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[ROM/ROOT/CWM] Sero 7 Pro (US) - dopa v2.0

** DoPa5 v1.0 (AOSP v5.0.2_r1 - Lollipop) is now available for US/UK/AU users **
If you would like to upgrade from the stock ROM, see this post for downloads and installation details
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DoPa v2.0 is an enhanced version of the stock ROM that features a custom-built kernel. It is based on Hisense's August, 2013 update (build P756.6.02.20) and is intended for US (8gb) versions of this tablet. It does not support the 32gb models sold in the UK and Australia. See Post 2 below for packages to root this tablet and install CWM Touch recovery.
This ROM de-bloats the original, roots it using SuperSU, and adds several useful apps, among them: Apex Launcher and ES File Explorer. It also includes several Xposed Installer modules to tweak your system, including GravityBox and my Phab7 UI switcher. For the hackers amongst us, ADB always runs as root.
The kernel is built from Hisense's source and offers enhancements and bug fixes. Most notably, it provides USB-OTG support so you can connect USB storage devices (e.g. thumb-drives) to your tablet using an OTG cable. It comes in two flavors, a non-overclocked version included in the main package, and a separate overclocked version that can be installed (and uninstalled) independently.
Installation
Having CWM installed is a prerequisite; if you haven't installed it yet, see Post 2. This ROM is intended to function as an update, preserving your apps and data. Unless you want to start from scratch, do NOT wipe or clear anything - the install script will do what's needed.
copy the file(s) to your internal or external SD card
reboot into CWM, then select "install zip"
I recommend you select "toggle signature verification"; enabling this will confirm the file hasn't gotten corrupted (if you get a verification error, stop, then copy the file to a different SD card)
choose the menu entry corresponding to where you put the file(s), then select "sero7pro-bld60220-dopa-v2.0.zip" from the list
after confirming your selection, the update will display what it's doing; you should NOT see any error messages
if you'd like to install the overclocked kernel, you can do so once the main package is in place, or at some later time
reboot
Notes
when you attach a drive using the USB-OTG feature, it is automatically mounted at '/usbdisk'. Be aware there is no easy way to unmount it - you may have to use adb or a terminal app to ensure a clean unmount. This should only be an issue if you write to the disk; if you're only reading, it may be safe to just pull the plug.
the overclocked version of the kernel runs the processor at 1.5ghz rather than the standard 1.3ghz. Using it may result in a significant loss of stability on some systems. You may want to install one of the many apps that let you control the maximum speed to regain stability and reduce power consumption.
much of the app-bloat this ROM tries to eliminate (such as Sams Club or Playstore Magazines) may still be present if you've ever gotten updates for any of these apps. To get rid of them permanently, uninstall them using Settings->Apps->Downloaded. For "system" apps like the Google stuff, select "Uninstall updates", then "OK" when it asks if you want to revert to the factory-installed version (which doesn't exist anymore). The apps will be gone for good.
to enable the many tweaks offered by GravityBox and Phab7, open the Xposed Installer app and enable it via the "Framework" option but don't reboot yet. Back out and choose "Modules", then tap directly on the checkbox to the left of each module's icon (not on the icon or text). Now, reboot to activate their features.
Note: GravityBox's Quick Settings tiles and statusbar mods only work with the Phone or Phablet UIs (i.e. not Tablet UI). To get the full effect from Tablet UI, open Apex Launcher's settings and select "Homescreen settings->Use tablet UI mode"
Geek Alert: with the addition of DriveDroid (not included), this kernel lets your tablet emulate a USB CD drive that can be used to boot your PC. See the app's description for details.
Credits
xboxexpert - for getting things going
randomblame - for many of the patches used in this kernel
Files
new and improved:
sero7pro-bld60220-dopa-v2.0.zip - the DoPa v2.0 ROM with the standard kernel
sero7pro-boot-dopa0oc-v2.0.zip - the overclocked kernel
sero7pro-boot-dopa0-v2.0.zip - the standard kernel (in case you want to reinstall it)
old and tired: (do not use with v2.0)
sero7pro-bld60220-dopa-v1.1.zip - the DoPa v1.1 ROM
sero7pro-usbotg-dopa-v1.1.zip - USB-OTG add-on
sero7pro-macfix-dopa-v1.1.zip - random MAC address fix
sero7pro-sysui-dopa-v1.1.zip - removes screenshot button
miscellaneous:
sero7pro-bld60220-removed.zip - files that were removed from the DoPa ROMS (note: unlike the other files here, this is not a flashable zip. Unzip it, copy the apps you want to your SD card, then install them from there)
stock-v60220-full-update.zip - the complete 6.02.20 update from Hisense - this is the closest you'll get to the original stock ROM
GPL Notice: the source code for this kernel is available at https://github.com/dolorespark/android_kernel_hisense_m470bsa on the 'master' branch.
DoPa
XDA:DevDB Information
Sero 7 Pro (US) - DoPa v2.0 Modified Stock ROM, ROM for the Android General
Contributors
dolorespark
ROM OS Version: 4.2.x Jelly Bean
ROM Kernel: Linux 3.1.x
Based On: Stock ROM
Version Information
Status: No Longer Updated
Current Stable Version: 2.0
Stable Release Date: 2014-01-22
Created 2015-01-26
Last Updated 2015-01-27

Root/CWM packages
These packages will root and install CWM Touch recovery on the US (8gb) model of the Sero 7 Pro. There are separate versions for Windows and Linux. They have been tested under Win XP, Win 8, and Ubuntu, and should avoid problems encountered with other root/recovery packages.
The packages are modular so that you can run some or all of the functions as-needed. They consist of 4 scripts:
step0-DoItAll - displays some setup info then runs all 3 of the following
step1-adb - enables ADB ("Android Debug Bridge") to locate the tablet
step2-root - roots the tablet and installs the SuperSU app
step3-cwm - installs CWM Touch Recovery v6.0.3.2
Versions of ADB for each OS are included, so no other packages or downloads are needed. Usage should be fairly simple: unzip the package into a convenient directory, doubleclick on step0-DoItAll, then follow the (minimal) instructions. Alternately (and better), open a command prompt/bash shell, change to the directory where you unzipped everything, then run the script(s) from there.
Avoiding Frustration
If you haven't rooted an Android device before, please read the following because there are a few "gotcha"s. If you have but things aren't going as expected, review the following in case you missed/forgot something.
Developer options must be visible in the Settings app. If they aren't, select "About tablet", then tap on "Build number" 7 times. A small popup will tell you that you're now a developer. Back out to the list of settings categories - you should now see "Developer options".
USB debugging must be enabled under "Developer options". Please be sure it is. If it isn't, select it then tap OK when a warning popup appears.
Both Windows and Linux require extra files to be in place before ADB can communicate with your tablet. Click on the button for your OS to see the ugly details.
Windows
Windows requires USB drivers to be installed. Drivers that will work with the Sero7Pro (and possibly any Android device) are included in the package.
After enabling "USB debugging" and connecting your tablet, a wizard may pop up to guide you through the steps. If not, force it to appear by opening Device Manager. Look under "Other devices" where you should see something like "Android phone". Doubleclick on it, then select the "Install driver" button on the window that appears.
When the wizard pops up, tell it you'll select the drivers, then choose the option that tells it where to look. Click the "Browse" button and navigate to the directory where you unzipped the package. Select the usb_driver folder, press "OK", then "Next" - the drivers should install without any problems.
Notes: On Windows XP, the first wizard to pop up may want to install drivers for "MTP" which XP doesn't support. If so, cancel out of that, then wait for the "Andoid Phone" wizard to appear. On later versions of Windows, you may get a popup warning that the drivers aren't signed properly; if so, select "Install driver anyway". On Win 8-64bit, driver installation will fail unless you started the current session with "Driver signature enforcement" disabled.
Linux
Linux (or at least Ubuntu) doesn't allow user programs to access USB devices directly without the appropriate permissions in place. This package includes a file named 99-android.rules which provides those permissions
If you've never provided access to other USB devices, just copy the file to /etc/udev/rules.d. Otherwise, you can either copy it or merge its contents with the .rules file containing your other USB entries.
Note: both the rules.d directory and its contents are owned by root. You will probably have to use the sudo command to gain access. For example, from a bash shell whose current directory is the one where you unzipped the package, you'd enter "sudo cp 99-android.rules /etc/udev/rules.d". Also, be sure the file's permissions match the others in that directory. If not, run "chmod 644 /etc/udev/rules.d/99-android.rules".
Notes
When you're done, open the SuperSU app to enable it. It will ask to update the su binary. After selecting OK, the app will be enabled and will popup warnings whenever an app requests root access for the first time.
The Linux script is actually designed for both Linux and Mac OS X. However, I haven't fully tested it yet so I don't want to make any incorrect claims of support. You may have to correct some file permissions and will almost certainly have to run it from the Terminal app.
Files
sero7pro-root-win-dopa.zip - Windows
sero7pro-root-unix-dopa.zip - Linux

[Obsolete] Remove Screenshot Button / Add Instant UI Switcher
The mod originally described in this posting is now obsolete with the release of the DoPa v2.0 ROM which has both features built in.
If you are running an older version of that ROM, or XBoxExpert's ROM, or even the stock ROM, you can still remove the screenshot button using this CWM-installable package: sero7pro-sysui-dopa-v1.1.zip.
If you'd like to try Phab7, an on-the-fly UI switcher that lets you select Phone, Phablet, or Tablet UI modes, see this thread. Note: you must install the SystemUI mod to switch to Phone UI - without it, SystemUI will force-close when you do.

Good work. Hope to see more devs and more Roms

Really good. I'm using it right now. Keep going with the good work

Good Job! Looking forward to more posts!

Thanks for the nice work and good instructions. I'm using your stock ((build P756.6.02.20) rooted now and plan to try the ROM soon without Link2SD operational to keep all my apps.

Thanks again, I have updated my Sero to this ROM. Everything seems to be working perfectly. I look forward to many updates!

Thank you. Your ROM runs smooth and fast.

Great work man, downloading it now! Thanks!

Antutu result for this ROM
12979 is my antutu result for this ROM while my previous stock ROM result was 11948 while 12339 was result of XE ROM. Thank you!

Installed and working. Thanks.

taba4real said:
12979 is my antutu result for this ROM while my previous stock ROM result was 11948 while 12339 was result of XE ROM. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting 13861 on this ROM, 11249 on the previous XE ROM.
Ran it twice, results were very close. I did leave all the 'tweeks' in from Xbox's post, not sure if that makes any difference.
Larry
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

larryf said:
I'm getting 13861 on this ROM, 11249 on the previous XE ROM.
Ran it twice, results were very close. I did leave all the 'tweeks' in from Xbox's post, not sure if that makes any difference.
Larry
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why am I getting 10500 on this ROM then?

Does this root and cwm change kernel like xbox's?

lordroy said:
Why am I getting 10500 on this ROM then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you run it with the raw system? What I mean, is did you run it after the ROM settled out and after a few reboots or did you flash and then run the benchmark? It is probably over kill but I like to let the ROM sit for awhile and then do a couple of reboots before I run bench marks. My first score was very close to larryf's score (13,800) the first time I ran it, but after I added live wallpaper, Nova launcher, Xposed, etc. my last score was 11395. I assume any benchmark program would shutdown all non essential programs before running but that may not be the case.
EDIT: Wow, I rebooted right after I type this and ran AnTuTu again and it scored 14,425.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kmwd7jgjpcw233y/Screenshot_2013-10-07-22-38-57.png

Cooter007 said:
Did you run it with the raw system? What I mean, is did you run it after the ROM settled out and after a few reboots or did you flash and then run the benchmark? It is probably over kill but I like to let the ROM sit for awhile and then do a couple of reboots before I run bench marks. My first score was very close to larryf's score (13,800) the first time I ran it, but after I added live wallpaper, Nova launcher, Xposed, etc. my last score was 11395. I assume any benchmark program would shutdown all non essential programs before running but that may not be the case.
EDIT: Wow, I rebooted right after I type this and ran AnTuTu again and it scored 14,425.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kmwd7jgjpcw233y/Screenshot_2013-10-07-22-38-57.png
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed it days ago with this ROM, lots of reboots etc. Not sure what I am doing wrong or why my score is so low.

lordroy said:
I flashed it days ago with this ROM, lots of reboots etc. Not sure what I am doing wrong or why my score is so low.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may have something to do with my minimal approach to this tablet. I bought this tablet to use in the car. After setting up Nova Launcher, I'm pretty much down to two addition; ODB2 and CoPolit.
My HomeScreen ----- https://www.dropbox.com/s/rsdp9oskbhtg9jp/Screenshot_2013-10-07-23-05-38.png

Cooter007 said:
It may have something to do with my minimal approach to this tablet. I bought this tablet to use in the car. After setting up Nova Launcher, I'm pretty much down to two addition; ODB2 and CoPolit.
My desktop ----- https://www.dropbox.com/s/rsdp9oskbhtg9jp/Screenshot_2013-10-07-23-05-38.png
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course as soon as I mention something, my Sero decides to play nice.
Just got a score of 13861. I didnt change anything, it just decided to score better for some reason.

lordroy said:
Why am I getting 10500 on this ROM then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sir i used to get this with Power Saving mode instead of Perfromance priority mode....... =):good:

[ROM] Timing Power RK3188 Custom

This is just an initial ROM for a project i'm starting with this device. This is the stock rom but cleaned up and tweaked a little. Removed all the junk from the rom and replaced the keyboards with Null Keyboard. Added a few apps for convenience. Keep an eye out, I will be updating frequently. Requests are welcome. Thanks for looking.
ADDED:
AdAway
ES File Explorer
Reboot App
Writer
Just flash with rockchip batch tool and enjoy!
can't post links so copy and paste in url box and remove the spaces:
h ttps://w ww.drop box. com/s/2x6qp0s56hqkyu3/timingpowercfw.img

nothing there
misk8er said:
This is just an initial ROM for a project i'm starting with this device. This is the stock rom but cleaned up and tweaked a little. Removed all the junk from the rom and replaced the keyboards with Null Keyboard. Added a few apps for convenience. Keep an eye out, I will be updating frequently. Requests are welcome. Thanks for looking.
ADDED:
AdAway
ES File Explorer
Reboot App
Writer
Just flash with rockchip batch tool and enjoy!
can't post links so copy and paste in url box and remove the spaces:
h ttps://w ww.drop box. com/s/2x6qp0s56hqkyu3/timingpowercfw.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please repost the ROM. When attempting to download it, this is what I get:
"Nothing Here
The file you're looking for has been deleted or moved."
Thanks!

As of now I'm using latest firmware 20131103.
I only use this device for Plex it's perfect for DTS, bluetooth audio/video is in perfect sync but MKV's with AC-3 stereo audio & video is out of sync big delay of some sort.
Anyone else experiencing this issue?
I can't try other ROMs because not sure which other ROMs can be flashed with this device. Any pointers or advice would be much appreciated.

Hello,
Just a curious question.
Does wireless display work on this ROM?
I have an CX-919 and flashed 4 different ROMS already (finless 15, 16b, kitkat, NZ something) and non off them work.
Wifi display is connected with my galaxy S4 or Asus ME302C tablet, but mirroring does not start.
It worked with my S4 one time with finless kitkat, but that was it.
I really want to get it working because i have all pictures etc. om my phone and tablet.
PS: if anyone reads this and has problems to get into flash mode, the solution is very simple.
Do not use the USB cable that comes with your stick.
Use an USB cable form your phone or tablet.
I use my Samsung USB cable and that works flawlesly, althoug the blue LED stays on (in opposite of what everyone says) after plugging it in the PC with the button held.
All flash tools i used see the stick everytime and no problems flashing whatsoever.

2020 Guide for rooting Xperia Play, tips and resources

This is a guide for rooting and customizing the Xperia Play from out of the box. fma965’s Megathread Guides is a more in depth step-by-step tutorial that you might want to look at instead. However, some people might still run into issues because overtime links are dead and it's difficult to find the right files to do certain things. These are the methods that work for me. I also have useful files and minor tips that hopefully make the job easier.
Link to all the useful files I've collected for the Xperia Play.​​(There are no downloadable paid apps.)
Post #1 Instructions for beginners, no bootloader unlocking required
Post #2 Instructions for advance users, bootloader unlocking is required
Post #3 Tips​
Why root?
The biggest problem with the Play is there’s only 400mb of internal storage space, much of the space is taken up by bloatware. Out of the box, there is not even enough free space to update Google Playstore and Google Play services to the latest version. So it’s a good idea to root the device in order to delete the system installed bloatware. While it's possible to move apps to the SDcard, some apps simply load faster from the internal storage. I recommend to not sign into your Google account on this phone and not let Google Playstore and Play services update themselves. This is because they take up too much space and are resource hungry which affect the phone’s performance. This phone is very old and have very poor to zero compatibility with modern apps and websites, it is better and safer to use it for offline gaming and media playback only.
To Unlock the bootloader or not?
It is not required to unlock the bootloader to root and install ClockworkMod Recovery for this device. Unlocking the bootloader is redundant unless you are an advance user and intend to install custom roms and kernels. If you only want to root the phone, delete bloatware so the phone run smoother, and have more space to install games, then it is not required. Therefore, my instructions below will be for rooting without the need to unlock bootloader.
Instructions for beginners, rooting​1. Installing fastboot and flashmode drivers
2. Flash stock firmware using Flashtool
3. Rooting
4. Optional: Installing ClockwordMod
1. Installing fastboot and flashmode drivers
These drivers are required for fastboot and flashmode to work, in order to root or flash the phone. This step is absolutely crucial for everything else to work.
First, reboot your Windows computer into “Disable driver signature enforcement” mode because these drivers are unsigned and will not install otherwise.
This is “F8” on bootup for Windows 7, and “Advanced startup” for Windows 8 and 10 (Hold SHIFT while pressing Restart -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup settings -> restart).
For more information, check this guide, or search the web for "install unsigned drivers". Also the program "Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider" may be useful.
Now to install the drivers:
Download and install the program Flashtool version 0.9.24.4. Download this version specifically, newer version have issues with this device!
Then run C:\flashtool\flashtool-drivers.exe.
Only select these four choices during the installation to reduce driver conflicts:
Flashmode Drivers
Fastboot Drivers
Common drivers Moga and Zeus Board
Sony Ericsson Xperia arc, Xperia neo, Xperia PLAY, etc
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
In the past I have selected all the drivers in the list to install and it created a lot of issues.
For reference, later in this guide when you'll connect the Xperia Play to your computer under various modes (adb debugging, fastboot, flashmode), this is what you should see in the Windows Device Manager:
2. Flash stock firmware using Flashtool
Flashtool allows flashing factory firmware to return Sony phones to stock. Flashing an older firmware version on the Play allow easier rooting, which is the main purpose of this step. However, you can skip this step and try rooting the phone in Step #3 first, if that doesn’t work, use this step to flash to an older firmware, and then try rooting again.
Recommended rootable firmware for R800i / R800a GSM: "R800i_4.0.2.A.0.58_Enhanced.ftf"
Recommended rootable firmware for R800x Verizon: "R800x_3.0.1.E.0.88_Verizon.ftf"
(Make sure to download the correct ftf file for your device, R800i is for unlocked and AT&T devices, R800x is for Verizon.)
*DO NOT connect the Xperia Play to your PC yet until the steps say so.*
-Download the ftf file and put it somewhere easy to find like your desktop.
-Make sure the phone is turned off and not connected to the computer.
-Launch the Flashtool program.
-Click the “lightning” shaped icon on Flashtool’s menu.
-Select “Flashmode”, select Ok.
-On the “Firmware Selector” menu, select the “Source folder” where the ftf file is located.
-If you check the USERDATA box, it will wipe all your user data, this is recommended to prevent compatibility issues.
-Select “Flash”, the “Wait for Flashmode” window appear.
-While holding the BACK button on the phone, connect the phone to your computer (via microUSB cable)
-The Power button should glow green and the flashing will begin.
-After the flashing is done indicated by Flashtool, unplug and reboot the phone.
Hint: If you gets the errors:
ERROR - Not a sin file
ERROR - Error flashing. Aborted
Try a different Flashtool version. I get this error with the later versions of Flashtool, but version 0.9.24.4 works.
3. Rooting
-Enable USB Debugging on the phone.
Located in: Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging
-Set the phone to "MSC” mode, not MTP mode.
Located in: Settings -> Sony Ericsson -> Connectivity -> USB connection mode
-Connect the phone to your computer and launch Flashtool program
-In Flashtool, select “My R800" -> Root -> force ZergRush”
It will then give you the option to choose Superuser or SuperSU. I recommend choosing SuperSU, but either works:
-Superuser: usually requires the phone to reboot twice to root successfully.
-SuperSU: usually require only one reboot. After the phone rebooted, run SuperSU app on the phone. It will ask to install the binary via CWM or Normal. Select Normal.
Hint: If you select the option "Full unroot" inside SuperSU, it will successfully unroot the phone. However, afterward if you try to use Flashtool to root again, it may not work.
4. Optional: Installing ClockworkMod
After the phone has been rooted, install the "CWM Installer 5" app (credit to "nobodyAtall") which let you install ClockworkMod Recovery. ClockworkMod is not needed, but it is useful for backing up the image of the phone in case you need to restore it at a later time because you screwed up.
Note: In case booting into CWM from the app doesn’t work. While phone is turning on, when white Sony Ericsson logo appears, keeps tapping Vol Down button. Taps, not holding, you don't have to do it very fast.
To navigate CWM screen: Use Vol Up & Down to navigate. BACK to go back. HOME for Okay/Select.
"Back menu button is disabled." WTF?
While in CWM, if you press Vol Up + Vol Down together at once, it will toggle between enabling and disabling the back button.

Instructions for advance users, rooting using unlocked bootloader method
Note: If I remember correctly, the R800a (AT&T version of the Xperia Play) is not allowed to have it's bootloader unlocked. Therefore this step is only for the R800i and R800x models.
-Reboot your Windows computer into “Disable driver signature enforcement” mode because the drivers are unsigned and will not install otherwise. This is “F8” on bootup for Windows 7, and “Advanced startup” for Windows 8 and 10 (Hold SHIFT while pressing Restart -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup settings -> restart).
-Install the fastboot and flashmode drivers:
Download and install the program Flashtool version 0.9.24.4. (Download this version specifically because newer versions have issues with flashing this phone's firmwares.)
Then run C:\flashtool\flashtool-drivers.exe.
Only select these four choices during the installation to reduce driver conflicts:
Flashmode Drivers
Fastboot Drivers
Common drivers Moga and Zeus Board
Sony Ericsson Xperia arc, Xperia neo, Xperia PLAY, etc
-Unlock the bootloader
-Use fastboot mode to boot into CWM:
While the phone is off, connect it to the PC while holding the SEARCH button, wait for the power button to turn blue meaning you’re in fastboot mode.
-Boot into CWM with this command: fastboot boot recoveryPLAY.img
*Boot the image only, do not flash it.
*Link for the latest "Android SDK platform tools" which contains adb.exe and fastboot.exe.
-Wait about 20seconds for CWM to appear. From here you can root by flashing SuperSU.
*Note: For this CWM version, SEARCH is the Okay/Select button.
*Credit to FreeXperia team for the recoveryPLAY.img.

Tips​
Obligatory: The sim card slot
------------------------------
The sim slot for this phone have gold pins or "teeth" which acts as contact points. If you use a sim card adapter(s), as you try to remove them from the sim slot, the bottom edge of adapter will absolutely guaranteed to get stuck on the gold pins. If you try to pull harder, it will break the gold pins resulting in an broken sim slot. This does not matter if you use a new precisely cut adapter. Once it is stuck, the safest way to remove the jammed adapter is to remove the back casing of the phone (with a T6 Torx screwdriver) and use a precision tweezers to remove it, however, this is not easy either. One time I had to remove a broken piece of the adapter stuck inside the slot from the backside to not break the gold pins, not through the front.
The best way I found to get around this is to cut away the bottom edge of the adapter(s). See image below. This will make it a bit tricky to insert the sim card, but it's not too hard. As for removing, just pull it out slowly, the sim card should come out with the adapters (if not, tweezers).
Side note: Since AT&T already shut down their 2G network, only T-Mobile work on this phone, but they will also shut down their 2G at the end of 2020.
GPS issues
------------------------------
This phone by default have very poor GPS reception so you shouldn't expect it to work. If I remember correctly, a sim card has to be inserted for GPS to work on the GSM version of this phone. Verizon R800x don't have a simcard slot and doesn't have this issue.
Try flashing this agps.patch.sonye.build.v3.1 patch in ClockworkMod Recovery to see if it helps. I wouldn't get my hope up though, GPS has always been very shoddy with old Android devices.
Installing apk without a file explorer
------------------------------
If your phone don't have a file explorer installed out of the box, enable "USB Debugging" in the phone, then connect it to your PC. Use adb command to sideload apps from your PC: adb install appname.apk
Hint: If you drag an apk file from the File Explorer and drop it into the Command Prompt's window, it will automatically include the full path name for the apk file.
Android 2.3 Compatible apps
------------------------------
These are free apps I collected that are compatible with Android 2.3.
(There are no downloadable paid apps.)
Google Play Store and Play services (latest Android 2.3 compatible)
------------------------------
Google Play Store 6.2.02
Google Play services 10.0.84
Emulator recommendations
------------------------------
CPS2: Use CPSEmu.
MAME 0.139: Use MAME4droid(0139)-1.6.1-MULTI. This is the latest version of this emulator that works on the Xperia Play running Android 2.3 without crashing. Any newer version will crash. If you log into the Playstore and install the latest version, it will crash.
PSX: I find ePSXe combined with the opengl plugin gives best performance. Make sure to enable opengl plugin inside ePSXe's options.
SNES: I find SNES9x EX non-plus version (not the plus version from the Playstore) have better performance and plays smoother. Technically the emulation is supposed to be a little less accurate, but really it doesn’t matter.
Robert Broglia emulators: I have excellent results with the “.emu” emulators by Robert Broglia. The NEO.emu version 1.5.40 have poor laggy performance on the Play. The previous 1.5.37 ran very smooth, however it is a paid app and only the latest version is available anymore.
Bloatware apps to delete
------------------------------
These are apps I deleted from the /system/app folder to clear up space, but it is at your discretion to choose what to keep. You need a root capable file manager, such as Solid Explorer Classic.
Code:
AdobeFlashPlayer.apk
brucelee.apk
chinesetextniput.apk
com.sony.playstation.ncua94900_1.apk #Crash Bandicoot
com.sonyericsson.androidapp.storefront.apk
EventStreamPluginFacebook.apk
facebook.apk
fbcalendarsync.apk
FBIAppShare.apk
FBMediaDiscovery.apk
FBMusicLite.apk
FBNotificationPublisher.apk
FBSetupwizard.apk
fifa.apk
GenieWidget.apk
Gmail.apk
GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk
Maps.apk
officesuite.apk
playnowclientarvato.apk
PlayStationPocket.apk
PostViewer.apk
SEMCFacebookProxy.apk
Sims.apk
starbattalion.apk
Street.apk
Talk2.apk
VoiceSearch.apk
YouTube.apk
Also check these folders for more preloaded apps to delete: /etc/customization/applications or /system/etc/customization/applications
Free up the second MENU button.
------------------------------
This phone have two MENU hardware buttons. "keypad-zeus.kl" contains the binding for the phone's hardware buttons, located in folder /system/usr/keylayout/.
You can directly edit "keypad-zeus.kl" as a text file if you have a root capable file manager (Solid Explorer Classic). PS. It's probably a good idea to backup of this file first.
The original binding give this phone two Menu buttons.
key 226 MENU WAKE_DROPPED
key 139 MENU
“Key 226” is the small MENU button below the Down button. I changed it to SPACE instead:
key 226 SPACE WAKE_DROPPED
This frees up an extra button which is useful for emulators.
Reboot phone.
AC3 support for MX Player
------------------------------
This MX Player codec pack (mx_aio_1.7.32.rev1) is specifically compatible for ARMv7 devices running Android 2.3. Copy this zip file to phone’s SDcard and load it inside MX Player: Settings -> Decoder -> Custom codec
Turn off Repeat mode for stock Music app "SemcMusic.apk"
------------------------------
I like the stock Music app for this device, however, almost every firmware come with a version that cannot turn off repeat. I don't remember where I found this version from, but it allows turning off Repeat mode using the Menu options.
Using a root capable file manager (Solid Explorer Classic), download "SemcMusic.apk" and paste it into the folder “/system/app” overwriting the old file. (Simply sideloading will not work.)
Also make sure to fix the file’s permission back to 644:
Reboot phone.
Android 4 ICS?
------------------------------
You may have noticed that I have not mentioned Android 4 / ICS / CM9 in this guide. That's because I find the performance to be very very poor and not worth it. You can try flashing it if you wish, but you will lose much of the gaming performance.

Thank you for the 2020 updated guide and tutorial

Really appreciate you putting this up. Just pulled mine out of storage and thought there's no way I'd find up to date files and info for it.
Now I've just got to find a place that still sells flex cables for it.

Hi ! I have recently buy this device 9 years after the release and I'm in research of oldest version of the doomlord kernel.
Unfortunatly all links are dead and if someone can share a compilation pack of the kernels it could be awesome.
I'm specificaly interested in the early ones for gsm, like the v02/v03 linked in this post : https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15805471&postcount=2
The one made for the firmware 3.0.1.A.0.145, someone can share it ?
BTW if your searching for the best rom for emulation, it's this one : https://sites.google.com/site/panicus/nerdery/attodrive
Download link : https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nNDy6cux_roYFqUDhksSmvVKnCE1eBRS

I had all those LuPuS and Doom Kernel images at one point, but deleted them overtime. Sorry. Try posting in the original kernel threads and see if someone still have the files.

I'm pretty sure i have some kernel images stored in my PC. Will look for it these days...
Now i remember the good times with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play... Dreaming...
It was the first smartphone for my son, was a present from me - and he was the king in school, you know what i mean.
Now it's here, at home, repaired, built from 3 Xperia Plays, bought years ago at eBay....
Aaahhh, nostalgic....
Greetz,
0LDST4R

Great guide, I wished this guide was created back late last year when I got my first Xperia Play I had to follow a few guides and they were not noob friendly.
Thank you for your info about Google Play Store/Play Services and MAME fixed my long time issue!
For advance users, take a look at the following to increase your RAM memory size: [MOD] Increase RAM memory size(without swapper!) (good for gaming)
Also for the advance users, I use an app called Link2SD to add additional storage for installed apps, I created a 16GB 2nd partition on the SD CARD, which acts as extra storage, you can increase to whatever you like, and linked new installed app to this partition.
For you pirates, don't bother trying to find a hacked apk for this app, you wont find a working one. Small price to pay for the plus version to unlock the extra features but it is well worth it.
The above two will compliment the stock firmware, I got another Xperia Play, so one has stock FW and the other has XperiaPlay Z Final Ultimate Edition (4.0.4).
Added Notes:
I had issues with flashtool telling me "ERROR - Device connected in flash mode but driver is too old", after some soul searching, the issue was related to my USB3.0 port on my laptop, since I didn't have any USB2.0 ports, I did have a cheap generic USB2.0 4 port usb hub, I connected this and it fixed my issue.

Thank you great guide [emoji4] my phone is now rescued and boots up .
I am unable to root for some reason using the flashtool method .
It has been rooted before in the past . I also tried one click root but that's asking for payment , any ideas greatly appreciated .
Thanks .
Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

Okay so I was successfully able to root my phone (got supersu installed) and I've been down a long rabbit hole of trying to understand how adb works. I figured out how to open my cmd prompt in the folder, but when i try to force install CWM using it, I get:
adb server version (39) doesn't match this client (41); killing...
* daemon started successfully
Performing Push Install
.\CWM_Installer_5.apk: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 175.2 MB/s (2257096 bytes in 0.012s)
adb: error: failed to read copy response
Sorry I'm new to this whole thing and trying desperately to learn... Any advice is appreciated.

Great Post!
As someone who recently picked this device up to preserve some history, as well as possibly use it as an emulation device for my wife at work, I really appreciate the depth of your post. I am not entirely familiar with rooting devices, and adb sideload, but I was able to follow your tutorial and find a nice device in the process.
---------- Post added at 10:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------
Kiri_The_Fox said:
Okay so I was successfully able to root my phone (got supersu installed) and I've been down a long rabbit hole of trying to understand how adb works. I figured out how to open my cmd prompt in the folder, but when i try to force install CWM using it, I get:
adb server version (39) doesn't match this client (41); killing...
* daemon started successfully
Performing Push Install
.\CWM_Installer_5.apk: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 175.2 MB/s (2257096 bytes in 0.012s)
adb: error: failed to read copy response
Sorry I'm new to this whole thing and trying desperately to learn... Any advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can say that I ran into that issue as well, and I don't know what I did that fixed it. I had a PC reboot, as well as a soft boot into CWM on the device. Once doing both of those things it seemed the adb server matched up and things went smoothly. I wish I had some knowledge of how to explain how it worked, I researched a lot about it and everything said it had to do with the version of the adb server running conflicting with the version of the android platform tools installed. Maybe this can help you as well, best of luck!

I have a question and hope anyone can help because I'm kinda tired of thinking lol.
-So, to root easily as shown here, you need to have firmware .58 or lower.
-You cannot root if you have firmware version .62 or higher.
-To install one of the best roms, which is JokaWild, you need firmware version .62.
-To be able to flash JokaWild, you need to have root (to install CWM).
-You can install a custom kernel through fastboot mode which among other things, would force root...
...but, to install a custom kernel, apparently, you need a rooted device.
*Basically, to install this room, you need to root a firmware which cannot be rooted.
So, am I missing something here or doing something wrong? I just can't figure this out.
EDIT. Figured it out. You need an unlocked bootloader.
No tutorial I've seen explains the difference between unlockABLE and unlockED bootloader, so I didn't even think about this.
First follow a tutorial on how to unlock a Sony bootloader and then everything will work.

pakrett-bm said:
BTW if your searching for the best rom for emulation, it's this one : https://sites.google.com/site/panicus/nerdery/attodrive
Download link : https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nNDy6cux_roYFqUDhksSmvVKnCE1eBRS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you know of any way to get this thing working on the R800i model, then good. Otherwise it appears to be an R800x-only ROM.

A comprehensive guide to the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro (YT3-X90*) and a Cooked ROM

THESE COOKED ROMS ASSUME YOU HAVE ALREADY AN UNLOCKED BOOTLOADER AND TWRP AS RECOVERY SYSTEM. You can flash them using TWRP, after wiping ART, cache, data, boot and system partitions.
FINAL RELEASE: Well... this is the final release from me and it is specifically for the WiFi model. I hope it is worth it for you. It is more stable and somewhat updated, anyway, if you use a X90F (wifi model) you will probably like it. The other versions are still up for whatever reason. Here's the link. Follow this guide by @Quardah if you are coming from a factory ROM. Go to post 46 if you can't get past the setup wizard. A barely tested (by @Nuihc88) version for the 3G (X90L) model can be found here.
NOTICE: If you find this work useful, mirror it. I won't be hosting it for free forever and it is becoming a burden to my Nextcloud installation. One would say this is a pretty much forgotten thread, but I'm seeing almost daily download activity. I'm putting the ROM files offline now and getting away from XDA for a while. Please don't DM me for the files. If you are looking for them, ask others in this thread. Good bye.
||||||||||||||||||| FROM HERE IS JUST INFORMATION YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED |||||||||||||||||||
Spoiler: NEWS THAT ARE NOT ANYMORE.
APRIL 9, 2021: You can find in these links a new version of the cooked ROM.
The link for the updated cooked ROM is: https://centsoarer.ddns.net/s/Y8o3eoBK4Ryx5RP. This is a version with GAPPS updated: https://centsoarer.ddns.net/s/FPKjgQcmW3CHZCw. Feel free to mirror, unless you are afraid of Lenovo's lawyers, but don't forget to share the link.
My personal version... even more debloated (if you don't need chinese, japanese, korean, or russian input support/apps) and with CPU tweaks for my own usage: https://centsoarer.ddns.net/s/jcCDAgNedryGRjo
KNOWN ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS:
1) One random reboot after the first boot will happen and it is normal.
2) I'd reccommend to stay with Magisk 21.4 for a while, Magisk Manager >21.4 won't manage your extensions.
3) If you can't get past the initial Setup Wizard check post 46. Basically you have to boot into bootloader, erase the config partition and format it again.
4) Needs confirmation, but versions with signature spoofing patches seem to break Lenovo's SmartSide Bar.
JUNE 12: Fast update on the Cooked ROM and TWRP and KERNEL. They are not as universal as I implied before. Proceed carefully since they may not work four your device/firmware. Make a Nandroid backup and only flash with testing purposes.
JUNE 5: So, I know this is not what everybody who owns this tablet wants to have (that is Android 9 or 10 of course) but, in recent weeks Lenovo updated the firmware of this tablets. It still is a Marshmallow one and it still sucks big time but I took it as a base and cooked it to deliver a newer TWRP recovery with compression, a flashable modified kernel and a cooked flashable stock ROM to free the owners of this tablets from the treacherous path of making this hardware to work properly. If you want a better overall experience and are in stock firmware you just need to Unlock your bootloader, flash TWRP, Format data partition (not only wipe), Wipe Cache, Dalvik/ART, System and DATA and flash the Cooked ROM to put this tablet in a sweeter spot. For details go to post #2!
JUNE 3: Been trying to get to know some of the source code available for Cherry Trail devices and I am fairly lost at building TWRP from source. Anyway, I ported a newer TWRP recovery IMG file for the YT3-X90F (maybe L, X, Y and Z) from the TWRP image for the Chuwi Hi10 Pro tablet from here, using AIK-Linux. The result is in the second post labeled as beta, since I only tested in the YT3-X90F model, running lollipop firmware. So far, it works fine flashing ZIP archives, backing up and restoring backups. Advantages? Well, backups are way lighter if you enable compression (like half the size), higher resolution, twrp turns off the screen with a timeout and whatever made them bump from version 2 to 3. While I could port a newer TWRP version, I just wanted to have lighter backups with compression... so maybe it is what it is .
ORIGINAL POST STARTS HERE. This is general information that I collected for geeks or desperate users that bricked their tablets. When I started this post it wasn't intended to produce a cooked ROM that would include most of these hacks. You don't need this if your tablet boots to Android or TWRP. You also don't need this if you are ready to flash the cooked ROM.
(This is a lenghty post. I suggest you to navigate by section header and find the one you might need.)
There are several Lenovo Yoga 3 tablet models out there and, while some of them enjoy of prime community support as the Yoga Tab 3 Plus, this Intel Atom powered tablet is pretty much forgotten and, at the same time, users were recently buying this tablet, which is a great piece of hardware but has the most terrible support by Lenovo.
Spoiler: WHAT LENOVO TABLET(S) IS THIS GUIDE FOR?
Basically, this is that Lenovo tablet with an attached projector and an Intel Atom Cherry Trail x5 Z8500. There are several models, though, to my knowledge they vary in their code names in the last letter, the two most basic ones (2GB RAM, 32 GB ROM) are the YT3-X90F and the YT3-X90L, the former connects to the internet by WiFi and the latter being the one with LTE/Phone capabilities. There are other models, though, and they vary on the amount of RAM and internal storage. Apparently, the YT3-X90[YX] models (the 4/64 GB refresh) have some use for these firmwares we describe, but in a very specific way, if you own a Y or X model, keep reading, especially the next section.
Spoiler: EXPLAINING HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT STOCK FIRMWARE
Lenovo support has been terrible (there are no words to describe it, really), so they launched this tablet with Android 5.1 Lollipop and they maintained it for a while but were very slow to deliver Android 6.0 Marshmallow. In fact, there was already Android Nougat, when they sent the Marshmallow update. Nevertheless, the update was bad. Performance issues were always a thing and some functionality went lost in the update (less intuitive multiple windows, a crippled recents activity/screen, and a laggy overall experience). Bottom line, they launched a curated Android Lollipop 5.1 firmware with security updates until March 2016 (striked because the last lollipop update f*cks up my sensors, except the light one) and a half-assed Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 firmware.
Of course, at the time, I'm guessing most of us upgraded to Android Marshmallow 6.0.1, hoping the upgrade would fix the issues in Lollipop or with security patches in mind. The reality was that Android 6.0.1 wasn't nearly as maintained as 5.1 and security ambitions went nowhere. So, we got the upgrade all right, but at this point, both Android versions can be considered inherently insecure and we really shouldn't be using it for sensitive work.
OK, there are several Android 5.1 and 6.0 firmwares, you can recognize them because they are all over the internet typically in a compressed format. For example, this firmware hosted in androidhost.ru named:
YT3-X90F_ENG_S100265_1601281130_WW24_ROW
Is a firmware for the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 (YT3) Pro (X90) Wifi Version (F). The ENG part is an indication of the build type, ENG is an engineer build while USR is probably a firmware for the end user (this is common now that I know a bit more about AOSP source code), it is a Lollipop firmware (S1, Marshmallow would be a S2) with update version (00265), date of compilation and a good estimate of its security patch (1601281130), the WW24 is the weekly release version of the Android kernel for Intel devices (the latest, in May 2020, being WW31 which is exactly the same as WW28 and not updated since 2016), the final part means it is the global ROM version (ROW, opossed to the Chinese version CN). This is the latest Lollipop firmware I am aware of, so, as an example, an imaginary Android Marshmallow Chinese firmware for the LTE version of the Yoga Tab 3 would look like:
YT3-X90L_USR_S200013_1610141535_WW24_CN
As an additional note the Chinese ROMS, I presume, are not trusty but they are also Google-free for what it's worth. On the other hand, they ship with a "Lenovo Services Framework" that should be as intrusive as the Google Play Services. Oh, also, baidu and yandex, and, really, any less traditional search engine can help you find a fitting firmware.
Spoiler: EXPLAINING HOW TO FLASH A STOCK FIRMWARE (DOWNGRADE TO LOLLIPOP AND UNBRICK)
I did test several firmwares, chinese and global, lollipop and marshmallow and the safest and easiest way to flash them is by using the Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite . I can't say I trust in this site, but it hosts a handy tutorial on how to use it, though, is pretty intuitive. The software exists for Mac, Windows and Linux, be sure you are in, at least, the 5.8.x version, this is important to avoid the need to install some special drivers separately as a pre-requisite. Grossly, Intel Flash Tool Lite works like this:
0) Turn off your tablet if it is on.
1) Launch Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite.
2) If your downloaded firmware is in zip format load it with the blue "Browse..." button.
2 bis) OR, if your firmware is in other compressed formats, uncompress it first. After this use the "Browse..." button to load the "flash.json" file.
3) In Configuration option select "blank" if it isn't set already. Optionally, un-tick the "On-demand flash" option to have more control of this process. Also, maybe you can use the "erase" configuration here.
4) Start your tablet in DNX mode. To do this, press Vol- and hold it, then Vol+ and keep holding both, then press the Power button until it turns on and you see the Lenovo logo and some text indicating you are in said mode.
5) Connect your Yoga Tablet with a USB cable and your Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite windows should show it as detected. Now you can proceed using the blue "Start to flash" button.
6) Keep an eye on your tablet, since some firmwares will prompt to set some more options. Unless you know what you are doing, answer "Yes" to any question.
7) Reboot and wait.
If a couple hours have passed and the tablet hasn't booted, maybe you should try another firmware.
IMPORTANT NOTE AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR YT3-X90Y AND POTENTIALLY YT3-X90X USERS: I don't know the rules in xda about linking to other forums but in certain forum there is an answered question about the Y model (the 4/64 GB WiFi only refresh) on how to flash a firmware. Instructions are the same as I gave in this section, except, apparently, you need to do it twice, first with the ENG version and the second time with the USR version except you are not using the flash.json file, this time you'll browse for the flash_factory_1st_stage.json one and the factory1st configuration in fastboot. It is not clear what are the consequences of not doing it this way or what if you combine different firmware versions (it would be interesting to have a tester here). Notice please, these firmwares are marked for the YT3-X90F model. So, clarifying:
1) Follow the instructions above to flash the YT3-X90F_ENG firmware.
2) Power off your tablet.
3) Boot into bootloader (not in DNX, you need to boot into bootloader by powering on while holding Vol+).
4) From the YT3-X90F_USR firmware folder use Intel Platform Flashing Tool Lite to load the flash_factory_1st_stage.json and select the factory1st configuration.
5) After flashing the USR firmware, reboot and you should be good to go.
METANOTE: This wasn't tested by me, please do this only when you are hopeless with your hardware. This is just an educated guess but I bet it works the same with the YT3-X90L (the LTE version 2/32 GB Yoga Tab 3 Pro) and the YT3-X90X (the 4/64 GB refresh).
ALTERNATIVE WAY TO FLASH A STOCK FIRMWARE (ADVANCED USERS, requires fastboot)
Well, there is no need, really, to use that Intel tool. In my search for a lollipop firmware (I wanted to downgrade from Marshmallow) I found the firmware YT3-X90F_USR_S100195_1512052308_WW24_ROW in www.firmware247.com or www.androidfilehost.com (IMPORTANT: please read the note on downgrading to Android 5.1 Lollipop in the note at the end of this section). This firmware was special since, if you are in Windows and have fastboot executable ready and in place, you can run a script (run_me.bat) in the Windows terminal (CMD) or Powershell to flash the firmware semi-automatically. I think this firmware was modified, though, since I found differences in the boot.img when compared with stock firmwares. This script is credited to XDA members @ionioni and @joesnose and you can replicate its steps if you:
0) Turn off your tablet if it is on.
1) Start your tablet in DNX mode. To do this, press Vol- and hold it, then Vol+ and keep holding both, then press the Power button until it turns on and you see the Lenovo logo and some text indicating you are in said mode.
2) Connect your tablet to your fastboot enabled PC using a USB cable.
3) Input "fastboot flash osloader loader.efi"
4) Wait 5 seconds to be sure the loader flash finishes.
5) Reboot into Bootloader. If you don't know how, one way is to hold Vol+ and Power on your tablet.
6) Input "fastboot oem unlock" and confirm using Vol keys to select the right option and the Power button to enter it.
7) Input "fastboot flash system system.img"
8) Input "fastboot flash boot boot.img"
9) Input "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img"
10) Input "fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img"
Follow your instincts, since I don't know if these IMG files are always named the same. You can get these IMG files from downloaded sources or dump them yourself using dd command.
NOTE ON DOWNGRADING TO ANDROID LOLLIPOP 5.1: So, one of my main concerns has been to go back to Android Lollipop. There is a last version of Lollipop from where you can upgrade to Marshmallow with a security patch from March 2016. Nevertheless, you MAY end up loosing other sensors except the light one. If this happens, you need to use a complete firmware flash using Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite. In my experience, some boot images are not compatible with other weird partitions like country or misc.
Spoiler: TWEAKS ALREADY IN THE COOKED ROM
The first boot takes some time even amounting for the time of the setup itself. By the time you are in the launcher tapping on app's icons you think there's nothing wrong with our device, but after some apps are in memory, you notice some lag. You think "OK, it is updating, but soon it'll settle", but it does not. So, you reboot again after updates and fire up a terminal emulator and connect to your tablet using a USB cable with USB debugging turned on and issue a free command to find something like this:
Code:
total used free shared buffers
Mem: 1950372 1820964 129408 0 7756
Swap: 524284 10740 513544
Total: 2474656 1831704 642952
Which means you have a total of ~2.5 GB (this is the 2 GB model). So, did I download that extra half GB of RAM or Lenovo was feeling generous? Well, no. The issue here is Lenovo built the kernel with zRAM support which is a technology included in Linux that reserves space in RAM to quickly compress and uncompress pages of data exceeding our physical amount of RAM installed (2 GB). This is not Virtual Memory as in a swap file/partition or Windows' Page File inside storage media. zRAM literally reserves a fixed amount of physical RAM space (blocks) to expand it by compressing data. The consequence is you loose "fast RAM" (THE RAM) and gain some "slow RAM" (the zRAM). You also sacrifice some CPU power to compress/decompress data and, with this, some battery juice is also lost.
That does not sound like a terrible trade-off for a RAM-limited device, one would think. Another interesting thing would be WHEN to send this piling data in "fast RAM" to the compressed space and WHEN to get it back. Two parameters control the WHENS, one is called "swappiness" (when to send it to the compressed space, the "slow RAM") and the other may be the "vfs_cache_pressure" (when to uncompress it and send it back to the "fast RAM"). And this is where the main problem is, really, because the kernel, Linux, is pressing the RAM constantly to send some less prioritary data to "slow RAM" and, at the same time, is trying constantly to send compressed data back to the "fast RAM". Summarizing, this kernel behavior is practically minimizing the fast RAM amount and usage while maximizing the "slow RAM" usage. This is nuts, by default a swappiness and a vfs_cache_pressure of 100 are not even default for servers, these parameters extremely prioritize that processes can get done no matter how slow they get, and they are even more nuts when Android is designed to work without swap space.
What that free command is telling us is the tablet is using the "slow RAM" even when we only just turned it on. Fortunately there are two ways to fix this problem: one is to completely disable zRAM, the other one is to use ZRAM a whole lot less by tweaking the swappiness and vfs_cache_pressure parameters. This can be easily done with the following sentences in a rooted tablet:
Code:
# echo 5 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
# echo 50 > echo 5 > /proc/sys/vm/vfs_cache_pressure
Or, to regain the whole fast RAM:
Code:
# swapoff /dev/block/zram*
One caveat of the first method, reducing swappiness, is there is still a lot of RAM (one quarter of the whole RAM in a 2 GB device) reserved as "slow RAM".
SOME ROMS DID NOT ENABLE KERNEL SAMEPAGE MERGING, UNFORTUNATELY
Additional to the sorry implementation of zRAM, some firmwares support a fabulous Linux tool to reduce RAM usage called Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) but they don't use it by default. This software runs at kernel level, so, it really is CPU-wise inexpensive and, opposite to zRAM it can actually recover some RAM usage by reducing the amount of data flagged as redundant in physical RAM by merging it. KSM is good for you and you should have it always enabled by issuing the following command as root:
Code:
# echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run
STOP WRITING AND FIX MY RAM! PLEASE!
Well... are there any people interested on this? With the above information you can write a script to execute at boot. Something like this should work in any version of the firmware:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
# Mount system as rw
busybox mount -o remount,rw -t auto /system
# Tweaking swappiness in zram
echo "5" > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
echo "50" > /proc/sys/vm/vfs_cache_pressure
# Activating Kernel Samepage Merging
echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run
# Remount system as ro. noatime option for faster and volatile system
# busybox mount -o ro,remount,noatime /system
busybox mount -o ro,remount /system
exit 1
Or, you can unpack the boot.img and modify the init.cht_ffd.rc (lollipop) or the init.r2_cht_ffd.rc (marshmallow) files to write these values as default... or, if there is interest for something easier, I can produce this boot.img files for you to flash using fastboot.
ROOTING THE LENOVO YOGA TAB 3 PRO (YT3-X90[FL])
Here I am not gonna write a lot. Instructions were given in this thread. I'd only recommend to put vm.targetutilization at 0.8 top 0.85 in system/build.prop
After rooting, debloat your firmware. I use the app "/system/app mover" from Fdroid to convert to user apps and uninstall them. Also, if rooting is not your cup of tea, you can install AppOps software to freeze all those apps that you don't use regularly. Also, I couldn't patch my services.jar for Signature Spoofing with Nanodroid patcher in the most recent lollipop firmware, but it did work in Marshmallow... anyway I'll do it manually.
ARE YT3-X90F AND YT3-X90L FIRMWARES INTERCHANGEABLE?
I own a WiFi only device (YT3-X90F) so I can't assert they are interchangeable. If I owned the LTE version and use a WiFi firmware I would expect to loose LTE functionality. Now, on the other direction is more interesting because I've been using a LTE firmware version for weeks (as a matter of fact, the one joesnose linked in his How-To debrick this tablet, flashed with the instructions I posted for advanced users it even updated to recent 2020 firmwares). The only tweak you need for this to work well is to add "ro.ril.disable=1" in the build.prop file. So, yes, firmware for the LTE version work in the WiFi version but kind of not vice versa.
Spoiler: YT3-X90(FL) UN-DEVELOPMENT
No news here. All capable people interested on developing for this device are all done with Lenovo and their attitude against Open Source. Don't expect your situation to change.
I'm happy to know there are still a couple of developers interested on this device. I won't cite them by linking their names but they are OOEvil and alquez, the first guy is trying to make a Generic System Image (GSI) ROM compatible with our tablet, I don't know the details so I wouldn't go further. Alquez has been active in this thread and, while he is trying to figure out how to build a kernel, he believes the best way to start having some alternative to official Lenovo firmware is by using a firmware kernel (a prebuilt kernel) to, first, build a more up-to-date TWRP recovery.img and from there try to build CyanogenMod 13, which was based on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1. My guess is newer Android versions wouldn't work if we can't build the kernel from source.
PHOTO ALBUM OF YT3/X90Y BIOS
This photo album documenting every screen option in the BIOS of the Yoga Tab 3 Pro may or may not help someone, but it contains a lot of useful hardware information and guidance for those attempting to boot something else than the original Android 5 or 6 firmware. Using this options, that are accessible through F2 at boot with an attached USB keyboard, you could try Linux distributions on the tablet or even attempt to run Windows, @alquez informs it works fine with a recent distro but the mainline kernel is lacking touchscreen and battery support. This is absolutely his work and he asked me to share it. I hope it serves someone. It is hosted in a rather obscure website but it was the only reasonable placeholder I could find for the 321 photos.
Hope this helps someone, I just didn't want to keep it to myself. Have a nice day!

Just remember, if your tablet is 3G capable I strongly suggest that you modify the line "ro.lenovo.tablet=wifi" to "ro.lenovo.tablet=3gdata" and remove the line "ro.radio.noril=true" to your build.prop file in /system. To do this you can use the section Build.prop Editor of the Kernel Adiutor app or you can do it manually if you have already a method to modify system files. If you do not use mobile data at all, you may leave the build.prop as it is, you'll save a lot of battery by using only wifi.
Spoiler: Some old info here, but maybe useful
ONLY FOR TESTING: Cooked ROM, newer TWRP and tweaked kernel
ONLY TRY THESE FOR TESTING PURPOSES, THE TWEAKS ARE ALL SAFE TO USE BUT ONLY FLASH FOR TESTING PURPOSES, PLEASE. FIRST, TRY TO USE FASTBOOT TO BOOT THE boot.img FILE WITHOUT FLASHING: IF IT BOOTS GO AHEAD AND TRY THE OTHER FILES (fastboot boot boot.img). THE TWRP IS NOT AS STABLE AS THE OTHER ONE HERE AT XDA BUT ALLOWS TO USE ZIP COMPRESSION IN BACKUPS. I AM NOT GONNA BE AROUND. IF YOU TRY SOMETHING MAKE A BACKUP FIRST. THIS DEVICE IS MESSY AS F*CK.
Spoiler: Some old info here, but maybe useful
I wrote a very detailed guide about these files I uploaded to my Nextcloud that include the newer TWRP-3.0.2, a TWRP flashable Cooked ROM and a separate kernel (boot.img) in case your system is already setup, but the post went to some XDA void and didn't upload. These are based on the YT3-X90L latest firmware, but they work on the X90F model too. The TWRP should work with Lollipop and Marshmallow firmwares.
I can't write everything again, so, the kernel contains better management of RAM and emmc (internal) memory, a 256 MB zRAM space instead of 512 and a more conservative approach to LowMemoryKiller.
The cooked ROM includes the described kernel and debloated apps, it's already rooted with Magisk (you can unroot with Magisk Uninstaller), an updated Busybox build, su.d support (I plan to use it with AFWall+), zipaligned apps, etc. It is for the X90L but possibly works for the other Yoga Tab 3 Pro models. It works for the X90F but it will reboot once after the first boot because the RIL configuration times out. To install the cooked ROM you need to:
0) Know that by doing this you will loose pretty much everything in your tablet. You start from scratch if everything goes smooth, if not you could possibly end up with a system without an OS. The usual stuff when you are customizing your system.
1) Boot into TWRP and make a Nandroid backup. IT IS IMPORTANT because @joesnose had problems with a "random reboot" and lost Bluetooth/WiFi after it. I am trying to look into this. The only difference is his tablet has 4 GB RAM and probably a different firmware.
2) Wipe cache, Dalvik/ART, System and Data in TWRP - Wipe, Advanced Wipe menu. If your tablet is encrypted, or in factory firmware you also need to explicitly use the button "Format Data partition" and confirm writing "yes" in the format procedure prompt. You will loose any configuration made to your tablet.
3) Install the superr_stockMM.zip wich is flashable by selecting the file from your Internal tablet memory, using the Install button in the main TWRP interface.
FOUR IMPORTANT NOTES TO COMMON ISSUES:
If you come from a stock firmware your data partition is encrypted. You need to pass a blank password in TWRP to continue to use the custom recovery. You also need to format data partition before flashing the cooked ROM.
If your tablet is WiFi-only I strongly suggest that you modify the line "ro.lenovo.tablet=3gdata" to "ro.lenovo.tablet=wifi" and add the line "ro.radio.noril=true" to your build.prop file in /system. To do this you can use the section Build.prop Editor of the Kernel Adiutor app or you can do it manually if you have already a method to modify system files. In Lollipop firmware you use "ro.ril.disable=1" instead of "ro.radio.noril=true" to get the same effect: sort of a conversion to WIFI-only tablet from LTE models. I'd argue this is useful to do if you are gonna be without LTE connection/service for long periods of time and I can think a couple of other uses.
Do not use stock Lenovo launcher unless you uninstall Magisk... they are incompatible for reasons I don't care to know and the Launcher will constantly FC (it is a pain in the arse).
If you are still expecting better performance I am sure there are some tweaks left in RAM management but it wont go too much further in 2 GB devices. Instead, you may consider to lower your display resolution and pixel density to something reasonable as 1400x2240 or even 1200x1920 maintaining the same aspect ratio. To do this you do not need to have root but you need to interact with the tablet using ADB. First change the size of your display:
Code:
adb shell wm size 1400x2240
Then adjust your density:
Code:
adb shell wm density 260
If still is not enough you can go even further with 1200x1920 and 224, use the same method to go back to stock with 1600x2560 and 300 to 302. This won't need a reboot but will probably cause an inconsistent UI that will lead to FCs and random reboot. You can just reboot after applying these tweaks. Unless you are really sight-gifted you won't notice a lot has changed but you will be dealing with 2.x Mpixels instead of 4.x Mpixels and that will help with your overall performance as well as your battery life sacrificing a pixel count that most of the people wouldn't even notice. If you did this correctly, in the next boot sequences you'll notice an offset on the Lenovo orange logo.
It is important to say that your display supports 1600x2560 pixels physically, but I'm assuming the GPU has no dedicated RAM and uses the device's, so, by reducing the quantity of pixels the GPU needs to deal with, the pressure on the device's RAM is also reduced.
EXTRA TIP: If boot annoys you just delete /system/media/boot.wav, bootanimation.zip and shutdownanimation.zip and you'll get a silent boot and the generic android boot animation.
Hope you enjoy your tablet!
TWRP-3.0.2.0- BETA: Again, this is not a flashable zip. Uncompress first and test the recovery system using "fastboot boot twrp_yt3-x90f_beta.img". If everything works for you, you may want to flash it permanently rebooting to bootloader and flashing with "fastboot flash recovery twrp_yt3-x90f_beta.img". Remember I did not test this in Marshmallow yet.
FEATURES:
- Fixed RAM issues (swapiness 10, vfs_cache_size 50 and disabled dynamic low memory killer tweaks and minfree values).
- Reduced zRAM size to only 256 MB.
- Tweaked interactive CPU scheduler to use other than min and max frequencies (but still responsive). The tweaks are based on the Advanced Interactive Governor Tweaks Guide. This may save battery life.
- Max frequency capped to 2.08 GHz (this is not great if you are a gamer). This tablet throttles when using max frequency for a long time, so, to save battery and keep it cooler I tweaked the CPU to run slower.
- Tweaked I/O schedulers to use deadline governor and read ahead cache to 640 kb (used benchmarks to get to this value).
- Force encryption disabled (to avoid applying ionioni script after flashing). Still needs to format data partition. You can encrypt your data partition later through Configuration -> Security user interface.
- Implemented native init.d support (not su.d anymore and no need to root the main OS).
- Busybox updated.
- Rooted with Magisk by default ( you can use Magisk uninstaller to unroot).
- Debloated apps. I also deleted Lenovo User Experience Program which was asking for root privileges even when you don't opt in to the Lenovo UE Program at setup wizard. I find this behavior shady.
-Multi-window mode is available in Developer Options and needs to be activated by you. In this mode if an app is compatible with multi-window mode you can double-tap on its title bar to enable Window mode. This function was more transparent in Lollipop firmware but it is still there in Marshmallow firmware if you change the build type to userdebug instead of user in build.prop (that's how I enabled it in the Cooked ROM).
- There are also other tweaks in VM and KSM.
And that's it, I'm not trying to change a lot, only the fundamental issues. But I suggest some other tweaks up there.

Such a shame. I love my Yoga Tab 3 Pro. Great hardware. But the software. Thanx anyway for your work.

Very nice write up. Thanks.

joesnose said:
Very nice write up. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. Thanks to you, while learning about this hardware your username pops everywhere.
jahfaby said:
Such a shame. I love my Yoga Tab 3 Pro. Great hardware. But the software. Thanx anyway for your work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really, really sucks. Let's hope something interesting happens after these strange and recent updates.

CENTSOARER said:
V1: The zip name boot_mod_mm.zip is based on the latest boot IMG provided by Lenovo. You need to first uncompress and flash it using fastboot (this is not a TWRP flshable zip). If you are uncomfortable flashing, you can test it only by issuing "fastboot boot boot_mm_march20_mod.img" once uncompressed, or, if you feel fine using it you can flash it permanently by using the command "fastboot flash boot boot_mm_march20_mod.img". This boot IMG will only work with Marshmallow firmwares in both YT3-X90(FL).
FEATURES:
- Fixed RAM issues (swapiness, vfs_cache_size and low memory killer tweaks).
- Reduced zRAM size to only 128 MB.
- Tweaked interactive CPU scheduler to use other than min and max frequencies (but still responsive). This saves battery life.
- Max frequency capped to 2.08 GHz (this is not great if you are a gamer). This tablet throttles when using max frequency for a long time, so, to save battery and keep it cooler I tweaked the CPU to run slower.
- Tweaked I/O schedulers to use deadline governor.
- Force encryption disabled (it's unnecesary to apply ionioni script now). Still needs to format data partition. You can encrypt your data partition later through Configuration->Security user interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. Going to take it for a spin.

joesnose said:
Thanks for this. Going to take it for a spin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, please provide feedback and don't forget to wipe caches.

alquez said:
"No news here. All capable people interested on developing for this device are all done with Lenovo and their attitude against Open Source. Don't expect your situation to change."
https://github.com/intel/ProductionKernelQuilts this repository containts patches necessary to create base 3.14.55 and 3.14.64 uefi/cht-m1stable kernel tree. The same tree that was butchered by Lenovo in their OPEN_SOURCE "release".
Check this file https://github.com/intel/ProductionKernelQuilts/blob/master/uefi/cht-m1stable/ChangeReport.md and the WW24 part in the "YT3-X90F_ENG_S100265_1601281130_WW24_ROW" will become more clear
Quilt manual: https://elinux.org/images/7/74/Maintaining_Multiple_Android_Linux_Kernels_at_Intel.pdf
If someone would be looking for a good piece to start: the best would be to recreate 3.14.55 or 3.14.64 from the quilts, use the x86_64 defconfig and build a kernel which can be booted. In order to test this, the best solution is to repack TWRP with the new kernel and do "fastboot boot" without flashing, until it boots and the touch screen is working. There's no other way i'm afraid.
I have prepared complete photo documentation of UEFI Bios, i can share, currently moving to different google photos account. Its over 300 photos.
Please, set up a Discord channel if you want to proceed. The first month will be quite boring and daunting because it's going to be build -> repack -> boot -> rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my defense, when I wrote that sentence was after taking a peek on your github profile, I figured you were just done with the Yoga Tab 3 Pro. I am really, really glad you're still trying and I recognize you are very capable of changing things for this device. I appreciate the sources you link but I am afraid I am useless as a developer, partly because of a lack of time and partly because of a lack of adequate training. I will try to help as much as I can, though. Thanks for the post.

alquez said:
No worries, however if anyone is interested how to actually crunch this one: we have a working prebuild kernel which can be pulled of boot image, and we have a working TWRP, however it looks like TWRP wasn't actually built from source, but cooked using android kitchen so we're still missing a device tree, which in my opinion is a good place to start, because you can use prebuilt kernel to build recovery and lineageos/aosp (it's deprecated but we're talking about android 6 aka cm-13.0/lineage 13.0). If I can create a most basic device tree which is capable of building recovery from scratch useing binary kernel and modules, i'd say were' good, because the next part would be adding more binary blobs from the official software, and we can skip the kernel source part for now until we have lineageos build 13 working). I started experimenting on xiaomi latte tree because it wasnt split like Z00A. It's not gonna be a proper port but it should work from now (i think)
@joesnose did you cook or compile TWRP? It's important
Ok, I'm at the stage i have two folders. The one is unpacked working TWRP, the other one is unpacked compilation i'm building, which means im able to build TWRP from source with binary kernel, but it's not working yet. The goal is make the left one look like the right one by adjusting various parts in BoardConfig.mk and copying files.. If someone has right partition sizes for BoardConfig.mk that would be really helpful, the values i calculated suck and don'y boot yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhmmm, I've been there and took some notes with some "GNU shell Fu". What sizes are you using right now?
And regarding the WW part of the name I've noticed the recent updates are marked as WW17 opposed to WW28 which was the latest stable with any changes. Any idea why Lenovo used WW17 to update the Yoga Tab 3 Pro recently?

alquez said:
update, ive managed to boot vanilla android-x86 x64 6.0.1 build without touching the kernel yet and different TWRP (3.1.1.0) with kernel swap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Geez, I was excited because I read Ubuntu booted on this hardware but then I realized it was the Yoga 3 tablet but not the Yoga Tab 3, goddamnit. Keep up the good work!

alquez said:
Um Ubuntu 20.04 boots with working accelerometer so the screen rotation works + wifi, and probably audio i forgot to play youtube video, the stuff missing is battery, touchscreen and projector.
To test it you need to connect a usb hub using usb otg, put ubuntu and a keyboard in the hub, boot, and press f2 really fast if you haven't enabled slow boot yet. You can even boot
Xubuntu to ram and remove flash drive. It's a pc architecture after all and most of the processor related stuff is in the linux mainline since 4.11
Recently i was checking why the Windows 10 installer crashes on ACPI Error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I will have fun doing this kind of stuff at the end of the year. It must run swiftly with i3, provided you won't get touchscreen support.

alquez said:
Geting TS and a battery running is a mandatory, the next is the projector. The rest is pretty much working. I'm building generic celadon x86 atm and the beast is huge it's like 18% now after two hours on -j8 on i7. Maybe we can give this old monster a new life
edit:
And i need to add 480gb drive ;/
Code:
/dev/sdc1 229G 210G 6,7G 97% /home/android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am afraid those are the peripherals that will keep you in 3.14.55/64 Linux, at least for a while , unless you know something more (wouldn't be surprised).
Are those GB for source code or for cache? Both? Jesus... the thing is huge but reading the unpacked boot.img makes much more sense now.

It was ionioni who made the twrp for the device. I dont have the foggiest how he did it.
---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 AM ----------
Wow! I missed lot, looks like you have made some serious progress here. very well done.

alquez said:
I contacted my friend and he told me to compare these two folders:
https://github.com/alquez/lenovo_yt...l/cht/arch/x86/platform/intel-mid/device_libs
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/tree/master/arch/x86/platform/intel-mid/device_libs
the new files in "lenovo tree" are the modules we're after, mostly and it's a place to start
I need to ask inioni about twrp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will guess it was ported from the Yoga Tab 2. I will edit this post soon.

alquez said:
Nice! There's big chance the modules are reused somewhere. We can compare these. I think the two folders in
https://github.com/alquez/lenovo_yt3_x90_osc/tree/master/kernel/cht/drivers/input/touchscreen
which are missing from vanilla tree are two separate drivers and one is for "any pen" driver. Can you ask someone porting modules recently
to help us refresh my memory
[edit]
I've got in touch with TeamBliss of BlissRoms , they are working on cherrytrail tree
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, I couldn't confirm it was ported. A lot of posts were removed when XDA enforced the GPL measures to its developers.
About BlissRoms, it just makes sense they are working on Cherry trail. I hope you and those guys can achieve something soon. I mean, it's a 2 GB RAM device but the display, projector and dolby audio system are worth for a better fate than Lenovo's plans.

alquez said:
4GB of ram 4 cpu cores, Hardware virtualization support, fast gpu and fast emmc memory. It's a beast, way ahead of it's time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have the 2 GB RAM model, so my expectations are conservative. Anyway, don't believe I'm a hardcore user, so it's plenty enough for me, considering I won't even flash Google apps. I am now settled with Lollipop, since I need apps not getting killed by damn Doze. It is a shame how OEMs can limit a device like this one. Crond, init.d, bad zRAM, shell, even busybox... frequently the OS is crippled. I read somewhere Doze can be disabled in build.prop or something but one thing I just hate is the recents screen in Marshmallow firmware (my God, is terrible!) and can't be easily changed for something like OmniSwitch. I mean, for a mobile device you have an unusual architecture, why limit it further? Damn, I wish BlissRoms come up with a working build.
Hey, @alquez, have you tried Linux 5.7 on the tablet? I saw this article and seems like the touchscreen may work with the next mainline kernel release. I mean, right now is on RC7, should be stable enough to compile and try (I'd try it, but can't get to my workstations thanks to the virus).
EDIT: Ah... I was looking into my device and it comes with a HiDeep touchscreen (cat /dev/input/event3), the linked news is for the Goodix driver / devices. At least, I guess, it will attract others to this platform... anyway, I was wondering and also confused, shouldn't touch screen work with the hideep driver using this config already?

Thanks for the new feel.
This is great, glad to see a developer picking up this tablet. It's a fine machine with an unfortunately small user base and has never really seen any development apart from ionioni s efforts and he didn't even own one, lol.
Edit: *Thank for the new twrp * auto correct!

I love this device! For me it's the perfect device for vacation just because of the projector!
I am so happy that you guys are working on it again. the ram and display tweak works like a charme for me. Had to reset my background screen though
thx for all your help. As soon as you guys have light rom, i'll install it on my 2GB device.

hello how to flash your twrp please ?

can someone upload adb drivers for the yt3-x90f please ? because i try to flash in dnx fastboot mode but commands don't work, even "fastboot devices" don't show me the yoga tab 3 pro

Nook Simple Touch - Resources?

Hi!
Theres lots of different packages and resources scattered around, and theres missing instructions and unclear details.
Would it be possible to compile a list, with instructions, on modding a rooted NST (/Glowlight)?
I have seen new kernels with USB Host/OTG, multitouch, upgrades, additional launchers etc, but no real details of how to use them, whats the most up to date etc
Thanks!

alexhorner said:
Hi!
Theres lots of different packages and resources scattered around, and theres missing instructions and unclear details.
Would it be possible to compile a list, with instructions, on modding a rooted NST (/Glowlight)?
I have seen new kernels with USB Host/OTG, multitouch, upgrades, additional launchers etc, but no real details of how to use them, whats the most up to date etc
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that will take a very long time. It's something I've thought about for this year, but it's a big effort.
Suppose you list what you'd like to do, and I'll try to point you in the right directions, in some kind of logical order.

Thanks for such a fast reply!
Referencing https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/share-your-setup-app-list.3143404/
I'd like to get the best kernel I can, with USB HOST and Sound drivers if possible
From that list I can also see of interest:
Extended Power Menu
AndroNook Settings
UsbMode
TuneIn Radio
QQPlayer
FastMode2
Opera Mini
AirDroid
adbWireless
Nook Clear Screen
Terminal Emulator
Stock Settings
Would you have any developers/stock experience and performance/featureset upgrade recommendations too?
Ideally I'd love to write up a page for everything I use with downloads and instructions where applicable
Thanks!
Edit: Tools like OpenSSH and BusyBox would be handy too, though I could probably build those from older sources if I need to

alexhorner said:
Thanks for such a fast reply!
Referencing https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/share-your-setup-app-list.3143404/
I'd like to get the best kernel I can, with USB HOST and Sound drivers if possible
From that list I can also see of interest:
Extended Power Menu
AndroNook Settings
UsbMode
TuneIn Radio
QQPlayer
FastMode2
Opera Mini
AirDroid
adbWireless
Nook Clear Screen
Terminal Emulator
Stock Settings
Would you have any developers/stock experience and performance/featureset upgrade recommendations too?
Ideally I'd love to write up a page for everything I use with downloads and instructions where applicable
Thanks!
Edit: Tools like OpenSSH and BusyBox would be handy too, though I could probably build those from older sources if I need to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of that list is apps. Give me a day to put something together.

nmyshkin said:
Most of that list is apps. Give me a day to put something together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No rush! Thank you so much for your help

[I'm going to try to address your issues in this single post, but not all at once. I'll be adding things over the next few days. Since I don't know where in the process you are currently, just skip things you have already done]
Updating to FW 1.2.2
[Note: if you have a UK device, go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-dealing-with-non-us-aka-uk-devices-in-2021.4233411/ and return here to the "Kernals" section after completing option 3]
If your device is still on FW 1.2.1 you will need to do a manual update. In theory, you should be able to download the update zip from B&N (https://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/nook2/1.2.2/351e26527e80156183e74be2da2ce89f/nook_1_2_update.zip), connect your NST/G to your PC via USB, copy the update zip to the "Nook" drive and wait. When the device sleeps, the update should be installed. If you come back later and look at the "Nook" drive and you don't see the update zip, it's done. You can check this by looking in the Settings app for the software version.
IF the theoretical procedure does not work for you, a deregistration might be in order. Since a device on FW 1.2.1 cannot deregister by contacting B&N servers (this is generally done via the Settings app), you will have to force a user data wipe. To do this, turn off the device. Power back on and as soon as you see the "Read Forever" screen, press and hold the two lower hardware buttons (page-turn buttons) until a prompt appears. Follow the on-screen directions. This will eventually leave you at the "Welcome" screen. Now attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip onto the "Nook" drive and wait for the update to occur. Again, if you come back later and you don't see the update zip listed on the "Nook" drive, you're done. At this point you can continue and register your device.
IF the second method was unsuccessful, there might be something messed up with the resident FW. In that case, the best course is to initiate a factory re-write of the entire system. The eight-failed-boot attempts is painful and often very frustrating, but NookManager can do the job in the push of a button. So if you are still having issues updating, proceed to the "Rooting" section below and prepare a NookManager card. Then power down your device, insert the NookManager card and power up. Skip WiFi turn on. The "Restore Factory zip" option is found under "Rescue". Follow the directions and after a reboot you will be at the "Welcome" screen on some unknown FW. Attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip to the "Nook" drive, and wait for the update to occur as described above. Once that has happened, continue on to registration.
Rooting
Go here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-updating-nookmanager-for-fw-1-2-2.3873048/ and choose whichever version of NookManager seems like it will best meet your needs. I strongly suggest you make a FW 1.2.2 registered backup before rooting (NookManager can do this). When your device is rooted and you have done some configuration on the possible launchers and/or file managers, return here to the next section, "Kernals".
Note: regarding your question about ssh and busybox, the latter is installed during rooting with NookManager. I'm really not familiar with ssh but I note that you can supposedly use it with NookManager running. There is some info on the opening screen where the WiFi option is located.
Kernels
The first kernel modification was for multi-touch to enable pinch-zoom for those apps that would support it on the NST. Every subsequent kernel has included this change.
Now it gets a little confusing. For practical purposes, only kernels based on at least FW 1.2.1 are of use. Earlier kernels do not understand glowlight control (you can work around this, but why bother?). So there are more or less three "modern" kernels for the NST/G, one without support for USB Host and two with USB Host support.
Kernel 166 (see attachment below) does not support USB Host but it does support both augmented display modes, NoRefresh and FastMode (with the appropriate apps installed). NoRefresh is an augment for flicker-free reading when scrolling in an app (like a webpage, for example) or when moving around on a PDF image. Based on the original development thread, this appears not to require kernel modification, only the installation and configuration of an app (link below). FastMode is an augment for, well, I guess for playing with video. It presents a highly dithered image (lots of tiny dots) in an attempt to simulate greater grey-scale. Initially it seems like a good idea (impressive coding, anyway) but it's not good at all for reading and there is a lot of ghosting in video until the screen is finally filled with swirls of dots in various states of visibility. At least that was my experience. FastMode requires both kernel modification and an app (link below). Kernel 166 is the only kernel that can run both display modes. Like all kernels that support FastMode it is overclocked, supposedly up to 1100 Mz, although I never saw it indicated more than 1000 Mz. When running it you probably should have a CPU governor app installed (download below), perhaps trim the CPU down to 800 Mz to help with battery life.
NoRefresh and FastMode both require apps to activate the display augments (not simultaneously). But the point of all this (since you want USB Audio) is to try to make clear(?) that any other kernel that supports FastMode kills NoRefresh (somehow). So, if you want USB Host/Audio (and you do) then you have to choose which display augment you want because you can't have both. That is not to say it's impossible (clearly kernel 166 shows that it is) but only that there is no existing kernel that makes it possible.
The two kernels which support USB Host probably have numbers. Maybe one of them is 174. But probably nobody knows at this point. The kernel in the CWM zip for enabling USB Audio (with all the nifty drivers) is an overclocked kernel that supports FastMode. If you would prefer to have access to NoRefresh instead of FastMode, you can use the kernel attached below (can't find the original link, so...). Just open the CWM USB Audio zip in something like WinRAR and drag the new kernel into the "boot" folder, replacing the file already there. Be sure to not recompress the file. Use the "store" or similar option when dragging into the opened archive.
Kernel installation can be done via adb. The directions for that are here. But since you have the CWM zip available and want to install all the audio stuff as well, the easiest path is via CWM. That means you need a card.
Download one of the two sdcard options from here and burn a card (do NOT install CWM internally on the NSTG! It will replace the fail-safe factory image!!). Then copy the zip with the kernel and audio drivers to the card and boot your NSTG from the CWM card. Install from the zip and you're good to go after a reboot. If you change your mind later about the kernel just swap in the one you want in the zip file and flash the whole package again.
Two details on this CWM USB Audio package: microphone recording is not entirely/correctly implemented in the files as supplied. If that is not important to you, skip to the next stuff. If you want to get it done right and then forget about it, you need to replace one of the files in the zip with a corrected version and you also need to copy a patched version of framework.jar into /system/framework. The zip of patches below contains the framework.jar and a file called alsa.default.so. You can use a file manager to copy the framework.jar into /system/framework. Be sure the permissions are set the same as the original (you can rename original to framework.jar.bak first, if you want). Then reboot.
As for the little alsa file, open the CWM USBAudio zip and navigate inside to system/lib/hw. You'll see the original file there. Drag the replacement over and be sure not to recompress it (i.e., use "store" or similar). Now the zip is good to go for a complete USB Audio installation including both playback and recording. Whew!
USB Audio
Of course, it's not that simple. There's no headphone jack or speakers. How does the audio come out?! You need two pieces of hardware (three, if you count earbuds/headphones---or a cable to attach to the auxiliary jack of your sound system) and some software.
USB Host in general requires the use of an OTG cable stub. This seems to be a very critical part of the arrangement. My first cable fit poorly and I almost gave up on the whole enterprise. A second one fit in the slightly non-standard USB jack like a hand in a glove. Suddenly it all worked! I can't tell you which cable might work for you. They are cheap (that's part of the problem...) and you may need to try more than one. Amazon, ebay, etc. Some are straight-line, others 90 degrees. What's important is a good fit. I'm not saying the example in the link above is a good fit. I got mine so long ago I have no idea where it came from. Probably ebay. Long gone.
Since the NSTG has no sound hardware, you need a USB-C external sound card device (here's another link to the button/LED kind--expired, but you get the idea). These also are not very expensive and can be found on Amazon or ebay. There are two basic designs. One has a bunch of LEDs that just waste battery power. It may also have volume control and/or other buttons. The other one is more spartan, lacking LEDs and buttons. I have one of each and never use with one with the LEDs.
To initiate USB Host or Audio you need at least one app (each). @Renate has produced an app for USB Host and an additional one for USB Audio. They can be downloaded from her signature page. Both are used to activate USB Audio. They are great for diagnostics but I just never have any issues with USB Host (that perfect plug!) so I wanted something that would be simpler. Just one touch. I made two small apps, one for USB Host (does not activate audio stuff) and one for USB Audio (sets up host and activates audio). The latest version of the USB Audio app places volume control buttons on the screen when in use, so you really don't need a device with volume buttons. My apps are found here. These routines are also included as options in my QuickTiles app.
ADB
You didn't specifically mention ADB so perhaps you are already fixed for that or maybe don't think you'll want it. There are certainly some things that are really only possible with ADB when you start getting down and dirty with the device. But a good file manager and/or terminal app can also do a lot of stuff without ADB. Still, if you don't have it, the easiest way to get just ADB and not the entire Android SDK is to download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot. This is for Windows. If you're using a Mac, you're on your own.
The apps in your list
I'm going to try not to editorialize too much here, but some things may not work as well as they sound and there might be better alternatives to others, so...based on my experiences (and prejudices...).
Extended Power Menu (caution, "reboot to recovery" option goes straight to factory re-image without any chance to say no! A possible alternative, my Alternate Power Menu app)
AndroNook Settings (I had trouble with this and the stock B&N system; some settings don't seem to work, some cause a reboot. A possible alternative my Nook Settings app--not as tidy but full-featured)
UsbMode (this is the kernal thing and/or maybe the activating app--already covered above)
TuneIn Radio (still works great, available in the package of apps linked in my signature)
QQPlayer (@pinguy1982 posted this copy--MX Player w/codec pkg also is great--again in my app pack)
FastMode2 (app already linked above; needed to activate FastMode with supporting kernel)
Opera Mini (installed with the updated NookManager packages. Direct link to Opera archive)
AirDroid (also, if you use ES File Explorer it has a "remote manager" capability. Creates an FTP address. You type in the address in the Windows Explorer address bar and voila, you can move files back and forth via WiFi. Hard to get to, though, buried in the app settings, so I made a little app to access directly. Also available as an option in my QuickTiles app.
adbWireless (ADB Konnect is installed by NookManager. One drawback: for long sessions you need to extend screen timeout since connection seems to drop when screen goes into sleep mode)
Nook Clear Screen (I found this not very useful; maybe I have a greater tolerance for little screen artifacts. Also available as an option in my QuickTiles app.
Terminal Emulator (couldn't track this one down in the forum so I uploaded a copy below)
Stock Settings (well, this is what's on the device out-of-the-box!)
I think (hope) that covers everything you mentioned. I did see a reference to an app called DroidSSH while I was tracking down some of this stuff, but no link. If that's something you might find useful, you'll need to do a lot of Googling. (or maybe it was SSHDroid?
If there is anything else, or something here is not clear, give a holler.

nmyshkin said:
[I'm going to try to address your issues in this single post, but not all at once. I'll be adding things over the next few days. Since I don't know where in the process you are currently, just skip things you have already done]
Updating to FW 1.2.2
[Note: if you have a UK device, go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-dealing-with-non-us-aka-uk-devices-in-2021.4233411/ and return here to the "Kernals" section after completing option 3]
If your device is still on FW 1.2.1 you will need to do a manual update. In theory, you should be able to download the update zip from B&N (https://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/nook2/1.2.2/351e26527e80156183e74be2da2ce89f/nook_1_2_update.zip), connect your NST/G to your PC via USB, copy the update zip to the "Nook" drive and wait. When the device sleeps, the update should be installed. If you come back later and look at the "Nook" drive and you don't see the update zip, it's done. You can check this by looking in the Settings app for the software version.
IF the theoretical procedure does not work for you, a deregistration might be in order. Since a device on FW 1.2.1 cannot deregister by contacting B&N servers (this is generally done via the Settings app), you will have to force a user data wipe. To do this, turn off the device. Power back on and as soon as you see the "Read Forever" screen, press and hold the two lower hardware buttons (page-turn buttons) until a prompt appears. Follow the on-screen directions. This will eventually leave you at the "Welcome" screen. Now attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip onto the "Nook" drive and wait for the update to occur. Again, if you come back later and you don't see the update zip listed on the "Nook" drive, you're done. At this point you can continue and register your device.
IF the second method was unsuccessful, there might be something messed up with the resident FW. In that case, the best course is to initiate a factory re-write of the entire system. The eight-failed-boot attempts is painful and often very frustrating, but NookManager can do the job in the push of a button. So if you are still having issues updating, proceed to the "Rooting" section below and prepare a NookManager card. Then power down your device, insert the NookManager card and power up. Skip WiFi turn on. The "Restore Factory zip" option is found under "Rescue". Follow the directions and after a reboot you will be at the "Welcome" screen on some unknown FW. Attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip to the "Nook" drive, and wait for the update to occur as described above. Once that has happened, continue on to registration.
Rooting
Go here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-updating-nookmanager-for-fw-1-2-2.3873048/ and choose whichever version of NookManager seems like it will best meet your needs. I strongly suggest you make a FW 1.2.2 registered backup before rooting (NookManager can do this). When your device is rooted and you have done some configuration on the possible launchers and/or file managers, return here to the next section, "Kernals".
Kernals
To be continued....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you have already written a lot on the linked UK thread too, and that unfortunately shows me it's hard to find the right resources scattered over XDA. Nevermind.
I do indeed have a UK device running 1.2.1 so I shall follow your 1.2.2 upgrade guide. I actually factory reset and deregistered my device but retained a backup which I took with NookManager of the registered version so I guess I'll keep ahold of that and watch for more information on this thread!

nmyshkin said:
[I'm going to try to address your issues in this single post, but not all at once. I'll be adding things over the next few days. Since I don't know where in the process you are currently, just skip things you have already done]
Updating to FW 1.2.2
[Note: if you have a UK device, go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-dealing-with-non-us-aka-uk-devices-in-2021.4233411/ and return here to the "Kernals" section after completing option 3]
If your device is still on FW 1.2.1 you will need to do a manual update. In theory, you should be able to download the update zip from B&N (https://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/nook2/1.2.2/351e26527e80156183e74be2da2ce89f/nook_1_2_update.zip), connect your NST/G to your PC via USB, copy the update zip to the "Nook" drive and wait. When the device sleeps, the update should be installed. If you come back later and look at the "Nook" drive and you don't see the update zip, it's done. You can check this by looking in the Settings app for the software version.
IF the theoretical procedure does not work for you, a deregistration might be in order. Since a device on FW 1.2.1 cannot deregister by contacting B&N servers (this is generally done via the Settings app), you will have to force a user data wipe. To do this, turn off the device. Power back on and as soon as you see the "Read Forever" screen, press and hold the two lower hardware buttons (page-turn buttons) until a prompt appears. Follow the on-screen directions. This will eventually leave you at the "Welcome" screen. Now attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip onto the "Nook" drive and wait for the update to occur. Again, if you come back later and you don't see the update zip listed on the "Nook" drive, you're done. At this point you can continue and register your device.
IF the second method was unsuccessful, there might be something messed up with the resident FW. In that case, the best course is to initiate a factory re-write of the entire system. The eight-failed-boot attempts is painful and often very frustrating, but NookManager can do the job in the push of a button. So if you are still having issues updating, proceed to the "Rooting" section below and prepare a NookManager card. Then power down your device, insert the NookManager card and power up. Skip WiFi turn on. The "Restore Factory zip" option is found under "Rescue". Follow the directions and after a reboot you will be at the "Welcome" screen on some unknown FW. Attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip to the "Nook" drive, and wait for the update to occur as described above. Once that has happened, continue on to registration.
Rooting
Go here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-updating-nookmanager-for-fw-1-2-2.3873048/ and choose whichever version of NookManager seems like it will best meet your needs. I strongly suggest you make a FW 1.2.2 registered backup before rooting (NookManager can do this). When your device is rooted and you have done some configuration on the possible launchers and/or file managers, return here to the next section, "Kernals".
Note: regarding your question about ssh and busybox, the latter is installed during rooting with NookManager. I'm really not familiar with ssh but I note that you can supposedly use it with NookManager running. There is some info on the opening screen where the WiFi option is located.
Kernals
The first kernal modification was for multi-touch to enable pinch-zoom for those apps that would support it on the NST. Every subsequent kernal has included this change.
Now it gets a little confusing. For practical purposes, only kernals based on at least FW 1.2.1 are of use. Earlier kernals do not understand glowlight control (you can work around this, but why bother?). So there are more or less three "modern" kernals for the NST/G, one without support for USB Host and two with USB Host support.
Kernal 166 (see attachment below) does not support USB Host but it does support both augmented display modes, NoRefresh and FastMode (with the appropriate apps installed). NoRefresh is an augment for flicker-free reading when scrolling in an app (like a webpage, for example) or when moving around on a PDF image. Based on the original development thread, this appears not to require kernal modification, only the installation and configuration of an app (link below). FastMode is an augment for, well, I guess for playing with video. It presents a highly dithered image (lots of tiny dots) in an attempt to simulate greater grey-scale. Initially it seems like a good idea (impressive coding, anyway) but it's not good at all for reading and there is a lot of ghosting in video until the screen is finally filled with swirls of dots in various states of visibility. At least that was my experience. FastMode requires both kernal modification and an app (link below). Kernal 166 is the only kernal that can run both display modes. Like all kernals that support FastMode it is overclocked, supposedly up to 1100 Mz, although I never saw it indicated more than 1000 Mz. When running it you probably should have a CPU governor app installed (download below), perhaps trim the CPU down to 800 Mz to help with battery life.
NoRefresh and FastMode both require apps to activate the display augments (not simultaneously). But the point of all this (since you want USB Audio) is to try to make clear(?) that any other kernal that supports FastMode kills NoRefresh (somehow). So, if you want USB Host/Audio (and you do) then you have to choose which display augment you want because you can't have both. That is not to say it's impossible (clearly kernal 166 shows that it is) but only that there is no existing kernal that makes it possible.
The two kernals which support USB Host probably have numbers. Maybe one of them is 174. But probably nobody knows at this point. The kernal in the CWM zip for enabling USB Audio (with all the nifty drivers) is an overclocked kernal that supports FastMode. If you would prefer to have access to NoRefresh instead of FastMode, you can use the kernal attached below (can't find the original link, so...). Just open the CWM USB Audio zip in something like WinRAR and drag the new kernal into the "boot" folder, replacing the file already there. Be sure to not recompress the file. Use the "store" or similar option when dragging into the opened archive.
Kernal installation can be done via adb. The directions for that are here. But since you have the CWM zip available and want to install all the audio stuff as well, the easiest path is via CWM. That means you need a card.
Download one of the two sdcard options from here and burn a card (do NOT install CWM internally on the NSTG! It will replace the fail-safe factory image!!). Then copy the zip with the kernal and audio drivers to the card and boot your NSTG from the CWM card. Install from the zip and you're good to go after a reboot. If you change your mind later about the kernal just swap in the one you want in the zip file and flash the whole package again.
Two details on this CWM USB Audio package: microphone recording is not entirely/correctly implemented in the files as supplied. If that is not important to you, skip to the next stuff. If you want to get it done right and then forget about it, you need to replace one of the files in the zip with a corrected version and you also need to copy a patched version of framework.jar into /system/framework. The zip of patches below contains the framework.jar and a file called alsa.default.so. You can use a file manager to copy the framework.jar into /system/framework. Be sure the permissions are set the same as the original (you can rename original to framework.jar.bak first, if you want). Then reboot.
As for the little alsa file, open the CWM USBAudio zip and navigate inside to system/lib/hw. You'll see the original file there. Drag the replacement over and be sure not to recompress it (i.e., use "store" or similar). Now the zip is good to go for a complete USB Audio installation including both playback and recording. Whew!
USB Audio
Of course, it's not that simple. There's no headphone jack or speakers. How does the audio come out?! You need two pieces of hardware (three, if you count earbuds/headphones---or a cable to attach to the auxiliary jack of your sound system) and some software.
USB Host in general requires the use of an OTG cable stub. This seems to be a very critical part of the arrangement. My first cable fit poorly and I almost gave up on the whole enterprise. A second one fit in the slightly non-standard USB jack like a hand in a glove. Suddenly it all worked! I can't tell you which cable might work for you. They are cheap (that's part of the problem...) and you may need to try more than one. Amazon, ebay, etc. Some are straight-line, others 90 degrees. What's important is a good fit. I'm not saying the example in the link above is a good fit. I got mine so long ago I have no idea where it came from. Probably ebay. Long gone.
Since the NSTG has no sound hardware, you need a USB-C external sound card device (here's another link to the button/LED kind--expired, but you get the idea). These also are not very expensive and can be found on Amazon or ebay. There are two basic designs. One has a bunch of LEDs that just waste battery power. It may also have volume control and/or other buttons. The other one is more spartan, lacking LEDs and buttons. I have one of each and never use with one with the LEDs.
To initiate USB Host or Audio you need at least one app (each). @Renate has produced an app for USB Host and an additional one for USB Audio. They can be downloaded from her signature page. Both are used to activate USB Audio. They are great for diagnostics but I just never have any issues with USB Host (that perfect plug!) so I wanted something that would be simpler. Just one touch. I made two small apps, one for USB Host (does not activate audio stuff) and one for USB Audio (sets up host and activates audio). The latest version of the USB Audio app places volume control buttons on the screen when in use, so you really don't need a device with volume buttons. My apps are found here. These routines are also included as options in my QuickTiles app.
ADB
You didn't specifically mention ADB so perhaps you are already fixed for that or maybe don't think you'll want it. There are certainly some things that are really only possible with ADB when you start getting down and dirty with the device. But a good file manager and/or terminal app can also do a lot of stuff without ADB. Still, if you don't have it, the easiest way to get just ADB and not the entire Android SDK is to download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot. This is for Windows. If you're using a Mac, you're on your own.
The apps in your list
I'm going to try not to editorialize too much here, but some things may not work as well as they sound and there might be better alternatives to others, so...based on my experiences (and prejudices...).
Extended Power Menu (caution, "reboot to recovery" option goes straight to factory re-image without any chance to say no! A possible alternative, my Alternate Power Menu app)
AndroNook Settings (I had trouble with this and the stock B&N system; some settings don't seem to work, some cause a reboot. A possible alternative my Nook Settings app--not as tidy but full-featured)
UsbMode (this is the kernal thing and/or maybe the activating app--already covered above)
TuneIn Radio (still works great, available in the package of apps linked in my signature)
QQPlayer (@pinguy1982 posted this copy--MX Player w/codec pkg also is great--again in my app pack)
FastMode2 (app already linked above; needed to activate FastMode with supporting kernal)
Opera Mini (installed with the updated NookManager packages. Direct link to Opera archive)
AirDroid (also, if you use ES File Explorer it has a "remote manager" capability. Creates an FTP address. You type in the address in the Windows Explorer address bar and voila, you can move files back and forth via WiFi. Hard to get to, though, buried in the app settings, so I made a little app to access directly. Also available as an option in my QuickTiles app.
adbWireless (ADB Konnect is installed by NookManager. One drawback: for long sessions you need to extend screen timeout since connection seems to drop when screen goes into sleep mode)
Nook Clear Screen (I found this not very useful; maybe I have a greater tolerance for little screen artifacts. Also available as an option in my QuickTiles app.
Terminal Emulator (couldn't track this one down in the forum so I uploaded a copy below)
Stock Settings (well, this is what's on the device out-of-the-box!)
I think (hope) that covers everything you mentioned. I did see a reference to an app called DroidSSH while I was tracking down some of this stuff, but no link. If that's something you might find useful, you'll need to do a lot of Googling.
If there is anything else, or something here is not clear, give a holler.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking very complete, thank you for the awesome work! I'm quite busy but I shall dedicate a couple hours before next week to go through this entire process.
I do have a questions which I think I know the answer to, but wanted to confirm: With NookManager, does it run its own OS from the SD Card, or does the normal internal Flash Storage OS load and then NookManager takes over?
Same with CWM - Does the whole device (properly) boot off of the SD card and not internal flash?
If they do boot off of the card, due to the bootloader (I assume UBoot from what I read, nice!) then that leaves a lot of custom linuxy opportunities available for a really lightweight Linux OS, though drivers might be a painpoint.
Thanks!

alexhorner said:
Looking very complete, thank you for the awesome work! I'm quite busy but I shall dedicate a couple hours before next week to go through this entire process.
I do have a questions which I think I know the answer to, but wanted to confirm: With NookManager, does it run its own OS from the SD Card, or does the normal internal Flash Storage OS load and then NookManager takes over?
Same with CWM - Does the whole device (properly) boot off of the SD card and not internal flash?
If they do boot off of the card, due to the bootloader (I assume UBoot from what I read, nice!) then that leaves a lot of custom linuxy opportunities available for a really lightweight Linux OS, though drivers might be a painpoint.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to my understanding, both NookManager and CWM boot directly from the sdcard. You can check the card contents, replete with its own uboot, mlo, etc. Similar set up as the CM 11 card.

nmyshkin said:
[I'm going to try to address your issues in this single post, but not all at once. I'll be adding things over the next few days. Since I don't know where in the process you are currently, just skip things you have already done]
Updating to FW 1.2.2
[Note: if you have a UK device, go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-dealing-with-non-us-aka-uk-devices-in-2021.4233411/ and return here to the "Kernals" section after completing option 3]
If your device is still on FW 1.2.1 you will need to do a manual update. In theory, you should be able to download the update zip from B&N (https://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/nook2/1.2.2/351e26527e80156183e74be2da2ce89f/nook_1_2_update.zip), connect your NST/G to your PC via USB, copy the update zip to the "Nook" drive and wait. When the device sleeps, the update should be installed. If you come back later and look at the "Nook" drive and you don't see the update zip, it's done. You can check this by looking in the Settings app for the software version.
IF the theoretical procedure does not work for you, a deregistration might be in order. Since a device on FW 1.2.1 cannot deregister by contacting B&N servers (this is generally done via the Settings app), you will have to force a user data wipe. To do this, turn off the device. Power back on and as soon as you see the "Read Forever" screen, press and hold the two lower hardware buttons (page-turn buttons) until a prompt appears. Follow the on-screen directions. This will eventually leave you at the "Welcome" screen. Now attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip onto the "Nook" drive and wait for the update to occur. Again, if you come back later and you don't see the update zip listed on the "Nook" drive, you're done. At this point you can continue and register your device.
IF the second method was unsuccessful, there might be something messed up with the resident FW. In that case, the best course is to initiate a factory re-write of the entire system. The eight-failed-boot attempts is painful and often very frustrating, but NookManager can do the job in the push of a button. So if you are still having issues updating, proceed to the "Rooting" section below and prepare a NookManager card. Then power down your device, insert the NookManager card and power up. Skip WiFi turn on. The "Restore Factory zip" option is found under "Rescue". Follow the directions and after a reboot you will be at the "Welcome" screen on some unknown FW. Attach the device to your PC via USB, drag the update zip to the "Nook" drive, and wait for the update to occur as described above. Once that has happened, continue on to registration.
Rooting
Go here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-updating-nookmanager-for-fw-1-2-2.3873048/ and choose whichever version of NookManager seems like it will best meet your needs. I strongly suggest you make a FW 1.2.2 registered backup before rooting (NookManager can do this). When your device is rooted and you have done some configuration on the possible launchers and/or file managers, return here to the next section, "Kernals".
Note: regarding your question about ssh and busybox, the latter is installed during rooting with NookManager. I'm really not familiar with ssh but I note that you can supposedly use it with NookManager running. There is some info on the opening screen where the WiFi option is located.
Kernals
The first kernal modification was for multi-touch to enable pinch-zoom for those apps that would support it on the NST. Every subsequent kernal has included this change.
Now it gets a little confusing. For practical purposes, only kernals based on at least FW 1.2.1 are of use. Earlier kernals do not understand glowlight control (you can work around this, but why bother?). So there are more or less three "modern" kernals for the NST/G, one without support for USB Host and two with USB Host support.
Kernal 166 (see attachment below) does not support USB Host but it does support both augmented display modes, NoRefresh and FastMode (with the appropriate apps installed). NoRefresh is an augment for flicker-free reading when scrolling in an app (like a webpage, for example) or when moving around on a PDF image. Based on the original development thread, this appears not to require kernal modification, only the installation and configuration of an app (link below). FastMode is an augment for, well, I guess for playing with video. It presents a highly dithered image (lots of tiny dots) in an attempt to simulate greater grey-scale. Initially it seems like a good idea (impressive coding, anyway) but it's not good at all for reading and there is a lot of ghosting in video until the screen is finally filled with swirls of dots in various states of visibility. At least that was my experience. FastMode requires both kernal modification and an app (link below). Kernal 166 is the only kernal that can run both display modes. Like all kernals that support FastMode it is overclocked, supposedly up to 1100 Mz, although I never saw it indicated more than 1000 Mz. When running it you probably should have a CPU governor app installed (download below), perhaps trim the CPU down to 800 Mz to help with battery life.
NoRefresh and FastMode both require apps to activate the display augments (not simultaneously). But the point of all this (since you want USB Audio) is to try to make clear(?) that any other kernal that supports FastMode kills NoRefresh (somehow). So, if you want USB Host/Audio (and you do) then you have to choose which display augment you want because you can't have both. That is not to say it's impossible (clearly kernal 166 shows that it is) but only that there is no existing kernal that makes it possible.
The two kernals which support USB Host probably have numbers. Maybe one of them is 174. But probably nobody knows at this point. The kernal in the CWM zip for enabling USB Audio (with all the nifty drivers) is an overclocked kernal that supports FastMode. If you would prefer to have access to NoRefresh instead of FastMode, you can use the kernal attached below (can't find the original link, so...). Just open the CWM USB Audio zip in something like WinRAR and drag the new kernal into the "boot" folder, replacing the file already there. Be sure to not recompress the file. Use the "store" or similar option when dragging into the opened archive.
Kernal installation can be done via adb. The directions for that are here. But since you have the CWM zip available and want to install all the audio stuff as well, the easiest path is via CWM. That means you need a card.
Download one of the two sdcard options from here and burn a card (do NOT install CWM internally on the NSTG! It will replace the fail-safe factory image!!). Then copy the zip with the kernal and audio drivers to the card and boot your NSTG from the CWM card. Install from the zip and you're good to go after a reboot. If you change your mind later about the kernal just swap in the one you want in the zip file and flash the whole package again.
Two details on this CWM USB Audio package: microphone recording is not entirely/correctly implemented in the files as supplied. If that is not important to you, skip to the next stuff. If you want to get it done right and then forget about it, you need to replace one of the files in the zip with a corrected version and you also need to copy a patched version of framework.jar into /system/framework. The zip of patches below contains the framework.jar and a file called alsa.default.so. You can use a file manager to copy the framework.jar into /system/framework. Be sure the permissions are set the same as the original (you can rename original to framework.jar.bak first, if you want). Then reboot.
As for the little alsa file, open the CWM USBAudio zip and navigate inside to system/lib/hw. You'll see the original file there. Drag the replacement over and be sure not to recompress it (i.e., use "store" or similar). Now the zip is good to go for a complete USB Audio installation including both playback and recording. Whew!
USB Audio
Of course, it's not that simple. There's no headphone jack or speakers. How does the audio come out?! You need two pieces of hardware (three, if you count earbuds/headphones---or a cable to attach to the auxiliary jack of your sound system) and some software.
USB Host in general requires the use of an OTG cable stub. This seems to be a very critical part of the arrangement. My first cable fit poorly and I almost gave up on the whole enterprise. A second one fit in the slightly non-standard USB jack like a hand in a glove. Suddenly it all worked! I can't tell you which cable might work for you. They are cheap (that's part of the problem...) and you may need to try more than one. Amazon, ebay, etc. Some are straight-line, others 90 degrees. What's important is a good fit. I'm not saying the example in the link above is a good fit. I got mine so long ago I have no idea where it came from. Probably ebay. Long gone.
Since the NSTG has no sound hardware, you need a USB-C external sound card device (here's another link to the button/LED kind--expired, but you get the idea). These also are not very expensive and can be found on Amazon or ebay. There are two basic designs. One has a bunch of LEDs that just waste battery power. It may also have volume control and/or other buttons. The other one is more spartan, lacking LEDs and buttons. I have one of each and never use with one with the LEDs.
To initiate USB Host or Audio you need at least one app (each). @Renate has produced an app for USB Host and an additional one for USB Audio. They can be downloaded from her signature page. Both are used to activate USB Audio. They are great for diagnostics but I just never have any issues with USB Host (that perfect plug!) so I wanted something that would be simpler. Just one touch. I made two small apps, one for USB Host (does not activate audio stuff) and one for USB Audio (sets up host and activates audio). The latest version of the USB Audio app places volume control buttons on the screen when in use, so you really don't need a device with volume buttons. My apps are found here. These routines are also included as options in my QuickTiles app.
ADB
You didn't specifically mention ADB so perhaps you are already fixed for that or maybe don't think you'll want it. There are certainly some things that are really only possible with ADB when you start getting down and dirty with the device. But a good file manager and/or terminal app can also do a lot of stuff without ADB. Still, if you don't have it, the easiest way to get just ADB and not the entire Android SDK is to download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot. This is for Windows. If you're using a Mac, you're on your own.
The apps in your list
I'm going to try not to editorialize too much here, but some things may not work as well as they sound and there might be better alternatives to others, so...based on my experiences (and prejudices...).
Extended Power Menu (caution, "reboot to recovery" option goes straight to factory re-image without any chance to say no! A possible alternative, my Alternate Power Menu app)
AndroNook Settings (I had trouble with this and the stock B&N system; some settings don't seem to work, some cause a reboot. A possible alternative my Nook Settings app--not as tidy but full-featured)
UsbMode (this is the kernal thing and/or maybe the activating app--already covered above)
TuneIn Radio (still works great, available in the package of apps linked in my signature)
QQPlayer (@pinguy1982 posted this copy--MX Player w/codec pkg also is great--again in my app pack)
FastMode2 (app already linked above; needed to activate FastMode with supporting kernal)
Opera Mini (installed with the updated NookManager packages. Direct link to Opera archive)
AirDroid (also, if you use ES File Explorer it has a "remote manager" capability. Creates an FTP address. You type in the address in the Windows Explorer address bar and voila, you can move files back and forth via WiFi. Hard to get to, though, buried in the app settings, so I made a little app to access directly. Also available as an option in my QuickTiles app.
adbWireless (ADB Konnect is installed by NookManager. One drawback: for long sessions you need to extend screen timeout since connection seems to drop when screen goes into sleep mode)
Nook Clear Screen (I found this not very useful; maybe I have a greater tolerance for little screen artifacts. Also available as an option in my QuickTiles app.
Terminal Emulator (couldn't track this one down in the forum so I uploaded a copy below)
Stock Settings (well, this is what's on the device out-of-the-box!)
I think (hope) that covers everything you mentioned. I did see a reference to an app called DroidSSH while I was tracking down some of this stuff, but no link. If that's something you might find useful, you'll need to do a lot of Googling. (or maybe it was SSHDroid?
If there is anything else, or something here is not clear, give a holler.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel installed via CWM, USB audio working! Not a fan of FastMode and can't be bothered to mess with NoRefresh yet. Going to look at the OpenSSL stuff soon I think though.
Installing various apps from your list above and also your personal app list as linked in your signature, thank you once again!