degree.

For me, reading in several languages, the dictionary support on Android is miles better than anything Kobo can offer - it's not even close. I'm surprised that they don't even seem to make an effort supporting dictionaries with decent morphology support.

If all one does is reading e-books in English with no special requirements: no need to sync one's reading progress across several devices, no need to use dictionaries in languages as crazily exotic as Spanish or Russian, no need to read on specific apps, etc. - then Kobo is a sure bet.

Now, if only the Leaf 2 could have better buttons...

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by denisuu

It doesn't matter much to me, as the device is symmetrical you wouldn't even know when you're holding it "upside-down" if it wasn't for the Boox logo on the front. I'm right handed but I mostly hold the e-reader in my left hand. Doesn't make much difference reading-experience wise in which hand I hold the device.

As for the border, the perfect e-reader doesn't exist haha.

I'd like it to be all black with a 10" screen and 1 or 2GB more RAM. So basically a Onyx Note in black, with page-turn buttons, without the note-taking capabilities.

I would love a device like that. Even more so if it had a sunken screen for improved contrast! Page turn buttons, 300 PPI and an SD card slot (a reader that size would be used for a lot of comics and PDFs). They could do it the same was as with the Leaf 2 - one in black and one gray.

[P013onEr]

Originally Posted by denisuu

Can you get the device into Recovery or Fastboot? Press the power-button 7 seconds on boot, then tap it 5 times to get into recovery. (You might have to try a few times, it's quite tricky)

If you manage to boot Fastboot, you can try switching the active boot partition. That fixed a bootloop for me. (Thanks @popej)

fastboot  --set-active=b

If you really can't get into Recovery or Fastboot you can get the device in 9008 mode by one of two methods. You won't be able to restore the device (YET) because we haven't found a loader to Firehose the device.

Tip: Renate has made some amazing tools for troubleshooting and EDL. I recommend having her USBlog tool open to see when the device is being detected.

1. Option 1: You can make a Qualcomm-EDL cable. You just need an old USB-C cable, cut it in half and solder a Momentary Push Button in between the green and black wire. There are a lot of tutorials on Youtube on how to make such a cable. Alternatively you could buy the cable of course.
   
   Once you have the cable push Power + Volume Down + EDL-Cable button on boot. (Or reboot it with the 3 buttons pushed) This will most likely also take a few tries but eventually you'll get it into 9008 mode. (see first picture in the attachment)
   
   
2. Option 2: You can open the device and short the EDL pads while booting the device. See the second picture in the attachment for the locations.

not working when I active slot b, stuck on 900E too.

there is my fastboot getvar all, sth messed up?

(bootloader) cpu-abi:arm64-v8a
(bootloader) snapshot-update-status:none
(bootloader) super-partition-name:super
(bootloader) is-logical:bluetooth_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:dtbo_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:imagefv_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:misc:no
(bootloader) is-logical:uefisecapp_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:modem_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:devcfg_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:dsp_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:xbl_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:featenabler_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:rpm_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:vbmeta_system_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:abl_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:vbmeta_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:qupfw_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:xbl_config_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:recovery_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:bluetooth_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:boot_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:storsec:no
(bootloader) is-logical:xbl_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:keymaster_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:tz_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:multiimgoem_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:xbl_config_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:mdtpsecapp_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:multiimgoem_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:metadata:no
(bootloader) is-logical:ssd:no
(bootloader) is-logical:keymaster_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:mdtp_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:tz_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:qupfw_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:modem_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:devcfg_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:imagefv_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:dsp_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:rpm_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:featenabler_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:hyp_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:uefisecapp_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:abl_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:mdtpsecapp_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:userdata:no
(bootloader) is-logical:hyp_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:mdtp_a:no
(bootloader) is-logical:mmcblk0:no
(bootloader) is-logical:super:no
(bootloader) is-logical:vbmeta_system_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:vbmeta_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:dtbo_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:recovery_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:boot_b:no
(bootloader) is-logical:system_a:yes
(bootloader) is-logical:vendor_a:yes
(bootloader) is-logical:system_a-cow:yes
(bootloader) battery-soc-ok:yes
(bootloader) battery-voltage:4276
(bootloader) off-mode-charge:0
(bootloader) treble-enabled:true
(bootloader) is-userspace:yes
(bootloader) partition-size:bluetooth_b:0x100000
(bootloader) partition-size:dtbo_a:0x1800000
(bootloader) partition-size:imagefv_a:0x200000
(bootloader) partition-size:misc:0x100000
(bootloader) partition-size:uefisecapp_a:0x200000
(bootloader) partition-size:modem_a:0xB400000
(bootloader) partition-size:devcfg_a:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:dsp_a:0x4000000
(bootloader) partition-size:xbl_b:0x380000
(bootloader) partition-size:featenabler_a:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:rpm_b:0x80000
(bootloader) partition-size:vbmeta_system_a:0x10000
(bootloader) partition-size:abl_a:0x100000
(bootloader) partition-size:vbmeta_a:0x10000
(bootloader) partition-size:qupfw_a:0x10000
(bootloader) partition-size:xbl_config_b:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:recovery_a:0x6000000
(bootloader) partition-size:bluetooth_a:0x100000
(bootloader) partition-size:boot_a:0x6000000
(bootloader) partition-size:storsec:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:xbl_a:0x380000
(bootloader) partition-size:keymaster_a:0x80000
(bootloader) partition-size:tz_b:0x400000
(bootloader) partition-size:multiimgoem_b:0x8000
(bootloader) partition-size:xbl_config_a:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:mdtpsecapp_b:0x400000
(bootloader) partition-size:multiimgoem_a:0x8000
(bootloader) partition-size:metadata:0x1000000
(bootloader) partition-size:ssd:0x2000
(bootloader) partition-size:keymaster_b:0x80000
(bootloader) partition-size:mdtp_b:0x2000000
(bootloader) partition-size:tz_a:0x400000
(bootloader) partition-size:qupfw_b:0x10000
(bootloader) partition-size:modem_b:0xB400000
(bootloader) partition-size:devcfg_b:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:imagefv_b:0x200000
(bootloader) partition-size:dsp_b:0x4000000
(bootloader) partition-size:rpm_a:0x80000
(bootloader) partition-size:featenabler_b:0x20000
(bootloader) partition-size:hyp_b:0x80000
(bootloader) partition-size:uefisecapp_b:0x200000
(bootloader) partition-size:abl_b:0x100000
(bootloader) partition-size:mdtpsecapp_a:0x400000
(bootloader) partition-size:userdata:0xCFDFDBE00
(bootloader) partition-size:hyp_a:0x80000
(bootloader) partition-size:mdtp_a:0x2000000
(bootloader) partition-size:mmcblk0:0xE8F800000
(bootloader) partition-size:super:0x100000000
(bootloader) partition-size:vbmeta_system_b:0x10000
(bootloader) partition-size:vbmeta_b:0x10000
(bootloader) partition-size:dtbo_b:0x1800000
(bootloader) partition-size:recovery_b:0x6000000
(bootloader) partition-size:boot_b:0x6000000
(bootloader) partition-size:system_a:0x846D3000
(bootloader) partition-size:vendor_a:0x1E658000
(bootloader) partition-size:system_a-cow:0x3BBA8000
(bootloader) version-vndk:30
(bootloader) partition-type:bluetooth_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:dtbo_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:imagefv_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:misc:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:uefisecapp_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:modem_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:devcfg_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:dsp_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:xbl_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:featenabler_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:rpm_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:vbmeta_system_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:abl_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:vbmeta_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:qupfw_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:xbl_config_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:recovery_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:bluetooth_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:boot_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:storsec:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:xbl_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:keymaster_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:tz_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:multiimgoem_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:xbl_config_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:mdtpsecapp_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:multiimgoem_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:metadata:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:ssd:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:keymaster_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:mdtp_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:tz_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:qupfw_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:modem_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:devcfg_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:imagefv_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:dsp_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:rpm_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:featenabler_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:hyp_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:uefisecapp_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:abl_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:mdtpsecapp_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:userdata:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:hyp_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:mdtp_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:mmcblk0:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:super:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:vbmeta_system_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:vbmeta_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:dtbo_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:recovery_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:boot_b:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:system_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:vendor_a:raw
(bootloader) partition-type:system_a-cow:raw
(bootloader) has-slot:bluetooth:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:dtbo:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:imagefv:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:misc:no
(bootloader) has-slot:uefisecapp:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:modem:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:devcfg:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:dsp:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:xbl:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:featenabler:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:rpm:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:vbmeta_system:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:abl:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:vbmeta:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:qupfw:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:xbl_config:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:recovery:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:boot:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:storsec:no
(bootloader) has-slot:keymaster:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:tz:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:multiimgoem:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:mdtpsecapp:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:metadata:no
(bootloader) has-slot:ssd:no
(bootloader) has-slot:mdtp:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:hyp:yes
(bootloader) has-slot:userdata:no
(bootloader) has-slot:mmcblk0:no
(bootloader) has-slot:super:no
(bootloader) has-slot:system:no
(bootloader) has-slot:vendor:no
(bootloader) has-slot:system_a-cow:no
(bootloader) security-patch-level:2021-08-05
(bootloader) vendor-fingerprint:Onyx/Leaf2_P/Leaf2_P:11/2022-10-14_17-37_3.3.1_338b46b81/1376:user/dev-keys
(bootloader) hw-revision:0
(bootloader) current-slot:b
(bootloader) serialno:
(bootloader) product:Leaf2_P
(bootloader) version-os:11
(bootloader) first-api-level:30
(bootloader) slot-count:2
(bootloader) max-download-size:0x10000000
(bootloader) version:0.4
(bootloader) version-baseband:
(bootloader) secure:yes
(bootloader) variant:NA
(bootloader) dynamic-partition:true
(bootloader) system-fingerprint:Onyx/Leaf2_P/Leaf2_P:11/2022-10-14_17-37_3.3.1_338b46b81/1376:user/dev-keys
(bootloader) version-bootloader:unknown
(bootloader) unlocked:yes
all:
Finished. Total time: 1.100s

[denisuu]

Originally Posted by P013onEr

...
(bootloader) current-slot:b
...[/CODE]

Did you try both slot a and b?

If you're still able to get into fastboot, does booting the stock image work?

fastboot boot boot_a.img

[Renate]

Originally Posted by P013onEr

There is my fastboot getvar all, sth messed up?

It looks as expected except that "secure:yes" is concerning.

[popej]

(bootloader) is-userspace:yes

This is not bootloader but fastbootd.

There is comparison of flush screen and unprotected sunken screen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB12gbEI6J4

[denisuu]

Ok I found the exact sequence to get into EDL every time with the Qualcomm cable.

Power on the device, let go of the power-button. Keep holding volume down and the button on the cable for about 10 to 15 seconds, the moment you release it will be in 9008 mode.

It really annoys me this one doesn't work, it has both QCM_AGATTI and QCS_AGATTI.

0014d0e100000000_1bebe3863a6781db_fhprg.bin

PS C:\> .\qcomview.exe 0014d0e100000000_1bebe3863a6781db_fhprg.bin
QCA6390
QCM_AGATTI
QCM_KAMORTA
QCS605
QCS_AGATTI
...

Edit: I'm going to try this loader through the Python EDL tool on my Linux laptop.

[denisuu@BLOOGLET edl]$ python edl --loader=0014d0e100000000_1bebe3863a6781db_fhprg.bin printgpt
Capstone library is missing (optional).
Keystone library is missing (optional).
Qualcomm Sahara / Firehose Client V3.60 (c) B.Kerler 2018-2022.
main - Using loader 0014d0e100000000_1bebe3863a6781db_fhprg.bin ...
main - Waiting for the device
main - Device detected :)
sahara - Protocol version: 2, Version supported: 1
main - Mode detected: sahara
sahara - 
------------------------
HWID:              0x001860e100000000 (MSM_ID:0x001860e1,OEM_ID:0x0000,MODEL_ID:0x0000)
Unknown CPU, please send log as issue to https://github.com/bkerler/edl
PK_HASH:    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Serial:     XXXXXXXXX

sahara - Protocol version: 2, Version supported: 1
sahara - Uploading loader 0014d0e100000000_1bebe3863a6781db_fhprg.bin ...
sahara - 64-Bit mode detected.
sahara - Firehose mode detected, uploading...
sahara - Loader successfully uploaded.
main - Trying to connect to firehose loader ...
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
firehose_client
firehose_client - [LIB]: No --memory option set, we assume "eMMC" as default ..., if it fails, try using "--memory" with "UFS","NAND" or "spinor" instead !
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
firehose - TargetName=
firehose - MemoryName=eMMC
firehose - Version=
firehose - Trying to read first storage sector...
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
DeviceClass - USBError(19, 'No such device (it may have been disconnected)')
...

At least it says 'Loader successfully uploaded' until it start scrolling USBError to infinity and beyond.

[Renate]

There are two entirely different places that keys are detected.
One is this "Boot mode detect" that takes 10 seconds.
The other is before this and doesn't slow anything down.

The four arrow keys (on a keyboard into the UART of the Leaf2) give four modes even before we get to that "Boot mode detect".

The "up arrow" held solid (on auto repeat) without any special technique will get you to fastboot.
The "down arrow" held solid (on auto repeat) without any special technique will get you to EDL.

Edit: Hmmm... I kept trying this and the results were variable.
In any case, all 4 arrow cases always cause the "Key Press" early in the boot to react.
"Arrow right" might force it to normal boot?