Locked X3, Boot Loop, Battery Drain, Bricked?

[giiitest]

Device

X3

Affected Version

1.5

EPUB Optimization

No / Not Applicable

Cache State

No / Not Applicable

Describe the Bug

Not sure where to post this. Flashed a locked X3 via SD card to Crossink 1.5. Browsed a few minutes, opened 1-2 books, 1 of which was a bible with large TOC, no issues. turned on flip to turn page. After pressing POWER button (short press), device went to SLEEP, which I did not expect. Pressing POWER again showed Crossink Booting continuously - started a boot loop (?) that never ended. Deleting Crosspoint folder, reformatting SD card did not help. Initially, Reset + Power would cause screen to flicker as though booting, then would remain on the booting screen. This is the original issue.

After being left overnight without SD card, none of the buttons do anything anymore. Screen had "SD card error" and "going to sleep" displayed. After charging, resets, screen refreshed exactly once to a dark gray with faint "SD card error" (ghosting?), otherwise, no visible response to anything.

Update 1: Followed #479 for frozen screen and even though no firmware was installed (per SD card check), my screen refreshed to Crossink Booting 1.5, the original problem. Device also started responding again to Reset button and Reset+Power(hold) with a screen refresh (flicker). Seems to be trying to boot but unsuccessfully.

Update 2: Removed SD card for another reformat attempt via Rufus, noticed device was no longer responding to Reset or Reset+Power buttons. While card was reformatting, display suddenly updated to SD card error + Going to sleep. It stayed there a while, unresponsive to buttons. After a while, I returned to find the display had changed to "Crossink Sleeping". All this happened while my SD card was removed and I was not pressing anything. Now the device/display is frozen again, as at the beginning, even with the SD card inserted.

Steps to Reproduce

(Latest X3, shipped Aug 13).

1. Open book, open settings. Looked for flip to turn page, turn ON.
2. Go to Power button actions (defaults not changed, short press=ignore, long press=sleep).
3. Press Power button once. (short press) Sleep display appears.
4. Press Power button again. Booting display appears.

Expected Behavior

wallpaper display and Home page display for ON/OFF

File Provided

--- Select ---

Relevant Log Output/Screenshots

[uxjulia]

You need an SD card in it for it to boot. Make sure it's formatted as a Master Boot Record in FAT32.
If that doesn't work, try a name-brand SD card, not the stock one.

[giiitest]

I do have an SD card inserted. The sd card error displayed after I initiated a reset while the SD card was removed, just to check if the display would refresh (previously stuck on Crossink booting for hours). the buttons and display just stopped responding to anything after a while so the error is still there even though the sd card is inserted.

…

On Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 8:26 PM Julia ***@***.***> wrote: *uxjulia* left a comment (uxjulia/CrossInk#581) <#581 (comment)> You need an SD card in it for it to boot. Make sure it's formatted as a Master Boot Record in FAT32. If that doesn't work, try a name-brand SD card, not the stock one. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#581?email_source=notifications&email_token=CL3WLVWHSUV7POIYGNEM46L5KRDPPA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKMZSHAYTGNRVGQ4KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L#issuecomment-5328136548>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CL3WLVUNIYRWETFNP2RG3ZL5KRDPPAVCNFSNUABGKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMYTCOBQHE4TGNJYHE5US43TOVSTWNJRHAYTANJTGQYDLILWAI> . Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/ios/CL3WLVWLPYZATS42JFITO6D5KRDPPA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKMZSHAYTGNRVGQ4KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KUZTPN52GK4S7NFXXG> and Android <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/android/CL3WLVRWK7TXDKKB3T2PHXD5KRDPPA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKMZSHAYTGNRVGQ4KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2K4ZTPN52GK4S7MFXGI4TPNFSA>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[giiitest]

Update - I followed the frozen screen instructions here: #479. At first, nothing happened, then I pressed Reset + long press Power and the screen refreshed to "Crossink Booting", but it did not revert to the stock firmware as the steps were supposed to do. So at least my screen is alive again, but I'm back to the original problem of 'Crossink Booting' never finishing. (How many minutes does it normally take to boot Crossink from sleep?) The only thing this responds to is Reset + long press Power (screen flickers). Any suggestions where to go from here? I tried the escape hatch method but Power+Left/Down does not display anything. The screen is still only on Crossink Booting.

[OzzyMcBean]

Sounds like maybe the huge bible TOC might have made the device's memory max out and lag a little. Then you could have ended up corrupting something when you removed the SD card. That's my guess.

Have you tried flashing the firmware again from fresh? Or back to stock and then to Crossink again? How far in did you manage to follow those #479 instructions? All the way? Or did it just boot to Crossink before you managed to follow them all through?

Normally the boot up from sleep is easily less than a minute for me. Maybe only a few seconds?

Good luck!

[giiitest]

Sounds like maybe the huge bible TOC might have made the device's memory max out and lag a little. Then you could have ended up corrupting something when you removed the SD card. That's my guess.

Have you tried flashing the firmware again from fresh? Or back to stock and then to Crossink again? How far in did you manage to follow those #479 instructions? All the way? Or did it just boot to Crossink before you managed to follow them all through?

Normally the boot up from sleep is easily less than a minute for me. Maybe only a few seconds?

Good luck!

Thank you!

I followed the instructions in #479 all the way through, and suddenly my gray screen flickered and the Crossink Booting screen displayed again. Previous to this, my device was completely unresponsive to any button combination. However, after following the instructions, no folders were created in my SD card, and no firmware appears to have been installed.

I've been trying to flash from SD using various firmware but the device doesn't respond to the usual Power+Up/left combination. The only buttons I see a response to are Reset and Reset+Power (hold). The screen just flickers, and continues to display "Crossink Booting".

I mentioned the large book with TOC because I read it caused issues for others, but I personally didn't experience any lag or problem when I opened it. I just opened it to try, then was browsing settings because I had just installed Crossink. Then power button put it to sleep (first unexpected outcome) and power button again displayed Crossink Booting (neverending).

I only tinkered with my SD card AFTER the continuous Crossink Booting display despite all types of button combinations.

One Reddit thread said deleting the Crosspoint folder in the SD card resolved issues on corrupted files that cause boot loops. Tried and didn't have any effect.

Others said reformatting the SD card (not quick format) would resolve it. Reformatted to EXFAT, to FAT32, several times, no difference. But I'm planning to try a different tool for reformatting. Hopefully, something will work soon.

[OzzyMcBean]

Oh dear oh dear... That's not good. :/ Above my pay grade!

If I was you I'd try to get it back to stock firmware first. It could be the actual SD card itself. The one that came with my X3 ended up borked very quickly! I had to put in a spare one I had lying around and that done the trick.

I imagine those instructions are getting the device to boot into some sort of recovery mode, but it could be worth looking into how to restore stock firmware and using a different SD card?

Sorry I can't help much more!

[giiitest]

Oh dear oh dear... That's not good. :/ Above my pay grade!

If I was you I'd try to get it back to stock firmware first. It could be the actual SD card itself. The one that came with my X3 ended up borked very quickly! I had to put in a spare one I had lying around and that done the trick.

I imagine those instructions are getting the device to boot into some sort of recovery mode, but it could be worth looking into how to restore stock firmware and using a different SD card?

Sorry I can't help much more!

Unfortunately I don't have an extra SD card and I really don't want to spend any more money on this, if possible. I'll keep trying with this SD card (so far my computer has no issues recognizing it and it's only 3 days old as of today). I'll keep this in mind though, thanks!

[giiitest]

You need an SD card in it for it to boot. Make sure it's formatted as a Master Boot Record in FAT32. If that doesn't work, try a name-brand SD card, not the stock one.

Hi, I bought a new Sandisk SD card, used Rufus in Windows to format as MBR/FAT32, still nothing so far, following the instructions on frozen screen repeatedly. :( My device just says Crossink Sleeping and does not respond to any of the buttons or button combinations. I've mostly been charging this/testing while plugged to power in case battery is draining abnormally due to boot loop. (which is possible if the red charging light is any indication). Wonder if you have any further tips about card format or anything else I can try? Thanks a lot.

[OzzyMcBean]

:/ Have you tried restoring to stock OS here through USB?

Rufus has a few more settings than the standard Windows formatting options I think. Maybe you could also try just the standard Windows right click format drive utility from the file manager to eliminate any odd Rufus settings?

I think you mentioned it's not USB flashable though, so maybe you could grab the stock OS and throw that on the SD card? Then try to boot it into the recovery mode to restore the stock OS that way?

[giiitest]

My device is locked so no USB access. :( I've tried to reformat (slow, not quick reformat) several times and several ways, both through the Windows disk utility (no option for MBR) and through Rufus (option for MBR, which uxjulia said was a must) . I've also tried to flash using various .bins - stock, Crosspoint, Crossink, escape hatch. Problem is I don't see any response from the Power+Left/Up button combination (or even the entire process in the frozen screen thread). I also tried the screenshot button combi many times. When I check my SD cards, no files or folders are ever created. Only the .bin I saved is there. I think my device is on sleep mode (as indicated by the display) but I can't find a way to wake it up. The hardware hack posted in Crosspoint is definitely beyond me and I don't have a raspberry pi so I'm limited to software + button solutions. I really don't understand why this happened but I've voided my warranty installing Crossink, so I can't return the device anymore. Really sad. This was a small fortune for someone like me. Thanks for trying to help, appreciate it.

…

On Fri, Aug 21, 2026, 3:50 PM OzzyMcBean ***@***.***> wrote: *OzzyMcBean* left a comment (uxjulia/CrossInk#581) <#581 (comment)> :/ Have you tried restoring to stock OS here <https://crosspointreader.com/#flash-tools> through USB? Rufus has a few more settings than the standard Windows formatting options I think. Maybe you could also try just the standard Windows right click format drive utility from the file manager to eliminate any odd Rufus settings? I think you mentioned it's not USB flashable though, so maybe you could grab the stock OS <https://crosspointreader.com/debug> and throw that on the SD card? Then try to boot it into the recovery mode to restore the stock OS that way? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#581?email_source=notifications&email_token=CL3WLVQ6EUT5CEZSQMCA6RL5K75LTA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKMZWGY4TANRTGE2KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L#issuecomment-5366906314>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CL3WLVUBTTHIT6IRBBCGHUT5K75LTAVCNFSNUABGKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMYTCOBQHE4TGNJYHE5US43TOVSTWNJRHAYTANJTGQYDLILWAI> . Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/ios/CL3WLVW6L3KUZQCSXI6PPH35K75LTA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKMZWGY4TANRTGE2KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KUZTPN52GK4S7NFXXG> and Android <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/android/CL3WLVSG55B7OQ2T2BPPDED5K75LTA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKMZWGY4TANRTGE2KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2K4ZTPN52GK4S7MFXGI4TPNFSA>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[OzzyMcBean]

:/ It does really suck that it seems to have been borked somehow.

I really hope you can get it sorted but I have no more ideas on things you could try other than getting in touch with Xteink support and seeing if they can help. I'm not sure if they will or not though if you didn't get the unlocked one through their site.

Definitely can't return it to the online store you got it from?

[giiitest]

:/ It does really suck that it seems to have been borked somehow.

I really hope you can get it sorted but I have no more ideas on things you could try other than getting in touch with Xteink support and seeing if they can help. I'm not sure if they will or not though if you didn't get the unlocked one through their site.

Definitely can't return it to the online store you got it from?

yeah, no returns, warranty is void once you flash 3rd party firmware. sucks, but that's the cost of tinkering with a locked device. :(

[uxjulia]

I don't see you mentioning this, but have you gotten a brand new SD card?

[giiitest]

Hi, yes, I splurged on a brand new Sandisk hoping it would do the trick. Tried out of the box, also reformatted as suggested, several tries. I think I posted here on settings and app I used. The device just doesn't respond to any more key presses since it displayed Crossink Sleeping.

…

On Wed, 2 Sept 2026, 8:31 pm Julia, ***@***.***> wrote: *uxjulia* left a comment (uxjulia/CrossInk#581) <#581 (comment)> I don't see you mentioning this, but have you gotten a brand new SD card? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#581?email_source=notifications&email_token=CL3WLVV4EXPLKEZGIXIVM6T5NAHKZA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKNJQHE2TKOJVG4YKM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L#issuecomment-5509559570>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CL3WLVVNRWEPPHKRCPO2LGD5NAHKZAVCNFSNUABGKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMYTCOBQHE4TGNJYHE5US43TOVSTWNJRHAYTANJTGQYDLILWAI> . Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/ios/CL3WLVVY27SNGPPAJQI7XU35NAHKZA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKNJQHE2TKOJVG4YKM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KUZTPN52GK4S7NFXXG> and Android <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/android/CL3WLVQGZ47I35IY6O4MGY35NAHKZA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTKNJQHE2TKOJVG4YKM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2K4ZTPN52GK4S7MFXGI4TPNFSA>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>