Database Info

[Q&A] Ubuntu on the Transformer (eMMC install)

This thread is for help and support related to ubuntu on the eeepad transformer, all questions not related to development should be asked here, please be friendly and do not flame each other or I will request the thread be closed.
Download links are in the third post.
There is a wiki entry here that has a bit more detailed explanation. Please note though that as it is a wiki information
quoted in there may or may not be entirely accurite.
you will need to download an nvflashable rom, like prime.
Please read the README before attempting this. The readme is below as well as in the kit, YOU WILL LOSE DATA.
Download links are in the second post.
OLiFE for the ASUS transformer
------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) 2011 Steven Barker <[email protected]>
This package should have only been linked to from xda-developers
or rootzwiki if you got the links to this package from anywhere
but those sites please send an email to the above email
address with the subject: "unauthorised posts"
DISCLAIMER
------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Barker (lilstevie) nor anybody will take any responsibility
for any damage, data loss, fire, death of a loved one, or loss of
data resulting from using this mod for your device. Using this mod
may void your warranty.
NVFLASH
------------------------------------------------------------------
nvflash is the intellectual property of nvidia, and remains the
property of nvidia. Any questions or queries regarding the usage
and licence of nvflash should be directed to nvidia.
abootimg
------------------------------------------------------------------
abootimg is by Gilles Grandou <[email protected]> and is
unmodified. The source is available from online at
http://gitorious.org/ac100/abootimg
usage
------------------------------------------------------------------
Usage has changed since the release of the last kit, please read
these instructions carefully, as the install method is a little
more complex, (but easier once you use it).
If you downloaded OLiFE.tar.gz you will need to inject the android
rom and ubuntu image. You can use any nvflashable rom with this.
I recommend that you use prime as that is the configuration that
I have tested myself, and the ROM that I support for use with this
device. You can download the ubuntu image from
http://lilstevie.geek.nz/ports/ubuntu.img.gz.
If you downloaded OLiFE-Prime-Edition.tar.gz you will not need to
download the ubuntu image or an nvflash rom as they are seeded into
the image.
Install instructions:
1) Download the specific flavour of OLiFE that you want to use, and
extract it with "tar xvf <filename>".
2) If needed inject android rom and ubuntu image.
3) From the directory that OLiFE was extracted in run the main script
with the command ./OLiFE.sh.
4) Read the text that comes up and answer the question it asks.
5) Follow the menu to the option you want (below is a breakdown of
what each menu item is) and follow the instructions prompted. (also below
is instructions on how to get into the modes requested).
Menu items:
1) Backup Menu:
1) Full Backup (stock)
- Full backup (stock) takes a full backup of a stock
android system. This gives you an option to also back
up your user data(this will take a while).
2) Full Backup (ubuntu)
- Full backup (ubuntu) takes a full backup of a system
that dualboots android and ubuntu, this backs up your
system, and the ubuntu image. This gives you an option
to also back up your user data(this will take a while).
3) User data only
- This backs up the user data partition on your device.
(This option takes a while)
4) Android ROM
- This option backs up the android system only. This
option generates all the files (minus bootloader, and BCT)
required to flash a rom via nvflash.
5) Ubuntu Install
- This option backs up the ubuntu install on your device.
2) Flash Device:
1) Dualboot:
- This option will install ubuntu to your device in a
dualbooting configuration with android. During the
installation process it asks you which OS you would like
to boot by default.
2) uboot (linux only):
- This option will install ubuntu with u-boot and the
ChromeOS kernel that supports acceleration. This option
is currently unavailable, but should be available soon.
3) asus boot (linux only):
- This option will install ubuntu with the asus bootloader
with this configuration you will use all the eMMC for ubuntu
and there will be no android system installed on your device.
4) stock:
- This option will partition the device in a stock way and
install the android system that is in ./images. Use this
option if you no longer want ubuntu on your device.
3) Update Device:
1) Android Kernel:
- This option will update the android kernel on your device
with the boot.img from ./images/. This allows you to install
your own kernel on the device for android rather than the one
that comes with your chosen rom.
2) Ubuntu/Linux Kernel:
- This will update the ubuntu kernel on your device to the version
included in this flashkit. This option is for updating just the
kernel with nvflash rather than using the blob method. This method
is also good for if you flash a bad ubuntu kernel to the device.
3) Android ROM:
- This option will update the android rom on the device with the
one from ./images/. This is good for if the ROM you use is updated
or you would like to change ROMs and there is an nvflash image for it.
This option does not destroy your data.
4) Ubuntu Rootfs:
- This will update your ubuntu image on the device. This is destructive
to data stored in the ubuntu image.
5) Advanced (Unsupported):
- Any option in this menu is not supported and should be considered
unstable. There may be bugs in these options and they are not maintained
at this point in time.
1) Flash ChromeOS Kernel (Primary Boot):
- This option will flash the ChromeOS kernel to the primary boot
partition. This option may not currently work in it's current
configuration.
2) Flash ChromeOS Kernel (Secondary Boot):
- This option will flash the ChromeOS kernel to the secondary boot
partition. This option may not currently work in it's current
configuration.
3) Update Uboot Partition:
- This option will update the u-boot boot partition that u-boot
reads the kernel and boot script from. This option does work if
you have installed u-boot by compiling it from source and installed
it yourself.
4) Flash ClockworkRecoveryMod:
- This option allows you to temperarily flash CWR to the device so
you can update the installed rom. It backs up the current kernel in
the recovery kernel position and then flashes CWR. When you have finished
using CWR you then push any key and put the device back in APX mode and
it will restore the kernel that was in that position. (This only works if
android is your primary boot option at this time).
4) Inject Firmware:
1) Bluetooth firmware (default install):
- This option will inject the Bluetooth firmware from the
android ROM located at ./images/ in to the ubuntu of your
currently running system.
2) Bluetooth firmware (CrOS Kernel):
- This option will inject the Bluetooth firmware from the
android ROM located at ./images/ in to the ubuntu of your
currently running system and flashes the proper u-boot kernel
if you no longer need adb support.
5) Onscreen Keyboard:
- This runs OnBoard so that you can run through oem-config properly
you only need to use this option if you do not have a keyboard dock
and on the first boot.
1) Standard Kernel:
- This will invoke oem-config on the standard kernel installed
on the device.
2) ChromeOS Kernel:
- This will invoke oem-config on the u-boot kernel that is
installed on the device and flashes the proper u-boot kernel
if you no longer need adb support.
Device Modes:
APX Mode:
-This mode is used by nvflash to write files to the eMMC device.
To boot in this mode you press Power and Vol-Up.
Recovery Mode:
- This mode is where CWR or Asus recovery normally lives, but is
replaced by the secondary OS in the dualboot configuration.
To boot in this mode you press Power and Vol-Down, then Vol-Up when prompted.
Normal Boot:
-This mode is where android normally lives.
To boot in this mode you press the Power button until the screen turns on.

Changelog
------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2a - Release name: Odyssey
* New name for kit: OLiFE
* New menu system
* Updated README
* Better handling of platform detection
* Bluetooth support in ubuntu.img
* Preliminary support for ChromeOS kernel
* Preliminary support for uboot
* Fixed touchpad
* Fixed network manager
* Updated to ubuntu oneiric
* More options for flashing and updating
* OTB Wireless support (No more injecting)
* Smaller ubuntu.img for faster upload to device
* Auto resizing of rootfs on first boot
* Larger partition size (6GB) for ubuntu
* Refactored to more easily between devices
* Maybe something else I have missed
1.1 - Release name: Daedalus
* Firmware injector for BT and wifi firmwares
1.0 and silent updates - Release name: Prometheus
* Support for x86_64 linux distributions
* Updated README for release on xda-developers
* Fixes to install scripts
* Initial Release

Downloads:
RootFS md5sum(1a9fa8a698e4a96245a3c08511841eb4)
OLiFE md5sum(c30263fd8271a23bb211fd9fdd69fa45)
OLiFE Prime Edition md5sum(767779ccfa200e5e00b2f1e33a3d73a9)
Sources:
http://gitweb.lilstevie.geek.nz
To clone the repos "git clone git://lilstevie.geek.nz/$(name of repo).git"

lilstevie said:
This is running natively and from the eMMC so no µSD card required,
The video is a class2 µSD card and speeds are not an example of speeds from this kit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your hard work, but I'm a bit confused by those 2 statements, contradicting each other :/
Also, if I understood properly, there is no CWM after selecting dual boot
Finally, is this a final release, or for testing purpose only ?
If final, a step by step guide would be very welcome
Edit : Just saw there is the tag [DEV] so forget about my last question (guide)

Wow, amazing work here. Haven't been able to do much to my Transformer as of late (due to uni starting up again, and been seeing how the TF goes as a substitute for my usual netbook), but absolutely can't wait to try this out when I got some time.
And yeah, I'm a tad confused here as well. I'm assuming that you mean the video was of Ubuntu running of your microSD drive using Jhinta's scripts but now this allows us to run it off the internal drive... am I right?
And how is the speed difference so far, running off internal vs class 2 microSD?
EDIT: Also, I'm assuming the same things that didn't work on Jhinta's aren't working on this (network-manager gui, touchpad etc)? Or have you changed things up a bit? And the tegra ppa you talk about; that contain the proprietary 3D drivers you were talking about having a lack of in the video?

Nice to see the post in XDA Good work !

bud77 said:
Thanks for your hard work, but I'm a bit confused by those 2 statements, contradicting each other :/
Also, if I understood properly, there is no CWM after selecting dual boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The video was taken before I was stable enough to even think about using internal memory, where as this kit is not using the µSD
and yeah you lose recovery after selecting dual boot, not much we can do about that for the time being.
poltak11 said:
Wow, amazing work here. Haven't been able to do much to my Transformer as of late (due to uni starting up again, and been seeing how the TF goes as a substitute for my usual netbook), but absolutely can't wait to try this out when I got some time.
And yeah, I'm a tad confused here as well. I'm assuming that you mean the video was of Ubuntu running of your microSD drive using Jhinta's scripts but now this allows us to run it off the internal drive... am I right?
And how is the speed difference so far, running off internal vs class 2 microSD?
EDIT: Also, I'm assuming the same things that didn't work on Jhinta's aren't working on this (network-manager gui, touchpad etc)? Or have you changed things up a bit? And the tegra ppa you talk about; that contain the proprietary 3D drivers you were talking about having a lack of in the video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started back at uni this week myself, and have been using my transformer as a netbook replacement with ubuntu. The video is using my stuff but before I had it running on the internal memory.
speed diference is massive between the class2 and internal. It was so great of a difference that I forget that it is arm now that it is on internal
the PPA will have things such as kernel updates, bluetooth enabler and all that. as for what is working in the release, things are pretty similar to Jhintas release, touchpad does not work correctly network manager gui doesn't work, I have something to enable bluetooth, that works nicely, but it isn't in the fs or up on the ppa yet. 3D drivers are a work in progress, still no EGL and the likes with the L4T releases, so it is really just acceleration for normal use, I have been working on them but as of yet no dice.

So using the PPA, in theory we won't have to flash the device again (at least for the ubuntu part), it will be able to auto-update itself ?

ErGo_404 said:
So using the PPA, in theory we won't have to flash the device again (at least for the ubuntu part), it will be able to auto-update itself ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, that is the plan anyway

lilstevie said:
the PPA will have things such as kernel updates, bluetooth enabler and all that. as for what is working in the release, things are pretty similar to Jhintas release, touchpad does not work correctly network manager gui doesn't work, I have something to enable bluetooth, that works nicely, but it isn't in the fs or up on the ppa yet. 3D drivers are a work in progress, still no EGL and the likes with the L4T releases, so it is really just acceleration for normal use, I have been working on them but as of yet no dice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah lovely idea with the PPA. When new 3.2 based Prime gets released, I'll try to get a few hours to myself to get this all working together.
Just a few quick questions first:
How do your scripts change the eMMC layout? Does eMMC work the same as a standard HDD/SSD partitioned with a GPT? As in, have you made separate partitions for Android and Ubuntu, or is it somehow shared?
And also related, how much room will it take up on the eMMC (as I've only got a 16GB TF)?
And finally, since you've been using yours at uni running Ubuntu, have you got any idea of the battery life running Ubuntu? I'm assuming it'd be pretty similar to stock, but yeah the battery indicator wasn't working last time I was playing around with Ubuntu from the microSD. Also, does the second keyboard battery work?

poltak11 said:
Ah lovely idea with the PPA. When new 3.2 based Prime gets released, I'll try to get a few hours to myself to get this all working together.
Just a few quick questions first:
How do your scripts change the eMMC layout? Does eMMC work the same as a standard HDD/SSD partitioned with a GPT? As in, have you made separate partitions for Android and Ubuntu, or is it somehow shared?
And also related, how much room will it take up on the eMMC (as I've only got a 16GB TF)?
And finally, since you've been using yours at uni running Ubuntu, have you got any idea of the battery life running Ubuntu? I'm assuming it'd be pretty similar to stock, but yeah the battery indicator wasn't working last time I was playing around with Ubuntu from the microSD. Also, does the second keyboard battery work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The second battery does work, unless you get one of those dodged ones that just randomly stops charging which happened to me, with the dock connected and the battery in it refusing to charge my battery lasted 6 hours.
the layout is different to standard, UDA(User DAta partition) is 4.2GB smaller than what it was, so you have 9.99gb for android and 4.2 for ubuntu, the kernel and recovery kernels are moved up to the end of the flash as well so that they are accessible through /dev

Just finished installing it. Yea, from internal memory it's working much faster. ~20 second boot time!(I didn't have timer with me, so I counted in the head) That's like my laptop with SSD + 10 second bios booting. With a dock it feels like a true netbook. I think I'll even dare to test c/c++ IDE on this thing. Good job!
Used online timer. It's 21 seconds.
Hmm how do I start wifi? eth0 is not even showing in the list of devices.

aligatro2010 said:
Just finished installing it. Yea, from internal memory it's working much faster. ~20 second boot time!(I didn't have timer with me, so I counted in the head) That's like my laptop with SSD + 10 second bios booting. With a dock it feels like a true netbook. I think I'll even dare to test c/c++ IDE on this thing.
Used online timer. It's 21 seconds.
Hmm how do I start wifi? eth0 is not even showing in the list of devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry forgot to mention in the first post, firmwares are not included in this release due to potential licensing issues, you can push the wifi firmware via adb to /lib/firmware and also the nvram, they are located in /system/vendor/fw_bcm4329.bin and /system/etc/nvram.txt on your android system, the module will autoload on boot once you have the firmware in place, and the interface will be named wlan0

lilstevie said:
Sorry forgot to mention in the first post, firmwares are not included in this release due to potential licensing issues, you can push the wifi firmware via adb to /lib/firmware and also the nvram, they are located in /system/vendor/fw_bcm4329.bin and /system/etc/nvram.txt on your android system, the module will autoload on boot once you have the firmware in place, and the interface will be named wlan0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nvram.txt to /etc right? I copied them straight from android partition, but it still doesn't load. Could it be because of the bcm4329_sta.bin or nvram should be placed in /lib/firmware ?
It works now.

So basically we will be able to dual boot Windows 7 and Android?

liorry said:
So basically we will be able to dual boot Windows 7 and Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Windows 7 doesn't have arm version. Windows 8 maybe in future, long future ....

aligatro2010 said:
nvram.txt to /etc right? I copied them straight from android partition, but it still doesn't load. Could it be because of the bcm4329_sta.bin or nvram should be placed in /lib/firmware ?
It works now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the wifi firmware should be called fw_bcm4329.bin and nvram.txt should be in /lib/firmware, I probably should have been a little clearer, but I posted that just before going to bed, and was a little tired

lilstevie said:
the wifi firmware should be called fw_bcm4329.bin and nvram.txt should be in /lib/firmware, I probably should have been a little clearer, but I posted that just before going to bed, and was a little tired
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"bcm4329_sta.bin" was already there before I even copied 2 modules and it was also loaded as module when I did modprobe. (not 100% sure about the second)That's why I thought it was conflicting with android's modules.

Wow, great work! Can't wait to try it.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

I've probably missed something obvious.. But I get this.
file not found: linux.img
failed executing command 2147483647 NvError 0x4
command failure: create failed
rm: cannot remove `linux.img': No such file or directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After like 5 minutes of NvFlash installing stuff.

[Kernel] EFIDROID - Ultimate preboot enviroment! - Multiboot / Fastboot / UEFI

updated4/4/2017 (Still does not work on stock 5.0) - Removed due to it still not booting stock 5.0, and ALSO now breaks booting unpatched.
twrp 3.1 is broken
twrp 2.7 is broken
twrp 3.0.1 works
some/most custom roms work
Most official/stock do not.
EFIDROID - Official link
Developer: m11kkaa
DO NOT BUG THE AUTHOR ABOUT BUGS/FEATURES, THIS IS UNOFFICIAL.
Most custom roms appear to boot
Install:​
assumes on stock firmware (Custom roms must report the DEVICEID as hlte, hltetmo, hltespr or hltevzw. Ask your Rom maintainer to correct it or visit post #51)
assumes root and bootloader unlocked
For now "efidroid" on playstore is not configured for our device, so we will do this using our own server:
Download "EFIDROID" from the playstore
Download "TerminalEmulator" from the playstore (or use adb shell)
Download "SimpleHTTPServer" from the playstore
NEW UNTESTED - Removed
OLD Download EFIDROID_SERVER_FILES from View attachment EFIDROID_SERVER_FILES.zip
Open and extract the "device" and "ota" folder to the INTERNAL storage of your phone
Open SimpleHTTPServer (do not change default settings)
Open Terminal Emulator and enter: (make sure you didn't forget any spaces)
su
setprop efidroid.server_url "http://localhost:12345"
Now open efidroid, it should automatically connect. Now press the menu key in the top left corner and press install, then press the big install button.
Now create your slot, and reboot.
Use the vol +/- to navigate up or down, use the power button to select an option
Long press power button on internal rom/recovery to boot without efidroid
Reinstalling/Updating:
Download the new OTAPACKAGE file and extract to INTERNALSD, replace old device/ota folders
Clear EFIDROIDMANAGER cache/data
Run the SETPROP command (don't forget su)
Turn on SimpleHTTPserver
Open efidroid and click uninstall, and then click install (Or click reinstall)
MAKE SURE YOUR BUILD DATE NOW MATCHES THE UPDATED BUILD DATE
Uninstall:
if you hit the uninstall button, the app copies the contents of the UEFIESP back to the real partitions and deletes the partition_*.img files. It does not delete the UEFIESP directory or any of the multiboot directories because they may contain other important files.
flashing boot+recovery outside of EFIDroid's control(e.g. using stock's fastboot/odin flash, or using unpatched boot) is pretty much the same as uninstalling efidroid without deleting the partition_*img files.
All that means that you don't have to worry about any of that if you restores your boot+recovery partitions(either through the app or manually). If you want to free up some space you can delete the UEFIESP directory using a root file manager.
Bugs/Issues:
REPORT ERRORS/BUG ON GITHUB
"can't find tagloader for type -1" - your recovery/rom is not supported (like twrp 3)
Report errors: https://github.com/efidroid/projectmanagement/issues
What you must include:
Exact steps to reproduce the error
Give the exact error shown on screen
If its storage related:
Give the output of "cat /proc/1/mountinfo"
EMERGENCY :
If you find yourself frustrated and just wanting things back the way they were:
Download odin
Download twrp (get the md5/tar version for odin)
Turn off phone (pull battery)
boot to download mode by holding vol down and home and power
Start up odin and press the AP button and browse for the TWRP file. Press start to flash.
Reboot phone into twrp recovery (vol up + home + power), and restore your boot/recovery partitions.
EFIDROID has now been effectively disabled[/HIDE]
Help and info:
If you are familiar with adding touchscreen support please visit us!
Join us on Slack : http://join-efidroid.rhcloud.com/
Once joined: https://efidroid.slack.com/
EFIDROID G+ page : https://plus.google.com/communities/...43671219382368
[/CENTER]

Works on N9005 LTE ?

It looks pretty cool but I've got limited knowledge. My N9005 is on phronesis rom v4.1, IdleKernel v6.6.5 and all partitions converted to F2FS, will it work on this format as well :/

As long as it is a note 3 on msm8974 (sorry exynos) it should work.
File system support should be trivial. I used that same FS myself

Is this an actual GRUB loader for android?
If so am ashuming this means it's possible for UNIX install
i.e. Arch Linux as OS.......

Hmmm.... Windows RT on Note 3... ^^
What about ACPI? We might need this for WinRT

With all due respect, I think you've posted a how to post bit earlier. I'm a flashaholic & the wait for the zip is killing me

I didn't think the day would come.
As a pleb, I will follow this thread with great interest.

djmalik420 said:
With all due respect, I think you've posted a how to post bit earlier. I'm a flashaholic & the wait for the zip is killing me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lololol

Wonder if this is ever going to work Great concept though.

Fake ¿ ???
Only what i see its a bootanimation, in the Video from a "older and other"

The OP account is suspended so I guess something fishy is going on.

Guess we will wait and see

oh come on now. I got suspended for being rude to a well respected member of xda. And its not fake... Really? Anyways... I took my ban as a break and just started back with m1cha on getting the uefi part to work with the screen.
A few pointers: You still need devs to port each os, like windows, true linux ect.
This is just a multiboot. So many devices lack that, some had safestrap, or kexec ect, but all those methods had quirks or special rules, or depended on android. This loads before even the kernel.
Also, it will have many tools that a typical recovery has, so you may not even need to reboot into recovery to setup partitions, also aroma was ported, so maybe even installing roms/kernels too.
Also, there will be an efidroid server "store" where you can get tools and apps to run in efidroid. So devs can extend functionality. Also there will be an android installer to make everything easier.
Just think of this as a pimped out safestrap.

SaschaElble said:
oh come on now. I got suspended for being rude to a well respected member of xda. And its not fake... Really? Anyways... I took my ban as a break and just started back with m1cha on getting the uefi part to work with the screen.
A few pointers: You still need devs to port each os, like windows, true linux ect.
This is just a multiboot. So many devices lack that, some had safestrap, or kexec ect, but all those methods had quirks or special rules, or depended on android. This loads before even the kernel.
Also, it will have many tools that a typical recovery has, so you may not even need to reboot into recovery to setup partitions, also aroma was ported, so maybe even installing roms/kernels too.
Also, there will be an efidroid server "store" where you can get tools and apps to run in efidroid. So devs can extend functionality. Also there will be an android installer to make everything easier.
Just think of this as a pimped out safestrap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter what negative comments you get because "Criticism Is The Key To Innovation" it's my personal quotation ...I've been visiting this thread since day one at minimum of three times a day hopping that you would have uploaded the zip...Make it quick buddy & keep up the good work :good:

We need a samsung expert. Getting the display to work in uefi is troublesome. DTSI and gcdb display experience is needed.

SaschaElble said:
We need a samsung expert. Getting the display to work in uefi is troublesome. DTSI and gcdb display experience is needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as my knowledge is concerned, Master @darkera13 is kinda expert you're looking for...I don't personally know him or his skills but people around note 3 forums praise his work very much

Is this Note 3 specific?
This is kinda an off topic question, but, just a few days ago i wanted to try Remix OS out in my PC, but noticed that there is no direct EFI support...just thinking if this thread would be any benefit for PC UEFI users trying to boot Android x86 directly through efi file.
sorry for the question, might be my knowledge limitation on the field...

Using a x64 cpu and grub or refind you can boot RemixOS, they have a uefi image on their site. (Thats what they said) Basically you really don't need efidroid for this, as it would only make it more complicated.

grub is exactly my problem...
thanks a lot for clarifying

[Root] H901 - For Newbies!

None of the methods in this thread are my own work. I struggled with getting my phone rooted for a long time and spend 10s of hours on the process. I had never rooted before and was therefore unfamiliar with all the terms, unfamiliar with how to complete all the recommended checks to ensure one had the right model, etc. There were several helpful threads but most approach the subject with the assumption that one knows something about the process. In this post I lay out what worked for me in a step-by-step way and what you have to do to achieve my results.
#1 Ensure you have a H-901 motherboard and not the Korean F600 motherboard by checking the sticker, and checking “About Phone” -> “Hardware Info” -> “Model number” in settings. These must both be LG-H901…from what I can tell the community has only developed technique for the H-901 variant.
#2 Get a micro SD card and load it with Magisk https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445 , and if you have Marshmallow or Lollipop and want Nougat (much better experience IMHO), load the files in this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-lg-v10/development/h901-t-mobile-nougat-v30b-twrp-t3639203 And maybe this thread as well (read both and then decide): https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm.../h901-t-mobile-nougat-v30c-flashable-t3744648
#3 Ensure you have unlocked your bootloader. (apparently only for T-mobile LG v10s since other carriers lock the bootloader) The FWUL virtual machine root method will not work if you have not done so. This is an entire process in itself. The following 2 videos which show how to root android 6.0 or earlier (process will not work with Nougat, 7.0, since some fastboot commands are missing). https://youtu.be/OtXlokk6JkQ , https://youtu.be/PPLwFGxLQA4
Also, this thread may be helpful. https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm...t-mobile-bootloader-factory-unlocked-t3236224 , download the nexus root toolkit here for easy ADB command entry http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/ —we will only use the “Advanced Utilities” -> ”Manual Input” -> ”Launch CMD Prompt”. When it prompts you to select a phone, select the first option and then for android version select Android *** Any. Don’t use any of the other commands because they are not configured for your device.
If you get a “waiting for device” error while attempting the fastboot oem unlock command in the above thread, see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-g4/help/fastboot-waiting-device-t3489789 Great video which shows how to change drivers. You will need to do this, I found a number of drivers that were already on my PC from google and Samsung worked although I didn’t have the specific one mentioned in the above thread. Don’t be afraid to experiment… you can always try another driver. And don’t require it to be hardware compatible. Ignore the warning message: https://youtu.be/nQjg6ePnGAc
---------------------------------------------
NOW that you have your bootloader unlocked you can proceed to actually flash the TWRP image as per this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-lg-v10/general/root-h901-nougat-t3773942
Notes before beginning:
-To enter download mode to begin: Plug a USB cable into your phone with your phone powered off, hold down on the Vol Up button and plug the USB cord into your computer. It should immediately boot into download mode. Exiting Download mode after flash: pull battery…no damage will be done.
-To enter recovery after flashing TWRP: power off the phone then hold both the down volume and power at the same time. When you see the black LG screen briefly release the power button and then press it again while not letting the volume down up. You will see a screen asking if you want to delete all user settings. Say YES (via the volume and power keys—no touch input). You will see a screen asking if you want to delete all user data. Say YES (the data is only deleted if TWRP loads successfully) You will briefly see the black LG bootup screen. TWRP or factory recovery will load. Or if you did not unlock your bootloader, it will say recovery is corrupted and cannot be trusted, and then boot normally without changing your settings or deleting files.
-Additional note: as of 7-23-18 some commands had changed:
From V20 forum, Brian (runningnak3d) has moved to gitlab.com. So instead of github.com, we have to use a new git repository that Brian created in gitlab.com.
cd
mv lglaf lglaf_BAK
git clone https://gitlab.com/runningnak3d/lglaf
cd lglaf
git pull
git checkout v10-miscwrte
There are additional comments in the thread. Some timeout errors may be solved by: 1 - Download the VirtualBox extension pack: https://download.virtualbox.org/vir..._VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.2.8.vbox-extpack
2 - Go to File / Preferences / Extensions / click the + and browse to where you downloaded it.
3 - Once installed, with the VM off, right click on the VM, and go to settings. Click on USB, and pick USB 3.0. If your machine doesn't have a USB 3 port, pick 2.0.
But frankly, simply up arrow after a timeout error to load the last command on the command line and hit enter again. Simply keep doing this until it works. You know it works because no dialog appears for several minutes before informing one of success.
**Upgrade to Nougat after Flashing TWRP and booting to Recovery steps: (I did a full wipe as suggested by this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/v20/development/h918-recowvery-unlock-v20-root-shell-t3490594 before flashing the v30b upgrade then full Nougat zip, and then flashing Magisk. I flashed the 3 zips sequentially. I was afraid Nougat would not boot successfully because the zip files are less than 2 gb combined but success! You may want to also flash the 30c upgrade before flashing Magisk for a total of 4 zip flashes. I did not try this. However doing all this means no backups are done so if there is a problem you may have to flash a KDZ with the LG UP tool (don’t ask me how).
As a final note, I cannot answer specific questions about the various processes provided or errors you may encounter that I have not listed in this write up since I have not experienced them. A bit of research on your part may be required, but this post should provide you with a huge head start compared to where I started. Good luck!

Methods to get unlimited mobile hotspot, very useful if you're on the $50 MetroPCs (owned by T-mobile) unlimited plan. All you $70 T-mobile plan suckazzz! https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm...ited-tetherting-hotspot-t3825144#post77249285
I would actually recommend using a USB tether client and forgoing root access if tethering is your only objective and you are trying to be efficient with your time. However, with root you can install all these cool apps!: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-android-root-apps/
The following caught my eye:
-Rec: screen record
-liveboot: boot animation (does not work with Magisk)
-Servicely: checks to see which apps are using a lot of battery and lets you suppress them
-Adblock Plus
-Titanium backup: very powerful phone backup application & bloatware remover look into for quickly switching over to a different lg v10
-Greenify: put apps into hibernation
-System tuner: get lots of info about you phone but be careful making changes
-ES file explorer: dig into the android system
-Disk digger: recovers deleted files (photos only?)

[GUIDE][ROOT] QLink Scepter 8 Tablet (Gen 1 & Gen 2) | Bootloader Unlocking & Rooting Guide

QLink Scepter 8 Tablet​By Hot Pepper Mobile
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Bootloader Unlocking
& Rooting Guide
For Gen 1 & Gen 2 Models​
TABLET MODELS & VARIANTS:
For those members familiar with the firmware restoration thread, there are a total of four model variants of the QLink Scepter 8 tablet: two variants of the Gen 1 model, and two variants of the latest Gen 2 model. Determining which Scepter 8 you have is a very simple two-part check. First, if you don't already know your Android OS version, go to device Settings> About tablet, and locate your Android version. If you are running Android 11 (Go Edition), you have the original Gen 1 model. If you are running Android 12 (Go Edition), your tablet is the latest Gen 2 model. Secondly, you will need to locate the device S/N in order to determine your tablet variant. Your S/N is printed on the manufacturer's label affixed to the exterior of the tablet's rear housing. From the Android OS, you can also locate your S/N by opening device Settings>About tablet>Model. Regardless of whether you have the Gen 1 or the Gen 2, the first two letters of your S/N will be either CF or MD. This is the codification of your tablet variant. To alleviate some of the legwork of rooting, and to keep this thread simple to follow, I have provided boot images pre-patched for Magisk v25.2 systemless root support. I have categorized the download links for each of the boot images in accordance with the respective model and S/N variant. To avoid potential bugs, instabilities, boot loops and the like, it is crucial that you download the boot image that corresponds with your model & variant. ​​OVERVIEW:
This guide outlines step-by-step instructions for unlocking the bootloader and rooting all variants of the Gen 1 & Gen 2 QLink Scepter 8 tablet. This guide also includes a detailed section on properly installing the ADB, fastboot, & USB device drivers on your Windows PC or laptop, as well as steps to troubleshoot & manually update these drivers in the event the tablet is not being recognized while in fastboot mode.
DISCLAIMER:
Unlocking your bootloader and rooting your device are both procedures that carry inherent risks. Because these procedures involve modifying the device from it's stock factory configuration, it is possible to corrupt, damage, or even render your tablet completely inoperable. By proceeding further, you are assuming sole responsibility for the integrity and operability of your device, therefore absolving me of any liability in the event something goes south. I have, however, tested these guides and feel confident that things will go smoothly as long as you follow the instructions carefully. Moreover, I encourage all members to read the instructions fully before starting the steps, in order to first gain a fundamental understanding of the concepts and methods involved.
PLEASE PLAY NICE & FOLLOW XDA RULES:
This thread was created with the intent of being a noob-friendly forum. This simply means that new and inexperienced members are fully welcome here, and will be provided with extra guidance and assistance if needed. Please keep in mind that XDA is a global community of developers, enthusiasts and device users. As such, and although English is the only permitted language in the forums & threads, not all members speak English as their first language, and often rely on text translation tools when asking questions & posting. Accordingly, it is very common for words to be misconstrued, meanings to be misinterpreted, and the context as a whole lost in translation. I ask members to be patient, compassionate and respectful to others on this thread. Those members with the knowledge to do so are urged and asked to help newer members, and recall back when you were new here and others helped you.
Please help me with keeping this thread on point by ensuring that all subject matter herein be kept relevant to the topics of rooting and OEM unlocking the QLink Scepter 8. Any posts about other devices or subject matter run afoul of XDA rules and are subject to removal by moderators -- and potential sanctions imposed upon the offending member. Moreover, an on-topic thread keeps things organized and easier to follow. Thank you for your consideration.
PREREQUISITES:
To unlock the bootloader and root the QLink Scepter 8 tablet, you will need a laptop or PC running on Windows 7/8.1/10/11. (A Mac or Linux machine can also be used. For purposes of this guide, however, I am focusing on a Windows setup.) You will also need the OEM-supplied or a quality equivalent micro USB to USB-A data sync cable. Last but not least, you will need to install compatible USB device drivers for ADB & Fastboot on your PC/laptop. I have included the 15-Second ADB Driver Installer below, under the DOWNLOADS section. This Installer will configure ADB & Fastboot system-wide, and installs the universal Google USB device drivers. I would encourage members to first read the instructions in their entirety prior to actually starting the guide.
•INSTALLING USB DEVICE DRIVERS•
This section is included to install and configure ADB, Fastboot and the proper USB device drivers on your Windows computer. This section can also be used to troubleshoot and fix issues involving your tablet not being recognized by Windows while connected in fastboot mode. If you have already installed the ADB & Fastboot tools (& the proper USB device drivers), and you are not experiencing fastboot recognition issues, you may skip this section and proceed to the bootloader unlocking section.
Many members have reported issues with device recognition while in fastboot mode. I have also noticed a persistence problem with Windows drivers on this tablet. I can manually update the driver using Windows Device Manager, enabling fastboot recognition; yet, once the tablet is disconnected from my PC the updated driver does not always persist, requiring a manual driver update each time fastboot mode is needed. Follow these steps to enable fastboot recognition of your device.
• 1. If you have not yet done so, install the 15-Second ADB Installer from the link below on your Windows PC or laptop. Open the utility and follow the prompts to install the ADB & Fastboot drivers. Next, opt to install ADB system-wide. Lastly, you will be prompted to install the Google USB device drivers. Select Y and install them. You should see an interface informing you that the drivers were successfully installed. NOTE: If you get a warning notification that the drivers are unsigned, select the option to install anyway;
• 2. With your tablet powered off, hold the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously until the QLink logo appears, at which time you release the Power button but continue holding Volume Down. When a green Android graphic appears on your display, you are in fastboot mode;
• 3. Connect your tablet to your Windows machine using the OEM-supplied or a quality equivalent micro USB to USB-A data sync cable;
• 4. Open a command window in the path of your ADB/Fastboot directory. Execute this command:
Code:
fastboot devices
If properly connected, the command window will return an alphanumeric string which is synonymous with your tablet serial number. If this occurs, you are finished with this section and may proceed to the instructions for unlocking the bootloader/rooting. If the command window displays Waiting on Any Device, or if your serial number is not displayed, continue with the following steps;
• 5. Keeping your device connected to your Windows PC/laptop, right click your Windows Start icon and select Device Manager. Locate your tablet in the menu. It will likely be located under either the Portable Devices or Android Device heading;
• 6. Right click your device and select Update Driver. Next, select Browse My Computer for Drivers. On the next screen choose the option for Let Me Pick From a List... Now you will see a list of drivers to select from. Depending on the manner in which Windows recognized your tablet in the Device Manager menu, the driver selection menu can vary. If you see an option for Android Device, select that option and then select Android Composite ADB Interface. Or, you may be directly presented with options for Android Bootloader Interface, Android ADB Interface and Android Composite ADB Interface. In any event, choose Android Composite ADB Interface and then click Next. Click Yes in the Update Driver Warning dialogue screen, at which time the drivers will be installed.
• 7. Return to your command window and again execute the fastboot devices command. If your serial number is displayed, your drivers are now properly installed. If you are still experiencing fastboot recognition issues, try using another data sync cable, change USB ports on your computer, and/or reinstall the drivers using the 15-Second ADB Installer.
I. UNLOCKING THE BOOTLOADER:
If you plan on rooting your tablet, this step is mandatory. If your bootloader is already unlocked and you only wish to root your device, skip down to the rooting instructions in the next section below.
WARNING: Unlocking your bootloader forces the device into a factory data reset, which will effectively wipe all saved user data from the device. Make a backup at this point if there are files and media on your tablet that you wish to keep.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Enable Developer Options on your tablet by going to device Settings>About tablet and tap Build number approximately seven times. Android will notify you that Developer Options are enabled; this menu will appear under device Settings>System>Advanced.
2. Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking in the Developer Options menu. NOTE: Users have reported the OEM Unlocking option being greyed-out unless you are signed in to your Google account.
3. Now to boot into fastboot mode, and this particular step is extremely important. Android 10 introduced a new fastboot mode for dynamic partitions, known as FASTBOOTD, which is relocated from the bootloader to userspace. This particular fastboot mode supports resizeable partitions within the dynamic scheme, and enables the user to create, resize and delete various logical partitions. However, FASTBOOTD mode cannot be utilized to unlock the bootloader, and will not recognize the unlock command. As such, the user must rely upon legacy fastboot mode in order to unlock the bootloader. From stock recovery mode, you may simply choose the option to reboot to bootloader. DO NOT CHOOSE THE OPTION TO ENTER FASTBOOT, as this option will boot to FASTBOOTD. From the Android OS, you can boot into legacy fastboot mode by executing:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Once you see a green Android graphic appear in the center of your display, you are in the correct fastboot mode.
4. Connect your tablet to your PC/laptop using the OEM-supplied or a quality equivalent micro USB to USB-A data sync cable. Next, open a command window in the path of your ADB/Fastboot directory. Check your connection by executing this command:
Code:
fastboot devices
If you are properly connected, the command window will return an alphanumeric string synonymous with your device's serial number. If you do not see this, there is a problem with communications between your tablet and PC/laptop. To troubleshoot the issue, switch to another USB port, try another data sync cable, and/or reinstall the ADB/Fastboot drivers on your PC or laptop. Also, see my instructions above on installing USB device drivers on your Windows computer;
5. Once a proper connection has been verified, execute this command:
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
Once you see the Okay notification in the command window, your bootloader is now unlocked. Execute this command:
Code:
fastboot reboot
Your tablet will now initiate a factory data reset and then reboot into the initial setup for the Android OS.
II. ROOTING THE QLINK SCEPTER 8
Now that the bootloader has been unlocked, rooting this tablet is very straightforward. Again, I have provided pre-rooted boot image files in the DOWNLOADS section for all four models & variants.
INSTRUCTIONS:
A. Gen 1 QLink Scepter 8​Android 11 (Go Edition)​
NOTE: If your tablet is running Android 12 Go Edition, you're in the wrong place. Skip down to the next section.
1. Download the Gen 1 patched boot image that matches your S/N variant using the links below, and save the file on your PC/laptop in the ADB/Fastboot directory. Note that the file is named patched_boot.img. The flashing command below assumes that you leave this file name unchanged;
2. Go to device Settings>About tablet and tap Build number 7 times or until Developer Options are enabled. (This step is necessary if you unlocked your bootloader using the previous section, due to the factory data reset.) Enable USB Debugging in the Developer Options menu;
3. Power your tablet off. Hold the Power and Volume Down keys simultaneously until the QLink logo appears, at which time you release Power but continue holding Volume Down. The green Android will appear on the display to indicate fastboot mode;
4. Connect your tablet to your PC or laptop using a quality data sync cable. Verify your connection using the instructions in Step 4 of the bootloader unlocking section above;;
5. Once a solid connection is verified, execute these commands:​
Code:
fastboot flash boot patched_boot.img
fastboot reboot
NOTE: Your active boot slot should be boot_a. Regardless, the above command flashes your active slot by default, without having to specify slot _a or _b.
Upon reboot, your tablet will be rooted with the latest Magisk systemless root strategy. If you do not see the Magisk app or the placeholder stub in your app drawer, go ahead and download the latest version from the link below and install the APK on your tablet. Open the Magisk app, grant the prompted permissions, and follow any prompts to complete setting up the root environment.
B. Gen 2 QLink Scepter 8​Android 12 (Go Edition)​
NOTE: If your tablet is running Android 11 Go Edition, you're in the wrong place. Go back to the previous section. .
1.Download the Gen 2 patched boot image that matches your S/N variant and the empty vbmeta.img using the links below, and save the files on your PC/laptop in the ADB/Fastboot directory. Note that the boot image file is named patched_boot.img, and the vbmeta image is named vbmeta.img. The flashing commands below assume that you leave these file names unchanged;
2. Go to device Settings>About tablet and tap Build number 7 times or until Developer Options are enabled. (This step is necessary if you unlocked your bootloader using the previous section, due to the factory data reset.) Enable USB Debugging in the Developer Options menu;
3. Power your tablet off. Hold the Power and Volume Down keys simultaneously until the QLink logo appears, at which time you release Power but continue holding Volume Down. The green Android will appear on the display to indicate fastboot mode;
4. Connect your tablet to your PC or laptop using a quality data sync cable. Verify your connection using the instructions in Step 4 of the bootloader unlocking section above;;
5. Once a solid connection is verified, execute this command:
Code:
fastboot flash boot patched_boot.img
Now, continuing in fastboot mode, you will need to disable dm-verity/Android Verified Boot (AVB) by flashing an empty vbmeta.img via executing the following command:​
Code:
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta vbmeta.img
Next, execute this command to reboot your device:
Code:
fastboot reboot
Upon reboot, your tablet should now be rooted with the Magisk systemless root strategy. If you do not see the Magisk app or the stub placeholder in your app drawer, go ahead and download the latest version from the link below and install it on your tablet. Open the Magisk app, grant the prompted permissions, and follow any prompts to update Magisk and/or complete setting up the root environment.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In the unfortunate event you have a mishap with rooting your tablet and get stuck in a boot loop, or if your tablet will not otherwise boot into the Android OS, have no worries. My tutorial on firmware restoration for the QLink Scepter 8 will revert your device back to its original stock factory state. You can then return here and give it another try.
QLink Scepter 8 Firmware Restoration Guide
DOWNLOADS:
• 15-Second ADB Installer
• Gen 1 (CF) Patched Boot Image
• Gen 1 (MD) Patched Boot Image
• Gen 2 (CF) Patched Boot Image
• Gen 2 (MD) Patched Boot Image
• Empty vbmeta.img
• Official Magisk Releases / GitHub Repo
THANKS & MENTIONS:
Thanks goes out to Hot Pepper Mobile CEO Shawn Sun and Support Specialist Joshua G for providing stock firmware images for this device.
Also, I wish to recognize and thank @13lack13ox for being a huge help to thread members at times when I was not able.
​

For some reason, I'm stuck on the part where you have to use the fastboot option. So basically, I got my tablet in fastboot mode (the secondary one with the green android graphic), but when I tried to use the adb function, it doesn't detect my tablet. And also, the command, "fastboot devices" doesn't do anything, and when I try to use "fastboot device" it just says waiting for any device and just... stays there, not detecting my tablet. I tried multiple computers, tried both PowerShell and the command prompt with admin privileges, to no avail. For information, it worked when my tablet was on my tablet is the V9 firmware, but it slightly newer since I just updated to V9_20220224... so maybe that might have something to do with it...

64Star said:
For some reason, I'm stuck on the part where you have to use the fastboot option. So basically, I got my tablet in fastboot mode (the secondary one with the green android graphic), but when I tried to use the adb function, it doesn't detect my tablet. And also, the command, "fastboot devices" doesn't do anything, and when I try to use "fastboot device" it just says waiting for any device and just... stays there, not detecting my tablet. I tried multiple computers, tried both PowerShell and the command prompt with admin privileges, to no avail. For information, it worked when my tablet was on my tablet is the V9 firmware, but it slightly newer since I just updated to V9_20220224... so maybe that might have something to do with it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you have a common driver issue. Do this: with your device connected to your PC in fastboot mode, right click your Windows start button and open Device Manager. What is your tablet showing up as? We will need to update your driver. I can walk you through it. Did you install the Google driver from the 15-Second ADB Installer? I am nearly finished writing a guide on properly installing the device drivers. I will link it here when posted. It will give you a detailed step-by,-step outline. I don't think it's an issue with the firmware builds. Fastboot detection issues are common with this tablet due to some type of instability with driver persistence. For example, I often need to update my driver every time I use fastboot mode because, for some odd reason, the updated driver doesn't persist once the tablet is disconnected from the PC and then reconnected.

i dont have this tablet but another hot pepper device called the poblano. with that i was able to boot into ffbm from the bootloader and have root adb access. then i ran dd on my boot partition and patched it with magisk and flashed it back
wondering if hot pepper still makes their devices like that or they patched it. either way props to you for getting the fw straight from the oem

luridphantom said:
i dont have this tablet but another hot pepper device called the poblano. with that i was able to boot into ffbm from the bootloader and have root adb access. then i ran dd on my boot partition and patched it with magisk and flashed it back
wondering if hot pepper still makes their devices like that or they patched it. either way props to you for getting the fw straight from the oem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Scepter 8 does not ship with adb root shell (adbd) enabled. In fact, the bootloader was not even intended to be unlocked. The unlock command is disabled in standard fastboot mode. Luckily, the Scepter 8 is integrated with a second fallback fastboot mode, which we were able to use to to the oem unlock.
Many AllWinner tablets and other Chinese devices do, as you pointed out on your Hot Pepper device. When the Scepter 8 was first released I was able to pull a boot image using a Phoenix Suite tool that had been reverse engineered and modded. As luck would have it, I got rid of the tablet and lost my files along with access to the Phoenix Suite tool. So I've been weeks quarreling with Hot Pepper Mobile to provide firmware and the kernel source code. To their credit, the Hot Pepper CEO and support team were very helpful once they understood what I needed. Hot Pepper's software developers are in China, so a language translation issue hindered my request for some time.
Anyway thank you for your kind words and it is a pleasure making your acquaintance.

@64Star I have updated the thread above with some detailed instructions on updating your device drivers. Hope this helps.

Viva La Android said:
@64Star I have updated the thread above with some detailed instructions on updating your device drivers. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does, I've unlocked the bootloader and now i'm gonna go root it. Thanks for your help!

I have an unfortunate update: When I went to turn on my tablet, I've noticed there was a noticeable crack on the top left corner of the screen... and then when I tried to use it... the touchscreen no longer functions. I have no clue where that crack came from, cause that wasn't there yesterday, and I've kept it safe in a drawer until now, so I have no clue how it's possible. Guess the software isn't the only thing that's cheap, cause my 2020 Moto G Power survived way worse without even a single crack.
TL,DR: Touch screen somehow broke overnight, meaning I can't get past the setup screen, so GG no re, this $10 qlink tablet ****ing sucks.

64Star said:
I have an unfortunate update: When I went to turn on my tablet, I've noticed there was a noticeable crack on the top left corner of the screen... and then when I tried to use it... the touchscreen no longer functions. I have no clue where that crack came from, cause that wasn't there yesterday, and I've kept it safe in a drawer until now, so I have no clue how it's possible. Guess the software isn't the only thing that's cheap, cause my 2020 Moto G Power survived way worse without even a single crack.
TL,DR: Touch screen somehow broke overnight, meaning I can't get past the setup screen, so GG no re, this $10 qlink tablet ****ing sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@64Star I hate to hear that but I know exactly how it goes. I've cracked many a screen in my day. But, on a positive note, if you have the extra funds, there are a ton of these tablets available on eBay within the $35 to $40 price range.

Viva La Android said:
@64Star I hate to hear that but I know exactly how it goes. I've cracked many a screen in my day. But, on a positive note, if you have the extra funds, there are a ton of these tablets available on eBay within the $35 to $40 price range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL really turning a profit!

13lack13ox said:
LOL really turning a profit!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. No doubt

Sorry about the delay on TWRP guys. My mounting issues are actually encryption issues. TWRP isn't decrypting the /userdata or /vendor partitions with the default key. I'm going to chat with one of my friends over at TeamWin and see if I can get a little guidance.

Viva La Android said:
@64Star I hate to hear that but I know exactly how it goes. I've cracked many a screen in my day. But, on a positive note, if you have the extra funds, there are a ton of these tablets available on eBay within the $35 to $40 price range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really expect me to shell out around 35$ to 40$ on a slow, laggy 10$ tablet just to experiment on? Hahahahahaha....
Spoiler
Perhaps

64Star said:
You really expect me to shell out around 35$ to 40$ on a slow, laggy 10$ tablet just to experiment on? Hahahahahaha....
Spoiler
Perhaps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. I was only providing you info as to where they were available. I found one for $19 which is more than I really wanted to give.
As it stands now,.all the lag is gone in mine. I debloated everything that wasn't essential for normal operations. Then I edited the system/build.prop to increase responsiveness and I limited background apps & processes. Finally, I installed a kernel tuner and set the LMK to very aggressive, tweaked the I/o scheduler parameters, and increased entropy from the available pool. And set SELinux to permissive mode. I'm using Nova Launcher Premium with the launcher locked into memory. Believe it or not, the tablet is now very responsive considering the specs. I'm looking into overclocking the CPU a bit, but 1.46 GHz seems to suffice once RAM is optimized. It's a difference in night and day. It's good for a project tablet but that's about it.
There's another government tablet floating around called the Maxwest Nitro 7Q. 4G/LTE supported with a lot better specs. I think I have one located to buy for cheap.

Lots of tweaks it doesnt run too bad just removing bloatware. Would be cool to get your params on your tweaks etc. If you ever got time could you post it up? Maybe the rom you were talking about in another post has all that included? Anyways if not no biggie, this thing is just for playing around on.

13lack13ox said:
Lots of tweaks it doesnt run too bad just removing bloatware. Would be cool to get your params on your tweaks etc. If you ever got time could you post it up? Maybe the rom you were talking about in another post has all that included? Anyways if not no biggie, this thing is just for playing around on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. I'll list those for you here in just a little bit. I have a pure stock ROM built with a TWRP installer, but my TWRP has run into a snag. I've reached out to TeamWin for guidance on that.

All in good time, man. Just glad someone with knowledge is doing all this. Wish I could help more. My ability to program and compile is equivalent to stick poking. I've done it once with aosp 6 that was awhile ago.

13lack13ox said:
All in good time, man. Just glad someone with knowledge is doing all this. Wish I could help more. My ability to program and compile is equivalent to stick poking. I've done it once with aosp 6 that was awhile ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You seem to know your way around the Android OS pretty well. I'm a developer in training myself. Learning every day. Yeah AOSP 6, I still love working with the Marshmallow builds.
Ok first things first. I notice a huge performance boost from some kernel level mods. Here is a link to Kernel Toolkit. Install both APKs. https://mega.nz/folder/QYwA0QTA#O_Zg3h_iVkHOdeyU_yOmLw
First go to the CPU heading and change the scaling governor to Ondemand. Under CPU Governor Params, tap on Performance Profile and select Maximum Performance (you may personally want to scale back to Aggressive or Balanced, depending on your need for battery life). Now, close Kernel Toolkit and restart the app. Next go to the I/O heading. Choose kyber as the I/o scheduler and set the read ahead buffer to 512 KB. Go down to ZRAM and increase to the maximum of 1000 MB. Set Swappiness to 100. Go over to the Profiles heading, create a profile will all settings and give it a name recommended from the list. When complete, tap on the profile, select save settings and then apply settings.
Now go to the menu button in the upper left of the app. Go down and enable Apply Settings on Boot. Select All and set a 5 second delay.
Next, download a build.prop editor from Play Store. There are tons of free ones and any will suffice. Make a backup of your system/build.prop before you tweak anything. Open the editor and grant root permission.
For build.prop edits, locking your launcher into memory helps a lot with responsiveness. Add this line to system/build.prop
ro.HOME_APP_ADJ=1
This basically prevents the launcher from being killed by Android's native LMK.
To increase touch responsiveness, add these lines as well.
debug.performance.tuning=1
video.accelerate.hw=1
Disable the boot animation for faster boot time.
debug.sf.nobootanimation=1
Reboot to enable the tweaks.
Give these a try and let me know your feedback. I'm working on a few more mods to optimize this tablet and I'll keep you posted on those as well.

Thx great changes so far. Yeah more "snappyness" for sure. I'll have to play around and open up as much as i can swap around.
I can't change I/O scheduler though, I get a contact developer message.

13lack13ox said:
Thx great changes so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yw. Do you notice a decent improvement?

Help me with my hard-bricked N920P

I guess I finally hard-bricked my N920P trying to install Universal SafetyNet Fix. It was on stock (N920PVPS3DRH1) but I had TWRP and Magisk Canary installed. I was trying to get Zygisk working but couldn't get it properly turn on, even on the stable and canary builds. That's where I had tried to install the SafetyNet fix module. It said it doesn't fully support anything below Android 8.0, but it did finish installing and asked me to reboot. And it never turned back on.
I cannot get into the download mode, recovery or system. Tried all key combos and no life at all. I drained the battery all night long and tried plugging into the PC and now it detects it as an unknown "Exynos7420" device. That was something from the nothing I got before. I tried looking up on how to rebuild the corrupt bootloader but I couldn't wrap my head around on how the process works. There was material on getting a software called "USB_Downloader" and I got all the way to installing the drivers and getting that software recognise the device as a COM port. I did this in a Windows 7 32 bit VM on VirtualBox (VMWare kept crashing my entire USB Host Controller everytime I tried passing the phone's connection to the VM, which was weird).
Now I'm stuck with this software and am unable to understand what I need to do next. There was something about getting the sboot.bin file and creating 4 new files to push through the Exynos COM port to fix the bootloader. There was also something about getting a Hex editor to do this, but I cannot understand what's going on. Could someone please help me get around this?
Thanks in advance!!

Never mind I fixed it. Just posting it here to make sure no one else gets stuck like I did for a long while. So what I had done was I forgot I had a custom ROM installed. It had been based on the N920PVPU3DQC5 firmware. So I downloaded that firmware, extracted the sboot.bin file then went to work with a hex editor (HxD for Windows specifically).
Open sboot.bin in the hex editor and start making new files listed below. The sections are also listed below, you can ensure the size in the bottom of HxD.
Save them as novi1.bin, novi_2.bin, etc...
The offsets I used are:
BL1 or novi1.bin: 0 - 0x1FFF (size 0x2000)
BL2 or EL3 or novi_2.bin: 0x2000 - 0x31FFF (size 0x30000)
EL3 or BL2 or novi_3.bin: 0x32000 - 0x3dfff (size 0xC000)
S-BOOT or novi_4.bin: 0x3E000 - 0x18F100 or end of file (size 0x15110), this will include tzsw.
Next this is the cfg file I used:
Code:
; S Project
; must keep order of binary list
; BL1
DNW_STORE e5250 fwbl1 200 20 novi1.bin
;DNW_WAIT
; BL2
DNW_STORE e5250 el3_mon 2000 20 novi_2.bin
; u-boot
; Wait Re-Enumeration
DNW_WAIT
DNW_STORE e5250 bl2 2000 20 novi_3.bin
;DNW_WAIT
DNW_STORE e5250 bootloader 20000 20 novi4.bin
;DNW_WAIT
;DNW_STORE e5250 tzsw 20000 20 4pt.img
Copy this code and save it as SH-usb-booting.cfg in the same folder as your .bin files. Now you can launch the multidownloader and load the .cfg and select Auto Run. Now press and hold the power button on your phone and connect it to the PC. It should automatically go through the whole flashing process and end up in the download mode screen. You can now flash the firmware from there!
If you have any doubts hit me up!

LOL I'm stuck again. I got into Download mode but my VM was having trouble connecting to the Download mode USB modem and it crashed the USB controller on my PC. I had to reboot the phone and now I'm stuck again in Exynos USB mode. Trying to get back into Download mode using the files I created above but it's not working anymore. I can hear the USB getting disconnected on the host at the AP Re-enumeration step but it isn't disconnecting from the guest VM. I guess I'll have to find a physical PC to try this out on.
EDIT: I had used VirtualBox until this step. After the hanging on Re-enumeration issue, I figured it could be Virtualbox causing the issue so I tried using VMWare, and ta-da, it worked. Read posts below for updates.

So I somehow got myself to get into Download mode consistently. Turned out my VM's USB controller was acting up so I clean installed it and I'm able to send the sboot files and get into Odin mode. But new trouble. Everytime I flash the stock firmware it goes through the process, passes and resets. But it never boots!! Just goes back to the same Exynos mode. I can re-flash the sboot file to get back into Odin mode but I'm stuck like this. I have no idea what to do now...

Progress so far:
I can't remember what custom ROM I had originally. Radeonmaya S8+ N920P ROM was supposed to be based on the DQC5 deodexed stock ROM posted here in the N920P forum.
1. Tried creating new files from DQC5 - SPR sboot.bin: Booted into Download mode, tried flashing the 4 file firmware, no progress, resets back into Exynos mode.
2. Used the DQC5 - SPR sboot.bin to boot into download mode: Tried flashing thr 4 file firmware for the latest firmware that was installed in the phone which was DRH1. No progress, resets back into Exynos mode.
If I'm reading this correctly, the Radeommaya ROM makes changes to boot.img and system partitions. Everything else remains stock, therefore my original bootloader for firmware DRH1 should work. However, I'm not able to get into the system.
I must note that TWRP recovery was installed on the device. The best course of action would be to install the same custom ROM back together with TWRP, but I could not find an Odin flashable tarball for the Radeonmaya ROM. The forum's been dead for a couple of years and the Telegram group is also dead. Looking for ways to make my own tarball using handpicked files maybe.
Currently trying to create new .bin files to boot into Download mode via the Multidownloader from sboot.bin files I salvaged from the XAS (Sprint Unbranded) firmware packages DRH1 and DQE1 (Apparently this firmware has helped someone in the Radeonmaya ROM thread to boot back into the system from a similar hard bricked situation, however I speculate this would not fix my problem because the DQE1 firmware is newer than the DQC1 firmware, which the custom ROM was based upon)
Will post more findings later.
P.S. VMWare could be quite finicky to work with when trying to passthrough the Exynos USB Device to a Windows 7 guest. It caused my AMD Ryzen host to crash its entire USB controller and both my USB mouse and the phone wouldn't connect to the HOST, let alone the guest. It causes a never-ending loop in the code which also stops a proper system restart, hence needing you to force power-cycle the whole computer.
This is because of the unusual nature of the driver being 32-bit only and incompatibility with VMWare. However, it should work when you reinstall VMWare without the Enhanced Keyboard driver, and also reinstalling the Exynos USB driver on the host and the VMWare USB Device (found in the Universal Serial Bus controllers section when you have the USB connection passed through to the VM).