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Unbricked TF101, but no Updates?

Hey,
My TF101 got bricked by a simple reboot - "encryption unsuccessful" splash screen.
I used the nvflash-package from the devel-section "[Tool] Nvflash unbricking released!" for getting back a fresh, clean install of 3.2.1, which seems to work well.
Sadly, no OTA-Update to ICS is found and no microSD-Update is recognized.
Wipe, another cold-boot tried.
Q:
nvflash repartition and format - thus there couldn't be hassle with my old "broken" Android, right?
Q2:Anyone has an idea why updates dont work? Within the thread mentioned above I found some posts about updates which where recognized.
Searched a lot but nothing specific to the nvflash image solution...
BR / Adarof

NvFlash the RougeXM touch recovery CWM and use that to flash a new ICS firmmware/ROM. That's probably the easiest route to take. You can flash total stock that overwrites the custom recovery if you'd like too. Should fix your ota problem too.

removed

Okay, I have flashed ww-9.2.1.11-CWM-full-rooted.zip.
Wipeing everything tried.
But still no updates...
I found http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655976, which are the same log-entries like I found
But no luck on googling further on

If you have anything but a stock recovery, you will not get an OTA. You need to here to get the stock recovery and flash it through CWR. Then when you boot to recovery, using the power+vol down wait to see the text at top right corner and then hit volume up, method, you'll see an android laying on his back with a ! above him. This is stock recovery. Should be able to push OTA through settings after this.

Wohu - Thanks, thats one of the very gernal infos I missed :-/
I tried your mentioned tutorial. The process itself seems to be fine.
But...still no updates (it takes ages for the 1st update-check and is very fast for the 2nd and ongoing checks)
I'm from Germany, thus I would expect to require a firmware and recoveryimage for DE but the tutorial just links a WW for firmware and just US for reecovery?
Well ... DE has gone to WW since .21, thus I tried ... but the process uses a repacked Android3, thus I should care about DE ?
Might this be the reason? Is there a repacked-CWM-enabled firmware-image with recovery for DE?
Thanks again so far!
BR / Adarof

adarof said:
Wohu - Thanks, thats one of the very gernal infos I missed :-/
I tried your mentioned tutorial. The process itself seems to be fine.
But...still no updates (it takes ages for the 1st update-check and is very fast for the 2nd and ongoing checks)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When the file goes to update, it will fail if there are any apps missing from /system/app that ASUS put in there. There is a checker that looks for these app. If you deleted any of these or any were deleted in the CWR version you flashed earlier, you'll have to replace them before the update will install.
adarof said:
I'm from Germany, thus I would expect to require a firmware and recoveryimage for DE but the tutorial just links a WW for firmware and just US for reecovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All you need from that link I posted above is the SURecovery image and nothing else. You can get the firmware.zips from Asus directly. The SURecovery is universal, meaning it will work no matter what region you are in. It is the ROM/Blobs that are region specific. Don't forget that if you download one from the Asus site, that you need to extract it first and then push the zip that was inside the original file you downloaded.
So it would look like this WW.zip->extract->firmware.zip<<<---This is your ROM
adarof said:
Well ... DE has gone to WW since .21, thus I tried ... but the process uses a repacked Android3, thus I should care about DE ?
Might this be the reason? Is there a repacked-CWM-enabled firmware-image with recovery for DE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about these questions.

Woodrube said:
When the file goes to update, it will fail if there are any apps missing from /system/app that ASUS put in there. There is a checker that looks for these app. If you deleted any of these or any were deleted in the CWR version you flashed earlier, you'll have to replace them before the update will install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I havent known this either...
Is there a list of asus-default installed apps? I havent found :/
Woodrube said:
All you need from that link I posted above is the SURecovery image and nothing else.
You can get the firmware.zips from Asus directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SURecoverty means the USRecovery.zip, right?
So, in summarize
1) Rogue XM Touch recovery via nvflash from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1446019
2) Use RogueXM to flash original asus-firmware (decompressed download archive)
3) Use RogueXM to flash USRecovery.zip from http://theunlockr.com/2011/11/28/how-to-unroot-and-remove-cwm-recovery-on-asus-transformer/
Am I right?
...on 2) I get
Code:
assert failed: write_raw_image("/tmp/blob","staging")
E: Error in /sdcard/WW_epad-user-9.2.1.24.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
...but I could install the repacked-8.2.3.13_WW+root-CWR-update(su_removed).zip.
I assume the RogueXM requires a blob-File within the zip, which is not provided by asus-original-downloads?
A bit confused ;-)
BR / Adarof

adarof said:
Okay, I havent known this either...
Is there a list of asus-default installed apps? I havent found :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a tough one. i would suggest looking at the OP's for the custom ROMs and see if the have an Add-on pack that will put them in their custom ROMs. That way you'll be able to extract the apps from them and push to /system/app on your own (don't forget to set permissions also on the ones you push). If not, I will see if I can pull them from mine, zip them up and them send a link to you, but that won't be until I 1 get home and 2 get some time which unfortunately won't be tonight.
adarof said:
SURecoverty means the USRecovery.zip, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes sorry about that. I was typing too fast. :/
adarof said:
Am I right?
...on 2) I get
Code:
assert failed: write_raw_image("/tmp/blob","staging")
E: Error in /sdcard/WW_epad-user-9.2.1.24.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the 3rd Status 7 I have seen today from someone. The other two were in my phone forums and it is bc of a mismatched CWR version. In my phone forum, they just needed to flash a different kernel. Not sure what is going on with it here, but see below...
adarof said:
...but I could install the repacked-8.2.3.13_WW+root-CWR-update(su_removed).zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can get this far, then NVflash this and get it to boot up completely. That way you shoudl have all the /system/apps anyways. You can root it (if you lose it somehow) with Razerclaw since it is HC.13 (if you accidentally update all the way to ICS .11 without rooting, you can use ViperMod or any of the other root tools out there) Remember that once you root it, you can use OTA Rootkeeper to preserve your Root status, accept the OTA and then restore Root (this is what I have done since HC). Then install this app and flash the USRecovery.zip and you should be good to go. Reboot to full boot up and then try to reboot into recovery using Key Combo. It should throw the Android on his back with ! above him.
I would then uninstall the Recovery Installer to make sure you don't accidentally hit it and you are back where you started. But you'll have the APK to reinstall whenever you want later on.
Sorry for the long post, just trying to cover everything bc I have log out for a bit and won't be on until later on. Maybe Thing O Doom will swing through, though.
Edit::: Check this out too.

Woodrube said:
That is a tough one. i would suggest looking at the OP's for the custom ROMs and see if the have an Add-on pack that will put them in their custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, Ok...since I "just" would like to have back a real stock system, with OTA - there should be another way ;-)
Woodrube said:
This is the 3rd Status 7 I have seen today from someone. The other two were in my phone forums and it is bc of a mismatched CWR version. In my phone forum, they just needed to flash a different kernel. Not sure what is going on with it here, but see below...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay! This explains why I cant find any 1000000 hits on google related to my prop, which seems to me rather "simple" in principle ;-)
Woodrube said:
If you can get this far, then NVflash this and get it to boot up completely. That way you shoudl have all the /system/apps anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed...apps should be there. But even the Asus storage app was missing? Thus no stock-apps included?
Its an old Andoroid 3.0.1 and it wouldn't find OTA updates - thats correct?
Woodrube said:
Then install this app and flash the USRecovery.zip and you should be good to go. Reboot to full boot up and then try to reboot into recovery using Key Combo. It should throw the Android on his back with ! above him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, while Power-VolDown -> VolUp (this gave me Rogue XM before but since I installed USRecovery it was overwritten, right?) -> a Droid on its back with a "!" comes up.
...and now?
The .24 update on SDCard is recognized but when I try to install the knocked-out droid with "!" comes on reboot again and next reboot yields to a popup "failed update, reverted to old system" or so.
Woodrube said:
Sorry for the long post, just trying to cover everything bc I have log out for a bit and won't be on until later on. Maybe Thing O Doom will swing through, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANKS for your time so far and dont stress anything
I really appriciate it! Im feeling lost on android...even I work with Linux/Unices since a decade or so :-/
Woodrube said:
Edit::: Check this out too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a Win-solution :-/
Most propably I need a stock DE .21 or WW .24 , repacked for flashing with CWM ... right? But that doesnt exists?!?! Cant imagine...
BR - Adarof!

Im still on this problem and have no idea - searched a lot, but havent found any real howtos for DE-tf101 for unbricking.
So my main thoughts are about this Error7, which is really ...strange.
I could flash the repacked, which is available for .11. But I dont have a change to get anz further...
I SHOULD be able to flash a original asus stock Firmware with the Rogue XM Touch recovery, right?
Since Im not able to ... should I try an older version of Rogue XM?
BTW: Is the region info somewhat hard-wired thus it couldnt be changed?
BR - Adarof

There's a WW .24 available for tf101 and I'm making a 9.2.2.6 for the Tf101G,
so there is the latest FW available.

If you are flashing, then that means you have a custom recovery. That is why no OTA.
I'm mobile now but IIRC from before, you flash a working CWR version of the ROM. Thne boot up. Then flash the stock recovery. Then you should be able to OTA after that.
Just make sure whatever ROM you flash is full. If you can nvflash that would be better and then put stock recovery in after your first boot.

Thanks to both of you!
@Woodrube: Flashing means using RogueXM...
Summary:
1) Rogue could flash me either CWR/rooted images or the repacked one - both without OTA.
Just RogueXM is left as bootloader, which shouldnt prevent OTA?!
2) Rogue gives Error7 on flashing the asus-downloaded-onetime-depacked-firmwares, doesnt matter if the DE.21 or current WW.24. :-/
Trying to make the long story short:
For comming back to a "known" system I would like to really go back to a stock system.
I conclude that using nvflash would be the best for this, right?
But where do I get the img-Files for flashing using nvflash?
I just found one package which included a download.sh: It repartitioned, formated and installed a WW android3 (3.2.1) version and deleted the RogueXM. It mentioned its a stock firmware (thus should have all apps).
Sadly no updates afterwards...
I think it could be since its the WW version and I would need a WW .21/.24 (since 21/24 dont distinguish DE and WW anymore) or an older DE-version. But for nvflash I need the img files of these firmwares, which I dont find. ...
Maybe you could simply point me to such img files for nvflash, please?
BR / Adarof

Finally I managed to borrow a win pc and thus could give EasyTool of your posting #8 a try: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1688012
After some hassle with the driver I managed to flash asus stock download DE_epad-user-9.2.1.21, which is "DE_Special" for coming to WW of german tf101s. the tf was wiped and boots just fine - it states that it has
IML74L.WW_epad9.2.1.21-20120413 - as I think is fine.
Sadly no update again:
The OTA doesnt find any.
The microSD recognizes WW_epad-user-9.2.1.24.zip, but during rebooting I get the Droid with ! and after another reboot a popup with something like "update failed (12)" (in german Systemaktuallisierung fehlgeschlagen (12)). It mentiones that the new version in not compatible ...but ....the .24 is for the DE_special .21 the next ... ?!
I could flash the .24 using Easytool, but this would mean to loose always all data for an update ....
Installing rogue still gives error7 on flashing stock (once decompressed) .zip

I've been reading and Rouge gives errors with stock otas X.x
You can manually install the stock blobs with adb shell, but they will overwrite recovery and etc..
If you want total stock you need to NvFlash, and for whatever reason your tf does NOT like updates.
Rouge V1.3 will take otas, if you don't mind the downgrade.

Thanks for the hint - but I was to lazs to install the rogue 1.3.
I found a .zip, which I tried to install by Rogue 1.5 hoping for a downgrade overall, but during installation it stated "Returning to recovery" and still 1.5 was installed .
What I finally found is a ww-9.2.1.21-to-9.2.1.24-CWM-v1.0.zip image.
I installed this using rogue 1.5 and got a clean .24 installation.
So I'm using this installation hopeing either
1) OTA will work, if asus releases .24++ or
2) I find an ww-9.2.1.24-to-9.2.1.24++
Still I dont get why the EasyTool .21 installation yields to a non-OTA state ... but ...
So, THANKS all of you for your support and hints!
I'll come back here and report further on, if .24++ is out
BR / Adarof

bad luck
....meanwhile my tf101 has started to ignored the dock battery, while the keyboard still works. I tried cleaning ....no luck, the dock battery does not come up within the menues ...
Thus it was returned and I'm waiting for repairing or refunding ...
BR / Adarof

looking for unlock failures. i have questions

Hi people. thinking of unlocking, but afraid of brick. my tablet is funny.
every update that came through, never auto installed. Had to do it manually.
ALSO, voodoo never worked.
stock Rom, locked, jelly bean.
thinking of unlocking to regain root.
i miss it!
Thanks

redheadplantguy said:
Hi people. thinking of unlocking, but afraid of brick. my tablet is funny.
every update that came through, never auto installed. Had to do it manually.
ALSO, voodoo never worked.
stock Rom, locked, jelly bean.
thinking of unlocking to regain root.
i miss it!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to unlock to get root back. Since your OS is iffy, I suggest to should do a clean flash and put everything back to normal.

Yes. i heard only way to root was to unlock JB was downgrade, then reroot. but, i don't know if voodoo would work after update. it's failed 3 times

redheadplantguy said:
Yes. i heard only way to root was to unlock JB was downgrade, then reroot. but, i don't know if voodoo would work after update. it's failed 3 times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will make it work for you. Downgrade back to .30, re root, now here is the trick part, after you root, you should have superuser on your device, open up superuser(keep it open), then download rootcheck from the market to verify that you have root, now download superSU from the market, open it up, it will do the update.Now download Voodoo OTA root keeper, open it up and verify that all the boxes does have check mark to it except one, when you click save button the last box will be checked and now you have the option to "temp" unroot, click on this to save root. Go back to your notification, then click update to JB. Your device will shutdown and do the upgrade. Once it's done, open up OTA root keeper and click restore, bam you have root back.

Cool. how do i downgrade without unlocking

redheadplantguy said:
Cool. how do i downgrade without unlocking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very simple:
Download .30 from Asus website, unzip it, now you have a zip file called EP201_768_SDUPDATE
Copy this to the root of your external sdcard, put it back to your device.
Turn off your tab. Hold down volumedown+powerbutton to get to stock recovery and once you see the white text displayed,let go both buttons, it automatic downgrade for you.
If you copy the file to the root of your internal sdcard then you just reboot and it will install for you.

thank you. gonna try this right now. I'll let you know in a bit.

buhohitr said:
Very simple:
Download .30 from Asus website, unzip it, now you have a zip file called EP201_768_SDUPDATE
Copy this to the root of your external sdcard, put it back to your device.
Turn off your tab. Hold down volumedown+powerbutton to get to stock recovery and once you see the white text displayed,let go both buttons, it automatic downgrade for you.
If you copy the file to the root of your internal sdcard then you just reboot and it will install for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't work. Unzipped file was named something else, I renamed it to what you said. White letters came up, I let go, and there was 4 tiles on screen. One said rck, one Android, one USB, one wipe data.
Tried again with original filename. Downgrading now.
(hopeful)

redheadplantguy said:
Didn't work. Unzipped file was named something else, I renamed it to what you said. White letters came up, I let go, and there was 4 tiles on screen. One said rck, one Android, one USB, one wipe data.
Tried again with original filename. Downgrading now.
(hopeful)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, when you download the zip from Asus web site the file name should be US_epad_user_9_4_5_30_20120907_UpdateLauncher.zip right? and when you unziped it should be this EP201_768_SDUPDATE.zip? So what is the file name when you unziped?

buhohitr said:
Wait, when you download the zip from Asus web site the file name should be US_epad_user_9_4_5_30_20120907_UpdateLauncher.zip right? and when you unziped it should be this EP201_768_SDUPDATE.zip? So what is the file name when you unziped?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Us_epad-user-.9.4.5.30
It downgraded wiped all data too. Rooted and getting ready to try your advice about updating. I never heard i had to temp unroot first. Good luck to me. I'll let you know

buhohitr said:
Wait, when you download the zip from Asus web site the file name should be US_epad_user_9_4_5_30_20120907_UpdateLauncher.zip right? and when you unziped it should be this EP201_768_SDUPDATE.zip? So what is the file name when you unziped?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crap. Lost root when updated back to jelly bean. Tried twice. Voodoo has no checkmark by protected copy available. Might take it to best buy. I have 2 year plan on it.
Tried a 3 rd time cause I thought manually updating many have been a problem, but "check for update" still shows none. Anytime firmware came through, never auto updated. They always failed.
Thinking of just returning it and have them get me another

redheadplantguy said:
Crap. Lost root when updated back to jelly bean. Tried twice. Voodoo has no checkmark by protected copy available. Might take it to best buy. I have 2 year plan on it.
Tried a 3 rd time cause I thought manually updating many have been a problem, but "check for update" still shows none. Anytime firmware came through, never auto updated. They always failed.
Thinking of just returning it and have them get me another
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You only can do manual downgrade to .30, but you must do OTA update from .30 to JB to preserve root. If you manually upgraded, it will wipe everything before upgrade. After you finished manual upgrad with .30 and when the os came up, and you connect it to the internet it should automatically download JB to your device and prompt you to upgrade, this is not happening??

buhohitr said:
You only can do manual downgrade to .30, but you must do OTA update from .30 to JB to preserve root. If you manually upgraded, it will wipe everything before upgrade. After you finished manual upgrad with .30 and when the os came up, and you connect it to the internet it should automatically download JB to your device and prompt you to upgrade, this is not happening??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Every firmware, .26 .30 and JB, would download but fail installation. Now, I'm clicking " check for update" but it says none available
Rooted and back to ICS, but really miss JB too.

buhohitr said:
I will make it work for you. Downgrade back to .30, re root, now here is the trick part, after you root, you should have superuser on your device, open up superuser(keep it open), then download rootcheck from the market to verify that you have root, now download superSU from the market, open it up, it will do the update.Now download Voodoo OTA root keeper, open it up and verify that all the boxes does have check mark to it except one, when you click save button the last box will be checked and now you have the option to "temp" unroot, click on this to save root. Go back to your notification, then click update to JB. Your device will shutdown and do the upgrade. Once it's done, open up OTA root keeper and click restore, bam you have root back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to thank you. The first tablet overheated and suffered a meltdown. This worked on the replacement.
Thanks a bunch. I have rooted JB now

Somewhat worried...

Hi people. Just this morning, I finally got the nerve to unlock. I had to downgrade doing it. Now, I heard after unlocking, an ota will brick tablet. For some reason, the new firmware downloaded. It's trying to update, and I don't know how to stop it. Also, stock browser disappeared too. What can I do before tablet bricks?

redheadplantguy said:
Hi people. Just this morning, I finally got the nerve to unlock. I had to downgrade doing it. Now, I heard after unlocking, an ota will brick tablet. For some reason, the new firmware downloaded. It's trying to update, and I don't know how to stop it. Also, stock browser disappeared too. What can I do before tablet bricks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go to the root of your external sd card and delete all the zip file(s), you probably left it there when you downgrade. Also delete file from internal sdcard in /cache/recover if any. Once you unlocked you shouldn't receive anymore OTA.

redheadplantguy said:
I finally got the nerve to unlock. I had to downgrade doing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, many people said the unlock tool works fine on JB.
redheadplantguy said:
Now, I heard after unlocking, an ota will brick tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where?
I don't say it cannot brick your tablet, but I am not aware of any reports that it does.

redheadplantguy said:
Hi people. Just this morning, I finally got the nerve to unlock. I had to downgrade doing it. Now, I heard after unlocking, an ota will brick tablet. For some reason, the new firmware downloaded. It's trying to update, and I don't know how to stop it. Also, stock browser disappeared too. What can I do before tablet bricks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As said by the first responder, you can delete the cached firmware file. I do not expect the OTA to brick your tablet, but you could interrupt the process if you really wanted to.
Even with a brick, there are loads of possibilities of flashing a firmware file from ASUS' repository. Then you'd have a fresh tablet OS to your convenience. The situation you describe above does not exactly ruffle any my feathers.
EDIT: just in case you are not yet on .30 or higher... get Nvflash on there!

MartyHulskemper said:
As said by the first responder, you can delete the cached firmware file. I do not expect the OTA to brick your tablet, but you could interrupt the process if you really wanted to.
Even with a brick, there are loads of possibilities of flashing a firmware file from ASUS' repository. Then you'd have a fresh tablet OS to your convenience. The situation you describe above does not exactly ruffle any my feathers.
EDIT: just in case you are not yet on .30 or higher... get Nvflash on there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i could be mistaken. alas, i can't get nvflash. i wish i could. i didnt expect firmware to come in after unlock.

redheadplantguy said:
i could be mistaken. alas, i can't get nvflash. i wish i could. i didnt expect firmware to come in after unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you unlocked your device, there will be NO OTA update, unless the download happened before you unlocked or you may have the update software sitting in your external SDcard or in internal SDcard /cache/recovery.

buhohitr said:
If you unlocked your device, there will be NO OTA update, unless the download happened before you unlocked or you may have the update software sitting in your external SDcard or in internal SDcard /cache/recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It downloaded, showing a progress bar. Later I reset, and this morning, it downloaded again. It showed it actually downloading.

redheadplantguy said:
It downloaded, showing a progress bar. Later I reset, and this morning, it downloaded again. It showed it actually downloading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must be "the chosen one", first I heard of OTA stills working after you unlocked. Just verify that you actually "unlocked", by reboot your device and it should shows "your device is unlock" during booting up. If it does, then you are the chosen one. You can update as long as you are pure stock rom, and if you have root, just use OTA root keeper to keep root then you can update your pure stock rom to the new version. If you mod/freeze system apps then the update will fail. I never heard of updating of a stock rom with unlocked bootloader will brick your device. It will brick your device if you modded or using custom rom.
EDIT: If you don't want to do through OTA, you could download full package rom from Aus site, unzip then copy the new zip file to the root of your external SDcand. Disabled wifi (no more download) then delete the update file located in your internal memory /cache/recovery. Turn off your device, go into recovery mode by hold down volume down+power button, then install from there.

buhohitr said:
You must be "the chosen one", first I heard of OTA stills working after you unlocked. Just verify that you actually "unlocked", by reboot your device and it should shows "your device is unlock" during booting up. If it does, then you are the chosen one. You can update as long as you are pure stock rom, and if you have root, just use OTA root keeper to keep root then you can update your pure stock rom to the new version. If you mod/freeze system apps then the update will fail. I never heard of updating of a stock rom with unlocked bootloader will brick your device. It will brick your device if you modded or using custom rom.
EDIT: If you don't want to do through OTA, you could download full package rom from Aus site, unzip then copy the new zip file to the root of your external SDcand. Disabled wifi (no more download) then delete the update file located in your internal memory /cache/recovery. Turn off your device, go into recovery mode by hold down volume down+power button, then install from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Yeah, says "the device is unlocked." In tiny white letters very top left. I hope my glitch doesn't interfere in me flashing new ROM's
Odd, did factory reset, and lost root AND twrp. Had to reflash it.

redheadplantguy said:
Thanks. Yeah, says "the device is unlocked." In tiny white letters very top left. I hope my glitch doesn't interfere in me flashing new ROM's
Odd, did factory reset, and lost root AND twrp. Had to reflash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does sound like it actually flashed something (at least partly). I would run that unlock tool another time just to be sure I wouldn't get into trouble down the road (Having an ASUS OTA flash right on top of your CleanROM/CM10/AOKP could be a minor disaster, or a pretty disastrous disaster, depending on what ROM of these you were on. Flashing over stock, well... minor nuisance, but it would be majorly inconvenient to have to flash root and stuff all the time.)

MartyHulskemper said:
Having an ASUS OTA flash right on top of your CleanROM/CM10/AOKP could be a minor disaster, or a pretty disastrous disaster, depending on what ROM of these you were on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it just doesn't work. The updater-script inside the OTA package compares the checksums of the system apps to be patched, and aborts as soon as one doesn't match the previous stock ROM.
The only potential danger I see is the communication with the bootloader which kernel to boot - the OTA downloader (DMClient) somehow has to instruct the bootloader to load the recovery kernel to install the dlpkgfile from /cache, and if that process is still not understood by custom recovery creators (there were some problems apparently, I don't know if they are solved), you might end up with a device that only boots into the recovery and not into Android.

Thanks. I will.
Sent from my SGH-T679 using Xparent ICS Blue Tapatalk 2

[Q] Is it possible to root after jellybean update WITHOUT unlocking?

I recently bought my new Transformer Infinity and like an idiot I updated to jellybean without thinking if I wanted to root first.
I've tried several different ways but I can't get my TF700t to root after updating so that leads me to ask if I must unlock before rooting after jellybean?
I've tried downgrading and that is to say I've put the 9.4.5.30 update in my root of the microsd card and when I go to recovery boot i just get the little guy on his back with a red triangle and black exlamation mark.
I realize unlocking will void my warranty which I am a little hesitant, though I never purchased any warranty with my tf700t but i think i can do so now.
I tried following this post:
Thanks for the reply, but i've been working on this for the past couple of hrs and my issue is solved. i'm currently back at 4.1.1 Jellybean again and Root Checker has verified that root is in place. the su binary is also present and all apps that need root work properly (Busybox, Titanium Backup, etc). i've also rebooted and rechecked several times to be sure, it say rooted every time now, whereas it didnt before. I managed to do all of this without unlocking the bootloader as well, even though what i've read elsewhere says it is necessary to do so.
I would have agreed with you before on your point that OTA updates are irreversible, and they usually are, but my experience today shows otherwise. however, you are right that each OTA will probably make it harder to reroot or stay rooted. you're also right that factory reset only wipes data but not firmware, which i just recently figured out today before you posted. i used the "about tablet" section in settings both before and after my steps below to verify that i had indeed downgraded/upgraded firmware/Android versions from JB to ICS and vice versa.
here are the steps i took, in sequential order, so that maybe anyone else with my issue can benefit. i cant gaurantee it will work for everyone:
1. downgraded from 4.1.1 JB firmware to "Eee Pad Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T Firmware: V9.4.5.30 Only for US SKU (Android 4.0.3)". This will roll you back from Jellybean to Ice Cream Sandwich. go to support.asus.com, enter TF700T as the model number, and scroll down until you find this, then download it and unzip the zip file to the root of your sdcard (there is a zip file within the downloaded zip, place that at the root, not the downloaded file itself). if you are using a TF700T that is not US-based then download the appropriate file for your region, just make sure that it has .30 in the file name. I read on a forum somewhere that this is the only firmware update for this device that enables downgrading from higher version to 4.0.3, although it's possible that others may work. then power off your device and do a cold boot (hold down left volume and then followed by power button, do this for about 10 seconds. when you get to the desktop/start screen you will see "Safe Mode" in lower left corner, then your device will notify that an update is available. tell it to apply and let it reboot. when it powers back on you should be back at 4.0.3
2. Do a factory reset, this can be done either before or after the step above, but i did it after. i'm not sure if this is necessary , but just to be on the safe side. back-up all important info, apps, etc beforehand
3. I used the method at Simple Guide to Root TF700T Asus Transformer Pad Infinity : Tips For Tab . this guide can also be found at other websites, but the steps are the same and the files/utilities needed are the same as well. just follow the steps. this will not work if you are still at 4.1.1, you will get the error i detailed in my last post.
4. Download Root Checker (to verify root access) and make sure you have the latest Superuser installed from Play (SuperSU may also work but i'm not sure, i'm using the paid version of Superuser Elite). and also get Voodoo OTA RootKeeper (free), this has a function that will allow you to restore root access after upgrading to 4.1.1. Superuser Elite also has a "ota survival" function that does essentially the same, both worked for me (this software isnt free). and get Busybox and a terminal emulator like Better Terminal Emulator or Android Terminal Emulator. i'm not even sure if these last 2/3 are absolutely necessary, but they install essential must-have functions that all root users should have.
5. then use RootKeeper and make a backup of the su binary, or place a checkmark beside the "ota survival" function in Superuser Elite. either will backup the su info so that it can be restored.
6. Next, do a direct OTA upgrade to 4.1.1 JB , either by using the built-in firmware update function, or by manually downloading from the website and updating using the method listed above. Do NOT do a restore to factory backup state after this point (especially after), it will most likely wipe out the backups of su made by RootKeeper/Superuser Elite.
7. after the upgrade is finished you will be back at start screen at at 4.1.1, use Root Checker and it will say you're not rooted. Then use either of the 2 programs ive outlined to restore the su binary from the backup. in SU(E) just uncheck and recheck the OTA Survival box, or in RootKeeper just restore from backup. Then go back to Root Checker after doing either of these, it should say rooted. reboot and recheck to make sure.
8. That's it! just wash, rinse and repeat when the next firmware update is available, hopefully these same steps should work
Also make sure to keep a backup of the su binaries/app from here onwards, otherwise at some point in the future you may lose the ability to simply restore from backup after each OTA Firmware update. you will have to start over from the beginning.
I'm sure someone figured this out already, but i figured i would post anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but i couldn't even downgrade

Beret67 said:
I recently bought my new Transformer Infinity and like an idiot I updated to jellybean without thinking if I wanted to root first.
I've tried several different ways but I can't get my TF700t to root after updating so that leads me to ask if I must unlock before rooting after jellybean?
I've tried downgrading and that is to say I've put the 9.4.5.30 update in my root of the microsd card and when I go to recovery boot i just get the little guy on his back with a red triangle and black exlamation mark.
I realize unlocking will void my warranty which I am a little hesitant, though I never purchased any warranty with my tf700t but i think i can do so now.
I tried following this post:
but i couldn't even downgrade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you get the old ROM from? ASUS isnt hosting it anymore and it HAS TO BE a factory original Firmware signed properly or it will not take. In fact you should see "Signature Match" (or maybe its matched) in the top left corner in recovery.
I'm not saying that message is a guarantee you have the right ROM but its a good sign.
The default warranty is like a year so I wouldnt want to unlock either.

hx4700 Killer said:
Where did you get the old ROM from? ASUS isnt hosting it anymore and it HAS TO BE a factory original Firmware signed properly or it will not take. In fact you should see "Signature Match" (or maybe its matched) in the top left corner in recovery.
I'm not saying that message is a guarantee you have the right ROM but its a good sign.
The default warranty is like a year so I wouldnt want to unlock either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the update that said: Eee Pad Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T Firmware: V9.4.5.30 Only for US SKU (Android 4.0.3) - 2012.09.21 update
from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946456
And i'm pretty sure it said signature match.

Beret67 said:
I got the update that said: Eee Pad Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T Firmware: V9.4.5.30 Only for US SKU (Android 4.0.3) - 2012.09.21 update
from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946456
And i'm pretty sure it said signature match.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes me wonder if they have broken downgrade on the 10_4_4_25 firmware then?! The TF201 had that happen on the first JB update. You could no longer downgrade to ICS.
Edit, Adding that I just downloaded the US 9.4.5.30 from that site you linked to and an MD5 check confirmed it matches the one I have used 3 times.

hx4700 Killer said:
Makes me wonder if they have broken downgrade on the 10_4_4_25 firmware then?! The TF201 had that happen on the first JB update. You could no longer downgrade to ICS.
Edit, Adding that I just downloaded the US 9.4.5.30 from that site you linked to and an MD5 check confirmed it matches the one I have used 3 times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The US link?
maybe i just need to redownload it or something and leave it named as is.
So then what can I do?

Beret67 said:
The US link?
maybe i just need to redownload it or something and leave it named as is.
So then what can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The link you supplied that has all the firmwares there are several that say 9.4.5.30
The first one is WW, World Wide. You need to make sure you get the correct one for your device. So if you bough retail in the US get the second one that says "US". The firmware will not work if you don't get the correct one.
An easy way to tell what you need is to go to settings and scroll down to "About" on the left. Tap About and on the right half scroll down to "Build Number" My daughters TF201 says JRO03c.US_epad........
So she has the US one and would need the US Firmware.
If you have a US device and tried to apply the WW firmware from what I have read it will fail, won't work.. dead andy. Make sure you have the right firmware for your device.
Please post back your results as I am sure many would be interested if ASUS broke reverting to ICS.

Beret67 said:
The US link?
maybe i just need to redownload it or something and leave it named as is.
So then what can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you download the zip file, first you have to UNZIP the zip file and you're going to see another zip file. Now rename this new zip to EP201_768_SDUPDATE.zip , then copy this to the root of your sdcard, boot into recovery and try again.

Beret67 said:
The US link?
maybe i just need to redownload it or something and leave it named as is.
So then what can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assumed the file rename was in the directions above

The only device I believe you should ever have to root/unlock /jailbreak is the IOS platform. As you probably know, you are extremely limited to any customization with an IOS device. Under the android platform, I find that there are many flavours of customization under the stock setting already. I've ran the TF700T with the latest updates and firmware for the past few months and performance is still optimal ... I also bet that if you had my tablet side by side next to a rooted/unlocked TF700T tablet, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference from a performance perspective. I'm only speaking from a standard user point of view. I can see where a developer may want root access and or someone who wants to learn how to program the OS, create custom ROMS etc., however for the casual user, I'd leave it the way it is.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

Rashar said:
The only device I believe you should ever have to root/unlock /jailbreak is the IOS platform. As you probably know, you are extremely limited to any customization with an IOS device. Under the android platform, I find that there are many flavours of customization under the stock setting already. I've ran the TF700T with the latest updates and firmware for the past few months and performance is still optimal ... I also bet that if you had my tablet side by side next to a rooted/unlocked TF700T tablet, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference from a performance perspective. I'm only speaking from a standard user point of view. I can see where a developer may want root access and or someone who wants to learn how to program the OS, create custom ROMS etc., however for the casual user, I'd leave it the way it is.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guarantee if you unlocked and installed a custom rom you would be blown away with how slow stock is Seriously, how do you know if you haven't done it? Seems like a strange challenge you have set. BTW I don't know one single person who has unlocked and gone to a custom rom who would go back to locked stock because performance is that different. You just don't know it.

sbdags said:
I guarantee if you unlocked and installed a custom rom you would be blown away with how slow stock is Seriously, how do you know if you haven't done it? Seems like a strange challenge you have set. BTW I don't know one single person who has unlocked and gone to a custom rom who would go back to locked stock because performance is that different. You just don't know it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A significant reason for increased performance on custom ROMS is that the kernel they use allows for overclocking usually to 1.8GHZ. Just FYI in the interest of full disclosure.
It is not the ONLY reason but a big part of why they look/feel so much faster.

hx4700 Killer said:
A significant reason for increased performance on custom ROMS is that the kernel they use allows for overclocking usually to 1.8GHZ. Just FYI in the interest of full disclosure.
It is not the ONLY reason but a big part of why they look/feel so much faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes kernel tweaking brings huge benefits but there are plenty of other tweaks that bring the perks as well outside the kernel

Hello everyone, I just joined XDA and hope to be a successful contributor to this amazing community. This is my first post, hope it will be of help.
I can confirm that 10.4.4.25 did not break the downgrade option. Like others already suggested, make sure you're using the firmware which matches your device (WW/US/etc.) and you should be fine.
I Just got my device tonight from ASUS (RMA due to crashes every 2.5 days on the clock, black lines every few seconds, extremely laggy).
My precious came with 10.4.4.23 and I upgraded it to 10.4.4.25 to check the performance and black lines issue. With 25 it still lags a little but less than 23 and other earlier firmwares. I ran these tests on 23 then on 25:
1. For real life performance (don't care about synthetic benchmarks) I updated all the apps simultaneously. Both firmwares were laggy but 25 was much less than 23.
2. The black line is still there in 25 but much less than 23. I could reproduce it only with the black hole live wallpaper test which is a very good sign as in 23 I reproduced it a couple of times without the black hole live wallpaper.
After these tests I downgraded successfully to 9.4.5.30 (US) in order to root (need that for Avast FW) with no problems at all. Now I will go root it.
Update: Successfully rooted and upgraded back to 10.4.4.25

G0llum said:
After these tests I downgraded successfully to 9.4.5.30 (US) in order to root (need that for Avast FW) with no problems at all. Now I will go root it.
Update: Successfully rooted and upgraded back to 10.4.4.25
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downgraded also to clear a few things. After that, I went back in and went to Settings and check updates and nothing show up. How did you upgraded back to the latest version? Can you share your method?
Thank you much.

ils01 said:
I downgraded also to clear a few things. After that, I went back in and went to Settings and check updates and nothing show up. How did you upgraded back to the latest version? Can you share your method?
Thank you much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted? If you are you need to use the dlpkgfile incremental upgrade method can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1803090

buhohitr said:
Are you rooted? If you are you need to use the dlpkgfile incremental upgrade method can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1803090
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am rooted now (but still locked). Can I jump directly to 10.4.4.25 using dlpkgfile without doing other middle steps?
Edit: Tried going straight to 10.4.4.25 and failed. No OTA either.

ils01 said:
I am rooted now (but still locked). Can I jump directly to 10.4.4.25 using dlpkgfile without doing other middle steps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you can't, you need to upgrade to JB .16, then .18 then you can jump to .25.

buhohitr said:
No you can't, you need to upgrade to JB .16, then .18 then you can jump to .25.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much. Will do that.

ils01 said:
I downgraded also to clear a few things. After that, I went back in and went to Settings and check updates and nothing show up. How did you upgraded back to the latest version? Can you share your method?
Thank you much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA. Immediately after restart the tablet started downloading the update automatically... I postponed the update installation and then rooted, installed voodoo, created su backup, temp un-rooted and only then applied the OTA.

G0llum said:
OTA. Immediately after restart the tablet started downloading the update automatically... I postponed the update installation and then rooted, installed voodoo, created su backup, temp un-rooted and only then applied the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the update.
Mine did not see any update regarless of multiple checkings performed (this was done before any rooting attempted). I am in the process of dowloading dlpkgfiles and slowly doing the hard way.
Update: After I reflashed back to 9.4.5.30 to root, I went on and started updating using dlpkgfile started with .16, .18, .20, .23, and finally .25. All is good now. However, I had a few errors when going from .16 to .18 due to getting incorrect/wrong dlpkgfile.
Thank you for everyone's help.

[Q] OTA downgrade to WW_epad-user-10.6.1.14.8?

Hi,
any explanation why I am being repeatedly offered to update to WW_epad-user-10.6.1.14.8 OTA when I am already on WW_epad-user-10.6.1.14.10?
The update is dated 2013/08/12 (488,930 KB), but it has started to appear some 3 days ago, few days after updating to .10.
When I select it, it tells me that "The system downgrade will take approximately 10 minutes...", when I confirm that, I get a warning "The system downgrade will erase all data." Which I am obviously not very keen to allow.
Any idea what this is all about?
Best,
Ondrej

otichy said:
any explanation why I am being repeatedly offered to update to WW_epad-user-10.6.1.14.8 OTA when I am already on WW_epad-user-10.6.1.14.10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have root, please post the file /cache/dlpkgfile - it would be interesting to analyze this.

_that said:
If you have root, please post the file /cache/dlpkgfile - it would be interesting to analyze this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the JB went with the update to .10

Sorry, I just noticed this is not an OTA update - the file size indicates it's a full firmware. Did you have a firmware file for 10.6.1.14.8 on your sdcard?

_that said:
Sorry, I just noticed this is not an OTA update - the file size indicates it's a full firmware. Did you have a firmware file for 10.6.1.14.8 on your sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh my, of course! I have not noticed that the tablet came back after some repairs with a microSD. Sorry for that, but at least I've got myself a free SD card.
By the way - is it possible to downgrade without a full wipe? I'd like to get the root back, but it seems I'd have to downgrade to .8 first and the root is probably not worth the full wipe to me.
And thanks!

otichy said:
Oh my, of course! I have not noticed that the tablet came back after some repairs with a microSD. Sorry for that, but at least I've got myself a free SD card.
By the way - is it possible to downgrade without a full wipe? I'd like to get the root back, but it seems I'd have to downgrade to .8 first and the root is probably not worth the full wipe to me.
And thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full upgrades from Asus wipe data.
If you unlock and install a custom stock rom you can avoid it but then a new world has just opened up to you if you do that