yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
okay well if that is the case U-boot says it is under the GPL so they need to release source code. which they have failed to do

i knew that was rubbish with them saying it didnt mean anything just dont understand why they need to make things up
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
This is true of a number of Android manufacturers. Very few of them release source code. There may be a way around it. Some of the Vizio Blue ray DVD players are also loaded with the Vizio V.I.A system. In fact I came across the following in the manual for that player at this link. They provide the open source license.

Surprisingly this Notice is missing the VTAB user guide. I suppose we could call and tell them we have the Blu Ray Player/TV with VIA.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] birdcrazie:
did you ever get an answer? I am having the same problem

---------- Post added at 09:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 AM ----------

I was having trouble with rooting mine and copied these files into doomlord and it worked. Now I can connect to wifi but not the internet.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
make sure everything is backed up and do a factory reset from the recovery mode,

dont worry you wont lose your root it

not sure if that will work but thats the only advice vizio has ever given me for troubleshooting the device
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] blackcog:
Thank you. Sorry I've been gone a couple days -- business things to deal with..
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] abtxpress:
Wish some devs would jump on this.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I have been mucking around trying to figure out where the boot sector etc is. This is what I get:

On vtab as root:

# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0p4.img

On my Mac:

% adb pull /sdcard/mmcblk0p4.img .
% dd if=mmcblk0p4.img | file -
/dev/stdin: x86 boot sector, code offset 0x58, OEM-ID "android ", sectors/cluster 8, heads 4, sectors 5033904 (volumes > 32 MB) , FAT (32 bit), sectors/FAT 4907, Backup boot sector 2, serial number 0xXXXXXXXXXX, label: "Internal "

So it appears that mmcblk0p4 is the crucial partition which holds the boot sector. For reference here are the other partitions.

% dd if=mmcblk0p1.img | file -
/dev/stdin: gzip compressed data, from Unix

% dd if=mmcblk0p2.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (extents) (large files)

% dd if=mmcblk0p3.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (needs journal recovery) (extents) (large files)

% dd if=mmcblk0p4.img | file -
/dev/stdin: x86 boot sector, code offset 0x58, OEM-ID "android ", sectors/cluster 8, heads 4, sectors 5033904 (volumes > 32 MB) , FAT (32 bit), sectors/FAT 4907, Backup boot sector 2, serial number 0xeee008db, label: "Internal "

% dd if=mmcblk0p5.img | file -
/dev/stdin: gzip compressed data, from Unix

% dd if=mmcblk0p6.img | file -
/dev/stdin: data

% dd if=mmcblk0p7.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (needs journal recovery) (extents) (large files)

% dd if=mmcblk0p8.img | file -
/dev/stdin: data

% dd if=mmcblk0p9.img | file -
/dev/stdin: data

% dd if=mmcblk0p10.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (extents) (huge files)

% dd if=mmcblk0p10.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (extents) (huge files)
[mbp:~/Downloads/Images] ramp% dd if=mmcblk0p11.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (needs journal recovery) (extents) (huge files)

% dd if=mmcblk0p12.img | file -
/dev/stdin: data

% dd if=mmcblk0p13.img | file -
/dev/stdin: Linux rev 1.0 ext4 filesystem data (needs journal recovery) (extents) (huge files)

Here are the partition sizes from /proc/partitions:

179 0 3864576 mmcblk0
179 1 8192 mmcblk0p1
179 2 225280 mmcblk0p2
179 3 786432 mmcblk0p3
179 4 2516958 mmcblk0p4
179 5 8192 mmcblk0p5
179 6 512 mmcblk0p6
179 7 204800 mmcblk0p7
179 8 8192 mmcblk0p8
179 9 8192 mmcblk0p9
179 10 2048 mmcblk0p10
179 11 2048 mmcblk0p11
179 12 1024 mmcblk0p12
179 13 2048 mmcblk0p13

mmcblk0p4 is the internal sdcard partition

For reference here are the partition labels as seen by the recovery mode:

0 /tmp ramdisk (null) (null)
1 /kernel emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p8 (null)
2 /ramdisk emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (null)
3 /system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 (null)
4 /data ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 (null)
5 /sdcard vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /dev/block/mmcblk1
6 /recovery emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p5 (null)
7 /misc emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p6 (null)
8 /cache ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 (null)
9 /sm0 emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 (null)

NOTE: In my case I have modified the internal/external sdcard mount points. Which is why the /sdcard shows up as /dev/block/mmcblk1p1
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] erickr56:
Thanks for your work. So close I can sense CWM booting on someones vizio tablet already. :D So someone just needs to build CWM and flash it to mmcblk0p5?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
It appears that the internal storage configuration is significantly different on this device when compared to other android tablets/phones. That might require some careful hacking of the CWM sources.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
is it possible that we can just modify the existing recovery to be able to flash?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] erickr56:
I think someone has done that for my lg Optimus v, but if we wipe something wrong, we'll all have bricks.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Regarding kernel sources, id suggest to ask fir a 2bd or 3rd level support guy, as the standard support has absolutely no technical or legal knowledge, they just have an interface to some kind of faq. If u get mail contact to higher level, you can demand kernel sources, as they have to because they do compile it for and distribute it with their devices.

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
@rprr can you modify first post with full instructions on how to get adb for x86/amd64 machines, eventually add the needed modified driver files, modified SOC and all that stuff. I think this would be helpfull for all new users to have everything in one place.

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Shadow Samurai:
yes!!!

I was afriad this day would never come!
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
@FadeFx: Unfortunately, I have not tested adb on Windows machines as I do not have access to them. However, I'd be more than happy to include that information if someone can send me the procedure.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I was able to modify the recovery partition by editing the default.prop file to allow for adb access. There is also root access. I did this by using the 'dd' program. I was extremely apprehensive doing this but it all did work out. The potential for serious bricking is quite high with this process. I have tested this and I can adb into it when in recovery mode. Right now, it doesn't do much but the potential is there to at least get CWM working eventually.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
There is a manual for win7 amd64, but i seem to be too stupid to get it working on my vista x86...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=16835572

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Just for your info, i just sent a mail to techsupport@vizio.com reporting some small bugs and requesting kernel sources. Here is the mail i sent:

I will report back if i get an answer.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] BobK46:
This Vtab must be getting very popular, as neither SamsClub, Walmart, or COSTCO have them in stock. Not online nor in their brick&mortor/warehouse locations
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Check eBay...

Got mine there cms wholesale
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] marvin02:
It charges to 100% then the charge cycle shuts off, so it is less than 100% when you disconnect from the charge cable. If you unplug and then plug it back in the charge will restart and you can see it go to 100%.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Not for me, at least not till now. I use "battery left widget" and it shows that it has no reading for 100% what means it never went up there. But that is not what i wanted to discuss here...

Edit: you were right...

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I started a new thread on CWM porting to the Vizio in order to not take this thread too much OT. Here is the link.

VTAB 1008 CWM porting
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] auburnham:
Thanks for everyone's contribution. I was able to root the VTAB1008 using the posted method, with a little trouble from DroidExplorer. I had to stop the DroidExplorer service in Windows 7 before the correct ADB would run without conflict. Just in case anyone has the same problem, I kept getting the "adb server is out of date" message before stopping the DroidExplorer service.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Do u have 64 or 32 bit windows? Can you please post the used drivers (modified) here if possible?

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] abtxpress:
I achieved root for my VTab on my WIN 7 64 bit using this method...

6) Go into control panel, device manager and you should now have other device named VTAB1008 with yellow highlight.

7) Right mouse click and select "update driver software"

8) then select "browse my computer for driver software"

9) then select "let me pick from a list of device drivers"

10) Select "ADB interface" and then select "Android Sooner ADB testing interface".

11) Once this driver was installed, I was successful in seeing the VTAB through ADB.

12) Install SuperOneClick version 2.2

13) Download the doomlord V3 toolkit and copy the zergrush file under the /files directory to the exploit directory under SuperOneClick (replacing the existing zergrush file)

14) Once this was done, SuperOneClick was successful
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Thanx, will give it a try...

Edit: no dice, i have 3 drivers to choose after selecting the driver from Google sdk:

Android ADB Interface

Android Bootloader Interface

Android Composite ADB Interface

but no luck with any of them, adb driver seems installers, but device is not listed after adb devices i did even adb kill-server, adb start server and then adb devices, but still not listed.

Think I'm gonna try with a friends Linux machine tomorrow.

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] musicadkinson:
Success!!

Followed instructions for rooting VTAB EXACTLY and it rooted the first time. I am running Win7 x64. Thanks so much for all of your hard work.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] auburnham:
32 bit Windows 7. June Fabric PDANet drivers. http://junefabrics.com/android/index.php
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
sorry, but what to do with pda net server? i want to use adb...
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] auburnham:
Just install PDANet, and the installation program will install the correct adb drivers. Then you can uninstall PDANet if you want.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Ah, thanx

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jaynrb:
I was messing around with my tablet and i do believe i will have to send it back. I was messing with the framework and just tried pushing an edited framework and now im stuck in bootloop. My tablet always read as rooted but from the computer it would always give me permission denied. So I cant push the original framework-res.apk to the tablet from adb. I tried to make an update file to replace the framework-res.apk BUT it wont let me because it says in recovery that the file signature failed. Any help would be cool. thanks guys.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Faliled signature verification from recovery is a known problem, as it requires vizio signed update files and does not accept the test key. I'd suggest to wait with theming until we have clockworkmod recovery with adb access.

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Hmm, no luck either... that thing is driving me crazy. The Linux machine of a friend that i wanted to use has a dead power supply, now i think of using another friends win7 64 bit system...

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jaynrb:
adb and root worked great for me on windows 7... windows xp 32 bit here at work connects but doesnt show root access. really dumb...
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
rprr, would you mind to write a small tutorial on how to enable adb and root the vtab using linux on my thread?

btw, i love the autokiller settings i suggest, my tablet started to lag after opening some apps as it did not have enough free ram to open one more app... ;-)
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
Fadefx -- will do.

I have not used the autokiller. I am fairly happy with the default Android memory manager. I have not noticed any serious lag. Though I only use a limited number of apps most of the time.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
I used osmonitor and saw free ram goes down to as low as 36mb, which causes that if a new app is opened it needs to kill some empty apps first to free the needed ram. I set the threasholds so that there is always enough ram available for a new vm to spawn. This way it first opens the new app and then kills the needed empty apps to regain the needed ram. The settings vizio uses are meant for systems with lower vm size and only 256mb of ram.

Auto memory manager is not an autokiller, it is a way to tune androids memory management settings. I'd never suggest to use any autokiller app or kill all button, as there is absolutely no need for an app like this, it is more opposite, as many killed apps will automatically respawn a few seconds later and have to be loaded from memory into ram causing more strain on the system and the battery.

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Magnus369:
Vizio update today to V.I.A. Plus 1.5

Looks like root is about to be taken away from us.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I think I will wait before updating.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] felixand:
I'm updating now...

---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 PM ----------

It's taking a longggg time
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
If you are rooted let us know if root is still there after the update ...
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] felixand:
Root is gone...beware!!

---------- Post added at 12:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------

Back to the drawing board.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
Sorry about that. Hope that you can re root it.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] felixand:
Tried to re-root with the same procedure as before...NO ROOT!!!

If they are going to keep doing this, I think I'll return mine to Costco.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
Are there any noticeable changes with this Update such as Android Version and Kernel version?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sigeltek:
Uh oh.... good thing i froze the vizio updater..

Thanks for the info rprr

VIZIO Support

The update is for security vulnerabilities. We aren't given an exact list of the changes made, I apologize for any inconvenience.

https://twitter.com/#!/VIZIOsupport/status/142707685241004032
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I have updated the OP to mention this Vizio Update 1.5.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
I have just frozen the update service for now, i hope we can get the new version rooted soon, as i depend on apps that need root like samba server.

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Will do that too on my thread...

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
I guess they set s-on, there is a tool called 'unrevoked' that afaik can s-off again.

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
uninstalled the updater app now it will only boot into recovery mode... also tried getting adb in recovery with no luck.

tried a factory reset and still onoly boots into recovery
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
How did u uninstall it?

Did u try to reboot afterwards?

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
titanium backup.. the irony is i backed it up and i cant restore it
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
This makes me fear now that i wont be able to bootup after disabling it, i however have frozen it rather than uninstall.

There was a Guy somewhere claiming he has the vizio key files for signing update.zip files found somewhere on the system, if we could get them we could try to unbrick your device by flashing back the update service.

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
Had you done the 'adb' recovery mod as was posted?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
i have a back up of my system partition, if only i had adb access in recovery and i could just restore it

i followed the instructions provided by rprr to enable adb but it still says error:no Device found
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I have it frozen as well. I have done a number of reboots since with no problems.

I would be surprised if the Vizio update keys are actually on the tablet itself.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
That is surprising. It does work fine for me. I have tried it a number of times. Did you try to kill and start adb server? Which OS are you trying to do it from?

edit to add: How did you backup the /system partition?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
yes ive tried killing the sever, i am running windows

---------- Post added at 04:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------

could someone figure out the keys using one of the newest updates?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
It was surprising for me as well, and i still doubt it is true, but still with a shot...

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Nope, it is not included in the update files, there is a public key to decrypt and a private key to encrypt i think. The device should only have the public key, while the private key stays at vizio. But the Guy claimed he had found two files.

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dylanparrish:
well can he produce these files then?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
Do you mean this thread at android tablets.net?

Thread
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Exactly, no wonder i could not find it here on xda any more...

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tapatalked from vizio vtab1008
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] marvin02:
I also have frozen the update service (VIZIO Update Service 1.6.33) and have rebooted the VTAB a number of times with no problems. For those with issues - were you using the default launcher?

I would guess that the "security vulnerabilities" the update fixes is the ability to root the device. :rolleyes:
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] KJ5ES:
Turn Off The Update Nag Message??

Hi guys...how do I shut down the nag message to install this "mandatory security update" that takes away my root??
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Download titanium Backup and freeze it, do not remove, only freze

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
The free version of Titanium Backup does not have the ability to freeze apps, the pro version is needed. There are other free apps that can freeze apps but I have not tried them so cannot vouch for their reliability.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
Payed version is worth every cent, you will see later on, when we start cooking roms...

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rprr:
I agree. This app is well worth it.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] KJ5ES:
What are the major changes in this update anyway? Does it change the goofy mounting of the SD card? Does is change which android software version? etc etc....or is it just there to take away root?
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] FadeFx:
I guess it just takes away root. I doubt vizio will address the sdcard mounting issue, hopefully we will get ics at some point, but i am sure it will take some months...

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tapatalked
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gjhuff:
What it Does

Xphyte over at the Android Tablet Forums (on the vtab forum) says it modified Nook, Hulu and Flash Player, in addition to closing the exploit. Whoppee! 3 things most of us don't care about.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dornstar:
Had an exchange with Vizio on Twitter about this...

VIZIOsupport VIZIO Support

@psigel -The update is for security vulnerabilities. We aren't given an exact list of the changes made, I apologize for any inconvenience.

ryandorn Ryan Dorn

@VIZIOsupport Which is code for we're f*cking you out of root instead of doing something worthwhile like fixing the garbage SD card crap.

@VIZIOsupport VIZIO Support

@ryandorn Rooting voids the warranty, we want our customers to be protected against potential issues, I apologize for any inconvenience.

ryandorn Ryan Dorn

@VIZIOsupport Why don't you let me worry about MY warranty and YOU worry about fixing the issues with this tablet.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gjhuff:
Oh well, hackers - get back to work! What the mind of man can do, others can undo! <g>