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SK-8168 / F133-B Melis firmware toolkit

License: MIT Release Flash verified SoC F133-B SPI XM25QH128C

Dump, edit, and reflash the SPI NOR on a 5″ Android Auto head unit: board SK-8168-MAIN-V6.3, SoC Allwinner F133-B, OS Melis RTOS (not Android Linux).

The included chipdump.modified.bin replaces the stock boot movie with a ~3 second clip. It was written with NeoProgrammer + CH341A Pro + SOIC test clip and confirmed working on device.

Contents

  1. Hardware
  2. Quick start — download & flash
  3. Flash the modified image
  4. Repository layout
  5. Edit firmware (unpack → change → pack)
  6. Boot video
  7. How the image is laid out
  8. Checksums
  9. Credits
  10. License & safety

1. Hardware

Item Detail
Board SK-8168-MAIN-V6.3
SoC Allwinner F133-B
Display 5″ Android Auto head unit
SPI NOR XM25QH128C, 16 MB (128 Mbit), 3.3 V
NOR location Package closest to the main processor (F133-B)
Stock firmware SK1.4-8168V6.2-LVWMA-2504011620
Programmer CH341A Pro (Amazon) + SOIC test clip
Software NeoProgrammer (verified); other CH341 tools OK at 3.3 V

Voltage: 3.3 V only. 5 V will destroy the flash.

2. Quick start — download & flash

  1. Get v1.0.0 release assets, or clone this repo.
  2. Keep chipdump.bin as your recovery image.
  3. Flash chipdump.modified.bin (steps below).
  4. Optional: verify SHA256 from §8 Checksums.
File Role
chipdump.bin Original dump — recovery
chipdump.modified.bin Flash this — new boot video
desiredvideo/ Source clip, encode used in-image, stock backup

3. Flash the modified image

  1. Open the unit and find the SPI NOR next to the F133-B (XM25QH128C).
  2. Attach the SOIC test clip (confirm pin 1 / notch orientation).
  3. Connect CH341A Pro at 3.3 V.
  4. In NeoProgrammer, select chip XM25QH128C.
  5. Confirm file size is 16 777 216 bytes.
  6. Erase + write chipdump.modified.bin (full chip).
  7. Read-back verify if the tool offers it.
  8. Power the head unit — boot animation should be the shorter clip.

If anything goes wrong, re-flash original chipdump.bin the same way.

4. Repository layout

chipdump.bin                 Original 16 MB SPI dump
chipdump.modified.bin        Flash-tested image (boot video replaced)
unpacked/                    Editable tree from dump_tool extract
  boot0.bin                  eGON.BT0 SPL — do not touch casually
  gpt.bin.out/
    1_bootA.bin.out/         Melis kernel + sys_config.fex
    2_ROOTFS.bin.out/        MinFS: apps, UI, res/stamovie.mp4
    3_UDISK.bin.out/         FAT16: Config.ini + Save/
desiredvideo/                Boot-video source materials
melis-tools/                 Windows dump_tool (Gamadril/d1s-melis-tools)
scripts/extract.ps1          Unpack chipdump.bin → unpacked/
scripts/pack.ps1             Rebuild chipdump.modified.bin (layout-aware)
CHECKSUMS.txt                CRC32 / SHA1 / SHA256
LICENSE · NOTICE · SECURITY.md

5. Edit firmware (unpack → change → pack)

Requirements

  • Windows + PowerShell
  • Python 3 on PATH (used by pack.ps1)
  • Tools under melis-tools/ (already vendored)

Commands

git clone https://github.com/Vabian124/chipdump.git
cd chipdump

.\scripts\extract.ps1          # optional if unpacked/ already present
# edit files under .\unpacked\
.\scripts\pack.ps1             # writes .\chipdump.modified.bin

Then flash as in §3.

What to edit

Goal Path under unpacked/gpt.bin.out/
Boot video 2_ROOTFS.bin.out/res/stamovie.mp4
Live settings 3_UDISK.bin.out/Config.ini
Factory defaults 2_ROOTFS.bin.out/apps/Config.ini
Wallpapers 2_ROOTFS.bin.out/apps/WallPaper/*.jpg (800×480)
Logos 2_ROOTFS.bin.out/apps/Logo/
CarPlay icons 2_ROOTFS.bin.out/apps/CarPlay/icon_*.png
Board / LCD / GPIO 1_bootA.bin.out/sys_config.fex

Harder: most UI chrome lives inside proprietary .data packs (Main.data, etc.), not loose PNGs.

Do not expect .mod / .axf / epos.img to become editable C without a full RISC-V reverse-engineering project.

Why pack.ps1 exists

Upstream dump_tool pack (v0.1.0) hardcodes GPT offsets/sizes from another F133 layout and always patches uart_debug_rx. This dump has a larger bootA, a 512 KiB UDISK, and only uart_debug_tx.

scripts/pack.ps1 therefore:

  1. Uses dump_tool only to rebuild MinFS (a uart_debug_rx error is expected).
  2. Splices that ROOTFS into a copy of chipdump.bin at flash offset 0x190000.
  3. Leaves boot0, bootA, and UDISK unchanged.

6. Boot video

Stock Modified (in this repo)
Path d:\res\stamovie.mp4 same
Resolution 800×480 800×480
Codec H.264 H.264 baseline, yuv420p, 25 fps
Duration ~6.1 s ~3.0 s
Player Melis mixture module same — length = MP4 duration

Replace with your own clip

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -an -c:v libx264 -profile:v baseline -level 3.0 \
  -pix_fmt yuv420p -s 800x480 -r 25 -movflags +faststart stamovie.mp4

Copy over unpacked/gpt.bin.out/2_ROOTFS.bin.out/res/stamovie.mp4, run .\scripts\pack.ps1, flash.

Optional override: Config.ini → [STARTUP] → startUpVideoPath= (empty = default stamovie.mp4).

Source materials: desiredvideo/faseout_boot_video.mp4, desiredvideo/stamovie.encoded.mp4, stock backup desiredvideo/stamovie.mp4.stock.bak.

7. How the image is laid out

Useful if you are adapting this workflow to another dump or automating with an AI.

Signatures (this dump)

Flash offset Marker Meaning
0x000004 eGON.BT0 Allwinner boot0
0x00C000 GPT Partition table
0x010000 sunxi-package Melis boot package (bootA)
0x190000 MINFS ROOTFS
0xF80000 FAT16 UDISK

GPT partitions (absolute)

Name Offset Size Format
boot0 0x000000 48 KiB eGON.BT0
bootA 0x010000 ~1.5 MiB sunxi-package (LZMA Melis + config)
ROOTFS 0x190000 ~13.9 MiB MinFS
UDISK 0xF80000 512 KiB FAT16

Melis drive letters: D: ROOTFS, E: UDISK, F: SD (when present).

Identify a new dump

  1. Size must be 16 777 216 for XM25QH128C (or match your part).
  2. Confirm eGON.BT0, sunxi-package, MINFS.
  3. Prefer dump_tool extract; if pack fails, parse GPT and splice ROOTFS yourself at the real offsets (as this repo does).

8. Checksums

All images are 16 777 216 bytes. Full table: CHECKSUMS.txt.

File CRC32 SHA256
chipdump.bin 0x26430A0B 4d236715e7eb6bdb50aceff6a381d453eff2bfe0f90025389cd956f20e3085e6
chipdump.modified.bin 0xA347F5D5 5cc79aeb94e66337bc81c4c8fce54f84d1acba9ef4b5f13dc77a697e86105ff9 
Get-FileHash .\chipdump.modified.bin -Algorithm SHA256

9. Credits

Who Contribution
Vabian124 Dump, hardware notes, boot-video mod, on-device verification, this repository
Gamadril / d1s-melis-tools dump_tool, MinFS, Melis boot-package tooling
ChrisHughes / allwinner-image-tool MinFS helpers used during verification
Melis / Allwinner community eGON, MinFS, and F133 car-unit research
Cursor agent session Unpack workflow, layout-aware pack script, documentation

10. License & safety

  • Documentation & scripts: MIT
  • Firmware binaries: third-party IP may apply — see NOTICE
  • Security / bricking risk: SECURITY.md

Before you write the chip

  1. Keep a verified chipdump.bin.
  2. Use 3.3 V only.
  3. Confirm 16 777 216 byte file size.
  4. Program the NOR closest to the F133-B.

No warranty. Flashing modified firmware can brick the unit; you accept that risk.

About

SK-8168-MAIN-V6.3 Allwinner F133-B 5inch Android Auto Melis SPI firmware — dump, unpack, boot-video mod, NeoProgrammer flash guide (XM25QH128C)

github.com/Vabian124/chipdump

Topics

allwinnerandroid-autocar-stereoch341af133firmwarehead-unitmelisneoprogrammersk-8168spi-flash

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