Database Users

Steps for getting back to 2.1?

Return your DroidX to stock unrooted 2.1:
This reverts you to a CLEAN UNROOTED STOCK Phone.
Linux Instructions:
Download sbf_flash
Unzip the SBF
Put your Droid X into bootloader (turn phone off and hold volume down and the camera button while pressing the power button)
Connect your USB
Open a terminal window.
Run "cd Downloads"
Run "chmod +x sbf_flash"
Run "sudo ./sbf_flash VRZ_MB810_1.13.6.2_1FF_01.sbf"
Wait and finish!
Note: after the flash will need to boot into recovery (hold volume down and the home button) and wipe data and cache.
Windows Instructions:
Download RSD Lite (credit to MyDroidWorld)
Install the RSDLite 4.7 program by double clicking on the program.
Move the pst_flash.ini file into the following folder --> Program Files/Motorola/RSDLite
Install the drivers that apply to your Operating System.
Unzip the SBF into a folder.
Open RSD Lite and find the UNZIPPED SBF
Put your Motorola Droid X into bootloader. (turn phone off and hold volume down and the camera button while pressing the power button)
Click start and sit back.
Note: after the flash will need to boot into recovery (hold volume down and the home button) and wipe data and cache.
I can't find the SFB it keeps getting taken down wherever i look. So please post if you have a working link

mavermc said:
I see it scatter all over the place with different methods but as Motorola has said 2.2 leakers won't get official OTA updates, so whats the really good way for us to get back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now the only way I believe is to flash the .sbf file via rsdlite. DL RSDlite and the .sbf file and connect the phone via USB. The phone iwll be recognized in the program and then you can flash the file back to stock. Done.

The problem is, the required sbf_flash file cannot be found. There is one link that everything seems to point to and that leads to a fake link. Anyone know how to get it?

If anyone does have the working link please feel free to send me a PM or email me at my gmail (chris.hammer), and I'd be happy to setup a working mirror of it without all that "you must wait XXX seconds" or pages riddled with ads crap.
I have a dedicated colo machine sitting on 100mbit connection to the net which should be more than enough to handle the demand for this.

I have the SBF, I can post it on Dropbox, put a warning up on the main post for people that have "bricked" due to the 2.2 OTA. If they try this method they'll really brick their phones.

This should work on 2.1 phones that faild to update to 2.2. Let me know where I can get it. I am bricked without it.

willy1234x1 said:
I have the SBF, I can post it on Dropbox, put a warning up on the main post for people that have "bricked" due to the 2.2 OTA. If they try this method they'll really brick their phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
???? SBFing bricks your phone? I'm confused. This thread seriously lacks links. If you guys are talking about getting something, or referring to another thread, it'd be nice to know what.
My question: Is it safe to SBF to 2.1 from the first FroYo leak?
also, sbf: http://rootzwiki.com/index.php/Smartphones/Motorola/Droid-X/Droid-X.html

NegativeOne said:
???? SBFing bricks your phone? I'm confused. This thread seriously lacks links. If you guys are talking about getting something, or referring to another thread, it'd be nice to know what.
My question: Is it safe to SBF to 2.1 from the first FroYo leak?
also, sbf: http://rootzwiki.com/index.php/Smartphones/Motorola/Droid-X/Droid-X.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SBF will only brick if you got the Verizon official OTA update.

That's rough. Do you know the cause?

I mirrored a copy of the file on my site as well in case it gets taken down from the other site.
http://www.thezengarden.net/files/the_gift.zip
Feel free to grab it if you need.

chammer said:
I mirrored a copy of the file on my site as well in case it gets taken down from the other site.
http://www.thezengarden.net/files/the_gift.zip
Feel free to grab it if you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mirror #2
Note: To anyone reading this around 10:20 PM Mountain Time, I am currently uploading it so if it 404's it's just not fully uploaded.

As a last resort, I'm actually using this file now lol. Currently at 28% on the flashing. Hopefully I can get to 2.2 after this. ;\
Update:
Works fine now. Seems Verizon decided to do maintenance this morning which is why the phone couldn't activate. Had me worried, but activated within 20 seconds this morning after I woke up on the first attempt.

I need to SBF, but I have no idea how...

Hi guys,
I'm a bit lost and unsure what to do.
I installed GummyJar, and like an idiot, didn't read that I need to be on 2.3.320 or 2.3.340.
I was previously on ZapX for 2.2 (purchased phone in early October). So I'm not sure what to do. Is there an SBF that will directly put me on 2.3.340? Would it be wiser to flash to my original SBF (the_gift2.zip I believe), and let my phone automatically get the OTA update?
I'm not really sure what the best thing to do is.
Thank you for any advice and help.

Did you create a back up before you installed Gummy? I know that is praobably a stupid question since you are asking how to SBF -but I thought maybe you didn't think about restoring your backup?
How to perform the sbf:
I did this. It worked for me. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF THIS DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU OR IF YOU MUFF IT UP.
ok- so here is the link that I used as a guide - IMPORTANT!!! - the directions are for restoring 2.1 so you do not do some of the steps! They were the best I could find. I followed them except for things that did not apply.
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/09/21/droid-x-stock-android/
instructions:
1. First off, choose the right version of Motorola USB drivers for your computer and install them (32bit) (64bit)
You probably have already done this.
2. Download & install RSD Lite 4.7 (download)
I did not use 4.7 as it is not current. I used 4.9 download here...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7782384/RSD%20Lite%204.9.rar
3. You will need to patch this after installing. There is an .ini file included in the folder that needs to be placed in your install directory. /Program Files/Motorola/RSD Lite
I used 4.9 and did not have to patch any files- the above step was unnecessary.
4. Download the Droid X Android 2.1 SBF file, which you can find here
of course I used the 2.2 SBF file. Make sure you use the right sbf file or you will really be hosed!!! if you are on 2.2 you can get the full sbf file from here...
http://rootzwiki.com/index.php/Main-Page/Droid-X-Full-2.2-SBF.html
5. Unzip the SBF file to your desktop
i did not unzip mine to the desktop- i put it where i stash my android files- it made no difference.
6. Run RSD Lite, and click the “…” button, then find the SBF file that you just unzipped to your desktop and select it.
Starting here i followed the directions to the "t". Went through all the steps.
!!!!!MAKE SURE YOU START WITH 100% BATTERY!!!!!! It takes a long time and if your phone dies during the process it is a nightmare.
7. Plug your Droid X into your computer and power it down
8. Go into the Bootloader (with phone off, hold the CAMERA button and VOLUME DOWN, then hit the POWER button)
9. After holding for 2-3 seconds, release the buttons and RSD Lite should recognize your Droid X
10. Click the start button to flash Android 2.1 to your phone.
of course we are flashing 2.2
11. When the flashing is complete, unplug your phone
12. The Droid X will likely not boot up all the way, so pull the battery out
Put the battery back into the phone and reboot into Recovery mode ( Hold the HOME button and press POWER until you get an exclamation mark. Release the HOME button and press the SEARCH button)
13. Using the VOLUME UP/DOWN buttons, navigate to “wipe data/ factory reset” option on the screen, and press the CAMERA button halfway down to execute.
When complete, choose to reboot your phone
14. It takes a while. Hope this helps. And I hope it goes smoothly. It was nerve racking for me. After you have finished the process you will not be rooted.
15. good luck.

Thank you very much. An extra question to go along with this.
Once I SBF, I'm assuming I'll be back at stock (ick). How long will it take for the OTA to apply? Can I manually update it from there?

EtherBoo said:
Thank you very much. An extra question to go along with this.
Once I SBF, I'm assuming I'll be back at stock (ick). How long will it take for the OTA to apply? Can I manually update it from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well- of everything goes right you should be able to go to your phone settings, scroll down to the bottom to "About phone", then "System updates". You should be able to manually update from there.
If you get a "your device is up to date message," then something went haywire. Hopefully that won't happen.
Oh yeah - here is the link for "z4root" -you can use it to root your phone after the update...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7782384/z4root.1.3.0.apk
If your phone won't manually update, there is an update.zip floating around here. I have it - but not on the computer I am currently working from -sorry.
Again I want you to know - I am not an expert at this - if something goes wrong I will not be able to help you fix it (probably). I just followed the guide and it worked for me. So if something happens when you follow the guide -I am sorry but I won't be much help.

Thank you. Everything took about 2 hours (SBFing, downloading and installing update, reinstalling apps, etc), and I have the newest Kernel version from the OTA update, and GummyJar 2.5 back on.
I had a bit of trouble SBFing, it kept failing for some reason, but I found a fix via googling around the various Droid forums.
Thank you again, you've been extremely helpful.

Help with Droid X in Buffalo NY
ive tried everything I could for almost a week now.... Stuck in Bootloader Screen 30.04 Err A5,70,70,00,1F MEM_MAP Blank Service Reqd Battery Ok OK To Program..... I came to a Droid X last week from a Rooted for over a year Droid 1 with never a problem flashing... With new Droid X tried to flash Gummy Jar last sat without a wipe ( I know my stupidity thought coming from stock phone could get away with it trying to rush but boy was I wrong) after being stuck at loading gummy jar icons tried to factory reset... been stuck at the bootloader screen since.. tried flashing 1.13.6.2_1sbf and 2.3.32_1FF sbf... got newest drivers and rsd 4.8... ran as administrator... phone never shows either... got it once to do something in rsd saying phone was being programmed with 2.3.32 but when it said finished waited hours never rebooted .... stuck dont know what to do....anyone local want to give it a go email me please [email protected] or try to walk me through what i have to do step by step.... thanks

anyone has AttMusic40.apk ?

2.2 is looking for AttMusic40.apk to continue the installation.
Anyone has this file ?
Thanks

Forget it. Just flash the SBF. But if you really wana then it's attached. Make sure to put in /system/app and don't try to install it from there either just move it and leave it then do the update.

It's not worth the stress. Even though I had the apk I couldn't get past the error. I used the sbf and everything is awesome now.

Thanks guys.
I got past that now it's looking for: BlurSNMessagingEngine.apk
I have no clue how to do a sbf. Don't even know what that is and how to install it.
Are there any tutorials and download link for it?
Until then, how about BlurSNMessagingEngine.apk?

Get the SBF from here: http://modmymobile.com/forums/629-motorola-bravo-general/561492-stock-sbf-file-bravo.html, download RSD Lite, put the sbf file in your C: drive, put your phone into recovery mode, and start flashing. Also, I hope you don't have Windows 7, because RSD doesn't like it.

I'm in this issue too. I backed up (so I thought) all my ATT apps using Titanium. Went to reinstall, and they were all there (with line through), but no actual backup??? Mine too choked on Attmusic40. I download the one from this thread and copied to /system/app. No love, it has a different checksum and fails. This may plague you too.

RSD Lite
I'm pretty new to this too but I can tell you new guys a helpful tip. RSD Lite is the software Motorola uses on their devices to reboot bad SW devices. It's free to download. You have to access Bootloader to get it to work correctly once it's installed on your CPU and running. To do that, power the phone down. Then, power it back up while holding the Volume Up button. That's how I got it going. Once RSD Lite recognizes your phone and you click the button to go, it's pretty automatic from that point on. Just download the SBF. My phone couldn't find AT&T Hotspot Locator.Apk. I realized that I deleted it through Titanium Backup and when I went back to the market to get it, the app itself had been merged into the MyAT&T app. This didn't give me the necessary apk to run the OTA install from AT&T. I even work for the company. Trust the guys up top, the SBF is ten times easier.

bullet358 said:
the SBF is ten times easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true. Go to my thread; it has the downloads and support: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1035778

Droid 2 new ota update

Here is the link to the new update to install just rename to update.zip place on the root of your sdcard then reboot recovery and install update.zip
http://www.4shared.com/file/ov_2h3JM/Blur_Version2320A955VerizonenU.html

Why would someone need to download this, shouldn't everyone be able to update over the air.
FYI really like 2.3 runs very nice on droid2

To answer your question, I would. I recently left verizon and now I cannot get the OTA update. I still use my Droid 2 for android development. I just don't use it for a phone.
That said. I can't use the above update. I SBFed my phone back to stock Froyo System version 2.3.20, installed z4root to load clockworkmod Droid 2 recovery, and finally attempted to flash the above file from the SD card. I get the following error:
assert failed: getprop("ro.product.device") == "cdma_droid2" || getprop("ro.build.product") == "cdma_droid2"
blah blah blah
(Status 7)
From the failed assertions I'm assuming this update doesn't recognize my phone as a Droid 2 and refuses to install the update. Does anyone know why that might be? Like I said I restored to stock before attempting this.

Wait a second. The file linked is called Blur_Version.2.3.20.A955.Verizon. That's the stock Froyo version. Is it called that because you need to be on that version or is this just an older file? I'm confused. Is this or isn't this the just released Gingerbread update?

It's an oddly named file, but the last time I saw that one linked it was the OTA. I still feel one is better off SBFing to stock and downloading it that way.

What's going on, I was following the steps on theunlockr but when I tried to extract the OG firmware my laptop said it was probably damaged, any way I can get the firmware somewhere else? I am running on Fission right now and want to go back to stock so I can scoop this update, it looks pretty nice. Please help me out if you can, thank you.

If you want to go back to stock to force the update the right way, the above file won't help you.
1. Get RSD Lite http://www.multiupload.com/HL0ZAL9GK8
2. Get Moto Drivers http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7632904/USB_Drivers_bit_4.7.1.zip
3. Get Froyo SBF http://bit.ly/dir7fq
Install the Moto Drivers on your pc, then boot into your bootloader and connect via usb. Then run RSD and load the SBF file. Once you complete that, reboot the phone and go to settings > phone info > check for updates. The new GB should be waiting for you, all official like.

Good looking out fam, will check in when finished!

Despite the odd name it is the correct file. But do not use CWM or bootstrap to flash it! Rename it to update.zip on root of sd card then use Stock recovery to flash it.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

You're right it worked! I'm finally gingerbreaded. Thanks so much everyone.

Hello again, so my phone is just stuck on the Droid loading screen (Droid followed by the red symbol) I have no idea what to do although I followed the steps stated above.
**EDIT**
So I was able to fix this problem by wiping the cache as well as my data, thank you all!

idefiler6 said:
If you want to go back to stock to force the update the right way, the above file won't help you.
1. Get RSD Lite
2. Get Moto Drivers
3. Get Froyo SBF
Install the Moto Drivers on your pc, then boot into your bootloader and connect via usb. Then run RSD and load the SBF file. Once you complete that, reboot the phone and go to settings > phone info > check for updates. The new GB should be waiting for you, all official like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this exactly as stated and I cant get me droid 2 to be seen in the RSD. I get a drive letter when I reboot to recovery but nothing shows in RSD. Any ideas? I tried wiping data and cache and did a factory reset still nothing.
Back to a rom manager backup from yesterday atm.

Make sure your phone is in PC Mode (and possibly Debugging Mode) so RSD can recognize it.

JDunc said:
Make sure your phone is in PC Mode (and possibly Debugging Mode) so RSD can recognize it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I made sure I have debugging on and in pc mode. I see Droid 2 when I have my phone powered on but when I reboot in recovery just a drive letter and nothing in RSD.
I just saw this
D2user said:
Despite the odd name it is the correct file. But do not use CWM or bootstrap to flash it! Rename it to update.zip on root of sd card then use Stock recovery to flash it.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must have missed it the first time I read the thread I will try to install it as update.zip through the standard recovery and see if that works.

Ok I was able to get this on my phone with RSD the trick is to have your phone in PC mode and NOT to reboot it yourself the program will do it automatically. I got my phone updated but now it wont even give me the option to download the update OTA.

Yea I could've told you not to manually reboot. So you did a SBF to 2.3.2 and went into Settings > About > and System Updates and got nothing?

Correct I redid the sbf twice more to make sure it took.. when I go to settings > about > and system updates its greyed out.
UPDATE: I dededeee it, forgot to reactivate my phone after sbf the 3rd time. trying the OTA now

Ok phone is upgraded and rerooted.
1. sbf with RSD 3 times till it took
2. upgrade with OTA
3. rerooted with One Button Root
4. replaced progs with titanium
phone is fast right now, lovin it.

Glad you FINALLY got it working. Try out CM7 for GB. Do a backup before doing so and see if you like it. If not you can always restore back.

I think I may have done something wrong. My phone works but it restarts randomly, is there a way I can get it to stop this? Should I start from scratch or just get a different ROM?

Acer 500a Rooted and unable to update

I have an Acer 500a I just bought off carigslist. Initially I thought it would be fine but then I realized I was inheriting someone elses problems. I hope someone may be able to help.
Within the first few hours I was noticing google Play crashed a number of times and struggled to update from Market. Somehow the update went through but now there is a system update that won't go through. I'm able to down load it and when i restart the computer to complete installation the screen goes black and says: booting recovery kernel in the corner. I then see a picture of an android and a load bar which after 2-4 seconds the android is on his back and an exclaimation mark is coming out of his belly.
My android version is 3.2
Kernel version
2.6.36.3+
Build number
Acer_a500_7.006.01_COM_GEN2
I'm pretty sure its rooted and i think that might be why its not playing nice with google market and system updates. I called the old owner and explained the problem and he just said he had it rooted and he thought he unrooted it. There is an ap called superuser in aps. (although if it were rooted would'nt I be able to uninstal some of thecrap software it comes with like GOLF HD? -- it won't let me).
The system update is for Acer_a500_7.014.01_COM_GEN2 8.88mb
My problem is all of the force closes I'm getting and the inability to update the system. Any thoughts? I don't have a usb cord to connect it to a desktop either =(

I am a bit out of practice, but...
Should be pretty simple to fix. From what I am seeing, you are running a stock rom. Just because the superuser.apk is installed on the system does not mean it is rooted, but it probably is.
Hit the market, grab "Root Checker" - simple tiny program to let you know for sure if your tab is rooted or not.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=burrows.apps.rootchecker&hl=en
From what I understand - automatic system updates will fail when trying to apply them to a rooted or modded system. Probably why you cannot auto-update.
My advice at this point would be to:
1) Since you just bought it, just do a factory wipe on it. That will remove all the stuff the prior owner had running on it and will result in a unrooted tab that should be able to get auto updates without a problem.
2) Un-Root it. Once the tablet is unrooted, the system should update without any issue.
As for your Play Store issues - I have never heard of or personally seen any issues caused with installing apps from the store on a rooted device. I have seen a few apps that will refuse to run on a rooted device - but that does not sound like your problem.
I would go with option 1 - just factory wipe the thing. Prior owner may have made tons of changes to the OS that we will never know about, and may have handed you a unstable system. Start fresh. Wipe it out.
Hope this helps you out! Let me know if I can answer any questions.

k thank you so much for the quick reply! I downloaded the root checker and it Is rooted. I did a factory wipe as found in the settings privacy tab when I bought it. That factory reset did not unroot and only cleaned out some of the aps on the device. Is there a better or more surefire way to unroot it? If I reset with the volume down key will it hard reset it?
Thank you for you help!
Draight

Okay.
I am about a year out of practice with my a500 - but from what I am think, if a factory reset still results in a rooted device - the prior user installed a stock ROM that comes pre-rooted.
I highly doubt being rooted is causing the issues you are running into.
At this point if you just want to get back to stock you can probably just install the Acer Recovery Manager from the market and use it to reflash a stock unrooted ROM. Or I see a few guides about how to manually restore back to stock over in the dev section for the a500.
Others will correct me if I am wrong, but I think Acer Recovery Manager should take care of your problem.
Hope this helps!
(Edit: Or you can just download the official stock 4.x rom (ICS) from the dev section and flash that. 3.2 is pretty slow and wonky in my experience, you should be able to just download a 4.x ROM and flash, since you are rooted. Again, I am way out of practice. Don't do anything before reading up!)
(Edit again: I think I was making this harder then needs be. Just flash any stock 3.2 unrooted ROM, done. After you do that the automatic on the air update should kick in for you and update you to ICS)

Thanks for taking the time to work with me on this. I downloaded the program you suggested and tried to use a stock rom. When i went to reboot I had a picture of an android looking up at an exclaimation mark. It was froze like that until I restarted it. Now its back to the way it was, rooted and unupdatable.
I'm probably going to try to just wipe it all over but do i need to plug it into my computer somehow? I dont have a usb connector for the tablet, just the wall charger plugin. can i just download a rom and use the utility to try install it? when I reboot it am I supposed to be pressing the volume button?
I've read a few other forums but usually they sound pretty intense...

draight said:
Thanks for taking the time to work with me on this. I downloaded the program you suggested and tried to use a stock rom. When i went to reboot I had a picture of an android looking up at an exclaimation mark. It was froze like that until I restarted it. Now its back to the way it was, rooted and unupdatable.
I'm probably going to try to just wipe it all over but do i need to plug it into my computer somehow? I dont have a usb connector for the tablet, just the wall charger plugin. can i just download a rom and use the utility to try install it? when I reboot it am I supposed to be pressing the volume button?
I've read a few other forums but usually they sound pretty intense...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm..
Try the thread I linked two in my second edit of my last post. You just need to grab the stock and unrooted 3.2 - put it on a MicroSD card as update.zip - then reboot with vol rocker and power switch to get the system to flash the update.
That *should* work just fine.
(Edit: Forgot the link! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839313 - there you go)

Thankw, I am going to try it after readingna bit more. Do I need to have clockworkmod installed for all of this?

draight said:
Thankw, I am going to try it after readingna bit more. Do I need to have clockworkmod installed for all of this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Just snag the stock unrooted 3.2 ROM - place it in the root of the MicroSD card as update.zip
Power down.
Power up with VOL + and POWER key held at the same time (you can let the vol rocker go when you see text appear in the upper left corner)
Should be all you need to do. Worst case; it does not work and returns you back to where you are now. Worth a shot.
If that does not work, let me know so I can do a few mins of homework and help you further. Been a long time since I have changed ROMS or had any issues with my a500.
I have bricked it twice by not following directions all the way or just making simple mistakes, but from what I have found there is always a way to recover.

Just tried it. I copied the boot zip to sd card and renamed update.zip and reset..It looked like it was going to download after showing some text in the corner and then an exclamation mark appeared above the androids head... I left it and after a few.min it rebooted back

draight said:
Just tried it. I copied the boot zip to sd card and renamed update.zip and reset..It looked like it was going to download after showing some text in the corner and then an exclamation mark appeared above the androids head... I left it and after a few.min it rebooted back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm. Odd.
Like I said, I am rather out of practice.
Someone more experienced them me: please help me point Draight in the right direction here?

Thanks for trying to help. =(
I wish that my tablet wasn't having such issues. I;m going to try to scramble around the forums and see if I can find some advice...If anyone has a suggestion please let me know.
Thanks again entropy,
Draight

Update:
So I've been tinkering around with it a bit more and I found a usb cord that plugs it into my computer. I keep finding boken links on this site so Im struggling to find an update I can use to flash to. I downloaded a different super user program which allowed me to temporarily unroot my device. I then restarted it and no root checker says its no rooted and I cannot find the superuser program. I think I have somewhat unrooted it -- but I think the real issue now is the recovery tool. I keep reseting it - hard reset, or factory reset and it wipes everything away but when i try to update it gets about 1/3 of the way up the bar then it stops with an '!' Mark above the droid. Im kind of annoyed at this point and hoping for some new links or some ideas on how to repair the recovery piece.
Draight

Go to the Dev section, and grad a couple of the ICS Update roms. You will see them listed for the a500. Make sure they are the FULL update roms. Should be about 3-400mb. These contain a FULL ICS Update Rom, and not a patch file.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1816560
Then, go to the Themes and apps forum. You'll see a sticky that has the Acer Update Decrypter.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1869505
Now, unpack the decrypter, and select one of the ICS Updates. Then hit Start. Take a couple minutes, but you will have a duplicate file with the word "decrypted" added to it.
Wait, you are not done yet.
Using a program like 7zip, or even Winzip, open the decrypted file. DO NOT EXTRACT, just open it and pull the update.zip to your PC's desktop.
Copy that update.zip file to your Ext SD Card of the tablet. Don't be putting it in any folder, just copy it to the root of the card.
Now, you still ain't done.
With the tablet off. Press and hold Vol+ and then PWR. Hold them both untill you start to see text about installing blah blah blah, then release the buttons.
If it completes, and you can reboot into ICS, then you are good to go.
If something fails during installation, then decrypt the other update Rom file you downloaded, and do the same procedure. Usually one of the 2 or three should work for you.
Note these are for the a500, and not the a501.
One more thing. It's advisable you get your UID number before doing these things. You probably won't need it, but it's nice to have written down in case you need it in the future. Inf to get it is at;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1624645
MD

Thanks! I am downloading a few of the FULL ICS roms:
*Acer_A500_1.031.00_WW_GEN1 : http://d-h.st/uAy
Acer_A500_1.031.00_PA_CUS1: http://d-h.st/idO
Acer_A500_1.041.00_WW_CUS1: http://d-h.st/Yt5
*Acer_AV041_1.054.00_WW_GEN1: http://www.theandroidcollective.org/...00_WW_GEN1.zip
*Acer_A500_7.014.16_041.206.01_COM_GEN1: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_bk...hVc1RVcHc/edit
The I downloaded the ones ending with Gen1. Once they are downloaded I will continue with the instructions. Thank you so much for your help! I will post how it goes later tonight.
Draight

I just decrypted both:
*Acer_AV041_1.054.00_WW_GEN1:
*Acer_A500_1.031.00_WW_GEN1
Both get get to the third bullet quickly and the bottom says DONE! It takes like 4 seconds. I don't think the Decryption key of $12 is working
[*] Opening file: Acer_A500_1.031.00_WW_GEN1.zip
[*] Decrypting using key $12
[*] Writing decrypted file: Acer_A500_1.031.00_WW_GEN1_decrypted.zip
I try to extract something from the decrypted file and it says the file was not downloaded properly and I should try redownload it...it says its not a proper archive

wahoo!
So that worked! I down loaded the file Acer_AV041_A500_1.033.00_PA_CUS1 and extracted the update. I palced the update on the sd card and booted with the power and sound volume pressed down. it went through the installation procedure and restarted twice before saying it was upgrading my aps and BOOM its got ICS and everything looks great. Thank you so much for your help and I hope that this paper trail is able to help someone in the future

My problem is that I'm on ICS and I'm rooted, but I just can't download a custom recovery. I've tried, and I haven't gotten anywhere
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