Author Topic: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review  (Read 1441828 times)

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Offline nus

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1575 on: April 15, 2019, 10:13:16 am »
The lthe chip says at28c16-15pu. at work now, maybe it was the wrong ic select ill check later.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2019, 05:48:52 pm by nus »
 

Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1576 on: April 29, 2019, 12:31:23 am »
hey can someone help me out please? i am completely perplexed and i don't know what to do, i have an original TL866 but when i installed the software on my vm(i'm using linux) and ran it i get this message:

 

however my device is completley original, heres a pic proving that it's an original one:



(sorry for the crappy quality i took this image with my webcam but you can see it's the original box and the exact same thing as the original one)

the worst part is that i tried to test it on the open source linux version (i installed that one because i wanted to have a nice GUI) and it looks like my minipro is completely bricked, i can't do anything!

sorry if the images are too large, it's been a long time since i used forums and i can't remember how to format them to a smaller size, this is my first post on this forum i made it just to answer this question
 

Offline tsmith35

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1577 on: April 29, 2019, 12:51:24 am »
hey can someone help me out please? i am completely perplexed and i don't know what to do, i have an original TL866 but when i installed the software on my vm(i'm using linux) and ran it i get this message:

You can follow these instructions to unbrick it: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1689620/#msg1689620

The manufacturer later changed their firmware to not brick the device, instead just showing a warning. They were accidentally bricking legit devices. Go figure.

If you don't have ICSP available, you can try the resistor trick: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690301/#msg1690301

More info on the resistor: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690985/#msg1690985
« Last Edit: April 29, 2019, 01:07:23 am by tsmith35 »
 

Offline radioman

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1578 on: April 29, 2019, 12:52:55 am »
Hi eduardo and welcome to the forum!
Sorry to say but your device is not original or the firmware was changed. Anyway that message says truth! you have a bad serial code. I sugest you to read this topic starting from page 51. If you read carefully you will  find valuable information and i assure you that your issue will be fixed.
If you don't understand what to do please reply here; i will guide you step by step.
Good luck!
 

Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1579 on: April 29, 2019, 12:59:34 am »
Hi eduardo and welcome to the forum!
Sorry to say but your device is not original or the firmware was changed. Anyway that message says truth! you have a bad serial code. I sugest you to read this topic starting from page 51. If you read carefully you will  find valuable information and i assure you that your issue will be fixed.
If you don't understand what to do please reply here; i will guide you step by step.
Good luck!

i know it's hard to see with my crappy webcam image, but i looked at the minipro with that reference from their website and i saw that everything seemed to be correct, this device had the "pow" and "run" text, it had the second board visible on those identations, the back is the same and the box is the same, i'm pretty certain that it's an original one, but i'll try to reflash it.

however, i have a question, i don't have a 100ohm resistor the minimum one i have is 460 ohms, is it going to work finely?

and after i reflash it how am i going to be able to use it with the minipro software? do i need to download an older version or just not update the firmware?
 

Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1580 on: April 29, 2019, 01:06:38 am »
sorry for doubleposting but heres some images of my programmer with better resolution that i took with my phone
https://imgur.com/a/58zDdXW
 

Offline tsmith35

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1581 on: April 29, 2019, 01:14:59 am »
however, i have a question, i don't have a 100ohm resistor the minimum one i have is 460 ohms, is it going to work finely?

If you have two 460 ohm resistors, you can run them in parallel and have 230 ohms or three in parallel will yield 153 ohms.

and after i reflash it how am i going to be able to use it with the minipro software? do i need to download an older version or just not update the firmware?

Just use the older version of software and firmware. Or you can use v6.81 or newer and just ignore the warning message it pops up each time.
 

Offline radioman

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1582 on: April 29, 2019, 01:21:19 am »
The 460ohm should be fine but i never tried with such value.
Don't  solder that resistor. just keep the terminals still in the indicated points and insert the usb cable. The device should enter in bootloader mode. After you download my firmware updater you'll need to flash a so called firmware dumper. This will allow you to make changes to the serial code. If you fix this problem you can use any software version you want. First download my firmware updater (the download link is in the page 51) and run it. You'll see if you have a bad serial code.
On the other hand your device can be original no doubt but the seller perhaps altered the firmware to upgrade from cs to a. If you want send me the device and serial code and I'll check for correct crc.
 
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Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1583 on: April 29, 2019, 01:33:18 am »
oh sorry i didn't see your message radioman, i'll download your updater and see if it's a bad serial code
 

Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1584 on: April 29, 2019, 01:39:20 am »
i ran your program and i got this message:

"Device version: TL866A
Device status: Normal working mode.
Device code: 36892516
Serial number: A44A2B9A1284B0387D996406
Firmware version: 3.2.86
Bad serial."
 

Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1585 on: April 29, 2019, 01:48:45 am »
i noticed that i need a .dat file to update my firmware, where can i find an older firmware to download? according to the updater it got into boot mode after i pressed reset without needing to add the resistors.
 

Offline eduardopupucon

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1586 on: April 29, 2019, 02:16:28 am »
The 460ohm should be fine but i never tried with such value.
Don't  solder that resistor. just keep the terminals still in the indicated points and insert the usb cable. The device should enter in bootloader mode. After you download my firmware updater you'll need to flash a so called firmware dumper. This will allow you to make changes to the serial code. If you fix this problem you can use any software version you want. First download my firmware updater (the download link is in the page 51) and run it. You'll see if you have a bad serial code.
On the other hand your device can be original no doubt but the seller perhaps altered the firmware to upgrade from cs to a. If you want send me the device and serial code and I'll check for correct crc.


thanks! i got it working finely, i followed the tutorial on page 51 and now everything is working correctly, i didn't need to create a new serial code, thanks for answering so quickly i was expecting to be answered in days but you answered in about 30 minutes and helped me out, this world really needs people like you. also sorry for making all these posts i didn't really pay attention to what was written on page 51.
i am really really grateful for your help, when i got that message that my product is pirated i was really scared that i bricked my device forever(because i've read some posts about the dvice being bricked), and it was very expensive, i pestered my parents for weeks for them to buy this programmer for me and i was mortified when it didn't work out of the box, you really helped me out dude  :-+ :-+ :-+ :-+
 
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Offline bitseeker

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1587 on: April 29, 2019, 02:59:43 am »
eduardopupucon, welcome to the forum! I give you bonus points for (1) a good attitude, (2) reading the valuable information here to get your programmer working again, and (3) making the effort to go to page 51. :clap: :-+

You'd be surprised how many people won't put in that little bit of effort despite everything that folks like radioman have contributed.
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 
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Online TERRA Operative

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1588 on: April 29, 2019, 03:59:56 am »
Does anyone know which online sellers are selling genuine units?
I see these all over ebay, but I'd prefer to buy a known legit unit.
Where does all this test equipment keep coming from?!?

https://www.youtube.com/NearFarMedia/
 

Online oPossum

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1589 on: April 29, 2019, 04:18:38 am »
The TL866II Plus has not been cloned yet, so all those should be genuine.
 

Online Wiljan

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1590 on: April 29, 2019, 12:04:48 pm »
Hi
I have a TL866 II pro with FW 04.2.94 which I can't upgrade and it's stucked with 8.01 (but it can be operated)

I have tried a numbers of PC and different OS with same result

I now ordered another TL866II pro from Amazon and it looks exactly as the same hardware
It came with FW 04.0.86 and could be updated in first try to FW 04.02.96 (I stayed there so I can do further updates while logging)

The interesting thing is that when you look on the update procedure then when  it does "Erase" the FW it actually goes to FW 04.1.00 and then to the new ones.

If you look around time 0:36 in the video I do link to in post #1449 you will see this is the same behavior.

When I try to upgrade the one I have (which fails) the it never goes to FW 04.1.00 and I expect the problem are it's actually not erased.

I believe there are something which prevent it to allow erase, any ideas are welcome

The 2 units does have different DEV code and serial number.

I have done a complete wireshark log of the USB update both on  the failing unit and on the successfully unit.

 

Offline radioman

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1591 on: April 29, 2019, 03:29:40 pm »
i ran your program and i got this message:

"Device version: TL866A
Device status: Normal working mode.
Device code: 36892516
Serial number: A44A2B9A1284B0387D996406
Firmware version: 3.2.86
Bad serial."
This serial code is bad indeed. This was generated by an earlier version of my firmware updater. So the seller from where you bought your device sells fake units (or original units with changed firmware).

thanks! i got it working finely, i followed the tutorial on page 51 and now everything is working correctly, i didn't need to create a new serial code, thanks for answering so quickly i was expecting to be answered in days but you answered in about 30 minutes and helped me out, this world really needs people like you. also sorry for making all these posts i didn't really pay attention to what was written on page 51.
Good but you should generate a new serial code. Sure, it can work like this; the minipro software doesn't limit yet devices with such random generated serials but who knows in the future. So i suggest you to generate a new compliant serial with my firmware updater. This is simple just flash the firmware dumper and in the advanced window the serial code section, click the edit button and generate a new serial. After that click the write button to write the new serial to the device and that's is. Close the advanced window and reflash the normal firmware and you're done.

You'd be surprised how many people won't put in that little bit of effort despite everything that folks like radioman have contributed.
Indeed  :-+ despite that, all the info is here in this thread no one wants to read these days, jus asking the same thing again and again.


Now into @Wiljan issue.
The interesting thing is that when you look on the update procedure then when  it does "Erase" the FW it actually goes to FW 04.1.00 and then to the new ones.

When I try to upgrade the one I have (which fails) the it never goes to FW 04.1.00 and I expect the problem are it's actually not erased.
The problem is that your unit fails to enter into boot mode. This new TL866II+is reporting diferently its working state (normal or bootloader mode). The TL866A/CS has a dedicated byte in the report structure from which you can distinguish between the two modes. The new version does not report its status this way. Instead the minipro software(well xgpro now) is looking for firmware minor version to see the device state. So you have something like this. 4.2.96 right? we have three parts here hardware version (4) firmware version major (2) and firmware version minor (96). The bootloader only reports 4.1.0 and the xgpro knows that the device has entered boot mode. After that the erase command is issued (to clear the device flash) and then updateii.dat is decrypted and sent in small chunks to the bootloader. Finally the reset command is issued and the devicce enters normal mode.

So your device fails to enter into boot mode! why? i don't know! maybe a bootloader bug or maybe some flash corruption who knows.
Why you don't ask the manufacturer directly? i think he is the @autoelector user on this forum. Who knows maybe he will answer this year or maybe the next year  :=\ /sarcasm.

Anyway, moving on, right now I have a working firmware updater for this new device, but only the updater part, no firmware generator no other funny features, just the updater part. The updateii.dat structure, and the update algorithm has been cracked March last year I think, but I never release the new updater it in the wild. So if you want I can send it to you, but I don't know if this will solve your issue.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2019, 03:35:10 pm by radioman »
 
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Online Wiljan

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1592 on: April 29, 2019, 04:19:30 pm »
TL866II Pro FW update fails

The problem is that your unit fails to enter into boot mode. This new TL866II+is reporting diferently its working state (normal or bootloader mode). The TL866A/CS has a dedicated byte in the report structure from which you can distinguish between the two modes. The new version does not report its status this way. Instead the minipro software(well xgpro now) is looking for firmware minor version to see the device state. So you have something like this. 4.2.96 right? we have three parts here hardware version (4) firmware version major (2) and firmware version minor (96). The bootloader only reports 4.1.0 and the xgpro knows that the device has entered boot mode. After that the erase command is issued (to clear the device flash) and then updateii.dat is decrypted and sent in small chunks to the bootloader. Finally the reset command is issued and the devicce enters normal mode.

So your device fails to enter into boot mode! why? i don't know! maybe a bootloader bug or maybe some flash corruption who knows.
Why you don't ask the manufacturer directly? i think he is the @autoelector user on this forum. Who knows maybe he will answer this year or maybe the next year  :=\ /sarcasm.

Anyway, moving on, right now I have a working firmware updater for this new device, but only the updater part, no firmware generator no other funny features, just the updater part. The updateii.dat structure, and the update algorithm has been cracked March last year I think, but I never release the new updater it in the wild. So if you want I can send it to you, but I don't know if this will solve your issue.

The FW which I can't upgrade from are V04.2.94 works with Xgpro 8.01

I have been in contact with "Wang" (yes some delay may occur) who told me all the problem was PC, OS, HUB's etc....
until he after some mail did referred to that the issue was due to that I had tried to read the PIC wit Pickit3 (this means he does read this forum )
Quote
you connected it with a Pickit3 tool. this operation will break  the programmer.
maybe you only reading. the results is same.


The problem was there before I even opened the unit and then a later I got a new answer
Quote
upgrading as: erase the flag >down load and self programming  > than verifying > if no error than mark successful flag. if error you can repeat upgrading.
generally it is impossible to damage the programmer.

I then offered him to send Wireshark log's so he could find  the problem and potential fix a kind of properly known issue.
Never got any answer on that.

I now for sure know that Win7 64bit DK can do an update (on the new programmer)

regarding the "updateii.dat" I noticed in the Wireshark log that the data from that file are transferred clear

"it's almost impossible to destroy the programmer"  :o

Since the original dealer will not take TL866 II back since it does work with 8.01 I'm willing to do some more testing so please send the FW updater and let see how it does react  :)
 

Offline radioman

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1593 on: April 29, 2019, 05:50:32 pm »
I have been in contact with "Wang" (yes some delay may occur) who told me all the problem was PC, OS, HUB's etc....
until he after some mail did referred to that the issue was due to that I had tried to read the PIC wit Pickit3 (this means he does read this forum )
Quote
you connected it with a Pickit3 tool. this operation will break  the programmer.
maybe you only reading. the results is same.

This is f...g hilarious! oh my god! You Mr. Wang you are such a character! A fine observer of this thread and not even one repply here!  are you undercover or something?
Dude, please don't believe us all stupid.

The problem was there before I even opened the unit and then a later I got a new answer
Quote
upgrading as: erase the flag >down load and self programming  > than verifying > if no error than mark successful flag. if error you can repeat upgrading.
generally it is impossible to damage the programmer.

I then offered him to send Wireshark log's so he could find  the problem and potential fix a kind of properly known issue.
Never got any answer on that.


I now for sure know that Win7 64bit DK can do an update (on the new programmer)
Yes, when you enter into tehnichals details Mr. Wang stops working; i know this.

regarding the "updateii.dat" I noticed in the Wireshark log that the data from that file are transferred clear
Yes, but the updateII.dat file is already encrypted. Beside that there are some extra data attached before each data block.

"it's almost impossible to destroy the programmer"  :o
Almost but not impossible!

Since the original dealer will not take TL866 II back since it does work with 8.01 I'm willing to do some more testing so please send the FW updater and let see how it does react  :)
Ok but to P.M.
 

Offline okurka

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1594 on: April 30, 2019, 07:10:24 am »
until he after some mail did referred to that the issue was due to that I had tried to read the PIC wit Pickit3

Wait, is Wang still deliberately bricking/blocking devices? Didn't he learn from his previous mistake?
 

Offline okurka

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1595 on: April 30, 2019, 07:39:27 am »
sorry for doubleposting but heres some images of my programmer with better resolution that i took with my phone
https://imgur.com/a/58zDdXW

That label doesn't look like the original one.
You can tell by the bottom 2 lines of text being in a different font with horrible spacing compared to the original. They even forgot a colon after http.

Yours looks like a CS converted to an A. You should contact or report your seller.
 

Offline radioman

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1596 on: April 30, 2019, 09:16:52 am »
Wait, is Wang still deliberately bricking/blocking devices? Didn't he learn from his previous mistake?
Yes, there are bricked TL866II+ devices right now by the firmware update procedure. The @Wiljan's unit for example was faulty from the begining, see the original post here.

His unit can't enter boot mode to do a simple firmware update. The device is stuck in normal mode. His unit arrived faulty and Mr. Wang doesn't give a s..t about this only crap like try another OS, another PC, perhaps the USB hub is... bla, bla, bla. Of course he bought another one but where is the waranty? oh.. wait there's no waranty, where is the support? well nada. Just buy another one.  So Mr. Wang (@autoelector) please be honest and repply here. Please give this man the right answer on how to restore his device.
 

Online Wiljan

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1597 on: April 30, 2019, 04:02:42 pm »
Thanks to Radioman I did test with the TL866II+ FW updater and it fails to set the Bootloader "mode"
So I guess next step are to find out how to force it somehow  |O
 

Offline autoelector

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1598 on: May 04, 2019, 02:25:40 am »
I could not resolve this.Please contact your seller.Send back to repair
 

Offline autoelector

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Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
« Reply #1599 on: May 04, 2019, 03:11:43 am »
Thanks to Radioman I did test with the TL866II+ FW updater and it fails to set the Bootloader "mode"
So I guess next step are to find out how to force it somehow  |O


Please contact your seller,If you can't find a seller,You can send me a private message, I will help you.
 


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