[FAQ][REF] Korean Motoroi XT720 Updating, Root, OC etc.. - Milestone XT720 General

well, not exactly a FAQ...
I write this as a user of a Korean Motoroi XT720, in Korea. I do not know or care much about using this phone elsewhere, but some things here may still be useful for people in that situation.
First the Korean version Motoroi XT720 is not exactly identical to the international Milestone XT720 and certainly not identical to the original Milestone A853 (Thanks to Mioze7Ae for pointing out about the original.. also see his comments in next post about more detail on the subject.)
For one it has DMB, the internal storage apparently varies on other versions (I think), radio frequencies and APN settings are not compatible if using ROMS from the wrong device.
It may be possible to make a ROM from another version work, but that's not my thing.
Roms from for the non-Korean versions probably will not work without some changes
And therefore, custom ROMs from English sites probably don't work. There are android developers in Korea, but I don't know if any develop for this phone.
Updating
repeating:
Roms from for the non-Korean Milestone XT720 probably will not work without some changes
And therefore, custom ROMs from English sites probably don't work. There are developers in Korea, but I don't know about this phone.
Froyo (android 2.2) gives you apps 2 sd.. which you need if you have many apps.
Froyo update linked from first post of this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881801
Don't worry about the bugs reported there if you are using the Korean model. The bugs (except for maybe the mediaserver issue, more later) are related to the fact that people are using the rom on non-Korean phones.
The rom there is the same rom as available officially on the Korean update site. It's just much easier to get it from the above link.
To flash it,
1)get any version of RSD-lite (I used 4.9 and it worked). I used windows xp to run it. Mileage may vary with windows 7.
2) Run it. Load the sbf file.
3) Check that the file stats get filled in (otherwise you got a bad download which happened to me once).
4) Put your device in download mode (keep reading for instructions).
5) Connect the USB.. use a good heavy gauge cable like the stock cable, and plug into a rear connection on the computer. This really can matter.
6) Hit start, and wait a long time, this phone's flash process is REALLY slow. (compared to Samsung)
Within a couple of minutes though it should be clear that something is flashing and progress indicators should be incrementing. Don't wait hours.
There's a good youtube video somewhere for the milestone.
**Official Update
Unlike the manual suggests, OTA does nothing.
The latest official ROM version seems to be reported here:
http://www.mymotorola.co.kr/product/PrdRsdPhoneList.aspx
So in the unlikely(?) event there's another significant update, we should see it there.
Official updates are flashed by a web app from here:
http://www.mymotorola.co.kr/product/PrdRsdMain.aspx
A thread discussion roughly how to traverse that complicated Korean web page process to do the update is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=908314
Notice the non-Koreans failed, but that's because they had the wrong phone. Your phone should be connected by USB when you start the web process. It took me two tries and a computer reboot to get it to work, but it worked. It probably helped that I can read most computer terms in Korean writing.
**Download and Recover Modes
Download mode allows ROM flashing. Recovery allows wiping data cache, and applying update.zip files (which can modify your rom).
Download and recovery modes keys
Recovery (mostly quoted from someone else):
Turn off phone
Press Power key + Camera Mode Key to power on the phone and bring up the recovery screen
(Trianlge with exclamation mark shows after motorola logo)
Press Volume Up + Camera Key to show the recovery menu.
Use Volume Up/Down Key to highlight and Camera Mode Key to select
Be careful.. selecting wipe data, will obviously delete most of your apps.
Download Mode:
Turn off phone
Press Power key + Volume Down + Camera key
Camera mode key is the little one next to the cammera key.
Volume up means the one toward the top of the phone.
If the battery is out of the phone and if it turns on when you put it in... then replace "power button" above with "insert battery". You don't have to contort to do both as some people say. Either way, the power key or battery should be the last part of the combination.
**Rooting
Super one click is said to work, and certainly it should. I used the rageagainstthecage exploit with adb (the same exploit as super one click). There's a similar hack described elsewhere here. I can try to improve this section if needed later.
**Market Games etc
Many applications are blocked to Koreans in the market. This includes all games. Use the Market Enabler app from the market to fix this. I use it to set my provider to [us]T-mobile. If you get the pro version it can be made permanent on boot up. The free version isn't.
**Some Tweaks and tips
Launcher
The stock launcher is a little jerky on this thing, or was in eclair, (update.. I think froyo and/or the mediaserver fix solved this)
Anyway.. you can try ADW launcher or launcher pro or something else if you have problems. These sometimes pause to reload though when you hit the home key.
mediaserver bugginess
A few people using the Korean froyo on the Milestone report that there is a mediaserver issue where mediaserver consumes battery and slows the phone. I may have detected this on the Korean phone too, but not sure yet (not pateint enough). The solution offered around here is to replace the media server binary. Here's the link I found for a new one:
http://dateno1.egloos.com/28452
It is a Korean page, so it probably is an issue for the korean phone. I installed the mediaserver_d file, and the phone still works and yes, maybe better, but if you do the fix incorrectly, you can boot loop your phone and need a reflash. I don't know the difference between the two files offered there.
so the way to do this (assumes basic knowledge of adb use)
1)root the phone
2) cd to the directory with the mediasver_d file
4) do all this...(this has not been cut and paste tested, but it's what I did by hand, check for typos).
Code:
adb pull /system/bin/mediaserver mediaserver.original
adb push mediaserver_d /data/local/tmp/mediaserver
adb shell
$ su
# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/yomama /system
# mount -o remount,rw -t roots / /
(the mount type and device name actually don't matter for a remount command)
# rm /system/bin/mediaserver
# cat /data/local/tmp/mediaserver > /system/bin/mediaserver
# chmod 755 /system/bin/mediaserver
# reboot
Keyboards:
If you want Korean and English entry, and want spell checking in English and an overall much better keyboard, I highly recommend Smart keyboard Pro, and download the English and Korean language packs for it. I've tried many keyboards. Keep in mind though, I don't like swipe. Don't forget to configure the spell checking stuff. You must enable it in settings and you must select it as your input method... long press on an input box.
Lockscreen
If you don't use pattern lock, skip this. If you use pattern locks you probably see no need to 1) press power 2) do a slide lock 3) do a pattern lock. On many phones the pattern lock disables the slide lock. On some, including this one, it sadly doesn't. The only unlocker toggle I found that fixes this is Anti Lock from the market. It uses a little battery and it flashes between screens real fast in an un-appealing way for half a second when you press power, but it gets it done. I like having it better than not having it.
Tethering
There's a 3G hotspot app included for this.
**Overclocking:
This device is potentially very overclockable/underspecced. (but don't take my word for it, I only know rumors and such.. do this AT YOUR OWN RISK This may damage your phone (if you overdo it) and you may be denied warranty repair.. real examples of this exist I think(questionable source)
First root the phone.
Get Milestone Over-clock. You must find version 1.4.2. On the web site you must click show all versions or something like that on the download page. Newer versions don't work on the Korean device.
Run it. Slide the slider all the way to the right to get custom mode (you really should use custom mode) Hit menu key. GO to settings. Do *NOT* check apply on reboot until you've tested your setting. There's a thread around here, I'll link too soon, with people's experiences. On my particular device I cannot get as a high a speed with as low a "vsel" (chip voltage I think). I run about 4 vsel higher or more to stay stable for long times during angry birds.
I found that 1 Ghz, at 60 vsel (most people run 1Ghz at 56 I think) rebooted my phone after half an hour of heavy use, and became pretty warm. I backed off to 900 Mhz at 58. I think this is ok for me. I may just be unlucky.. chip variation does exist, or maybe the Korean models are a little different (see Mioze7Ae useful comments in next post).
**A little about ROM file manipulation
This is just here to point the curious in the right directions. I have not explored this stuff much yet and some info may even be wrong.
Anyway, this is just a FAQ not a development thread.
Again custom ROMs from English sites made for Milestone devices won't work without some changes.
Kernels are locked by the boot loader (at least that's true for the Milestone), so no custom kernels exist (well not in a very practical sense).
Official Rom files are SBF files. SBF files are packed together smg files.
SMG files are apparently yaffs2 image files and can be mounted with loop mounts on a linux system or the phone.
update:
So actually you need yaffs2 support and you need to create a nandsim device on a ramdisk, so that's a bit involved:
http://www.aleph1.co.uk/pipermail/yaffs/2005q3/001356.html
and it seems you can probably dd the image file onto the ramdisk then, or unyaffs it.
but in the end that should allow actually editing the image, and possibly even producing modified flashable images.
but unyaffs works to extract the contents of CG39 (/system) and CG33 (/cdrom.. whatever that's for).:
http://code.google.com/p/unyaffs/downloads/list
You can google a windows version too.
MotoAndroidDepacker or sbf-recalc are two tools that can unpack sbf files to smg files and repack them again (possibly even making modified flashable ROMs). sbf recalc has a linux version but I only found a binary which dynamically links to the wrong versions of libstdc++ for my system.
It seems more popular around here to create "nandroid" images (which I think are also just filesystem images, but I haven't really played with it).
Open-recovery seems to be the tool of choice for making and flashing nandroid backups, but I haven't looked into this at all yet.

Nice!
About overclocking--be aware that according to paper specs Motoroi XT720 and Milestone XT720 have different CPUs. Supposedly, the chip in Milestone XT720 is rated for higher clock rates (800 vs 550 according to TI iirc, but Motorola put it to 720 to be cute, I guess). It has been claimed that it's actually the same die and manufacturing process but TI sold the chip slower initially. Motoroi has the same CPU as A853, iirc.
There are some korean ROMs. We don't know a lot about them here unfortunately due to language barriers. Another phone very similar to the XT720s is the XT701 sold in China. It has an exploitable bootloader.
From what we've been able to figure out the biggest differences are the TV tuner and the sensors. Things got really confused over here (XDA) because the froyo ROM we had was based mostly on A853's froyo (Dexter's ROM). Lately were working on a ROM that's mostly based on the Korean froyo. The file differences between the two are much fewer.
For now, the most important part seems to be running the right kernel because sensors don't work correctly when you're running the wrong one. The partition tables are baked into the kernel, so the Motoroi has a partition table better suited to froyo. The total internal memory is the same, but the Motoroi sbf has a larger /data and smaller /cache and /system.
Sent from my XT720 using XDA Premium App

Good info. I don't know these days, but years ago chips with different speed was largely the result of random variation and QC checks. If they sold it slower originally, then slower chips may have gotten through QC. I don't know if that logic still applies much anymore. I heard that many many years ago.

oops this post was in wrong thread somehow..

Korean XT720 does not function properly after rooting
appagom said:
well, not exactly a FAQ...
I write this as a user of a Korean Motoroi XT720, in Korea. I do not know or care much about using this phone elsewhere, but some things here may still be useful for people in that situation.
First the Korean version Motoroi XT720 is not exactly identical to the international Milestone XT720 and certainly not identical to the original Milestone A853 (Thanks to Mioze7Ae for pointing out about the original.. also see his comments in next post about more detail on the subject.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Korean Motorola Milestone phone. I unlocked it in Korea & brought it to Europe to use. I did 'factory reset' and it worked fine. I had to 'root it' to install some special fonts. The rooting was successful and I was installing the font during that time the phone reboot itself and stuck at the first 'T' screen (Korean vendor). I tried to re install it to factory default but of no use. The problem persists.
At system recovery level I get four options:
1. reboot system now (tried & failed as the system is corrupt anyway)
2. apply sdcard:update.zip (I can't do as I don't have an update.zip)
3. wipe data/factory reset (yes I did this but still no recovery as the
default system is presumably corrupt)
4. wipe cache partition (yes, I did of no additional use)
with this background I wonder whether there is a way to recover my phone using SD card?
[ps. on two occasions the phone suddenly worked but I could never connect it to wireless network as the Input Keyboard did not work. Hence I could not connect it to Android application market (btw. the basic applications are still intact). Thus the possible way out is to recover it externally using my PC (if my phone allows me to connect it via USB or through micro SD card with system recovery console]
Any help?
Kannan [Germany]

nkannan said:
I have a Korean Motorola Milestone phone. I unlocked it in Korea & brought it to Europe to use. I did 'factory reset' and it worked fine. I had to 'root it' to install some special fonts. The rooting was successful and I was installing the font during that time the phone reboot itself and stuck at the first 'T' screen (Korean vendor). I tried to re install it to factory default but of no use. The problem persists.
At system recovery level I get four options:
1. reboot system now (tried & failed as the system is corrupt anyway)
2. apply sdcard:update.zip (I can't do as I don't have an update.zip)
3. wipe data/factory reset (yes I did this but still no recovery as the
default system is presumably corrupt)
4. wipe cache partition (yes, I did of no additional use)
with this background I wonder whether there is a way to recover my phone using SD card?
[ps. on two occasions the phone suddenly worked but I could never connect it to wireless network as the Input Keyboard did not work. Hence I could not connect it to Android application market (btw. the basic applications are still intact). Thus the possible way out is to recover it externally using my PC (if my phone allows me to connect it via USB or through micro SD card with system recovery console]
Any help?
Kannan [Germany]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash a fresh SBF using RSD Lite.

Related

[ROM][V0.51][01-nov-2010] HTC 2.1 Senseui Mod for Milestone

(99% DISCONTINUED)​
See MotoIncred/MotoFroyoSense for new versions​
MotoSense, an adaption of the HTC 2.1 SenseUI(version 1.6) from HTC Desire
Image is only compatible with this a milestone A853 , and cannot be installed on other variants of "Milestone" XT720/A854/A855 branded models (yet).
You can also follow updates on Twitter now: Dexter Picard (DexterPicard) on Twitter or
me a Red bull, and you're sure i stay up working on this mod.
LATEST RELOAD PATCH for MotoSense MotoSense v0.51 patch
Old releases :
LATEST FULL MotoSense DOWNLOAD MotoSenseV05
MotoSenseV03​
a image folder goes into /nandroid/adbrecovery on your SDCARD its required to have OpenRecovery on your phone to install this image.[/COLOR]​LATEST PATCH FOR DOWNLOAD
MotoSense v0.51 patch (see top of post)
WIPE YOUR PHONE BEFORE ANY FULL IMAGE IS INSTALLED! (Recovery menu - factory reset)
If you don't you might get constant reboots with the M logo
INSTALLATION:
Use G.O.T Recovery / Open Recovery to install this rom.
Currently require you to install a 2.36 stock rom, before you install this one.
Radio Band Requirements for different countries
Some countries require the original 3G files of your current ROM to work ie.
Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Germany and some others countries uses a different band for 3G. If u dont backup the 4 original 3G Files and restore it over this nandroid once installed u gonna have poor signal, sms problems and HSDPA loss (even if u set apn and get conection its gonna be crappy one).
Files should be in the /system/etc/motorola/bp_nvm_default/ of your phone.
This can be done using OpenRecovery and a adb shell.
You might check this thread , if a update-nosign.zip file exists for your model. which makes it easier for you to install.
Filenames are:
File_Audio
File_Audio2
File_GSM
File_Seem_Flex_Tables
generic_pds_init​​
STATUS of the functionality in image
Working​Radio (Calls,GPRS,HSPA)
USB
Milestone bootup AC charging
Wireless
Bluetooth (limited but works, only with a few functions)​Not Working​- PINCODE (will not be able to enter any pincode or boot normal)​
Changelog history
v0.51 1-november-2010
- Finally beat the reload issue with SenseUI, it should work alot better now​
v0.5 12 august 2010
- Corrected WorldClock bottom slider icons
- update HTC Camera to support more resolutions and moto recording.
- Changed Motorola VideoCamera & VideoRecorder to work with HTC framework for optimal use of Moto Camera.
Changed Moto Gallery for proper playback of your recordings.
- SDCard is now always "on", so you will notice status is "0 bytes" when you connect to pc. No conflict with wifi anymore.
- Apps2SD support, EXT2 supported.
Use G.O.T recovery or other application to partition your SDCARD Partition no. 2 should be EXT2 formatted
(G.O.T will do this automatically)
- Apps2SD remaining space can be seen in settings -> SD & Phone storage. Look under "Internal Phone storage" which is your EXT2 partition.
- optimized internal storage space. Most apps are now in /system. leaving your with 171MB free internal storage on your milestone.
- WIPE is 100% supported but you loose the following apps, if you do.
(Dock , GreekIME , Maps , MotoCarDock , PersonalPortal , VSuiteApp , QuickOffice , teeter )​NOT SOLVED
- Reloading of Rosie (HTC Launcer)
Reason for not fixing it is that Motorola Milestone simply do not have enough memory for HTC SenseUI to run stable with only 256MB.
the launcher is very memory hungry for all its plugins and graphics.. so sorry, no fix, unless you add 256MB more memory to your phone.
- Bluetooth headset​
v0.42 29 july 2010 (MotoSensev042-update-nosign.zip - attached to this post at the bottom) (type: nosign-update.zip)
build.prop correction (hopefully solves too many sense restarts)​Keyboard light enabled​HTC Camera fix (5M pixel)​
OLD REVISION DATA DELETED, OBSOLETE and not worth writing anymore
WARNING: Use this image at your own risk and i take no responsibility if
you brick your phone.. Image has been tested on a UK milestone and works fine if all files in ADB recovery image is used.
woah, nice work buddy. just got a question, if i apply this rom to my North American Milestone, do i lose the ability to access 3g/hspa network from rogers?
is gps working
i got one guy on IRC from Canada(im from europe, so im not sure on networks you got overthere), he tried it, and it works fine for him
You should try to only flash the system+data image of it, as the cust.img contains telephone info, which might be what you need to keep.
GPS is not working atm..
im new to the motodroids , will this work on the motorola droid or just the milestone ? ive had the droid eris so im not sure if there is a difference between the droid and milestone, sorry for the dumb question,
tazzpatriot said:
im new to the motodroids , will this work on the motorola droid or just the milestone ? ive had the droid eris so im not sure if there is a difference between the droid and milestone, sorry for the dumb question,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is already a senseui for Droid, look for Zeusdroid they made that image.
Dexter_nlb said:
there is already a senseui for Droid, look for Zeusdroid they made that image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok ill google it to see if i can find it , it is much easier to find eris roms , ive only had this moto droid for to dayz and im lost lol
edit well i found it but it doesnt look like its very functional , if its the one i found
tazzpatriot said:
edit well i found it but it doesnt look like its very functional , if its the one i found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Porting is no easy task, when its not about development, and zeusdroid actually do have some customized wireless driver.
But i managed to use the existings drivers from Milestone..
And im probably not going to do programming to make the port perfect, as that not so easy, although i got some experience.. but none within driver programming.
im really happy with the progress dext3r, this is awesome.
just curious, any ETA for GPS fix?
gemini002 said:
is gps working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive just tried to fix this, and GPS will be working in the next release.
as it works now
Dexter_nlb said:
Porting is no easy task, when its not about development, and zeusdroid actually do have some customized wireless driver.
But i managed to use the existings drivers from Milestone..
And im probably not going to do programming to make the port perfect, as that not so easy, although i got some experience.. but none within driver programming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know , ive ported some roms for the eris , i understand its not easy to make it all work, trust me im not disrespecting any1
crap need gps gunna wait until next update fak really miss sense ui
if i install this rom what happend to my apps also i have app2sd applied is this gunna be a problem???
Dexter_nlb said:
ive just tried to fix this, and GPS will be working in the next release.
as it works now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
awesome pls release this on the weekend would love to try it out also if this is htc sense ui does it have flash lite and if it does have flash lite would the 10.1 flash that works for 2.1 roms work with this...
SplitSnake said:
im really happy with the progress dext3r, this is awesome.
just curious, any ETA for GPS fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you know your way on a few linux commands,
then you're welcome to make it work yourself.
1 . copy the /system/lib/libgps.so from the original milestone 2.36.0 image.
2. flash motosense image.
3. mount /system
and copy libgps.so into the flashed image into /system/lib
and GPS works after a reboot.. So fixed!
of course all done from adb shell.
gemini002 said:
awesome pls release this on the weekend would love to try it out also if this is htc sense ui does it have flash lite and if it does have flash lite would the 10.1 flash that works for 2.1 roms work with this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10.1 for 2.1 senseui roms are not real, it just looks like 10.1,
but the flashlite already reports that number.
and yes, flashlite works fine. tested on a few flash websites.
I have a Telus Milestone and I will consider trying this ROM at some point.
Just to crosspost from the other thread... in another thread I was told the following. Could be useful for keeping 3G.
DAGr8 said:
cmstlist , there is an easy way to retain your baseband just flash the HK sbf , then , copy paste these files and make sure you set the permissions correctly .
Probably safest to do via adb if you dont make sure you reboot ...
for the 3G baseband Hack/Swistch it 5 files from /system/etc/motorola/bp_nvm_default
File_Audio , File_Audio2 , File_GSM , File_Seem_Flex_Tables , generic_pds_init
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So perhaps if you want to try Motosense on your Telus Milestone, then you should backup these 5 files (and take note of the permissions) before flashing the nandroid image. Then afterwards if 3G doesn't work on the Motosense image, restore the same 5 files.
Ok I wasn't able to flash only certain parts of the nandroid backup so what I did was make 1) a full nandroid backup of the Thai firmware (leaked from GOT) on my Telus Milestone unlocked for Fido, 2) a partial nandroid backup using the options --backup --nodata --nocache --nosystem
Then 3) I flashed all of the motosense backup. Trying a first boot. Will report on whether my NAM 3G is gone.
All I get after the M boot logo is a black screen, followed by a force close notification for system. Nothing else comes up. Long-press Home and I get no recent applications. Oh wait - spoke to soon! Wow, just got the HTC lock screen. Unlocked and now I have the setup screen. Asks me to insert SIM to place calls as if I don't have one inserted. My only option seems to be to press "Skip". Okay, home screen loading up now after the tutorial.
So yeah it's not seeing any phone service and I get "Unable to start Wi-Fi". I'm going to try a second reboot. This time the Droid eye shows up promptly (BTW this is very odd to see because Milestones don't usually have that animation). The phone boots up considerably faster than on the Motorlola firmware. *This* time, I do see cell service. In fact I just got a text message. Wait it just dropped again.
Trying to search for network operators. None showing. Strange! It does see wifi though this time. As the OP implied, DHCP not coming through. Meanwhile my Fido service just came back... VERY weak. Dropped again. Normally both EDGE and 3G are quite strong at my apartment so it's odd. Is it possible this ROM has weaker RF somehow?
Ok trying to set up the APN. Noticing the keyboard doesn't light up. APN set up but still no service. Reboot #3: Yes, wifi works now. Mobile network still very weak. Briefly connected to mobile data and it was EDGE. Test phone call fades in and out. Maps manages to wifi-geolocate me.
Alright, so I'm obviously having connectivity problems and only getting 2G. Let's try flashing back the partial I took from the Thai firmware. To be continued next post.
Okay! Flashed back my partial backup from Thai 2.1. Rebooting. Droid eye comes up, glares at me a couple times, back to the homescreen. Connects to Fido. Disconnects, connects again. I am still connected via EDGE, not UMTS. I try going to *#*#4636#*#* and selecting WCDMA only - no dice.
Alright well this has been fun. But obviously I need my phone service to work so this ROM is not for me. Despite having dutifully pasted the info up above about the 5 files to backup... I neglected to do so. So it's back to the full nandroid of my Thai firmware. But one thing for sure, Sense is very pretty!
Before doing this, I made one attempt to install Superuser.apk using the app installer, and then to install Root Explorer. Root Explorer was unable to get root. Maybe if I installed Superuser via OpenRecovery it'd be happier.
Okay back to normal. Goodbye for now Sense!
Backup restored successfully. I used Root Explorer to back up the 5 files in question to SD. Then I restored MotoSense one more time, and before even booting it up the first time I applied root from OpenRecovery. This time it booted much faster. (Is there any way the stock ROM can be hacked to boot this fast? Wow.)
Again, wifi fails to start on boot #1; succeeds but no DHCP on boot #2; works on boot #3. Signed into my Google account and installed Root Explorer (previously purchased). This time Superuser pops up like it should and we're in. I entered Airplane mode. I pasted in the 5 backed up files from the Thai firmware to /system/etc/motorola/bp_nvm_default after mounting read/write. Then I made sure to fix the permissions. Rebooted without exiting airplane mode.
After reboot I disabled airplane mode. Hey, FULL SIGNAL BARS! I did it. But now it's telling me unable to start wi-fi. Let me add in the APN next. Done.
YES! The little H pops up. I'm getting 3G data! But as soon as the icon pops up, it drops out again. In any case I know I'm connected to UMTS because my cell tower ID in Maps > More > About is 1957869 which is my local UMTS tower. Test phone call is *much* clearer and signal isn't dropping anymore. One more reboot.
On the next reboot, wifi is back. Upon disabling it, the lovely "H" shows up and then flits down to "3G". Testing in browser... hmm nope. Something still missing, don't know what. One more reboot, trying again. Internet works on wifi, but not on HSPA (even though the 3G/H icon comes up).
Sanity check: Dialed *#*#4636#*#*, Phone information. Run ping test.
Ping IpAddr: Fail: IP addr unreachable
Ping Hostname (www.google.com): Fail: Host unreachable
One more sanity check: Switched to GSM only, verified in Maps>About that it's connected to a 2G cell ID (57322). Full signal bars, good call quality. So swapping the files improved both 2G and 3G voice performance.
Since I had a bit more success with this approach, I'm saving a backup for future reference, and on my rare moments of idle time I'll play with it again. But back to stock for now.

[ROM] (Flytouch 2, SuperPad, WWE10) Froyo

This thread is for the custom Froyo rom for the Flytouch 2. It is a port of the first Flytouch 3/Superpad 2 Froyo rom, adapted to run on the flytouch 2. I will update this post whenever a new version has been released.
This rom will only run on tablets which display a version number in the bottom-right "Infotmic" screen when first turned on.. If yours doesn't display a number there, you will need to flash firmware v2852 first, see below in FLASHING V2852
INSTALLATION
Installation is slightly different from normal releases because it requires flashing in 2 steps. Luckily, it's really easy:
1. Download bootable SD-card image and unzip. Pick an image from the RELEASES section at the end of this post.
2. Write image to an SD-card that's at least 1GB in size using Win32DiskImager:
Get Win32DiskImager here: https://launchpad.net/win32-image-writer
In Win32DiskImager: When you open it, there is a button to browse the .img file and after that, at the right of this button there is a selector for the SD-card. Select it, then click write and it's done.
When finished, take out the card.
In linux, you just unzip the file and use dd to write it to the sd-card:
Code:
dd if=/path/to/sdcard.img of=/dev/sdX # (where sdX is your scsi disk device, check dmesg)
3. Turn off tablet and put sd-card in TOP slot (between the 2 usb ports).
4. Turn on tablet. It will report that it is booting off the sd-card, and that it's flashing kernel + filesystems.
5. Take out the sd-card when the tablet asks you to do so (takes less than a minute). Put it in the OTHER sd-card slot (bottom one), and reboot the tablet by holding down the power for 10 seconds to turn it off, then press it again to turn it on.
6. You will now see the tablet booting with a *GREEN* screen. The screen will flash twice to indicate it's starting. The flashing itself will take longer than in the previous step, a few minutes. If succesful, it will automatically reboot, after which you're done and you're booting the new firmware! You'll see a different boot screen (equalizer on a black background)
7. After it has booted and you have unlocked the screen, reboot the tablet first thing! First boots in android always tend to be behave erratically. This is unrelated to this firmware and applies to all Android setups.
If step 6 fails (which is very unlikely), it will stay on the green screen and it will keep on flashing the screen. In that case, you'll have to turn it off. Most likely problem for this is a corrupt SD-card. See troubleshooting below.
Make sure to never put that sd-card back in the top-slot without erasing it first, as it will reflash your tablet!
TROUBLESHOOTING
The 'green screen' keeps flashing!
The installer will dump a text file on the root of the sd-card which you can inspect. The file is called fail_reason.txt. If no such file exists, things are seriously wrong and the tablet couldn't even properly write to the sd-card. If using another SD-card, or rewriting the SD-card doesn't help, please upload the fail_reason.txt file here.
Flashing was succesful, but the system freezes at the android animation!
For this firmware to work, you need to have a recent version of u-boot. You can tell if you have this by looking at the INFOTMIC bootscreen you see when you turn on the tablet. If the bottom right corner does not show a version number, then you don't have it.See instructions below.
FLASHING V2852
You need to flash this firmware to install a new version of u-boot. To flash this firmware, you will need to connect your tablet to your PC using an USB A-A cable, OR create a bootable SD-card.
Download firmware V2852: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?3bkklw36b1414nd
Download and unpack IUW: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?3572bd7zfjo0r0y
Start IUW
If you use an USB cable: Click 'Link USB' on the left, select 'easy burn' from USB Mode pulldown in the right. Connect tablet to PC with the tablet turned offf, then turn it on by pressing & holding the menu+home buttons, then pressing the power button until it turns on. Release the menu+home buttons after a few seconds. Windows should now detect a new USB device. Install the drivers that are in the iuw1.1/otg_driver directory.
If you create a bootable SD-card, Click 'boot disk' on the left instead. Select sd-card to flash on the right
Select the IUS file form the v2852 firmware under 'Choose a wrapped image'
Click 'burn' to flash the tablet or create the sd-card. If you created an sd-card, boot the tablet with the sd-card in the top-slot, between the 2 USB connections.
TODO
How to enable 3G support for USB dongles?
(**) Tested:
wifi, ethernet port
battery status works, g-sensor works
touchscreen works, including calibration
HD video playback works (I recommend Meridian player)
Market works (full), Youtube works
angry birds works ( thought I'd mention it )
The firmware has already been rooted! You can connect using adb over wifi, and type 'su' to become root. Find your IP address using the Android System Info app.
GPS confirmed
VIDEO
Video demonstrating how to flash the tablet after having created the bootable SD-card: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47kf4-Vbba8#t=3
RELEASES
April 24th 2011, V5: http://www.mediafire.com/?1ka7ngpi82grmfm
Added older version of YouTube (1.6.21) which works
Fix touchscreen calibration
Added LauncherPro as alternative launcher
March 2011, V4: http://www.mediafire.com/?oc1bwnq71smb09k
verandi said:
Hi everyone.
I just made a personal version of system.tar.gz, and I thought it could be usefull for someone.
Most considerable changes:
Calendar and contacts synchronization now working again.
Simple stock froyo keyboard, without chinese characters.
Replaced youtube with the old working version.
Market updated to last version (no paid apps, though.).
Default launcher replaced with launcher pro, which is considerably faster.
Removed phone and telephony settings (see below)
Other changes:
Removed stock browser, replaced with dolphin browser HD.
Removed default file explorer, replaced with File expert (first free file explorer with working root that I found).
Changed alarm clock.
Changed calculator (but has wrong visualization).
Changed music player with music mod.
Added facebook, maps (+ navigation + latitude +places), chrome to phone, google search, google reader, terminal emulator, Titanium backup, voice search. adobe reader.
Maybe I deleted some other stupid flytouch stock apps, but actually I don't remember.
Warning, notes etc...:
All apps are free apps from market.
Phone apps (Phone.apk, TelephonySettings.apk) removed for test, due to suspected battery drain (Someone said so...), so:
Phone settings don't work (gives you force close when you tap on mobile settings menu)
Don't install if you use 3g adapters, as I think you won't be able to use them.
Maybe some future workarounds for paid apps on market won't work.
App2sd doesn't work. (Didn't even work before. I think there's some problem in the kernel with device mapper and crypto). I'll try to implement the fake app2sd that uses an ext partition on sd.
This is just a personal versionof stargulus' system files with apps I'm used to have on my phone, so maybe it won't fit you.
How to install:
First important step: boot in recovery mode (back + home +power until you get in recovery menu), and wipe cache and data. This must be done. It also helps to have stragulus' calibration file installed correctly.
Prepare the sd as described in the first post of this thread using the last Stragulus' sdcard image (v4, See link in this post).
Go to "stage2" directory and replace system.tar.gz and system.tar.gz.md5 with the downloaded ones.
Flash.
The first boot will be quite long, but it's normal.
While using the flytouch for the first time, it will probably lag and hang. Just reboot and it won't happen anymore.
File link: http://www.multiupload.com/Z9CONJVPQO
I hope this will be usefull. Advices are welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers! I welcome custom mods of the base rom. I'm willing to add them as alternatives to the first post by linking to the introductory posts. In this case, it looks like parts of it are suitable for integrating into the base froyo rom (e.g. calendar & contact sync fix). What exactly did you do to fix those?
Wonderful, downloading now at 7.8K/sec (why sooooo slow?)
Is Google Sync fixed?
Thanks,
Barak
Later:
Well, if I add Verandi's MOD I get sync but I loose calibration option.
Still, I prefer the MOD with sync.
Thank you guys. Amazing Job !!!
1-5-2011
Please note that verandi has created a V5 mod that adds sync option without eliminating calibration.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13343444&postcount=54
Good luck.
Your uboot - 0.6.1.2 (587) http://www.mediafire.com/?4hx8xt38vnhh22b
My uboot - 0.6.1.5 (587) http://www.mediafire.com/?bv4ixzeq34q5bi7
what's the latest?
which should I use?
EDIT:
If possible enable a swap partition to optimize tablet in ROM? (we have little RAM)
Camera have a problem. Green image in V5 (24/04/2011)
@ Stragulus
I've been waiting for
Thank you for your work
Market will not dowload
Well once again my hats off to you Straguls for a job well done I installed the version 5 rom with no issues however the Android Market still only displays the free apps and will not download and install any of the apps it states download unsuccessful any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Steve
stragulus said:
This rom will only run on tablets which display a version number in the bottom-right "Infotmic" screen when first turned on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case loader version number is missing. But u0 is 0.6.1.2_1.4.587_OV2655 and u-boot from 2852. And all work fine.
Probably condition is flashing firmware 2852 in the tablet instead of only u0?
IMHO.
Because the firmware is full image and contained u-boot and u0. Flashing u0 need only if camera don't work with 2852 from full image. Of course, if the tablet has not been purchased already with firmware 2852 and above. Without this step you will get many reports of "fre-e-e-ezing" or "stop in android on screen" like in the previous thread.
hello
I have stitched from card Froyo V5
The tablet is loaded and asks calibration, but it does not work: (
Was 3245, but it has ceased to be loaded and I have updated on Froyo
I do not know what at me uboot how it to look? Probably to update it with sd?
jp08 said:
загружатся
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
По русски спроси. Я tuzzz c форума china-iphone.ru.
Ask question in Russian. I tuzzz from the forum china-iphone.ru.
Вообщем поставил Froyo (v5)
после прошивки при первом запуске появляется калибровка экрана, но на нажатия никак не реагирует
поставил назад 3245, на ней все нормально
Возможно ли это из-за загрузчика uboot, как можно посмотреть его версию и возможно ли обновить его с SD, т.к. возможности с ПК нету?
google translate:
In general set Froyo (v5)
after flashing at the first startup, a calibration screen, but clicking does not react
put back 3245, her everything is ok
Is this possible because of the boot uboot, as you can see its version and whether it is possible to update it with SD, because capabilities with a PC no?
Answer on russian forum.
Also read from here and below.
_barsuk_ said:
In my case loader version number is missing. But u0 is 0.6.1.2_1.4.587_OV2655 and u-boot from 2852. And all work fine.
Probably condition is flashing firmware 2852 in the tablet instead of only u0?
IMHO.
Because the firmware is full image and contained u-boot and u0. Flashing u0 need only if camera don't work with 2852 from full image. Of course, if the tablet has not been purchased already with firmware 2852 and above. Without this step you will get many reports of "fre-e-e-ezing" or "stop in android on screen" like in the previous thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could be true indeed! I thought those who fixed their problem only flashed U0, but maybe all of them actually tried to flash all of v2852 with the IUW tool. Upshot here is that it should be possible to flash the entire firmware using a bootable SD-card, e.g. not requiring an USB cable.
Can anyone confirm that creating the bootable SD-card for FW2852 using IUW as described in the first post fixed their install of the froyo setup?
If you create a bootable SD-card, Click 'boot disk' on the left instead. Select sd-card to flash on the right
Select the IUS file form the v2852 firmware under 'Choose a wrapped image'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After Burn a card sd the empty
This way does not work
Used Win7 x64 and virtual WinXP x86
Excellent Work
Many thanks stragulus!!!!!!!
Now I once again have a usable Pad - the Calibration works perfecly!!!
My route to Froyo was from 3245 to v4. I HAD to flash U-Boot-Nand FIRST. This gave me the Infotm code in the bottom R.H.corner. The only problem was with the calibration.
Again MANY THANKS. Please continue to develop for the Pad.
jp08 said:
After Burn a card sd the empty
This way does not work
Used Win7 x64 and virtual WinXP x86
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. I do now recall that someone tried all those methods before to no avail. When I flashed this firmware, I think I did:
* Flash all of FW2852 (over USB)
* Found out that it didn't work 100% as it still booted an older ramdisk
* So after that, flashed U0 with u-boot-nand.bin. That triggered the 2-minute tablet going crazy on first boot.
* Then flashed all of FW2852 again, and now it worked.
Soo.. I think bottomline is, if you haven't seen the tablet go crazy for 2 minutes, it probably didn't work. Question is, is just flashing U0 once with u-boot-nand.bin enough..? It appears this does not work for everyone!?
stragulus said:
Cheers! I welcome custom mods of the base rom. I'm willing to add them as alternatives to the first post by linking to the introductory posts. In this case, it looks like parts of it are suitable for integrating into the base froyo rom (e.g. calendar & contact sync fix). What exactly did you do to fix those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
I replaced GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk and GoogleCalendarSyncadapter.apk with the ones from my phone. I am 98% sure I replaced only these two, because I didn't note down the names.
Now I'm trying to solve the next problem I have in the list: I can't leave the pad in standby, as it drains the battery like it was awake.
Yesterday I had a look at proc/wakelocks file to see which processes are requesting wakelocks.
Comparing this file to others around the net and the one of my phone, I found out that some processes were active during standby (they had 0 value in sleep_time row).
Now I haven't here my flytouch, so I can't be precise (I'll edit this lines next days), but I remember that some processes and powermanager were never sleeping (in all other wakelocks files, powemanager was sleeping on standby but main process not, so I think powermanager is faulty and main process not.).
Powermanager is a class contained in system/framework/services.jar so I tried replacing this file with my phone's one. It worked as the wakelocks file was showing that powermanager began to sleep on standby, but I had no improvement in battery life on standby, as, I'm quite sure, the other processes prevent the full sleep of the device.
To you and everyone who reads this: can you give me a help?
Can you fully recharge the flytouch, then disconnect the power supply, note down the start time, live it in sleep mode and then measure how long it takes to get discharged?
It tried myself today: unplugged at 16.30, left it in standby, died at around 19:20 ---> 2h50m of battery power on standby.
(If you also can tell me how long it stays on when you use it, and what kind of use you made, I would really appreciate too! )
Hail to Stragulus.. unlocking the beast!!!!
stragulus,
as usual.. I am riding on someone else's brilliance.. thanks for the update..
Will load it up tonight when get home from work..
My only wish is app2sd...
it has made such an improvement to my Evo with ability to load programs in..
So if someone wants to come up with a fix.. I am sure you will make many internally grateful!!!!
Edit after flashing:
Flashed the clean version WITHOUT verandi addons..
the Calibration works perfectly
feels fast and clean..
had problems with launcher pro .. and Titanium backup..
for some reason using Launcher pro it would not allow Titanium to see the sdcard.. thus couldnt restore my backups..
Played round for a while.. upgraded to Titanium 3.6.1.1 same thing..
went in and wiped Dalvik cache.. still no go..
have shut down launcher pro and installed ADWlauncher (almost the same as launcher pro)
walla.. now Titanium is seeing the SDcards and backup.. confirmed that it restored backed programs and data..
Market is working for me.. just wondering if we can port market from Myn’s Warm TwoPointTwo - RLS 5 into this rom..
as this may be the workaround that will get past the only free apps showing.. I am using it on my Evo and in China..
so usually only get to see free apps.. but with MWTPT I am getting all apps.. I do understand there is a app floating round that is suppose to be able to reset Market in to thinking it is in a zone that will allow it to show all apps.. may need it to load in to this Rom..
Will put it through its paces and report back over the coming week..
verandi said:
It tried myself today: unplugged at 16.30, left it in standby, died at around 19:20 ---> 2h50m of battery power on standby.
(If you also can tell me how long it stays on when you use it, and what kind of use you made, I would really appreciate too! )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm. This time is extremely low for standby mode. I use kernel from 3245. With this kernel battery indicator won't work properly but OS works more stable.
Also I removed Phone.apk and TelephonyProvider.apk. I don't need 3g modem. And 3g modem still does not work with this firmware.
With full charged battery I disconnected charger from tablet at 22:00 (in my local time). Now is 5:25 in my local time and tablet has ~4% battery indicator. From my experience tablet shut down after 5-10 minutes. All this time tablet is in standby.
Verandi
Excellent work and thank you for the Google sync fix - it makes my wowpad WOW!!!
Can you please add these files to the V5 version? Without them there's no sync. If I add your V4 files to the V5 rom there's no calibration. I wonder what else is lost !!!
Thanks,
B
stragulus said:
Cheers! I welcome custom mods of the base rom. I'm willing to add them as alternatives to the first post by linking to the introductory posts. In this case, it looks like parts of it are suitable for integrating into the base froyo rom (e.g. calendar & contact sync fix). What exactly did you do to fix those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great job. Thank you about that. I've a little question.
I've updated my Flytouch with you sdcard V5. Everything works fine, but i can't get the connection with USB 3G dongle. How i can do ?
There's a program to get the connections ?
I've tried with "quick setting" but nothing happens.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you about that.
Best regards

[ROM][2013.01.09] Lenovo A789,P700i,A660 custom ROM (ICS)

I made a clean ROM based on the factory ROM for the Lenovo A789, A660 and P700i
Cleaned up ROMs:
- A789_S227_cybermaus_V2 (below)
- A789_S228_cybermaus_V2.1 (further below)
Ported ROMs (ported from P700i):
- A789_ROW_S105_cybermaus_ICS_V3 (further below)
- A789_ROW_S106_cybermaus_ICS_V3.1 (Further below)(also for A660 and P700i)
- A789_ROW_S107_cybermaus_ICS_V3.2 (Further below)(also for A660 and P700i)
The current and advised rom to use is A789_ROW_S106_cybermaus_ICS_V3.21
Based on factory ROM A789_S227_120827, and located in my Dev-Host. It is as close to factory as possible, which I hope will be good for stability. It is a flash-utility ROM, because it also holds the latest preloader, uboot and recovery. Assuming those are OK, followup fixes will be update.zip style.
Summery of changes:
- Rooted the phone with Chainfire SuperSu
- Set to boot in US-english, changed name of ROM
- Added MoreLocale for extra languages in 3rd party apps
- Removed Chinese apps, incl Chinese keyboard, removed SmsReg.apk
- Left Lenovo Security (anti-malware) and Lenovo (Go) Launcher intact
- Added Google GAPPS, Play Store, Maps, etc
- Added MobileUncle toolbox, SManager (root explorer). Titanium backup (free version)
- Added fix for location services
- Added CWMT recovery image (modded from 593cn.com)
- Added Skype, Whatsapp, and some others, as auto-install into userdata upon wipe
- Prepared busybox (you need to run script /system/xbin/installbusybox as root if you want it)
- Replaced bootup animation with clean Lenovo butterfly
- Replaced all some audio files with english named ones (thanks mabuc)
- Caller ID bug still present, sorry
- Just as a reminder, these ROMS have English and Chinese only.
Instructions:
By default, the ROM will not overwrite USERDATA or FAT. If you want a clean slate, first extract empty.userdata.rar and/or empty.fat.rar
- Read bgcngm flash tutorial.
- Read it again
- Start Flash Tool (v3.1222, in my Dev-Host)
- Load scatter file
- Take out USB cable and replace battery
- Press the download button in the flash tool
- Connect the USB cable
- Wait for the flashing to complete
A789_S228_cybermaus_V2.1 (no longer current, Use V3 instead)
Based on factory ROM A789_S228_120913, and located in my Dev-Host. Similar to V2, but newer, and a few extra fixes. It should be noted that the S228 is listed to solve unexpected crashes, so an important update in itself.
I do not have a A789, so it is a blind build. Until I get positive feedback, consider untested. Don't be the first to try if you are not experienced.
Summery of changes:
- Same as on V2, and additional
- Removed 2 more chinese apps that I forgot last time
- Prepared busybox (you need to run script /system/xbin/installbusybox as root if you want it)
- Added a tweak so USB-Debug notification is no longer shown
- Added a tweak so Wifi works on all 14 international channels (rather than only the 11 US ones, may be undone if you set a different locale)
Instructions:
This is a update.zip type ROM. So you need the custom recovery, see post #3,
A789_ROW_S105_cybermaus_ICS_v3.03
Based on P700i_ROW_S105_120920, see this separate post.
A789_ROW_S106_cybermaus_ICS_v3.11
Based on P700i_ROW_S106_121001, see this separate post.
Please note that this ROM I also build for the P700i and A660. See same post.
A789_ROW_S107_cybermaus_ICS_v3.2
Based on P700i_ROW_S107_121221, see this separate post.
Please note that this ROM I also build for the P700i and A660. See same post.
Below:
Post #2: Small review and fix of location services
Post #3: Custom recovery image
Post #4: Root your phone / install GAPPS
Also, many issues for the A789 are similar to those of the A750, so if you have questions, do search that Lenovo A750 thread to.
Thanks
Also thanks to bgcngm for his help, and to jazzor for his help
=================
BTW: Due to new forum rules, resulting in a large number of people that cannot post into developer threads and that subsequently PM me, I open op a new Q&A thread.
I am not going to be policing, so you can post where you like, but I invite everyone to use this new thread for any Q&A, and this thread for ROM releases and deep development talk only.
Consequently, if you PM'ed me, look for your reply in this new thread
Thanks
====================
PS: do drop me a reply if you use or tried it! Or press the 'thanks' button.
So, I got my first glimps at the A789. So to speak. My colleague was holding it while we were audio-skype, so I did not actually see it.
His A789 came with a Etotalk ROM by Dean, which I now suspect is a reworked Smileyvvv ROM with Sony Experia interface. Not bad, but as you know, I am a 'factory ROM' guy. My colleague may also be, because he had already replaced the the SE launcher with GO Launcher, which is the default Lenovo one. Also my colleague said it jammed a few times, which it still has not done on my factory A750 ROM.
Most of the phone worked, but a few tips for others out there:
- The phone still has the Called-ID bug. Even though it is newer 4.0,4. I know some of you claim this is solved on ICS Mediatek, but I still claim it is solved in *some* of the cases, not all, it also depends on how your provider sends the caller ID info. Anyway, you can work around it with the prefixer app as reported before.
- It did not come with the MobileUncle tool, but with the Etotalk tool. Which was not updated for the new MT6577 chip, so it had no Engineer Mode. Install the latest MU tool (version 20120813v2.2.0 its in my Dev-Host), so you get one with MT6577 Engineer mode.
- Recovery Mode was hard to get into. Like the newest A750 preloader, you have to press the power putton *just before* you press both volume buttons. But it did came with the CWMR Touch, though its Touch function was broken, so buttons only. They probably simply tried recovery images of other models, and did not properly build one with the A789 kernel, but it does not matter, it works well enough.
- Location services did not work. Update the phone with the ICS_locationfix_v1.3 update using recovery mode. While you are in recovery, also wipe cache. And finally, go into MobileUncle tool, the MTK Engineer mode, and in location settings, change the NetLoc from MEDIATEK to GOOGLE. Now your location services should work.
Lenovo A789 Recovery
I created a recovery image for the Lenovo A789 based on ClockWorkMod Touch 5.5.0.4. However, I do not own a A789, so until I have reports of it working, consider it untested. You can download it from my Dev-Host: File A789_S22x_recovery_cybermaus.rar
NOTE: It has come to my attention this recovery works well, except the nandroid backup function, which is broken. If you value nandroid backup, install the APKHOT one below.
While doing this, I also found a full APKHOT distro which had what seems to be a CLockWorkMod (non-Touch) recovery in it, so I extracted that and also uploaded it. That too you can download from my Dev-Host: File A789_S22x_recovery_apkhot.rar
Both of them you will have to flash using the flash tool, using bgcngm's excellent manual, and the V3.1222 of the flash utilities and drivers, also in my Dev-Host. If you flashed my V2 ROM, you do not need to do this, as the recovery is already part of that.
Once you have the recovery installed, you can enter it by pressing both VolumeUp/Down while booting the phone. Due to an issue with the preloader, it may be needed to press the power button slightly before both volume buttons. If the phone seems stuck, it means the preloader messed up, remove battery and try again.
Inside the recovery (the Touch variant) you can navigate not only by its physical buttons, but also by screen buttons, and by gestures: swipe up/down for up/down, left for back and right for enter.
The first few people using this, please report your findings, good or bad.
PS: As alwasy, thanks to bgcngm for his unpack utilities, which I used to modify the recovery.img
Lenovo A789 Root; GAPPS, Location DIY
Its been mentioned before, but if you have a working recovery (like above, hopefully), you can always yourself root your phone. Simply install (from inside the recovery) chainfire's "CMW installable ZIP"
Link to his post: (ignore his big red requires root warning)
The file you need is labeled "CWM installable ZIP" at the bottom.
Direct link to the file you need to install via recovery update.zip
And while you are at it: You probably also want to install the latest Google Mobile Services (better known as GAPPS) from CyanogenMod V9:
Explaining wiki from CyanogenMod
The file you need is called gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip and can be found here
You probably also want to wipe your cache partition after doing this.
To complete this DIY of fixing factory ROM: On Chine phone typically the location services do not work. Update the phone with my A750 V1.3 update using recovery mode. (it works on the A789 because it is a minor update, but *DO NOT* any of the other A750 updates on the A789. I repeat, do *NOT* flash A750 on A789). While you are in recovery, also wipe cache. And finally, go into MobileUncle tool, the MTK Engineer mode, and in location settings, change the NetLoc from MEDIATEK to GOOGLE. Now your location services should work.
Good luck
PS: If either update.zip refuses to install, remember to turn off the checksum and assert checks in the recovery.
And thanks to Chainfire for his work, and the team at CyanogenMod for theirs.
cybermaus said:
Before I can help, please provide some info:
Can you tell me what ROM you have?
Which flash tools did you use to root?
Also, do you have a working recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hwonggc said:
I fix the proximity thingy. it's caused by my lousy screen protector. But i've got another bigger problem now. I've accidentally uninstalled the default system home screen. I cant assess anything now. I tried flashing a recovery inside but it still doesn't work as factory. I use SP flash tool v3.1.222.00
---------- Post added at 06:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 AM ----------
dont think my recovery is working. Could you please provide me with a working recovery? =(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a recovery is on the todo.
But for now, you did not answer my questions yet:
- Can you tell me what ROM you have? Or had. Original Lenovo Factory, Etotalk-Dean, some other?
- Which flash tools did you use to root? Or rather, which files did you flash using that tool to deal with root. Actually, the fact that you had to root it yourself probably means you had factory ROM, but please confirm.
As stated, I am uploading S221 original to my Dev-Host. Flash that with the flash tool. On short notice, that is all I can do. On longer notice, I will help you, but give me some time.
Edit: In fact: You you already have messed up your recovery, and I do not have a A789 to play with myself, you may be my guinea pig for the recovery build. So I will work on that today. (as today is not a working day for me anyway). If you do not mind being a tester. After all, the damage is already done, and you apparently already know how to flash using the utility.
EDIT: @ hwonggc : Please test recovery in post#3. Just update your post below with results, or PM me. I would like to avoid too many new posts on this while we are testing.
cybermaus said:
Yes, a recovery is on the todo.
But for now, you did not answer my questions yet:
- Can you tell me what ROM you have? Or had. Original Lenovo Factory, Etotalk-Dean, some other?
- Which flash tools did you use to root? Or rather, which files did you flash using that tool to deal with root. Actually, the fact that you had to root it yourself probably means you had factory ROM, but please confirm.
As stated, I am uploading S221 original to my 4Shared. Flash that with the flash tool. On short notice, that is all I can do. On longer notice, I will help you, but give me some time.
Edit: In fact: You you already have messed up your recovery, and I do not have a A789 to play with myself, you may be my guinea pig for the recovery build. So I will work on that today. (as today is not a working day for me anyway). If you do not mind being a tester. After all, the damage is already done, and you apparently already know how to flash using the utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes yes. I had the factory rom. I got the phone just yesterday evening and this afternoon it's half dead already. I use smart phone flash tool to root using a file i got from http://www.fight.org.ua/publications...novo_A789.html. Everything was fine until I deleted the original home UI and the apex launcher also. So there isn't anything I can do. I'm downloading the S223 from some russian site and try, hopefully I can find some luck there. Downloading slowly~ sighhhh.
---------- Post added at 07:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 AM ----------
BTW~ i'm willing to test out your rom too! I wouldn't want to sound too demanding, put please please put in the play store will ya?
I posted the custom build, see first post. It may take a while before I can get it uploaded, I am on a bad link.
Also, there have been 20 downloads on the recovery image. Come on guys, someone must be able to provide feedback about it working or not!
A789_S227_cybermaus_V2 ROM is working
Hello
Thanks for Your work.
Your A789_S227_cybermaus_V2 ROM is working.
Simple Flashing and start without problems. Now I must check some functions.
Thx again
basell
Edit:
The 3g connections don't work at first run. After restore they start but in My opinion with less sensitivity (compare to stock rom). It's look like A789 loose some frequency on witch can work.
Edit2:
And they have some strange behavior - After couple min of data connection (on 3G) they disconnect with information - "Restricted access changed" and the same is when I try to choose network manually. After that sometimes they login to 3G sometimes they change to EDGE.
In Stock version (S221) was not this kind of problems.
Edit3:
In place with good 3G signal I have no problem with data transfer.
How Can I check on witch frequency (2100,900,850) I have connected My data transfer?
Thanks for testing
Well, I definitely did not mess with any of the 3G stuff. So if it is true that 3G is less sensitive, then I would claim it is true for the factory S227 vs factory S221, and not directly related to my cleanup of it.
But (sorry to say so) I have learned to take claims of improved or degraded radio sensitivity with a grain of salt, even for the factory ones.
Having said that: Restoring S221 radio into S227 firmware is easy. The radio is separate firmware file, and I can extract the S221, S223 and S227 firmware in a separate file, so you can test. Were you actually using factory S221, or some other?
As to whether it is using 2100, 900 or 850: I can probably figure out how to get that info, *BUT* reality is that your provider most likely has only one frequency anyway. Most, pretty much all, EU providers are on 2100. The phone could not get to 900, simply because your provider does not have that frequency in the air (not for 3G anyway). And 850 is not supported at all on this phone.
Anyway, inside MU utility, engineer mode, bandmode, you can check/set the frequencies that are supported.
But please run a proper test if 3G is really degraded. As stated. it is so often a empty claim, I am somewhat careful to follow it. You want me to extract the 3 versions of firmware files in update.zip files?
Also, what country/vendor are you? please list the MMC and MNC from inside the APN settings.
Hi
If You will prepare this files I can test it tomorrow.
I'm from Poland and I have two frequency on data transfer - 2100 and 900. But I don't know if A789 use only one or change them. The place I'm test the signal is poor and I don't see if I work on 2100 or 900.
If You can, pleas tell me what kind of tests I can do to do that properly
Ok, here they are. update.zip type.
I only have S221 and S227, but the firmware files were indeed different, in more than just their timestamps. Of course, normally I would assume newer is better. So to make it clear: below files only replace the radio&dsp firmware, not the phone firmware.
Try to test honestly for yourself. Same conditions, same place, same time (because network load can make a difference)
It is possible that 3G really is degraded in S227, but as mentioned, I learned to not jump to conclusions just because the network is having a bad day.
WARNING: I retracted the two attachment, because I made a typo in the installer script. While the firmware is for the A789 (MT6577), the installer script is for the A750 (MT6575). Sorry. I will upload the correct ones in a moment.... Anyone that took a copy of these files before Oct 14, delete them!!!
I suspect the install would simply have failed, no harm done, but best to get rid of all copies anyway
BTW: basell, is that why you asked how to install? Really, if you ask for help, you should provide a bit more info. Anyway, I attached newer scripts, if you still want to try.
sorry for My question but :
How to install this firmware?
Like any update.zip on android. Go into recovery (see post #3) and apply the update.zip
i have the problem that the netlocation doesn't work with google maps, i flashed the cyber update 1.3, nothing changed, what should I do now?
And this is on what phone and ROM?
Anyway, to quote myself: "While you are in recovery, also wipe cache. And finally, go into MobileUncle tool, the MTK Engineer mode, and in location settings, change the NetLoc from MEDIATEK to GOOGLE. Now your location services should work."
many thanks, Cybermaus, netlocation works again after your instruction
Hi,
Thank you very much for building the ROM !!
I am using it for 3 days now and I am happy to report no problems with it. Everything works and most important: no more freezes !!!
my A789 came with the Etotalk by Dean ROM which was mostly OK, but was freezing from time to time (some days not at all, other days several times a day - most of the times when hanging up a call or, when trying to do wake it from standby: I was pressing the power button, but the screen would not light up).
Other things I like about this ROM:
- all phone functions work great
- Google Play works perfectly
- is rooted
- it has the Lenovo battery app, which is great! I am not 100% sure if this is the reason, but the battery life went from 1 day to 2 days
- I had no issues flashing it
- CWMT recovery works
Also, so far, I did not experience any 3G issues
I have written a small review of the Lenovo Security app, which you guys may want to put back on your phone if it was cooked out of it.
jman0 said:
Thinking it twice, I've remembered another reason. One of the things I like most about the apkhot rom I'm using is that the external sdcard is mounted on /sdcard and not /mnt/sdcard2, which avoids problems with many apps. I tried one of the newest apkhot roms, based on s227, and none of the tricks to exchange /sdcard and /mnt/sdcard2 worked with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that is actually an easy change to perform, just change the /etc/fstab.vold
However, if you go into settings->storage, the first option is default write disk. Change it from USB storage(the internal SD) to SD (the external SD)
So no hacking is needed at all.....
I've been running your rom for around 6 hours now. Everything runs fine. The 3G connection worked without much trouble. The only thing I haven't been able to do is performing a backup with the CWM Touch Recovery. So, I've just flashed the recovery I had on the apkhot rom I was using, using Mobileuncle tools, and now I've been able to create a backup.
So far, so good, and I've noticed a slight performance increase, too.

[INFO] ROM 101 + CWM Errors Solutions

Hi guys .You all know me.
I have created this thread for the sole purpose educating every newbie and noob about ROM and it's components...
Here goes
Parts of a ROM
i. The kernel.
Android (like many other Smartphone operating systems) runs on the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel was created in the early 1990’s by a gentleman named Linus Torvalds in Helsinki, Finland. It’s incredibly stable, incredibly friendly, and incredibly difficult for the layman to understand and modify. Thankfully it’s also very popular so it has been ported on to a multitude of hardware, including our Android devices.
Think of the kernel as an interface layer between the hardware and software on your device. The kernel decides when things happen, such as the LED indicator gets lit or when the soft button's LED gets lit. An application sends a request to the operating system to blink the LED. The operating system then sends the request to the kernel, which makes the light flash for the amount of time requested by the OS.
What sounds like a round-about way to get things done is also what makes the system so scalable and robust. Application developers only have to code in a way the operating system understands and the kernel makes it work on the hardware. This also keeps the application running in it’s own user-space and separate from the kernel. That means when you run the latest uber-cool app that wasn’t designed for your particular OS version, or is still very beta and it crashes, the kernel gives you the option to Force Close the application and the kernel can run untouched.
In a standard Android ROM (we will leave developer images and the like for another discussion) the kernel is bundled along with a set of instructions that tell the device how to load the kernel and the OS during boot. This is the boot.img that you see inside a zipped ROM that your not able to easily open. The device knows to extract this image to internal memory (the ramdisk) and follow a series of scripts (init scripts) to load the kernel and then the other portions of the OS. That’s what’s happening while you’re watching the boot animation. Interestingly enough this is done the same way for a PC, your smartphone, an Android tablet, or even a smart Linux powered toaster. If you’re feeling exceptionally geeky, plug your Android phone into the USB port on your PC and let the PC boot from the USB device. No, it doesn’t actually load, but you can watch the animation while it tries to match up the hardware support with what’s inside your PC. As I said, Linux is amazingly scalable and as a result so is Android.
What is a kernel? If you spend any time reading Android forums, blogs, how-to posts or online discussion you'll soon hear people talking about the kernel. A kernel isn't something unique to Android -- iOS and MacOS have one, Windows has one, BlackBerry's QNX has one, in fact all high level operating systems have one. The one we're interested in is Linux, as it's the one Android uses. Let's try to break down what it is and what it does.
Android devices use the Linux kernel, but it's not the exact same kernel other Linux-based operating systems use. There's a lot of Android specific code built in, and Google's Android kernel maintainers have their work cut out for them. OEMs have to contribute as well, because they need to develop hardware drivers for the parts they're using for the kernel version they're using. This is why it takes a while for independent Android developers and hackers to port new versions to older devices and get everything working. Drivers written to work with the Gingerbread kernel on a phone won't necessarily work with the Ice Cream Sandwich kernel. And that's important, because one of the kernel's main functions is to control the hardware. It's a whole lot of source code, with more options while building it than you can imagine, but in the end it's just the intermediary between the hardware and the software.
When software needs the hardware to do anything, it sends a request to the kernel. And when we say anything, we mean anything. From the brightness of the screen, to the volume level, to initiating a call through the radio, even what's drawn on the display is ultimately controlled by the kernel. For example -- when you tap the search button on your phone, you tell the software to open the search application. What happens is that you touched a certain point on the digitizer, which tells the software that you've touched the screen at those coordinates. The software knows that when that particular spot is touched, the search dialog is supposed to open. The kernel is what tells the digitizer to look (or listen, events are "listened" for) for touches, helps figure out where you touched, and tells the system you touched it. In turn, when the system receives a touch event at a specific point from the kernel (through the driver) it knows what to draw on your screen. Both the hardware and the software communicate both ways with the kernel, and that's how your phone knows when to do something. Input from one side is sent as output to the other, whether it's you playing Angry Birds, or connecting to your car's Bluetooth.
It sounds complicated, and it is. But it's also pretty standard computer logic -- there's an action of some sort generated for every event. Without the kernel to accept and send information, developers would have to write code for every single event for every single piece of hardware in your device. With the kernel, all they have to do is communicate with it through the Android system API's, and hardware developers only have to make the device hardware communicate with the kernel. The good thing is that you don't need to know exactly how or why the kernel does what it does, just understanding that it's the go-between from software to hardware gives you a pretty good grasp of what's happening under the glass. Sort of gives a whole new outlook towards those fellows who stay up all night to work on kernels for your phone, doesn't it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ii. The operating system.
Once the kernel is loaded, the init scripts tell the Operating System to load. Android is the user interface for a custom built Java virtual machine called Dalvik. Dalvik was written by Dan Bornstein, who named it after the fishing village of Dalvik in Iceland, where his family originated from. The debate of which Java VM is superior is best left for another discussion, so I’ll simply say that DalvikVM is a register-based machine versus true JavaVMs which are stack based.
The Dalvik machine creates executable files (.dex files) which can be interpreted by the OS and run by the end user. These .dex files are OS version dependant. That simply means that applications and core functions built to work with one version of Android may or may not work well with other versions. Google provides the tools through it’s Software Development Kit (SDK) for applications to communicate with the OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iii. Core functions.
No smartphone would be complete without a set of functions that allow the device to be used as intended. Things like the phone and dialer interface, the calendar, the messaging system are core functions of the Operating System. In Android, these are run on top of the kernel as separate applications. The merits (or lack of) of providing these needed functions as separate applications is once again best left for another discussion, but this is what allows developers like HTC or Motorola to replace the standard functions with alternatives that provide a different look and feel from stock. HTC’s onscreen keyboard or Motorola’s MotoBlur contact list are great examples of this. The “little guy” isn’t left out of the mix either. Handcent SMS or Chomp SMS can integrate into the OS very well, as most of us already know.
An additional set of Core Functions are provided by Google. Popularly called GoogleBits, things like Gmail, sync, Gtalk and the Android Market are applications written by Google that give an extra set of useful functions to the OS. You’ll find these on all smartphones, as well as many other Android devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iv. Optional applications.
These are applications provided by the manufacturer to give the device even more usability. Things like the Amazon MP3 store, PDF readers, Corporate Calendar etc. allow you to do even more with your device. Remember - Droid Does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B. How is a ROM packaged?
In most cases a ROM will come packaged in a .zip file. The recovery image’s kernel (yes, it has one too!) has the ability to unzip and copy the contents into the correct place. Inside this zip file is a folder (META-INF\com\google\android\) that contains a script prepared by the ROM “cooker” (another of those techie terms - it means the person(s) who developed the ROM) that tells the system what to format, what to copy and where, and any file operations that need to be done. Each device does things a bit differently, but this script is where it all gets done. More on this folder later.
You’ll also see a /system folder. This is the meat of the ROM. It has the necessary OS files, the Core functions, and any optional applications the cooker decided to include. The folder is structured the same way it is on your device - /system/app, /system/framework, etc. The whole tree is usually copied over and the existing /system folder is overwritten. The cooker uses the script to tell the kernel to erase the existing system folder, copy the new folder over, and set the file permissions.
Sometimes you will also see a data folder. This usually is space set up for optional applications, including optional system tools like busybox or SuperUser white list. These applications could be placed in the /system folder, but placing them in the data folder makes it easier for the end user (you and I) to remove or update them as needed.
You’ll also notice a META-INF folder. This contains the update script we talked about earlier, as well as secure keys that need to be provided so the device knows the update can be trusted. A special note needs made here. Trusted means that the update is trusted to be in the correct form to load the device. It in no way means the ROM is safe from malicious code. Anyone is able to use a set of test keys and create a ROM that will flash and run your device - even those people with bad intentions. Flashing and running a custom 3rd party ROM is putting faith in the cooker that he or she not only knows what they are doing, but are honest as well. Also, some Motorola custom ROMs will have a small update.zip stored inside this folder to be run on first boot of the device.
Finally we are left with the boot.img file. This is the kernel and ramdisk image we discussed earlier. Your phone copies this over to be decompressed and run when the device boots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. How do I install a ROM?
In this section we’re discussing how to install a custom 3rd party ROM. ROMs from the manufacturer usually have a utility that runs on your PC to flash and load the new image.
A. Got Root???
Yes ?:good:!!!
Custom ROM’s simply will not load on devices that aren’t rooted. In theory, it may be possible to sign a 3rd party ROM with the keys that the stock recovery image will flash, but for the most part you need to have flashed a custom recovery image before you can change your device’s ROM. Instructions and tutorials on how to root your device are all over the internet. Some are good, some are bad. The hacking forum is a great place to go and learn more about rooting and how to successfully get it done on your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B. Recovery
Most Android devices have had a custom recovery image written for them. This will overwrite the stock recovery image, allowing you to flash 3rd party ROMs as well as giving extra functionality. Help with finding and flashing the custom recovery image for your device can also be found in the hacking forum. The installation of a custom recovery image also allows for a very important function. Backup and restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.C. Nandroid
Nandroid is a set of bash scripts and code written by that copies the state of your system and stores it in a folder on your SD card. You can then use the restore function of Nandroid to restore to this point at any time. This is a priceless feature and reason enough to root your phone. It’s included by default in most custom recovery images, and the code is freely available to use if you’re inclined to write your own recovery image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In most situations, using Nandroid to back everything up is easy:
1. Verify you have a memory card with enough free space (~300MB to backup, ~500MB to restore).
2. Reboot your device into recovery. It’s slightly different for each device, once again hacking forum FTW!
3. Navigate through the menu and select the Nandroid Backup function.
4. Apply your choice and wait for the device to tell you it’s finished.
It’s always good practice to copy the entire nandroid folder from your SD card to a safe place. You can then copy it back to the SD card if the card is ever damaged, lost or erased.
D. Copy and Flash
You’re rooted, have downloaded a custom ROM, have your system backed up and are now ready to flash your device. This is not nearly as scary as it sounds.
1. Mount your SD card to your PC, and copy the .zip file to the root folder of the card. Don’t unzip the file, and don’t look for a folder called root. The root folder in this case means the base folder, what you will see when you mount your card to a PC or the device.
2. Reboot your phone into recovery.
3. Navigate through the recovery menu and select the flash update option. Depending on your recovery image, the file may need to be named update.zip, or you may be able to select any zip file on your card as long as it’s the correct format. The cooker knows this as well and if the ROM needs to be named update.zip it will be.
4. Apply your choice and wait for your device to tell you it’s finished.
5. Reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s worth noting that many times a new ROM will require that you wipe and factory reset your devices data. While inconvenient, it’s often necessary to get rid of the old data as it may be incompatible. As long as you’re using the cloud for calendar and contacts, they will be re- downloaded and stored back on your device automatically.
Credits
The internet
And other sites related to android development
And of course me
My Galaxy R forum friends !!
ERRORS encountered in CWM Recovery
.
What is CWM Recovery ?
ClockworkMod Recovery is a custom recovery for many Android devices. It is considered to be the most popular recovery for Android due to its easily-ported nature, and integration with ClockworkMod ROM Manager by Koush(Koushik Dutta). The easiest way to recognize it is by the printed name when it first starts, and the background logo of a gear and hat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ERROR STATUS 6
This is usually caused by CR/LF EOL(Windows style End Of Line) in updater-script. Change it to LF EOL(Unix Style EOL) using Linux command: dos2unix updater-script, then re-signing the ZIP, will usually fix this error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ERROR STATUS 7
This is usually caused by a corrupt download, or bad file signature. Re-downloading (or re-signing) the ZIP will usually fix this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have been consistently seen and heard people facing error “Status 7″ error while trying to flash or install
custom ROMs or firmware packages on their Android smart phones or tablets with ClockworkMod Recovery. Many
of the users are nowadays facing this problem with CWM Recovery while flashing .zip files of modded or custom
Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) or Jelly Bean (JB) ROMs on their devices. So, you have also downloaded a custom ROM,
placed its .zip file in your phone’s or tablet’s SD card, booted into ClockworkMod Recovery, selected – “install zip
from sdcard” and then chosen the .zip file of the ROM to get it installed on your device. But instead of getting
flashed successfully, if you are facing the issue mentioned below, then just keep reading this article to find out
what’s wrong and fix up the problem :
Finding update package…
Opening update package…
Installing update…
Error in /sdcard/custom-jelly-bean-rom.zip (Status 7)
Installation aborted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or the following error right after CWM recovery shows –
Installing update…
assert failed: getprop(“ro.product.device”) == “I9103″ || getprop(“ro.build.product”) == “I9103″ || getprop
(“ro.product.board”) == “I9103″
Error in /sdcard/android-4-1-1-ics-rom-latest.zip (status 7)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, if you are facing any of these errors while trying to install the desired custom ROM package on your Android
phone or tab, then you may try a various things or steps which may turn out to be the workaround of this
problem. Here are a few tips to get this “Status 7” error fixed in ClockworkMod Recovery and flash the ROM
successfully on your device :
(1) First of all, make sure your device’s bootloader is unlocked. If it is already unlocked but you are still
not able to flash the ROM, then just extract the .zip file of the ROM into a new folder, find the boot.img file from
that directory and flash it up on your phone or tablet via fastboot on your PC.
(2) Make sure that you are having the appropriate Radio or Baseband version installed on your device which is
supported by the custom ROM you are trying to flash. Most of the ROMs requires the latest version of Baseband, so
just update or upgrade your device to the latest Baseband version and then try to install the ROM once again.
(3) Update your device to the supported / latest build of official firmware before trying to install the ROM. You can
do it from – Settings > About Phone / Device > Software Update.
(4) Make sure you are having the supported or required kernel installed on your phone or tab. If it’s not, then flash
a new kernel right away and try to install your custom ROM once again.
(5) Is the ROM which you are trying to flash really works ? Find out whether it is working for other users or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOW
ERROR STATUS 0
This is usually caused by an incompatible update-binary in edify ZIPs. Replacing it with a compatible one, then re-signing the ZIP, will usually fix this error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now it's time for the partitions :good:
Let’s start with a list of standard internal memory partitions on Android phones and tablets. These are:
/boot
/system
/recovery
/data
/cache
/misc
In addition, there are the SD card partitions.
/sdcard
/sd-ext
Note that only /sdcard is found in all Android devices and the rest are present only in select devices. Let’s now take a look at the purpose and contents of each of these partitions.
/boot
This is the partition that enables the phone to boot, as the name suggests. It includes the kernel and the ramdisk. Without this partition, the device will simply not be able to boot. Wiping this partition from recovery should only be done if absolutely required and once done, the device must NOT be rebooted before installing a new one, which can be done by installing a ROM that includes a /boot partition.
/system
This partition basically contains the entire operating system, other than the kernel and the ramdisk. This includes the Android user interface as well as all the system applications that come pre-installed on the device. Wiping this partition will remove Android from the device without rendering it unbootable, and you will still be able to put the phone into recovery or bootloader mode to install a new ROM.
/recovery
The recovery partition can be considered as an alternative boot partition that lets you boot the device into a recovery console for performing advanced recovery and maintenance operations on it. To learn more about this partition and its contents, see the ‘About Android Recovery’ section of our guide to ClockworkMod recovery.
/data
Also called userdata, the data partition contains the user’s data – this is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially performs a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping.
/cache
This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and app components. Wiping the cache doesn’t effect your personal data but simply gets rid of the existing data there, which gets automatically rebuilt as you continue using the device.
/misc
This partition contains miscellaneous system settings in form of on/off switches. These settings may include CID (Carrier or Region ID), USB configuration and certain hardware settings etc. This is an important partition and if it is corrupt or missing, several of the device’s features will will not function normally.
/sdcard
This is not a partition on the internal memory of the device but rather the SD card. In terms of usage, this is your storage space to use as you see fit, to store your media, documents, ROMs etc. on it. Wiping it is perfectly safe as long as you backup all the data you require from it, to your computer first. Though several user-installed apps save their data and settings on the SD card and wiping this partition will make you lose all that data.
On devices with both an internal and an external SD card – devices like the Samsung Galaxy S and several tablets – the /sdcard partition is always used to refer to the internal SD card. For the external SD card – if present – an alternative partition is used, which differs from device to device. In case of Samsung Galaxy S series devices, it is /sdcard/sd while in many other devices, it is /sdcard2. Unlike /sdcard, no system or app data whatsoever is stored automatically on this external SD card and everything present on it has been added there by the user. You can safely wipe it after backing up any data from it that you need to save.
/sd-ext
This is not a standard Android partition, but has become popular in the custom ROM scene. It is basically an additional partition on your SD card that acts as the /data partition when used with certain ROMs that have special features called APP2SD+ or data2ext enabled. It is especially useful on devices with little internal memory allotted to the /data partition. Thus, users who want to install more programs than the internal memory allows can make this partition and use it with a custom ROM that supports this feature, to get additional storage for installing their apps. Wiping this partition is essentially the same as wiping the /data partition – you lose your contacts, SMS, market apps and settings.
With this, we conclude our tour of Android partitions. Now whenever you install a ROM or mod that requires you to wipe certain partitions before the installation, you should be in a better position to know what you’re losing and what not and thus, you’ll know what to backup and what not.
Nice thread, maybe add error status 0 for CWM
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
krabappel2548 said:
Nice thread, maybe add error status 0 for CWM
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done !!!!
Great thread, You are seriously doing well.:good:
MY thanks just ended
will use the mob app to thank u bro !!
After all you inspired me for this thread not
Moved to android general as per OP request.

RCA RCT6203W46 Pro10 Tablet: Catch-all Thread

Fellow Pro10 6203 users:
Welcome! As we do not yet have a forum dedicated to this device, I am creating this thread to serve as a means to share everything that I've come to discover about the usage of this inexpensive yet capable Android tablet. This thread will include varying topics such as rooting, custom recovery, accessories, customization apps, custom ROM's, and anything else I might come across that may enhance our experience with the product. I have found no real one-stop source for information concerning this device, so I am beginning this one that I hope everyone that owns one will find useful. Please feel free to ask questions and add constructive commentary
Tech Specs:
Model Number: RCT6203W46KB
Operating System: Android 4.4.2
CPU Chip: Quad Core
CPU Chipset Model Number: MTK MT8127 1.5GHz
GPU: Mali-450 MP
Resolution: 1024x600
Density: 160dpi
Screen Features: 10.1 Thin-film Transistor
RAM: 1GB
RAM Type: DDR3
Storage Capacity: 16GB
Camera: Yes (Front & Back)
Camera Specifications: Front Facing 0.3M pixel webcam (640x480), Rear 2M pixel webcam (1600x1200)
Battery Life: 6 hours
Battery Life Details: Playback downloaded video with WiFi turn off
Connectivity/Audio: Headphone jack, Micro USB, DC jack, Micro HDMI
Dimensions: 262(W)x165(H)x11.5(D)
Weight: 921g
Software: Walmart, Sam's Club, Vudu, eMusic, Kingsoft Office
Included Accessories: Power adapter, Keyboard Folio
If you happen to find something here worth your while, please hit the thanks button!
Rooting
Always remember, you root your device AT YOUR OWN RISK. Rooting will void your warranty and you may brick your device in attempting this. Its a choice and you're the only one who can make it.
Rooting instructions (tested up to RCA firmware 1.9.50):
(Beginning with a tablet never before rooted, or has been completely unrooted prior)
1. On your tablet, go to Settings > About tablet > Build number and tap the build number 7 times. This will unhide the Developer options menu.
2. Tap the Developer options menu. Enable it by sliding the slider to the right in top bar. Select "USB debugging" by placing a check mark in the box next to it.
3. Go to Settings > Security. Select "Unknown sources" by placing a check mark in the box next to it. Deselect "Verify apps" by removing the check mark in the box (you can enable it again afterwards if you wish).
4. Connect your tablet to PC via USB.
5. Download the Windows iRoot rooting application here.
6. Install the app.
7. Start iRoot and follow instructions to root. Remember to enable USB permissions on tablet when prompted.
8. Once successfully completed, download and install SuperSU from here to replace the Chinese root manager called Superuser 1.0.4.
9. Start SuperSU and you will be asked for permission, choose to allow.
10. SuperSU will prompt to install SU binary, go ahead with OK and install normally (not TWRP). IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO INSTALL THE BINARY.
11. Once SuperSU is installed and the binary updated, you can uninstall Superuser 1.0.4 and the second app it installs, something like "Clean Master" (unless you want it).
Happiness is now achieved with having a rooted device
* For further details regarding root, please see "Rooting considerations" in the Misc. section below.
Custom Recovery
Always remember, you install a custom recovery on your device AT YOUR OWN RISK. Installing a custom recovery will void your warranty and you may brick your device in attempting this. Its a choice and you're the only one who can make it.
99% of the credit for this section goes to johnemc2, PatF and mexicandroid for creating and contributing to this thread. Although it was created for a different but similar RCA tablet model, they provided everything I am going to reiterate here. Also the original thread for TWRP on MediaTek devices (which is the chipset for these RCA tablets) is here, and all credit goes to yuweng for this. Make sure to hit the thanks button in the respective threads for these guys!
TWRP installation instructions (tested up to RCA firmware 1.9.50):
1. Device must be rooted. See rooting section above or use another method of your choice.
2. Download the TWRP recovery image for the 6203 from here. Rename it by deleting "[RCA 6203 TWRP - Remove this tag]" so that the file name reads only "recovery.img" (with no quotes of course).
3. Place this file on your external sdcard.
4. Download and install [ROOT] Rashr Flash Tool from here. If the app suggests updates, go ahead and install them.
5. Rashr will ask you to make a backup. If you try, it will fail. Not to worry too much though, a stock recovery image is available below.
6. Start Rashr. From the menu, tap Recovery from Storage. From the "Pick a file" menu select /storage/emulated. Select /storage/, then select sdcard1/. From there select the recovery.img file you saved in step 3.
7. It will give you a warning prompt asking if you are sure. If so, select "Yes please" to install TWRP.
8. Upon successful flashing of TWRP you will have the choice to boot into the custom recovery, go check it out!
9. One procedural maintenance item to perform after: I have noticed that the rashr app holds on to a large amount of data for some reason and haven't found the need. Once you reboot, you can go into Settings > Apps > All and find Rashr and clear data to reclaim the space.
Good guide for using TWRP can be found here.
How to manually get into recovery (TWRP or stock):
From a powered off state, simultaneously depress the power and volume up buttons until the white RCA boot screen appears. Once this screen appears, release the power button but REMAIN DEPRESSING THE VOLUME UP BUTTON until you are in recovery.
Stock recovery installation:
It is the exact same procedure as was with TWRP, with the exception of step 2. Instead download the stock recovery image from here, rename it by deleting "[RCA 6203 Stock Repacked - Remove this tag]" so that the file name reads only "recovery.img" (with no quotes of course). Continue on using step 3 above. Check out why you might need the stock recovery image in the "Firmware updating considerations" area of the Misc. section below.
Ultimate happiness and assurance is now achieved with having a custom recovery installed on your device to back it up!
Accessories
Here are some of the accessories I am currently using for the 6203:
Cases:
The keyboard case is good, but I found it cumbersome in most cases and unnecessary. So I purchased this case from Ebay. Here are some photos of mine. I have had it for 5+ months with no issue upon daily use.
Screen Protectors:
I purchased this anti-glare and anti-fingerprint screen protector from Amazon. Although they now have it for the 6203, at the time they only had them for the 6103 and I had to modify it. But 5 months later it is still great. Being anti-glare means there is a slight matte to them, but overall I found it hardly effected the clarity of the screen. It really kept having to wipe off the screen due to fingerprints to a minimum!
I am just sharing what I have found to work for our devices and hope it helps you too in some way!
Customization Apps
Customization apps that require root (seeing rooting section above):
Xposed Framework. Man is this awesome. Here is the description from the site: Xposed is a framework for modules that can change the behavior of the system and apps without touching any APKs. That's great because it means that modules can work for different versions and even ROMs without any changes (as long as the original code was not changed too much). It's also easy to undo. As all changes are done in the memory, you just need to deactivate the module and reboot to get your original system back. There are many other advantages, but here is just one more: Multiple modules can do changes to the same part of the system or app. With modified APKs, you to decide for one. No way to combine them, unless the author builds multiple APKs with different combinations. You can find version 2.6.1 for our tablet here (select "show older versions" at the bottom of the page).
GravityBox [KK]. TONS of customization for our device. Find it here.
Customization apps that do not require root:
Blacked out or inverted apps. I love darkened apps. I prefer a black or dark background to most apps. It looks good and is easier on the eyes! You can download the Team Blacked Out updater apk from here. You can download many popular apps that have been "blacked out" by this team.
I am just sharing these apps for fellow fans of customization. Enjoy!
Custom ROM's
[reserved]
Misc.
Rooting considerations:
Although there is a risk of bricking the device in doing so, to date I have rolled through both the 1.3.51 and 1.9.50 RCA updates without the update being hindered by having my device rooted prior (never unrooted), and I have not lost root once the update completes. Although I have not tried this without, I believe this may be because I use SuperSU Pro OTA survival. This app is not necessary, but the free version does not have the "OTA survival mode" that the pro version possesses. I recommend spending the $3.75 for purchase.
Firmware updating considerations:
If you delete any of the bloatware apps that comes preloaded (VUDU, Walmart, Sam's Club, Opera, etc.) and try to update the device, it will soft brick your tablet. This is because the update performs a core app comparison check to test validity prior to completing installation. You will only be able to get into stock recovery once this happens. Therefore my recommendation is not to delete any of these apps but instead use Titanium or MyBackup Pro to freeze them, and prior to attempting any firmware update remember to UNFREEZE THEM FIRST. This will save you any headache with the firmware updates.
I do not think you can install an official firmware update via TWRP, so you may need to reinstall the stock recovery to do this. See the "Custom Recovery" section above.
Misc. #2
[reserved]
One frustrating thing about our device is that some apps will not install from the Play store. It will state "this item is not compatible with your device". Well I have tried many methods to circumvent this, including changing prop files and using apps that fake screen densities. I don't recommend that . Instead I sideload. I use a Google Chrome extension called APK Downloader. You can get it here. To set up it will ask for devide ID info. I plug in the number for my S4. Once downloaded, I just copy the apk over to my tablet and install from there. The only caveat to this is that it does not work for purchased apps.
There are other ways to procure the app and sideload, but this is the method I use most often for the 6203.
I have a support request in to RCA for these concerns (here is the text as I sent):
Hello,
I have 3 questions. The first is that by reading the specs for this tablet the CPU is supposed to be set for 1.5Ghz. But when you use the tablet, it is only set for 1300Mhz (1.3Ghz) (I can provide screenshots). Which is wrong and why?
My second question is do we have any access to a complete firmware ROM that can be used via recovery? This would be nice to have in case the tablet is soft bricked for any reason. Update ROMs do not provide this.
Lastly, is there anywhere to download USB drivers for this tablet?
Thanks in advance for your help.
From RCA:
Glen (RCA Support)
Apr 27, 3:18 PM
1) The max threshold is 1.5Ghz. The reason it is running at 1.3 is probably because your not using its absolute full capacity
2) We dont have the ROM
3) Is this for the USB stick or memory stick?
Glen
Technical Support
#Madeforyourlifestyle
My response:
Glen,
Here are my responses:
1. I have attached 3 screenshots from independent apps that all report the CPU set for 1.3Ghz and not 1.5Ghz. In fact they show the governor as having the range for the CPU set to 598-1300mhz. I believe this happened in the firmware 1.9.50 update and was not the case prior. Can you check to see why this was done? We purchased tablets that were intending on having a 1.5Ghz processor.
2. You will see many returns then from tablets that were soft bricked due to the most recent update corrupting the system file, and then only allowing people to boot into recovery and not into Android.
3. No, USB drivers as in this explanation: http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/oem-usb.html
Thanks. I really appreciate your assistance with these questions. Please let me know if there is any other information I can offer.
From RCA 5/4/15:
Glen (RCA Support)
May 4, 3:43 PM
The tablet will use the 1.5Ghz only when it will take big update like firmware updates.
#Madeforyourlifestyle
My response:
Glen,
There is no way for the Android kernel to know only to use full CPU capability during an upgrade procedure. Its there for all operations or it is not.
Can I have my concern escalated to your engineering team? As I said previous, the system showed 1.5Ghz was available in processing speed before the last upgrade.
Thanks
From RCA 5-7-15:
Hello,
We'd love to hear what you think of our customer service. Please take a moment to answer one simple question by clicking either link below:
How would you rate the support you received?
Good, I'm satisfied
Bad, I'm unsatisfied
Conclusion:
So apparently RCA doesn't intend to do anything about the most recent update failures outside of performing RMA's for people, and also doesn't care to answer why these tabs are advertised as 1.5Ghz and are being throttled to 1.3.
Rct6203w46-android4.4.2-3101-v50-v1.3.71
What can I do with this or this - no ROM Backups, and an annoying 'brick' on my table?
I successfully rooted with KingRoot and tried to manually switch to SuperSU with a script I found.
The script seemed workable. I found all of the targets and: # root.sh ... oh *hi*
The transition failed and after trying to 'clean up' remnants the script seemed to have missed, the screen froze: RESET BUTTON - nothing, nothing, nothing.
I wish I hadn't believed it would work without a 'dd ... system.img'. The tablet had about 12hrs mileage and is now a very new [Black Friday] $49 item about to be smashed on the driveway.
I read somewhere that RCA will not be distributing winusb drivers.
*uc* it - i b-roke i-t! :victory:
It's Alive! After the battery drained, 2 weeks later, it booted!
removed supersu
probeafargavin said:
What can I do with this or this - no ROM Backups, and an annoying 'brick' on my table?
I successfully rooted with KingRoot and tried to manually switch to SuperSU with a script I found.
The script seemed workable. I found all of the targets and: # root.sh ... oh *hi*
The transition failed and after trying to 'clean up' remnants the script seemed to have missed, the screen froze: RESET BUTTON - nothing, nothing, nothing.
I wish I hadn't believed it would work without a 'dd ... system.img'. The tablet had about 12hrs mileage and is now a very new [Black Friday] $49 item about to be smashed on the driveway.
I read somewhere that RCA will not be distributing winusb drivers.
*uc* it - i b-roke i-t! :victory:
It's Alive! After the battery drained, 2 weeks later, it booted!
removed supersu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probeafargavin,
Sorry for slow reply. Been a busy month! I recommend sending the unit back to RCA for an RMA. I had to do this once and although it took a month, I received back a working tablet. It doesn't matter that you did this, they will not check. They will end up sending you back a refurbed tablet. Mine works fine.
-droidify
Needing Help
I rooted my device (same exact make/ model you have listed). Well it just so happens that now I am not able to open the Google App store. I have clicked the app logo so many times now and all what I see is what looks like the app is about to open but it just disappears about a half second later.
Looks like I am no longer able to use the back button also. I have tried factory resetting the device yet problem remains. Clearing cache of the Google Play app, no results. Please help!!!!! I would surely appreciate it, I'm sure you can imagine how devastated I am over this.
C_Cee said:
I rooted my device (same exact make/ model you have listed). Well it just so happens that now I am not able to open the Google App store. I have clicked the app logo so many times now and all what I see is what looks like the app is about to open but it just disappears about a half second later.
Looks like I am no longer able to use the back button also. I have tried factory resetting the device yet problem remains. Clearing cache of the Google Play app, no results. Please help!!!!! I would surely appreciate it, I'm sure you can imagine how devastated I am over this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
C_Cee unless you have TWRP installed and had a back up, there is not much you can do. I would RMA the tablet through RCA. I had to do this once and it was a pretty quick turn around.
-Droidify
RCT203W46L Questions
Hi,
I have just purchased the above and rooted it with Kingroot. This is the lollipop 5.0 version.
a) a stagefright detector from lookout reports this device is vulnerable to this hack. Any thoughts?
b) are the twrp and stock recovery images pointed to by droidify post #2 and #3 still usable? even though its lollipop5.0?
Any help appreciated before I mod this thing!!
Thanks
kwmike said:
Hi,
I have just purchased the above and rooted it with Kingroot. This is the lollipop 5.0 version.
a) a stagefright detector from lookout reports this device is vulnerable to this hack. Any thoughts?
b) are the twrp and stock recovery images pointed to by droidify post #2 and #3 still usable? even though its lollipop5.0?
Any help appreciated before I mod this thing!!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lollipop is going to have a different recovery, so what I posted likely will not work and may cause serious problems if attempted. Not sure about stagefright vulnerabilities.
Any advance?
No more advance in this device?
drakedalfa said:
No more advance in this device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My tablet is still going. Although not my daily driver device, I use it to watch videos on break at work and to read on. There hasn't been any development for this device that I am aware of and unlikely to be considering it is not that popular.
Flashing recovery from build Build: RCT6303W87DK-ANDROID5.0-V63-V1.12.20-B
kwmike said:
Hi,
I have just purchased the above and rooted it with Kingroot. This is the lollipop 5.0 version.
a) a stagefright detector from lookout reports this device is vulnerable to this hack. Any thoughts?
b) are the twrp and stock recovery images pointed to by droidify post #2 and #3 still usable? even though its lollipop5.0?
Any help appreciated before I mod this thing!!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aloha -
I just received one of these today:
Model: RCT6303W87DK (32GB)
Android version: Lollipop 5.0.
Kernel: 3.10.54
Build: RCT6303W87DK-ANDROID5.0-V63-V1.12.20-B
I installed NewKingrootV4.62_C133_B233_en_release_2015_11_24_105203.apk downloaded from www\.kingroot\.net
On the first attempt, Kingroot rebooted at 22%, and failed to root. I repeated the procedure without rebooting, and achieved root on the second attempt.
I am curious to know if you flashed TWRP and, if so, what results you had.
Also: does anyone know if, in fact, the 5.0 loader actually is different from the 4.4.2 loader.
Thanks in advance.
I'm confused, is this thread on the RCA Pro 10 RCT6203W46KB or for it's successor (I assume) the RCA 10 Viking Pro RCT6303W87DK. I ask because I have the RCT6303W87DK and am looking to see if there are any ROMs for it, as I would prefer to be running Android 5.1.2 or 6.0 over 5.0.

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