[bfhyan]

Can someone PLEASE help me?
I've bricked my Xduoo X3, was changing fonts and then its just  Loading for more than 10 minutes.
Installation was ok but now its just bugged
please, help...
What do i do?

 

[Slater]

Did you press the reset button?
 
If that doesn't work, put the sd card in a card reader and attach it to a computer. Then delete the file named nvram.bin on the root of the sd card.
 
Post back if either of those work. If not, we'll go from there.

 

[bfhyan]

Pressed reset and it worked, tho I didn't try to do anything else since I'm at work and can't play any songs.
If anything else goes wrong, I'll come back here.
Thanks for your help, I totally forgot about the reset button haha.

 

[Slater]

NP, glad you got it working.
 
Yeah, always try the reset button first. I even went 1 step further a while ago and started carrying a paper clip on my keychain (kind of sad really), because the X3 would freeze up at the worst times. That paper clip has saved me a number of times LOL

 

[bfhyan]

I was thinking of carrying one around too, in case it happens again.
 
As for the firmware, Rockbox is MUCH better than the original one. Customization is really nice and you have way more features.
I think that X3's sound is too flat, too cold and with lack of bass, hopefully will be able to fix that with Rockbox' EQ, that's the main reason why I installed it.

 

[Slater]

  I was thinking of carrying one around too, in case it happens again.
 
As for the firmware, Rockbox is MUCH better than the original one. Customization is really nice and you have way more features.
I think that X3's sound is too flat, too cold and with lack of bass, hopefully will be able to fix that with Rockbox' EQ, that's the main reason why I installed it.

Yeah, I use the EQ in Rockbox on just about every headphone I own. It's so easy to create unique profiles for each of my headphones, then apply the preset depending on what headphone or IEM I'm using the the time.
 
Also, you may want to verify tha the following settings are set up in Rockbox (it will improve the base [not BASS] sound):
 
Settings - Sound Settings - Channel Configuration - "Custom"
Settings - Sound Settings - Stereo Width - "125%"
Settings - Sound Settings - Crossfeed - Crossfeed - "Simple (Meier)"

 

[bfhyan]

  Yeah, I use the EQ in Rockbox on just about every headphone I own. It's so easy to create unique profiles for each of my headphones, then apply the preset depending on what headphone or IEM I'm using the the time.
 
Also, you may want to verify tha the following settings are set up in Rockbox (it will improve the base [not BASS] sound):
 
Settings - Sound Settings - Channel Configuration - "Custom"
Settings - Sound Settings - Stereo Width - "125%"
Settings - Sound Settings - Crossfeed - Crossfeed - "Simple (Meier)"

 
Just did this but can't test right now since I'm at work, but what does those setting mean what do they change?

 

[GlennTidbury]

Just a word of warning to those that want to do the brighter screen mod....it works and works well. ...

But be really careful of you're taking it apart.

I've taken loads of electronics apart before and never had issues so I went this route rather than risking cutting myself using the razor method.

I now have no working volume buttons. Not sure exactly what's happened as I put everything back as it came and didn't hear or see anything breaking. ...nor are there any missing bits in my work space. ..but the buttons are now basically permanently pressed in and there's no resistance or spring to them.

It feels like something must have broken off but I didn't see this and can't see any broken off parts anywhere in the room.

If anyone has any close up pics of the volume switches that might shed some light on it for me. For now though I'll need to use the settings menu to change volume. Bit annoying but at least I can see the screen outside now.

 

[Riolist2]

Just a word of warning to those that want to do the brighter screen mod....it works and works well. ...

But be really careful of you're taking it apart.

I've taken loads of electronics apart before and never had issues so I went this route rather than risking cutting myself using the razor method.

I now have no working volume buttons. Not sure exactly what's happened as I put everything back as it came and didn't hear or see anything breaking. ...nor are there any missing bits in my work space. ..but the buttons are now basically permanently pressed in and there's no resistance or spring to them.

It feels like something must have broken off but I didn't see this and can't see any broken off parts anywhere in the room.

If anyone has any close up pics of the volume switches that might shed some light on it for me. For now though I'll need to use the settings menu to change volume. Bit annoying but at least I can see the screen outside now.

Provided you didn't damage the physical switches on the circuit board there's an easy fix for this that will also make reassembly easier. First assure you didn't replace the volume buttons with the front deck buttons, then when you insert the volume buttons into the chassis for reassembly, hold them in place with one or two pieces of electrical tape. This will not only hold them in place but provide a tighter interface between the buttons and the physical switches on the circuit board. After this you should have tight, responsive volume buttons.

 

[GlennTidbury]

Yeah. I used tape on the outside to hold the buttons in place. But taking out apart again. ..there's nothing behind the plastic part of the buttons so I really don't know how they work. Usually the buttons will push some physical button or micro switch behind them. ..but there's literally just a flat part there.

I'm assuming that there WAS some kind of sprung switch there which must have broken off but god knows where because I didn't see it.

I usually have volume on a set -15 anyway. ...I only turn it down when I'm listening in bed. So I'll just use the line out for bed time and headphone out the rest of the time.

Again, if anyone has pics of the volume buttons I can at least confirm that mine are broken or missing something.

 

[Slater]

   
Just did this but can't test right now since I'm at work, but what does those setting mean what do they change?

 
1st 2 are related - the 1st setting has to be on "custom" for the 2nd one to even take effect.
 
Increasing the stereo width above 100% widens the stereo field, making your headphones sound "wider", similar to listening to full-size stereo speakers in a room. Over 150% and it starts sounding weird. 125% seems to be the sweet spot.
 
The last setting (Crossfeed), is similar to stereo width, in that it makes your headphones sound like you are listening to speakers in a room. It just does it differently. It's complicated to explain, so here's an excellent explanation taken from the Rockbox wiki on the feature:
 
"Crossfeed attempts to make the experience of listening to music on headphones more similar to listening to music with stereo speakers. When you listen to music through speakers, each ear will hear sound originating from both speakers. However, the sound from the left speaker reaches your right ear slightly later than it does your left ear, and vice versa.
 
The human ear and brain together are very good at interpreting the time differences between direct sounds and reflected sounds and using that information to identify the direction that the sound is coming from. On the other hand, when listening to headphones, each ear hears only the stereo channel corresponding to it. The left ear hears only the left channel and the right ear hears only the right channel. The result is that sound from headphones does not provide the same spatial cues to your ear and brain as speakers, and might for that reason sound unnatural to some listeners.
 
The crossfeed function uses an algorithm to feed a delayed and filtered portion of the signal from the right channel into the left channel and vice versa in order to simulate the spatial cues that the ear and brain receive when listening to a set of loudspeakers placed in front of the listener. The result is a more natural stereo image that can be especially appreciated in older rock and jazz records, where one instrument is often hard-panned to just one of the speakers. Many people will find such records tiring to listen to using earphones and no crossfeed effect."
 
You'll hear the difference right away when you change the settings to the ones I listed. It's hard to explain, and easier to just hear it for yourself. The 3 settings just sound "better", like they have more life and a lushness to the sound (vs cold, dry, and thin).

 

[Slater]

Yeah. I used tape on the outside to hold the buttons in place. But taking out apart again. ..there's nothing behind the plastic part of the buttons so I really don't know how they work. Usually the buttons will push some physical button or micro switch behind them. ..but there's literally just a flat part there.

I'm assuming that there WAS some kind of sprung switch there which must have broken off but god knows where because I didn't see it.

I usually have volume on a set -15 anyway. ...I only turn it down when I'm listening in bed. So I'll just use the line out for bed time and headphone out the rest of the time.

Again, if anyone has pics of the volume buttons I can at least confirm that mine are broken or missing something.

 
That really sucks, as the razor is the much easier method. It would be very hard to cut yourself with the razor using the method I outlined (as the sharp blade is completely pushed down inside the gap between the screen cover and the aluminum edge of the X3). You could cut yourself if you were trying to remove the stock screen cover with the razor while driving a car or riding a roller coaster LOL.
 
What plastic did you end up using for the screen cover? The Nintendo DS cover, or something else?
 
As far as the volume buttons, there's no springs or anything - its all just mechanical action. Your finger pushes on the aluminum button, and it in turn pushes on VERY tiny SMT micro switches.
 
You can see the buttons in the following photo (click for enlarged version, and look along the bottom left side):
 

 
It sounds like the buttons just aren't lined up. The one that always gives me trouble is the lock switch - the aluminum 'external' switch has a notch in it, and it must line up perfectly with the SMT switch. It's easy to install the aluminum 'external' switch upside-down, or make it not perfectly lined up (then the locking switch won't work right).
 
If you need me to take a better photo, let me know and I will later tonight.

 

[GlennTidbury]

Thanks for the photo. Yeah yours seem to have little parts between the buttons and the part that's on the pcb...whereas mine has nothing there pushing against the buttons. It definitely seems like those small parts have snapped off or something.

 

[Slater]

OK, here's really clear closeups of the buttons, both from the side and top view (click for larger view):
 

 
As you can see in the 1st photo, the external volume buttons are simply (2) aluminum pieces, joined together with a strip of very thin adhesive-backed plastic (to hold the buttons together).
 
As you can from the 2nd photo, the internal SMT micro buttons simply touch the surface of the adhesive-backed plastic strip. No springs, no spacer pads, no rubber bumpers.
 
It could just be that your board is in there slightly crooked, and it's jamming up the volume buttons.
 
Does your lock switch work OK? What about all of the buttons on front?
 
The very 1st time I ever took the X3 apart (to work on my DIY case), it took me 3 tries to get it all back together. One time the buttons on the front (play, home, etc) were jammed up. Then the front buttons were OK but I had problems getting the volume and lock buttons to line up properly.
 
I would recommend opening it back up and checking it out again. I will almost bet that something is barely out of alignment, and it's causing it to jam up. Pay particular attention to the lock and volume buttons, as that is the most likely culprit.

 

[stellarelephant]

The clear screen mod looks like a huge visibility improvement! Nice work, Slater! Killer step-by-step guide, too. Does the screen cover you used sit flush with the body, even with the black vinyl mask? I think I will try this, probably razor blade style to avoid the extra hassle and potential hazards of opening the case. No more squinting in the car!

Glenn, I hope you are able to fix your volume buttons. But if not, you know you can still set the volume via the front arrow keys in Rockbox, right? Just go to Settings -> Sound Settings -> Volume. Good luck.