yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
I did NOT test on the 501 so I do not know. If it was me, I would take the 501 stock images and put them in the kitchen and root them and then replace the ones in my zip with those or better yet, use CW to flash it in.

I think the ACER 501 has cell phone data connection doesn't it? I don't think the stock for WiFi only would be a good idea.

What ACER did on the 3.2 update (my opinion) was removed the Gingerbreak exploit and they removed the adb root exploit (they left the adb root exploit in on the 100). This is what many OEM's did, however many allow you to flash your own easier than ACER seems to want to let us. So if you got 3.2 NON-ROOTED loaded then there is no way to 'hack' out a root (just yet).

So how do you root it? You have to make a custom ROM and flash it. Now ASUS/Motorola/Samsung/Toshiba all allow you to flash your own ROM if you know what you are doing.

ACER seems to hide how to put the tablet into flash mode (if someone knows please let me know). Even if you did flash it they do want those ROMS running so they take each partition and calculate the MD5Sum and write it to, I think, partition #7. Therefore, if you do figure out how to flash in a new boot image or system image the tablet will not boot because the MD5Sums will not match (if you brick your tablet this way you are fubar). Fortunately, someone wrote a tool called itsmagic which you can run to tell the tablet to rebuild these. But if you fubar brick it before you get itsmagic run, I don't know how you get into flash mode using the keys so you'd be up a creek.

So, the 411 skinny on rooting an ACER with 3.2 is to get 3.2 off the device. Fortunately, they made an earlier flashing tool to flash in 3.0. I would guess this leaked out as a way for people to reflash to stock when they have issues.

Once you are on 3.0, you now can use Gingerbreak or the adb root exploit to root it. Once rooted, you can get CW loaded. CW allows you to install your own ROM's. Without CW you can only install ROM's signed by ACER and without ROOT you cannot install CW.

So, if you flash to the 3.0 now you are 'back to the future' in 3.0, you can root and install CW so you can now install a custom ROM from your SDCard.

What I would do is go get the STOCK ROM from ACER for your 501 device.

Once you have the stock ROM, you can use the kitchen tools to unzip the ACER ROM and root it to your liking. Now, re-zip it, but you cannot sign it with an ACER certificate so it will only install using CW. No, big deal because you got 3.0 loaded with CW. You boot to recovery CW and then run the update from your SDCard that you built in your kitchen.

This isn't really that hard to do if you're willing to read some documentation.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
I have no idea if it wipes it clean totally. It does walk you through the setup again (like it was new out of the box) so I would assume most things would be wiped. I would back it up and not take the chance because it is best to be backed up.
[Acer Iconia A500] Euclid's Brother:
Just a note here. It says fully stock execpt root? i don't think that's entirely accurate. I believe that it's still downgrading the bootloader, otherwise you'd never be able to get CWM to run, as itsmagic doesn't work with the new bootloader. So your left with stock 3.2 ROM with adb/su abilities and pre 3.2 bootloader.

On another note, I believe step 17 is not needed. CWM run's itsmagic automatically on every boot. So just booting CWM and then rebooting to android should suffice.
[Acer Iconia A500] joe9002:
Got to the bottom of the email problem its the app its self adding android.pop.... to the beginning of the email settings, go to your account settings and remove android from incoming and out going settings and this fixed the problem.
[Acer Iconia A500] Barafu Albino Cheetah:
Do I get it right that this backdoor idea will not allow me to upgrade from rooted 3.1 to rooted 3.2 with OTA?
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
original 3.2 upgrade

Hi timmyDean, just wondering if u still have the link to yr original 3.2 version? I used it as I got OTA'd to 3.2. then when u posted 3.2.1 version I loaded that up for the toggle/Backdoor trick.

Now, i've just realised - my tab originally came with a gen_1 rom and yr rom is a gen_2 - so I am unlikely to receive my regions OTA,yes???

I am wondering if I use yr method to go back to 3.2 is there a way I can load my gen_1 rom and apply yr tools to it? Or Is it possible to use yr toggle on ANY stock rom?

On a side note, the Acer stock recovery, r u able to boot into that and does it have a menu like cwm. Have tried booting into it before flashing cwm, but just end up with the android and exclamation mark.

Anyway, thanks for all your informative and in-depth posts, such a refreshing change

Cheers
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
1. I don't have the 3.2 link once I got 3.2.1 I replaced it

2. Mine came with Gen_1 but it seemed they stopped sending OTA's so I switched to GEM_2. I was told they were the same with GEM_2 having additional hardware support and keyboards.

3. I have used the Backdoor on Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom, Gtablet, HTC, various cell phones, and various other tablets and more. The one I wrote for the ACER is nice because you can also toggle OTA's on and off. So, you should have no problem install GEN_1, rooting it, and installing a backdoor to keep root when you install OTA's.

4. Your recovery you mention is the stock ACER recovery, and no there is no menu system like CWM. It can only be used to install signed ACER updates or to reset the tablet to it's defaults.

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
thanks for the reply -

i swapped out system and flexrom of the upgrade tool and put mine in. It upgraded ok apart from flexrom so my tab is showing 7.006. - just thought i would give it a whirl and see what happened....but i'll do as you suggest and try on my stock rom thanks again
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
Success!!!

Hi TD,

Finally got there! Now running my fully stock 3.2. After playing around with the tools I restored my stock 3.1, ran the tools, received notification of an OTA update for GEN_1 - 7.006.003 - downloaded and installed successfully!!!! Ran the tools again and bingo! one fully rooted stock 3.2.

A Huge Thankyou timmyDean!!

Will be interesting to see if us gen1 users receive the latest update...who knows, maybe we get to jump straight into some dilish icecream:)
[Acer Iconia A500] jpinsl:
Will 3.2.1 update install over rooted 3.2?

I used TD's OP to root stock 3.2. (Thanks TD!)

Am now showing build Acer_A500_7.0006.05_COM_GEN1.

The 3.2.1 OTA is not showing up.

Since rooting, the only system changes made were that I replaced WPA_Supplicant file to allow tethering and edited a system file to point GPS to another server.

Am wondering if I should undo those changes or how to unroot to get the update.

Or should I just wait for ICS?
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
I'm not sure why GEN1 does not seem to pull OTA 3.2.1. I tried to get a hold of my contacts at ACER but they are out doing some training.
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
yeh this happened with my 3.2 as well, with that same build no. have no idea where it came from as I have nothing of that build on my PC, i just restored a backup of stock 3.1, backdoored it then got the OTA for 7.006.03.

Small issue with sound as has been reported - turning off the backdoor and OTA toggle had no effect - had to physically remove data/local.prop file
[Acer Iconia A500] joe9002:
I saw some guys getting updates ending .14 dose this ROM auto update? im trying to look for OTA updates and its finding nothing.
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
The .14 updates to 3.2.1 for Gen_1 builds

This rom .11 is 3.2.1 for Gen_2 builds

You can check yours - Settings>About Tablet>Build number:
[Acer Iconia A500] jpinsl:
Thanks TD. Interested to hear if you get a response. I'm not sure what to do at this point besides wait for ICS.

---------- Post added at 07:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:48 PM ----------

Hi Dibb_nz, does that downgrade/restore procedure wipe the data on the tab? I've installed a lot of apps, data and customization that I would like to keep.

ps are you in SLC or NZ?
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
yeh that can be a pain - it depends on what you want to achieve by using this:)

but if I were you i would try just running the root tools in v3 thats what i did last time, don't worry about going thru the whole upgrade/downgrade process for the moment, if this works hopefully you won't need to...

and you do have a backup, don't you?????

edit: NZ!!
[Acer Iconia A500] M..N:
So just been reading a few threads and want to clear a couple of things up.

- Once rooted using this I can just use Acer recovery installer to install cwm and go ahead and flash roms.

-To unroot I would just flash the stock recovery using the Acer recovery installer and then install an official update right?
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Yes, if you have ROOT you can insall CWM. Yes to unroot you can do exactly what you state, or you can just delete the root package and you'd be back at stock. Whichever you prefer.
[Acer Iconia A500] M..N:
Nice one, seems to be a pretty easy painless process and I am correct to assume the a500 is pretty hard to brick if you have the uid.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
I have never bricked one yet. As long as you have the uid, at least I haven't.
[Acer Iconia A500] M..N:
That's good to hear, well guess I'm gonna do this tomorrow doesn't seem too daunting to do. The uid is it the same as the devices serial number, I think I read somewhere it was?
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
It is actually the USB serial number.
[Acer Iconia A500] M..N:
Ah okay thanks for clearing that up, much appreciated!
[Acer Iconia A500] ve6rah:
I seem to be stuck... :(

My tablet is starting off as a rooted 3.2 with CWM recovery, I downloaded the version 3 root program, and tried to run it to upgrade to 3.2.1

Following the instructions in the readme.pdf to the letter, here is what happened:

1) tablet is fully charged and plugged in to power

2) unziped the tool to a folder on my windows XP laptop

3) turned on USB debugging on the tablet (it was already on, but for good measure I toggled it off and back on)

4) unplug tablet from computer... well, it was never plugged in to start with

5) run DotNetDetector, it tells you to make sure the tablet is not plugged in, press ok... it tells you to make sure the tablet IS plugged in (did not plug in the tablet, per instructions) clicked ok

6) selected english and clicked next

7) messages says to enable debugging

8) plugged tablet in to USB port of laptop

9) windows recognized the tablet and asked to display the file contents, clicked cancel

10) navigate to test folder and ran test.cmd, wrote down the serial number it provided.

11) clicked next

Now here's where things didn't go according to plan...

Instead of being given the option to click next, the program sat for a while with a spinning wheel on each of the 2 version lines, then popped up a dialog box stating "cannot detect an iconia tab" and giving me instructions for rebooting the tablet in to APX mode and asked me if I wanted to continue with a yes/no prompt. clicking "yes" causes the same dialog box to flash off then immediately back on, clicking "no" causes the program to exit. (If you want to see the same dialog box, simply try to run the program without your tablet connected)

So failing that I tried a few things. I started by re-downloading the zip file, I also tried a factory reset on the tablet, and I tried wiping the cache and dalvik cache through CWM, I also tried a different USB port on the laptop, and I tried uninstalling the Acer drivers on the laptop. I also tried doing the OTA update (which failed, probably due to CWM) After each of these steps I tried the V3 program again, always with the same results.

Ideas on what to try next?
[Acer Iconia A500] ve6rah:
update:

I've gotten ever so slightly further since my last post. It appears that the V3 update does not include windows XP drivers, only vista and win7, however it appears to use the same program to flash the image as vache used in his method of reverting OTA 3.2 to 3.0.1 before rooting, so I grabbed his program, and copied the XP drivers in to the V3 program and tried again. This time everything went smoothly through step 12, and got stuck on 13. The tablet screen goes blank, and the computer indicates the ADB interface disconnecting, and an APX interface appearing. a new hardware wizard pops up which I canceled and the software let me go to the upgrade screen, but the status bar never filled in, and the tablet never came up with the message "Entering Acer Download Mode"

The instructions in step 14 indicate that if this happens I should reboot both devices and try again, I have done that, but the result is the same.

So once again I am stuck (though slightly further ahead than last time...)

Any suggestions?
[Acer Iconia A500] ve6rah:
Finally getting somewhere...

Well after 4 more reboots of both devices, and having the program install the drivers another 3 times, I finally got through.

I guess for anyone having difficulty, persistence and LOTS of patience are key.

Total time to upgrade from 3.2 to 3.2.1 ... 10 hours... and that's without setting anything back up on the tablet as far as programs and preferences go...
[Acer Iconia A500] fbeaulieu:
How to reset iconia A500

Hi, I'm new to this site and see a lot of information about how to flash custom firmware to my tablet. Most of the procedures I see here assume the tablet is up and running...

My problem is that mine is like "lost in hell" !!! I'm able to boot it but touch does not work anymore. I tried the many tricks to hard reset the tablet (power ON + volume UP, etc.) Those procedures seem to reset the tablet (time gets back to 12h00). But still see nothing on the "desktop" once booted. Moreover, touch seems to work but is completely decalibrated...

I just need the tablet to be completely reset. I tried to copy update.zip to micro sd and boot up tablet holding volume down. It reads de SD card and seems to install something (droid animation with gears and progress bar). But, progress bar like stops 2-3 pixels before the end and animation stop animating ! I assume I don't have the appropriate firmware version that fits my tablet batch... Don't know how to find the good update.zip, don't know if I'm wrong doing that at first step...

Thanx to help and sorry if I posted at a bad place !

fabien.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Have you tried this?

FACTORY RESET WITHOUT LOGON

ACER A500

1.	Power Down

2.	Make sure the Screen orientation is off (slide to left while landscape mode)

3.	Hold down the right volume key (Volume up (+)).

4.	Hold down the Power Button.

5.	When it buzzes let go of the power but keep hold of the volume up button (+)

rock the screen orientation switch quickly back and forth once.

6.	Should say :

Erasing Userdata....

Erasing Cache...
[Acer Iconia A500] fbeaulieu:
Hard reset

Hi and thanx for you reply.

Unfortunatelly, I tried this at first and I saw the erasing captions but it stucked right there. I leave the tablet "working" for a while (10 minutes) but nothing more happened, so I assume it failed...

fabien.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
If you are totally stock, which it sounds like you are, then you're probably looking at a hardware issue. You should be covered under warranty.

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] rlt9999:
This is without a doubt the easiest flash with root that I've ever done! Many thanks to the poster for the outstanding work!

Best regards,

Bob
[Acer Iconia A500] ktmdave7:
I know You eventually got it working after 4 attempts! lucky you :D

This exact same thing happend to me about 2 weeks ago.

I tried TimmyDeans V3 way. Got up about #8. Eventually I added in the XP drivers from another download (upGrade-To-3.2.7z) got further (#13).

I figured everyone's on Windows 7 and works fine (I'm on WinXp won't work)

:( I still haven't got it to work for me :(. I know i can just flash the newest updated Rooted ROM to get the end result. I would like to have backdoor working for me.

On WinXP (with .Net Framework 3.5+, 4.0)

Question : Why did it not work for us ?
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
The reason is you are missing the APX flash drivers. You only installed the adb drivers.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Here's a link to download the drivers for XP. Since you've been 'playing with drivers' it would be best to uninstall and remove (make sure you delete) the old drivers. These drivers will NOT install if you've already installed them or have partially installed some, so it is best to remove any old ones to be safe.

http://www.multiupload.com/AAVHNQIX1T
[Acer Iconia A500] merc669:
One quick question. In Step 2 of V3, you say to "Unzip the tool to your desktop". I am assuming here that you mean the folder "root-3.2.1" is moved to the desktop on the PC and continue with Step 3, and that all programs will execute within that folder and the internal apps will know where to look. Is this a correct assumption? This is also doing on Win7 64x. Thanks I am doing this the first time and figured I would ask the question and clarify your documentation. Thanks!!

Bill....
[Acer Iconia A500] ktmdave7:
Thanks for your Help TD! You're Right it was the "NvidiaUSB" Diver that needed to be installed.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Yup, put everything inside a folder like you say. Everything runs from within a folder.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Yup, the V3 download doesn't have XP drivers. So glad that download worked for you.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Update tool V4

New version V4

== Version V4 ==

-- Added /system/subin/su which is a backup (backdoor) root in case an OTA deletes the /system/xbin/su

-- Set permissons on the su root(#) tool so OTA's shouldn't be able to break it.

-- Added drivers for XP

Summary:

Version V4 is the same as V3 with the only difference being that there is a NEW backdoor script which has some additional features to protect root(#) from getting broken when you do an OTA. I also applied these to this flash image so you wouldn't have to add the additional protection yourself. V4 also has the drivers for XP included.

Download it here: http://www.multiupload.com/NS0X5TK4D1

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] cd-rw03:
Thank you!

V3 worked for me on win7 x64. Trying to solve the wi-fi ad-hoc issue. However I cannot get to CWM. Is CWM installed in V3?
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
No it is PURE STOCK with just root(#). But, since you have root, all you have to do is download and install CWM (Acer recovery) from the marketplace and you'll have what you want.

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] castafiore:
timmyDean

I did follow your instructions on my a500, bought recently in France.

I was on the stock ROM unrooted 7.014.15_GEN1 (in France)

After having installed your Rom, I'm now on 7.014.02_GEN2...

Everything works all right and, on top of this:

1/ For the first time, ALL the stocks icons (like games, etc) are translated in French !!! :) Don't ask me why it wasn't the case before with a french custom Rom !!! :D

2/ But, above all: THE LOW VOLUME MICROPHONE ISSUE is SOLVED !!! :):):):)

I try to fix that issue since weeks and NOW IT WORKS THANKS TO YOUR ROM !!!

A big, big Thank You, timmyDean :):):)
[Acer Iconia A500] KapTmaH:
Try the program Unlock Root and please leave feedback
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
You are welcome, gee and I thought that the one French class I had to take in college would never be useful:)

Let me clear something up, before someone misreads into your post. This is NOT a custom ROM. It is only pure stock with root(#). So if it fixes issues then you can thank the folks over at ACER.

So, I really appreciate your comments. I just don't want someone thinking it's a custom ROM. This is also why ACER should reverse their position on not allowing root(#) and unlock the bootloader.

Thanks for the feedback,

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] tabasco22:
Hi TimmyDean:

I'm novice in android.

Reading your PDF to how install this ROM, I read "Note: It is assumed you have su installed." what you mean for "su"?

Please excuse my poor english.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
You must be reading about the tools, to install the tools you need root(su)
[Acer Iconia A500] jpinsl:
You may want to start here before attempting Root/ROM
[Acer Iconia A500] telemike:
Does this work with 3.2.1? I am so sick of my stock ROM and bugs.
[Acer Iconia A500] solorules:
timmyDean can u find a way to use your root method on a Liberty Tab??
[Acer Iconia A500] deanfam1:
possible A200 conversion?

Do you think this root tool can be converted to use on the A200 running the stock 3.2.1?
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
No, and if ACER locks the bootloader you might have to wait for an exploit. There are a few exploits for ICS already, but they are being patched.

The best way is to allow the customer to unlock the bootloader therefore the OWNER of the tablet can root it or install what they want. If they keep it locked, we will be fighting the rooting battle a long time. Way too much time.

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Are you taking about the Packard Bell Liberty Tab?

I think the same technique would work, same chips set. Anyway, you'd have to build a tool for it, but yes, in theory.

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] RandomJSF:
Getting this to work on my system was rather... entertaining. Yes, that's a good word for it.

Apparently the EUUS software gets a little confused when operating on a Windows 7 system that has the drivers for ADB/Bootloader/Fastboot interfaces for the Droid X, Droid Bionic, Galaxy Nexus, and Acer A500 on it. I think there's software for another Android device in there somewhere, but I forget which one it is...

Had to manually change a few drivers, but I was able to run this successfully. Eventually. :)
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Yes, but it's not restricted to Win7. If you have used ADB for another device, then drinking a few beers helps with the frustrations. But yes, other drivers don't play well with the ACER. Wait to you now hook up your Toshiba and have Windows tell you it's an ACER <lol>
[Acer Iconia A500] RandomJSF:
Doesn't help that, before I sent the A500 in for warranty repair (not due to root or user error, developed a line of dead pixels), I had been running Thor v14.2 on the A500, so Win7 also thought the A500 was an Asus Epad.

The whole problem was easily fixed, just struck me as humorous. I tend to not get frustrated at these sorts of problems, I mostly just find them funny. Helps, I think, to get through the day. :)
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Yes me too, I think at one time APX mode my ASUS thought it was an ACER. You have to love it :)
[Acer Iconia A500] solorules:
i dont know how to build a tool :confused: no root for me :(:(:(:( thnx for the answer. To bad your tool doesnt work on my packard bell liberty tab. im stuck when it checks the versions and then cant press next.
[Acer Iconia A500] rollerboy2:
Not sure why but the software upgrade tool freezes at about %20 its done this twice and each time I have to restart my tablet.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
Cold boot everything including your PC, see if that works. Also, have you ever connected other tablets? If so, you might want to delete those drivers. Seems if you've used your PC to connect to other tablets it may hang. For example, after connecting my Toshiba it seems like I always have to delete those drivers before I can get my ACER to work properly.

TD
[Acer Iconia A500] rollerboy2:
Cold booted everyone same thing, I'm going to try uninstalling all the drivers.

Now its simply saying upgrade process failed. please follow the instructions for recovery ect.

So I tried clicking retry and it starts the upgrade process but then still gets stuck at 15-20%.
[Acer Iconia A500] timmyDean:
I haven't seen this ever and we've used this on hundreds. The problem with drivers however, normally prevents it from starting. I've never seen one start and then fail after running.

There is a log file it writes too, look for it in your home directory and see what it might say. The log file should be in your home directory inside a folder called EUULog. See what that has to say.