ShopTemp Dingoo

[Atashi]

I know the ShopTemp Dingoos are supposed to be "non-HK" models, but the one I received did exhibit all the traits of being an "HK" unit. Quick background for those who don't know - the "HK" or "UnPawed" Dingoos were/are a version of the product that is feature-crippled for unknown reasons. It won't run homebrew / community apps or emulation software, it will only run the handful of games that it came with, and only uses the handful of pre-installed emulators. The pre-installed emulators don't work very well (lot's of freezing and failing) and worst of all, if you try to flash it with any of the normal flashing / unbricking tools, the unit will brick and leave you with no way to fix it.

The Dingoo I received from ShopTemp appears to be a "non-HK" unit. That is, there is no HK in the serial number, there is a paw-print on the back, and if you open it up and look inside, the motherboard looks like the 'good version', i.e. single 4GB flash chip, blue board. However, in actual use it behaved exactly like the "HK" version. It refused to run any app other than the included ones; it refused to run any emulators other than the included ones; the included ones worked very poorly; and when I tried to update the firmware, it bricked -- with the same error screen that the "HK" units throw when they brick. (Red screen, "Unauthorized", www.chinachip.cn)

I was able to find a patched unbricking tool that was specifically made for the "HK" versions, and this worked. The tool is available in this post on Dingoonity. (Massive props to joyrider and mth) Just follow the instructions carefully and it works.

The Dingoo comunity has also figured out how to patch software and emulators to work with the "HK" versions, and a big HK-fix package has been put together. It can be found in this thread at Dingoonity. (Massive props again, to Dingo-Digital-USA and MTH) Again, just follow the instructions and it will be ok.

With the Dingoo unbricked and the HK-Fixes applied, it now works 100% like a normal "good version". Like I said in the other thread, I don't think ShopTemp would have known about this unless they actually tried to use it - looking at the product, even looking at the motherboard, you cannot tell it's the crippled version.

Here are some pics - they're large, so I've linked them instead of inserting them:
Front view of Dingoo
Back view of Dingoo
Motherboard of Dingoo

Now I'm a happy camper! Cheers!

-Atashi

 

[Covarr]

If GBAtemp had a rep system, I'd +rep you for this post.

Not that I have, or plan on getting, a Dingoo myself. Beyond my DS, and hopefully-forthcoming SCDS2, I don't think I'll be buying another handheld gaming device until the Pandora comes out (or 3DS, perhaps).

 

[iamthemilkman]

So it has all the hardware and touches of a legit "non-HK" system, yet it's fake? I'm not sure that's possible. Are you sure you didn't just mess up originally?

 

[Costello]

Thanks for your very interesting and useful post, Atashi!
I will make sure to let the Shoptemp guys know about this problem.
The pictures you posted will hopefully allow them to get back to the Dingoo company.
Why did you hide the serial number though ? if you could let us know i will forward it to the shoptemp team

Also, lol at the filename of the 3rd picture

 

[Another World]

So it has all the hardware and touches of a legit "non-HK" system, yet it's fake? I'm not sure that's possible. Are you sure you didn't just mess up originally?

from what i remember, the "Red screen, Unauthorized, www.chinachip.cn" only happens on the "HK" one when trying to upgrade the firmware. because this happened it is probably an "HK" build. however, they did OEM the design, so maybe there is a 5th version of the dingoo out there now. it is hard to keep up with it, its more annoying than the r4 clones.

-another world

 

[TM2-Megatron]

I had no idea what a Dingoo even was before reading this, but it's an interesting read nonetheless. It's issues like this that are really my only big concern in dealing with a China-based shop; and I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating it must be to be an actual retail consumer in Hong Kong. There just seem to be so many fakes, or fakes of fakes, floating around for certain types of products... and it can get to the point (like these, going by Atashi's post) that they're practically impossible to tell apart other than by actually trying to use them extensively.

What's even the point of having two versions of this thing, aside from the fact one is clearly much more functional than the other?

I hope ShopTemp figures out a good way to determine the real things from the garbage for future shipments; I'd be frustrated at whoever was producing these, if I were them. I can't see any point in making an inferior and/or fake version of something look indistinguishable from other models, unless your goal is to deceive people.

 

[Atashi]

So it has all the hardware and touches of a legit "non-HK" system, yet it's fake? I'm not sure that's possible. Are you sure you didn't just mess up originally?

That did cross my mind, so I was careful to document everything and check it against all the information I could find. The red 'Unauthorized' bricked screen does not exist in the normal / good / non-"HK" units.

Actually, I don't even know if the "HK" ones are 'fake' or what the deal is. I've read a number of theories, i.e. they were designed for the Chinese domestic market (non export), or they were a faulty production run, or they were the 'new' version and everything will be "HK" in the next run, et cetera.

Fortunately the "HK" issues have been almost fully resolved by the community, so once the fixes have been applied the unit is more or less just as functional as a 'good' one.

-Atashi

 

[Schizoanalysis]

Excellent, excellent...

Thanks Atashi...

 

[iamthemilkman]

So it has all the hardware and touches of a legit "non-HK" system, yet it's fake? I'm not sure that's possible. Are you sure you didn't just mess up originally?

That did cross my mind, so I was careful to document everything and check it against all the information I could find. The red 'Unauthorized' bricked screen does not exist in the normal / good / non-"HK" units.

Actually, I don't even know if the "HK" ones are 'fake' or what the deal is. I've read a number of theories, i.e. they were designed for the Chinese domestic market (non export), or they were a faulty production run, or they were the 'new' version and everything will be "HK" in the next run, et cetera.

Fortunately the "HK" issues have been almost fully resolved by the community, so once the fixes have been applied the unit is more or less just as functional as a 'good' one.

-Atashi

That's very odd. Hopefully GBATemp gets this worked out. I hope you the best of luck with your system.

 

[Ace Gunman]

ShopTemp told us that the Dingoo team told them that the HK model was just a faulty product line. Could be this is a new faulty line, or heck, it could just be a defective singular Dingoo. Could use some looking into by either the Dingoo team, ShopTemp, or both. Good work getting it working, Atashi.

 

[Atashi]

From what I have read, it is something along the lines of an internal 'hardware id' which the original / good Dingoos did not have, but the "HK" units did. When an app, game, or emulator doesn't have the right id, the Dingoo refuses to run it. And if one attempts to flash with the 'normal' firmware tool, this too fails the id match, resulting in the red unauthorized screen.

I don't know for sure if this id is burned into the CPU or if it is in some other bit of hardware, but the solutions all involve either bypassing the hwid check or spoofing it so that it always returns true.

Apologies if I haven't got the terminology exactly right but that should give the gist of what the problem/solution was discovered to be. For what it's worth, the original Dingoos' CPU was branded Ingenics, this one is branded Chinachip Dingoo Game. Maybe means nothing (they're the same company I believe) but maybe there is something slightly different about the CPU?

Either way, it's working and I'm enjoying all my retro gaming goodness!

When other folks who've ordered the Dingoo get theirs, maybe we can compare and see if theirs has similar traits to mine.

Cheers!

 

[glstar]

Really a very interest discussion.
Thanks Atashi.

 

[Schizoanalysis]

Does anyone know if Dingux will install OK on the (HK) Dingux from ShopTemp?

I found a guide for installing Dingux...

http://dingoo-scene.blogspot.com/2009/07/i...ngux-using.html

...but am unsure if it involves the same procedure...