How to create an OTA file for Lenovo TB-8504F? - Thinkpad Tablet General

We need to update a bunch of our tablets in the field, but would like them to update to a specific version and ideally with some modifications we've made to the boot.img partition.
Is it possible to create an update.zip for this device and pull it down and then update it in recovery or name it so that it automatically updates the next time the device is rebooted?

Related

[GUIDE] Fix "assert failed: apply_patch_check" error

Overview:
This thread is a guide on how to fix the apply_patch_check error message experienced during an upgrade of the Android OS. Specifically, this will detail the steps for an upgrade of Jelly Bean from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 on the Nexus 7 with CWM Recovery for a user of Windows. I'm sure similar steps will work for other recoveries/upgrades/devices and PC OSes.
You should only bother with this if you don't want to flash the entire system.img file to your phone, which is way easier.
Here is an example of the error message I'm talking about:
Code:
assert failed: apply_patch_check("/system/app/Chrome.apk", "819b34b66335c6faec86404d736a002b8871600", "9d6b55e63b0bf20bea433fb1ee7089f88ab73fb6")
E: Error in /sdcard/03a4eaf95f73.signed-nakasi-JZO54K-from-JRO03D.03a4eaf9.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
A few notes about the error:
This doesn't have to happen with the Chrome.apk specifically -- it could happen with any app in /system/app or .so in /system/lib.
Those random strings of numbers/letters are SHA-1 hashes of the apk.
The first one is the hash of the apk installed on your device. In my example, this happens to be the version of Chrome that comes with JB 4.1.2.
The second one is the expected hash of the apk that comes with JB 4.1.1.
Cause of the problem:
The reason this error occurs is because the file was somehow modified from its original state. In my case -- and most likely your case -- this was done by Titanium Backup. TB has an option to "Integrate updates of system apps into ROM", which will cause the apk in /system/app (and associated library files in /system/lib, if needed) to be overwritten with the updated apk.
Solution:
Download this zip file which contains the full /system/app and /system/lib directory from the JB 4.1.1 factory image. *
Extract the zip to a location of your choosing on your PC.
In the extracted folder, locate the .apk or .so file referenced in the error message on your device.
Copy this file to your device via your preferred method (USB cable works fine). I put my file in /sdcard/Download.
On your device, use a root file explorer to move the file from /sdcard/Download to /system/app (or /system/lib).
If you don't have a program that can do this, I use ES File Explorer. Be sure to go to Settings > Root Settings and turn on Root Explorer, Up to Root, and Mount File System.
Reboot into your Recovery and try to install the update again.
Repeat steps 3-6 for each subsequent file that produces an error. You will basically need to do this for each app you integrated using TB and maybe a few library files, too. **
* Future updates (above 4.1.2):
Since I won't be keeping the zip file from step #1 up-to-date, here's how to get the directories that I included in the zip for yourself:
Obtain a factory image for your device's current Android version (the version you're updating from).
For JB 4.1.1, this file is called nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz.
If you're reading this guide at a later date, the JB 4.1.2 file is called nakasi-jzo54k-factory-973f190e.tgz.
You can try your luck at the official Google site, but they seem to only provide the version you're trying to update to, not from.
Extract the .tgz file somewhere on your PC.
Locate the image-naksi-jro03d.zip file and extract that, as well.
In the folder you just extracted from the previous step, located the system.img file.
Download and use a program called sgs2toext4 (View attachment 645320) to convert the system.img to system.ext4.img. ***
Download and use a program called Linux Reader to open system.ext4.img.
Do this by going to Drives > Mount Image > Next > select your file.
It will then be listed under the Hard Disk Drives section in red as "Linux Ext Volume 1".
Navigate to: Linux Ext Volume 1/system.
Right-click on the app (or lib) directory and pick Save > Next > Output to dir of your choice.
You now have the directories that were included with the zip file from Solution step #1, so just follow those steps now.
** How to avoid repeating steps:
If you'd rather not have to try to reinstall after updating only one file, just to find another file that needs updating, try this:
Obtain the /system/app and /system/lib folders from the factory image and save them to your PC.
For the sake of this guide, let's say you save them to C:\factory_app and C:\factory_lib.
Copy the /system/app and /system/lib directories from your phone to your PC.
For the sake of this guide, let's say you saved them to C:\phone_app and C:\phone_lib.
Download the File Checksum Integrity Verifier utility from Microsoft.
Start > Run > cmd
fciv.exe -sha1 -xml factory_app.xml -wp C:\factory_app
fciv.exe -sha1 -xml factory_app.xml -v -bp C:\phone_app
Don't ask me why, but you need to use -bp instead of -wp for the second command.
Don't forget the -v on the second command.
The output of the last command will show you the list of files that are different. These are the files you need to take from C:\factory_app and put into the /system/app directory on your phone.
Do the same for the lib directories (just replace all instances of "_app" with "_lib" in the previous commands).
Summary:
I hope that this post helped some of you who really didn't want to have to flash the system.img or wipe your device just to update. In the future, use TB to back up the original.
I wouldn't normally bother writing up a guide like this (it took almost as long to write as it did to figure out how to do this) but I couldn't find this solution anywhere even though I saw that I wasn't the only person with the problem. Sorry for not posting this guide sooner (update has been out for a while now), but the forum required me to make a bunch of useless spam posts before I could include any links in my guide and I didn't get around to making those posts right away.
*** I would like to thank balamu96m for his guide on extracting data from the system.img file and drphrozen for making the sgs2toext4 program.
Thanks for this. Will try now.
Worked great. Had to copy the apk and odex file.
Good job! It's great to see the steps for Windows users!
Just a heads up that I simply extracted the files I needed from and on my N7 using Root Explorer, without using my PC at all.
Great guide! Method worked perfectly on my Nexus 7 going from 4.1.2 to 4.2, thanks
Please... is there some other way to update the files w/o installing Java on my Windoze PeeCee? I accidentally messed up my YouTube.apk with Titanium Backup... now I can't update from 4.1.2 --> 4.2 JB.
EDIT: JavaPortable FTW... updating (fingers crossed)
EDIT: SUCCESS TY OP!
For anyone who flashed the 4.2 clock/keyboard already
Hey, for anyone who flashed the 4.2 clock and keyboard on their Nexus 7 already and need to roll back to do the 4.2 update, I used OP's method to make a flashable zip that puts the 4.1.2 clock and keyboard back.
Worked perfectly for my Nexus 7 to get me up and running. Hope it helps anyone!
cantthinkofa.com/files/RestoreClockKeyboard.zip
galaxy nexus
Hi can you post a guide for galaxy nexus? Or if it is the same, can you post the link of JB factory image for galaxy nexus? Sorry, I can't find any thread for galaxy nexus, and I don't want to complete flash the stock image since I don't want to wipe my phone.
Thanks in advance!
Nice Guide
perfect, the guide works just fine. Now finally running 4.2.
Awesome guide... Thanks... Happily running 4.2 now aften beeing stuck at libutils.so...
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
damagno said:
Hi can you post a guide for galaxy nexus? Or if it is the same, can you post the link of JB factory image for galaxy nexus? Sorry, I can't find any thread for galaxy nexus, and I don't want to complete flash the stock image since I don't want to wipe my phone.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a Galazy Nexus, but I think the steps should be the same. Here is a link to the factory images: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#takju . It looks like they now have links for older versions, rather than just the newest images (which is how it was when I made my guide). So that's pretty sweet.
Thanks a lot man, i succeeded to "patch" my system files to update from 4.2 to 4.2.1. I first check what files didn't correspond with fciv (9 files counting both apks and odex) and then replaced them in system/app. In fact they were the apps I previously integrated with tb (learned lesson: never do it if you want to remain stock and receive OTAs). I also noticed many not-matching files in system/lib but i didn't touch them and the update went smooth the same.
Another thing: when in the OP you say it's way easier just to reflash the system.img you mean just run from bootloader "fastboot flash system system.img" (taken from the factory image as usual) or there's some other thing to do in order to fix the system partition in the right way?
GallStones said:
Thanks a lot man, i succeeded to "patch" my system files to update from 4.2 to 4.2.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering if you could tell me how you did it? I'm searching a way to install 4.2.1 with no avail as of yet :crying:
GallStones said:
Thanks a lot man, i succeeded to "patch" my system files to update from 4.2 to 4.2.1. I first check what files didn't correspond with fciv (9 files counting both apks and odex) and then replaced them in system/app. In fact they were the apps I previously integrated with tb (learned lesson: never do it if you want to remain stock and receive OTAs). I also noticed many not-matching files in system/lib but i didn't touch them and the update went smooth the same.
Another thing: when in the OP you say it's way easier just to reflash the system.img you mean just run from bootloader "fastboot flash system system.img" (taken from the factory image as usual) or there's some other thing to do in order to fix the system partition in the right way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I am having the same issue. I cannot update mine from 4.2 to 4.2.1. I wonder to know which original stock image you have used. Can you list a detail procedure?
Thank you very much.
Ric
dev/block/param
legom said:
Overview:
This thread is a guide on how to fix the apply_patch_check error message experienced during an upgrade of the Android OS. Specifically, this will detail the steps for an upgrade of Jelly Bean from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 on the Nexus 7 with CWM Recovery for a user of Windows. I'm sure similar steps will work for other recoveries/upgrades/devices and PC OSes.
You should only bother with this if you don't want to flash the entire system.img file to your phone, which is way easier.
Here is an example of the error message I'm talking about:
Code:
assert failed: apply_patch_check("/system/app/Chrome.apk", "819b34b66335c6faec86404d736a002b8871600", "9d6b55e63b0bf20bea433fb1ee7089f88ab73fb6")
E: Error in /sdcard/03a4eaf95f73.signed-nakasi-JZO54K-from-JRO03D.03a4eaf9.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
A few notes about the error:
This doesn't have to happen with the Chrome.apk specifically -- it could happen with any app in /system/app or .so in /system/lib.
Those random strings of numbers/letters are SHA-1 hashes of the apk.
The first one is the hash of the apk installed on your device. In my example, this happens to be the version of Chrome that comes with JB 4.1.2.
The second one is the expected hash of the apk that comes with JB 4.1.1.
Cause of the problem:
The reason this error occurs is because the file was somehow modified from its original state. In my case -- and most likely your case -- this was done by Titanium Backup. TB has an option to "Integrate updates of system apps into ROM", which will cause the apk in /system/app (and associated library files in /system/lib, if needed) to be overwritten with the updated apk.
Solution:
Download this zip file which contains the full /system/app and /system/lib directory from the JB 4.1.1 factory image. *
Extract the zip to a location of your choosing on your PC.
In the extracted folder, locate the .apk or .so file referenced in the error message on your device.
Copy this file to your device via your preferred method (USB cable works fine). I put my file in /sdcard/Download.
On your device, use a root file explorer to move the file from /sdcard/Download to /system/app (or /system/lib).
If you don't have a program that can do this, I use ES File Explorer. Be sure to go to Settings > Root Settings and turn on Root Explorer, Up to Root, and Mount File System.
Reboot into your Recovery and try to install the update again.
Repeat steps 3-6 for each subsequent file that produces an error. You will basically need to do this for each app you integrated using TB and maybe a few library files, too. **
* Future updates (above 4.1.2):
Since I won't be keeping the zip file from step #1 up-to-date, here's how to get the directories that I included in the zip for yourself:
Obtain a factory image for your device's current Android version (the version you're updating from).
For JB 4.1.1, this file is called nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz.
If you're reading this guide at a later date, the JB 4.1.2 file is called nakasi-jzo54k-factory-973f190e.tgz.
You can try your luck at the official Google site, but they seem to only provide the version you're trying to update to, not from.
Extract the .tgz file somewhere on your PC.
Locate the image-naksi-jro03d.zip file and extract that, as well.
In the folder you just extracted from the previous step, located the system.img file.
Download and use a program called sgs2toext4 (View attachment 645320) to convert the system.img to system.ext4.img. ***
Download and use a program called Linux Reader to open system.ext4.img.
Do this by going to Drives > Mount Image > Next > select your file.
It will then be listed under the Hard Disk Drives section in red as "Linux Ext Volume 1".
Navigate to: Linux Ext Volume 1/system.
Right-click on the app (or lib) directory and pick Save > Next > Output to dir of your choice.
You now have the directories that were included with the zip file from Solution step #1, so just follow those steps now.
** How to avoid repeating steps:
If you'd rather not have to try to reinstall after updating only one file, just to find another file that needs updating, try this:
Obtain the /system/app and /system/lib folders from the factory image and save them to your PC.
For the sake of this guide, let's say you save them to C:\factory_app and C:\factory_lib.
Copy the /system/app and /system/lib directories from your phone to your PC.
For the sake of this guide, let's say you saved them to C:\phone_app and C:\phone_lib.
Download the File Checksum Integrity Verifier utility from Microsoft.
Start > Run > cmd
fciv.exe -sha1 -xml factory_app.xml -wp C:\factory_app
fciv.exe -sha1 -xml factory_app.xml -v -bp C:\phone_app
Don't ask me why, but you need to use -bp instead of -wp for the second command.
Don't forget the -v on the second command.
The output of the last command will show you the list of files that are different. These are the files you need to take from C:\factory_app and put into the /system/app directory on your phone.
Do the same for the lib directories (just replace all instances of "_app" with "_lib" in the previous commands).
Summary:
I hope that this post helped some of you who really didn't want to have to flash the system.img or wipe your device just to update. In the future, use TB to back up the original.
I wouldn't normally bother writing up a guide like this (it took almost as long to write as it did to figure out how to do this) but I couldn't find this solution anywhere even though I saw that I wasn't the only person with the problem. Sorry for not posting this guide sooner (update has been out for a while now), but the forum required me to make a bunch of useless spam posts before I could include any links in my guide and I didn't get around to making those posts right away.
*** I would like to thank balamu96m for his guide on extracting data from the system.img file and drphrozen for making the sgs2toext4 program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my error 7 was generated by emmc: dev/block/mmdblk0p7 (the file is "param" any suggestions?
Thanks. After searching for a lot of time, this post helped me updating my SGS3.:victory: I previously tried to integrate youtube update into rom using titanium backup.
GallStones said:
Another thing: when in the OP you say it's way easier just to reflash the system.img you mean just run from bootloader "fastboot flash system system.img" (taken from the factory image as usual)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's what I mean. The reason I didn't want to do this on my device is because I had modified some other system files that I wanted to keep the modifications for.
Wow, thanks a lot OP! Your guide helped me fixing an error during the update to 4.2.2 on my Nexus 4.
please include a video ,im getting lost in the details
solved.

[Tool] [Unmaintained] dd Flasher (v2.0 beta)

Due to new security measures added on recent Android versions (mainly dm-verity), using dd Flasher on newer devices or recent firmwares (Marshmallow, Nougat, etc) will certainly result in a bootloop. dd Flasher probably still works if you have a unlocked bootloader and a modified kernel disabling dm-verity, but due lack of free time and other priorities, this tool is currently unmaintained.
Introduction
This tool is a new version of Nicki Root (originally released for Xperia M), but now compatible with almost any device. The purpose of dd Flasher is keeping root access in any firmware version assuming your device already have an exploitable firmware...
How it works?
Sony updates are packed in .sin files, generally stored in FTF packages. Using FlashTool, you can get an image of the system partition (system.ext4) of the latest firmware available, which is sideloaded into your device by dd Flasher. Next, it'll mount the update image (system.ext4) in a loop device, place SuperSU binaries (and when needed, disable RIC protection) and after that, stop all running processes and "flash" the modified image back into your device by using dd binary.
After dd Flasher finishes its work, all you need to do is rebooting your device into flash mode in order to flash the rest of the FTF file (excluding system partition, of course) with FlashTool. In the end, your device will be running the latest available firmware with full root access, making dd Flasher extremely useful for devices with locked bootloader that have exploitable firmwares but lack recoveries or other means to get root access.
Requirements
• Your device must already have root access. You can downgrade to an older firmware and root it with some known exploit, if needed. Also, if you don't have root access, dd Flasher won't work at all.
• You will need FlashTool and an FTF file of the firmware version you want to upgrade your device to.
• Your device should have enough free space to store system partition image of the update temporarily (around 1.5-2.5GB, depending of the device/firmware). At the moment you can store the image either on its Internal Storage or in external SD Card (when possible). USB OTG support is planned too.
• If pushing system image to SD Card, make sure your phone is connected in MTP mode (in Mass Storage mode only Internal Storage is accessible and dd Flasher will fail)
Instructions
Getting system partition image: FTF files are just ordinary .zip files with lots of .sin files inside, format commonly used by Sony in their firmwares for Xperia devices. We are interested in system.sin (it's the one with the partition image), to use it with dd Flasher, so:
• Open the FTF file with WinRAR or 7-Zip (or any other program compatible with .zip files);
• Extract system.sin somewhere you have easy access;
• Open FlashTool and go to Tools => SIN editor;
• A new window will open. Locate system.sin we extracted before, click in "Extract Data" and wait until FlashTool finishes extracting it
• If everything went well, now you should have a system.ext4 file in the same place you extracted system.sin before (you can already delete system.sin -- we won't need it anymore).
Using dd Flasher: now that we got our system partition image, we can move on to dd Flasher:
• If you didn't already have extracted dd Flasher somewhere, do it now (DUH!). Make sure FlashTool isn't running as well -- it's known to interfere with ADB interface;
• Move system.ext4 extracted previously to the same folder you've extracted dd Flasher (where dd_flasher.bat/dd_flasher.sh is located);
• Open dd_flasher.bat (or start dd_flasher.sh from a Terminal if you're on Linux) and follow the instructions. After selecting a storage device, dd Flasher will do its work;
• Please note some steps take a while to complete (mainly pushing the system image and flashing it), your device will look like it's dead and won't respond but don't worry, it's normal (on compatible devices the notification LED will pulse in different colors to indicate the the script is running);
• If everything went well, dd Flasher will notify you (and your notification light will be green, if compatible). After that, you'll need to power cycle the device, disconnect the USB cable and pull your battery off (if your battery is non-removable, use the Off/Reset microswitch). Wait some seconds and put your battery back but don't turn your device on yet.
Flashing the remaining with FlashTool: at this stage, your device have the latest firmware from the FTF you used and full root access but still have old versions of kernel, baseband, etc., so, trying to start your device now will probably result in a boot loop or something like that, so, let's finish it:
• Open FlashTool again and flash the FTF you used to extract system.ext4 in flash mode, however, make sure you've excluded SYSTEM, if you forget to do so, everything the tool did will be lost and you'll need to restart from the beginning;
• After flashing ends, disconnect the USB cable and start your phone. The first boot may take several minutes but if everything went well you should be now running the latest firmware, with full root access!
Compatibility
This tool uses an internal database to automatically set up everything needed in the officially supported devices, with at the moment are:
• Xperia E series (C1504, C1505, C1604, C1605)
• Xperia E3 series (D2202, D2203, D2206, D2212, D2243)
• Xperia M series (C1904, C1905, C2004, C2005)
What to do if my device isn't officially supported? dd Flasher also comes with a "default" config which is automatically selected when used in a unknown device. It should work by default in any Xperia (and may even work in devices from other brands), but if dd Flasher still refuses to work, PM me your device model and firmware version, I'll try to support it
FAQ
Soon
Credits
Although I wrote this script from scratch, it uses some pieces of code written originally by @zxz0O0, @[NUT] and @Chainfire, so, credits to them. I would like to thank also everyone who helped directly or indirectly in the conception of the original Nicki Root script, which became what we know today as dd Flasher
Changelog
Soon
Download
All currently released versions available in downloads tab.
XDA:DevDB Information
dd Flasher, Tool/Utility for the OEM Cross Device Development
Contributors
mbc07
Version Information
Status: Beta
Current Beta Version: 2.0
Beta Release Date: 2015-03-19
Created 2015-03-19
Last Updated 2015-03-19
Awesome!
Incredible!
Thanks for sharing this with the community.
Nice
Thanks for everything
Amazing
Thank you so much!
Who try it with android 5.0.2 of z2,z3,z3c,??? And is is full root, isn't it????
nhoc_huhu said:
Who try it with android 5.0.2 of z2,z3,z3c,??? And is is full root, isn't it????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not ready yet =/
The current SuperSU package included in this beta version is unlikely to work in Lollipop -- I was working into that but it didn't made it into this beta. I'll try to get it ready for the stable version...
Error: can't stat '/data/local/tmp/ddFlasher/system/bin/sh':
Hallo,
i tried this on a xperia m (C1905) and get this error:
---------------------------------------------------
Initializing ADB [DONE]
Waiting for device [DONE]
Waiting root access [DONE]
Preparing script [DONE]
Pushing system image [DONE]
Stopping device [DONE]
Mounting system image [DONE]
Installing packages...
- SuperSU v2.46 (SELinux) cp: can't stat '/data/local/tmp/ddFlasher/system/bin/sh': No such file or directory
[DONE]
- Disable RIC (RAM Disk) [DONE]
Saving changes [DONE]
Flashing image [DONE]
System partition updated.
Reboot your phone into flash mode to finish.
NOTE: device won't respond in current state, that's
normal, pull your battery or use Off/Reset switch.
Press any key to exit...
--------------------------------------------
I used C1905_15.4.A.1.9_CE.ftf for the system.sin.
rootchecker says everything is fine but "folderMount", for example, dosnt work, it does a "hard" restart without request.... the screen went black and then reboots.
Before the rooting i also had 15.4.A.1.9 on the phone.
for "prerooting" i used towlroot v3
Could someone please help me with this.
I like to get more space for apps on the xperia m. with something like folderMount or swapinternal 2 external SD and i really tried a lot rooting technics and rootfixer and so on but nothing works.
its really frustrating.
kind regards
Oliver
olliD said:
rootchecker says everything is fine but "folderMount", for example, dosnt work, it does a "hard" restart without request.... the screen went black and then reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have partial root access, that's why the device reboots. I added that in to-do list, should be fixed in the stable release of dd Flasher. Since you have Xperia M, it's much easier and quicker to root it with TowelRoot and then applying the root fixer (there's a tutorial in Xperia M forums). In the meantime, if TowelRoot still fails, you can try again with the old Nicki Root, although old and not supported anymore, they should still work, at least with Xperia M...
What is the difference with the prfcreator tool?.cheers
juanpirulo said:
What is the difference with the prfcreator tool?.cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PRF Creator generates a flashable ZIP, you'll need a recovery to use it, differing from dd Flasher that archive this through ADB bridge, so, it works even if there's no recovery for your device...
Hi mbc07,
thanks for the reply.
I did this (with TowelRoot and then applying the root fixer (there's a tutorial in Xperia M forums).) several times. I have 2 Versions of the rootfixer on my pc in the moment, tried both but dosent work. I also looked for the tutorial you mentioned, but i didnt find it, sorry.
Could you please link to the tutorial or the correct rootfixer.
I just saw that i dont tell you that i have a locked bootloader, just for info.
kind regards
Oliver
Try this tutorial @olliD...
Got SuperSU v2.46 (SELinux) cp: can't stat '/data/local/tmp/ddFlasher/system/bin/sh': No such file or directory
and some related errors

[6045] If you want to be able to install OTA updates after root READ THIS!

2015/10/07 The information below will be kept to help folks make backups and for linux/mac users to have some images to restore but if you have bricked your phone the recommended solution now is to install Alcatel's Mobile Q software version 4.9.2 or newer and use it to restore your phone to factory condition. Basically turn off the phone..plug it up to the pc via usb and run the software...it should prompt you from there. The link to download the software is here: http://alcatelonetouch.com/global-en/support/download/pixi_3_7_4g.html
*****Warning***** Recent updates from Alcatel have REMOVED the fastboot commands that allow root and custom recovery for some models of the 6039. Before updating read the details here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3173598 and make sure the new update doesn't do the same!
You should also be aware that if your phone hangs on boot and you are rooted don't do a factory reset or you will lose adb access if you had it enabled which can be used to restore your phone
Table of Contents
Post #1: Intro
Post #2: Backup Instructions http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62006344&postcount=2
Post #3: System Images http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62006344&postcount=3
Post #4: Restore Instructions and firmware issues http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62006344&postcount=4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Folks, OTA updates for Lollipop check if your system has ever been mounted read/write (which is required to root) and if it has they do not allow the update to install. What that means is before you root you need to first go into fastboot and do a fastboot boot of TWRP (this boots twrp on your phone without installing it) then go into twrp and backup your system directory so you always have something to restore to if you want future OTA updates.
The bad news is that for folks who have already rooted, we need TWRP backups of the system partition for each model of the idol 3 BEFORE someone has rooted. 6045i, 6045k, 6045y...are there more?
If you have NOT yet rooted your phone and are willing to help out please post here with your model number(It shows in settings, about phone as Model Number). I'll add some instructions on how to take a backup then the backup needs to be uploaded online somewhere we can access it. The system partition is normally read only so it contains NONE of your personal information.
This paragraph from the TWRP documentation is taken from: https://twrp.me/site/update/2015/06/22/twrp-2.8.7.0-released.html
System read only option: Devices that ship with 5.0 and higher as their initial OS are using block level OTA updates. With this style of OTA update, the update script checks to see if the system partition has ever been mounted read/write. Further, the script also usually runs an SHA sum of the entire system partition to detect if any changes have been made. If any changes have been made, the OTA update will refuse to install. Since not all OEMs and devices have factory images available, we have created a new feature in TWRP that detects if the system partition has ever been mounted read/write. If not, you will be prompted asking if you want TWRP to mount system as read/write. If you choose not to allow TWRP to mount as read/write, TWRP won’t prompt to install SuperSU and TWRP won’t try to patch the stock ROM to prevent TWRP from being replaced by stock recovery. The goal of this option is to hopefully allow the user to make a raw system image backup that they can use to get back to a state where they can take OTA updates again.]
Here's an article that explains it better than I can: https://www.androidpit.com/android-5-0-lollipop-ota-update-fail
20150810 - Turns out all thats required to get updates at least for now is doing a FULL unroot. (That may not be the case with a major jump such as from 5.0.2 to 5.1.1) Failure to do a full unroot can result in boot loops after applying updates that currently DO NOT HAVE A SOLUTION because the default recovery for the 6045i and 6045Y do not have the reboot to bootloader option that IS present in the 6045K and all models of the 6039 Idol 3. Thanks Alcatel! An easier solution is to flash an already upgraded firmware if it is available. Canadian users have also found it useful to flash USA firmware (both have a 6045i) to get updates sooner than being released by the cell providers in canada.
Instructions to backup your system prior to rooting.
-Get/install Alcatel USB driver if Windows. (no need for Mac). FROM HERE: http://54.247.87.13/softwareupgrade/Driver/ALCATEL_ADB_ Driver Qualcomm_ADB.rar , or just connect your idol3 to the computer and from the phone select "cd rom" drive..it will install the drivers automatically
Windows and Mac users should have downloaded the android sdk to get adb and fastboot. [ https://developer.android.com/sdk/ ] Linux (ubuntu based) users should install packages android-tools-adb and android-tools-fastboot Windows users can try a minimal adb and fastboot install using the instructions here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790 or here: http://dottech.org/21534/how-to-ins...ows-computer-for-use-with-your-android-phone/
download twrp from here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347778862
-Set USB debugging on in Developer settings (if these are not exposed, go to Settings/About Phone/Build number, and tap 7 times.)
-Plug in USB cable to phone and computer. Tap on USB icon in notifications panel; select MTP (file transfer) mode or PTP also works fine.
-ON your pc open command prompt in the directory where you have placed twrp-2.8.7.0-idol3.img (when using windows in the directory hold shift and press the right button on the mouse, it will pop-up a window where you have to select "open command prompt here" and type "adb reboot-bootloader" to reboot into bootloader
-Then type "fastboot -i 0x1bbb devices" This should show the device
-Type "fastboot -i 0x1bbb boot twrp-2.8.7.0-idol3.img" This will boot twrp on your phone without installing it.
-On your phone do a normal backup but make sure only "system image" (not system) and Boot (to keep the kernel in sync with the system) is checkmarked to be backed up. You can go into TWRP settings and have it write to the external_sd vs using internal "sdcard" before starting the backup if you have one installed
-After backup has completed it will have created a folder named TWRP on your /sdcard or /storage/sdcard1 depending on which you selected (/sdcard by default). Assuming this is your first use of twrp then copy the whole twrp folder over to your pc and zip or rar it then post a message with your model stating you have a backup and we'll work to get it uploaded. If you have previously used twrp and have multiple backups then just go one directory in "/sdcard/TWRP/" and backup only the directory with the date timestamp of your most recent backup.
When uploading to the cloud zip'ing or rar'ing the file will cut it's size by about half. (it's 3gb initially and roughly 900mb afterward) It's still a rather large file so you might look at http://www.filedropper.com/ to upload the file...they claim files allowed up to 5gb and no registration required. https://mega.co.nz is also a good alternative but can be slow. If you have suggestions for a better place to put the files please let me know.
If you are willing to contribute space that will not expire to host the system backups please contact me via pm. Make sure to hit thanks for our generous uploaders.
System Downloads Available [Each download is +- 1GB in size]
(Do not crossflash devices ie flash the 6045i image to a 6045K or 6045Y. We don't know what the results will be!):
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6045 (5.5 inch model)
From most recent back to "out of the box".
Model: 60450(USA-Cricket) Firmware: 5.0.2-010 03 Link: https://mega.nz/#!xhhy0AKC!hWhDgXCQOGt0cNHcfkkejEEBiP1pjOT5-ZK6mAY5MUU Thanks to squeakychu for the upload!
Model: 6045i(usa) Firmware: 5.0.2.7SRA-UEA2 Link: https://mega.nz/#!dRkgxA5L!z7yVmmgeUWBpAGwJW6ixnGhGBzUky1dfhKksu3yGPKg Thanks to Brian117 for the uploads! (09/28/2015)
Model: 6045i(usa) Firmware: 5.0.2.7SR4-UE40 Link: https://mega.co.nz/#!K9szRIKR!ZdjIiH2Ol0ZCNe2VTSl6cbRyQeZFtafG3Y9CM0ecCkg 20150810 md5sum: 56376824f7c10d8debaec6c3a7100e50
Model: 6045i(usa) Firmware: 5.0.2-7SQR-UER0 Link: https://mega.co.nz/#!FB0DQAhQ!rQ4H39hQR2tDhfniEej-RvsSe5OqWY42_xCsjY08o4k Thanks to buggleston for the upload!
Model: 6045i(usa) Firmware: 5.0.2-7SQ3-UE30 Link: https://mega.co.nz/#!focwnJJL!VQW3Omi3TF4iJzIyNLu73P9gb8i_WKA_fu7ZWUiIsN0 Thanks to Electriccars for the upload!
Model: 6045i(usa) Firmware: 5.0.2.7SMA-UEA1 Link: https://mega.nz/#!pdlWhQLR!D2-mEnxp2SnxH0QBDsSSZ-YrDooJC8BdKronYxziF_A Thanks to lordlittlebrooks for the upload!
Model: 6045i(canada) Firmware: 5.0.2-7SQB-UCB0 Link: https://mega.nz/#!opolxbIY!A9dEfORplfhkmuNwobKsEF2wX6yY3oLq8M9dgWpDNq8 Thanks to KryPTiCk0d3 for the upload!
Model: 6045i(canada) Firmware: 5.0.2-7SQ9-UV93 Link: http://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Gqss1TYorTaXZrRFdBdDJ2Vnc/view Thanks to green3water5 for the upload!
Model: 6045K(Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and maybe Cz) Firmware: 5.0.2-010 0101001 Link: https://mega.nz/#!L5El0QqA!IrxnA4qyXONyWehaJltc7JsE5TgaAXIdT9RQ73K0Rdw Thanks to bokaco7 and Nikola Jovanovic for the upload!
Model: 6045Y(Europe) Firmware: 5.0.2-010 06 Link: https://mega.nz/#!N9phSbTR!hH0bTJnHcUrwKxdpA-RKyecHNPKls7Cy0fi-Ih3BWkM Thanks to Gynoid for the upload!
Model: 6045Y(Europe) Firmware: 5.0.2-010 05 Link: https://mega.nz/#!pxgwXKIA!TInG7xK9Z-qObX1Cc3BObGp88zx0FCpWI3RDt_wdD0Q and https://mega.nz/#!l5xnSDrL!-y2ye27vODfNAR2qcBAQN7q0gGYA579iRzla07lFkd4 [You will need to flash both as one has the system backup and the other has the boot] Thanks to Gynoid for the upload!
Model: 6045Y(Europe) Firmware: 5.0.2-010 03 Link: http://mega.co.nz/#!CYk2mBCa!XJd1nJI1cUcTcGjwzhApcAyABQ8y54D-bATvgxxHMsE Thanks to zrkkrz for uploading this 2 times!
Model: 6045Y(Europe) Firmware: 5.0.2-010 01 Link: http://data.nettitoimisto.com/f/e308c56574/ Thanks to tommihut for the upload!
Other models not listed? NEEDED!
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All backups will eventually be mirrored to MEGA. If the file is missing I'm more than likely still trying to get it uploaded. MEGA can be slow however the files should never expire. The folder is here: https://mega.co.nz/#F!DgNhkDKR!GyJsku7nw4F6nLiT4XFRKA
If an individual download link is dead please let me know via post or pm.
Thanks to kirplunk and zrkkrz for uploading backups that ended up having to be replaced due to incorrect instructions to backup system instead of "system image" from within TWRP.
When using these backups.....
There is currently a bug in TWRP that appears to be showing 6045Y for ALL idol3 devices in the recovery.log so make SURE the system image you are flashing is meant for your device to the best of your ability.
Restoring a TWRP backup image:
If you wish to update to a newer firmware or restore an older one you can follow purple.epod's basic instructions here but use the firmware you want to restore: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62313284&postcount=1 Also make sure you restore both boot AND system image in the newer firmware's when selecting what to restore.
When restoring the UE40 firmware the first time you go into system update checker you need to delete the existing UE40 update as it kept it around...you should then be able to check updates as normal.
This was brought up in the main rooting thread, but you might also be able to unroot via SuperSU with the Full Unroot option. Haven't tried it yet but if it works, you can just unroot, install whatever OTA there may be, and re-root.
brian117 said:
This was brought up in the main rooting thread, but you might also be able to unroot via SuperSU with the Full Unroot option. Haven't tried it yet but if it works, you can just unroot, install whatever OTA there may be, and re-root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm the one who brought it up. I thought those about to root should be made aware.
Based on the twrp documentation it sounds like once it's been mounted once as read/write there is a way for them to check and it will kill the ota update. unrooting isn't going to fix that. We also have no good way to intercept the updates so we could alter them to install anyway. I used a squid transparent proxy to find the download url but won't do me any good if my phone can't download the update. If it lets the phone dwonload and then when it runs aborts I may still be able to grab the url and the update could be modified to apply anyway.
tried to upload stock system backup for 6045i
famewolf said:
Reserved 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have backed up the stock system twrp backup for 6045i zipped in folder then tried your file link to up load, after about 15 minutes it was still uploading seemed to long so i stopped the upload. do you or dallascz have another place to upload or email maybe? i still have not installed the recovery or rooted yet, trying to give back to Idol3ers.
---------- Post added at 01:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 AM ----------
famewolf said:
Folks, OTA updates for Lollipop check if your system has ever been mounted read/write (which is required to root) and if it has they do not allow the update to install. What that means is before you root you need to first go into fastboot and do a fastboot boot of TWRP (this boots twrp on your phone without installing it) then go into twrp and backup your system directory so you always have something to restore to if you want future OTA updates.
The bad news is that for folks who have already rooted, we need TWRP backups of the system partition for each model of the idol 3 BEFORE someone has rooted. 6045i, 6045k, 6045y...are there more?
If you have NOT yet rooted your phone and are willing to help out please post here with your model number(It shows in settings, about phone as Model Number). I'll add some instructions on how to take a backup then the backup needs to be uploaded online somewhere we can access it. The system partition is normally read only so it contains NONE of your personal information.
System read only option: Devices that ship with 5.0 and higher as their initial OS are using block level OTA updates. With this style of OTA update, the update script checks to see if the system partition has ever been mounted read/write. Further, the script also usually runs an SHA sum of the entire system partition to detect if any changes have been made. If any changes have been made, the OTA update will refuse to install. Since not all OEMs and devices have factory images available, we have created a new feature in TWRP that detects if the system partition has ever been mounted read/write. If not, you will be prompted asking if you want TWRP to mount system as read/write. If you choose not to allow TWRP to mount as read/write, TWRP won’t prompt to install SuperSU and TWRP won’t try to patch the stock ROM to prevent TWRP from being replaced by stock recovery. The goal of this option is to hopefully allow the user to make a raw system image backup that they can use to get back to a state where they can take OTA updates again.]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have backed up the stock system twrp backup for 6045i zipped in folder then tried your file link to up load, after about 15 minutes it was still uploading seemed to long so i stopped the upload. do you or dallascz have another place to upload or email maybe? i still have not installed the recovery or rooted yet, trying to give back to Idol3ers.
kirplunk said:
i have backed up the stock system twrp backup for 6045i zipped in folder then tried your file link to up load, after about 15 minutes it was still uploading seemed to long so i stopped the upload. do you or dallascz have another place to upload or email maybe? i still have not installed the recovery or rooted yet, trying to give back to Idol3ers.
---------- Post added at 01:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 AM ----------
i have backed up the stock system twrp backup for 6045i zipped in folder then tried your file link to up load, after about 15 minutes it was still uploading seemed to long so i stopped the upload. do you or dallascz have another place to upload or email maybe? i still have not installed the recovery or rooted yet, trying to give back to Idol3ers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kirplunk, how large is the file after you have zipped it? I'll check into some more services. I'm limited by the fact I don't have hi speed and I don't think xda rules allow me to mention any file sharing service that requires registration. If you do a google of "upload large file" and find a service that works for you let me know. If others have a suggestion also let me know. I'm reply back as soon as I find some other sites. Thanks for your assistance!
*update* In other areas of XDA they suggest https://mega.co.nz/ for large file uploads however it would require creating your own account. They give you 50GB. Let me know if this works for you please.
size reply
famewolf said:
kirplunk, how large is the file after you have zipped it? I'll check into some more services. I'm limited by the fact I don't have hi speed and I don't think xda rules allow me to mention any file sharing service that requires registration. If you do a google of "upload large file" and find a service that works for you let me know. If others have a suggestion also let me know. I'm reply back as soon as I find some other sites. Thanks for your assistance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the unzipped folder with files was 2.1gb in size, the zipped folder with files that i tried to upload is 855mb in size. i do not use the cloud at all so i don't have a drop box or any thing of the type. the site you referenced said it was uploading but it seemed 15 minutes was more than enough time for that size of file. my browser kept saying it was uploading and connecting to site.
kirplunk said:
the unzipped folder with files was 2.1gb in size, the zipped folder with files that i tried to upload is 855mb in size. i do not use the cloud at all so i don't have a drop box or any thing of the type. the site you referenced said it was uploading but it seemed 15 minutes was more than enough time for that size of file. my browser kept saying it was uploading and connecting to site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please try https://mega.co.nz/ and see if it works better for you? It will require creating an account but they will give you 50GB and you could use a disposable email address if you prefer. I'm checking other areas of xda to see how they handle large file uploads and this is what I've seen so far.
I have no problem sharing one I've created but there will always be that one person who wants to come along and delete everything in it.
Another is http://www.filedropper.com/ which allows up to 5gb files and keeps them till 30 days of not being downloaded. No registration required.
Also is your backup after the two system updates? Just FYI your upload bandwidth is not going to be as high as your download typically so uploads of large files can take a while.
attempting the second site now, called file dropper.
the file folder i'm uploading is called, 6045i twrp stock system backup.7z
upload is at 10% right now
now at 20%, yes with updates firmware is 5.0.2-7sqr-uero
30% my upload speed should put this file up in 3 minutes but their server is taking it like sucking coffee up through a stir stick, slow
will update when it reaches 100%, but as a junior member i can not post links so you will have to find it at the file dropper.
100% uploaded,
as a junior member this is the best i can do for the link.
www dot filedropper dot com/6045itwrpstocksystembackup
hope this helps
Uploads tend to be much slower than downloads. LTE connections are an exception, but cable and DSL upstream speeds aren't fast.
kirplunk said:
the file folder i'm uploading is called, 6045i twrp stock system backup.7z
upload is at 10% right now
now at 20%, yes with updates firmware is 5.0.2-7sqr-uero
30% my upload speed should put this file up in 3 minutes but their server is taking it like sucking coffee up through a stir stick, slow
will update when it reaches 100%, but as a junior member i can not post links so you will have to find it at the file dropper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feel free to send me the link in a PM and I'll post it so others can download it in addition to me or I'm sure I can find it based on filename if they have search.
With your permission I'll put it in post #3 with your name and a thank you. I'll have to visit the local library that has rather fast internet to get these files downloaded and moved to one folder for everyone assuming others share theirs as well.
So using stock recovery to Wipe Data/Factory Reset back to new doesn't remove root or r/w status?
mk3 said:
So using stock recovery to Wipe Data/Factory Reset back to new doesn't remove root or r/w status?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset wipes the data and cache partitions. It does nothing to /system since it expects it to be read only.
famewolf said:
A factory reset wipes the data and cache partitions. It does nothing to /system since it expects it to be read only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahhh.... bummer. Thanks for the clarification.
So I used Hide My Root to hide su binary and the system update doesn't give me the error (like all is fine). Prior to hiding the su binary it throws the error about being rooted.
.
Is the /system partition different than the /system directory that's in the root of the device? If it's the same, we can change the read/write permissions with ES File Explorer if the device is rooted? I'm not sure if it'll offer us the chance, if we want it, to make all the contents of the dir have the same permissions we set for the dir itself. Can the same thing be done from a command line in TWRP?
Why does TWRP show "system" and "system image" as two different options and sizes to backup? I've never seen that before.
maigre said:
Is the /system partition different than the /system directory that's in the root of the device? If it's the same, we can change the read/write permissions with ES File Explorer if the device is rooted? I'm not sure if it'll offer us the chance, if we want it, to make all the contents of the dir have the same permissions we set for the dir itself. Can the same thing be done from a command line in TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The system partition is the same as the /system folder however it's not a file permission that's an issue and you'd never want to set all your files to the same permissions. Here is an article that explains it better than I can: https://www.androidpit.com/android-5-0-lollipop-ota-update-fail
kirplunk said:
the file folder i'm uploading is called, 6045i twrp stock system backup.7z
upload is at 10% right now
now at 20%, yes with updates firmware is 5.0.2-7sqr-uero
30% my upload speed should put this file up in 3 minutes but their server is taking it like sucking coffee up through a stir stick, slow
will update when it reaches 100%, but as a junior member i can not post links so you will have to find it at the file dropper.
100% uploaded,
as a junior member this is the best i can do for the link.
www dot filedropper dot com/6045itwrpstocksystembackup
hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks kirplunk! I've got it downloading and will add my folder as a mirror to try to prevent the file from expiring.

Any way to unlock the 5GHz WiFi band for US-version?

So the US-version of the Mediapad M3 does not support 5GHz Wifi as stated by Huawei and from my personal experience. Per Huawei's website:
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz (Products delivered to markets that impose FCC certification requirements do not support 802.11 a/ac at 5 GHz Wi-Fi)
I can't help but think that the hardware is there as I have never heard of a mobile WiFi chip that ONLY supports 802.11 ac at 2.4 GHz. Therefore, is or will there be any way to unlock the 5 GHz band of the WiFi chip assuming the hardware is there?
Well, if you have unlocked bootloader, you may try the following:
1) Get root access.
2) Open /system/build.prop and find ro.config.hw_is_hide_wifi_5g=true and change it to "false". Or to true if it's false.
3) If that doesn't work (cause I really don't know what this option stands for), see below.
4) Go into /cust folder and tell us what's in there. Maybe, there's something like "hw" folder with "eu" folder inside.
5) If there is, edit /data/custom.bin and put "hw/eu" there (without quotemarks), and see, if something has changed.
If you don't have "hw/eu" in /cust, you have two ways:
1) Ask me here to give you "hw/eu" folder, put it into /cust and do (3).
2) Find local.prop file (it's usually in "prop" folder, three folders down from /cust, but folders are those you have, not "hw/eu")
3) There you'll find ro.config.hw_opta and ro.config.hw_optb. Change them to 999 and 156 respectively.
If all that doesn't help, we'll need to find another ways.
Slavon-93 said:
Well, if you have unlocked bootloader, you may try the following:
1) Get root access.
2) Open /system/build.prop and find ro.config.hw_is_hide_wifi_5g=true and change it to "false". Or to true if it's false.
3) If that doesn't work (cause I really don't know what this option stands for), see below.
4) Go into /cust folder and tell us what's in there. Maybe, there's something like "hw" folder with "eu" folder inside.
5) If there is, edit /data/custom.bin and put "hw/eu" there (without quotemarks), and see, if something has changed.
If you don't have "hw/eu" in /cust, you have two ways:
1) Ask me here to give you "hw/eu" folder, put it into /cust and do (3).
2) Find local.prop file (it's usually in "prop" folder, three folders down from /cust, but folders are those you have, not "hw/eu")
3) There you'll find ro.config.hw_opta and ro.config.hw_optb. Change them to 999 and 156 respectively.
If all that doesn't help, we'll need to find another ways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone been able to try this yet?
the7thson said:
Has anyone been able to try this yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
C'mon, be the first one
Just another caution.
Please, do a backup first.
I had a factory reset after changing region in custom.bin. I don't know, what was the real cause, and now I don't do anything to my tablet, cause everything it setup and works fine.
You, probably, can avoid it in two cases:
1) Your original recovery was replaced by TWRP
2) You don't change the actual region, changing only the content of your region's folder.
the7thson said:
Has anyone been able to try this yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing ro.config.hw_is_hide_wifi_5g=true to "false" didn't do anything for me.
/cust folder contains /hw (subfolders /default, /normal, /oversea, and /usa), /lost+found, /preinstalled, and /special_cust. I haven't messed with any of them.
didn't work.
After unlocking the bootloader and getting root access I did the following:
1. Changed /system/build.prop: ro.config.hw_is_hide_wifi_5g=true to "false".
restarted the tablet but it did nothing
2. went to /cust. it contains the following folders: /hw (subfolders /default, /normal, /oversea, and /usa), /lost+found, /preinstalled, and /special_cust (just like for @neo_1221)
edited local.prop under /Cust/hw/usa/prop/ to ro.config.hw_opta=999 (was 567) and ro.config.hw_optb=156 (was 840).
restarted the tablet but it did nothing
What else can be done?
E.Vogel said:
What else can be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may try to flash Chinese firmware. It's Something like BTV-W09C233B0xx or BTV-DL09C233B0xx
I don't have any other ideas, really. If even this doesn't help, then 5GHz is locked by OEMInfo or disabled in hardware.
Firmware can be found with this tool
Am confused by this thread. Are you saying you can only connect to 2.4 networks and cannot see 5ghz networks at all?? That normal only happens when a tablet physically does have a 5ghz radio.
The U.S version of the tablet does not support 5Ghz wi-fi.
We are assuming that there is only one variant of the tablet sold world wide (two actually LTE+wifi and wifi only),
and in order to comply with FCC requirements the 5Ghz wi-fi band was disabled by software and not hardware.
If that is the case than the band can be enabled back by flashing different non-U.S rom.
hopefully
It is WORKING!
I downloaded the latest Chinese version using the tool @Slavon-93 linked, version BTV-W09C233B022 from December 16 2016. I flashed it and after restarting the tablet, I have a Chinese version tablet, with 5Ghz band wi-fi working.
I lost custom recovery and root and may reflash them later.
I got some apps back that I previously removed, but happily all my other apps were still installed and configured.
Thanks @Slavon-93
p.s. I re-flashed TWRP and SU and now have custom recovery and root back
E.Vogel said:
I downloaded the latest Chinese version using the tool @Slavon-93 linked, version BTV-W09C233B022 from December 16 2016. I flashed it and after restarting the tablet, I have a Chinese version tablet, with 5Ghz band wi-fi working.
I lost custom recovery and root and may reflash them later.
I got some apps back that I previously removed, but happily all my other apps were still installed and configured.
Thanks @Slavon-93
p.s. I re-flashed TWRP and SU and now have custom recovery and root back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you select english as the language?
Yes you can, and since English was my selected language before I flashed the Chinese ROM it stayed as the selected language, so I never got a Chinese welcome screen and had to find out how to change it to English.
So this is a solution to get the "5Ghz band" working on a US WiFi only?
Those, who have a US tablet, could you please upload your entire /cust folder somewhere? If Chinese firmware is a solution, maybe there is something in /cust, that blocks 5GHz wifi? I wanna compare it to Chinese and Russian versions and maybe find something interesting.
@E.Vogel forgive me for being new to Huawei way of doing things. You said you flashed the Chinese ROM. Flashing makes me think of my Nexus 7 where I actually flashed the *.IMG files.
I downloaded the file you mentioned and I have update.app after extraction. I recall reading somewhere about creating a folder and transferring said file to device and restarting it. I'm curious if this is the route you took? I personally prefer fastboot flash but will have to do with what works. Thank you.
jmjm003 said:
@E.Vogel forgive me for being new to Huawei way of doing things. You said you flashed the Chinese ROM. Flashing makes me think of my Nexus 7 where I actually flashed the *.IMG files.
I downloaded the file you mentioned and I have update.app after extraction. I recall reading somewhere about creating a folder and transferring said file to device and restarting it. I'm curious if this is the route you took? I personally prefer fastboot flash but will have to do with what works. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgive me for not being @E.Vogel, but let me explain. Huawei devices are not usual in terms of partition structure. For example, they have 2 recoveries, designed for different things. For a Nexus owner their update structure is also strange. Once upon a time, you could create a "dload" folder in /sdcard or in external SD, choose local update in update utility on your device, select update.app or update.zip, reboot and watch the device updating. Now we don't have an option to choose a local update, so the quickest way to install FULL OTA is from TWRP. You just need to put update.zip (~1.8 Gb) somewhere in /sdcard or other place, reboot into TWRP, press the Install button and select this file. TWRP installs it and you get your Chinese firmware. I recommend to make a backup first, in case something goes wrong. After installing FULL OTA you still get your apps and settings in place, but after a factory reset, you will lose Google Play and other a Google apps, and will have to manually install them from HiApp. Also, you will have to reinstall TWRP, root, xposed and other things you probably have flashed before.
I appreciate the reply all the same @Slavon-93. So creating the dload folder and dropping update.app in it no longer works?
I've not modified anything on my device other than fixing DPI so apps are in tablet mode.
Any idea what each recovery does since it has two of them?
I like to know there's a way out of a screwup if it happens. Nexus 7 was simple to fix.
Thank you.
jmjm003 said:
I appreciate the reply all the same @Slavon-93. So creating the dload folder and dropping update.app in it no longer works?
I've not modified anything on my device other than fixing DPI so apps are in tablet mode.
Any idea what each recovery does since it has two of them?
I like to know there's a way out of a screwup if it happens. Nexus 7 was simple to fix.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huawei devices have two recovery partitions: recovery and recovery2.
Recovery has generally all the same features a typical Nexus recovery has, except it doesn't have an option to apply update.zip and has a touch interface unlike the Nexus recovery.
Recovery2, called eRecovery, also has a touch interface and is designed to make a totally screwed up device great work again. It has a button to download full firmware and install it but on my device it said "No firmware found" after connecting to Huawei servers. People in Russian forum say it works only if you're in China and have a Chinese device. Anyway, if eRecovery does nothing, I considered it totally useless and replaced with TWRP: fastboot flash recovery2 twrp.img
Generally Huawei devices can be restored the same way a Nexus device can. TWRP and fastboot work the same. Personally I prefer to make a total backup of all partitions in device with "dd". I think it will give me more flexibility in restoring if something goes completely wrong. On DL09 model, only modem partitions are the problem. You can find fastboot versions of Chinese ROMS easily, but after installing them, I've lost everything related to phone functions. The only way to fix it was installing Full Chinese firmware in form of update.zip with TWRP.
And about dload folder. I have no idea how it works. I am also a former owner of Nexus 7 and the logic of Huawei is new to me, so I don't know some nuances. On earlier devices there was another option to update: you put update.app to dload folder, dial *#*#2846579#*#*, select Software upgrade -> SDCard Upgrade, the device reboots and installs the update. Again, on my device this trick didn't work and update installation stopped at 5%, saying it's incompatible with my device.
@jmjm003, I also come from a nexus 7 and Huawei devices are different.
First of all there is no formal web site with all factory images and/or OTA to download, I had to use a tool an XDA user developed to find the factory image I needed.
The second change is that the factory image (file update.zip) does not contain *.img files inside like in Google images and contains "update.app" 1.8GB file and some other small files.
To flash the ROM I tried to use ADB sideload but got an error message about the file being unreadable, so I copied the file to the tablet and flashed it using TWRP install function like any other zip file.
@Slavon-93, my /cust/hw folder changed from before and now contains only two sub-folders "cn" and "default"
I uploaded the entire /cust folder to Google drive, use this link to download it.
E.Vogel said:
@Slavon-93, my /cust/hw folder changed from before and now contains only two sub-folders "cn" and "default"
I uploaded the entire /cust folder to Google drive, use this link to download it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you but I know what's inside Chinese /cust folder as I am using Chinese firmware myself. I am interested in untouched /cust of US version of tablet because I think there can be some option in local.prop or somewhere else, that blocks 5GHz Wi-Fi. I can try to look for it by comparing Russian, Chinese and US cust folders.

[GUIDE] A small note about OTA and update.zip

It seem that there is a lot of confusion about how to update your phone with
the "OTA"s provided in the Stock firmware threads and from Huawei's own
support websites.
Rant Warning:
ALL Huawei Support website are totally useless to find any FW updates for any of their devices you have. They only ever show a few and most of the time none.
Once you do find FW (from another source like XDA) the accompanying "changelog.xml" file doesn't tell you anything about what the update is actually doing. They also don't tell you anything about any applied security patches. In addition it often tell you different things depending on the language you're reading. JFC!!​
[EOR]
One problem is that we keep on using the term OTA for something that is essentially always
an OTA. Instead what we call it, should depend on what it is doing. What can it be doing?
1. A full factory update, that can wipe all, usually using the "dload" bootloader folder. Using /dload/UPDATE.APP of your SD-card.
2. A partial update that uses an Edify installation script in:
Code:
/META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script
but also has a one or more SOMETHING.APP in it. These are all coming in the form of an update.zip.
How to Manually update from update.zip?
Code:
0. Do not try to flash update.zip with TWRP/CWM, only use Stock Recovery.
1. Dial: *#*#2846579#*#*
2. Choose option called "Software Upgrade" and then "SDCard Upgrade" and confirm with OK.
1. Go to: Settings > Updater > "New version" > Quick Download
2. When you see the progress bar starting after a few %, hit "Pause".
3. Now open the File browser and got to the "Local" tab.
4. Navigate to the file: "Internal Storage" > "HwOUC"
5. You will see another folder with a 5-digit number, XXXXX.
This is the actual "v" number used in the URL query to fetch the OTA.
It simply corresponds to the XXXXX in:
http://update.hicloud.com:8180/TDS/data/files/p3/s15/G79/g0/vXXXXX/f1/full/update.zip
6. Save time (and your data-plan) by manually downloading this file. (You should get ~10 MB/s on a good day.)
7. Inside the XXXXX folder, you will find a file called "update.zip".
Now you need to replace that file with your recently downloaded one.
8. Used adb to tranfer the file to your device
wget --show-progress -d http://update.hicloud.com:8180/TDS/data/files/p3/s15/G79/g0/vXXXXX/f1/full/update.zip -O XXXXX.zip
adb devices
adb shell rm -fr /sdcard/HwOUC/*
adb shell mkdir /sdcard/HwOUC/XXXXX
adb push XXXXX.zip /sdcard/HwOUC/XXXXX/update.zip
# Note: speed is ~7 MB/s, so a 1.4GB OTA will take about 200 sec to transfer.
9. Enable WiFi or Mobile Data again, then hit "Resume" in the Updater.
10. The progress bar will instantly hit 100% and you will be asked to
restart right away or wait until later.
(You only have 15 seconds to decide!)
11. Your phone will reboot a few times to optimize (!?) the system.
Thanks to @shashank1320 useful but hard to read post.
Other very useful things to know about Huawei's updates.
Let's look at the last part (the file) of the Huawei update URL.
Code:
http://update..././././././././vXXXXX/f1/full/update.zip
1. To get a list of files in, and the MD5 of the OTA, use "filelist.xml".
2. To get the changelog of the OTA, use: "changelog.xml".
3. To get the "precheck-script" that does the "apply_patch_check" for
each file, use: "precheck-script". Not all updates has this.​Question: Where the fcuk is the latest update?
Answer:
Quoting THIS article on how updates are pushed.
According to one of Google developers, Dan Morrill, (goo.gl/L85mSS), the
first few OTA updates are sent to 1 % of devices. It happens at random,
regardless of the location or point of sale of a phone/tablet. During
this time, bugs are identified allowing the updating process to be put
on hold if any critical errors are registered with a large number of
users.
After that over a couple of weeks, updating is provided to 25, 50, 100 %
of users, i.e. at the initial stage only one device out of a hundred
stands a chance of getting an upgrade. If the update is not received,
the device drops from the list, and subsequent repeated clicking on the
button ‘check for updates’ automatically sends the device to the bottom
of the list. When a new stage of distribution starts, clicking on the
button get a 25 % chance of receiving the update. Since the device
checks for updates on its own once a day (upon reboot), clicking on the
button might ‘jump the gun’ before it may run its course. But whatever
the outcome, only one check will be made. Subsequent clicking will not
help matters. This is not a situation where ‘first press, first receive’
(first come first serve). In any case, the over the air update will be
available to everyone within a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.Question: WTF does that OTA do?
Answer:
If the OTA is not a UPDATE.APP, but an update.zip, then simply extract it,
and navigate to: /META-INF/com/google/android/ and open the updater-script.
For example, this line:
Code:
# v80166
assert(file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "HONOR/KIW-L21/HNKIW-Q:5.1.1/HONORKIW-L21/C432B140:user/release-keys" ||
file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "Android/msm8916_64/msm8916_64:6.0.1/MMB28B/d0090306503211916:user/test-keys");
tell you that you will not be able to use this (v80166) update, unless
your ro.build.fingerprint matches any of the shown strings. Clearly,
this FULL OTA was meant as an update to KIW-L21C432B140 build only.
​
New Proposal
I propose to start using the following terminology instead of just "OTA".
- DLOAD for anything that is factory reset and bootloader flashable, with no previous dependencies. (Everything that uses /dload/UPDATE.APP.)
- PATCH for anything incremental, that depend on some previous or particular state of the phone FW.
- FULL for any update that can be used to skip all previous PATCH's within the same Build (B-number). Like a cumulative update.
Let's call this "type".
In addition we should try standardize our OTA file-naming scheme. Since the current method make it
nearly impossible to distinguish between various OTA patches, we should use something like this:
Code:
<"model">_<v-number>_<type>_<build_ref>.zip
# For Example:
KIW-L21C432_v80166_FULL_C432B370CUSTC432D002.zip
And the file description should also say something about what the update does, since Huawei's changelog does not.
Something like:
"Cumulative 1% test-update for B140 EMUI 4.0.0 to B370 EMUI 4.0.3, ASPL: 20170522"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where "ASPL" is referring to the resulting Android Security Patch Level date.
Finally, if someone can also squeeze in what exact security patches has been applied that would be huge!
​Anyway, just some ideas I throw together to try to clear up this firmware nightmare.
(And yeah , this is not meant for you kernel devs!)
reserved to dogs running around
Thanks for the credit but I did not see anything in my post that is hard to read..no worries, keep up the good work
Nice that someone wrote this for noobs !
I am not getting update on my honor kiw-l21c185B130 plzz help
Anish karki said:
I am not getting update on my honor kiw-l21c185B130 plzz help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download the later firmware from firmware finder and see if you can use dload method to update

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