yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Miscellaneous Android Development] social-design-concepts:
The android-wear kernel/x86 has been a good reference, I'm actually using this kernel source as a base for android-7.1.1 on a different baytrail tablet, what kernel version are you working on?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
3.10.72, i think it was a zenfone5 source tree. hard to tell because its heavily modified and i have about 9 kernel source trees on my dev system. It may have been android-wear-grant as well. In any case my kernel is now a hack of other kernels and some patches to get intel mid to compile. I know the i915 driver code is copied from the zenfone2 code, as every other codebase I've tried could not output to the LCD panel (tho some worked with HDMI only). That said just compiling the zenfone2 code doesn't work, as it doesnt boot and crashes before it can setup ttyS0 (i've been debugging alot with a Raspberry Pi and the internal serial console (there are RX/TX pins on the board if you pop off the back cover)).

Sorry, my notes are all over the place. :) This is the result of about 4 days straight of working on it. Also, testing it against the RemixOS 2.0 rom that is floating around for the Ares8. Goal is to be compatible with stock, which in itself is interesting. You can easily compile booting kernels but many will produce "trap invalid opcode" when trying to execute the android OS binaries. I had to build with CROSS_COMPILE pointing to x86_64 gcc prebuilt in the android source.

This isn't my first rodeo with baytrail, as I had a somewhat working Android-x86 Marshmallow working on a windows-targeted tablet. This tablet was actually harder though.

I have most stuff working. Currently non-working are:

* Wifi (which is weird because 8723bs loads and even Bluetooth works)

* Cameras (haven't tried yet, last priority)

* reboot keywords (things such as "reboot bootloader" are just rebooting to standard)

* sound jack detection (seems to have a gpio but just doesnt work)

* Battery status (dollar cove is working but keeps reporting 100% non-charging)

* USB (dwc3 is running but cannot use as host or gadget. no errors just doesnt work)

Working:

* Display

* Touch

* Sound

* Bluetooth

* I/O (SD and eMMC)

* HDMI Video (audio not tested as my elgato crashed and I haven't rebooted my main PC to reset it yet)

* Boot from DroidBoot system (direct boot untested)
[Miscellaneous Android Development] social-design-concepts:
I'm using the android-wear-6.0.1_r0.81 as my base it is v3.10.101, for my WiFi i had to add code to support acpi probing on bcmdhd source, i've noticed it is missing too from the Zenfone 3.10.72 source. I have added very minimal code from my lenovo's stock code, Watching the kid so be back later, with more info WiFi still has some issues trying to work out as of now i'm building against LineageOS CM-14.1 base. Alot of things are common between these Legacy Baytrail devices so maybe some of the Lenovo additions could help fix some of your issues.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
Wifi isn't my main concern right now. I'm pretty sure that is a userspace issue (probably missing a 80211 feature in the kernel)

More importantly, and perhaps the showstopper here is not being able to get dollar cove and dwc3 to play along. The tablet charges since the BIOS is handling that, but Android cannot see the battery level or charging status. As such, since the USB OTG is the same port, USB does not work. I spent all day yesterday with no progress, and feeling a bit defeated at this point.

All I know is that in the stock kernel, it says "Switching MUX" which is a section of code that is reserved for MRD8 Baytrail boards. Adding in Ares8 (I just made a CONFIG_ARES8 like they have CONFIG_MRD8), causes the kernel to panic with a null pointer de-reference at an "update_sysfs" function. Commenting that function out allows it to boot, but no additional progress on the USB. Having studied the code all day yesterday, I've come to the conclusion I need to know the GPIO pin for the USB OTG Mux. For MRD8, it is hard coded at 131, but since this section of code was specific for these boards, that means they modified this driver at the factory, so who knows what it is.

Nothing exposes this in userland on their kernel (nothing in /proc or /sys or dmesg). I've tried booting with "debug loglevel=7 console=ttyS0,115200n8" flags but it does not spit out any more information that without the debug and loglevel flags. I've even tried booting the kernel directly from grub (on this tablet if you hold the "home" key while powering on, it will bypass the eMMC and boot a standard EFI (yes BOOTX64, not BOOTIA32 as is common with these tablets) from USB). I thought maybe DroidBoot was inhibiting some debugging, but it turns out that is not the case, and there was no additional information.

There is also a reference to a "VBUS8622" in the stock kernel. I can't remember if I seen it in mine. If I need a driver for it, I am screwed. Just try to Google that, you'll get a single dmesg log (which doesn't have any more information than mine), or come back here. (sorry Googlers)

I cannot get the information I need from their binary kernel. Unless we can figure out the USB OTG pin by disassembling the stock kernel binary, but I do not know assembly, nor know anyone who does and is willing to do this for me.

So I am at a standstill at this point.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zixxorb:
Someone mentioned a RemixOS 2.0 rom for the Ares 8. Any idea where I can find it?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] social-design-concepts:
Maybe referencing this source will help you in someway https://github.com/android4intel-dev.git there are two different device kernel sources overlayed over a stable point from Intel's 3.10.20 kernel source, i used it to identify the device specific changes what where needed to get the android-ware kernel booting on my device, maybe it could help narrow down your search for resolving your issue.

droidboot is a userspace program like Android or Recovery it shouldn't have any affect on any other kernel.img
[Miscellaneous Android Development] jrk190:
Does anyone know how to remove the volume software keys from the navbar?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
I copied the dwc3 code from the asus branch and it appears to be working! Thank you :good:
[Miscellaneous Android Development] social-design-concepts:
WoW didn't realize how many things i spelled wrong typing that, but glad you found a fix.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zixxorb:
Regarding my previous post, I found it.

Next, is anyone working on a Cyanogenmod port? (if it'll be still called that (no idea myself))
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
We'll see :) There is a device tree, and I found some intel proprietary stuff on github, so I'll try in spare time to build a working CM 12.1 (5.1.1) with intel goodies (hw accel, hdmi, etc)

no promises or eta though
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
Status update:

USB:

I got it to show up as a device on PC, but still having trouble with it seeing a device attached over an OTG cable. I think the problem is with dollar_cove pwrsrc not telling the usb driver to switch modes.

Wifi:

I get errors relating to a missing certificate when wpa_supplicant tries to set up wifi. The ROM wants WAPI, and I guess the driver wants a WAPI cert.

So I did a binwalk against my driver and stock. There is a little something funny extra in stock

1556823 0x17C157 mcrypt 2.2 encrypted data, algorithm: blowfish-448, mode: CBC, keymode: 8bit

I'm guessing I have to compile a WAPI certificate into my 8723bs driver but have no idea how.

There are no references to this in the build system.

WiDi:

This is not gonna happen. There are closed sourced components to this, and even Intel has discontinued support for it. I've no intentions of trying to make this work. Apologies to those who use this.

Rebooting:

Still no idea. I have Intel Reboot Target and Intel Reboot Target UEFI. Reboot commands still dont work and everything is a standard reboot including shutdown.

Sound:

Jack detection was fixed and sound is 100% operational. HDMI audio still untested.

Bluetooth:

This one is hard, as all I have to test with is an iPhone 5S. The device can see the iPhone, but the iPhone cannot see the device. They can pair (obv the Ares8 has to initiate), but cannot do anything with each other. Marking this as unknown, but since discovery and pairing works, it could be functional.

Cameras:

The cameras on the Ares8 are of such low quality that this is the lowest priority for me. That said, I would like at least the rear camera for QR code scanning ability. So once everything else on the kernel is working, I will attempt this.

Boot:

Unlike stock kernel which stays on a black screen until the Android bootanim starts, we hit a familar "A N D R O I D" screen used on older models. While this is purely cosmetic, I would like to replicate the black screen used by stock for a smoother transition from stock to custom kernel.

CM12.1:

This will likely take days, weeks, months. The android build system is slow, and if it hits an error it can take up to 5 minutes after attempting to fix it to see if I actually fixed it. I will continue to poke at this but there is no rush, and the kernel is higher priority, especially since the kernel source will be beneficial to CM12.1 in the end.

Everything Else:

Anything not listed probably works. Touch, rotation, ect.

Source:

This is not ready yet

(downloading and building this will lead to the issues listed above).

But for those who are interested in the source, I have uploaded it to github and will be updating it as I progress. Keep an eye on the README.

https://github.com/zefie/nxt_ares8_kernel
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zixxorb:
Awesome guys. Excited for the new developments. Just hope my tablet doesn't break soon
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
USB fixed. All that is left (for main features) is wifi and reboot target.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] PROGSHIM:
gonna try to root this tablet following you

sorry you feel unappreciated. i just registered here and honestly dont know where the thank you tab is, but thanks
[Miscellaneous Android Development] AbdullahTrees:
Hello Guys!

I'm new here and I don't know anything about rooting except running rooters from .apk

I'm quite experienced with forums and I know I'm probably asking something which was already answered before (sorry about that, you don't expect me to read 60 whole pages do you), so can someone please tell me how to do this in Windows? It's not clear enough. :(
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zixxorb:
Would anyone be willing to help me port android 7 to this tablet? I feel like it would be amazing to do. I just need some help with getting started and what I need to do. I've never done it before and I really want to try
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Startrek852:
I'm sorry, but both Nougat and Marshmallow are literally impossible since there's loads and loads of changes to the kernel source that are needed and Nextbook never released the kernel source for this device.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zixxorb:
So why does that make it "impossible"? What would need to be done to fix this? Custom kernel?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Startrek852:
There's isn't a way to fix this. No kernel source means that there's no way to edit the kernel, so that means you can't add the patches that are needed for even Marshmallow to boot, let alone Nougat.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] social-design-concepts:
[MENTION=759634]zefie[/MENTION] has been working on adding support to existing kernel source, blobs are a bigger issue.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zefie:
I did get Wifi to work with a custom compiled wpa_supplicant dropped over stock. But then I messed up my touchscreen firmware while experimenting (spec sheets show our TS should handle 10 fingers, so why are our tablets locked to 5??) and kinda threw the tablet to the side until I figure out a way to write a program to download the touchscreen firmware (I can write it but not read it). Then I would need someone with a working touchscreen to run the app and provide the resulting firmware. But I have been busy with so much other stuff that it is not a priority at the moment.

As for M and N, I am not even trying due to only 1GB ram in our tablets. If it had 2gb I would try for a M release.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Startrek852:
My old 2012 Nexus 7 only has 1gb of RAM and it runs M and N really well.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] zixxorb:
I'm willing to do whatever it takes
[Miscellaneous Android Development] thew-tab:
nextbook has their 10.1 inch tablet with 6.01 as well as only 1G of ram. it runs rather well,(can't figure out how to root it yet) a plus on this tablet, it comes with 32G built in memory
[Miscellaneous Android Development] nannycrick:
Hi Vampirefo...I understand you are "DA Man" when it comes to these Intel/Android tablets so......got a question about your twrp recovery. I also have an Asus MeMo Pad ME170C, Intel Clovertrail processor, x86, Android 5.0, 8GB. I have it rooted by using the Asus Zenfone root toolkit. It gives me temp twrp recovery to install SuperSU but not an accessible twrp recovery. I would love to have a permanent TWRP. Could I use your twrp or are the devices too different . Don't know that much about Android. I do understand x86 Windows as I'm a retired tech.

Any advice? Sorry I may be off topic here, but you've done such a great job on the Ares 8.

PS...my Ares 8 is running like a well tuned machine. Thanks again on that!!!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Conan1201:
Hi Everyone, New Android user here.

I found this wonderful thread to root my ares 8 5.1.1. I have downoaded the 5.1.1 bootimage and the files here to root the device.

However, I cant get started. I downloaded and extracted the zip file and see the image for TWRP and zip for unencrypt and supersu... I've copied the zip files to the micro SD card in the tablet.

but when I open a command prompt in the extracted folder I cant find the connected ares 8. I've enabled developer options and usb debugging.

I get this reply when I try to find adb devices

C:\Users\Valerie\Downloads\boot_recovery_ares8>adb devices

'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

Any help on what I'm missing? I'm on windows 10. I read in another forum that I should install android drivers and I have... but not sure what to do from here.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Startrek852:
You need to install ADB. Get it from here: https://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Conan1201:
Thank you so much.

I installed minimal adb fast boot version 1.4.2

I get a cmd prompt. When I input adb devices I get a "list of devices attached" and nothing shows up

I've enabled USB debugging on my ares 8 and have it attached via the USB cable that came with the tablet

Thank you so much for all the help. I really am enjoying learning about rooting this tablet

---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------

Sorry for the double reply. Looks like USB debugging had been turned off. I turned it on and immediately the device popped up when I did adb devices.

I'll follow this and the ares 5.1.1 directions and if I have any issues I'll post again. Thank you so very much.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] glockman4519:
Hello all, I just picked this tablet up and right out of the box it has 6.0.1 on it. I have only been able to find recovery for the ones with 5.1.1 and lower. Is there a TWRP recovery for the Ares 8A that is compatibe with 6.0.1? I can build my oun rooted ROM, I just need to gain recovery.

Thank you all in advance.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
You are going to have to build your own, as you are the only one with that device, good luck.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] tdx3000:
I flashed the boot.img by accident before disable encryption the device, now the device will not boot or going to recovery. Im getting "image has failed to verify" error and can only boot to fastboot.

Will flashing the original boot.img fix the problem? Can someone help me with the original boot.img

Thank you
[Miscellaneous Android Development] cellneuron:
Hi Vampirefo,

Can you show me how to build one for Nextbook Ares 8 V5.1.1 build 1.0.6? We used the version (twrp v3.0.2) you build for greatbal, and we have no audio now. I am pretty sure it is the recovery.img problem, since I didn't flash boot.img or anything else, and I still lost sound. The sound can not be brought back no matter which rom I flash now.

thanks for help.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
I don't have that device, I don't even have the device in this thread, I can't build for something I don't have.

I don't remember building​ anything for greatbal, as I don't know who that is.

You need to restore your stock ROM, or find someone with stock firmware to restore.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
You need to put device in to fastboot and format data.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] cellneuron:
I didn't even flash any rom in another identical tablet,just flashed TWRP trying to backup out the original rom, well, it still ends up with no sound. Therefore I believe it is the TWRP problem.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
Well flash your stock recovery and all will be well, TWRP has nothing to do with sound.

But none the less flashing stock recovery gets you back where you began.

Most likely sound was lost due to tablet's own failure, or unlocking bootoader.

To each their own.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] tdx3000:
thank you, i've got past that

Im in the same boat like some here with no sound, hope someone able to find out what cause and have a fix for it. If not it still good because i can wake up my device after it sleep (factory rom won't let me do it)

So thank you for all your efforts

---------- Post added at 04:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:10 PM ----------

I have a back up of the stock rom version 1.0.6, but no stock boot. custom boot won't boot stock rom :( (accidentally flashed remove encryption.zip before making backup of boot), I can upload the stock rom if it help some how
[Miscellaneous Android Development] cellneuron:
We don't have stock recovery to restore. Which step rooted bootloader? Anyway restore the bootloader?

The problem is Greatbal who was inspired by your thread and created his rooting and boot.img just disappeared. We all end up in the dark with no sound and no hope.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
Has nothing to due with me, why don't you have stock recovery? unlocking the bootloader on each device is different, generally it's fastboot oem unlock, on my current intel it's sudo ./fastboot flashing unlock, no matter you have to unlock bootloader to flash TWRP.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
I really don't know what you are asking I already uploaded stock rom here.

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24566459652898938

you need to boot into fastboot

fastboot format userdata

fastboot reboot

that's it.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] tdx3000:
sorry for the confusing, i meant to reply to the other user with the no sound issue, if he need the 1.0.6 stock rom i can upload it.

That's all :)
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
I don't understand what you mean no sound, what version tablet do you have? 5.1 or 5.0.

if 5.1 you shouldn't have any sound on any of my roms cause they are for 5.0 sound is different.

if your tablet is 5.0 and no sound, then you have a hardware problem.

Now if you mean sound is low, then yes use head phones, or bluetooth and sound should be loud, the speaker on the tablet can't transmit sound loud enough to enjoy without a headset.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Conan1201:
Hey Vampire I know you're doing everything on 5.0. I've got the 5.1 but version 1.0.6 instead of the 2.0 that greatball had.

It seems like everyone who has 1.0 and followed greatball lost sound. I assume a hardware difference between 1.0 and 2.0.

These tablets are on sale for 17 and I picked a couple up. I would be willing to send you one that has 5.1.1 and version 1.0.6 as we seem to be a little left out on the rooting option without losing sound.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
Does the tablet right now have sound? The tablet isn't modified in anyway? If so, yes I would be interested, if it's already modified and no sound nothing I can do, as I need a fully working tablet to pull the working firmware from.

Has anyone made a backup of the stock boot.img of this device, what do you have for this device? Stock boot.img, stock rom, stock recovery.img?

What kernel are you all using the the twrp recovery?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Conan1201:
It's brand new sealed in the packaging. I would turn it on just to verify 1.0.6 but the two others I've opened that have the same manufacturer date are 1.0.6 and 5.1.1
[Miscellaneous Android Development] msd24200:
I just got one for my son and his has some crazy touch issue. On mine craft it's like you push on multiple places on the screen at once. Downloaded a multi touch test application and it shows that periodically there are more touches registering than what you are actually touching. I was planning to use this to root but may have to return it! Did some research and seems to be a common problem!https://youtu.be/5FaLm4qrDkA it seems like the problem exist only while on charge.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] jayshocka:
Don't know if this helps but there is a setting somewhere. I don't have mine handy to check where... you can lower the sensitivity of the touch screen I had the same issue. Working much better now
[Miscellaneous Android Development] msd24200:
Thanks I'll look!

I'm not having any luck finding that setting, may have to root to do this? I'm assuming you've already rooted?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] freddy999:
I had the identical problem, put a meter on the charger and found a bit of ac leaking out of it (about 0.5 volt). I changed chargers, no issue. In my case it was a defective charger not the tablet. Since I have run it on 5 or six different chargers with no issue at all. It only showed up under load so a simple test may not be enough to see the issue. My guess is it is a cheap charger and the device over demands its ability to supply smooth DC.

---------- Post added at 10:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ----------

Oh, and if you invoke the developer options you can see the touches and the trails to be sure you have the issue under control.

---------- Post added at 10:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

See my post to msd24200, try a different charger!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] jayshocka:
Got it now settings-- accessibility -- "touch and hold delay"
[Miscellaneous Android Development] adam.nox:
can someone answer, (hopefully tonight), will this work on the verizon LTE version?

And do all these commands work via adb in windows?

Can the files be pushed to device storage rather than sd card?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] vampirefo:
I wouldn't flash twrp or the boot.img nor would I wipe data, or try and disable encryption on LTE with these files as they are made for non LTE version.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] macawmatt:
Thanks to vampirefo for the work on this. Needed an inexpensive tablet for a project and had considered getting a new Fire 7" but I'm happy with this straight Android tablet over trying to keep Google apps working on the Fire.

Linux newbie here and used this as an excuse to go ahead and dualboot my notebook. Had to regress back to my Windows install though to get it installed, but now I've got Ubuntu installed as well.

Looks like this tablet has the deep sleep bug, unless someone has some suggestions, it'll be going back and I'll try another one.