occams razor

@n3o  You bricked your own device and neglected to create a backup before doing so?  At this point I would think you are just trolling.  I have given up on trying to convince you that your time is better spent elswhere.   I'll let the other forum members decide for themselves if helping you is worth their time. 

@n3o  You bricked your own device and neglected to create a backup before doing so?  At this point I would think you are just trolling.  I have given up on trying to convince you that your time is better spent elswhere.   I'll let the other forum members decide for themselves if helping you is worth their time. 

@n3o I think it's time you put this to bed and find something else that runs armbian without involving the entire forum.  At this point you are wasting your time. 
 
Like was mentioned by @RaptorSDS, the fact that android was corrupted should be highly suspicious and I would think points to some hardware defect. 
 
If you finally give up I would think one of the fully supported sbc's would be a good start if you want to still try to run Armbian.  
 
 
 
 

For the H20_221_v1.71 board I have worked out the uart connections and maskrom enable point.   For maskrom, this is shorting out either the data or clock line.  I have no way to determine which unless I take this thing to the office and look at it on a logic analyzer.  The test points are probably very similar to the v1.5 board with the blue solder mask.
 
 
 

For the H20_221_v1.71 board I have worked out the uart connections and maskrom enable point.   For maskrom, this is shorting out either the data or clock line.  I have no way to determine which unless I take this thing to the office and look at it on a logic analyzer.  The test points are probably very similar to the v1.5 board with the blue solder mask.
 
 
 

@MattWestB    It doesn't surprise me that the USB ports on these tv boxes are dodgy.  In my experience with an RPI3 I found that poor power supply regulation caused all sort of headaches with anything more interesting than a mouse or keyboard on the USB ports.   I now almost exclusively power usb peripherals with a inline power supply/isolator  when using anything like a wireless dongle like zigbee or zwave since these have fairly significant RF amplifiers that have high power consumption peaks.   Running something lik an SSD off the usb ports was also painfully unreliable for me.
 
I have a H20 RK3228 box coming in today so I'll soon be able to experience how bad these are first hand.

@n3o  The members trying to help you are highly experienced. The important point here is for you not to treat their specific instructions as merely "suggestions" after which you go off and do your own thing.   That is where the frustration lies. 
 
Based on the energy other users and you have spent on this, I would just buy some other TV box or SBC that is already known to run Armbian without any issues instead of trying to resurrect an old tired piece of hardware.   Unless you are really short on cash,  this is what I would do.  However, if you really are so short on cash that you cannot afford another $20USD on something else, then I believe your priorities are all wrong.
 
I have an H20 RK3228A tv box that is in transit that has some documented booting issues with Armbian.  In a way, I am happy to see how this whole episode has progressed.  I'm happy because now I know what NOT to do.

@n3o  The members trying to help you are highly experienced. The important point here is for you not to treat their specific instructions as merely "suggestions" after which you go off and do your own thing.   That is where the frustration lies. 
 
Based on the energy other users and you have spent on this, I would just buy some other TV box or SBC that is already known to run Armbian without any issues instead of trying to resurrect an old tired piece of hardware.   Unless you are really short on cash,  this is what I would do.  However, if you really are so short on cash that you cannot afford another $20USD on something else, then I believe your priorities are all wrong.
 
I have an H20 RK3228A tv box that is in transit that has some documented booting issues with Armbian.  In a way, I am happy to see how this whole episode has progressed.  I'm happy because now I know what NOT to do.

@n3o  The members trying to help you are highly experienced. The important point here is for you not to treat their specific instructions as merely "suggestions" after which you go off and do your own thing.   That is where the frustration lies. 
 
Based on the energy other users and you have spent on this, I would just buy some other TV box or SBC that is already known to run Armbian without any issues instead of trying to resurrect an old tired piece of hardware.   Unless you are really short on cash,  this is what I would do.  However, if you really are so short on cash that you cannot afford another $20USD on something else, then I believe your priorities are all wrong.
 
I have an H20 RK3228A tv box that is in transit that has some documented booting issues with Armbian.  In a way, I am happy to see how this whole episode has progressed.  I'm happy because now I know what NOT to do.

@n3o  The members trying to help you are highly experienced. The important point here is for you not to treat their specific instructions as merely "suggestions" after which you go off and do your own thing.   That is where the frustration lies. 
 
Based on the energy other users and you have spent on this, I would just buy some other TV box or SBC that is already known to run Armbian without any issues instead of trying to resurrect an old tired piece of hardware.   Unless you are really short on cash,  this is what I would do.  However, if you really are so short on cash that you cannot afford another $20USD on something else, then I believe your priorities are all wrong.
 
I have an H20 RK3228A tv box that is in transit that has some documented booting issues with Armbian.  In a way, I am happy to see how this whole episode has progressed.  I'm happy because now I know what NOT to do.