How to fix a soft brick - Acer Iconia A500

Hi all,
I'm don't own one of these tablets but my brother does. He soft bricked his (only boots to the acer screen and recovery) trying to upgrade from honeycomb to the unofficial cm10. He apparently didn't do very much reading and didn't learn that he had to upgrade the bootloader before he could run the rom. Now I can get into to twrp but restoring with his back up (I'm surprised he made one) does not work, nor do the update zips, or even flashing another honeycomb rom. Do you have a way, like odin for my galaxy note, to get this thing booted up? Or is there a way to put the right bootloader on this without being able to start the system? APX has to happen with the tablet up and going as far as I can tell.
Sorry all, I hate posting in this, but I've been reading for hours and messing with it but no luck. Any help would be amazing.

Or if you're interested in buying it from me for like $200 and fixing it yourself, let me know. He was thinking of upgrading his tablet anyway and I've pull out so much of my hair already.

Check root guide in my sig.
You need tdv4 its a custom EUU upgrade tool used for unbricking
Before u do anything you also need yr 'cpuid' a 15 digit number there should be a txt file in the nandroid backup yr brother made.
If not best see cpuid guide also in my sig....
tdv4 is pre rooted HC 3.2 and should get u up an running..
Have a breather then u can unlock the bootloader (all in the guide) and flash a custom ics or jb rom!!

Thanks so much. Your guides should make all the difference. We're going to be back at it tonight, I'll let you know how it goes!

Related

Please Help im a nub :(

well get myself a second hand a500 32gb, with 3.2.1 on it...
im a total nub with this and the only tab ive rooted is an archos 7 G2 and all i had to do was put the update.zip on the sd card and it rooted/flashed itself.
How the hell do i do this to my a500, i really need to use ad-hoc as its the only way i can get the internet on it.
any guides need to be retard proof. i have the rom i want to use already lightspeed ICS. Ive put it on the sd card dont the power and V- but nothing happend i just get the android green robot thing with an ! on him :/
TIA
Foxor.
hmmm if i install the ICS update would i loose all my app/games/photos?
if i didnt could i then use the root tool for the leaked version to root my tab?
Use timmydean's method. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1307539 this will put you with a rooted 3.2.1
Works like a charm, and is as easy as following the PDF instructions. I have used it for my A500 and just used it today on the wifes as well.
It will wipe your data so backup your apps with Titanium or the likes to external sd card.
You can then flash the ROM of your choice in CWM recovery.
Read the instructions TWICE for the ROM you are going to flash. And make sure to do a full backup of the rooted rom incase anything goes wrong.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2
i'm a noob too
Hi I got my a500 on Wednesday and read heaps of posts, so many my eyes are fall in out, lol.
My tab updated itself to 3.2.1 which I found out cannot be rooted without a custom rom??and to get a custom rom on it, u need to be rooted.
Waiting to update to ics, but ain't got it yet, so I,m stuck too. At least ics can be rooted so waiting impatiently for that ota update so I can start having fun, good luck
Yeah thus is my first tablet also. Guess each device is a little different. Gotta learn another device.

I bought a used A500 that was already rooted.

I bought it and it appears to have ICS because the Android version is 4.0.3 but that is all I really know right now. I expect that it was never updated OTA though because the guy I bought it off had it for 2 months and he was not the one who rooted it. I was going to leave it as is because I bought it for my 10 year old daughter...but the camera takes very blurry, kind of grainy looking pictures.
I am not afraid to root because I had a Samsung Fascinate and I loved the custom roms I downloaded to it. It had been over a year since i had the Fascinate so i am a little rusty when it comes to all if this. My problem is not knowing where to start with this A500 because I am unsure what has already been done to it.
The guy who sold it to me said he did a factory restore, but when I ran the check root app it does state that it's rooted and I figured it was because there is a app called superuser on the device. I don't know what kernal it has. I don't know if it has a bootloader and/or the version number. I don't know if it has CWM and/or the version. number.
What is the best way to proceed? By the way, the tablet is very clean with absolutely no scratches anywhere. Not a bad buy for $175 with a leather case...
Setting > About tablet. That should tell you quite a bit of info about it no?
download the acer recovery app , it will tell you what Bootloader you have and what recovery
Thanks for the replies! When I get home I will check. I don't want to brick the thing. I ordered a micro SD today and I will get it in 2 days so there is no hurry for me to proceed. Is it worth it to keep it rooted? Is the OTA ICS good enough? I don't think my daughter cares if the tablet is overclocked but if the roms are much better than stock than I would keep it rooted and then download a preferred rom.
Vintage144, in another post you specified that there is a Acer recovery beta...will I need that or would I just get the one from google play? Also when I find out which version of recovery and bootloader I have...I am not sure what to do with the information. Could AfterOta help me accomplish what I want if my goal is to try and fix her camera issue...either by going back to stock or updating the kernal and rom.
I don't want to seem like a noob but my only rooting experience was with my Fascinate which I did everything from stock. Now that I am not coming from stock, I am unsure where to go with what I have. It's like trying to get to a goal but not sure what step to start at. If I was starting from stock I could follow some of the threads here but it's not stock.
What info will I need to post here to let you guys know what is in my A500? I know that the Android version is 4.0.3 , what else will I need to post?
well the beta copy I believe is at thors tegra forum , but its by euclids brother (thats his name on xda) anyway if you've upgraded your BL it will tell you version you have and might give you accurate Recovery as well, if the device is only for your daughter and she's too young to really do anything I would stick with a stock rom and realistically I would upgrade the boot loader , why be left behind?
Theres no reason to root if you dont plan on doing anything major with it,that being said you wont be able to get a newer Boot Loader or custom recovery without it, and custom recovery is well worth the effort!
You guys are the pros so I will take your advise. I don't mind it being rooted and if there are some really nice roms I expect my daughter would like the different looks...it would seperate hers from others.
Android
4.0.3
Kernel version
2.6.39.4+
Image version
Acer_AV041_A500_RV16RB02_WW_GEN1
Build number
KJY2010lcylicious
Anything else I will get when I get home.
I would like to know how to get through all this in case I decide to get myself a A500 it's a really nice tablet.
Okay
Recovery Version: Revamped for Iconia 3.16
Bootloader Version: 3.01
With all the above information what would be my next step?
Sorry
Recovery Version: RA Revamed for Iconia 3.16
Damn auto correct!!!
You're already running an older custom rom...
You have root - your words not mine...
You can download another custom rom, put it on the sd card/ internal memory and reboot into recovery. You need to wipe cache, dalvik cache and do a data wipe(factory reset) after which you can install zip from sd card. Go to the rom zip file you put there and install...
Wait until it boots...
I don't know if you're running the new ICS bootloaders or not.
BEFORE FLASHING - make a nandroid backup. If things go bad then you can go back and restore the tab to before the flash...
It's worth getting your CPUID and keeping it safe somewhere and you might think about installing the ICS bootloaders (I'd do it just to be sure I have them) but thats you're choice...
Good luck...
ultramag69 said:
You're already running an older custom rom...
You have root - your words not mine...
You can download another custom rom, put it on the sd card/ internal memory and reboot into recovery. You need to wipe cache, dalvik cache and do a data wipe(factory reset) after which you can install zip from sd card. Go to the rom zip file you put there and install...
Wait until it boots...
I don't know if you're running the new ICS bootloaders or not.
BEFORE FLASHING - make a nandroid backup. If things go bad then you can go back and restore the tab to before the flash...
It's worth getting your CPUID and keeping it safe somewhere and you might think about installing the ICS bootloaders (I'd do it just to be sure I have them) but thats you're choice...
Good luck...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably want to hold off on flashing roms a second.
He's running an HC Bootloader. I'm 99% sure of this. Reason, RA Revamped 3.16 doesn't work with ICS Bootloaders. So you can install an ICS Rom, but, it has to be an ICS Rom for the HC Bootloader. And the performance under HC BL is not near as good as ICS BL.
I would do like UltraMag mentioned as far as install steps and such. It's how we install roms.
Check this thread;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1622425 (steps 1-6)
, and install an unlocked ICS Bootloader and a CWM 7 or 7.2 recovery. Then install one of the Roms made for the ICS Bootloader.
I know AfterOTA will do some of this for you. But this thread gives a good idea of what's going on.
Thanks for your help. I will be getting my micro sd card on Friday. In the mean time I will do a bunch of reading about the things you guys told me to do...again thanks a lot. I really appreciate the help.
I am the kind of person that really wants to know what I am doing...I don't expect all the answers, I just don't want to brick this device.
Forstir9,
Moscow Desire is a great dev on this board, his information about updating the bootloader is dead on. I recommend reading the entire OP in that thread, and then re-read section listed as Automated Flashing Tools, it really helps tremendously if you are a person familiar with root, but not extremely dynamic with making these changes.
I've rooted several BN Nooks and my A500 many many times and love it. I had the Honeylicious ROM that you listed prior to what I'm currently running. KYJ had a great HC ROM with that one! Personal preference currently for me on the ICS ROM is FLEXREAPER from Civato, poster of the referenced article from MD above, you can find that ROM info here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22964651&postcount=1 Lots of cool features and step by step directions, which are what UltraMag69 listed in their post. There are many many different options though and I recommend reviewing several and then settling in on one when you find the one that fits your (or your daughter's) preferences best.
If you enjoy doing this and playing with the tablet your daughter may not keep it and may end up getting something different, because you may have too much fun with it...good luck, have fun, don't be scared to try things and ask questions (after you read first), and most importantly BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP...
Good luck,
-DB
Let me get this straight then.
1) boot into recovery and make a nandroid backup.
2) within that backup I should be able to find the CPUID on my sdcard...I will want to write this down and the write it down again somewhere else...out this number on my phone and computer...pretty much don't lose this number.
3) follow steps 1-6 from the link that Moscow Desire posted.
I am going to go with the Flexreaper rom...should I go with the extreme one or is there another Flexreaper rom that isn't extreme?
4) I think the 6 steps above will install a ICS bootloader
5) find and install the newest recovery
I only have 2 questions
How many of these steps does the Afterota app get Rid of?
Should I use the Acer recovery app to install the bootloader and/or the recovery?
forstir9 said:
Let me get this straight then.
1) boot into recovery and make a nandroid backup.
2) within that backup I should be able to find the CPUID on my sdcard...I will want to write this down and the write it down again somewhere else...out this number on my phone and computer...pretty much don't lose this number.
3) follow steps 1-6 from the link that Moscow Desire posted.
I am going to go with the Flexreaper rom...should I go with the extreme one or is there another Flexreaper rom that isn't extreme?
4) I think the 6 steps above will install a ICS bootloader
5) find and install the newest recovery
I only have 2 questions
How many of these steps does the Afterota app get Rid of?
Should I use the Acer recovery app to install the bootloader and/or the recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off. Thanks for thinking I am the "God" of the 501". Yeah, I know it pretty well.
Second, Ultramag, is is one of my right hand men. So I suggest you heed his advice well. I always trust his judgement. Am sure he has puled my arse out of the wringer a few times. Well, maybe not, but you get the picture. Some of us on XDA, support each other. That's how it is. I just noticed the bootloader version, And being one who likes flashing experimental code, well, I noticed.
So;
1. ALWAYS make a recovery backup. Then, restore it to make sure it works. (lots of people don't do this and they get fubar'd later).
2. UID. Seriously. Ok, the link on the many ways to get it. You don't want to get it, well... your;e pretty much fubar'd
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1624645
3. He has the normal, and one with a kernel you can overclock. Your choice. Really, if you don't OC, then you run the same as the original. Please don't ask me the names of Civatos roms. The extreme will be fine for you. Just don't overclock it if you don't want to. Only difference is the kernel. Not the OS.
4. Yes.
5. For recovery, I would say CWM 1.7.2. Should work for you. 1.7.0 is also ok. Publick recovery is ok too.
6. Never ran After OTA. But hear it is good when you already have ICS.
Forget AcerRecovery. You will already have bootloaders and recovery installed.
MD
Know I'll probably get a bashing out of this but there's a V1.7.3 recovery on the site that must not be named (cough, tegraowners, cough) that supports the Aroma installer - on Thor's ICS rom anyway...
Just thought I'd throw that in too...
I am ready to do a backup...it's asking me what I want to backup...it has a (X) next to the following...
Boot
System
Data
Cache
Flexrom
Is this correct the way it is?
EDIT: ignore this post I didn't see page 2 -_-
Sorry that I didn't post this in Friday...but I really want to thank everyone for their help. It went very easy and it want too much different than my fascinate.
The camera still takes grainy pictures and a few apps has sounds issues but she really likes the rom a lot.
Thanks again for the help.

A500 Unable to boot to any new ROM

Hi, apologies at first if this was posted before. I tried searching a lot.
Acer Iconia A500.
I have been using FLEXREAPER custom rom for the last 6 months. installed any updated rom i can find.
Few days ago I found FLEXREAPER released FLEXREAPER-RELIX_rev5 ANDROID 4.0.3, downloaded the rom on my 2GB SD card, wiped everything, tried installing.
Installation showed successfully finished. reboot.
Stuck on the first ACER LOGO screen.
Wiped everything off. installed again. reboot.
Stuck on the first ACER LOGO screen.
Downloaded a few other ROM, such as, RE-FLEXxx ANDROID 4.0.4 ROM, Evil-Alex-Unleashed, JELLYTIME_AOSP_BUILD_5.
Installed. Stuck on the first ACER LOGO screen.
tried finding the ROM that I was using last. could not remember the name, so I found an older ROM, FLEXSTRIKER-FINAL-BASE-2-R8-3GusbIntegrated.
installed. Perfectly booting. no issue whats so ever. That means I did not brick the device.
updated CWM to CWM-based Recovery v5.5.0.x(thor2002ro rev1.7), the touch screen one.
went the whole process of trying to install with all the new roms I have downloaded. Same exact issue.
Stuck on the first ACER LOGO screen.
tired installed the OLD (FLEXSTRIKER-FINAL-BASE-2-R8-3GusbIntegrated.) rom, works FINE.
tried Fix Permissions from CWM advanced menu. tried the whole process again. same issue.
I am loosing my mind. any HELP?
btw, please be patient with me as I do not understand the Android terminology that good.
I always followed tutorial instructions as it is.
just half an hour ago, I tried to install RE-FLEXxx ANDROID 4.0.4 ROM from a different SD card( thinking maybe the sd card has something to do it) , Same issue.
#1. You must be on the unlocked ICS boot loader. Instrustions in the dev section.
#2. Upgrade your recovery to version 1.7.3.
Do those two things and you should be good to go.
Rippster said:
#1. You must be on the unlocked ICS boot loader. Instrustions in the dev section.
#2. Upgrade your recovery to version 1.7.3.
Do those two things and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
guide for unlocking ICS boot loder
[GUIDE]A500/501/G100W-Installing ICS V8 UNL-BL & CWM Or back to HC BL(24-6-2012)
Should i follow this guide? or is there a less scary guide? would you kindly point out if there is any?
I am assuming you have been running honeycomb based ROM, you can't upgrade android versions without upgrading boot loader.
Yes follow that guide, that's what pretty much everyone has done to upgrade the boot loader, you have to have ICS unlocked boot loader to run almost all ICS ROMs, and jellybean ROMs, unless they provide an alternative kernel for honeycomb boot loader.. which developers have stopped supporting, so if you want to be able to keep up to date, and install the latest ROMs, you need to upgrade boot loader, the directions seems overwhelming at first, but trust me its very easy takes like 5min.
Sent from my A500 using xda app-developers app
iamtapu said:
guide for unlocking ICS boot loder
[GUIDE]A500/501/G100W-Installing ICS V8 UNL-BL & CWM Or back to HC BL(24-6-2012)
Should i follow this guide? or is there a less scary guide? would you kindly point out if there is any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a good guide to go by. And trust me, if you have any issues, I am confident we can help you.
The issue, is the Bootloader. To run any ICS based rom, including my own (Evil Alex), you have to have an ICS Bootloader. That's just how it is.
The bootloader is included with every "stock" rom. Call it the security measure and OS launcher. With HC based roms, everything was more or less in order., When ICS came, Acer changed the rules. As they usually do.
A new bootloader was introduced, and it communicated more with the Android Kernel. So, after some hacked kernels, which was ok, it was decided the bootloader needed to be hacked, And so, the unlocked ICS bootloader came about, But, this meant some rules.
1. ICS roms run on ICS bootloader (unless they have a hacked kernel, which is really not so good)
2. Honeycomb based roms will not run on an ICS Unlocked Bootloader. So don't even think about it.
So, you have to upgrade your bootloader to the unlocked V8. Don't worry. These days, the 500/501 are pretty much "bulletproof", so you don't have to worry about bricking your tab.
Just remember. Your UID number before you do anything. So write it down somewhere. After your ICS upgrade, get your UID and write it again. Call it your golden key to life.
MD
Moscow Desire said:
You have a good guide to go by. And trust me, if you have any issues, I am confident we can help you.
Just remember. Your UID number before you do anything. So write it down somewhere. After your ICS upgrade, get your UID and write it again. Call it your golden key to life.
MD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot mate for you reply.
I am on a 8 night in a row shift and do not have a Windows laptop so that I can follow the instruction at work.
Will get a windows lappy tomorrow at work and will start doing it.
Will buzz you guys back if I hit a wall.
iamtapu said:
Thanks a lot mate for you reply.
I am on a 8 night in a row shift and do not have a Windows laptop so that I can follow the instruction at work.
Will get a windows lappy tomorrow at work and will start doing it.
Will buzz you guys back if I hit a wall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a lot guys.
I guess it worked.
I installed the Evil-Alex-Unleashed.
I guess that's it. right?

[Q] unbricking selfbricked stock A500

My colleague brought his stock A500 to me in a bricked condition last week.
I need a way to restore it. If I try to do a wipe it will say bootloader error if i try the recovery the droid falls down with the red sign with the exclamation mark.
This tablet has never been rooted, my colleague is not in to such things, it's lived its life with ordinary acer otas and the occational very young human (5 year old) trial wich it has survived.
He has installed all the OTAs he ever got on the tablet and this is in Sweden so it would probably be a 4.0.3 acer stock on it now.
I'm guessing it has died during a OTA or something. if i turn it on it will sit at the acer logo indefinitly.
I Bricked my A500 during a rooting atempt resulting in me needed to flash a stock rom to get it working again, but i cant find the thread i read to un-brick my A500.
Please Help!
try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839313
dibb_nz wrote:
try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839313
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that thread seems to hold all i need, although i can't do a full wipe. when i do the flipswitch wipe procedure it halts with bootloader error
Im hoping to just be able to flash the stock rom from the link you gave me. Is it entirely necessary to do the wipe prior to flash? can i wipe it afterwards?
Hogbola said:
Well that thread seems to hold all i need, although i can't do a full wipe. when i do the flipswitch wipe procedure it halts with bootloader error
Im hoping to just be able to flash the stock rom from the link you gave me. Is it entirely necessary to do the wipe prior to flash? can i wipe it afterwards?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we're assuming the tab is full stock and currently on ICS...
and we're assuming he never tried to 'fix' his tab by flashing one thing or another...
the bootloader error worries me...what exactly does it say...
Yes the wipes are really important!! and not being able to use the button method to do so is concerning...
what happens with the Over The Air (OTA) updates is its just that...an update...it leaves all your settings/data intact. When you OTA from one build to another, like Gingerbread 3.0 to Honeycomb 3.1/2 and then to ICS 4.0 - you drag all your apps and settings with you and of course some things that work with 3.2 will not work under ICS....fjor instance, lots of folk had trouble with wifi disconnects, once they got to ICS - or they had apps force closing and other 'glitches'. This is why everyone tells you to do the wipes - as this fixes these things! In the case of stock ICS my gmail would f/c all the time no matter how many times I wiped/formatted....So for a smooth running tab - flash a custom rom!!!!!!
But getting back to you...
From that link i gave you...download the 3.1_Full.zip....its decrypted so just extract it and get the "update.zip" from it..
This "update.zip" is not an incremental "update" but the full stock rom....
once installed you'll be on GB you will need to root it with iconia root and then use acer recovery installer to flash cwm....(get these from the playstore)
do a backup or adb devices so you can get your CPUID....this is important...if anything goes wrong at any stage this is the only thing that will get you unbricked....see the cpuid link in my sig for more on this, please take the time to read it, even if it doesnt make much sense to you, read it anyway....
AFTER you have retrieved your cpuid, you can nvflash the patched bootloader/recovery pkg which means you are able to flash ICS/JB custom roms
they cannot be flashed via cwm like normal...you must use nvFlash to do it....
OR
take the OTA route to ICS...this takes a bit of time...I did it last week and it was a good 6-7 hours to go from GB to ICS
there are pre-rooted stock roms if you wanna stay stock see civato's stock rom thread for that here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1633907
official stock rom list by blackthund3r are here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1816560
civs guide to flashing the unlocked bootloader here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1622425
I am in a similar situation. Push the power button and it goes to a screen with white acer on black and stays there. Totally stock ICS, no root. I tried the update.zip thing and after automatically rebooting it says "Boot verified failed...". I don't have my cpuid, or have installed previously CWM or anything like that. I can get into APX mode. This guy here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751978 could only get into APX with no cpuid as well, but i don't understand all of the ubuntuu and command line stuff. I would love for someone to be able to walk a dummy like me through this mess. Thanks for any help.
if u got boot verified fail error you need nvFlash to repair that....as u know, with nvflash you need yr cpuid....wot about usbdeview? if you've never plugged yr tab into yr PC - then it won't work and the ONLY other way is Linux....
might be best to start yr own thread with a descriptive title, not just a help I'm bricked no uid, thread there are hundreds of those....the more effort u put into the title the more likely you will attract the attention of someone who can actually help...and remember you just don't need a bit of help but a blow by blow description of what to do and how....this will be very time consuming....at the very least get ubuntu installed, maybe just try a few things, anything to show you are capable of at least giving it a go yourself..
there are others who would like 2 know how to do this as well...having a specific thread of its own would be great
good luck
dibb
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Actually, I have connected it to my PC before. Only for transferring media though. If I've done that, is the some way to retrieve my cpuid from the PC?
yup...usbdeview.zip see the bottom of the OP in the cpuid guide in my sig
Thanks alot for your help. I used usbdeview and got my cpuid. Now I should use nvflash? Know where a good step by step is for that one?
you could try the one in my sig??
dibb_nz said:
you could try the one in my sig??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. Sorry, I didn't notice that before. Thanks again for your direction.
"To install one of these roms you will need a custom recovery and to get that you must flash the patched bootloader FIRSt - once its patched you can install a recovery any old way you like"
Looking at that guide, would you please tell me what a custom recovery is and how to get one? Btw, I don't plan to do a custom ROM yet, I just want to get the damn thing working first. Was thinking of using the HC EUUs from the firmware files list. However there are two files, a .rar and a .exe listed. Which do i use?
NvigR8 said:
Right. Sorry, I didn't notice that before. Thanks again for your direction.
"To install one of these roms you will need a custom recovery and to get that you must flash the patched bootloader FIRSt - once its patched you can install a recovery any old way you like"
Looking at that guide, would you please tell me what a custom recovery is and how to get one? Btw, I don't plan to do a custom ROM yet, I just want to get the damn thing working first. Was thinking of using the HC EUUs from the firmware files list. However there are two files, a .rar and a .exe listed. Which do i use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The .rar EUU is for an A500, the .exe is for the A501, which do you have?
I've got the a500. However, I decided to go with a custom ICS rom after all. I managed to put a new bootloader and custom recovery on using the a500apx flash tool. That part went fine. I flashed this rom:
Acer_AV041_A500_1.054.00_WW_GEN1-FULL-ROOT (original odex)
and that appeared to go well according to twrp, but after rebooting, it just shows the bootloader again and stops there. Not sure what i did wrong.
I renamed the rom update.zip. Should i not have done that?
well congrats for getting thru the flash process with no probs!!!
as far as renaming to update.zip that was not such a good move...hopefully things havent been screwed up too much
just go back into recovery and do a FULL wipe/format
then to flash use the option "install from zip file" not sure where that is in TWRP but it will have one
Okay. I will reflash the rom after completely wiping again. Thanks.
On a different note, why do roms require particular bootloaders?
Also different, how do you like your SGS3? If i can manage to fix this thing, perhaps I'll root my phone...
NvigR8 said:
Okay. I will reflash the rom after completely wiping again. Thanks.
On a different note, why do roms require particular bootloaders?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock ICS BL is encrypted - more or less - the only way to 'flash' a recovery or rom is to have the "key" that "unlocks" - it more or less - if you dont use the right key then the OS will not boot - the 'key' is based on your cpuid which is why everyone is forever telling you to save it somewhere safe....
Also different, how do you like your SGS3? If i can manage to fix this thing, perhaps I'll root my phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I enjoy the big screen, took awhile to get used to it in my hand, kept dropping it....then I ran it over with my 44tonne truck after 3 days and munted it!!!!
I have a case for it now, and its gr8 - I havent installed a rom on it yet...the forums over there are jampacked and I have no idea what I'm doing, lol - its the first android device I've had that I've left stock for so long...but it does what I want...the camera is awesome -burst mode is the bomb - BUT do I think it was worth the money???? Still on the fence about that one.....
Ouch. Sorry to read about running over your phone. That would kill me. I really like my SGS3. I think I'll look into rooting it just to be able to back it up and get rid of the bloatware. I did that on my Captivate and prior to today, thats all I've ever done modding wise to an android device.
So, I managed to get my tab up and running again. Yay! I reflashed the rom w/out changing the name and worked like a charm. Now If only I knew why this happened in the first place... Thanks for all your help.
NvigR8 said:
Ouch. Sorry to read about running over your phone. That would kill me. I really like my SGS3. I think I'll look into rooting it just to be able to back it up and get rid of the bloatware. I did that on my Captivate and prior to today, thats all I've ever done modding wise to an android device.
So, I managed to get my tab up and running again. Yay! I reflashed the rom w/out changing the name and worked like a charm. Now If only I knew why this happened in the first place... Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh sometimes happens with the tab for some reason - thank your lucky stars it didn't get stuck in apx mode...if that happens its normally a hardware fault so theres not alot u can do...I'm just pleased you got sorted without too much drama and it was as easy as reflashing the zip....so now you have the v8 BL - you're gold!!!
dibb_nz said:
we're assuming the tab is full stock and currently on ICS...
and we're assuming he never tried to 'fix' his tab by flashing one thing or another...
the bootloader error worries me...what exactly does it say...
Yes the wipes are really important!! and not being able to use the button method to do so is concerning...
what happens with the Over The Air (OTA) updates is its just that...an update...it leaves all your settings/data intact. When you OTA from one build to another, like Gingerbread 3.0 to Honeycomb 3.1/2 and then to ICS 4.0 - you drag all your apps and settings with you and of course some things that work with 3.2 will not work under ICS....fjor instance, lots of folk had trouble with wifi disconnects, once they got to ICS - or they had apps force closing and other 'glitches'. This is why everyone tells you to do the wipes - as this fixes these things! In the case of stock ICS my gmail would f/c all the time no matter how many times I wiped/formatted....So for a smooth running tab - flash a custom rom!!!!!!
But getting back to you...
From that link i gave you...download the 3.1_Full.zip....its decrypted so just extract it and get the "update.zip" from it..
This "update.zip" is not an incremental "update" but the full stock rom....
once installed you'll be on GB you will need to root it with iconia root and then use acer recovery installer to flash cwm....(get these from the playstore)
do a backup or adb devices so you can get your CPUID....this is important...if anything goes wrong at any stage this is the only thing that will get you unbricked....see the cpuid link in my sig for more on this, please take the time to read it, even if it doesnt make much sense to you, read it anyway....
AFTER you have retrieved your cpuid, you can nvflash the patched bootloader/recovery pkg which means you are able to flash ICS/JB custom roms
they cannot be flashed via cwm like normal...you must use nvFlash to do it....
OR
take the OTA route to ICS...this takes a bit of time...I did it last week and it was a good 6-7 hours to go from GB to ICS
there are pre-rooted stock roms if you wanna stay stock see civato's stock rom thread for that here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1633907
official stock rom list by blackthund3r are here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1816560
civs guide to flashing the unlocked bootloader here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1622425
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When i do the wipe it says
Code:
Erasing userdata...
Code:
Unrecoverable bootloader error (0x19000008)
Unrecoverable bootloader error (0x19000008)
Hogbola said:
When i do the wipe it says
Code:
Erasing userdata...
Code:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I googled your error - the consensus from what I read is a corrupt OS due to running OTA updates...
Some had luck with rebooting. Others had to send it to Acer.
Did you run the update.zip? so what happens when you run the update.zip
Are you able to get into "apx mode"? If you can, hook up to your PC and see if your tab is recognised as an "apx device" - check "Hardware, Printers in win7"
Thats all I can suggest atm - if your tab does get into apx mode OK then you can find your cpuid by running Linux -
Maybe ask the guy if he's ever had the tab hooked up to his PC like to transfer files and stuff - get him to download "USBdeview" to his PC -
this will show every single device thats ever been connected to the PC and it will show the "cpuid"...
Even if we do get the uid theres no guarantee it will fix the bootloader error - but we may as well explore all the options we can....
dibb_nz said:
USBDeview will only work when you have previously plugged your tab into the PC WHILE you were running HC Rom and BL
1. If you haven't plugged your tab into this pc before, do so now, before you run the program. HC ROM/BL ONLY
1a. Run the exe and you will be presented with a window of all the USB devices you have ever plugged into your computer.
2. Click on "VendorID" column along the top to sort them
3. Look for the number "0502" under Vendor ID AND "3325" Product ID
4. In the serial number column will be a 15-digit number this is your device ID.
5. Write the number down and put a 0 in front of it and now you have your CPU ID!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Not new to root, new to iconia

Ok, here is what i have , I have a IConia a500 rooted with, link for forum and files, using ICS Root
(came with 3.1, ran all the iconia updates, to 4.0)
everything went fine, now... i am familiar with flashing roms, i have had a few android phones and have rooted them, and flashed custom roms on them. that is what i want to do with this, after doing over 4 hrs of reading, I have confused the crap out of myself. there is a lot of talk about things that i dont know much about..
-CPUID's
-ICS recoverys (bootloaders?)
Basically, all i want to do is add the CM Jelly time mod, but im not 100% on how i go abouts that? what do i need? i have the files and gapps, etc., i know i need a full wipe, but what recovery do i use? CWM? do i temp flash it or, pernament? after watching a few videos, i still dont think im ready, i diont want to brick this thing. i just want it to work with that rom. thanks any help and clarity is severly appriciated!
j
1. get yr cpuid and save it multiple places open a file explorer and go to /sys/firmware/fuse/acer_cpuid
2. then go to /system and rename/delete recovery-from-boot.p file - this will prevent your custom recovery being overwritten with the stock recovery.
3. have your custom rom on yr ext SD card, ready to flash ONCE you've flashed the unlocked bootloader
4.To flash the v8 bootloader you need to use nvFlash and there are a couple ways if going about that...
a) manually by using the guide in the OP of civato's BL thread
b) using one of the auto tools like afterOTA or apxFlash - links also in that same post...
c) you'll also get to pick a custom recovery and it will be flashed at the same time - cwm 1.7.3 is recommended until you're running stable
d) From yr cpuid - generate yr sbk - how to do that is in the same OP
5) once flashed, boot straight to recovery
6) Do a nandroid backup then the wipes
7) Flash the rom
8) Reboot to recovery and wipe again
9) Job Done!
notes:
Everything you need to do this is in civato's BL OP - sorry can't post the link but its stickied in the Dev Forum
the afterOTA tool,
- saves all yr uid details etc in a txt file
- flashes v3 bootloader -
- it also installs the needed drivers too
- its pretty good at what it does...
seems some are having wifi issues with jellytime but the dev is working on this
you've done the right thing by asking questions before attempting anything, wish everyone was like you...if my post isn't clear then please let me know....for those of us used to the way things work with our Acer, its hard to remember how difficult it seemed when we were new!!
good luck
dibb
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
dibb_nz said:
1. get yr cpuid and save it multiple places open a file explorer and go to /sys/firmware/fuse/acer_cpuid
2. then go to /system and rename/delete recovery-from-boot.p file - this will prevent your custom recovery being overwritten with the stock recovery.
3. have your custom rom on yr ext SD card, ready to flash ONCE you've flashed the unlocked bootloader
4.To flash the v8 bootloader you need to use nvFlash and there are a couple ways if going about that...
a) manually by using the guide in the OP of civato's BL thread
b) using one of the auto tools like afterOTA or apxFlash - links also in that same post...
c) you'll also get to pick a custom recovery and it will be flashed at the same time - cwm 1.7.3 is recommended until you're running stable
d) From yr cpuid - generate yr sbk - how to do that is in the same OP
5) once flashed, boot straight to recovery
6) Do a nandroid backup then the wipes
7) Flash the rom
8) Reboot to recovery and wipe again
9) Job Done!
notes:
Everything you need to do this is in civato's BL OP - sorry can't post the link but its stickied in the Dev Forum
the afterOTA tool,
- saves all yr uid details etc in a txt file
- flashes v3 bootloader -
- it also installs the needed drivers too
- its pretty good at what it does...
seems some are having wifi issues with jellytime but the dev is working on this
you've done the right thing by asking questions before attempting anything, wish everyone was like you...if my post isn't clear then please let me know....for those of us used to the way things work with our Acer, its hard to remember how difficult it seemed when we were new!!
good luck
dibb
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, thanks !
i have used the afterOTA and it would let me select the recovery i wanted to boot, is this permanent or temp? right now on my phone its the cwm, but i remember on my Nexus S, they recomended just pushing it, that way it was super hard to brick.. basically i just need to know if i need to run the afterOTA tool everytime i wanna boot into recovery? thats why i like my CM 10 for my Galaxy Nexus, i can choose to boot into it,
I think the hardest part of these simple tasks, is that there a 20 steps to something totally new, I used to unlock iphones for a living, I never knew what i was doing exactly, i had a rough idea, but i did know how to cut and paste. even going from my NS to GN its always been a few hrs to root/unlock, Being familiar with a lot of the steps, theres more with this tablet! EI, CPUID, APX? tons of warnings! the other things are the abriviations, they can be confusing.. soo
this is the only thing i didnt understand, does the OP dumb it down, or can you??
d) From yr cpuid - generate yr sbk - how to do that is in the same OP
what is sbk, and why do i need it?
thanks again, i really appriciate it!
also, what is a LEAK? leaked rom?
jerkwagon said:
ok, thanks !
i have used the afterOTA and it would let me select the recovery i wanted to boot, is this permanent or temp? right now on my phone its the cwm, but i remember on my Nexus S, they recomended just pushing it, that way it was super hard to brick.. basically i just need to know if i need to run the afterOTA tool everytime i wanna boot into recovery? thats why i like my CM 10 for my Galaxy Nexus, i can choose to boot into it,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no m8, once you've 'flashed' via the tools its permanent -
there are flashable zips around (for recovery) but again, you need the unlocked bootloader first....once you have it then you can flash anything, anyhow you like. Even Acer Recovery Installer will work fine and you can flash a rom from there too, though that may require the paid version from memory.
the only time you will 'lose' the unlocked bootloader/recovery is if you need to rollback to HC - specifically 3.2 -
I think the hardest part of these simple tasks, is that there a 20 steps to something totally new, I used to unlock iphones for a living, I never knew what i was doing exactly, i had a rough idea, but i did know how to cut and paste. even going from my NS to GN its always been a few hrs to root/unlock, Being familiar with a lot of the steps, theres more with this tablet! EI, CPUID, APX? tons of warnings! the other things are the abriviations, they can be confusing.. soo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh I'm hearing you - this thread is a perfect example!!! I'd love to be able to say...root it, then flash cwm and the unlocked bootloader IF you want it, lol
Acer locked this baby down tight as - and if it werent for the work done by alot of the devs here, we'd still be stuck on factory stock.....The success these devs had is proved by the fact that there are still so many new folks coming here looking for info and help
this is the only thing i didnt understand, does the OP dumb it down, or can you??
d) From yr cpuid - generate yr sbk - how to do that is in the same OP
what is sbk, and why do i need it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sbk = secure boot key....as you've discovered 'root' just isnt enough to flash anything...to flash anything you need nvididas nvFlash program PLUS the key to unlock the encryption which is hardwired into the ROM of the memory chip itself -(haahhhaa I think thats right) - The CPUID is unique to every tab (and this too may be hardwired into the chip as well) the sbk is a hex number based on the uid. there are a couple of generators around to do this for you, blackthund3er has one and so does vache....you've used afterOTA so this does the genration for you automatically - you can see it in the text file you saved
thanks again, i really appriciate it!
also, what is a LEAK? leaked rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh back in the day before acer released ics, 'someone' got hold of a leaked ics version, and this is where alot of the work was done on unlocking the bootloader...by the time acer got round to releasing ics - we had a more stable version than they ever had
So now you're unlocked and rooted, have all your ID's backed up and done a nandroid you can quite happily flash to your hearts content!!!!:good::good::good:
rgds dibb
dibb_nz said:
no m8, once you've 'flashed' via the tools its permanent -
there are flashable zips around (for recovery) but again, you need the unlocked bootloader first....once you have it then you can flash anything, anyhow you like. Even Acer Recovery Installer will work fine and you can flash a rom from there too, though that may require the paid version from memory.
the only time you will 'lose' the unlocked bootloader/recovery is if you need to rollback to HC - specifically 3.2 -
yeh I'm hearing you - this thread is a perfect example!!! I'd love to be able to say...root it, then flash cwm and the unlocked bootloader IF you want it, lol
Acer locked this baby down tight as - and if it werent for the work done by alot of the devs here, we'd still be stuck on factory stock.....The success these devs had is proved by the fact that there are still so many new folks coming here looking for info and help
sbk = secure boot key....as you've discovered 'root' just isnt enough to flash anything...to flash anything you need nvididas nvFlash program PLUS the key to unlock the encryption which is hardwired into the ROM of the memory chip itself -(haahhhaa I think thats right) - The CPUID is unique to every tab (and this too may be hardwired into the chip as well) the sbk is a hex number based on the uid. there are a couple of generators around to do this for you, blackthund3er has one and so does vache....you've used afterOTA so this does the genration for you automatically - you can see it in the text file you saved
yeh back in the day before acer released ics, 'someone' got hold of a leaked ics version, and this is where alot of the work was done on unlocking the bootloader...by the time acer got round to releasing ics - we had a more stable version than they ever had
So now you're unlocked and rooted, have all your ID's backed up and done a nandroid you can quite happily flash to your hearts content!!!!:good::good::good:
rgds dibb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok after OTA generated my sbk and all that info, saved it to my computer... how do i unlock the bootloader? i want to install CWM, do i just need to download a file then use the advanced tab?, from cwm im sure i can get around, also, i dont know what apx mode is, ill do some more searching, thanks again.
ok this is really hard to do with windows8, my god, i have to do a lot of running around, i think im just going to give up, now, APX drivers are nto working, fml
had to manualy add the drivers, it was a pain the ass, now its all donw, hopefully i can get it going now!
s**t. use the last option ics v3.14.8 standard tab
jerkwagon said:
ok after OTA generated my sbk and all that info, saved it to my computer... how do i unlock the bootloader? i want to install CWM, do i just need to download a file then use the advanced tab?, from cwm im sure i can get around, also, i dont know what apx mode is, ill do some more searching, thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
standard tab choose first option...keep an eye on the status bar while its flashing..should not take longer than 10mins.
You must then boot straight to recovery and flash yr rom from yr USB key
don't have to worry bout apx mode but yr tab should display.either Acer apx mode.or Acer download.mode at stage 3 of 4 in tool status bar.
if u.muck.up you'll learn all u ever wanted.to know about apx.mode
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
EDIT: the last option on the Standard Tab
DON'T FLASH THE FIRST ONE!!!!!!!

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