Best course of action with Nokia 8.3 - Nokia 8.3 5G (8V 5G UW) Questions & Answers

Best course of action with Nokia 8.3 - Nokia 8.3 5G (8V 5G UW) Questions & Answers

Hello,
I started to look for a way to move away from the big tech mosters and I've been on iPhones for a while (iPhone 11 Pro right now). I did develop for Android in the past, I am experienced developer and Linux admin so the technical side does not concern me too much. Long story short, I want to give Android another try but I want to be free of the unwanted baggage that comes with it.
Probably Nokia 8.3 was not the best pick but I consider it a strategic buy and the price was good. It is also somewhat nostalgic - I used to work at Nokia in the past, before the company got destroyed by you-know-who. So I would love to have something with their logo again
As far as I understand, currently there is no any alternative ROM available for this device. I was looking towards /e/OS or LineageOS, but probably it is too early. So, I am wondering what would be the best way to move forward with such a phone? So far my plan looks like this:
- unblock the bootloader immediately after receiving the phone, I would expect it to have Android 10 preinstalled and the "fix" seems to be available. I understand the risk but without the risk I will be the product, not the phone
- try to remove as much google as possible from the original system and move more or less to what I would have with LineageOS - MicroG and alternative apps
- wait for the official/beta support from one of these alternative ROMs and migrate
First, does it sound doable today? I found an excellent guide on this forum about "degoogling" the Android but it requires TWRP and it does not seem like it supports Nokia 8.3 yet.
I would really appreciate an advice on the best course of action.

Well, did not get too many answers, starting to write my own. I have received the toy today and had a bit of time to play with it. Happy to report that I went all the way through unlocking the device successfully and rooting it with Magisk. All by the book, no surprises. Maybe this will help someone:
- Started Nokia 8.3
- Accepted TOU
- Skipped all settings, offline
- verified it was running Android 10, Build number: 00WW_1_110 (00WW_1_110_B01)
- hardware: TA1243, product: lito, Variant: SM_ UFS
$ fastboot oem getversions
(bootloader) model=CaptainAmerica
(bootloader) sub_model=none
(bootloader) software version=00WW_1_110
(bootloader) SW model=
(bootloader) build number=A01
(bootloader) hardware version=A1-1
(bootloader) RF band id=
OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.003s
$ fastboot oem device-info
(bootloader) Verity mode: true
(bootloader) Device unlocked: false
(bootloader) Device critical unlocked: false
(bootloader) Charger screen enabled: true
OKAY [ 0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.001s
$ fastboot flash abl abl_proto.elf
Sending 'abl_a' (268 KB) OKAY [ 0.013s]
Writing 'abl_a' OKAY [ 0.003s]
Finished. Total time: 0.025s
$ fastboot flashing unlock_critical
FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')
fastboot: error: Command failed
$ fastboot flashing unlock
FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')
fastboot: error: Command failed
$ fastboot oem unlock-go
OKAY [ 0.045s]
Finished. Total time: 0.045s
Then I have connected WiFi network and OTA updated the device to 2_200 (Android 11)
Extracted boot.img from OTA zip using https://github.com/cyxx/extract_android_ota_payload.git
(used Python 3.8.3 and "pip install protobuf" before)
Followed https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/install.html by the letter.
Patched boot.img with Magisk app, restarted into bootloader and flashed the modified boot image. Seems to be working
Next part - removing some software I do not want to see on this phone

I am with you
However, I used adb on host computer
Code:
adb reboot recovery
When you see dead bot, press both power + volume up buttons every 2 seconds to see actual recovery. You can choose adb sideload, and you can install ROM from host computer
Code:
adb sideload
Press spacebar once and drag and drop the ROM file to command window
Downgrade to 10 is still possible though you may see "downgrade not possible" (I flashed from 180 back to 150 in order to "patch" bootloader in order to unlock)
I successfully rooted mine and it looks like I am no longer abandoning it
TV streaming on Philo is no more hiccup
Headphones jack is capable up to 24bit/384kHz, but it's highly recommended to use USB C digital headphones adapter for maximum possible benefit

mingkee said:
I am with you
However, I used adb on host computer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had old Android 10 preinstalled so I did not have to downgrade.
So far I am messing with the phone trying to minimize the data leaking while preserving the functionality I want. AFWall+ etc...So far seems OK. I also use Pi-Hole at home and planning to actually set up VPN on the device so it would be always connected to my home network. The only thing I am not sure about, I had to allow network access to Google Play Services, otherwise some apps would not work or behave in an odd way. For example, Waze worked with it disabled but Ring stops working minutes after logging in. I am wondering if allowing Google Play Services opens the floodgate of Google spyware. I am doing traffic analysis on the device, investigating who connects where. At the end I will write my "tutorial" on this. Personally I could not find one good tutorial about how to maximize your privacy with stock ROM and rooted phone.
Thanks for the tip about the audio!

Maybe you can run @AndyYan 's Lineage OS GSI on this phone.
When I discovered the unlock method, I've tried GSI already.
Here's the GSI test report I made for 8.3:
Nokia 8.3 5G
Notes about tinkering with Android Project Treble. Contribute to phhusson/treble_experimentations development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
To flash GSI, you'll need to boot to Fastbootd:
Code:
adb reboot fastboot
Then flash GSI (bvS variant):
Code:
fastboot erase system
fastboot flash system /path/to/lineage-18.1-20210411-UNOFFICIAL-treble_arm64_bvS.img
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta /path/to/vbmeta.img
fastboot -w reboot

Related

i screwed up :(

Tried to flash stock firmware with fastboot. It didnt seemed to finish, so i tried rebooting. But now it wont boot. Just vibrates but when i plug in the usb cable, windows tries to install a driver for it. In device manager it says "APX"

Motawa88 said:
Tried to flash stock firmware with fastboot. It didnt seemed to finish, so i tried rebooting. But now it wont boot. Just vibrates but when i plug in the usb cable, windows tries to install a driver for it. In device manager it says "APX"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have nvflash backups? If not you've killed it interrupting a low level nand flash.... I don't know what you were expecting to happen?
If you only have APX I'm sorry to say there are only 2 ways to recover.
1. NVFLash restore
2. New mother board

sbdags said:
Do you have nvflash backups? If not you've killed it interrupting a low level nand flash.... I don't know what you were expecting to happen?
If you only have APX I'm sorry to say there are only 2 ways to recover.
1. NVFLash restore
2. New mother board
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know. This is like my 70th android device and this is the first time i messed something up while flashing
I just bought the tablet so i do have a 60 days refund in my country. will asus still see if the bootloader is unlocked?

Motawa88 said:
I dont know. This is like my 70th android device and this is the first time i messed something up while flashing
I just bought the tablet so i do have a 60 days refund in my country. will asus still see if the bootloader is unlocked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They'll know you unlocked it as you had to use their unlock tool which dialled home and got the unlock keys....... so yes it is in their database so you warranty is now void I'm afraid.

Asus TF700T Tablet fix
Motawa88 said:
Tried to flash stock firmware with fastboot. It didnt seemed to finish, so i tried rebooting. But now it wont boot. Just vibrates but when i plug in the usb cable, windows tries to install a driver for it. In device manager it says "APX"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had similar issues and spent many a day trying to fix my TF700, almost resigned to the fact that the motherboard was stuffed, but then came across a method that I hadn't tried and now I am back up and running with a stock Rom. Here is the record of what I did, maybe it will help:
Asus TF700T Tablet fix - And the standard disclaimer: I am not responsible if you misunderstand instructions I give here, if my instructions are wrong, if you forget to charge the battery and the tablet dies halfway through a flash or if your house goes up in flames. YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK
Ok, so I think that I may have lost power during an upgrade (can’t think of any other reason for it!!) and ended up soft bricking my Asus TF700T tablet and recovery attempts would just lead to the dead Android with a red triangle with an exclamation point in the middle. My warranty having expired with Asus and any attempt for their assistance proved fruitless.
Well I researched and tried absolutely everything out there – (Hard Reset, installing TWRP, used a tool called Motochopper and flashing a custom ROM, downloaded and renaming .zip files, putting it onto a Micro SDcard is formatted Fat32, Scotts Tf700t Recovery etc.etc. etc.)
I even took it to the local shops and paid to have one of the Mobile Technician pop-up stores take a look at it, then a friendly techno geek………all with the same suggestions most likely a motherboard/hard drive problem.
My Asus TF700T tablet eventually ended up with just the plain white ASUS logo in the middle of the screen, some small print in the top left corner followed by the dreaded words “Unrecoverable Bootloader Error (0x00000000)”.
During all of my research I was led to believe that if you can still get to the recovery screen, where you see the 4 icons, all is not lost so I persisted.
Here is the instructions that I followed that restored my TF700T:
Download and install ADB, Fastboot and the required drivers - Download and run this cool little tool which has it all packed into one: [TOOL] [WINDOWS] ADB, Fastboot and Drivers - 15 seconds ADB Installer v1.1 - xda-developers (don't forget to hit the Thanks button)
NOTE: at the moment Fastboot seems to have issues with Windows 8
This awesome tool installs the ADB and Fastboot.exe to a folder on your C:\ drive (look for a file titled “adb”) as well as the corresponding drivers. This takes about 15 seconds to install following the prompts.
I installed the device drivers - if you have already tried to connect the tablet to your PC and it's recognised as a portable device you should be ok. If not, download the Asus Sync Utility from their support/downloads site and install it.
Download the latest firmware from Asus (Always make sure that you download the correct SKU version -WW, US etc.) and extract the zip twice so you access the blob file (a blob is a collection of binary data stored as a single entity) – copy and paste this blob file into the previously mentioned “adb” folder on your C:\ drive.
Reset the device with a paperclip/needle (about 2 cm down of the SDcard slot)
Power down the tablet and disconnect it from the keyboard dock.
Connect it to your computer via the original USB cable.
Push and hold the Volume Down key (left side of the rocker) and the Power key until you feel the tablet vibrate twice. Let go when you see the tiny script. Read it and it tells you that your tablet is now in Fastboot mode and you will see three or 4 icons (depending on the bootloader version). Select the USB icon to get into the Fastboot mode.
Your PC should acknowledge that a USB device has been connected (an audible indication) Don’t panic if the device does not appear under “My Computer” (as mine did not either – Fastboot will still communicate with it), you can go into Control Panel/Hardware and Sound/ Device Manager and you may see “Fastboot” icon, expand this and the device will be represented again by the “Fastboot” icon. Right click, select “Properties”, Driver tab and then select “Update Driver” and allow it to search automatically and update from the internet. This should then update and change to Asus icons. You now can be certain that you have the current device drivers.
In Windows Explorer navigate to the folder that contains your adb.exe and fastboot.exe
Win 7 press Shift + right click and select "Open command window here".
In the resulting command prompt screen type the following codes (those in bold):
C:\adb\ (or whatever the path to your fastboot folder is..)
fastboot devices (If that command returns a string of numbers and letters, you are good as gold. If it returns: "No devices found", fastboot is not working - yet - and you have to troubleshoot)
Followed by each in turn of the below, selecting Yes as required and allowing each to complete the process:
fastboot erase system
fastboot erase recovery
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase boot
fastboot erase misc
fastboot erase cache
The resulting screen should look something like this below – NOTE, I did make a couple of typos while I was attempting this which returned some multiple choice garble if this happens recheck you input instructions:
E:\asus>fastboot erase system
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [ 1.979s]
finished. total time: 1.980s
E:\asus>fastboot erase recovery
erasing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 1.023s]
finished. total time: 1.025s
E:\asus>fastboot erase userdata
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'userdata'...
OKAY [ 39.623s]
finished. total time: 39.624s
E:\asus>fastboot erase boot
erasing 'boot'...
OKAY [ 0.303s]
finished. total time: 0.304s
E:\asus>fastboot erase misc
erasing 'misc'...
OKAY [ 0.602s]
finished. total time: 0.603s
E:\asus>fastboot erase cache
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'cache'...
OKAY [ 1.459s]
finished. total time: 1.460s
fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash system c:\adb\TF700T\blob - depending where you stored your blob, also this was the first time that I saw the loading bar appear on my tablet.
It will now go through the process of reinstalling your Android stock ROM and you should see the something similar to the following:
E:\asus>fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash system e:\asus\blob
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [ 1.731s]
sending 'system' (800935 KB)...
OKAY [134.276s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [131.640s]
finished. total time: 267.649s
fastboot -i 0x0B05 reboot
E:\asus>fastboot -i 0x0B05 reboot
rebooting...
finished. total time: 0.020s
E:\asus>
I disconnected and rebooted My Asus TF700T and I now have a fully functioning Tablet with a stock ROM.
It has been reported that after completing this you may have some issues getting back get into recovery, hitting RCK and getting the dreaded dead Android (with a red triangle with an exclamation point in the middle). I have not attempted this but have been led to believe that flashing TWRP 2.7.0.1 via Fastboot works.
All acknowledgement and appreciation for this method should go to Buster99, a Senior Member of XDA Developers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2179759&page=2
And to Snoop05, also a Senior Member of XDA Developers for the awesome ADB/Fastboot/Driver tool.
http://forum.xda- developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588979
To whom I am most grateful for the return of my tablet to a working state, I hope this works for you. Good Luck.

A big big thanks. This instructions worked for my Asus tf700t. It was hard bricked.
Browndog181 said:
I had similar issues and spent many a day trying to fix my TF700, almost resigned to the fact that the motherboard was stuffed, but then came across a method that I hadn't tried and now I am back up and running with a stock Rom. Here is the record of what I did, maybe it will help:
Asus TF700T Tablet fix - And the standard disclaimer: I am not responsible if you misunderstand instructions I give here, if my instructions are wrong, if you forget to charge the battery and the tablet dies halfway through a flash or if your house goes up in flames. YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK
Ok, so I think that I may have lost power during an upgrade (can’t think of any other reason for it!!) and ended up soft bricking my Asus TF700T tablet and recovery attempts would just lead to the dead Android with a red triangle with an exclamation point in the middle. My warranty having expired with Asus and any attempt for their assistance proved fruitless.
Well I researched and tried absolutely everything out there – (Hard Reset, installing TWRP, used a tool called Motochopper and flashing a custom ROM, downloaded and renaming .zip files, putting it onto a Micro SDcard is formatted Fat32, Scotts Tf700t Recovery etc.etc. etc.)
I even took it to the local shops and paid to have one of the Mobile Technician pop-up stores take a look at it, then a friendly techno geek………all with the same suggestions most likely a motherboard/hard drive problem.
My Asus TF700T tablet eventually ended up with just the plain white ASUS logo in the middle of the screen, some small print in the top left corner followed by the dreaded words “Unrecoverable Bootloader Error (0x00000000)”.
During all of my research I was led to believe that if you can still get to the recovery screen, where you see the 4 icons, all is not lost so I persisted.
Here is the instructions that I followed that restored my TF700T:
Download and install ADB, Fastboot and the required drivers - Download and run this cool little tool which has it all packed into one: [TOOL] [WINDOWS] ADB, Fastboot and Drivers - 15 seconds ADB Installer v1.1 - xda-developers (don't forget to hit the Thanks button)
NOTE: at the moment Fastboot seems to have issues with Windows 8
This awesome tool installs the ADB and Fastboot.exe to a folder on your C:\ drive (look for a file titled “adb”) as well as the corresponding drivers. This takes about 15 seconds to install following the prompts.
I installed the device drivers - if you have already tried to connect the tablet to your PC and it's recognised as a portable device you should be ok. If not, download the Asus Sync Utility from their support/downloads site and install it.
Download the latest firmware from Asus (Always make sure that you download the correct SKU version -WW, US etc.) and extract the zip twice so you access the blob file (a blob is a collection of binary data stored as a single entity) – copy and paste this blob file into the previously mentioned “adb” folder on your C:\ drive.
Reset the device with a paperclip/needle (about 2 cm down of the SDcard slot)
Power down the tablet and disconnect it from the keyboard dock.
Connect it to your computer via the original USB cable.
Push and hold the Volume Down key (left side of the rocker) and the Power key until you feel the tablet vibrate twice. Let go when you see the tiny script. Read it and it tells you that your tablet is now in Fastboot mode and you will see three or 4 icons (depending on the bootloader version). Select the USB icon to get into the Fastboot mode.
Your PC should acknowledge that a USB device has been connected (an audible indication) Don’t panic if the device does not appear under “My Computer” (as mine did not either – Fastboot will still communicate with it), you can go into Control Panel/Hardware and Sound/ Device Manager and you may see “Fastboot” icon, expand this and the device will be represented again by the “Fastboot” icon. Right click, select “Properties”, Driver tab and then select “Update Driver” and allow it to search automatically and update from the internet. This should then update and change to Asus icons. You now can be certain that you have the current device drivers.
In Windows Explorer navigate to the folder that contains your adb.exe and fastboot.exe
Win 7 press Shift + right click and select "Open command window here".
In the resulting command prompt screen type the following codes (those in bold):
C:\adb\ (or whatever the path to your fastboot folder is..)
fastboot devices (If that command returns a string of numbers and letters, you are good as gold. If it returns: "No devices found", fastboot is not working - yet - and you have to troubleshoot)
Followed by each in turn of the below, selecting Yes as required and allowing each to complete the process:
fastboot erase system
fastboot erase recovery
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase boot
fastboot erase misc
fastboot erase cache
The resulting screen should look something like this below – NOTE, I did make a couple of typos while I was attempting this which returned some multiple choice garble if this happens recheck you input instructions:
E:\asus>fastboot erase system
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [ 1.979s]
finished. total time: 1.980s
E:\asus>fastboot erase recovery
erasing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 1.023s]
finished. total time: 1.025s
E:\asus>fastboot erase userdata
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'userdata'...
OKAY [ 39.623s]
finished. total time: 39.624s
E:\asus>fastboot erase boot
erasing 'boot'...
OKAY [ 0.303s]
finished. total time: 0.304s
E:\asus>fastboot erase misc
erasing 'misc'...
OKAY [ 0.602s]
finished. total time: 0.603s
E:\asus>fastboot erase cache
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this partition?
erasing 'cache'...
OKAY [ 1.459s]
finished. total time: 1.460s
fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash system c:\adb\TF700T\blob - depending where you stored your blob, also this was the first time that I saw the loading bar appear on my tablet.
It will now go through the process of reinstalling your Android stock ROM and you should see the something similar to the following:
E:\asus>fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash system e:\asus\blob
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [ 1.731s]
sending 'system' (800935 KB)...
OKAY [134.276s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [131.640s]
finished. total time: 267.649s
fastboot -i 0x0B05 reboot
E:\asus>fastboot -i 0x0B05 reboot
rebooting...
finished. total time: 0.020s
E:\asus>
I disconnected and rebooted My Asus TF700T and I now have a fully functioning Tablet with a stock ROM.
It has been reported that after completing this you may have some issues getting back get into recovery, hitting RCK and getting the dreaded dead Android (with a red triangle with an exclamation point in the middle). I have not attempted this but have been led to believe that flashing TWRP 2.7.0.1 via Fastboot works.
All acknowledgement and appreciation for this method should go to Buster99, a Senior Member of XDA Developers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2179759&page=2
And to Snoop05, also a Senior Member of XDA Developers for the awesome ADB/Fastboot/Driver tool.
http://forum.xda- developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588979
To whom I am most grateful for the return of my tablet to a working state, I hope this works for you. Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I am trying to fix my tf700. Trying to flash the blob..
Code:
D:\Desktop\TF700>fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash system d:\desktop\TF700\blob
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [ 0.702s]
sending 'system' (800927 KB)...
FAILED (data transfer failure (Too many links))
finished. total time: 3.439s
Any idea?

Yeah. I Put the blob into your fastboot directory. Open cmd from there and flash it with fastboot - i 0x0b05 flash system blob

berndblb said:
Yeah. I Put the blob into your fastboot directory. Open cmd from there and flash it with fastboot - i 0x0b05 flash system blob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same result. Fixed it by flashing a bootloader blob first.
Fastboot flash staging bootloader-blob

krugm0f0 said:
Same result. Fixed it by flashing a bootloader blob first.
Fastboot flash staging bootloader-blob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you up and running now?
You may want to try a different USB port. I had the same error when I tried to use a USB hub to connect to my CPU.

[RECOVERY] Nabi bigtab hd 20"

TWRP recovery for Nabi Bigtab 20"
Must have unlocked bootloader
Download:attachment below
install via adb
"adb reboot-bootloader"
"fastboot flash recovery recovery.img"
Compiled by me with help from @aicjofs

I need help getting a fastboot driver to work for this tablet. So far I've had no luck. What drivers did you use?

Just in case others have this problem and arrive here....
I recently got a Nabi Big 20 HD tablet to use as a camera viewer in a nursery at our church. The only problem was, when I turned it on, it kept giving me an error, stating that I had to hook up to the wifi, and that the FUHU servers had a problem. Essentially, since Fuhu went out of business, you can’t connect to the fuhu servers.
Since you can’t connect to the servers, setup can’t be completed, and this 20″ tablet became a 20″ paperweight. Obviously, that would not do, so I figured out how to use fastboot mode, TWRP, and the advanced file manager to delete the unneeded junk to make the tablet functional again. Below are my instructions, performed from a Linux computer. You could do this from Windows as well, if you download the right tools.
Before you begin, you will need the TWRP recovery image, which you can get from here: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/rul6liygr1rw3/Nabi_big_20_hd_tablet or from https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/recovery-nabi-bigtab-hd-20-t3035372
Power off the tablet.
Hold the volume up and power on buttons, and release them when you see the menu options.
NOTE: This is actually fastboot mode!
Perform an OEM unlock
[email protected]:~$ fastboot oem unlock
...
(bootloader) Showing Options on Display.
(bootloader) Use device keys for selection.
(bootloader) erasing userdata...
(bootloader) erasing userdata done
(bootloader) erasing cache...
(bootloader) erasing cache done
(bootloader) unlocking...
(bootloader) Bootloader is unlocked now.
OKAY [ 13.625s]
finished. total time: 13.625s
[email protected]:~$
After this it reboots and starts up again, so power off the tablet.
Hold the volume up and power on buttons again, release them when you see the menu options.
NOTE: Once again, this is actually fastboot mode!
Flash the recovery image.
[email protected]:~/Downloads$ fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
target reported max download size of 643825664 bytes
sending 'recovery' (8646 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.313s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 0.314s]
finished. total time: 0.627s
[email protected]:~/Downloads$
From the still open menu, use the volume keys to scroll down to “recovery mode” and press the power button once to choose it. NOTE: it will show the NABI screen, then reboot into TWRP. Unfortunately, ADB does not work in this version of TWRP.
Go to “Mount” and check “System” and then click to disable MTP.
Press the home key or back key to get back to the main menu.
Click “Advanced”.
Click “file manager”.
Scroll to “priv-app” and select it.
Click on each of these items and choose to delete them:
fuhu_addapps2.apk
fuhu_appzone2.apk
fuhu_drmmanagerservice.apk
fuhu_nabiaccountmanager.apk
fuhu_nabiupdater.apk
–Personally, I just deleted all “fuhu” apps in this folder, but I think you only need those ones.
Then in the “app” folder, delete all the fuhu apps. Yes, I’m pretty sure you need to delete all of these ones.
Select the home or back button to get to the main TWRP screen.
Reboot to system.
Enjoy!
NOTE: It should start up, and may go through the Google setup (if you never started it before), and then will drop you off in “parent mode”.
At this point, I recommend installing a regular launcher, such as Trebuchet, Apex launcher, Nova launcher, etc. I used Apex launcher personally, because you can “hide” unwanted apps, and I use it to hide the unwanted Nabi apps. You should be able to see the Chrome browser in the parent mode window, use that to download the apk for the launcher you want (or use the Google account if you set up an account).
Once a launcher is installed, press the home key, and choose to always use the launcher you installed. You can now use this tablet as a regular Android tablet.
TWRP does have the option to install SuperSU and root the device. That’s completely up to you. Kingo Root also works incredibly well on this tablet. It will be stuck on Android 4.4.2, so it is a little outdated, but seems to work rather well. It was designed for gaming, so it is pretty powerful for as old as it is.
Linux – keep it simple.

AlaskaLinuxUser said:
Just in case others have this problem and arrive here....
I recently got a Nabi Big 20 HD tablet to use as a camera viewer in a nursery at our church. The only problem was, when I turned it on, it kept giving me an error, stating that I had to hook up to the wifi, and that the FUHU servers had a problem. Essentially, since Fuhu went out of business, you can’t connect to the fuhu servers.
Since you can’t connect to the servers, setup can’t be completed, and this 20″ tablet became a 20″ paperweight. Obviously, that would not do, so I figured out how to use fastboot mode, TWRP, and the advanced file manager to delete the unneeded junk to make the tablet functional again. Below are my instructions, performed from a Linux computer. You could do this from Windows as well, if you download the right tools.
Before you begin, you will need the TWRP recovery image, which you can get from here: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/rul6liygr1rw3/Nabi_big_20_hd_tablet or from https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/recovery-nabi-bigtab-hd-20-t3035372
Power off the tablet.
Hold the volume up and power on buttons, and release them when you see the menu options.
NOTE: This is actually fastboot mode!
Perform an OEM unlock
[email protected]:~$ fastboot oem unlock
...
(bootloader) Showing Options on Display.
(bootloader) Use device keys for selection.
(bootloader) erasing userdata...
(bootloader) erasing userdata done
(bootloader) erasing cache...
(bootloader) erasing cache done
(bootloader) unlocking...
(bootloader) Bootloader is unlocked now.
OKAY [ 13.625s]
finished. total time: 13.625s
[email protected]:~$
After this it reboots and starts up again, so power off the tablet.
Hold the volume up and power on buttons again, release them when you see the menu options.
NOTE: Once again, this is actually fastboot mode!
Flash the recovery image.
[email protected]:~/Downloads$ fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
target reported max download size of 643825664 bytes
sending 'recovery' (8646 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.313s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 0.314s]
finished. total time: 0.627s
[email protected]:~/Downloads$
From the still open menu, use the volume keys to scroll down to “recovery mode” and press the power button once to choose it. NOTE: it will show the NABI screen, then reboot into TWRP. Unfortunately, ADB does not work in this version of TWRP.
Go to “Mount” and check “System” and then click to disable MTP.
Press the home key or back key to get back to the main menu.
Click “Advanced”.
Click “file manager”.
Scroll to “priv-app” and select it.
Click on each of these items and choose to delete them:
fuhu_addapps2.apk
fuhu_appzone2.apk
fuhu_drmmanagerservice.apk
fuhu_nabiaccountmanager.apk
fuhu_nabiupdater.apk
–Personally, I just deleted all “fuhu” apps in this folder, but I think you only need those ones.
Then in the “app” folder, delete all the fuhu apps. Yes, I’m pretty sure you need to delete all of these ones.
Select the home or back button to get to the main TWRP screen.
Reboot to system.
Enjoy!
NOTE: It should start up, and may go through the Google setup (if you never started it before), and then will drop you off in “parent mode”.
At this point, I recommend installing a regular launcher, such as Trebuchet, Apex launcher, Nova launcher, etc. I used Apex launcher personally, because you can “hide” unwanted apps, and I use it to hide the unwanted Nabi apps. You should be able to see the Chrome browser in the parent mode window, use that to download the apk for the launcher you want (or use the Google account if you set up an account).
Once a launcher is installed, press the home key, and choose to always use the launcher you installed. You can now use this tablet as a regular Android tablet.
TWRP does have the option to install SuperSU and root the device. That’s completely up to you. Kingo Root also works incredibly well on this tablet. It will be stuck on Android 4.4.2, so it is a little outdated, but seems to work rather well. It was designed for gaming, so it is pretty powerful for as old as it is.
Linux – keep it simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woah, wasn't expecting to see you here.
Thanks for that guide, had one as well but had since sold it

Thanks - the guide helped me unbrick my Nabi Big Tab 20"
AlaskaLinuxUser said:
Just in case others have this problem and arrive here....
I recently got a Nabi Big 20 HD tablet to use as a camera viewer in a nursery at our church. The only problem was, when I turned it on, it kept giving me an error, stating that I had to hook up to the wifi, and that the FUHU servers had a problem. Essentially, since Fuhu went out of business, you can’t connect to the fuhu servers.
Since you can’t connect to the servers, setup can’t be completed, and this 20″ tablet became a 20″ paperweight. Obviously, that would not do, so I figured out how to use fastboot mode, TWRP, and the advanced file manager to delete the unneeded junk to make the tablet functional again. Below are my instructions, performed from a Linux computer. You could do this from Windows as well, if you download the right tools.
Before you begin, you will need the TWRP recovery image, which you can get from here: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/rul6liygr1rw3/Nabi_big_20_hd_tablet or from https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/recovery-nabi-bigtab-hd-20-t3035372
Power off the tablet.
Hold the volume up and power on buttons, and release them when you see the menu options.
NOTE: This is actually fastboot mode!
Perform an OEM unlock
[email protected]:~$ fastboot oem unlock
...
(bootloader) Showing Options on Display.
(bootloader) Use device keys for selection.
(bootloader) erasing userdata...
(bootloader) erasing userdata done
(bootloader) erasing cache...
(bootloader) erasing cache done
(bootloader) unlocking...
(bootloader) Bootloader is unlocked now.
OKAY [ 13.625s]
finished. total time: 13.625s
[email protected]:~$
After this it reboots and starts up again, so power off the tablet.
Hold the volume up and power on buttons again, release them when you see the menu options.
NOTE: Once again, this is actually fastboot mode!
Flash the recovery image.
[email protected]:~/Downloads$ fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
target reported max download size of 643825664 bytes
sending 'recovery' (8646 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.313s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 0.314s]
finished. total time: 0.627s
[email protected]:~/Downloads$
From the still open menu, use the volume keys to scroll down to “recovery mode” and press the power button once to choose it. NOTE: it will show the NABI screen, then reboot into TWRP. Unfortunately, ADB does not work in this version of TWRP.
Go to “Mount” and check “System” and then click to disable MTP.
Press the home key or back key to get back to the main menu.
Click “Advanced”.
Click “file manager”.
Scroll to "system" and select it.
Scroll to “priv-app” and select it.
Click on each of these items and choose to delete them:
fuhu_addapps2.apk
fuhu_appzone2.apk
fuhu_drmmanagerservice.apk
fuhu_nabiaccountmanager.apk
fuhu_nabiupdater.apk
–Personally, I just deleted all “fuhu” apps in this folder, but I think you only need those ones.
Then in the “app” folder, delete all the fuhu apps. Yes, I’m pretty sure you need to delete all of these ones.
Select the home or back button to get to the main TWRP screen.
Reboot to system.
Enjoy!
NOTE: It should start up, and may go through the Google setup (if you never started it before), and then will drop you off in “parent mode”.
At this point, I recommend installing a regular launcher, such as Trebuchet, Apex launcher, Nova launcher, etc. I used Apex launcher personally, because you can “hide” unwanted apps, and I use it to hide the unwanted Nabi apps. You should be able to see the Chrome browser in the parent mode window, use that to download the apk for the launcher you want (or use the Google account if you set up an account).
Once a launcher is installed, press the home key, and choose to always use the launcher you installed. You can now use this tablet as a regular Android tablet.
TWRP does have the option to install SuperSU and root the device. That’s completely up to you. Kingo Root also works incredibly well on this tablet. It will be stuck on Android 4.4.2, so it is a little outdated, but seems to work rather well. It was designed for gaming, so it is pretty powerful for as old as it is.
Linux – keep it simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was perfect. I could not figure out how to get this device into FastBoot until I read your post today. The only tweak I had to make I added in line above was after I went to filemanager I had to select "system" before selecting "privapp".

hexagon_founder said:
This was perfect. I could not figure out how to get this device into FastBoot until I read your post today. The only tweak I had to make I added in line above was after I went to filemanager I had to select "system" before selecting "privapp".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it helped!
And thanks for the note, yes, priv app is under system, and I forgot to mention that! [emoji3]
Sent from my Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra with Android 10

Hi, can you explain how you got into fastboot mode, or post a video? I am holding the plus sign button and the power button, but all that happens is the Nabi Bigtab flashes a few times, then stays dimly lit. It never loads any information, nothing about fastboot. Thanks.
EDIT: I figured it out. You have to press - the negative sign and the power button, NOT the plus sign, to get to the menu where you can choose recovery mode. THAT is the fastboot menu. It wasn't clear from the instructions. Make sure the tablet is hooked up when you do this and it should display on your PC as a "Fastboot" device.

I would appreciate help, my attempts are failing on this step using the nabilab64 drivers, minimal ADB, and this command:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot devices
BT20A00000211140829 fastboot
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>
fastboot oem unlock
...
FAILED (command write failed (No error))
finished. total time: 0.015s
I am using a USB 2.0 hub and a 3.0 plug. Same results. Also tried a different PC.
Thank you.

CCrusader said:
I would appreciate help, my attempts are failing on this step using the nabilab64 drivers, minimal ADB, and this command:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot devices
BT20A00000211140829 fastboot
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>
fastboot oem unlock
...
FAILED (command write failed (No error))
finished. total time: 0.015s
I am using a USB 2.0 hub and a 3.0 plug. Same results. Also tried a different PC.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CCrusader said:
Hi, can you explain how you got into fastboot mode, or post a video? I am holding the plus sign button and the power button, but all that happens is the Nabi Bigtab flashes a few times, then stays dimly lit. It never loads any information, nothing about fastboot. Thanks.
EDIT: I figured it out. You have to press - the negative sign and the power button, NOT the plus sign, to get to the menu where you can choose recovery mode. THAT is the fastboot menu. It wasn't clear from the instructions. Make sure the tablet is hooked up when you do this and it should display on your PC as a "Fastboot" device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odd, on mine it is the positive (+ up) volume button. Maybe it varied with different year models?
As for the adb command issue with Windows, I'm not sure, I use Linux... sorry I can't be more help.
Edit: perhaps try full adb, instead of minimal version?
Sent from my Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra with Android 10

AlaskaLinuxUser said:
Odd, on mine it is the positive (+ up) volume button. Maybe it varied with different year models?
As for the adb command issue with Windows, I'm not sure, I use Linux... sorry I can't be more help.
Edit: perhaps try full adb, instead of minimal version?
Sent from my Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra with Android 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try it. What version of ADB were you using and where did you get yours?
What version of the Nabi driver did you use? Does Linux support it natively?
I am using Windows 10. What version of Linux were you using?
Doing this for a customer so I'd like to figure out how to get this done. This has been a bumpy process so far.
Thanks.

CCrusader said:
I'll try it. What version of ADB were you using and where did you get yours?
What version of the Nabi driver did you use? Does Linux support it natively?
I am using Windows 10. What version of Linux were you using?
Doing this for a customer so I'd like to figure out how to get this done. This has been a bumpy process so far.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used Ubuntu 18.04, and installed adb and fastboot from the Ubuntu repository. I did not need any drivers, as Ubuntu Linux was able to talk to fastboot right out of the box. Literally, the above steps was all I did.
Not bashing Windows, but Android runs a Linux kernel, and most Linux distributions can work with it much easier than Windows.
You can download a Ubuntu live CD and install adb and fastoob on your live run to do the job, if you don't want to install Ubuntu on a computer.
Hope that helps.
Sent from my Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra with Android 10

I got ubuntu and ran it off a live USB. Had to enable the app universe in software center, then installed ABP and fastboot. It unlocked the OEM and allowed flashing like a charm. Thank you. I hope this info helps someone else out, especially the minus sign rather than the plus sign.

CCrusader said:
I got ubuntu and ran it off a live USB. Had to enable the app universe in software center, then installed ABP and fastboot. It unlocked the OEM and allowed flashing like a charm. Thank you. I hope this info helps someone else out, especially the minus sign rather than the plus sign.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it worked out! [emoji3]
Sent from my Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra with Android 10

I cannot get my WIndows 10 pc to recognize the big tab as an adb device. It is in fastboot mode (Start, Power off, and Recover mode menu) and I have installed all proper adb and fastboot drivers as well as tried using NabiLab and Mehtuus Nabi Root to install any sort of drivers. The tablet will either appear as "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)" or as "Fastboot" with the little exclamation mark and triangle next to it.
I have also tried booting into a live linux installation and get the same issue: adb will not detect the device.
I got a 24" paper weight...

I am in the same page, just got my 24" and could not pass the update page until I mess up the entire system.
Anyone here still got the stock ROM for the 24?
I found this somewhere but not sure what it is.

crazytiger1983 said:
I am in the same page, just got my 24" and could not pass the update page until I mess up the entire system.
Anyone here still got the stock ROM for the 24?
I found this somewhere but not sure what it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also looking for files for the 24" version. Did you figure out what this file was for?

I have good news and bad news.
I somehow got the ROM file but its not from NABI, its from INFOCUS.
The problem is the could not get google play work.
Maybe someone here would have better idea what is wrong with it.

crazytiger1983 said:
I have good news and bad news.
I somehow got the ROM file but its not from NABI, its from INFOCUS.
The problem is the could not get google play work.
Maybe someone here would have better idea what is wrong with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the file you attached in your post from March is the in focus flash files?

No, this is the one

crazytiger1983 said:
No, this is the one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I just recently purchased one of these and am waiting for it to arrive. I don't know what state it will be in when I receive it. So what is the file for then from back in March?

Ares 8 5.0 Upgrade to Ares 8 5.1, Everything working , normal sound.

This is a guide to upgrade Nextbook Ares 8, disable encryption, and flash permanent TWRP recovery to device.
Walmart is selling the Nextbook Ares 8 for $62.52
This rom works great, and sound is now back to normal, on other roms sound worked but was very low.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nextbook-Ares-8-Tablet-16GB-Quad-Core/43267399
To use, download ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip, extract and run either Linux script or Windows batch file.
Bootloader must be unlocked
fastboot/adb must be installed system wide and working.
make sure scripts are set to executable
connect tablet to pc, leave connected until tablet reboots and is ready to set up
open terminal in folder where you extracted ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip
open cmd window where you extracted ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip
Linux
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
./fastboot.sh
Windows
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot_cmd.bat
That's it, takes a few minutes to install, leave connected to pc, when completed tablet will reboot to setup screen, setup and enjoy.
Download
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=745425885120720323
Credits
@N810E
@zefie
@vampirefo

vampirefo said:
This is a guide to upgrade Nextbook Ares 8, disable encryption, and flash permanent TWRP recovery to device.
Walmart is selling the Nextbook Ares 8 for $62.52
This rom works great, and sound is now back to normal, on other roms sound worked but was very low.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nextbook-Ares-8-Tablet-16GB-Quad-Core/43267399
To use, download ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip, extract and run either Linux script or Windows batch file.
Bootloader must be unlocked
fastboot/adb must be installed system wide and working.
make sure scripts are set to executable
connect tablet to pc, leave connected until tablet reboots and is ready to set up
open terminal in folder where you extracted ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip
open cmd window where you extracted ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip
Linux
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
./fastboot.sh
Windows
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot_cmd.bat
That's it, takes a few minutes to install, leave connected to pc, when completed tablet will reboot to setup screen, setup and enjoy.
Download
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=745425885120720323
Credits
@N810E
@zefie
@vampirefo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@vampirefo and others who contributed, this is the best rom for this 5.0 device yet. At 8 hrs. unplugged, in deep sleep, I had 98% battery left. The interactive governor deep sleep offline bug is gone. The power disconnecting, reconnecting on charge is gone also. The only issue I have noticed, so far, is that the wifi connection logo at the top is not always showing as full or 100%. That is despite being inches from my router. Furthermore, when I use mixplorer, totalcommander or quickpic to access my photos in onedrive, sometimes it is very slow, or fails to connect. When it does connect, the thumbnails are very slow to load. In the older roms this didn't happen. For me this is a minor issue, because I have other means to access onedrive from my computer. So overall this is a great improvement over the older rom. Thanks to all for your hard work and dedication to improve this device!

I am currently running @greatbal rom on my 5.0 it's equal to this rom, I have to remove supersu manually, I hate when a rom includes root, other than that @greatbal rom runs well on my 5.0.
By the way, did you use windows or linux to install the rom?

vampirefo said:
I am currently running @greatbal rom on my 5.0 it's equal to this rom, I have to remove supersu manually, I hate when a rom includes root. other than that @greatbal rom runs well on my 5.0.
By the way, did you use windows or linux to install the rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used windows 7. my only experience with linux, besides Android is through bootable usb drives and cds. I have tried Ubuntu this way. The other bootable drives were mostly window repair, backup, and repartitioning disks.
One note to windows users, there are MANY, UAC promts to to approve the running of the fastboot.exe. So you have to stay with the install to approve each of the many prompts. one workaround would be to go into windows settings and temporarily disable UAC. Then, of course, re-enable it later, after the install finishes. There may be a better way to do this though. Under my fastboot.exe properties, on the compatibility tab, I had it set to always run as an administrator. Maybe that is what caused the constant prompts, not sure. And since I have the device re-partitioned and the rom installed, I don't want to go back and test that theory, since I have installed and updated many apps. It was very nice that you had the re-partitioning built into the script for the install. Just as you stated earlier, be patient, the routine takes some time, the device has not locked up.
I probably wouldn't have bought the Ares 8A, if I had had this rom for my old device. It is too late to return the 8A, now. I haven't figured out how to root the new device, without potentially messing it up.

@vampirefo I hate to ask what is probably a stupid-ass question, but I'm still running Batville. Do I need to re-partition before installing this ROM? If so, it has been a long time since I partioned it for Batville so I'm not sure what the original setup was--can you help? Thanks for continuing to work on the device--we all appreciate it.

zerozed99 said:
@vampirefo I hate to ask what is probably a stupid-ass question, but I'm still running Batville. Do I need to re-partition before installing this ROM? If so, it has been a long time since I partioned it for Batville so I'm not sure what the original setup was--can you help? Thanks for continuing to work on the device--we all appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@vampirefo included a new partition table with the files. In addition, he put the re-partitioning in the fastboot_cmd.bat, so it is automatic.

martyfender said:
@vampirefo included a new partition table with the files. In addition, he put the re-partitioning in the fastboot_cmd.bat, so it is automatic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any benefit (e.g. speed or battery life) with this rom over batville? I'm assuming that the new one is larger.

zerozed99 said:
Is there any benefit (e.g. speed or battery life) with this rom over batville? I'm assuming that the new one is larger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my info a few posts above. The issue I am having is with wifi, which I never had in any of the other roms.
I tested with a wifi testing app, and the link speed is good, however, the latency is fluctuating from the norm of 2 ms., all the way up to above 1000 ms. I'm not sure what would cause that, as my tablet is within inches of my wireless router. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know. Web browsing seems ok with Firefox and Chrome, but in apps where I access my photos stored on OneDrive, I have problems. I haven't tried any other internet apps to see if there are any issues. I can access videos with vlc, through my LAN, to my desktop computer with no problems.

zerozed99 said:
Is there any benefit (e.g. speed or battery life) with this rom over batville? I'm assuming that the new one is larger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my personal experience, the biggest benefit is sound, I can listen to music on tablet without Bluetooth or headset.
The sound through the speaker is loud enough to enjoy.
As time permits, I plan on pulling the sound off of this and if possible apply it to my other roms, that lack good sound through speaker.
If all goes well, just applying sound patch to batville will be all that's needed for batville user's to get same sound quality, without the need to switch to this rom.
Batville is a great rom, just lacks good sound quality through speaker, I hope in time to be able to fix that, with a patch.
Sent from my Life_Max using Tapatalk

@vampirefo, This rom has been the best yet for my 5.0 Ares 8. The only problem I have had is with wifi connectivity. So I decided to start over. I re-ran the fastboot_cmd.bat again to reflash the rom. During the install phase it failed and bricked my device, my first. What did I do wrong to cause this?
I can boot into dnx mode and type fastboot devices, and it lists my Baytrail device. Fastboot flash commands fail with errors. adb commands don't work in this mode.
If I type: fastboot boot boot.img, it boots to uefi / bios access menu. I suspect I need a hub, a usb otg adapter, a keyboard and mouse to get the buttons to respond, though. Are there settings in this bio menu which will help me? Is there any way to recover from this that you know of?
In addition I can boot to an efi shell by holding down the home button and the power button. Unfortunately, your info on the wifi came after I did this blunder. I have a twrp backup, I can't get into it to reload the backup.
Any help recovering from this disaster will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Edit: I found this post:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=4821597
Not sure where to get this file: efilinux.efi. Is it the one in your esp folder or the one in the esp.zip?
Thanks
I solved this my self by following @social-design-concepts directions, then running the fastboot_cmd.bat to re-flash the system. Anybody have any ideas what may have caused this data corruption in the first place?

You want me to guess what you did wrong? No ideal, seeing it worked the first time and third time for you, and everytime for me, I would guess user error.
Sent from my Life Max using Tapatalk

vampirefo said:
You want me to guess what you did wrong? No ideal, seeing it worked the first time and third time for you, and everytime for me, I would guess user error.
Sent from my Life Max using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, sorry, this is all I did:
I rebooted to bootloader. Then I ran your fastboot_cmd.bat. It never had errors in the command window until it was running the flash commands. Then it rebooted to the dnx window. So it didn't appear to be a user error. I am using minimal adb and fastboot. I have all of the files in that folder. I shift, right click, then choose open a command prompt here.
Instead of typing the command in windows, I dragged and dropped it in the command prompt window. I guess it will be a mystery. However, I did do a TWRP backup this time, even before flashing SuperSu and busybox.
I did use your fix for the captive portal and my internet seems to have improved, So thanks again.
Just curious, what is the: -S 200M, in the flashing system command?

martyfender said:
No, sorry, this is all I did:
I rebooted to bootloader. Then I ran your fastboot_cmd.bat. It never had errors in the command window until it was running the flash commands. Then it rebooted to the dnx window. So it didn't appear to be a user error. I am using minimal adb and fastboot. I have all of the files in that folder. I shift, right click, then choose open a command prompt here.
Instead of typing the command in windows, I dragged and dropped it in the command prompt window. I guess it will be a mystery. However, I did do a TWRP backup this time, even before flashing SuperSu and busybox. I did use your fix for the captive portal and my internet seems to have improved, So thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use minimal adb, that is a problem, you need to be system-wide.
Use system-wide method, it's a better way to use adb and fastboot. The script was designed to be ran based on system-wide access.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48915118
-S 200M is sparse, the 200M is the size or chunk I tell it to split, this can be raised or lowered depending on speed of computer, I am using a Windows tablet to run the windows batch file.
My Linux could push it much faster, 500 or more, but 200 is safe, slow, and steady.
Sent from my NXA8QC116 using Tapatalk

vampirefo said:
I don't use minimal adb, that is a problem, you need to be system-wide.
Use system-wide method, it's a better way to use adb and fastboot. The script was designed to be ran based on system-wide access.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48915118
-S 200M is sparse, the 200M is the size or chunk I tell it to split, this can be raised or lowered depending on speed of computer, I am using a Windows tablet to run the windows batch file.
My Linux could push it much faster, 500 or more, but 200 is safe, slow, and steady.
Sent from my NXA8QC116 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had it set at one time in the system environmental variables, but when I redid my system I forgot to re-add it. Thanks for the link. I had seen that in the past, but it had older versions of adb and fastboot. I see now that it has been updated, so thank again.
Edit: I checked and apparently I did have Minimal ADB and Fastboot entered in the system environmental variables, which would make it system wide. I downloaded and installed your recommendation. it added an additional variable after: C:\adb.
Here may be the issue: I updated Minimal ADB and Fastboot with an installer and it appears it added an additional entry for it. I notice to that windows live has two entries also:
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox;C:\Windows\System32;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live;C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Shared; C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot;C:\adb.
I think I should remove the double entries?
Here is a link for a microsoft script the remove duplicate path variables:
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/How-to-check-for-duplicate-5d9dd711
I ran that script, but my entries remain the same. i'm not sure why.
I guess the simplest solution is to remove Minimal ADB and Fastboot, its variables and keep the other ADB.

This Ares 8 which originally came with 5.0 is running great since I redid it and applied your wifi fixes to it.
I find myself using it most of the time, over the new Ares 8A, because I have root on it and don't possess enough knowledge to feel safe in trying to root the Ares 8A, or building a working TWRP for it.
By the way, I had 98% battery left after leaving it overnight. That is a far cry from what I had with the 701Q and Batville roms. That is great.
With Batville I could never get contacts to work, despite trying playstore and other fixes. In addition, the sound is good with this new rom.
I don't do much gaming anymore, but i do have GT Racing 2 installed on the External microSD card, Using @vickybonick Apps2SD, and this graphic intensive game runs very well on it.
Thanks again for your great work.
By the way, in the past with the original 5.0 rom, I tried using three different SanDisk high speed UHS-1, Class 10 cards with Apps2SD, and all of them had good write speeds, but poor read speeds. I finally returned those cards and went with the Samsung EVO series. The read and write speeds are great on this card. I used several test apps, both on Windows and Android, to test them. Has anybody else had similar experiences with different brands of high speed cards?

If you have more than one adb install listed in the environmental variables, the first listed takes precedence in system wide access. I tested this by changing the order with Rapid Environment Editor. I viewed which one was running in Process Explorer.
Rapid Environment Editor will also show any invalid paths. This is of academic interest, as the simplest solution, is of course, to only have one adb installed system wide. If you run a command prompt from the folder where each adb is installed, that one will run, instead of the one installed system wide, unless you are already in the folder where the system wide is installed. (shift right click, choose open command prompt here).
That is what I did and should have worked fine, it always has before. So I am "beating a dead horse to death", in the pursuit of knowledge. i hope this helps someone else as well, that is learning, like me. By the way, is this considered OT?

I hate to be a thorn in your side, but:
Apparently I spoke too soon about the wifi connection working better. And please keep in mind I am comparing it to what I had on all three previous roms: the original 5.0, i708q and the Batville roms, and my newer Ares 8A. Also please keep in mind that the device is less than 2ft. from my wireless router in my tests.Using WiFi Network Analyzer, I see a continual fluctuation in the dBm signal strength, all the way from the normal -34, all the way up to the -70 to -92 range. In addition, the latency goes from normal 3-4 ms., all the way into the hundreds and even thousands ms. The older roms did not do this in the analyzer. My new Ares 8A remains in the -32-42 dBm signal strenth, and the latency stays in the 3-4ms range.
I seem to have improved things slightly by changing the following things in my router:
Allow n devices only
bandwidth set from auto 40mhz/20mhz, to 20mhz only
protected mode (not to be confused with WPS):
rotected Mode
NOTE: In most situations, best performance (throughput) is achieved with Protected Mode OFF. If you are operating in an environment with HEAVY 802.11b traffic or interference, best performance may be achieved with Protected Mode ON.
(I'm not certain if protected mode helped, or not.)
Is there anything I can do on the tablet to improve this or troublshoot it?
Furthermore are the system wifi files in the newer rom different to what was in the working i708q and Batville roms? Sometimes, turning off wifi and turning it back on helps for a while. Also I forgot to point out that the fan shaped wifi connection symbol fluctuates from full to partial, also. All other devices I have turned on to test, show no problems, that I can tell.
I haven't ruled out interference as I live in an apartment complex where I can see several neighbors on all non-overlapping channels 1, 6 and 11. However the older roms, the new 8A and other tested devices have no detectable problems with my wireless router. Does anybody have any suggestions?
Like I've said in the past this is a great rom for this device, if I can get this problem resolved.
Thanks

For my wireless configuation and router, I was able to improve my speed and connection by reading linux documentation on the hostapd.
I edited the hostapd.conf located in system/etc/wifi, changing the following entries:
preamble=0
dissoc_low_ack=0
I'm not sure, but maybe my wireless router doesn't handle the default settings as well?
If that was the case, though, why did the same defaults work well with the previous roms?
preamble=0 "Set optional use of short preamble."
0 sets a long preamble instead of a short one
dissoc_low=0 "Disassociate stations based on excessive transmission failures or other indications of connection loss. This depends on the driver capabilities and may not be available with all drivers."
0 turns this off.
My congested wireless environment may be partially to blame for this. there are at least 4 clients on each of the three non-overlapping channels of 1,6 and 11, respectively.
If anybody has any additional thoughts on this, let us all know.
Thanks
UPDATE: apparently, the above changes didn't help. In the terminal when I type: busybox ifconfig, I see dropped packets under p2p and wlan0 for rx, but not for tx. This has happened on other wireless networks as well. Maybe not as bad though. I'm not 100% sure though as I haven't run ifconfig on those other networks.
I am considering ordering an ASUS 3-In-1 Wireless Router (RT-N12), or an Asus RT-N12 D1 Wireless Router - IEEE 802.11n RT-N12/D1, to see if this improves things. I have no AC devices, so an AC router seems like a pricey overkill for me. However an AC might be more future proof. I don't have a new flat screen tv to stream to. I have an old Sony 36" CRT, which I haven't turned on for over a year, as I watch streamed TV shows on the internet, from my computer. So finally, the bandwidth that AC affords, doesn't seem necessary.

Well, I managed to (sort of) kill my Ares 8. I already had 5.1 installed and working an thought, "I'll run this and start fresh." Everything looked like it went normally but when the tablet rebooted, I have:
Entering DnX mode.
Waiting for fastboot command...
Tethered recovery gets this:
***********************************************************************
FASTBOOT TETHERED RECOVERY LAUNCHER 07-24-2015
***********************************************************************
=======================================================================
DEVICE STATUS: FASTBOOT-ONLINE
DEVICE INFORMATION: BaytrailBA302518 fastboot
=======================================================================
copy needed files to our device
sending '/tmp/recovery.zip' (7151 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.285s]
writing '/tmp/recovery.zip'...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.294s
sending '/tmp/recovery.launcher' (704 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.036s]
writing '/tmp/recovery.launcher'...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.049s
we need to stop logcat before replacing it
...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.005s
sending '/system/bin/logcat' (349 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.021s]
writing '/system/bin/logcat'...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.026s
issue fastboot oem "stop_partitioning" command to start cwm recovery:
...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.005s
Everything tethered or not comes up (remote: unknown command)
martyfender what exactly did you do to get tethered recovery to work?

N810E said:
Well, I managed to (sort of) kill my Ares 8. I already had 5.1 installed and working an thought, "I'll run this and start fresh." Everything looked like it went normally but when the tablet rebooted, I have:
Entering DnX mode.
Waiting for fastboot command...
Tethered recovery gets this:
***********************************************************************
FASTBOOT TETHERED RECOVERY LAUNCHER 07-24-2015
***********************************************************************
=======================================================================
DEVICE STATUS: FASTBOOT-ONLINE
DEVICE INFORMATION: BaytrailBA302518 fastboot
=======================================================================
copy needed files to our device
sending '/tmp/recovery.zip' (7151 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.285s]
writing '/tmp/recovery.zip'...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.294s
sending '/tmp/recovery.launcher' (704 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.036s]
writing '/tmp/recovery.launcher'...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.049s
we need to stop logcat before replacing it
...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.005s
sending '/system/bin/logcat' (349 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.021s]
writing '/system/bin/logcat'...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.026s
issue fastboot oem "stop_partitioning" command to start cwm recovery:
...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.005s
Everything tethered or not comes up (remote: unknown command)
martyfender what exactly did you do to get tethered recovery to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't use a tethered recovery, I used the twrp recovery posted at the start of this thread. It is in the ares8_5.0_upgrade_5.1.zip.
When I had similar problems, I found a post by [MENTION=5368024 [user=4821597]@social-design-concepts[/user] https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65435780&postcount=409 in the original ares 8 thread to fix the problem:
"
Member
94 posts
Thanks: 30
Quote:
Originally Posted by social-design-concepts
"thats the uefi / bios access menu you'll need an usb otg adapter and most devices ( not all ) require use of a powered usb hub ( which i personally recommend regardless as devices that use more power can short out the port ) and keyboard and mouse to navigate it. but it looks as if you esp is corrupt if you have the efiloader and droidboot.img you can try.
Code:
fastboot flash osloader efilinux.efi
fastboot boot droidboot.img
this should get you back into droidboot / fastboot where you can then partition your device and reflash the esp and the reset of android.
@social-design-concepts, thanks for this post. When I tried to reinstall vampirefo's latest 5.1.1 rom, ported to work on the 5.0 device, it failed and Could only get into dnx mode. I used your instruction to fix the ESP partition, then reinstalled the rom, with no problems. It is running great now.
Thanks, again."
I used the above commands and files within the rom posted above, so I didn't even need a usb otg adapter to do it. I believe I used the droidboot.img and efilinux.efi. The efilinux.efi is in the esp.zip. unzip to the root of your folder where you have adb and fastboot installed. The rom files must also be unzipped to that location.
The above commands are run through an adb and fastboot command prompt, from your computer. Those are the windows commands. they would be slightly different if you are on linux. Then I rebooted the tablet back into fastboot mode: fastboot reboot bootloader, which worked again, ran the fastboot_cmd.bat to reflash the rom again. This was all done from the computer with an adb and command prompt, using fastboot commands, of course. Type fastboot devices, to make sure your device is showing up, before proceeding
I never figured out the cause of the problem when I reflashed this rom the second time, but I suspect I should have done a factory reset before doing it. It was flashing the above files that gave me the ability to get into fastboot bootloader again, then I reflashed the whole rom the third time and it worked as it did the first time I did it.
Currently I am using the newer, twrp 3.1 recovery he posted in the ares 8 5.1 problems thread.
UPDATE: if you don't have a permanent recovery installed, this may or may not work in the tethered, temp, twrp recovery. I don't know as I have never used the tethered, temp, recovery.
Actually, I think I used the fastboot commands in dnx mode to flash the droidboot.img and efilinux.efi, rebooted into the bootloader: fastboot reboot bootloader and then ran the fastboot_cmd.bat to reflash the rom.
And of course, you have to make sure adb and fastboot drivers are setup correctly and recognizing your device, for all of the above to work. I tried to retrace my steps. I hope I didn't forget any of them!
Good Luck!

Use 'fastboot oem citadel' to unlock bootloader? (Verizon Pixel 3)

I unfortunately have a Pixel 3, from Verizon (when I bought it it was not described as a phone issued by Verizon had I known it I wouldn't have bought it). I'm trying to accomplish The impossible by finding some way to unlock the bootloader. Everything has failed of course. But today I came across some Fastboot OEM commands, that actually do something but to the extent of what they accomplished I have no idea.
Code:
fastboot oem citadel
(bootloader) citadel <command>
(bootloader) Commands:
(bootloader) rescue Try to rescue Citadel
(bootloader) state Print current Citadel state
(bootloader) reset Reset Citadel
(bootloader) reset-locks Reset AVB locks
(bootloader) version Print citadel OS version
(bootloader) reprovision Reprovision device after a RMA unlock
(bootloader) suzyq on|off Enable or disable SuzyQable
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.060s
I have tried to reset command and also the reset-locks command. The reset command returns an 'okay' whereas the reset locks command comes back as a device error. The only thing I know is the reset locks command has something to do with AVB.
When running the state command, a number of things come up. Notably it lists the locks, there are 4 of them. 1-3 have a value of 1 whereas 4 has a value of 0. What these values mean it also lists "bootloader: 1", but after running the reset command, the value for "bootloader's changes to 0. There is also 'fastboot oem rma' which I have no idea what it stands for or what it does but when I run it it requires two other variables 'get_challenge' and 'send_response'. I can also enable or disable whatever suzyq is. Also 'fastboot oem continue-factory' works but only appears to reboot the device and if it does anything else, I have no idea.
I'm just trying to get some insight on what these commands might be and what they might do if anything and if anyone has any information I'd be happy to hear it.

ok here is the result when running
Code:
fastboot oem citadel state
2...
(bootloader) Citadel state:
(bootloader) Version : 1
(bootloader) Bootloader state: 1
(bootloader) Production state: 1
(bootloader) Number of locks : 4
(bootloader) Lock[0]: 1
(bootloader) Lock[1]: 1
(bootloader) Lock[2]: 1
(bootloader) Lock[3]: 0
OKAY [ 0.129s]
finished. total time: 0.129s
The fourth one i assume is NOT locked? I am just guessing 1 = locked, 0 = unlocked or what not. Heres what the values say after running
Code:
fastboot oem citadel reset
2...
OKAY [ 0.170s]
finished. total time: 0.170s
Here is the citadel STATE after running the reset command
Code:
2...
(bootloader) Citadel state:
(bootloader) Version : 1
(bootloader) Bootloader state: 0
(bootloader) Production state: 1
(bootloader) Number of locks : 4
(bootloader) Lock[0]: 1
(bootloader) Lock[1]: 1
(bootloader) Lock[2]: 1
(bootloader) Lock[3]: 0
OKAY [ 0.126s]
finished. total time: 0.126s
Now assuming 0 = unlocked, then the 'Bootloader state' after running reset command goes from having a value of 1 to a 0. Do we have anything here?

SuzyQable = ChromeOS debug cable.
The SuzyQable allows developers, hobbyists, and others to quickly access debugging, recovery, and developer features exposed through some of the USB-C ports on ChromeOS and other Google devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can turn this feature on using the 'fastboot oem citadel suzyq on' command. Looks like if this is to be explored further, I going to have to buy one.

So...somehow I managed to change slots. As I saw, slot setting is not allowed on locked devices. So tell me how I changed the slot from slot _b to slot _a?

I have Verizon and I was able to unlock it) Read more on the Russian-language forum 4pda

MURFLY said:
I have Verizon and I was able to unlock it) Read more on the Russian-language forum 4pda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you leave a link so it can help other people who are trying to unlock it?

MURFLY said:
I have Verizon and I was able to unlock it) Read more on the Russian-language forum 4pda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've only seen bits and pieces of this and haven't been able to gather too much because of the language barrier if there's any kind of links you can provide that will point me in the right direction or at least a better one it would be greatly appreciated. I've tried all the tricks that I can come across otherwise. Changing the date and time, taking the SIM card out doing a reset and using ADB to disable the phone, etc. I'm no expert but I can't find a single hint either in a hardware or software, with the exception of two applications that cannot be accessed without some kind of activity launcher and even then only one of them can be accessed without root access. And that is a phone sign up application for Verizon however even with that said there's nothing else to indicate whatsoever that this phone is actually Verizon so I'm kind of a little bit confused as to how this phone will be any different from the international variance if they're made of the same parts in the same exact software. I am currently running Android 12 on this from the developers preview. So if that matters then maybe I won't be able to do this maybe I will. But I'll do whatever it takes I have no shame in experimenting on a device. I already know the risks and have known for several years so I'm not doing anything I haven't already done on another device at some point.

Whoops.
Wrong thread.
Cheers.

DragonFire1024 said:
So...somehow I managed to change slots. As I saw, slot setting is not allowed on locked devices. So tell me how I changed the slot from slot _b to slot _a?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been following this thread since the begining. I have a verizon P3 xl. Please let me know if theres anything I can test.

tsuna27 said:
ive been following this thread since the begining. I have a verizon P3 xl. Please let me know if theres anything I can test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well until one of us goes out and gets. SuzyQ USB C type ChromeOS debugging cable (I will look online and see if there's any locally available at Walmart or the likes and if not, buy one on line this weekend). What I'm hoping is this cable will cancel out the 'device error' when doing a lock reset and if so, what it might do there after.
Just a neat little trick I have found in regards to a SIM card or whatnot. If you know of or use the settings database editor application they also have a feature pack which allows for some of these settings to persist upon a reboot and stopping Android from defaulting any of the settings you change. This might be of use to somebody with one of these devices who does not have one that's carrier unlocked.
Code:
adb shell settings put global euicc_provisioned 1
. Then use setting database editor feature pack (not sure if this is required but if you decide to use this function when turned on, it might be best to remove the persistence from settings database editor). This allowed me to get access right away to Google fi and other options to essentially get a new sim card with new service and allowed me to choose such service and all that other good stuff.

So apparently this debug cable does quite a bit of things. Including to some capacity the ability to read and write. If the device is supported, you have access to Closed Case Debugging and Servod. Some features this cable allows when they are activated in a chroot chromeOS environment using hdctools:
Control of firmware write protect.
Flashing of the AP and EC firmware.
EC RW console access.
Read I2C INA219 current sensors (though most production boards do not have them populated).
A subset of these features (e.g., UART lines) can be accessed without a cros_sdk chroot.
Once the SuzyQ is plugged in, three /dev/ttyUSB devices will enumerate:
Cr50 console
CPU/AP console (RW)
EC console (RW)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Ordered a cable. Should arrive on Sunday. If anyone is interested in one for themselves, you can get them on Amazon but there aren't many left. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07XF7V6CW?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

DragonFire1024 said:
So apparently this debug cable does quite a bit of things. Including to some capacity the ability to read and write. If the device is supported, you have access to Closed Case Debugging and Servod. Some features this cable allows when they are activated in a chroot chromeOS environment using hdctools:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the link for that information regarding what this cable might be able to do. Sorry that I forgot to post it and sorry that the above reply was so sloppy I didn't realize. https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/third_party/hdctools/+/HEAD/docs/ccd.md

From the source code of crosshatch:
Text is too coded when doing a copy paste. As soon as I get inside I will add the text I am speaking of.

DragonFire1024 said:
From the source code of crosshatch:
Text is too coded when doing a copy paste. As soon as I get inside I will add the text I am speaking of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a list in the source code for crosshatch, on what the citadel AVB locks are and do:
Code:
# Citadel
PRODUCT_PACKAGES += \
citadeld \
citadel_updater \
[email protected] \
[email protected] \
[email protected] \
[email protected] \
wait_for_strongbox
# Citadel debug stuff
PRODUCT_PACKAGES_DEBUG += \
test_citadel
I can't wait for the cable to get here. I'm licking my chops.
source: https://android.googlesource.com/de...bfe57aaaf2cdd656a4476bbfb5c01314a09/device.mk

Note to self and others: DSU (Dynamic System Update), the ability to load a GSI over the current system, does not work on this device on Verizon variant. When device reboots, it immediately boots to a fastboot warning screen saying:
your device is corrupt. It cannot be trusted and may not work properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
However, hitting the power button reboots the device to "no command", then I press power and vol. up for recovery and reboot system normally. I tried to boot a GSI from google (Android 11 GSI) and a Resurrection Remix GSI android Q and one or the other managed to write something somewhere to raise this warning. Device doesn't seem to be effected in any negative manner despite the warning.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Hello:
Thank you for your work.
I used
Code:
adb shell settings put global euicc_provisioned 1
to enable my Verizon Pixel 3xl's eSIM function, but this function will not work after hard reset.
And do you know how to enable this phone's cdma network function with any codes?

Pixel 3xl said:
Hello:
Thank you for your work.
I used
Code:
adb shell settings put global euicc_provisioned 1
to enable my Verizon Pixel 3xl's eSIM function, but this function will not work after hard reset.
And do you know how to enable this phone's cdma network function with any codes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if this will help you at all but I seem to recall something along the lines of changing CDMA through one of the phone applications but you have to use an activity launcher. If you do a Google search for activity runner APK that's the one I use. You would have to look for about phone or phone info in one of the four or five phone applications and launch the activity and options to that effect will come up whether they persist is another story.

I've tried the activity runner APK but failed, it comes up with require Android.Permission.

DragonFire1024 said:
I don't know if this will help you at all but I seem to recall something along the lines of changing CDMA through one of the phone applications but you have to use an activity launcher. If you do a Google search for activity runner APK that's the one I use. You would have to look for about phone or phone info in one of the four or five phone applications and launch the activity and options to that effect will come up whether they persist is another story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait for your work to find out whether the bootloader can be unlocked.

What is this "calypso a318uu"

Well I bought this Calypso U318AA from a friend for cheap. It was his sons he got new phone. I bought it to root it. I was just going to do the magical root.. I've rooted several other phones in past. The world wide web has very little info well, no info on this thing. It's a Android 10. I'm not sure of even the best way to unlock the bootloader. I know it doesn't have nothing in developers options. On recovery reboot you can do a recovery boot and a fastboot as well as normal boot. Can't find anything but factory at&t stuff. So any info would be great. Thank you

dorkxperience said:
Well I bought this Calypso U318AA from a friend for cheap. It was his sons he got new phone. I bought it to root it. I was just going to do the magical root.. I've rooted several other phones in past. The world wide web has very little info well, no info on this thing. It's a Android 10. I'm not sure of even the best way to unlock the bootloader. I know it doesn't have nothing in developers options. On recovery reboot you can do a recovery boot and a fastboot as well as normal boot. Can't find anything but factory at&t stuff. So any info would be great. Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just received this phone from at&t. Found out mtk_client will unlock bootloader. so magisk root "should be" available after this unlock. I have not tried yet , i only unlocked bootloader earlier today. will keep looking for anyone else trying this and update as i find any info.

Twrp is working (mostly) for TINNO U318AA. (ATT&T Calypso)
still need to work out data decryption, and FatsbootD mode.
Device Tree: https://github.com/mrmazakblu/twrp-device-att_u318aa/tree/twrp-11
Device Dump: https://github.com/mrmazakblu/att_u318aa_dump

mrmazak said:
Twrp is working (mostly) for TINNO U318AA. (ATT&T Calypso)
still need to work out data decryption, and FatsbootD mode.
Device Tree: https://github.com/mrmazakblu/twrp-device-att_u318aa/tree/twrp-11
Device Dump: https://github.com/mrmazakblu/att_u318aa_dump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phh aoap gsi a11 installs and runs good

mrmazak said:
Phh aoap gsi a11 installs and runs good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To clarify, let me tel you all which build version i have installed and outline the steps to get it loaded.
THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE STEP BY STEP GUIDE ONLY AN OVERVIEW
WHATEVER YOU DO ON YOUR DEVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK
system-squeak-arm32_binder64-ab-vndklite-vanilla
downloaded from :
Releases · phhusson/treble_experimentations
Notes about tinkering with Android Project Treble. Contribute to phhusson/treble_experimentations development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
!. Bootloader must be unlocked.
AT&T removed the enable OEM unlock from developer menu, but there is an excellent work around 'tool' to get around this.
MTK CLIENT will allow you to read (pull) stock firmware off from phone, much like spflash tool does, except with this phone and many other newer phones the manufacture has enabled security and authorization files to block sp flash tool , SOOOO, tools like mtk client try to stay a step ahead.
I only used the GUI options with the client, it was very user friendly , the tool has way more options than i needed to mess with.
GitHub - bkerler/mtkclient: MTK reverse engineering and flash tool
MTK reverse engineering and flash tool. Contribute to bkerler/mtkclient development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
2. Before flashing gsi, make sure you have pulled firmware from phone, so you have stock super.img. If you don't you will not be able to restore device when / if you mess up the vendor partition.
3. I disabled vbmeta verification .
will need stock vbmeta from pulled firmware.
boot into bootloader, (adb reboot bootloader , or reboot while holding the volume up button. You should get a boot menu)
Code:
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta vbmeta.img
(the last part need to point to you file location where ever it is)
4. Now we need to move from bootloader to fastboot. fastboot reboot command didn't work for me so needed to boot recovery first, then fastboot.
Code:
fastboot reboot
hold volume up button to get boot menu, select recovery
from recovery select reboot fastboot
in the fastbootd connection you will be able to flash gsi
the system area is not large enough to fit gsi , so you will need to remove the /product partition.
Code:
fastboot delete-logical-partition product
fastboot flash system system-squeak-arm32_binder64-ab-vndklite-vanilla.img
once completed use the screen menu to reboot back to recovery and perform factory reset.
With the exception of needing to use mtk client, the rest of these steps are standard android process. documented in many locations. I go to the android source first for information. \
Moving Fastboot to Userspace | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com

Thanks a lot mrmazak, I'm working on a step by step guide for newbies like me to expand on your steps to unblock and reflash the phone.
I was able to use MRK Client, unlock bootloader and put the phone in fastboot.
The problem I have is to find the right MediaTek driver for the device USB\VID_0E8D&PID_201C
Where did you find them? I tried Google USB driver from ADP but they use different Device ID and all MediaTek driver with same VendorID 08ED have old ProductID instead of 201C.
Any help on MediaTek driver so I can finish the guide and post the link here?
Specifically, I was able to connect via ADB but Fastboot requires a different driver which I'm not able to find
Thanks a lot for your help!

mrmazak said:
I just received this phone from at&t. Found out mtk_client will unlock bootloader. so magisk root "should be" available after this unlock. I have not tried yet , i only unlocked bootloader earlier today. will keep looking for anyone else trying this and update as i find any info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats awesome thanks

inglele said:
Thanks a lot mrmazak, I'm working on a step by step guide for newbies like me to expand on your steps to unblock and reflash the phone.
I was able to use MRK Client, unlock bootloader and put the phone in fastboot.
The problem I have is to find the right MediaTek driver for the device USB\VID_0E8D&PID_201C
Where did you find them? I tried Google USB driver from ADP but they use different Device ID and all MediaTek driver with same VendorID 08ED have old ProductID instead of 201C.
Any help on MediaTek driver so I can finish the guide and post the link here?
Specifically, I was able to connect via ADB but Fastboot requires a different driver which I'm not able to find
Thanks a lot for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did not have to install any drivers special.

mrmazak said:
Did not have to install any drivers special.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I had Other \ Android device listed in Device Manager, so I tried disable signed driver and force install of these drivers: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...32-64-bit-driver-install-tutorial-m2.3267033/
Now, I have it visible as MediaTek PreLoader USB VCOM Port but if I type "fastboot devices" is not listed.
ADB is able to see it correctly:
adb devices
List of devices attached
AYMB5PKZCUEUUOSC device
When I restart in fastboot with "adb reboot bootloader" the phone restart correctly in fastboot.
I'm not able to unblock the connection between fastboot tool and phone in fastboot mode, I suspect due to missing / wrong driver.
If you have any idea, it would be great!

Found the correct driver. I needed to force Google ADB Driver -> "Android Bootloader Interface" and it works!
They are available here: https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb
Thanks for the help and sorry for confusion, newbie questions

Mod Edit: Quote removed since post deleted.
I received 'not enough space" error when flashed gsi, this is why i delete product partition.
I recall there are fastboot commands to list super.img size, but not sure for super sub-partiton size. there are tools to extract the sub-partitons and it will show individual size.
there must be commands for it in fastboot i think, But i do not know them.\

They deleted the previous post, so I'm copy paste the steps from the blog post.
Pre-requirements
Tested on Windows 11, it should work on any previous Windows versions
Install MTK Client to unlock bootloader: Inofficial MTK reverse engineering and flash tool – which requires Python 3.9 and Git – Downloading Package (git-scm.com) and UsbDk
Download phone image system-squeak-arm32_binder64-ab-vndklite-vanilla.img.gz from Release AOSP 12.1 v410 · phhusson/treble_experimentations
Download Android DevelopersSDK Platform Tools | Android Developers
Download Google USB Driver | Android Developers
Unlock phone bootloaderBootloader must be unlocked to install the new firmware.
MTK CLIENT will allow you to read stock firmware off from phone, except with this phone the manufacture has enabled security and authorization files to block sp flash tool.
Install Python 3.9 from Microsoft Store and Git – Downloading Package and daynix/UsbDk · GitHub, then open a CMD:
mkdir C:\test
cd C:\test
git clone https://github.com/bkerler/mtkclient
cd mtkclient
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
Once installation in complete, start MTK Client with
c:\Test\mtkclient
python mtk_gui
To activate BRUM mode for the phone and connect it to MKT Client
Turn off the phone if it’s on.
Press Volume UP + Volume DOWN and plug the USB cable.
Do not press power button and MKT Client will detect it.
Backup:
In the Read partition tab,
Select all of them and Save to C:\Test\Firmware\Original
It will take about 40min to complete all the operation
Unlock Bootloader
In Flash Tools tab,
Click on Unlock bootloader button
Debug log will show Bootloader: unlock and python windows list
sej - HACC init
sej - HACC run
sej - HACC terminate
sej - HACC init
sej - HACC run
sej - HACC terminate
Progress: |██████████████████████████████████████████████████| 100.0% Write (Sector 0x1 of 0x1, ) 0.03 MB/s
If you restart the phone, you will see a warning that bootloader is unlocked and it will ask you to factory reset the phone.
Install the new firmwareYou need to have Android DevelopersSDK Platform Tools | Android Developers installed to be able to flash the new firmware.
Enable USB Debugging in the phone and connect ADB
Start the phone
Perform a Factory Reset
Restart the phone and complete the initial wizard
Open Settings -> “About Phone” -> Tap the “Build Number” item seven times.
You should get a message saying you are now a developer.
Settings -> “System” -> “Advanced” -> “Developer Options.”
Open the menu and enable “USB Debugging.”
To verify that ADB in installed correctly and is able to connect to the device:
CD C:\Test\Tools
adb version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 33.0.1-8253317
Installed as C:\Test\Tools\adb.exe
adb devices
List of devices attached
AYMB5PKZCUEUUOSC device
Boot into fastboot with the following command adb reboot bootloader
or reboot while holding the volume up button and select fastboot.
Install Google ADB FastBoot driver in Windows 11Download Google USB Driver | Android Developers as they will be needed to connect the device via fastboot. To install the driver, we need to force the installation in Device Manager with these steps:
Open Device Manager
Right click on Other Devices \ Android device
Select “Update Driver” -> “Browse my computer for drivers” -> “Let me pick from the list of available driver“
Select “Show All Devices” -> “Have Disk“
Navigate to “C:\Test\Tools\usb_driver_r13-windows” and let Windows load the drivers
Select “Android Bootloader Interface” as driver name
Test that Fastboot tool is able to interact with the phone
CD C:\Test\Tools
fastboot devices
AYMB5PKZCUEUUOSC fastboot
Next step is to disable vbmeta verification with the following steps:
Firmware update via Fastboot
While the phone is in the FastBoot mode, type the following:
CD C:\Test\Tools
fastboot devices
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta "C:\Test\Firmware\Original\vbmeta.bin"
target reported max download size of 134217728 bytes
sending 'vbmeta' (8192 KB)... OKAY [ 0.204s]
writing 'vbmeta'... OKAY [ 0.189s]
finished. total time: 0.393s
After vbmeta image is flashed, perform:
fastboot reboot fastboot to restart the phone and enter fastbootd
Check the phone is connecting correctly with fastboot devices
and force the installation of Android Bootloader Interface in Device Manager if needed.
The following step delete product partition so system partition has enough space:
fastboot delete-logical-partition product
Deleting 'product' OKAY [ 0.016s]
Finished. Total time: 0.016s
This command flash the custom rom on system partition:
fastboot flash system "C:\Test\Firmware\system-squeak-arm32_binder64-ab-vndklite-vanilla.img"
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Resizing 'system' OKAY [ 0.016s]
Sending sparse 'system' 1/5 (255489 KB) OKAY [ 14.939s]
Writing 'system' OKAY [ 7.651s]
Sending sparse 'system' 2/5 (262100 KB) OKAY [ 15.141s]
Writing 'system' OKAY [ 7.705s]
Sending sparse 'system' 3/5 (262104 KB) OKAY [ 15.001s]
Writing 'system' OKAY [ 7.595s]
Sending sparse 'system' 4/5 (261825 KB) OKAY [ 14.752s]
Writing 'system' OKAY [ 7.711s]
Sending sparse 'system' 5/5 (183741 KB) OKAY [ 10.421s]
Writing 'system' OKAY [ 5.832s]
Finished. Total time: 107.885s
Once flash of new rom is completed, you can restart the phone and it will boot using the new rom.
Original post suggested to perform a factory reset.
WARNING: In my case, a factory reset caused a reboot loop and was not able to
If you want to proceed, in the menu on the screen:
Select “Enter recovery” and
Select “Wipe data/factory reset“
Screen on the phone will show
-- Wiping data...
Formatting /data...
Formatting /cache...
Formatting /metadata...
Data wipe completed.
If you missed the previous screen, or clicked the wrong button/option:
restart the phone holding Volume UP,
Select fastboot on the phone
Type fastboot reboot fastboot to reenter fastbootd screen
And repeat the factory reset
Restart the phone and you are up and running.
Restore original firmwareIf you need to restore original rom, use MKT Client tool to write:
vbmeta.bin
super.bin
then close the tool and restart the phone. It will be like new

hi! hope i can get some help. this is my first time using mtkclient but i can't seem to get it to detect the phone. i'm making sure to follow the steps listed of having the phone off first, then press both volume buttons and plug in the usb. on the phone it eventually pulls up a "select boot mode" where i can use the volume buttons to select recovery mode fastboot mode or normal mode boot. i've tried recovery and fast boot modes as well as just leaving it on that select screen but nothing is detected in mtkclient
thanks!

New to the world of droid but am familiar with modding stuff so I'm a semi-noob I suppose. Found myself getting one of these things from the local dollar general and followed this guide to get rid of all the google crap and hopefully speed it up a bit. Bootloader is unlocked, .img posted above is flashed, and it boots up and seemingly works. Can't figure out how to sideload apps nor can I find any type of write up explaining what to do with the tree and dump file posted above. Any help and/or clarification, greatly appreciated. MTKClient, ADB, and Fastboot are all installed and functional. Using Linux Manjaro.
--chuckles b

ltk6260 said:
hi! hope i can get some help. this is my first time using mtkclient but i can't seem to get it to detect the phone. i'm making sure to follow the steps listed of having the phone off first, then press both volume buttons and plug in the usb. on the phone it eventually pulls up a "select boot mode" where i can use the volume buttons to select recovery mode fastboot mode or normal mode boot. i've tried recovery and fast boot modes as well as just leaving it on that select screen but nothing is detected in mtkclient
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Run mtkclient. With the phone already off, hold down both volume buttons and connect the phone to your computer. You should hear the "usb connected" notification sound on your computer and mtkclient will pick up it. As soon as you hear that chime, release the buttons, set the phone down, and don't touch it. The screen shouldn't come on during this step.
Make sure you're ONLY holding down the volume buttons and plugging it in. Don't touch the power button.
If you're still having issues with it not picking up your phone, go through the standard troubleshooting steps: Recheck you followed every step, restart your computer, try other USB ports, try other cables.
*********
FYI this isn't applicable to this process, but should be noted: This phone has a weird way to get into the recovery menu. You have to hold Vol+ and Power, then select Recovery from the menu, THEN immediately press and hold the Vol+ (or Vol- I don't recall at the moment) and Power buttons again until the recovery menu comes up

veryspecialagent said:
Run mtkclient. With the phone already off, hold down both volume buttons and connect the phone to your computer. You should hear the "usb connected" notification sound on your computer and mtkclient will pick up it. As soon as you hear that chime, release the buttons, set the phone down, and don't touch it. The screen shouldn't come on during this step.
Make sure you're ONLY holding down the volume buttons and plugging it in. Don't touch the power button.
If you're still having issues with it not picking up your phone, go through the standard troubleshooting steps: Recheck you followed every step, restart your computer, try other USB ports, try other cables.
*********
FYI this isn't applicable to this process, but should be noted: This phone has a weird way to get into the recovery menu. You have to hold Vol+ and Power, then select Recovery from the menu, THEN immediately press and hold the Vol+ (or Vol- I don't recall at the moment) and Power buttons again until the recovery menu comes up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! that did help.
i was able to get all the way through up to flashing the new rom. I'm getting this error:
fastboot flash system system-squeak-arm32_binder64-ab-vndklite-vanilla.img
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Resizing 'system' OKAY [ 0.013s]
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 201668900 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
Sending sparse 'system' 1/2 (262140 KB) error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 201668900 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
error: write_sparse_skip_chunk: don't care size 201668900 is not a multiple of the block size 4096
OKAY [ 12.568s]
Writing 'system' FAILED (remote: 'No such file or directory')
fastboot: error: Command failed
still can't get past this error. i've confirmed my filename, file extensions, and file location. even checked file permissions. the img file is in the same folder as the fastboot command itself.
i also tried the command using the full c:\ path to the img file but it fails the same.
i then restored the phone to the original super.bin and the phone worked like normal. so i went all the way back through the steps starting from the top but failed at the same final step flashing the system.

ltk6260 said:
still can't get past this error. i've confirmed my filename, file extensions, and file location. even checked file permissions. the img file is in the same folder as the fastboot command itself.
i also tried the command using the full c:\ path to the img file but it fails the same.
i then restored the phone to the original super.bin and the phone worked like normal. so i went all the way back through the steps starting from the top but failed at the same final step flashing the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you trying to do? What is the purpose or end result you're hoping to achieve?
I ask because this thread is a bit convoluted and "noobs" looking to just root and tinker might come in thinking they have to do all the steps in this thread to get there.
Like someone wanting an oil change overhearing two mechanics rebuilding a transmission, taking notes, especially where they mentioned "oil," then walking away thinking that's what they need to do.
The tools linked above are great. The mtk one, once I was able to get it running, was how I got past the FRP. For anyone wondering, there's an FRP partition that you can just delete with the tool.
If you're just wanting root, see above for unlocking the bootloader, then stop. I'm 90% certain I achieved root by just following the process outlined the official Magisk page on GitHub.
Can I get some OP/MOD thoughts on breaking this thread up into specific guides with the purpose clearly written in the title?

veryspecialagent said:
What are you trying to do? What is the purpose or end result you're hoping to achieve?
I ask because this thread is a bit convoluted and "noobs" looking to just root and tinker might come in thinking they have to do all the steps in this thread to get there.
Like someone wanting an oil change overhearing two mechanics rebuilding a transmission, taking notes, especially where they mentioned "oil," then walking away thinking that's what they need to do.
The tools linked above are great. The mtk one, once I was able to get it running, was how I got past the FRP. For anyone wondering, there's an FRP partition that you can just delete with the tool.
If you're just wanting root, see above for unlocking the bootloader, then stop. I'm 90% certain I achieved root by just following the process outlined the official Magisk page on GitHub.
Can I get some OP/MOD thoughts on breaking this thread up into specific guides with the purpose clearly written in the title?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand your questioning. I'm trying to unlock and load aosp firmware, or frankly, anything other than what this device is loaded with since it's horribly bloated, slow and periodically unstable. this is a play phone, i have two of these phones actually.

ltk6260 said:
I understand your questioning. I'm trying to unlock and load aosp firmware, or frankly, anything other than what this device is loaded with since it's horribly bloated, slow and periodically unstable. this is a play phone, i have two of these phones actually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is mine. I agree with the bloat, which I thought was weird considering the Android 10 version it comes with (Go) is supposed to be a more streamlined version for lower end phones that lack the processing power.
I tend to not do new ROMs unless it's something with a track record and support like Lineage, but after playing around with it and testing some of the functions with things like WIGL, Termux, LSposed, etc, I'm thinking it might be a good Nethunter phone.

After some extensive Googling, and since I doubt this falls under the "you're flashing the wrong build/version" because there's only one variant of this phone, I'd say it might be possible you're not running the right SDK platform package.
Start Android Studio, go to Settings > Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Android SDK and make sure you have the right platform packages installed (i.e. Android 10, API 29) and updated.

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