How to jailbreak a used Pogoplug E02

The market for new Pogoplug E02 seems to have dried up. This is my personal favorite ARM device, so I'm considering bidding on several used units for spares and to play around with. However, these units will have previously been activated and my understanding is that the default root password will no longer work. (Is this indeed correct?)

So, my question is: Should I acquire one of these units, what do I need to do to log in as root in order to convert it for my own use?

A secondary question: I rather like the E02 because it comes with 256MB of RAM, a Ethernet port with indicator LEDs, and 4 USB ports, but is there something more recent I should be considering in its stead?

Thanks in advance.

Hi restamp,

If you buy it on eBay, you could ask the seller could go to my.pogoplug.com and de-register the device, and then you can register it again. But if the seller does not do that (either unwilling or bought the device from somebody else in the first place) then it's a big hassle. I don't know if you call Pogoplug they will be willing to de-register the device, I'd doubt they will. So chances is are you will need serial console to access it. And install uBoot from there to boot a Debian stick.

Currently, nothing comes close to the E02 pricewise. The iConnect has 256MB RAM, PCIe, Wifi, and 512MB NAND, 4 USB ports, but it costs about $US 75 on eBay! the Rasberry Pi costs close to that price (because of the accessories must be bought separately, ie. case, power supply), and does not have Gigabit Ethernet (only 100Mbs). Most if not all the rest of the comparable plugs (Pogo V4, Mobile,...), have only 128MB RAM. If you want 256MB RAM or more, and can't get the E02, then it will go up to > $US100 for other development boards like ODROID-U (again accessories must be factored in).

What I would do, assuming I understand correctly that you want to get several cheap Pogo E02s and make them work to your liking, is to connect a serial console to hack it. The nice thing about the Pogo E02 is the header is already in place, you just connect the wires with either a header or testing clips. If you decide to do this, and need info, I'll post a few eBay links where I bought the serial module converter and clips.

BTW, my Pogo E02 with bad blocks that you've helped me flashing uBoot around them, is still running strong, serving files as a NAS in my home :-)

- bodhi

Hi bodhi,
Since you are, by far, the most active person in this forum, I personally think Jeff ought to make you a moderator!

Thanks for your quick reply. I do have one of those 3V Nokia USB connectors that purportedly could be used to access the console, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that I could access the original uBoot. But, what then? Does this uBoot have the capability to update the NAND itself? Could I, by altering the uBoot parameters, cause it to boot from a USB device? Or, could I boot from the NAND in a manner that wouldn't require a password? (Stand-alone, or something like that.) I honestly know very little about the original uBoot and what its capabilities are.

Congrats on your Pogo still going strong. Did you ever upgrade the the latest uBoot? I had a somewhat similar situation with one of my Dockstars: The original uBoot worked, but when I tried to update it, I found it had a bit error in it. When I forced the new uBoot onto the Dockstar, it worked, but after sitting on the shelf for a year, I tried to ressurect it, and no joy. I guess the NAND had a latent problem and developed more bit errors, and one of those was fatal. At least it's better that it was a Dockstar than one of my PogoPlugs.

Thanks again.

(I had to alter this message because it was deemed to have been posted by a bot and rejected. Let's see if I can make it look more human...)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2013 04:26PM by restamp.

Hi restamp,

Yes, this hobby is addictive :) I'm fortunate that it also helps me in my works.

What I think will happen when you boot up with the serial console attached is you will see the uBoot count down, and you can interrupt it. Recently I had to do a somewhat similar hack for a Pogo Mobile. I think chances are the original uBoot on the Pogo E02 will have a count down (even if it is 0, you can still interrupt it). After that you can just type in the envs manually to start USB, load uImage and uInitrd from sda1, and then type in the boot command to boot into Debian. After that, you can flash the new uBoot in Linux command line. And also mount the original rootfs currently in NAND and change the root password back to a default value, or a new one.

That Pogo E02 is still running the old uBoot! I plan to do the same upgrade for it too (but never got around to do it) now I knew we can get around that bad block :)

Too bad the Dockstar does not work with UART booting, but if it did you could unbrick it with serial console.

Good luck!

-bodhi

restamp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi bodhi,
> Since you are, by far, the most active person in
> this forum, I personally think Jeff ought to make
> you a moderator!
>
> Thanks for your quick reply. I do have one of
> those 3V Nokia USB connectors that purportedly
> could be used to access the console, so it's not
> outside the realm of possibility that I could
> access the original uBoot. But, what then? Does
> this uBoot have the capability to update the NAND
> itself? Could I, by altering the uBoot
> parameters, cause it to boot from a USB device?
> Or, could I boot from the NAND in a manner that
> wouldn't require a password? (Stand-alone, or
> something like that.) I honestly know very little
> about the original uBoot and what its capabilities
> are.
>
> Congrats on your Pogo still going strong. Did you
> ever upgrade the the latest uBoot? I had a
> somewhat similar situation with one of my
> Dockstars: The original uBoot worked, but when I
> tried to update it, I found it had a bit error in
> it. When I forced the new uBoot onto the
> Dockstar, it worked, but after sitting on the
> shelf for a year, I tried to ressurect it, and no
> joy. I guess the NAND had a latent problem and
> developed more bit errors, and one of those was
> fatal. At least it's better that it was a
> Dockstar than one of my PogoPlugs.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> (I had to alter this message because it was deemed
> to have been posted by a bot and rejected. Let's
> see if I can make it look more human...)