When you use an SPD flash tool on a Spreadtrum/Unisoc device, it typically goes through a few key stages:

This error essentially means the installer received a piece of data (the 0x96 packet) that it didn't recognize or couldn't read properly. Common Causes

Here is a systematic approach to tackle the 0x96 error, moving from the simplest checks to the most advanced solutions.

This error is almost exclusively encountered when using (also known as ResearchDownload or UpgradeDownload) to flash firmware. SPD stands for Spreadtrum , a brand of processors (now part of Unisoc) commonly found in many budget and mid-range Android devices. The error is also common when trying to flash a firmware package in the .pac format.

This error is rarely a simple one-off glitch. It usually stems from one of the following root causes:

If you are a developer encountering this while writing a driver or embedded system:

The error message "the data packet with type (0x96) returned was misformatted"

Try a different USB cord or a different port on your PC.

A brief flicker in your internet connection corrupted a single packet of data.

Here’s a draft for a technical post regarding the error:

Encountering the error is a frustrating roadblock, typically appearing during the installation or update of software—most notably within the Autodesk ecosystem or specific Windows installer packages.