Related
Unfortunately I got one of those tabs that won't OTA or unlock. I've contacted asus and told them that I can't receive OTAs, and I got the canned "flash the updates manually".:silly: This is an unacceptable solution because for one it's a PITA to update it that way, and I still won't be able to unlock the bootloader.
I have avoided mentioning the un-unlockable boatloader problem to the asus rep because I'm not sure it is covered under warranty. But the has me thinking: Could I argue that the device is being sold as unlockable and my device does not meet that spec and is therefore defective? If not, could I argue the same for the fact that it won't receive OTAs?
I am also wondering if the reason it won't function properly is because I got it as an exchange from Best Buy instead of buying it fresh. Has anyone gotten it the same way and not had the same issue?
I'm still within my 30 days, but I'm afraid if I exchange it I'll get another un-unlockable tablet.
I'd advise you to:
1) not argue that unlockability is a device 'feature', since pretty much all Android devices are sold locked, and since you purchased it in that state -- not even knowing if the unlocker will become become available or not -- signifies your accepance of the device even in a locked state;
2) press the fact that you canot receive OTAs and that workability suffers as a result. At least under European consumer law, ASUS would be responsible for selling a finished and workable product. The state in which the TF700 has shipped so far is suboptimal to say the least, and the fixes since have brought tangible improvements. Saying "oh, flash the updates manually yourself" in my mind is the same as a automobile manufacturer opting to NOT do a calllback of sold vehicles due to some ailment (faulty brake discs, or safety belts or something) but instead shipping the parts to their customers and saying "well, you can handle a pair of scissors and a screwdriver, right? Do it yourself then." -- I say, screw them. If this argument fails as wel, you have a support rep with only a few glands where the brain should be located (probably only a visual cortex to be able to type on a keyboard and find it way to the toilet). If that is the case, first drop Gary Key a line, since he has offered to intervene on a customer's behalf before. That might be a second line of rescue.
3) If all else fails, exchange nonetheless, the risk of receiving another essentially-faulty unit notwithstanding. If OTAs and the bootloader issue are a sign of ASUS not having your serial number in their database, you might get into trouble if in need of warranty later on. I'd prefer a few returns to issues down the way (even though I know the feeling of having to wait yet again, and having to run the setup again and so on, and so on), but hey, that's just me.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
1. I guess I could say that because asus released the bootloader unlock, and it works on most of the tablets except for mine, that my tablet is not receiving the same services due to a technical glitch. Heck I could even say the same for the OTA updates.
Fear Not, I am avoiding this argument religiously. I don't even want to mention the "b word" to asus, it would complicate the issue more than it needs to be.
2. I am leaning hard on getting the OTA updater fixed. At the moment it's what I am most concerned about. ASUS telling me to flash the updates manually is less than acceptable. It's simply not convenient or practical for me to continue to flash them manually. The problem is that the problem is beyond the tech support people. Which is not surprising. The engineers are the only ones with the actual knowledge and they don't deal with customers. The tech support are merely handed a card with questions and responses. My only hope is to press the rep until they hand the matter off to someone more knowledgeable. The bootloader I guess is what is driving me to get the problem fixed.
My problem at the moment is trying to prove that the ota's are broken. The rep told me that the .26 update probably hasn't been released to my district yet and I should wait. I say BS, the .26 update has been out for long enough I should have gotten it. I even gave the bootloader unlocker a shot: network error. Yup, I would be gray long before the update to hit my device. Problem is I can't say that to the rep without mentioning the aforementioned "b word".
Fortunately, I read a thread here (I'm too lazy to look it up now) about a prime user who successfully RMAd for the same issue, and got it fixed.
rightonred said:
1. I guess I could say that because asus released the bootloader unlock, and it works on most of the tablets except for mine, that my tablet is not receiving the same services due to a technical glitch. Heck I could even say the same for the OTA updates.
Fear Not, I am avoiding this argument religiously. I don't even want to mention the "b word" to asus, it would complicate the issue more than it needs to be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a plan to me.
2. I am leaning hard on getting the OTA updater fixed. At the moment it's what I am most concerned about. ASUS telling me to flash the updates manually is less than acceptable. It's simply not convenient or practical for me to continue to flash them manually. The problem is that the problem is beyond the tech support people. Which is not surprising. The engineers are the only ones with the actual knowledge and they don't deal with customers. The tech support are merely handed a card with questions and responses. My only hope is to press the rep until they hand the matter off to someone more knowledgeable. The bootloader I guess is what is driving me to get the problem fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, you're caught in a protocol. Not bad in itself, but when you;re experiencing soething that isn't covered by the protocol, you're pretty much screwed unless you can get through to their second line of defense.
My problem at the moment is trying to prove that the ota's are broken. The rep told me that the .26 update probably hasn't been released to my district yet and I should wait. I say BS, the .26 update has been out for long enough I should have gotten it. I even gave the bootloader unlocker a shot: network error. Yup, I would be gray long before the update to hit my device. Problem is I can't say that to the rep without mentioning the aforementioned "b word".
Fortunately, I read a thread here (I'm too lazy to look it up now) about a prime user who successfully RMAd for the same issue, and got it fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that you should have gotten the update by now as well. It seems to have been delivered worldwide, so there's no reason for you to be exempt from the bliss the rest of the owners are already experiencing. The bootloader not unlocking due to a network error is an argument believable for two or maybe three tries, but when it stubbornly keeps refusing to be unlocked, well, that is symptomatic of something else.
I did hear several reports of Prime users getting their units succesfully RMA'd, but also at least one user reporting that he received his unit in an locked state, from which he was no longer able to unlock. That might be a problem in your case...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
Its a shame though, the tablet works perfectly other wise. The wifi and gps reception is excellent. no dead pixels, hot pixels, dark or light spots, dust under display, scratches, etc. The screen is bonded frimly to the back and is not loose. In fact I think it's one of the nicer tabs out there. It's just that the thing won't update (or unlock).
rightonred said:
Unfortunately I got one of those tabs that won't OTA or unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There must be a problem with some of these tablets and OTA updates. I received my Infinity a week ago with the. 21 firmware. No matter what I did it would not update OTA to 22. I did a manual update to. 22 which was very easy. A couple days later. 26 was available on their website. Again no OTA update and again I did it manually with no problem. My Infinity was neither rooted or unlocked at the time though I rooted after the. 26 update. I have read post on various forums with other owners with the same exact update issue while others did receive their updates OTA. I guess that shows that there are differences between this same model being it a software or hardware problem. Other than the OTA update issue my Infinity is working great. Much better than the 3 Primes that I owned.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda premium
Eddie Hicks said:
There must be a problem with some of these tablets and OTA updates. I received my Infinity a week ago with the. 21 firmware. No matter what I did it would not update OTA to 22. I did a manual update to. 22 which was very easy. A couple days later. 26 was available on their website. Again no OTA update and again I did it manually with no problem. My Infinity was neither rooted or unlocked at the time though I rooted after the. 26 update. I have read post on various forums with other owners with the same exact update issue while others did receive their updates OTA. I guess that shows that there are differences between this same model being it a software or hardware problem. Other than the OTA update issue my Infinity is working great. Much better than the 3 Primes that I owned.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have a strong hunch that the issue is on ASUS' end, probably the serial numbers not being available in their database of shipped units, and therefore a) preventing OTA and b) preventing bootloader unlocking (since that's another instance of serial number checks against said database). Has any one of you run the unlock app already? I'd bet a beer on it it fails as well.
MartyHulskemper said:
We have a strong hunch that the issue is on ASUS' end, probably the serial numbers not being available in their database of shipped units, and therefore a) preventing OTA and b) preventing bootloader unlocking (since that's another instance of serial number checks against said database). Has any one of you run the unlock app already? I'd bet a beer on it it fails as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't loose that beer.
The I-can't-unlock-or-update club is picking up quite a few members. I'll have to remember to bring donuts and coffee to the next meeting.
Anyway, I've given up on tech support. If it's affecting a significant number of people, asus will find out about it and fix it. At the moment it's a pain, but I'm not too worried.
Good morning everyone!
I've spent days looking through the forums and decided to join and start a thread on my own as there is only little information on the device I'm using.
Well, I'm a German working in China and recently I bought the Asus Memo 171. As it seems it is only sold throughout Asia getting more information was difficult due to my lack of skills in Chinese - result: I didn't know there was that big of a difference from the Chinese Version (SKU) to the rest (TW and WW).
In my device there is not even an option to add a google account - no sync, no gmail, no play store, no apps. I can't even login to play store online. The only thing on there is the "HiMarket" which is the chinese version of an Android market but unless someone can actually read Chinese Characters it's hopeless.
The result makes the device pretty much useless for me; I can use the pre-installed apps but that's it.
And here's the point:
I would love to get the WW SKU on my device but my knowledge in rooting and so on is based on an old HTC WinCE device years ago and information on the ME171 is pretty rare.
I went through many of the TF101 and Prime threads for more information to change the SKU (EP101_UPDATE etc.) but it seems the ME171 is slightly different.
On the Asus Homepage I can get Updates for CN, TW and WW (China, Taiwan and worldwide) but SKU conversion of course is not possible and neither downgrading - at least not without root, bootloaders and so on.
As far as I have seen CWM does not work on this one, or maybe it does but no one tried...
What do I need to get it done and what information do you (that one goes to the experienced users around here) need to get me started?
I hope someone is willing to spend some time on a device that maybe 3 people are using .
Does anyone know of similarities to the Nexus 7 or other Asus devices which would make it a lot easier or is there some guide that basically works for every Asus Android device?
Would gaining root access and replacing the recovery image work to switch the SKU? The only thing available from Asus is one .raw file for one specific version and I'm not sure if that's sufficient. But if yes, are the firmwares similar to other devices so that the usual rooting procedure works? (Thinking of Sparky's debugfs automated root tool)
Right now I'm on 4.0.3 (me being stupid got all the OTA updates and I don't even know how to downgrade...originally it runs on Honeycomb) and I'm willing to get everything on this machine out as information for the helpful people in here (ROM dump or whatever you might need).
I'm looking forward to get this thread alive and keep it that way so please, dear experienced users, give me (and probably some more users who are using the Memo) something to start with to make this pad useful!
Thanks to anyone interested in this in advance and don't hesitate to ask for more infos.
Glad to meet a ME171 user in this world! LOL
OK, I got a ME171 CN recently, and just Root it sucessful ( almost... )
Please try Generic Debugfs root method http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1817622
I'm got your message and answer all I know. ^_^+
Like many of you who have updated to the 9.4.5.30 firmware, I was extremely disappointed to learn that we will not be able to use NVFlash. It appears that for whatever reason ASUS has decided to add some type of 'prevention code' to the 9.4.5.30 bootloader to prevent users from flashing the modified AndroidRoot.Mobi bootloader.
This is very unfortunate since as we all know, NVFlash is a powerful tool that allows all of those users with unlocked bootloaders to flash ROMs and not have to worry about the potential for bricking our devices. Thus, as things currently stand a large pool of current users as well as most future users will be excluded from using NVFlash. I would argue that it is probably in the interest of ASUS to undo whatever changes were made to the 9.4.5.30 bootloader, which would make it possible for us to once again flash the AndroidRoot.Mobi bootloader. The changes incorporated in 9.4.5.30 increase the likelihood that their customer service will have to deal with bricked units. Those of us who have owned the TF201 for example know of instances where bricked units get serviced under the warranty. This eats into their profits…
The purpose of this thread is to try and get ASUS's attention and alert them to the fact that there is a desire among the XDA TF700 community to use NVFlash and that the changes in 9.4.5.30 prevent this. However, the purpose of this thread is not to receive condescending lectures about the risks of unlocking - we are all aware . I would urge anyone who is also concerned about this to post in this thread. ASUS certainly seems to pay some sort of attention to XDA. Also, for those of us in the US we should also e-mail Tien about this issue. His user name is Asus_USA and his e-mail address is [email protected].
Thanks for taking the time to read this
Completely agree. NVFlash for all.
paddycr said:
Like many of you who have updated to the 9.4.5.30 firmware, I was extremely disappointed to learn that we will not be able to use NVFlash. It appears that for whatever reason ASUS has decided to add some type of 'prevention code' to the 9.4.5.30 bootloader to prevent users from flashing the modified AndroidRoot.Mobi bootloader.
This is very unfortunate since as we all know, NVFlash is a powerful tool that allows all of those users with unlocked bootloaders to flash ROMs and not have to worry about the potential for bricking our devices. Thus, as things currently stand a large pool of current users as well as most future users will be excluded from using NVFlash. I would argue that it is probably in the interest of ASUS to undo whatever changes were made to the 9.4.5.30 bootloader, which would make it possible for us to once again flash the AndroidRoot.Mobi bootloader. The changes incorporated in 9.4.5.30 increase the likelihood that their customer service will have to deal with bricked units. Those of us who have owned the TF201 for example know of instances where bricked units get serviced under the warranty. This eats into their profits…
The purpose of this thread is to try and get ASUS's attention and alert them to the fact that there is a desire among the XDA TF700 community to use NVFlash and that the changes in 9.4.5.30 prevent this. However, the purpose of this thread is not to receive condescending lectures about the risks of unlocking - we are all aware . I would urge anyone who is also concerned about this to post in this thread. ASUS certainly seems to pay some sort of attention to XDA. Also, for those of us in the US we should also e-mail Tien about this issue. His user name is Asus_USA and his e-mail address is [email protected].
Thanks for taking the time to read this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
+1
There should be no lockdown code in the bootloader for "unlocked" devices.
I agree, they're surprisingly draconian about what "unlocked" means. We're not even covered under their warranty, might as well give us full access to our devices smh
Not to be the devil's advocate, but judging by some of what I read here, like folks asking some questions that make one wonder, "Is this guy really gonna try to flash his brand new $500 tab like that?"
I mean, and said person then does an RMA after he bricks it. That type of warrantee churn was probably something Asus did not anticipate. I can see how they'd want to slow that trainwreck down for awhile.
Sure, we were all n00bs at some point, but the frenzy of folks to get to JB and the way they go about it is probably getting a lot of folks in Asus support working overtime, lol!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
i
urrlyx said:
+1
get
There should be no lockdown code in the bootloader for "unlocked" devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good: Yep. All or nothing. Don't void my warranty then partially cripple my ability to get my money's worth
Slammin said:
Not to be the devil's advocate, but judging by some of what I read here, like folks asking some questions that make one wonder, "Is this guy really gonna try to flash his brand new $500 tab like that?"
I mean, and said person then does an RMA after he bricks it. That type of warrantee churn was probably something Asus did not anticipate. I can see how they'd want to slow that trainwreck down for awhile.
Sure, we were all n00bs at some point, but the frenzy of folks to get to JB and the way they go about it is probably getting a lot of folks in Asus support working overtime, lol!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
of course nv flash would have saved all of those bricks from going back to asus.
they should be providing this tool rather then locking it down.
Hearing that the .30 bootloader is signed and won't allow flashing of unsigned bootloaders (downgrades included, since they are not signed) made me incredibly angry with ASUS. It's the wrong way to attack the problem. Even then, it's still possible to flash Jelly Bean to a TF700 in (IMHO) the most crazy of ways, by flashing the TF300 JB ROM. Even on locked devices!
There is this nvflash tool that makes it possible to recover from any brick known to man, and they just don't seem to want us to have access to it. I have unlocked my tablet to do exactly what I want with it, but even after I've voided my warranty, ASUS won't let me do it. Custom ROMs have a higher tendency to brick a device than a stock ROM, and people who've unlocked their devices should be tech-savvy enough to follow a tutorial to nvflash it back from the dead. Instead, ASUS wants them to enjoy their new shiny $500 paper weight/door stop.
ASUS, this was a **** move. The least you could do would be to provide a possibility to downgrade the bootloader (ie. a signed blob of an unsigned bootloader, for example the 9.4.5.26 one). Even better, you could actually unlock unlocked devices, or just give us nvflash for real.
The only reason that I can come up with is that Asus would want us send them the brick and charge us to un-brick it, which as has been stated is really not a good way to treat customers...
So let's see, give us a tool to unlock, which voids the warranty, and then make it impossible for us to recover from said brick... Hmm, sure sounds like a sure-fire way to make extra money!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
jtrosky said:
The only reason that I can come up with is that Asus would want us send them the brick and charge us to un-brick it, which as has been stated is really not a good way to treat customers...
So let's see, give us a tool to unlock, which voids the warranty, and then make it impossible for us to recover from said brick... Hmm, sure sounds like a sure-fire way to make extra money!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on this, i also think that Asus will never provide a NvFlash tool for the tf700t,they have no interest to do it because they will loose repairs money. The previous Transformer devices got the same treatment so i don't see Asus acting different with the Infinity.
That's one of the great things about my old TF101 - it's NVFlash capable, so I can *always* recover from a bad flash or whatever. It's also a *very* "clean" way of installing a ROM - this way you absolutely know for a fact that you have a complete overwrite - no chance of something from a previous flash being "left over".
It's such a nice tool (NVFlash) - I *really* wish that it was available natively for the TF700... Lucky for me, I never updated to .30, so I can use NVFlash tool for the TF700 as well, but there are so many others that did update to .30 and they are now stuck. Very unfortunate...
By the way, what is the difference between native NVFlash and the "wheelie" version? I don't have any experience with the "non-native" (if that's a correct way of saying it) version of NvFlash/wheelie? If I recall correctly, it uses some "trickery" in order to use NVFlash - is that correct?
Thanks!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
jtrosky said:
That's one of the great things about my old TF101 - it's NVFlash capable, so I can *always* recover from a bad flash or whatever. It's also a *very* "clean" way of installing a ROM - this way you absolutely know for a fact that you have a complete overwrite - no chance of something from a previous flash being "left over".
It's such a nice tool (NVFlash) - I *really* wish that it was available natively for the TF700... Lucky for me, I never updated to .30, so I can use NVFlash tool for the TF700 as well, but there are so many others that did update to .30 and they are now stuck. Very unfortunate...
By the way, what is the difference between native NVFlash and the "wheelie" version? I don't have any experience with the "non-native" (if that's a correct way of saying it) version of NvFlash/wheelie? If I recall correctly, it uses some "trickery" in order to use NVFlash - is that correct?
Thanks!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if i understood what you meant with the "wheelie" version but afaik wheelie is used just for "bootstrap" (basically is used to bypass the lock that Asus used in order to prevent us from using NvFlash) in NvFlash mode, after that you will use "native" nvflash commands (wich are different based on the device u are using) , basically what Asus should provide to us from the start.
I'm probably not using the right terms... Using the TF101 as an example, the early TF101s (SBK V1) were able to use NVFlash directly, with no restrictions. Then, Asus being Asus, they modified the SBK (Secure Boot Key?) in the newer TF101's and NVFlash would no longer work on these SBK V2 devices. That's when one of the awesome developers released Wheelie - it allowed NVFlash to be used on the newer SKB V2 TF101's.
So, I think you already answered my question!
If I understand you correctly, Wheelie is just used to get around the SBK at which point NVFlash can be used normally?
Thanks!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
I could be wrong but i think that on the first tf101 batch nvflash was not ready "out of the box" but was possible only after the SBK leak. And that explain why Asus used SBK v2 on the next tf101 batch... Basically they never provided full APX/NvFlash access and i guess they never will.
jtrosky said:
The only reason that I can come up with is that Asus would want us send them the brick and charge us to un-brick it, which as has been stated is really not a good way to treat customers...
So let's see, give us a tool to unlock, which voids the warranty, and then make it impossible for us to recover from said brick... Hmm, sure sounds like a sure-fire way to make extra money!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretoriano80 said:
+1 on this, i also think that Asus will never provide a NvFlash tool for the tf700t,they have no interest to do it because they will loose repairs money. The previous Transformer devices got the same treatment so i don't see Asus acting different with the Infinity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets face it, I think everyone was blindsided when .30 was released. Wasn't JB meant to be released next?? I am wondering whether the reason they have actually done this is to prevent flashing TF300 JB on the TF700. Has anyone on .30 actually been able to flash the TF300 firmware? I suspect that there were a few red faces when ASUS saw that the TF300 firmware could be flashed on locked TF700s. Also, that flashing this firmware caused TF700s to be stuck with the TF300 JB bootloader. .30 did repair the damaged TF700 bootloaders but has had the knock-on effect of not allowing us to not use NVFlash. This is not cool...
Hit the "Newsworthy Thread" thing at the top! Lets see if we can get the XDA news people to take a bit of interest in this and cause ASUS a little bit of shame This thread from the Prime forum seemed to get some attention from Tien once XDA made it public (see post 200): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1764917&page=20
paddycr said:
Like many of you who have updated to the 9.4.5.30 firmware, I was extremely disappointed to learn that we will not be able to use NVFlash. It appears that for whatever reason ASUS has decided to add some type of 'prevention code' to the 9.4.5.30 bootloader to prevent users from flashing the modified AndroidRoot.Mobi bootloader.
This is very unfortunate since as we all know, NVFlash is a powerful tool that allows all of those users with unlocked bootloaders to flash ROMs and not have to worry about the potential for bricking our devices. Thus, as things currently stand a large pool of current users as well as most future users will be excluded from using NVFlash. I would argue that it is probably in the interest of ASUS to undo whatever changes were made to the 9.4.5.30 bootloader, which would make it possible for us to once again flash the AndroidRoot.Mobi bootloader. The changes incorporated in 9.4.5.30 increase the likelihood that their customer service will have to deal with bricked units. Those of us who have owned the TF201 for example know of instances where bricked units get serviced under the warranty. This eats into their profits…
The purpose of this thread is to try and get ASUS's attention and alert them to the fact that there is a desire among the XDA TF700 community to use NVFlash and that the changes in 9.4.5.30 prevent this. However, the purpose of this thread is not to receive condescending lectures about the risks of unlocking - we are all aware . I would urge anyone who is also concerned about this to post in this thread. ASUS certainly seems to pay some sort of attention to XDA. Also, for those of us in the US we should also e-mail Tien about this issue. His user name is Asus_USA and his e-mail address is [email protected].
Thanks for taking the time to read this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
one more here.
Another here I was Awesomely Pleased when i have to Unbrick my Prime, but now that NVFlash is out on the Infinity I can't use it? Aww ASUS you Disappoint me..
This is a lost cause as they promised to be looking in to an official nvflash release for the transformer prime but as you can see it never came. The only access we had is when wheelie was released. This is why I cant support them with the way they are treating customers that are buying their tablets. At least with samsung products I have odin. You are just SOL with the asus now. As someone stated above, its like all they want to do is line their pockets. All they are doing is driving the customers away.
Also when yiu unlock your transformer tablet they delete the DRM Keys. Meaning any program relying on it like hulu or play movies will not work (netflix works I think).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Dear community
Got my TF300TG a day yesterday and I'm hardcore trying to figure out, how Asus' android world works. I know old htc, new htc, motorola and samsung but Asus is new to me. I'm happy they didnt go overboard with their customisation if the OS, but I'm thoroughly angrx about the whole bootloader story. But who isnt, so...
From what I figured out till now is that the TG is obviously quite a different device than the T and not the same with simply a added gsm unit. Stuff is not simply interchangeable. I also learnt that the JB bootloader makes things a lot more difficult. Since my tablet came with some ICS (havent yet got asus' version naming scheme, but the build ends with .22 so I figure thats what younguys are referring to with .30, .40 etc) and I'd like to get the added niceness of JB but avoid the bootloader update, I wonder if that is possible. Maybe strip an update package from the updater component and flash it. Or so.
Oh, and I'm not yet unlocked, I'm a flashaholic on my smartphones and a CM addict, but because of asus tight assed warrqnty policy I didnt dare to unlock the tablet till now. I'll eventually get to it, probably.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TG using XDA Premium HD app
So I guess no one ever tried? Gnaa...
Well then, hypothetically, taking stuff out of the update.zip will break it's sign, so trying to do this very cheap by just removing stuff from the update package wont work, a little more sophistication is needed. Resigning the zip also wont work, we dont have asus keys. And maybe or possibly definitely, I havent searched, the ICS bootloader wont even load JB. The other way round I believe I can remember, the kernel throws a kernel panic but thats irrelevant, its the ICS bootloader and JB system I'm interested in...
So if anybody could shed some light on my issue, highly appreciated of course.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TG using XDA Premium HD app
Hi guys, I am afraid I bear bad news . In a recent email exchange I had with Asus support I asked about updates to the TF700. They said the following:
ASUS has not planned a release of a firmware update for the TF700 which will revert the OS to KitKat 4 Android.
Unfortunately we have also not been advised of a release date for new firmware releases for your model. Currently we are also awaiting extra information of our R&D department on the matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This seems to suggest we will not get KitKat 4.4 but we may get another firmware update. This would possibly still be based on 4.2.1 with just some bug fixes specific to the TF700 or it could possibly be based on 4.3. However they don't have a release date for this yet.
I know this won't be entirely unexpected news for some people but rather a confirmation of what many of us already feared would be the case. It is indeed a shame given the TF700 is really not that old.
Good to know, Asus won't be getting my money again any time soon, looking at the Samsung note 10.1 to replace this apparently old machine
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 4
Thanks for sharing the information, and I would appreciate your help in clarifying a few points regarding your email exchange with ASUS. I am not trying to be nitpicking here, but your quoted email does leave me with one question and a comment:
1. Question: was this person a customer representative of ASUS UK (I got it from your profile location)? As far as I know, the R&D Department of ASUS is in Taiwan, and I highly doubt that ASUS UK has close communication with its Taiwan counterpart. Moreover, given my past experience, customer support usually doesn't have much technical knowledge to answer questions about stuff like OTA updates, bootloader unlocking, etc...
2. Comment: The way the quoted email was written is really weird. What is meant by "revert the OS to KitKat 4 Android"? "Revert to" means returning to a former state, which doesn't make sense when you talk about a future update. And what is "KitKat 4 Android"? I am sure that is not the way most people refer to Android 4.4 KitKat. And lastly, "awaiting extra information OF our R&D department" sounds odd, shouldn't it be "awaiting extra information FROM our R&D department"?
Personally, whenever I receive emails with such mistakes, I instantly question the sender's professionalism and credibility.
huy_lonewolf said:
Thanks for sharing the information, and I would appreciate your help in clarifying a few points regarding your email exchange with ASUS. I am not trying to be nitpicking here, but your quoted email does leave me with one question and a comment:
1. Question: was this person a customer representative of ASUS UK (I got it from your profile location)? As far as I know, the R&D Department of ASUS is in Taiwan, and I highly doubt that ASUS UK has close communication with its Taiwan counterpart. Moreover, given my past experience, customer support usually doesn't have much technical knowledge to answer questions about stuff like OTA updates, bootloader unlocking, etc...
2. Comment: The way the quoted email was written is really weird. What is meant by "revert the OS to KitKat 4 Android"? "Revert to" means returning to a former state, which doesn't make sense when you talk about a future update. And what is "KitKat 4 Android"? I am sure that is not the way most people refer to Android 4.4 KitKat. And lastly, "awaiting extra information OF our R&D department" sounds odd, shouldn't it be "awaiting extra information FROM our R&D department"?
Personally, whenever I receive emails with such mistakes, I instantly question the sender's professionalism and credibility.
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The initial email was sent using the form on the Asus UK support page, although I do not think the representative who responded was necessarily based in the UK. They had an Asian name and judging from the way the email was written, I think that English is probably not their first language. The reply email was not UK specific either ([email protected]). The guy could actually have been based in Taiwan for all I know.
I think this guy is probably quite reliable as he seemed fairly knowledgeable when dealing with my other queries / complaints but yes he is just a customer support rep so there is a possibility of what he said not being 100% accurate. Still, I think it is the closest to an official word on the matter that we have had so far and seems pretty plausible.
Best way to get any respect on tablet updates is to Go Nexus.
I'm just waiting for the Nexus 10 2. Which will probably release in days if not a couple months at longest.
There are plenty of 3rd party keyboards and cases for 10” tablets, such as the Nexus 10. Which make them function and even look just like our TF700T.
I used to think of the Transformer line as unique. But if you look around. You'll find there's really nothing so special to the Transformer line. Now that 3rd parties have given other tablets, especially Nexus tablets. Every feature that seemed special about the Transformer line.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
This is what asus replied me when I asked them about the KitKat update.
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Myra and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.
We apologize for the delayed response due to the weekend.
Hi, we're very glad to help you. For this issue, now we are try our best to, and at this time we are unable to set a date for its release. Please stay tuned for more news on our support website. Thanks for your understanding.
If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to let us know. We will be more than happy to assist you.
Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your understanding!
Have a nice day!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Darnell_Chat_TN said:
There are plenty of 3rd party keyboards and cases for 10” tablets, such as the Nexus 10. Which make them function and even look just like our TF700T.
I used to think of the Transformer line as unique. But if you look around. You'll find there's really nothing so special to the Transformer line.
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Click to collapse
MicroSD slot? Battery in keyboard dock? USB port?
I gave up on waiting on updates to 4.3 or KK - this last week I finally bit the bullet and flashed CROMI-x. Painful process in that it took days to be successful in unlocking the bootloader - literally took dozens of tries before the tool finally worked. After that, all else was straightforward. I wasn't having any particular performance issues; rather, I got fed up with the random reboots that seem to occur at least once/day. Hopefully, that will improve with CROMI-x.
_that said:
MicroSD slot? Battery in keyboard dock? USB port?
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USB On the Go allows for storage expansion and addresses USB. And the fact the MicroSD storage is not utilized like in the pre-Android 4.0 days, means the MicroSD storage is not well leveraged when running stock. Far as charging, if this works with the Nexus 10 2, that would put Asus behind on that one.
I'm talking keyboards, but if such things interest you like MicroSD and a battery in the dock. You may continue with it and all the issues built into the TF700T. For me, I'm going to take the Nexus 10 2 off ramp.
Edit: I want to add, _that you have helped make the TF700T a better device and I do thank you for your efforts. Even running your kernel now .
sparksd said:
I gave up on waiting on updates to 4.3 or KK - this last week I finally bit the bullet and flashed CROMI-x. Painful process in that it took days to be successful in unlocking the bootloader - literally took dozens of tries before the tool finally worked. After that, all else was straightforward. I wasn't having any particular performance issues; rather, I got fed up with the random reboots that seem to occur at least once/day. Hopefully, that will improve with CROMI-x.
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I was not having performance issues early on. But the more I used it and the more I added, I found it slowing up big time. While my loaded up phone was having no issues at all. This is when I realized the talk about the slow storage on the TF700T is a big problem. That's when I moved to CROMI-x. It is better than stock, but the storage issue can only best be overcome by using ROM2SD with CROMI-x. (You need a very fast MicroSD.) That does help the most, but still, it's all patches around a big issue. And a tablet that has things right to begin with would run better.
Darnell_Chat_TN said:
USB On the Go allows for storage expansion and addresses USB. And the fact the MicroSD storage is not utilized like in the pre-Android 4.0 days, means the MicroSD storage is not well leveraged when running stock. Far as charging, if this works with the Nexus 10 2, that would put Asus behind on that one.
I'm talking keyboards, but if such things interest you like MicroSD and a battery in the dock. You may continue with it and all the issues built into the TF700T. For me, I'm going to take the Nexus 10 2 off ramp.
I was not having performance issues early on. But the more I used it and the more I added, I found it slowing up big time. While my loaded up phone was having no issues at all. This is when I realized the talk about the slow storage on the TF700T is a big problem. That's when I moved to CROMI-x. It is better than stock, but the storage issue can only best be overcome by using ROM2SD with CROMI-x. (You need a very fast MicroSD.) That does help the most, but still, it's all patches around a big issue. And a tablet that has things right to begin with would run better.
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Click to collapse
I've had mine over a year and never ran into any real performance problems. While never as snappy as my 2012 & 2013 Nexus 7's or Galaxy S3, it was much better than my Xoom - I didn't see the severe issues that others have. But the random reboots (most occurred when just "idling", not during app use) were just maddening and made the tablet undependable in my mind. I haven't noticed any performance differences with CROMI-x yet but I'm really hoping that it is now more stable.
Tell me I'm wrong...isn't the Nexus made by Asus? Or am I thinking that just cause I'm old and senile?
flhthemi said:
Tell me I'm wrong...isn't the Nexus made by Asus? Or am I thinking that just cause I'm old and senile?
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Indeed, they are. Very different animals, though.
flhthemi said:
Tell me I'm wrong...isn't the Nexus made by Asus? Or am I thinking that just cause I'm old and senile?
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The 7 inch Nexus are made by Asus and the 10 inch was made by Samsung.
I tried messaging Gary but I did not have high hopes as the account is dead for so long.
Does anyone know a new contact? Maybe they could say something more reliable about update policy regarding the TF700...
_that said:
MicroSD slot? Battery in keyboard dock? USB port?
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Click to collapse
And a hinge. Mine stays docked almost all the time. I get clamshell protection and a handy portable package. Once you start trying to replicate the other features using accessories with other tabs, you get a bulky mess of stuff that you couldn't pay me to carry around.
Not that I'm exactly loving Asus these days, but the transformer certainly was special when I got it.
fortunz said:
And a hinge. Mine stays docked almost all the time. I get clamshell protection and a handy portable package. Once you start trying to replicate the other features using accessories with other tabs, you get a bulky mess of stuff that you couldn't pay me to carry around.
Not that I'm exactly loving Asus these days, but the transformer certainly was special when I got it.
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I totally agree with you. That is the main reason why I still hold on to the TF700 and not get the new Padfone Infinity ( the new Padfone has a Snapdragon 800, 1080p screen, fast internal storage, microSD support with performance that obliterates almost everything else). The only thing holding me back is the keyboard dock, without which the tablet experience is simply incomplete (in my opinion of course). If ASUS manages to bring the dock to the next Padfone and achieve decent size and weight, I will gladly make ASUS my go-to brand for all computing needs.
...that's a shame.
I have kitkat on my phone, it's pretty nice so far.
So... Anyone else shopping around for an upgrade this holiday season? I was looking at the tf701, but If it's going to have the same lack of development (I truly appreciate the hard work our few, but amazing, devs have put in), then I'd rather go for one of the new waterproof xperias or a galaxy tab. Haven't really looked into the various options yet.. I was excited when we got cm, and especially a pac-rom port, but every time I gave them a try, they just seemed a bit off. Like they were unfinished and obviously made for a phone. Maybe cromi just spoiled me. :shrug:
This tablet has been good to me, though. I got a micro-hdmi to hdmi cable, so maybe I'll use it as a media hub or something... If the native Linux on our device had more development behind it, and was just a tad more stable and compatible, I wouldn't really be looking into a replacement. Definitely not planning on getting rid of it. If I can find the time maybe I'll use it to delve deeper into learning how to develop myself.
---------- Post added at 05:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:57 AM ----------
sparksd said:
I gave up on waiting on updates to 4.3 or KK - this last week I finally bit the bullet and flashed CROMI-x. Painful process in that it took days to be successful in unlocking the bootloader - literally took dozens of tries before the tool finally worked. After that, all else was straightforward. I wasn't having any particular performance issues; rather, I got fed up with the random reboots that seem to occur at least once/day. Hopefully, that will improve with CROMI-x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that will in fact improve. I forgot about that stock issue... Jeeze, that was the worst, so annoying.
nvan7891 said:
...that's a shame.
I have kitkat on my phone, it's pretty nice so far.
So... Anyone else shopping around for an upgrade this holiday season? I was looking at the tf701, but If it's going to have the same lack of development (I truly appreciate the hard work our few, but amazing, devs have put in), then I'd rather go for one of the new waterproof xperias or a galaxy tab. Haven't really looked into the various options yet.. I was excited when we got cm, and especially a pac-rom port, but every time I gave them a try, they just seemed a bit off. Like they were unfinished and obviously made for a phone. Maybe cromi just spoiled me. :shrug:
This tablet has been good to me, though. I got a micro-hdmi to hdmi cable, so maybe I'll use it as a media hub or something... If the native Linux on our device had more development behind it, and was just a tad more stable and compatible, I wouldn't really be looking into a replacement. Definitely not planning on getting rid of it. If I can find the time maybe I'll use it to delve deeper into learning how to develop myself.
---------- Post added at 05:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:57 AM ----------
Yes, that will in fact improve. I forgot about that stock issue... Jeeze, that was the worst, so annoying.
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I can't imagine a vendor ever matching the features and capabilities the ROM development community adds. I like that Asus offers a way to unlock the bootloader. Samsung would rather that you don't. In the year I've had this, there have been multiple firmware releases. For a minute, cromi was changing every other day. There is a new device they have to sell now. I'm happy. 5.2.2, btw is amazing! Cheers
other ways
if your worried about it unlock and put a custom rom on it like cmbroms thats going to have kk anyday know it will come
well I was hoping for Kit Kat too... seeing as its optimized for lower RAM devices I was thinking it would really help out stock. Its definitely time to flash now. My only question is if anyone knows if they're working on a Kit Kat version of CROMi???