[Thinkpad Tablet Android Development] timmyDean:
Ok with a lot of requests for different solutions, I built this tool which will put you TOTALLY stock on K1_A301_02_02_110725_US with or without a permanent root. From here, you should be able to root or stock ALL flavors of the K1.

The permanent root will stay through OTA’s therefore you should be able to root every K1 on the market with this tool. Note, the permanent root(#) is su and busybox only. If you want Superuser.apk (GUI in apps), then you will have to download one from the Marketplace and install it.

Why this version: You should be able to use this version to update to any version located at http://download.lenovo.com/slates/k1/OTA/ AS LONG AS you pay attention and READ these instructions. You can load a stock SG version or CA version, or just stay with US. The stock can be rooted(#) or totally stock with no root(#). It's up to you. The 02_02 has a US bootloader which might NOT work with other versions so you have to find an OTA zip file that contains a blob and is at least the same version or newer than the US 02_02. Then manually copy it to your tablet and have the recovery install the update for your particular OTA. The blob is the key to flashing to your country version. Make sure you get an OTA with a blob.

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Example: Lets say you want to flash to a CA version, then do the following:

Make sure your battery is charged to at least 70%. This will NOT work unless it is charged to at least 70%

1.	Looking on the Lenovo OTA website, you will see there is K1_A301_02_02_110930_CA.zip. It is at least the same version or newer.

2.	Download the zip

3.	After it is downloaded, look inside the zip for a file called blob. It will be in the root of the zip. You will see boot.img and blob. DO NOT continue if there is NO blob. Look for another OTA zip.

4.	ONLY continue if the zip has a blob

5. Download this tool and run it which will flash you to 02_02 US

6.	Now plug your tablet’s USB cable into your computer and it should show up as a device under computers as a k1 device.

7.	Copy the downloaded file to this folder on your tablet “Computer\K1\Device Storage\Download”.

8.	Rename the file to update.zip

9.	Power off the tablet

10.	Now you must boot to recovery by doing the following. Press down and hold the volume(+) key and while pressing down the volume(+) key press down and hold the power button. Wait for the tablet to power on and then release the power button while still pressing down the volume(+) key.

11.	You should see text on the tablet "booting recovery kernel", stop pressing the volume(+) key, and the Green Android guy will appear.

12.	The tablet should load the update, and reboot.

13.	You’re done, now just allow your tablet to update to the latest version using OTA.

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Cautions and warnings:

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-- The base 02_02 flash will load US base user applications, so if for example, you want CN apps then you’ll have to ensure they will be added via the OTA you update too or eventually update to via OTA. Or, save and or download them manually.

-- All data on your tablet will be erased, so make sure you have anything you want backed up.

-- I’ve only tested this on going to US, SG and CA updates. Others should work, but I haven’t tested them.

-- Permanent root(#) does stay permanent through the updates that I tested.

-- If you use the permanent root(#) be advised there is NO Superuser.apk GUI. Since each OTA you might want to upgrade to would require a different Superuser.apk, it therefore has been left out. You will have to download a Superuser.apk GUI from the Marketplace if you want one. Root(#) su and busybox still will work without the Superuser.apk.

-- When selecting an OTA get an 02_02 version or the very first version with a blob. Do NOT jump to the latest version. It is best to just let OTA's upgrade you once you get onto your OTA. If you update using an update.zip without a blob and then your system just reboots only showing the lenovo logo then you have loaded incompatible boot loaders. The blob that is in an update.zip is your country's boot loader. When you flash with the US 02_02 it loads the US boot loader (blob). Therefore when you switch to a non US OTA you will need a different boot loader. Therefore,you'll want to make sure that you use the very first OTA with your country's blob (boot loader) and then let OTA's update you to the current version.

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If this helps, click the thanks button to let me know

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Here's the link to the tool:

http://depositfiles.com/files/qcnhlcznq

++++++++++++++++ UPDATE ++++++++++++++++++

If you roll the OTA's on the US version (and want to stay rooted), I have discovered that when you go from 04_04 using OTA it will flash you to 11_11 and remove root and then when you go to 12_12US it rewards you again with another dump removing root again. In going from 04_04 to 11_11 they expand the /system partition by lay it down NEW. They seem to happily do it again going from 11_11 to 12_12. Since they do this, they wipe out permanent root. So, when you get to 04_04US you will need to turn on the backdoor, the backdoor should let you back in as root therefore you can re-root(#) after taking 11_11US and 12_12US. Also, going from 12_12 to 13_13 is yet another system reload, so again you'll need to use the backdoor method.

Moral of the story: Permanent root isn't so permanent especially if they wipe the tablet's /system folder. But there's more than one way to skin a banana.

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TD