Database Users

Need help with my Demo Acer A500

OK - I bought an Acer A500 Tablet from a friend and it turns out that "it appears" to be a demo version. I can use it to browse, connect to my wi-fi, and use the stock programs, but there's no Android Market app and even if I download an apk file, it won't open it.
How do I get this thing to a standard stock tablet that I can sync with my Google account and download apps from the market.
I'm not a complete noob, as I do have an android phone and have flashed several specialty roms, but I can't figure this thing out.
Someone...PLEASE help me out. This was a Christmas gift for my wife....and she can't download the Facebook app...which IS causing a small problem for me.
I'd appreciate any help here.
Acer Iconia A500
Android Version 3.0.1
Kernel Version: 2.6.36.3
Build #: Acer_A500_1.109.02_PA_DEMO

Try going into
AP drawer
Setting app.
Go to privacy
then reset data.
It can't hurt
There is another thread her about this

Thanks. I tried that first, and while it did wipe it clean, it still didn't reboot with the Android Market installed. It also occasionally starts a video of a demo of all it's capabilities. I can't delete it either. Very frustrating.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1390860
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1375091
Check out these two links.they have what you need. I am using the top one.
I trust the above very much.he is also very nice fora guy.
Tell the wife I said hang in there the device is worth it.
Good luck

erica_renee said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1390860
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1375091
Check out these two links.they have what you need. I am using the top one.
I trust the above very much.he is also very nice fora guy.
Tell the wife I said hang in there the device is worth it.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a big ol bunch. I really appreciate it. Now.....how do I get into CWM? I don't think I have that? What is the button sequence for getting into recovery?

He has a link to the instructions .
You will need to get the fallowing.all the software is available in the dev section you will have to look for them.
1 iconiaroot. To root the tablet
2 Iconia recovery installer to install cwm.
Then of course the rom you wish to use.
It sounds like a lot but once you get started you will figure it outeasly.
I am blonde and have flashed my tablet 20 or so times.

erica_renee said:
He has a link to the instructions .
You will need to get the fallowing.all the software is available in the dev section you will have to look for them.
1 iconiaroot. To root the tablet
2 Iconia recovery installer to install cwm.
Then of course the rom you wish to use.
It sounds like a lot but once you get started you will figure it outeasly.
I am blonde and have flashed my tablet 20 or so times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fantastic. I'm downloading the ROM now...and will look for the other items too.
Thank You very much.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138228 iciniaroot
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1226191 Iconia recovery installer

erica_renee said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138228 iciniaroot
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1226191 Iconia recovery installer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much. I got it rooted, and flashed the new Rom. Got her favorite apps loaded and all is well. It's a Christmas Miracle!

Told ya.Blonde Chicago rule.

erica_renee said:
Told ya.Blonde Chicago rule.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Erica, Thanks for the help. My wife has been using her tablet and loves it. My next question is this:
What is the best (in your opinion) book reader for this tablet. I have over 600 books in epub format. I put them on the MicroSD card and have imported them into the free Aldiko Reader, Moon Reader and the stock Lumi (sp?) reader....and maybe it's just too many books to load and sort through....but none of these are great book readers.
Thoughts?

Belive it or not im not big on reading books..
I used to be for a living a Construction Superintendent/ project manager..
ALL i dont is set reading and working with blueprints..
the reading i do now is mostly on amazon kindle app.My Better half Bonnie uses my tablet to read sometimes and that is what she uses as well..
I have seen threads with people talking about many different readers but not my thing so i have not been paying them attention .
Glad you got your tablet Running and working. So many buy these things and start flashing then try reading how after its been bricked...
MAke SURE IF YOU HAVE not to do a backup thru cwm before you install too much crap so that you will have a fresh Os to fall back on incase you install something that messes up your tablet.. boot into recovery and go to the backup /restore menue.. its simple easy..

erica_renee said:
Belive it or not im not big on reading books..
I used to be for a living a Construction Superintendent/ project manager..
ALL i dont is set reading and working with blueprints..
the reading i do now is mostly on amazon kindle app.My Better half Bonnie uses my tablet to read sometimes and that is what she uses as well..
I have seen threads with people talking about many different readers but not my thing so i have not been paying them attention .
Glad you got your tablet Running and working. So many buy these things and start flashing then try reading how after its been bricked...
MAke SURE IF YOU HAVE not to do a backup thru cwm before you install too much crap so that you will have a fresh Os to fall back on incase you install something that messes up your tablet.. boot into recovery and go to the backup /restore menue.. its simple easy..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep....forgot to do that. I have an android phone and have flashed many different ROMs on it, so I was not completely a noob....but was worried about the demo version on that tablet. It's working great right now. Thanks for your help.
Should I use Titanium Backup on this to back things up, or the one in CWM?

I use both.. i do anand backup before and after i flash a rom and ..
and TI BACKUP FOR my big apps like co-pilot and my email settings and documents.. But i also have the ti synk thing that backs up to my ftp site on my domain..
Ok now i sound like a geeky nurdy chic.. time for me to go fix my hair and take the GEEK GLASSES OFF.. Giggles
Your very welcome..
kiss the wife for me... HEHEHEHE ..

Good reader is Cool Reader on the market, comes free or paid version...
Another good reader, if you want the books sorted into a virtual bookshelf, is IReader. Not sure where I got this from, might have been from another rom(possibly Miui rom for an SGS II )that I have scavenged and picked through... Search here might help....

I realize that this post is old but i hope you can still help. i have the same issue and the links provided no longer work. can you help me out

willsloan1979 said:
I realize that this post is old but i hope you can still help. i have the same issue and the links provided no longer work. can you help me out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you trying to accomplish? Root and Acer Recovery?
What's your current android version?

I purchased a demo A500 from target and it does not have a full os on it. I have rooted the device and installed a rom manager (cwm) but i can not get the rom to boot, It starts the sequence and i get a triangle with an ! mark inside of it. the current version is 3.0.1 I can not get into the app market to download the acer recovery app so im not sure what to do. the guy who was posting here got his to work so i know it can be done. thanks for the help

willsloan1979 said:
I purchased a demo A500 from target and it does not have a full os on it. I have rooted the device and installed a rom manager (cwm) but i can not get the rom to boot, It starts the sequence and i get a triangle with an ! mark inside of it. the current version is 3.0.1 I can not get into the app market to download the acer recovery app so im not sure what to do. the guy who was posting here got his to work so i know it can be done. thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, not a problem.
1st off, do not use Rom Manager application for your tab. It's not designed for Iconia, it was designed for phones. What you need to do, is get AcerRecovery from the market. Which puts you in a pickle. Acer Recovery will install Thor's CWM recovery, which will allow you to flash roms and such.
Right now, you pretty much have a mess on your hands if the tab no longer boots.
First off, I would try a hard reset (pinhole near the PWR button). If that doesn't work, then try this;
1. Make sure your tab is charged.
2. Go to this thread, and select one of the rom update packages.
3. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1113878
Use one of the HC 3.2 update files near the end. Note that the Megaupload file no longer works.
Note that some of the packages are encrypted, so you will need to use the "decrypt" tool he has listed there in his 1st post. Copy it to PC, run it, select your encrypted rom, and let it do it's thing. This will give you the same rom, only states "decrypted" at the end of the file name.
4. Open the rom using Winzip or 7zip. Remove the update.zip (do not extract the contents of it), and copy it to the SD card (replacing a current update.zip if there's one there).
5. Holding either Vol- press and hold PWR. This should force the tab to install that update.zip (you should see some text on the screen, then you can release both buttons. Hopefully it will install.
Post back results please.

Got the hard reset done so i can boot back into the demo mode. Thanks for that.. The link to the thread you provided does not work tho. Is there any other way to get the Acer recovery on to the tablet or is there any way to get the market on the tablet so i can download it? i downloaded a version of the market but it says i need to add an account to use it and i do not have that option..i have an android phone and tried to download it to my sd card but it says its not a compatable device. Thanks for the help

[Q] bricked a500 - vibrating black screen

Okay... so the other day in class I was thumbing through the intrawebs and noticed the leaked ICS had came out for the A500... I tried flashing the ROM to my tablet, thinking it would be a cinch if I just followed the directions. No go, just stuck on Android boot logo. That's fine and all, made a back up with CWM (which i think was my initial problem with the ICS version.. correct if I'm wrong please,) but... my back-ups check sums were mismatching for everything. Couldn't get them to match and couldn't figure it out so I decided to just flash root stock version back on to the tablet and go from there using my titanium backup.
I flashed, and bam... vibrating black screen, no CWM recovery anymore no matter what I do. I've been using the SDK manager / ADB terminal thinger / EUUS Acer Iconia Tab Software Upgrade Utility. I cannot for the life of me find my CPUID, or at least the RIGHT CPUID. I understand to use software to find it but I don't think my tablet is giving the correct info, or something??!?! When I run adb devices in CMD in the platform-tools directory it doesn't list any devices available. If anyone could help it'd be greatly appreciated. Could possibly upload a screenshot of my usb devices with the USBdeview software?

GermanDoerksen said:
Okay... so the other day in class I was thumbing through the intrawebs and noticed the leaked ICS had came out for the A500... I tried flashing the ROM to my tablet, thinking it would be a cinch if I just followed the directions. No go, just stuck on Android boot logo. That's fine and all, made a back up with CWM (which i think was my initial problem with the ICS version.. correct if I'm wrong please,) but... my back-ups check sums were mismatching for everything. Couldn't get them to match and couldn't figure it out so I decided to just flash root stock version back on to the tablet and go from there using my titanium backup.
I flashed, and bam... vibrating black screen, no CWM recovery anymore no matter what I do. I've been using the SDK manager / ADB terminal thinger / EUUS Acer Iconia Tab Software Upgrade Utility. I cannot for the life of me find my CPUID, or at least the RIGHT CPUID. I understand to use software to find it but I don't think my tablet is giving the correct info, or something??!?! When I run adb devices in CMD in the platform-tools directory it doesn't list any devices available. If anyone could help it'd be greatly appreciated. Could possibly upload a screenshot of my usb devices with the USBdeview software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To get your old uid number, look in one of your cwm backup folders on your SD card.should say uid.txt.
Then you can either use the photo tutorial at androidtabletgeeks.com, or there is text instructions here at xda.
Also, sounds like you may need to load the a DB drivers for your tab.

Help ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've got a similar problem. My A500 are with the Boot "Verified Boot failed" and no way I can make it work again. He was with the ICS ROM'm trying to make it back to the Stock ROM but I can not. Please Help Me.

Hmm...
Moscow Desire said:
To get your old uid number, look in one of your cwm backup folders on your SD card.should say uid.txt.
Then you can either use the photo tutorial at androidtabletgeeks.com, or there is text instructions here at xda.
Also, sounds like you may need to load the a DB drivers for your tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, that got me started in a good direction I feel like. The only problem is that CWM made them all "*.img" files. There is a "system.img", "boot.img", and "recovery.img". Which one should I be trying to tear into to get it? And I'm pretty sure I have the adb drivers installed, or at least my device shows up in my device manager when I put it in APX mode, and I've downloaded the USB recovery drivers from the ACER website, along with other drivers that people have suggested.
Thanks for your quick reply! Hopefully this gets me somewhere, if you have any more suggestions on where to find it within the filesystem / *.img files let me know.
** Also a "data.img"... didn't want to leave the right one out on accident haha.**

Still nothing...
I've been trying to go through the old CWM back up .img files, but the only one I can even open and extract is the system.img which from what I can tell, has nothing to do with the CPUID. Next I started up a virtual ubuntu to try ADB out on there, same results. Even changed the vendor ID to the one given to me by lsusb, still nothing. I'm out of thoughts on this... I'm burnt out on trying to get this to work.
When I opened up usbdeview, I saw an old version of my Acer Iconia tab when it was actually working. Used that serial number and it made it through to where it said it was upgrading, but then sat/hung overnight. didn't move or make any progress so I unplugged it so I could go to class and keep working on it... now that cpuid doesn't work either.
Is my tablet a fancy paperweight now?

A500 Reborn
People,
I managed to make my A500 back to work with an update file, but forum cannot permit to put the link here. Take out the spaces of the link below:
www . fileserve . com / file / 2HUVP9D / update(ok) . zip
Rename the file to "update.zip", then save this on Sdcard and Boot the A500 with Vol - pressed.
Worked for me.

so..
assanches said:
People,
I managed to make my A500 back to work with an update file, but forum cannot permit to put the link here. Take out the spaces of the link below:
www . fileserve . com / file / 2HUVP9D / update(ok) . zip
Rename the file to "update.zip", then save this on Sdcard and Boot the A500 with Vol - pressed.
Worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have a recovery that you were able to boot into when you did this? Or does holding vol - while powering up install the update.zip? If you used a recovery manager it's not going to help me at all.

A500 Reborn
GermanDoerksen said:
Did you have a recovery that you were able to boot into when you did this? Or does holding vol - while powering up install the update.zip? If you used a recovery manager it's not going to help me at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this without a CWM recovery, only stock recovery (holding vol - while powering up).

assanches said:
I did this without a CWM recovery, only stock recovery (holding vol - while powering up).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... thanks but nothing doin for me. I have nothing but a black screen that vibrates. adb mode and such but nothing else. Something's gotta give eventually.

A500 Reborn
GermanDoerksen said:
Yeah... thanks but nothing doin for me. I have nothing but a black screen that vibrates. adb mode and such but nothing else. Something's gotta give eventually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GermanDoerksen,
Did you try this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18750804&postcount=17
Worked for many users.

yup
assanches said:
GermanDoerksen,
Did you try this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18750804&postcount=17
Worked for many users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's where I started this journey to get it working again lol. The only problem I'm having is with finding my CPUID or the UID he talks about. The numbers I get don't work because they're for the recovery driver, not an actual UID for my tablet. There is no serial number displayed when connected.

GermanDoerksen said:
That's where I started this journey to get it working again lol. The only problem I'm having is with finding my CPUID or the UID he talks about. The numbers I get don't work because they're for the recovery driver, not an actual UID for my tablet. There is no serial number displayed when connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried using usbdeview to find the cpuid?
look at the beginning of my post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22902126&postcount=258

wolverine423 said:
have you tried using usbdeview to find the cpuid?
look at the beginning of my post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22902126&postcount=258
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I had... but I think you just helped me out. Will these show up if I'm using the recovery driver to get it to be recognized? I can find it when plugged in under Acer Iconia, but I think that's from a previous plug-in before I flashed it. Now when I plug it in it comes up under "acer picasso recovery driver". I never new what vendor ID to look for, so I'm going to do that.
Do I have to put serial number in the .txt file named cpuid to get it to work?
Thanks for replying and giving me something to do!

wolverine423 said:
have you tried using usbdeview to find the cpuid?
look at the beginning of my post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22902126&postcount=258
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so I'm in my college class so I don't have my own laptop with me, I'm trying this on a "frozen" desktop. I said earlier my tablet show up in usbdeview as acer picasso recovery driver, but it flip flops between that and acer USB-Boot recovery driver. Don't know why. Either way, when I plug my tablet into my computer and put it in APX mode, it shows up, but no serial number or anything. I'm going to try what you said on my laptop at home where I've plugged it in before I flashed it, maybe I can find it then. Hopefully. Here's a USBdeView picture of what I'm seeing when I plug my tablet in.

woops
Sorry, picture was blurry...

GermanDoerksen said:
Sorry, picture was blurry...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Our computer labs all use deepfreeze.
Yeah, it should be listed on your laptop if it was plugged in while running honeycomb.
Best of luck.

wolverine423 said:
Our computer labs all use deepfreeze.
Yeah, it should be listed on your laptop if it was plugged in while running honeycomb.
Best of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey so do ours. Gotta love the key combination to get past it
But that's awesome, this gives me hope! Will try this if I ever get out of this class... yay for linux classes that last from 8 to 3.

I have also bricked mine due to not reading things before jumping in as usual doh.
I installed the lightspeed ics beta 5 and it was pretty nice but a game I have been playing kept freezing so I decided to go back to 3.2 official by putting it on the sd card and booting recovery. It went through install etc but then just goes to a bootloop with the blue lightspeed flashing adroid. CWM is no more and like an idiot did not get my cpuid prior.
I tried installing the 3.0.1 unstable too but that did not work either. It just sits on flashing android now.
Will I have to wait until an official acer ics update.zip is available once released?
Thanks in advance

waj1234 said:
I have also bricked mine due to not reading things before jumping in as usual doh.
I installed the lightspeed ics beta 5 and it was pretty nice but a game I have been playing kept freezing so I decided to go back to 3.2 official by putting it on the sd card and booting recovery. It went through install etc but then just goes to a bootloop with the blue lightspeed flashing adroid. CWM is no more and like an idiot did not get my cpuid prior.
I tried installing the 3.0.1 unstable too but that did not work either. It just sits on flashing android now.
Will I have to wait until an official acer ics update.zip is available once released?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you'd HAVE to wait for the office ICS update. For you, I'd say do what I've been trying to do which is get it back to stock rom and recovery manager so I can wait for the official ICS update. Eventually, if I ever do unbrick this thing, then I will have to decide if I want to wait or not. Or dual-boot ubuntu

GermanDoerksen said:
I don't think you'd HAVE to wait for the office ICS update. For you, I'd say do what I've been trying to do which is get it back to stock rom and recovery manager so I can wait for the official ICS update. Eventually, if I ever do unbrick this thing, then I will have to decide if I want to wait or not. Or dual-boot ubuntu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant get my cpuid though as it dont show in usbdview either unless I need the drivers from sdk first.

Stuck on HC Bootloader, won't update

*** SOLVED ***
Hey all.
So I've had my A500 for about a year now and it's been on several different ROMs and kernels over that time.
Most recently, I was running Flexreaper R12 (I believe) and ICS was running very smoothly.
At some point a few months ago (after a Flexreaper update), I was experiencing the Sleep Of Death and flashed an AntiSOD kernel to stop it (which it did). All this time, for some reason or another, I never updated the bootloader past the Honeycomb bootloader - and that's where I'm stuck right now.
I've tried using AfterOTA in every possible way to get anything else loaded.
I've tried Blackthund3r's A500 APX Flash Utility with at least 7 different APX packages, but no matter what I try, I'm still stuck with Flexreaper and the HC bootloader.
FWIW, both AfterOTA and the A500 APX Flash Util experience a problem with my A500 when it reboots. Most of the time I can get the device to be recognized by my OS (Windows 7 x64), but sometimes it doesn't and fails on driver install, even though I've installed the Google drivers direct from the SDK as well as Acer's drivers (USB_Acer_1.00.0524_A30H_A31H_A32H_A500_A501).
I'm pretty sure this is a driver issue, but I'm unclear on how to fix it. I've uninstalled ALL drivers related to the A500, rebooted and reinstalled them, I've uninstalled them and then pointed the installer directly to the unzipped USB driver folder (from above), but it seems that at some point the device fails to be seen, only rarely - but it's this that I think is the main problem... or I'm missing something.
So, any advice for someone that's STUCK on the old 3.01 bootloader?
Psychlone

Psychlone said:
Hey all.
So I've had my A500 for about a year now and it's been on several different ROMs and kernels over that time.
Most recently, I was running Flexreaper R12 (I believe) and ICS was running very smoothly.
At some point a few months ago (after a Flexreaper update), I was experiencing the Sleep Of Death and flashed an AntiSOD kernel to stop it (which it did). All this time, for some reason or another, I never updated the bootloader past the Honeycomb bootloader - and that's where I'm stuck right now.
I've tried using AfterOTA in every possible way to get anything else loaded.
I've tried Blackthund3r's A500 APX Flash Utility with at least 7 different APX packages, but no matter what I try, I'm still stuck with Flexreaper and the HC bootloader.
FWIW, both AfterOTA and the A500 APX Flash Util experience a problem with my A500 when it reboots. Most of the time I can get the device to be recognized by my OS (Windows 7 x64), but sometimes it doesn't and fails on driver install, even though I've installed the Google drivers direct from the SDK as well as Acer's drivers (USB_Acer_1.00.0524_A30H_A31H_A32H_A500_A501).
I'm pretty sure this is a driver issue, but I'm unclear on how to fix it. I've uninstalled ALL drivers related to the A500, rebooted and reinstalled them, I've uninstalled them and then pointed the installer directly to the unzipped USB driver folder (from above), but it seems that at some point the device fails to be seen, only rarely - but it's this that I think is the main problem... or I'm missing something.
So, any advice for someone that's STUCK on the old 3.01 bootloader?
Psychlone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was stuck to so i downgraded got the ics bootloader from the ota and then used afterOTA to get the unlocked version and it worked

gears177 said:
i was stuck to so i downgraded got the ics bootloader from the ota and then used afterOTA to get the unlocked version and it worked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how did you downgrade? I've done everything I can think of - at least 6 times over...
That was the plan after I figured that downgrading back to stock and then going up from there was the only way, but I can't even go back to Honeycomb 3.2 or even 3.1.
Check this out - I even made sure to make a CWM backup of my original setup before I upgraded to 3.2 back almost a year ago...but I can't get it to restore. In fact, I made several different backups and can't get ANY of them to restore.
So, in short, what did you do to go backwards?
Psychlone
EDIT: when I try to get into APX or Bootloader, it always ends up in Thor 1.7 and my computer doesn't recognize the device with a device driver install fail for MTP USB Device, even though I've installed the Acer Recovery drivers and the Google SDK drivers too... wtH?

Psychlone said:
So how did you downgrade? I've done everything I can think of - at least 6 times over...
That was the plan after I figured that downgrading back to stock and then going up from there was the only way, but I can't even go back to Honeycomb 3.2 or even 3.1.
Check this out - I even made sure to make a CWM backup of my original setup before I upgraded to 3.2 back almost a year ago...but I can't get it to restore. In fact, I made several different backups and can't get ANY of them to restore.
So, in short, what did you do to go backwards?
Psychlone
EDIT: when I try to get into APX or Bootloader, it always ends up in Thor 1.7 and my computer doesn't recognize the device with a device driver install fail for MTP USB Device, even though I've installed the Acer Recovery drivers and the Google SDK drivers too... wtH?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your on the honeycomb bootloader simply flash a honeycomb rom and kernel no need to use afterOTA or anything else if i remember correctly

Psychlone said:
So how did you downgrade? I've done everything I can think of - at least 6 times over...
That was the plan after I figured that downgrading back to stock and then going up from there was the only way, but I can't even go back to Honeycomb 3.2 or even 3.1.
Check this out - I even made sure to make a CWM backup of my original setup before I upgraded to 3.2 back almost a year ago...but I can't get it to restore. In fact, I made several different backups and can't get ANY of them to restore.
So, in short, what did you do to go backwards?
Psychlone
EDIT: when I try to get into APX or Bootloader, it always ends up in Thor 1.7 and my computer doesn't recognize the device with a device driver install fail for MTP USB Device, even though I've installed the Acer Recovery drivers and the Google SDK drivers too... wtH?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you got a couple of choices....
with the HC Bootloader and ics rom...
full wipe and flash an HC rom or
nandroid restore an HC backup or
flash an update.zip
as a last resort - a complete downgrade/rollback use timmydeansv4 EUU - just be sure to follow the instructions in jazzyjames post on how to roll back - iu dont wanna get it wrong and end up stuck in apx mode. If it doesnt work first time....STOP...disconnect yr data cable and reboot tab and pc, use a different USB port and try it again....
Some folks have had issues with win64 so if you are able to then try on a different pc
sometimes a restore wont work unless you restore it with the recovery you used to back up with in the first place which may have been cwm 1.3.4 in your case....maybe???
as far as the MTP driver goes...that can be a pain...i had the same trouble a few days ago on ICS...took ages to get installed....and i still dont know why it did....or why it wouldnt....very frustrating!!!

dibb_nz said:
you got a couple of choices....
with the HC Bootloader and ics rom...
full wipe and flash an HC rom or
nandroid restore an HC backup or
flash an update.zip
as a last resort - a complete downgrade/rollback use timmydeansv4 EUU - just be sure to follow the instructions in jazzyjames post on how to roll back - iu dont wanna get it wrong and end up stuck in apx mode. If it doesnt work first time....STOP...disconnect yr data cable and reboot tab and pc, use a different USB port and try it again....
Some folks have had issues with win64 so if you are able to then try on a different pc
sometimes a restore wont work unless you restore it with the recovery you used to back up with in the first place which may have been cwm 1.3.4 in your case....maybe???
as far as the MTP driver goes...that can be a pain...i had the same trouble a few days ago on ICS...took ages to get installed....and i still dont know why it did....or why it wouldnt....very frustrating!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he's not on the ics bootloader though so couldn't he just flash the 3.01 unstable and get the OTA? or go back to a stock rom in general?

gears177 said:
he's not on the ics bootloader though so couldn't he just flash the 3.01 unstable and get the OTA? or go back to a stock rom in general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh 2nd line of my post hc bootloader ics rom, and u correct use 3.01 buggy update,zip or stock update.zip I shoulda been clearer - thanks gears

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the help, but I'm still having serious issues reverting back to HC.
I feel like an idiot, but I have to say that even though it seems so, I'm actually the owner of a computer repair business, have 28 years experience in PC/Mac repair, and have rooted and modded every android device I've owned (including some for friends as well) - all the way back to the very beginning with the D1. This, however, has thrown me for a loop. NOTHING with this A500 has been this complicated! Everything up to this point has literally been stupid-proof and I've actually been quite impressed at just how easy modding is on the A500...
Anyway...
Here's what's going on and what I've tried today:
I've tried unsuccessfully several times to get ANYTHING working on my laptop, but to no avail. Same story as last night, no progress whatsoever - however, I did note that with CWM 134, I was able to restore an earlier version of ICS 4.03 (Flexreaper R10 I believe) - but it wasn't easy... I ended up restoring the main image and then using parts and pieces (using Advanced Restore) from other saves to finally even get it to boot.
This clearly wasn't getting me anywhere, so I moved the entire operation to another computer - my main rig (also a Win7 x64 - in fact, I don't own a computer that's not Win7 x64)
Now I've got USB driver issues! I can't even install the standard USB drivers from Acer's website because the installer errors out saying that there's no version of Acer Iconia 3G Driver Install is installed. wtF? That's what I'm TRYING to do!
I did get a different USB driver installed - the USB Driver_Acer_1.06.1500_A30H_A500, but nothing wants to use it and Blackthund3r's APX Flash Util won't see it, AfterOTA won't use it, and it's basically useless anyway. AND I can't install the Acer_1.00.0524_A30H_A31H_A32H_A500_A501 drivers no matter if I've got any others installed or not.
In my device mangler, there is no device with an exclamation, and in fact, sees my Acer Iconia A500 under USB Serial Bus Controllers as "Acer Picasso USB Boot-Recovery Driver", only when it's plugged in. NO other instance shows up at all.
I'm actually at the point of trying to follow through with the EUU (dibb_nz's "last resort"), but vache's website is down and I can't download anything for it. In fact, there's nothing from that guide that has a valid link...
(http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1632392)
So now where do I go? I understand IT really well, so you don't need to talk to me like a complete noob, but dang if I can't figure this one out!
If I can get valid links to all the downloads from the link above, I'd be more than happy to give it a go and see if that works, but I can't piece together all those things from random places. If either of you (or anyone else for that matter) has valid links for everything needed to follow the EUU guide, I'd be very grateful!
Any other advice would certainly be appreciated as well! I don't have to use either of these computers, but as mentioned, ALL of my computers have Windows 7 x64 on them. I suppose I could try one of my customer's computers for all this, but that's not morally right and probably something that I would prefer not to explore.
I feel as if I could get the USB drivers installed properly on EITHER machine, that I'd likely be in good shape. I think that's what my problem actually is on the laptop as well, even though they're all installed and shows as installed until I boot into any recovery - then I get the MTP Device Driver Fail. There's likely other Acer driver issues there though, since Blackthund3r's utils don't follow through for anything... everything just hangs. AfterOTA just hangs.
Advice please?
And thanks again for your knowledge!
Psychlone

Yeh I hear u m8, its taken me all nite and day to revert back to HC and then upgrade again....dam pesky Picasso drivers.....
why not do as gears suggested....boot to cwm do all the wipes and formatsand flash an HC rom, ezterrys has a rooted one...no drivers needed . or am I missing something?
D/l link for timmydeans euu in my cpuid thread

dibb_nz said:
Yeh I hear u m8, its taken me all nite and day to revert back to HC and then upgrade again....dam pesky Picasso drivers.....
why not do as gears suggested....boot to cwm do all the wipes and formatsand flash an HC rom, ezterrys has a rooted one...no drivers needed . or am I missing something?
D/l link for timmydeans euu in my cpuid thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I would but no matter what image I put on my SD or even internal SD, and no matter what recovery I use, there's always some type of fail - usually an MD5 fail, or just a fail without any error code at all (little android on his back with the red exclamation, but no code)
I'm clearly missing SOMETHING.
I'm about to try the EUU right now unless there's some other advice...
EDIT::
OK, so I'm really in bad shape here - now the EUU (PBJ20upgrade) comes back with the error:
Please download the newer image for the upgrade.
Current image version: Acer_AV041_A500_1,054.Acer_AV041_A500
New image version: Acer_A500_1.016.05_Com_GEN1
What now????

Psychlone said:
Well, I would but no matter what image I put on my SD or even internal SD, and no matter what recovery I use, there's always some type of fail - usually an MD5 fail, or just a fail without any error code at all (little android on his back with the red exclamation, but no code)
I'm clearly missing SOMETHING.
I'm about to try the EUU right now unless there's some other advice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh hell now i'm confused, lol.....the little android dude is the acer stock recovery....i thought you had thors 1.7...oh well, nvm
Hopefully the EUU will install the right drivers for you....just be sure NOT to connect your data cable until u see the "cannot detect yr iconia tab" screen and it will give u instructions on how to get into apx mode...oh just before that window the EUU will try and scan your system image it will take a good 5 mins b4 it pops up the window to go into apx don't panic just let it do its thing....good luck m8!!!!
Oh and this will completely wipe yr system and user data.....

dibb_nz said:
oh hell now i'm confused, lol.....the little android dude is the acer stock recovery....i thought you had thors 1.7...oh well, nvm
Hopefully the EUU will install the right drivers for you....just be sure NOT to connect your data cable until u see the "cannot detect yr iconia tab" screen and it will give u instructions on how to get into apx mode...oh just before that window the EUU will try and scan your system image it will take a good 5 mins b4 it pops up the window to go into apx don't panic just let it do its thing....good luck m8!!!!
Oh and this will completely wipe yr system and user data.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of the WEIRDEST stuff I've ever experienced - EVER.
Oh, the little dead android is when I'm using the stock recovery - I get different errors in TWRP and all the CWM Thor's that I've tried...(134, 71 and 712)
OK, so now PBJ20upgrade won't let me advance because apparently my CPUID isn't correct... it's the ICS version that's 13 characters long instead of 15, and my dmesg doesn't even contain the word "androidboot" at all (it does, however, contain a crapload of errors.)
What's going on?
OK, I'm an idiot. I really need help. I'm just glad that I'm 40 and don't lose my cool anymore, otherwise, I'd be freaking out about now.

Psychlone said:
Some of the WEIRDEST stuff I've ever experienced - EVER.
Oh, the little dead android is when I'm using the stock recovery - I get different errors in TWRP and all the CWM Thor's that I've tried...(134, 71 and 712)
OK, so now PBJ20upgrade won't let me advance because apparently my CPUID isn't correct... it's the ICS version that's 13 characters long instead of 15, and my dmesg doesn't even contain the word "androidboot" at all (it does, however, contain a crapload of errors.)
What's going on?
OK, I'm an idiot. I really need help. I'm just glad that I'm 40 and don't lose my cool anymore, otherwise, I'd be freaking out about now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cpuid = 15/16 chars go to one of yr cwm nandroid backups theres a uid.txt file in the folder all the other methods rely on adb??? if not try usbdeview thats in the thread too

THANK YOU!
dibb_nz said:
cpuid = 15/16 chars go to one of yr cwm nandroid backups theres a uid.txt file in the folder all the other methods rely on adb??? if not try usbdeview thats in the thread too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much dibb_nz... I've currently got PBJ20upgrade doing *something* (says it's going to take 10 minutes)
Thing is, I didn't get to this point by any conventional means - I followed the destructions several times over but ended up having a newer image than PBJ wanted, or the wrong CPUID.
I finally got this far by unplugging the tablet while PBJ was running, waiting for it's long error and instructions on how to get into APX (which I've clearly done at least a couple dozen times by now) and for some reason when I plugged it in, it shot forward.
We'll see how this goes - I'll keep you posted. I do VERY MUCH appreciate the help. I just might still need it, but hopefully not.
EDIT: Just rebooted and saw a "PASS" on the screen, followed by the "android" loading screen.
EDIT 2: It rebooted all the way in, I signed in (did the entire sign in process) and I'm BACK TO STOCK!!!!
Ok, so thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the help - just being a sounding board is all I need sometimes.
Last questions to get me set up for the future:
What recovery should I create a restore with?
Then after creating a restore, should I use Blackthund3r's utility to flash an unlocked ICS bootloader, and if so, which package should I use to be able to test JB but still be able to go backwards to an ICS (preferably CM9)?
Anything else that I might need to know? (keep in mind that I've read on the order of 30 different threads pertaining to this adventure since it began a couple days ago, but I really appreciate the advice you've given and clearly you know what's up with the A500 - AND, it's hard to disseminate info from all the random threads everywhere. Speaking of which, why is it that there can't be a single thread with most everything that an A500 owner would need? Seriously!!)
Thanks again,
Psychlone

With what I went thru use Civs nvflash and rom and I'd stick with third cement until your safely patched and on ics.do all the wipes and follow instructions to the letter ...I'll check back in shortly
EDIT wtf "third cement" dang auto correct ... should read thors recovery

Wow - what a journey.
I'm now running CM10 and loving it.
I really can't believe the process that I went through over the last couple days - I've rooted and modded two dozen devices in the last year alone, and have been playing with root and modded ROMs since the very beginning, and nothing comes close to what I just did.
I actually have to blame not having everything I need in one place. Mis en place means to have everything you need before you even start - and that used to work back in the day, and still does to an extent for some devices, but anymore, the download links and information are found scattered across many different websites and forums and threads - so much so that it's apparent that this is a product of Google's lack of grip on their hardware and OS.
I do, however, see that you and a couple others have done a KILLER job of getting most everything together in one place to make it easier for those that are searching. I really appreciated your threads that I've read - the way you've written your guides is very intuitive and easy to follow, even if they didn't initially work for me.
Anyway, thanks again. I'm not going backwards now, but if I ever need to for some reason, at least I'm a bit familiar with the "worst-case scenario"!!
Take care man,
Psychlone

excellent news glad it worked for ya
Psychlone said:
Thanks so much dibb_nz... I've currently got PBJ20upgrade doing *something* (says it's going to take 10 minutes)
Thing is, I didn't get to this point by any conventional means - I followed the destructions several times over but ended up having a newer image than PBJ wanted, or the wrong CPUID.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if its referring to newer image then the data cable is connected!
and it will spit this error at you....
I finally got this far by unplugging the tablet while PBJ was running, waiting for it's long error and instructions on how to get into APX (which I've clearly done at least a couple dozen times by now) and for some reason when I plugged it in, it shot forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup now you're cookin
We'll see how this goes - I'll keep you posted. I do VERY MUCH appreciate the help. I just might still need it, but hopefully not.
EDIT: Just rebooted and saw a "PASS" on the screen, followed by the "android" loading screen.
EDIT 2: It rebooted all the way in, I signed in (did the entire sign in process) and I'm BACK TO STOCK!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh yeahhhhh!!!!
Ok, so thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the help - just being a sounding board is all I need sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nps glad to be of assistance -
Last questions to get me set up for the future:
What recovery should I create a restore with?
Then after creating a restore, should I use Blackthund3r's utility to flash an unlocked ICS bootloader, and if so, which package should I use to be able to test JB but still be able to go backwards to an ICS (preferably CM9)?
Anything else that I might need to know? (keep in mind that I've read on the order of 30 different threads pertaining to this adventure since it began a couple days ago, but I really appreciate the advice you've given and clearly you know what's up with the A500 - AND, it's hard to disseminate info from all the random threads everywhere. Speaking of which, why is it that there can't be a single thread with most everything that an A500 owner would need? Seriously!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
becoz then you'd have thousands of posts to look thru and no-one would bother reading it all....i try to keep my cpuid thread updated with things 'unbricking' but its too hard to put 'everything' in one post unfortunately
---------- Post added at 07:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Psychlone said:
Wow - what a journey.
I'm now running CM10 and loving it.
I really can't believe the process that I went through over the last couple days - I've rooted and modded two dozen devices in the last year alone, and have been playing with root and modded ROMs since the very beginning, and nothing comes close to what I just did.
I actually have to blame not having everything I need in one place. Mis en place means to have everything you need before you even start - and that used to work back in the day, and still does to an extent for some devices, but anymore, the download links and information are found scattered across many different websites and forums and threads - so much so that it's apparent that this is a product of Google's lack of grip on their hardware and OS.
I do, however, see that you and a couple others have done a KILLER job of getting most everything together in one place to make it easier for those that are searching. I really appreciated your threads that I've read - the way you've written your guides is very intuitive and easy to follow, even if they didn't initially work for me.
Anyway, thanks again. I'm not going backwards now, but if I ever need to for some reason, at least I'm a bit familiar with the "worst-case scenario"!!
Take care man,
Psychlone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hell, i havent got round to cm10 yet!! i'm trying to get there but i have too much fun helpin peeps get to grips with flashing BL's...have to really thank the devs they did an awesome job unlocking ICS so everyone can enjoy the custom ICS/JB/CM roms- they've extended the life of our little iconia an extra half year or so if not longer.....imagine if we had to put up with stock 'anything' lol, i'd have traded it in long ago!!
was about to suggest the apxflash bundles as there are alot more options as far as recovery's go but you're all sussed now so thats fantastic....
can u add "SOLVED" to the title in case someone else is looking for help. thanks m8:good:

dibb_nz said:
excellent news glad it worked for ya
hell, i havent got round to cm10 yet!! i'm trying to get there but i have too much fun helpin peeps get to grips with flashing BL's...have to really thank the devs they did an awesome job unlocking ICS so everyone can enjoy the custom ICS/JB/CM roms- they've extended the life of our little iconia an extra half year or so if not longer.....imagine if we had to put up with stock 'anything' lol, i'd have traded it in long ago!!
was about to suggest the apxflash bundles as there are alot more options as far as recovery's go but you're all sussed now so thats fantastic....
can u add "SOLVED" to the title in case someone else is looking for help. thanks m8:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM10 is SLICK. Think CM9 on graphics steroids and you're close!
I appreciate your position more than most. I get a lot of enjoyment out of helping others as well - I've written overclocking guides for AMD systems that was written years ago, revised a couple/three years ago and is still used to this day, even though I've long since moved over to Intel's "dark side". I also participate pretty deeply in helping others at a couple PC hardware forums pretty much daily, even though that's my actual job - I own 2 computer repair businesses in my hometown, and with well over 20,000 computers to fix, I'm ALWAYS busy but still always find time to help others in need.
As for adding ***SOLVED*** to the title, I'd love to...but it won't let me. Perhaps it's because I don't have a high enough post count, or because it's reserved for Mods, but I can't do it.
Thanks for everything once again - it's quite refreshing to be on the receiving end!
Psychlone

[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

[Solved]ACER Iconia A501 3g/wifi TAB - Help with root/ROM install (TimmyDean method)

Hi everyone.
Just repeating again - the model I have is A501 on stock 3.2.1 Honeycomb - a more USEFUL tablet with 3G and WIFI capabilities...One would think it would be a much more popular model, but the A501 doesn't have its own board on XDA; its merged with this board for the less practical A500. Basically, I have created this thread as I don't want to take any 'extra' risks in successfully installing ROOT with the CORRECT ROM with the most updated version of Android available for this tab, for example Jellybean...
Another A501 user, beny9 posted:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1745550
Following TimmyDean's method (thank you) I have now managed to install 3.2 Honeycomb A500 ROM with success after completing steps 1-15 inclusive from his README file. As you will know, I don't have 3G or GPS functionality, so I need a stock A501 ROM to install.
I have found:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1113878
Is my best bet to install Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1 : http://cdn.a1.futuredial.com/Acer_A5...2_35b68c5d.zip from that above link, which will keep me on HC 3.2 but now, it will be the ROM for the A501? As it seems the only other NEWER Acer updates for ICS are A500 only...
Can someone link me the a fully detailed video or post on here on installing the ROM i mentioned above (if that's the best one to go with, given what I'm on now; A500 3.2 and still keeping root), or to install some other A501 ROM which is for at least Jellybean or ICS?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1828876
Per this link, shoukd i just use the update.zip (for the 3.2 HC A501 ROM) put it on the SD card then boot up holding POWER + VOL DOWN until the file auto-installs?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1099673
Before I can try the above, I also have trouble after i download the ROM's zip file when I try to unzip. I have downloaded the Acer Update Decrypter, but AVG antiVirus will not allow me to run the EVE file even as an administrator. What should i do?
Thanks
RoOSTA

Your best bet is to install a good 501 HC 3.2 and get on HC for your 501.
The files are available. What you'll probably want is a full HC Update rom for the 501. Note that some of these Acer roms are encrypted, so you'll need to decrypt it first. You can find the decrypting tool in the Themes and Apps forum, as a "Sticky". After decrypting, you can pull the update.zip out of it, and copy to Ext SD (do not extract, just pull the update file out). Boot the tab holding Vol- and PWR I believe. Might be Vol+ but I can't remember. This should force the tab to look for update.zip on your SD and install it.
I would use this one;
Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1
After it installs, and you get it set up, you need to get Acer Update Enhancer from the Play Store. This will allow your tab to get the ICS OTA.
Keep in mind, there is only 1 official ICS OTA update for the 501, so don't expect more. It may do it in 2 steps though.
If you want root on ICS, there is really only 1 way to get true root and adb system remounts. And that's to flash the V8 unlocked ICS Bootloader, and flash an insecure boot.image. There's currently a small package that'll give you somewhat root, but it's a pain and really doesn't do a good job. So it's better to get the V8 and unsecure boot image. Might be a good idea to also install CWM Recovery at the same time.
Get the correct rom installed first, then check back if you need help.
Oh yeah, one more thing. When you are on HC 3.2, get your UID number and write it down somewhere. You need this as a safety precaution. There's a good sticky thread on how to do it. Pretty simple really.
MD

Ugh. I have a pain in the A$$ version of AVG...even under advanced settings there was no disable options. Managed to figure it out to run the Acer Decrypter EXE and fix the image you have advised I should download and flash. Will give that a go now...
Thanks again!

Just to fill you in, this issue is solved.
1. Used TimmyDeans rollback V4 tool to a 500 rom
2. SD card was not recognized in CWM or Stock recovery. Was however recognized in the HC OS.
3. Formatted SD Card using Mini Tool formatting app. Format primary partition only to fat32 (defaults)
4. Decrypted and pulled update.zip from this 501 HC full update rom
Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1816560
5. Did OTA update to 3.2.1
6. No more OTA available, even after installing Acer Update Enhancment tool.
7. Downloaded and used Blackthund3rs Bootloader management app
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1622425
8.Downloaded V8 and CWM package, unzipped to the same folder as the tool
9. Ran the 500NVFlashapx app.
10. After completion, booted to CWM recovery, wiped and formatted, and install Moscow Desire's RaptorX almost stock ICS rom.
Works as advertised.
MD

Yep. All thanks to MD's patience and assistance throughout these steps..
Moscow Desire said:
Just to fill you in, this issue is solved.
1. Used TimmyDeans rollback V4 tool to a 500 rom
2. SD card was not recognized in CWM or Stock recovery. Was however recognized in the HC OS.
3. Formatted SD Card using Mini Tool formatting app. Format primary partition only to fat32 (defaults)
4. Decrypted and pulled update.zip from this 501 HC full update rom
Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1816560
5. Did OTA update to 3.2.1
6. No more OTA available, even after installing Acer Update Enhancment tool.
7. Downloaded and used Blackthund3rs Bootloader management app
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1622425
8.Downloaded V8 and CWM package, unzipped to the same folder as the tool
9. Ran the 500NVFlashapx app.
10. After completion, booted to CWM recovery, wiped and formatted, and install Moscow Desire's RaptorX almost stock ICS rom.
Works as advertised.
MD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Acer A501 OS refreshment
Moscow Desire said:
Your best bet is to install a good 501 HC 3.2 and get on HC for your 501.
The files are available. What you'll probably want is a full HC Update rom for the 501. Note that some of these Acer roms are encrypted, so you'll need to decrypt it first. You can find the decrypting tool in the Themes and Apps forum, as a "Sticky". After decrypting, you can pull the update.zip out of it, and copy to Ext SD (do not extract, just pull the update file out). Boot the tab holding Vol- and PWR I believe. Might be Vol+ but I can't remember. This should force the tab to look for update.zip on your SD and install it.
I would use this one;
Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1
After it installs, and you get it set up, you need to get Acer Update Enhancer from the Play Store. This will allow your tab to get the ICS OTA.
Keep in mind, there is only 1 official ICS OTA update for the 501, so don't expect more. It may do it in 2 steps though.
If you want root on ICS, there is really only 1 way to get true root and adb system remounts. And that's to flash the V8 unlocked ICS Bootloader, and flash an insecure boot.image. There's currently a small package that'll give you somewhat root, but it's a pain and really doesn't do a good job. So it's better to get the V8 and unsecure boot image. Might be a good idea to also install CWM Recovery at the same time.
Get the correct rom installed first, then check back if you need help.
Oh yeah, one more thing. When you are on HC 3.2, get your UID number and write it down somewhere. You need this as a safety precaution. There's a good sticky thread on how to do it. Pretty simple really.
MD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am embarking on a very crucial mission for my Acer A501 . Its tablet OS refreshment. I have spoken and written to Acer but all my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. At last i stumbled on this site and WOW ! I am downloading the Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1 and will flash as per the instruction. But I am finding difficult to locate the "sticky" software for the decryption the above. can you please help me locate the same.
I really appreciate your help and thank you in advance

jonnybrave said:
I am embarking on a very crucial mission for my Acer A501 . Its tablet OS refreshment. I have spoken and written to Acer but all my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. At last i stumbled on this site and WOW ! I am downloading the Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1 and will flash as per the instruction. But I am finding difficult to locate the "sticky" software for the decryption the above. can you please help me locate the same.
I really appreciate your help and thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the decryption tool. Located in themes and apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1869505
Good Luck!
MD

Trouble installing update.zip for A501
Moscow Desire said:
Here is the decryption tool. Located in themes and apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1869505
Good Luck!
MD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi MD,
I have Acer Iconia A501 tablet. My tablet suddenly showed andriod logo with exclamation mark when it was being used. Upon looking at your posts, I found the resolution which I tried. I am not expert in this all, but I tried running your ROM "41-124-01-A500-update" from one of your posts which was actually meant for A500. This resolved the issue successfully and tablet was up and running.
Then further I found full ROM for A501 as mentioned below and thought that I should try the ROM meant for the model of my tablet.
I successfully decrypted the ROM that you mentioned "Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1"
When I tried to update it with the mentioned ROM update.zip, it did updated it from SD card and passed android symbol with those gears running. However, when it restarted the tablet by itself, it showed ACER logo and then it showed "ANDROID" (spelling in blue color) which kept on flikering slowly for long long time....for more than 30 minutes and did not moved further. Can you please let me know whats could be wrong?
I also tried ICS ROM, but that didn't worked (it failed). So after couple of trail and error, I moved back to A500 ROM update.zip which I knew that is installing successfully.
Can you please let me know what shall be done in case I want update.zip for A501? It will be highly appreciated if you can upload update.zip directly that I can use and that gets installed successfully.
Regards,
Muk

mukapril said:
Hi MD,
I have Acer Iconia A501 tablet. My tablet suddenly showed andriod logo with exclamation mark when it was being used. Upon looking at your posts, I found the resolution which I tried. I am not expert in this all, but I tried running your ROM "41-124-01-A500-update" from one of your posts which was actually meant for A500. This resolved the issue successfully and tablet was up and running.
Then further I found full ROM for A501 as mentioned below and thought that I should try the ROM meant for the model of my tablet.
I successfully decrypted the ROM that you mentioned "Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1"
When I tried to update it with the mentioned ROM update.zip, it did updated it from SD card and passed android symbol with those gears running. However, when it restarted the tablet by itself, it showed ACER logo and then it showed "ANDROID" (spelling in blue color) which kept on flikering slowly for long long time....for more than 30 minutes and did not moved further. Can you please let me know whats could be wrong?
I also tried ICS ROM, but that didn't worked (it failed). So after couple of trail and error, I moved back to A500 ROM update.zip which I knew that is installing successfully.
Can you please let me know what shall be done in case I want update.zip for A501? It will be highly appreciated if you can upload update.zip directly that I can use and that gets installed successfully.
Regards,
Muk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Muk, I can probably guess the ROM you installed doesn't do data wipes and such, so it caused an animation loop.
Try this one. It's an SD ROM, so it "should" wipe your Data, along with installing the ROM.
https://mega.co.nz/#!NZBlBSLQ!mOHICp7gbinkYeHCvrEz7aKXsWQjjquAWq_XC_lSQzk
As you probably discovered, Acer has pretty much removed almost all tablet ROMs. I snagged a few the other day, then checked yesterday, and they removed all from their support site.
I would guess they are getting out of the tablet business.
Also, they shut down their OTA Update servers for a few months now.

Acer A501
mukapril said:
Hi MD,
I have Acer Iconia A501 tablet. My tablet suddenly showed andriod logo with exclamation mark when it was being used. Upon looking at your posts, I found the resolution which I tried. I am not expert in this all, but I tried running your ROM "41-124-01-A500-update" from one of your posts which was actually meant for A500. This resolved the issue successfully and tablet was up and running.
Then further I found full ROM for A501 as mentioned below and thought that I should try the ROM meant for the model of my tablet.
I successfully decrypted the ROM that you mentioned "Acer_A501_1.309.02_4.031.24_COM_GEN1"
When I tried to update it with the mentioned ROM update.zip, it did updated it from SD card and passed android symbol with those gears running. However, when it restarted the tablet by itself, it showed ACER logo and then it showed "ANDROID" (spelling in blue color) which kept on flikering slowly for long long time....for more than 30 minutes and did not moved further. Can you please let me know whats could be wrong?
I also tried ICS ROM, but that didn't worked (it failed). So after couple of trail and error, I moved back to A500 ROM update.zip which I knew that is installing successfully.
Can you please let me know what shall be done in case I want update.zip for A501? It will be highly appreciated if you can upload update.zip directly that I can use and that gets installed successfully.
Regards,
Muk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A big thank you to Moscow. I have tried the above link but still no go.. I have seen on Acer website they have updated the OS but all Android 4.0 ICS and nothing with Honeycomb. The tablet was initially with Honeycomb. Please advice. Thank you and Best Regards.

Trouble installing ROM for A501
jonnybrave said:
A big thank you to Moscow. I have tried the above link but still no go.. I have seen on Acer website they have updated the OS but all Android 4.0 ICS and nothing with Honeycomb. The tablet was initially with Honeycomb. Please advice. Thank you and Best Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi MD,
Thanks for your super fast response. I am downloading the ROM for A501 from the link provided by me. I will update you if it works in my tab.
I forgot to mention you about one message that I received once tablet is restarted. So, once ROM for A501 from SD card has performed its job successfully....that is that android symbol with gears in its tummy is successfully finished and tablet restarts. It shows "Acer" (spelling logo) and then after it gets stuck at "android" (spelling logo). Between these two, it displays two lines messages on top left corner for 2-3 seconds that the "blob is illegal - abort" and then gets stuck at "android" (spelling logo). I think this might be useful for you to identify something.
Another thing about wiping out the data, in starting when we press volume down and power button, it does display message about SD card (still not not sure about whether it might be wiping out the data or not....I believe you might be correct that it might not be wiping out the data).
Another thing, that I found in my backup is that when I purchased this tab (A501), I downloaded HoneyComb 3.2 Kernel Source Code from the Acer support site. Is this something that you can do magic with and provide me with update.zip? Please let me know....if you can do magic with this, then let me know how shall I share it with you.
Regards,
Muk

Trouble installing ROM for A501
Hi MD,
Thanks for your super fast response.
I tried downloading the ROM for A501 from the link provided by you. It downloaded it from the cloud, but at the very end it displayed message "Decryption Error". Still I tried extracting "update.zip" from the zip file, but it displayed message that the archive is corrupt and file is corrupt. Can you please check at your end and provide me with fresh link or directly with update.zip? For your reference I have attached screenshots of errors.
I forgot to mention you about one message that I received once tablet is restarted. So, once ROM for A501 from SD card has performed its job successfully....that is that android symbol with gears in its tummy is successfully finished and tablet restarts. It shows "Acer" (spelling logo) and then after it gets stuck at "android" (spelling logo). Between these two, it displays two lines messages on top left corner for 2-3 seconds that the "blob is illegal - abort" and then gets stuck at "android" (spelling logo). I think this might be useful for you to identify something.
Another thing about wiping out the data, in starting when we press volume down and power button, it does display message about SD card (still not not sure about whether it might be wiping out the data or not....I believe you might be correct that it might not be wiping out the data).
Another thing, that I found in my backup is that when I purchased this tab (A501), I downloaded HoneyComb 3.2 Kernel Source Code from the Acer support site. Is this something that you can do magic with and provide me with update.zip? Please let me know....if you can do magic with this, then let me know how shall I share it with you.
Regards,
Muk

Trouble installing ROM for A501
Hi MD,
Please read my earlier message and then read this one.
Thanks a lot....your answer about my first problem resolved everything.... (your answer was "that the ROM that I am trying to install is not clearing the data"...I verified that the ROM is clearing the cache, but not the user data. I can confidently say that you correctly identified the issue as when the ROM installation was stuck at "android"....I switched off my tablet and tried installing again the old ROM for A500 which I knew that it is working and instead of asking me to configure the tablet (i.e. time zone, date & time setup, etc.) after installation, it simply logged in and started my tablet as usual....that means that when I was trying to install ROM for A501, it was not clearing user data and was then hanging).
Now coming back to the link that you sent me in previous message, I was able to download the zip file successfully in the second attempt. I extracted the update.zip and it did not work. It showed the similar problem of getting stuck at "android". However, with your great answer that you gave me, I cleared the user data and cache manually by pressing vol up + power buttons simultaneously and then when "acer" symbol displays, releasing only power button and turning on and off the lock button. This cleared user data and cache. After that, since update.zip (that you provided) was already in my SD card, it installed the ROM and tablet works perfectly. Thanks a lot....:good:
One question, when it asked me about the zone, it had only few countries like US, UK, etc. I couldn't find Australia...is it because this ROM not for Australia? I understand that this is not an issue, but if you find anything for Australia, do send me.
Another thing, is this HoneyComb 3.2? Will 3G and GPS work in this one?
Do let me know if you can do some magic with HoneyComb 3.2 kernel source code that I have as mentioned earlier.
Regards,
Muk

mukapril said:
Hi MD,
Please read my earlier message and then read this one.
Thanks a lot....your answer about my first problem resolved everything.... (your answer was "that the ROM that I am trying to install is not clearing the data"...I verified that the ROM is clearing the cache, but not the user data. I can confidently say that you correctly identified the issue as when the ROM installation was stuck at "android"....I switched off my tablet and tried installing again the old ROM for A500 which I knew that it is working and instead of asking me to configure the tablet (i.e. time zone, date & time setup, etc.) after installation, it simply logged in and started my tablet as usual....that means that when I was trying to install ROM for A501, it was not clearing user data and was then hanging).
Now coming back to the link that you sent me in previous message, I was able to download the zip file successfully in the second attempt. I extracted the update.zip and it did not work. It showed the similar problem of getting stuck at "android". However, with your great answer that you gave me, I cleared the user data and cache manually by pressing vol up + power buttons simultaneously and then when "acer" symbol displays, releasing only power button and turning on and off the lock button. This cleared user data and cache. After that, since update.zip (that you provided) was already in my SD card, it installed the ROM and tablet works perfectly. Thanks a lot....:good:
One question, when it asked me about the zone, it had only few countries like US, UK, etc. I couldn't find Australia...is it because this ROM not for Australia? I understand that this is not an issue, but if you find anything for Australia, do send me.
Another thing, is this HoneyComb 3.2? Will 3G and GPS work in this one?
Do let me know if you can do some magic with HoneyComb 3.2 kernel source code that I have as mentioned earlier.
Regards,
Muk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm mobile right now, so can't go into big detail.
In your settings, about tablet, you can always find info on which specific OS you have. If you indeed have an A501 and the settings tells you that your tablet is a 501, then your 3g and GPS should function.
The only 2 differences between an A500 and an A501 is of course 3g. Also, they use different GPS radios. So you can install 500 Roms on a 501 and vice versa. Just the above 2 items won't work. Also, I believe I gave you a 3.2.x ROM. Getting it to ICS 4.0.4 may be a problem.
I revived my own 501 last night by putting the motherboard in the oven, but now it doesn't read my ext SD card, so I may be stuck on 3.2. Eh, no problem.

mukapril said:
Hi MD,
Please read my earlier message and then read this one.
Thanks a lot....your answer about my first problem resolved everything.... (your answer was "that the ROM that I am trying to install is not clearing the data"...I verified that the ROM is clearing the cache, but not the user data. I can confidently say that you correctly identified the issue as when the ROM installation was stuck at "android"....I switched off my tablet and tried installing again the old ROM for A500 which I knew that it is working and instead of asking me to configure the tablet (i.e. time zone, date & time setup, etc.) after installation, it simply logged in and started my tablet as usual....that means that when I was trying to install ROM for A501, it was not clearing user data and was then hanging).
Now coming back to the link that you sent me in previous message, I was able to download the zip file successfully in the second attempt. I extracted the update.zip and it did not work. It showed the similar problem of getting stuck at "android". However, with your great answer that you gave me, I cleared the user data and cache manually by pressing vol up + power buttons simultaneously and then when "acer" symbol displays, releasing only power button and turning on and off the lock button. This cleared user data and cache. After that, since update.zip (that you provided) was already in my SD card, it installed the ROM and tablet works perfectly. Thanks a lot....:good:
One question, when it asked me about the zone, it had only few countries like US, UK, etc. I couldn't find Australia...is it because this ROM not for Australia? I understand that this is not an issue, but if you find anything for Australia, do send me.
Another thing, is this HoneyComb 3.2? Will 3G and GPS work in this one?
Do let me know if you can do some magic with HoneyComb 3.2 kernel source code that I have as mentioned earlier.
Regards,
Muk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello mukapril .. may you provide me with the Honeycomb ROM which I might try ?
Thanking you and Best Regards

Trouble installing A501 ROM
Moscow Desire said:
I'm mobile right now, so can't go into big detail.
In your settings, about tablet, you can always find info on which specific OS you have. If you indeed have an A501 and the settings tells you that your tablet is a 501, then your 3g and GPS should function.
The only 2 differences between an A500 and an A501 is of course 3g. Also, they use different GPS radios. So you can install 500 Roms on a 501 and vice versa. Just the above 2 items won't work. Also, I believe I gave you a 3.2.x ROM. Getting it to ICS 4.0.4 may be a problem.
I revived my own 501 last night by putting the motherboard in the oven, but now it doesn't read my ext SD card, so I may be stuck on 3.2. Eh, no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi MD,
Apologies for very long replies. Wanted to convey the message in detail how I did it so that it might help someone else like me.
Thanks for your response. I have tested it, 3G and GPS is working fine. I believe, before my tab encountered this problem, it was having version 4 which should be ICS. At that stage I didn't had any problem with my tab...I believe it was there for long time.
If you have good known ROM for ICS, please forward me I can try on my tab. If it doesn't work, then will re-install the Honeycomb that you sent earlier.
One more question....when I try to update the system from "About Tablet" in Settings, why it displays message the the "network is poor" and advices to move to better coverage? Though, I am just besides my WiFi modem and coverage is almost 100%.
And @jonnybrave: If you are referring to the ROM that I successfully installed which was sent by MD earlier, then it does not need any decryption. So you can use the link sent by MD earlier in this post. And if you are referring to the KernelSourceCode that I mentioned earleir, then it needs some kind of processing in Linux machine and then you can create some image.....this is was I know about it....sorry not an andrion guru. Please let me know what you are referring to.
Regards,
Mukesh

mukapril said:
One more question....when I try to update the system from "About Tablet" in Settings, why it displays message the the "network is poor" and advices to move to better coverage? Though, I am just besides my WiFi modem and coverage is almost 100%.
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You get the message as do all 500/501 owners (it can change depending on version of Rom).
Acer no longer gives updates to any of their devices (regardless of age). These are otherwise known as OTA Updates. So they have closed their update servers, so now we get some "message" that absolutely means nothing.
I suppose Acer is getting out of the Android business and no longer supports anything. Nice job Acer.
As for updating to ICS (or any other version), I have a few update files. Generally though, the update files must be matched to the current version of your tablet. Sometimes you can run a "full update" and it will work.
The problem, is these tablets are getting old, and the nand memory can go bad. Running an update can cause a variety of problems such as "Stuck in APX" mode, stuck at bootloader, stuck at boot animation. Then we have to go back to the EUUS file, or an old SD ROM file. So you run the risk of doing things all over again, and the risk that it just won't work again. (I spent a couple hours last night, and was almost ready to throw it in the garbage)
For example, I'm pretty much stuck at 3.0.x or 3.2.x. I've already disassembled the tablet and put the mainboard in the oven, just to get it back to life! And after numerous attempts to get ICS on it, I've pretty much given up before it hard bricks again. In fact, I can't get a 3.2.x EUUS to work on it, so it is stuck at the 3.0.x ATT EUUS. Eh, it's my little girls tab, so as long as it gets You Tube and browser, it's pretty much ok.

Trouble installing A501 ROM
Hi MD,
I am in the same boat as you...lol...This tablet is mostly used by my daughter and as long as it is solving my daughter's purpose, we are happy
I was just curious about that message as to why that is happenning, but after your clarification, it is clear to me as to why it is happenning.
My tablet is working as normal and everything is working fine...so we are happy with what we have.
Thanks a lot!
Regards,
Muk
---------- Post added at 03:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:48 AM ----------
jonnybrave said:
Hello mukapril .. may you provide me with the Honeycomb ROM which I might try ?
Thanking you and Best Regards
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Hi Jonny,
If you are referring to the ROM that I successfully installed which was sent by MD earlier, then it does not need any decryption. So you can use the link sent by MD earlier in this post. And if you are referring to the KernelSourceCode that I mentioned earleir, then it needs some kind of processing in Linux machine and then you can create some image.....this is was I know about it....sorry not an andrion guru. Please let me know what you are referring to.
Regards,
Muk