yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

Well someone finally sent me a bricked a100 to experiment with, and I think I found a way to bypass the bootloader entirely, meaning the sbk won't be an issue any longer. Still a long way to go, and it carries the possibility of unbricking, however its a hardware mod that not many will be able to do, so it may not help anyone else unless they send it to me.

As this carries a huge aspect of security, or lack of as this bypasses it, I won't go into to much detail yet.

If anyone happens to have an a100 that isn't bricked but has issues with charging, cracked screen, broken sd slot, or did the dead battery brick, let me know via pm please.

I want to thank coolloser for sending out (from Canada even) *her* a100 and covering the shipping. It may be the key to finding an unbrick method or at least the ability to save some data.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] plznote:
Re: The Brick Thread

Wow, damn I sent an A100 with a battery brick in lol. Acers taking a LONG time to fix it.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] coolloser:
Re: The Brick Thread

"Her" a100! ;)

It's worth more in your hands than stuffed in a drawer Pio, no worries :D

Sent from a non-apple device.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

Corrected :p

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] lotherius:
Wow, sounds exciting. Keep us in the loop, there are a LOT of folks wanting a fix for this.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

And 99.9% won't be able to do it.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] lotherius:
If it requires soldering contact points, then perhaps you're right.

If it can be done via software & cables, then there are some very determined folks here.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

Requires.some fine soldering among other things

http://db.tt/9MSg3IuW

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] max69power:
2 Boards dead now

i got it in November 2011 had it brick in July 2012 got it back in August took 2 weeks now it is March and the second emmc kicked the bucket.

first one rooted and unlocked no custom roms second one roms galore.

thank you Pio and Vanche, Crossix, Way down South, hardslog, ZeroNull

I had it over clocked by 100mhz and it died on Linaro B4 i loved that rom in the standard non tablet mode :good:.

i was using it it started to crash saying out of memory one program evrey 2 seconds then it got super fast in less than 1 min popping up crashes so fast I could not close a popup fast enough to to press reboot to recovery. I was on twrp 2.4.1.

Pio please keep me updated with what you come up with on the a100 hard mod I am pretty good with a soldering iron. I was thinking about adding a second battery pack but that is out of the question at the moment. thank you all for the great community. It was a great device with 2 minor bad points but one major one. Definitely do not buy a used A100 unless it is under $50 or Pio comes up with the sweet work around we all know he will.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] h1p1n3:
Im up for anything. Had two a100's purchased last Christmas for the inlaws, one failed this past summer.. and the other just failed. Both EMMC failures. At this point I am up for trying anything. About to strip it to mobo and attempt a reflow. Do you have directions or a link for a possible fix?

Thanks

EDIT: Sorry, re-read the whole thing. I'd be happy to donate the motherboard to you, however I admit, I am going to attempt a reflow first. I am 99% sure this will not work but what do I have to lose, right?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

Reflow what? Its not a heat issue, you'll just nuke the board. But not like it works anyways, right?

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] winny57:
Re: The Brick Thread

hello,

I think I also have a problem of brick.

I can not mount the partitions, I control access to recovery thanks openrecovery 2.4.4.0

my bootloader v0.03.06-ICS (unlockmode).

Well my computer detect my tablet

I can also change the recovery, bootloader.

I aiessayer flash with ubuntu but the image is not compatible a100.

* I just happen to change boot mo

Quelq'un have an idea?

PS: I do not mind doing what it takes lol
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] justjackyl:
Re: The Brick Thread

D.O.A

"Well, bust my buttons! Why didn't you say that in the first place? That's a horse of a different color!"
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] winny57:
Re: The Brick Thread

I do not understand this sentence! Are you talking to me?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] nsmith4:
He means it's dead. There is no known way to fix this brick.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] winny57:
Re: The Brick Thread

But why games can still change my bootloader my recovery? It will possible to make a recovery image with recovery and file in the rom?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

The partitions will vanish 1 by 1 until it's eventually stuck in APX mode, reading this thread a little will show you the usual path of it bricking.

Unstable, lockups, freezing

Reboot, boot loops or stuck on acer boot loader screen

Booting recovery may work but gives mount errors, normally cache or data

Eventually loses ability to boot recovery

Eventually loses ability to use the bootloader

Full brick.

Happens in this manner 99% of the time.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] lotherius:
Re: The Brick Thread

Just curious, if it really is mmc failure and not just data corruption, would bypassing apx security even be of any use?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

No, if the emmc is actually damaged in some way, bad sectors, whatever, then it won't. If it's just the controller scrambling it, then yes, it has a use.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] winny57:
Re: The Brick Thread

But there would be no other solution as clear all the memory?

I am willing to try all.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] sc_tbfd:
Bricked

So I've read all 33 pages and I'm pretty sure I understand most of it, (although i've never done any mods so a lot of the acronyms don't mean anything to me). Just to be sure ....

I have an A100 running OTA ICS, nothing unlocked or modded in any way.

I had one random freeze using the default browser, held the power button to turn off, booted once to the Acer logo and now I get power light only, no display, no vibration. hard reset button (with a paper clip) turns off the power light and back on but no change. power button and volume rocker (tried both directions) does nothing either.

That's what this whole thread is about right? Can someone confirm that It's pointless to even try anything else.

Thanks for the help.

Steve
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

You're currently in apx mode. It's pretty much done now, acer repair or motherboard needs replaced now.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] sc_tbfd:
Thanks for the reply, that's what I expected. Makes me sad though I really liked this tablet.

Is it safe to assume there are still no 'preventative measures'? We have two more of the A100's in the house... Waiting for them to die will be even sadder...
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] justjackyl:
Re: The Brick Thread

Sadly no. All A100s will one day be extinct as they are all going to suffer from EMMC failure and therefore are just ticking time bombs.

Sent from my glorified LG pet rock™
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] max69power:
Yes it is extremely sad especially because they are still selling these tablets. There was not a large enough base that there will be a class action either and this would be a winner. Even buying a referb main board is 75+ dollars.

Pio in the photos are you trying to access the uart or jtag? Even though it may be dead as a tablet there is a good electronics toy to play with. And no worries of breaking it. :rolleyes:
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

Jtag

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] max69power:
Thanks have you had any luck with it yet. I did find the Tegra 2 main developer manual.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

No, I don't have jtag hardware so I had to make my own, now getting anything to communicate with it is proving difficult, no documentation on something like this.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] WVHdls1:
Another bricked A100 in the wall...

Date of purchase (it can be a rough guess if you don't know)-

July26, 2012

ROM it was running, was it stock acer OTA update ICS, modded stock, CM9 etc

I had flashed successfully from stock acer ICS to your Jellytime Sosei, but I missed the camera and GPS. (not blaming your ROM, just don't know why they didn't work). I attempted to revert to stock ICS when problems started. Using TWRP, I did all the wipes and installed as update.zip from sd card. I read that it would take 7-10 minutes to install, but it said it was complete in about 20-30 seconds.(?) Reboot from power button gives, 'Boot verified failed...'

Power + Volume(-) then Rotation Lock reads: Bootloader v0.03.11-ICS Starting Fastboot USB download protocol

Did you flash and unlock the bootloader, if so, where did you get it?

Yes, ZeroNull- http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1557445 It showed as Unlocked before flashing your Jellytime ROM.

Did you flash and use a custom recovery, if so, where did you get it? CWM, or TWRP?

Yes, I used CWM first, but liked TWRP better. from them: www.teamw.in/project/twrp

Did you have any freezes, random reboots, odd behaviour before the brick?

No.

Did you hard reboot (use the reset button, or hold the power button)?

I originally used the power button, but have since tried reset. Maybe I didn't do the right thing there.

Did you run a custom kernel (ezterry or any others) or stock kernel?

Only the custom that came with your Jellytime.

Did you overclock, if so what was max, and did you undervolt, if so, how low?

I set it at performance-1200 for a while, but then back to 1000. No undervolt allowed.

What have you done since the brick, any wipes, roms you've attempted to use as update.zip, any flashes attempted.

I can bring up the white Acer logo with- fastboot oem unlock

Attempt to flash recovery gives FAILED <remote: <00000002>> and this on acer screen:

Fastboot: Not support the command in Lock mode

Failed to process command download:0051b000 error(0x2)

Attempting to flash update.zip gives a similar, 'Not support the command in Lock mode' error msg.

Entering adb reboot bootloader gives: error: device not found

I loaded the Acer drivers from a .exe. The Device Manager shows an ADB interface named Acer Fastboot interface.

Am I missing something with using adb?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Re: The Brick Thread

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=30524194

Basically you bricked it yourself by flashing a stock Rom on a non stock recovery, relocking the bootloader. I'm not sure anyone has ever recovered from this since fastboot and adb access is gone. The link I posted is a sticky post concerning this exact thing. There is also a published correct method to go back to stock without locking yourself out and making it useless.

At least if I read what did correctly, that's what happened.

Edit: the correct method http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=33574648

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] WVHdls1:
Oh well.

I hate that did it to myself, and I guess I've learned the hard way. I also hate that these acers are ticking time bombs, and that it was probably going to quit on me at some point. I just remembered that I had my first freeze and hard reset on this A100 about two weeks ago.

Now asking for any recommended tablet brands that may not have ticking time bomb emmc's or other parts in them.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] plznote:
Re: The Brick Thread

You should still have warranty on the tab, Acer will fix it. As for a new one, wait for the 2nd gen Nexus 7 IMO.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Even when its obviously out of warranty due to flashing a third party recovery? Its failing signature check on recovery, which means its not what it should be, which means warranty went bye bye. That's assuming they check, or even care, I guess.

Replacement, I'd suggest a galaxy tab, if you prefer a current gen 7" that has an sd slot. I'd also go with the next N7, but it'll have no sd slot, again, which may or may not matter to you, but I like my N7, even if I DO have to sell it to make ends meet. The smaller excite is also a very good device, however no root yet exists, which may be a factor, as it is for a lot of users.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] jpconard:
Another one bricked itself

Mine bricked itself last night. Had it since Aug. 2011, ICS, rooted (only to access ad hoc networks). Just locked up during use, rebooted with power button, tried the paperclip reset, tried the recovery (power and top volume button), tried the power up with lower button and toggling screen lock. Nothing works. At first some times it would get to Android on screen but never further, now just seems to get to Acer. Tried ICS update.zip file on sdcard, no luck. Basically says in recovery not finding partitions.

I assume mine has failed emmc chip, I didn't even know about this until I googled it this a.m.

So what is a 7" tablet with front and back cameras and HDMI out, and microsd slot - answer NONE, unless you buy a Chinese brand. The result of price wars, each one removing a feature until no features are left.

Definitely no more Acer for me. HP has been on my blacklist since the Nvidia chip burning up issue (and lame lawsuit). GM on my blacklist since the bailout. Eventually I won't be able to buy anything.

Why didn't they just put in a microsd card instead of emmc chip? Fast microsd card can't be that must slower.

I do like my Chinese mini PC (Imito mx1), not all locked up, works good, cheap. Maybe a chinese tablet is the way to go?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Galaxy tab 2 would be the dame thing features wise, not sure about the hdmi or not.

And they can't use an actual sd card, it's not a performance thing, it'll burn out the card in a few days from writes. Different flash memory for different applications.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] jpconard:
No HDMI in Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, checked today. It was supposed to have it originally with special cable or dock or something. Turns out it can't support it. I'll probably get that one anyway, rather have it than the Nexus. So no name-brand tablets with the same features as A100, that is a shame. A100 was a good tablet. Somebody needs to figure out how to fix these cheaply. I had a bunch of screen protectors, couple cases, couple chargers all to waste, micro to HDMI cable also. Plus I like the round D.C. port, less risk of damage than all these other special ports on others. Was happy with Acer up till now, had good luck with their netbooks and Core I3 Timeline notebook so far.

Actually, at least one of those Chinese Android Mini PC sticks does use a microsd card as its internal memory (plus has slot on side for 2nd micro sd), how it holds up not sure. Been happy with my Imito MX1 android Rockcip 3066 with Mali 400 graphics mini PC, but trusting a Chinese tablet may be another thing. Probably some are OK, I think the battery may be the weak point with them. Just don't want to take the chance.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] max69power:
The setup looks to be an arm 20 pin standard. I have been looking around for some jtag tools freescale has some nice ones but my money is going to a galaxy tab 2. The Nubi 2 is a nice featured tablet also but xda has not let them start a forum yet.

When you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on (=^x^=)
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Yeah I think it's just the arm 20 setup, I made a cable that can use it, but no software that will talk to it, and even then, how to get the software to do anything. Seeing as no one has even looked into this before I'm on my own here.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] max69power:
I am looking for info also i found a few things. I sent you a link that may help. I have never played with jtag but. This is a good first project open wrt has some info. I have been collecting the pieces to make a jtag also. If I find anything good i will share it.

When you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on (=^x^=)
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] Hadriel18:
I'm an idiot and had to meddle with my tab when it worked fine. I'm fairly certain I locked the bootloader back up. In the tool I used to unlock the bootloader, I saw that it was using the a200 files. Curious, I decided to change the install-eng.bat to use the a100 files and ran the bat file again. This promptly failed and when the tab rebooted it now gets up to the acer logo and says "Boot verified failed..."

When I attempt to go into recovery mode (vol + and power) the following prints out:

Erasing Cache before SD update...

SD update cmd: recovery

--update_package=SDCARD:update.zip

Booting recovery kernel image

Recovery verified failed...

I've tried factory reset and it gets to erasing userdata, erasing cache, and then reboots.

In either mode I've tried to get in any adb commands, which doesn't work. And finally I can get it into APX mode if I hold the reset button and turn on the tab, but as I've read in the thread APX is useless.

I've already sent in my tab once because it randomly bricked with stock ICS. Unfortunately I'm about 2 months out of warranty.

Date of purchase (it can be a rough guess if you don't know): 3/12/12

ROM it was running, was it stock acer OTA update ICS, modded stock, CM9 etc: Jelly Time Sosei from http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1762263

Did you flash and unlock the bootloader, if so, where did you get it?: Yep I unlocked it the tool from http://dl.xda-developers.com/attach...83/5159dae8/9/5/7/5/5/2/Fastboot_Recovery.zip

Did you flash and use a custom recovery, if so, where did you get it? CWM, or TWRP?: TWRP from http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1848748 via the automated installer

Did you have any freezes, random reboots, odd behaviour before the brick?: Nope

Did you hard reboot (use the reset button, or hold the power button)?: Yep tried that.

Did you run a custom kernel (ezterry or any others) or stock kernel?: Possibly? http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1848748 says it uses a custom recovery kernel so I assume so.

Did you overclock, if so what was max, and did you undervolt, if so, how low?: Nope

Do I have any options or is it to acer my tab goes?
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=30524194

Short version, locking it on a custom Rom and recovery makes it useless, can't fix it now.

The a100 bootloader has no unlock mode, so when you put it back on for whatever reason you locked yourself out.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] 13Madhatter13:
Brick? Help

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Have had my Acer a100 for a year and a half. was running jb 4.1.x. was playing a game an Acer went to boot animation then just hung. turned off. now won't boot past Acer logo. will boot into twrp but won't let me doing anything else. basically wont mount anything.

E:Unable to find partition size for '/recovery'

E:Unable to find partition size for '/boot'

E:Unable to mount '/data'

E: Unable to recreate /data/media folder.

Updating partition details...

E:Unable to mount '/system'

E:Unable to mount '/cashe'

E:Unable to mount '/flexrom'

E:Unable to mount '/data'

E:Unable to mount internal storage.

E:Unable to mount /data/media during GUI startup.

E:Unable to mount '/cashe'

E:Unable to mount '/cashe'

E:Can't mount /cash/recovery/command

E:Unable to mount '/cahse'

E:Unable to mount /cashe/recovery/log

E:Unable to open /cashe/recovery/log

E:Unable to mount '/cahse'

E:Can't mount /cashe/recovery/last_log

E:Can't open /cashe/recovery/last_log

E:Unable to mount '/cahse'

E:Can't mount /cashe/recovery/last_install

E:Can't open /cashe/recovery/last_ install

E:Unable to mount '/cahse'

E:Unable to mount /data when trying to read setting file.

E:Unable to mount '/data'

thank you in adv-advance.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Its most likely bricked and needs sent to Acer for repair. Mount errors are the first sign of it occurring, usually after freezing.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] filking:
Quick question....

Got the same problems here, (won't boot past acer screen, recovery fails loading).... Plugging my tab into my pc detects something while on the acer screen, but fails to start (code 10).

adb devices shows nothing...

I've just managed to get my tablet to show 'Bootloader v0.03.13-ICS: Starting Fastboot USB download protocol' and the PC is now showing a working 'ACER Fastboot interface'.

adb devices still shows nothing...

The question is, is there anything I can try at this point to help restore it? (If so, can you point me to idiot guide)..

If not, i'll go back to monitoring this thread and wait for the experts....

Ta
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Adb doesn't work in fastboot so that's normal, the only thing you can try is flashing recovery again if you no longer have it, or maybe even a boot.img to see if it'll attempt to get off the bootloader and fire adb up so you can see what's going on.

How did it get to this point? It's a somewhat different state then normal, though I'm pretty sure it's gonna die anytime now.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] filking:
to be perfectly honest I can't remember how it got bricked, was a couple of months ago now... It was rooted with a custom rom.. Just hung and rebooted in a sick state.... I was just mucking about with turning on while holding the volume and constantly switching the lock switch.. Did this about 10 times and then this popped up...

If I do brick it totally, so be it.... Obviously hope it doesn't as my partner would like it now i've got a N7.

I'll try flashing recovery.. (have you got a quick link for me,, soooo many threads on here and would like to do it properly..)..

Thanks
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Download a recovery, any will do, even an old one, doesn't matter you just want an a100 recovery image. Get the a100 into fastboot again then on your pc do shift + right click, open prompt here (wherever your recovery img is) then type

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

Should take a second or two then

Fastboot reboot

Hold volume up or down, forget now, to get recovery.

Recovery.img is whatever your file is named. It'll help if fastboot and all that is in the same place recovery.img is.

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] filking:
Thanks. I'll give that a try and let you know how I get on....

---------- Post added at 11:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 PM ----------

oh well.... "Fastboot: Not support the command in Lock mode"

I tried... :(

---------- Post added at 11:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 PM ----------

I don't suppose there is anything else I can try is there?

I think I know the answer is no but thought i'd better just double check before I put tablet back in a box in a cupboard for good......
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
Nope if fastboot and adb are gone there isn't much you can do anymore. I am collecting bricked a100s for testing and experimenting, though ;)

Tapatalked from my HTC DNA
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] filking:
Thanks for advice anyway.... I'll sit on it for a little bit longer hoping for a quick fix, then decide what to do with it.. ;)
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] lotherius:
How many do you need? :)

I still have one that was given to me by a friend, stuck in APX like everyone else... was going to swap the mainboard out of one with a broken screen. However as I have a fully functioning CM10 TouchPad (with requisite cracked case), I decided it wasn't worth the $60 for a broken screen device, that was likely to brick itself anyway in the future.
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] pio_masaki:
I guess as many as people are willing to throw my way lol
[Acer Iconia Tab A100] NighPlayer32:
hi has anyone the Honeycomb software I need it for testing eg flashable zip or backup