[Galaxy Tab 2 7" Android Development] superdave643:
Gentlemen,

This is just a heads up if, like me, you have been frustrated with problems with the phone microphone not working using certain baked ROMs. This is not directed at or to blame any particular ROM or developer, whose efforts are highly appreciated by me and the whole Tab2 community.

A short background: I got my brand new P3100 back in April and hadn't even had the device out of the box for 30 minutes before I went down the road of rooting and modding it. I must've tried every JB ROM on this forum, though I didn't really post much because I USE my P3100 as my daily phone. However, every ROM had some kind of compromise or broken feature, some more important to me than others. For the longest time I was using CM 10.1 but Bluetooth and voice controls were broken. Then I tried the stock-derived JB ROMs, 4.1.2 and just now 4.2.2. Personally, I prefer the stock-based ROMs but the problem I had with every baked version I tried, the phone audio didn't work!

Anyway, I am not posting this as a sob story. I had the last straw today and downloaded the original, untouched ROM and I'm happy to report that phone audio finally works! The system is not rooted, not debloated, blah blah blah, and it's probably not as fast and smooth as it could be, but it works. You can root and change recoveries later as you like from any one of the other how-to threads.

So here are the steps if anyone has been having the same problem as me and want to solve it. Standard disclaimers about bricking your device, etc., apply:

Pre-requisites: Samsung USB drivers in your PC (i.e. from Samsung Kies), Odin3 (I used v1.85), UnZIP/RAR/TAR program of your choice - I use 7ZIP.

Download the 4.2.2 French ROM from http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=gt-p3100

Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (3G + WiFi) GT-P3100 XEF P3100XXDMG6 Android 4.2.2 29.07.2013 1198223

Extract the downloaded ZIP file P3100XXDMG6_P3100OXADMG6_XEF.zip to yield the .tar.md5 file.

Set your device in download mode (make sure device is NOT plugged in to anything, then hold down POWER and DOWN VOLUME simultaneously for several seconds until the Android robot comes up). If using a non-stock recovery/ROM, go into that recovery and reset to factory settings first.

Now plug in your device using the cable to your PC's USB.

Start Odin under Administrator (right-click on the executable file in Windows Explorer, select Run as administrator. Accept if prompted for confirmation.

In Odin, verify that Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time are checked. Make sure that Re-Partition and any other boxes are NOT checked. In the Files [Download] area of the Odin screen, check beside the PDA button and hit that button. Point to the extracted .tar.md5 from step #3 above.

Hit Start. Be patient while flashing. Device will restart by itself. It will also stay on the Samsung splash screen for a while. Don't worry, it is initialising. Follow the instructions to set up the device. You're done.

Until I try another stock-based custom 4.2.2 ROM, I'll want assurances that the mic works. For now, I'm sticking to this.

Thanks and please give "Thanks" if this post helped you.

Edit: As you can see, the cell signal strength icon works, whereas with the baked 4.2.2 ROMs, it didn't (yes, I know I have poor reception from my present location)