Mediatek phone ROM cross use

[Guest sipart]

Hi newbie question, have searched around but can't quite get my head around the answers I have read.

OK I have a cheapo Chinese phone running 4.2.2 - its a Newman K1S - http://www.antelife.com/newman-k1s-smartphone-android-4-2-mtk6592-2gb-16gb-5-0-inch-ips-hd-screen-2-0mp-13-0mp-camera-black.html

It is virtually identical to this phone - http://www.antelife.com/blackview-crown-3g-smartphone-with-mtk6592-octa-core-5-0-inch-ips-hd-ogs-screen-2gb-16gb-13-0mp-camera-android-4-2-white.html

Only differences really being the battery size and obvious body differences + the fact that the Blackview runs KitKat 4.4.2 - they obviously both share the same SOC, looks like the same screen and res, same camera, same ROM size, same RAM, same normal features.

I am interested as I have the Blackview Kitkat ROM and I have a backup of my Newman ROM, so what's the chance of success on modifying and flashing the Blackview ROM onto the Newman?

I have read about the pre-loader being the key file in the ROM that can cause hard bricks of devices (in the fact that they are unique to the manufacturer/device in some way?) - but I can't get to the bottom of what this is and if any other files are unique? I also assume the Kernel will most likely be different? But then again being virtually the same hardware would the kernels be cross compatible?

 

I assume the process is going to be relatively complex (and probably beyond my capabilities!) even though they are virtually identical phones but from different manufacturers? Or perhaps not - who knows! (hence my questions) ;-)

 

The Newman phone is currently a secondary phone as I have another dual sim mediatek device (THL W8S) - so quite happy to mess with it a bit - but don't really want to get into a hard brick position obviously :-)

File list of extracted ROM zips below (it may help!):

Blackview Crown Android 4.4.2

168,456 APDB_MT6592_S01_KK1.MP1_
5,867,520 boot.img
5,561,144 BPLGUInfoCustomAppSrcP_MT6592_S00_MOLY_WR8_W1315_M D_WG_MP_V35_1_wg_n
6,348,948 cache.img
276 Checksum.ini
512 EBR1
512 EBR2
244,524 lk.bin 
518,899 logo.bin
512 MBR
7,691 MT6592_Android_scatter.txt
123,532 preloader_ratech92_cwet_rlk_kk.bin
6,252,544 recovery.img
135,168 secro.img
761,112,276 system.img
53,453,680 userdata.img


Newman K1s Android 4.2.2

10,485,760 boot.img
1,024 EBR1
524,288 EBR2
393,216 lk.bin
8,388,608 logo.bin
524,288 MBR
7,661 MT6592_Android_scatter.txt
10,485,760 recovery.img
6,291,456 secro.img
838,860,800 system.img

Many thanks in advance.

[Guest sipart]

See no response to this, anybody suggest a better forum? Android dev biased but friendly to noob questions?

Tried XDA, no response there either.

Cheers

[Guest leuk_he]

I think if you only flash the system.img (if it fits...) , you are on the safe side. (that is....no hard brick)

 

 

The odds however are that there are some small differences that make that some hardware will nog be supported. Seeing that the newmank1s has touch screen  issues (i returned mine before the new rom was availabe that is told that solves it)  the odds are that some of the hardware 

-touch screen,

-screen brightness.

-sensors

etc etc

   

are different and will not work. The kernel itself will not be a big problem since the cpu is the same, but the odds are considerable that some hardware will be different. 

 

If you run the flashtool and select only the system image (and it fits...? looks ok if is see the sizes above.), the odds are reasonable that it will start to boot.

 

but... the odds are bigger you will get into a boot loop, having to reflash the original system.img. 

 

Normally you first create a good recovery img

 

i think: NEVER touch the pre-loader (unless you know what you are doing. )

[Guest sipart]

Thanks leuk_he. Gave that a go - used my original scatter file - but post initial static boot screen it goes black (with backlight on) and just sticks.

 

If I try and scatter file from the kitkat ROM I get "pmt changed for the rom it must be downloaded" - after a google this seems to mean that partition table present in the phone is different from the partition table that the rom I am trying to flash to the phone needs.

 

I think kitkat roms are partitioned differently - so perhaps need some work on the blackview scatter file and the associated ebr files needed?

Edited September 12, 2014 by sipart