There are only a few official recovery images available.
Also there are various original firmware upgrade files available.
These files are only suitable for the specific model they are made for.
They can not be used on other models (as they are). You can try but will see they are rejected.
Firmware files are normally no big problem to get. I can also produce update files after making a dump of the device.
However, this does not change the fact that with every firmware update there is a risk in damaging it.
This is not something special for the SkyTC boxes but applies to every device you want to update the firmware of, like DVD players, PC Bios etc etc.
For some devices the manufacturer was smart and has included a recovery method. In this case the risk is really small.
This recovery mode is `In theory` possible on all SkyTC boxes. However, only a few models actually have the recovery mode active.
You can test if it is active by holding two buttons (usually the two outside buttons on top of the device) and then inserting the power cable holding down the buttons until the device boots. If it shows a messsage about receovery, it is active. if there is no recovery message it is not active.
The older Pearl model does not have recovery it seems. Arnovas also do not have the recovery active.
The recovery mode has its own kernel and own filesystem independend from the kernel and file system used by the main program. This means that via the recovery a device can be fixed even if the flashing of the firmware failed.
Listenlive uses a special trick with the failsafe mechanism. Its not as powerful as the recovery and it can be killed but it is better than nothing.
Failsafe can be triggered by files on the SD card. It has various modes that can be used to do whatever is needed to gain access to the device.
Most important mode is that it allows firmware flashing even when the listenlive firmware is crashed. This could be a crash because of missing files or damaged config files. In that case you can reflash. either back to the listenlive firmware or to original firmware. However, note that the original fimrware does not have the failsafe. Failsafe is a decent alternative to the recovery mode until we are able to (re)instal the recovery mode.
With the right information (which I can extract from a working device) I can actually make an update to install the recovery mode even if its not already present. The main problem here is that I need to have access to a working device. Not just one device but one of each model.
Thats why I have been collecting special information like the PCB board version. Because of this information we now know there are 4 different main hardware models. Based on these hardware models the devices are branded with the various reseller names.
The other thing is of course funding..thats why I take donations. So that I can try to get each model and make the proper recovery files and also am able to test and verify the workings of the firmeware updates.
Last question you probably have is why these files are not made available by the manufacturer. I had some conversations with the SkyTC CEO. According to him, they do not want to make firmware modifications based on our `wishlist`. They do not want to make available any recovery images and do not want to help the people who already bought a device from them. Also they did not want to make the source code available (even though it is mostly based on open source).
He did not want to have any help with the firmware either. He also thought I would not be able to make my own firmware for the devices. 
