yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Shield Tablet General] metallurch:
Guide to flashing nomoreota?

Hi Everyone,

So I'm completely new to this and I'm really struggling with flashing the nomoreota.zip to my Shield, is there any chance someone could post a step-by-step guide including the commands and software I need to use?

I've been trying to get the tablet to a state where its safe to use and I'm having no luck removing tegraota. Here's what I've done so far:

- Unlocked the bootloader

- Downloaded a stock image for an earlier version of android and flashed with fastboot, I'm now running 4.4.2.

- Rooted using towelroot

- Attempted to delete tegraota manually using ESFileExplorer, this fails with a "read-only" error despite granting root permissions with superSU

Attempted to flash nomoreota.zip and the files contained within the .zip file by simply copying to the device in recovery mode using the command adb sideload C:\etc.... - when I try this the tablet returns the error E: footer is wrong and failed verification. I have read that I may need to use adb shell but this command returns "error: closed".

I'm guessing I am going about this completely the wrong way, any help would be much appreciated. Sorry if the answer to this has already been posted, I did spend a while searching but couldn't find anything with the level of detail required for a beginner.

Cheers
[Shield Tablet General] P00r:
Since you are rooted, you can use root explorer to deleted the file or folder, you need to make the partition RW (root explorer will guide you)

You need to install a custom recovery to flash the nomoreota.zip, but root explorer will do the same thing, the advantage of nomoreota is mostly for new tablet were you do not want to turn on before removing the kill switch
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
You need to flash the .zip file, not its contents from a custom recovery (TWRP or CWM) on the tablet and ADB on computer.

You seem to have gotten the hang of it mostly :)

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] Fr4nju:
Hi guys,

I just deleted the tegraOTA manualy using rootexplorer but since then my device doesn't want to start anymore.

Has this happened to someone?

Thanks!
[Shield Tablet General] metallurch:
Deleted TegraOTA - still having difficulties

Cheers for the advice guys, downloaded Root Explorer and deleted the TegraOTA no problem. Unfortunately as soon as I connected the tablet to the internet it downloaded a bunch of google updates and crashed. Now every time I boot the tablet it runs fine for about 30 seconds then totally freezes even if WiFi is turned off, I have to hold the power button down to restart. No big deal as I can just re-flash it but I'm guessing there must be something wrong with the stock image I downloaded as it does exactly the same thing even if I leave TegraOTA in place. Ideally I'd like to stop most of the google crap from downloading automatically too, if I can get this thing working well I'll probably have a crack at replacing the battery with a "safe" one. Guess I've got some playing to do.
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
did you reboot after deleting TegraOTA?
[Shield Tablet General] Fr4nju:
Actualy, I did stop it and then try to restart but nothing happens even in fastboot mode. :(
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
Hi, someone from a local online buy and sell website here in the philippines sold me this shield tablet (Y01 battery) and i browse xda for some fiy, support and other tweak stuff for the said tablet.. problem is, i just found out as of this writing this issue of "kill switch".. so im in a panic mode right now.. as i dont want this tablet to be a soon-to-be paperweight.. My suspicions got worse when this morning, something appeared on the screen that my tablet is downloading something (without my permission) automatically which has a random combination of letters and numbers that i dont understand, so i force stop the download manager right away.

But the seller made sure that the tablet has no problem whatsoever, rooted, flashed the nomoreota.zip, etc.. And before he handed me the device, he factory resets the tablet (from the settings).

Update: the automatic download of random letters/numbers still reoccurs and everytime it appears i always get in hurry to force stop download manager.. any way to fix this?

need help badly.. :(

If he factory resets it, does it mean that the nomoreota.zip will be gone from the device? will there be any problem if reflash it again?
[Shield Tablet General] thetrystero:
Hi guys,

Before I turn on the new tablet, I'd like to get an update on the latest situation regarding the safety of rooting and flashing a custom ROM only.

If I root and flash a custom ROM on the old tablet, then I'm completely safe, even without having to delete TegraOTA and flashing nomoreota.zip, is that correct?
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
just an additional info to my previous.. the tegraota folder from system/application was deleted by the previous owner.. but my concern is do i still need to re-flash the nomoreota.zip, since the previous owner factory resets the tablet? kindly help thank you.. :)

update: nevermind, i just flashed it via twrp while holding my breath (lol).. it reboots and everything went fine.. :)
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Factory resetting the tablet does not bring TegraOTA back. Only way to restore it is flashing the official firmware again. Check in About Tablet what is the first option: Check for updates = TegraOTA is active / Send feedback ... = TegraOTA gone.

Custom ROMs don't have TegraOTA, so you are safe. But they also don't have a lot of other things that make this tablet the best. I would recommend original ROM with TegraOTA removed. So far the latest stock firmware is safe to use this way.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
Hi! Thank you very much for the wonderful help.. you just gave me a sigh of relief.. :)
[Shield Tablet General] Mr.Optimistic:
Damn!!!
[Shield Tablet General] ThunderArts:
Good job!

Sorry for this stupid question, but should I remove TegraOTA from my new tablet or will it delete the whole update service?
[Shield Tablet General] runandhide05:
It will delete the future auto retrieve of OTAs but honestly one can always get the OTAs here on xda anyways.
[Shield Tablet General] ThunderArts:
You're right. Thanks! :)
[Shield Tablet General] domon07:
Ok, I have never received my replacement tablet but I already got the TegraOTA folder and apk so I deleted it right away. Then after a few mins, "Unfortunately, com.nvidia.ota has stopped" popped up twice. I'm not sure if that's just temporary but is that normal? Do you think it will pop out again?

By the way, after deleting the apk, this is what happened to About Tablet

https://goo.gl/photos/nPE8nyLMU5tMdkR96
[Shield Tablet General] Shorty88jr:
Mine removed the check for update section. Looks like it didn't remove it completely try running the zip again.
[Shield Tablet General] jasonpctech:
So, I flashed 1.2.1 KitKat stock ROM & rooted. Found (tegraota.apk & *.odex renamed both. Bonus! No more "upgrade waiting" nags! Also as stated tegraota is only in the same named folder in 5.1 lollypop so in KitKat it just in apps no folder to delete.

I imagine OTA kill was not a issue with KitKat but pleased not to see constant nagging to grade now. Besides I like stock KitKat better anyways. Thanks Boga!
[Shield Tablet General] yonline:
So if I understand this correctly, OTA 3.1 allows Nvdia to push another OTA without you knowing or approving it which kills your shield. To prevent this, we remove the TegraOTA app from the shield, which means the shield would no longer communicate with Nvdia to receive OTA's, and therefore can never download the killswitch. Nice! Better than a firewall.

That would also mean future stock updates will have to be retrieved from xda vs. over the air, but I'm fine with 3.1.
[Shield Tablet General] Beave2012:
Tested and verified

So I just decided to use my tablet as a test subject, since I have had the replacement active for a few days now, but have Unlocked-TWRP-CM12.1 installed on it with NANDROID backup of the stock update from 7/31/15.

- Disabled WAN on router "Just in case"

- Restored Stock from NANDROID

- Mounted system partition and verified existance of System/Apps/TegraOTA

- Ran the nomoreOTA.zip in this forum twice for good measure

-Verified TegraOTA was no longer in System/Apps

- Booted into Stock

- Re-enabled WAN since it connected to my WiFi but had no internet connectivity

- Poked around a bit and installed Titanium Backup

- Used that to freeze a few Nvidia services that I was unsure about the purpose (overkill maybe)

- Waited a bit and its still alive and kickin'

- Now I rebooted and did a backup of the new Stock w/o OTA. -Dont wanna risk recovering the TegraOTA.

So while I cannot guarantee I would have gotten a kill code to brick the tablet, I can say that after 4 days of an active replacement I have yet to receive one, and its doubtful I will get one now. Could have just gone for non-stock ROM, but I like the stock rom and the Nvidia hub etc...

Test #1 = Verified (I hope me testing this helps)
[Shield Tablet General] domon07:
i actually didn't flash the zip. I just deleted the apk. I'll try it and see how it goes. The erro keeps on popping up from time to tme, y the way.
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
You probably just need to reboot one time to make sure the app isn't loaded anymore.
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
This "feature" (installing updates without user permission) was only added in Update 3.1.
[Shield Tablet General] An Droid:
First - Thanks!

When/after installing any OTA through custom recovery, you could also use the recovery's file manager to delete the TegraOTA file/folder prior to rebooting. (and installing SuperSU, etc.)

Also, you could use a firewall to block TegraOTA (and even the regular system update) - although deleting is a much more reliable option.

Do you know where the urgent OTA file is downloaded to? Couldn't we mark that folder read-only preventing the file from being created?

Does the Shield have a security policy updates feature like Samsung devices?

Finally, browsing through with Titanium Backup, I see com.nvidia.ota (regular update I believe) and NVIDIA Tegra Service Updater 10.0 - any idea what this second one is?
[Shield Tablet General] codered5678:
Thanks a ton, now go have a beer/coffee/whatever on me.

Also just in case, no I properly disposed of my tablet as soon as I heard that they were a potential fire hazard.

Unrelated anyone find OEM B01s for sale?
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
If you're going to bother doing that, you might as well just delete the entire OTA app, since it doesn't really serve any other purpose.

Not as far as I can see.

haven't really looked into detail, but it seems like that's only stats/feedback stuff (which can be enabled/disabled from Settings -> About)

Thanks a lot! :)
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
One one left...

One more of the serial numbers that I have now has this xx update waiting for it.
[Shield Tablet General] bull1295:
I just ran the ZIP and it successfully deleted the APK. This answers my question I posted about removing the OTA Updater! Thanks a lot!
[Shield Tablet General] roelibex:
Noob here: i just rooted my shield with kingroot and installed es file explorer to delete the map with the apk. Got two messages about something stopped running, and will reboot after this post. Am i free of the kill switch or is there something else i need doing?
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
You're probably good after rebooting
[Shield Tablet General] tecnoworld:
Out of curiosity. This is the way to prevent the old tablet being killed. Is there a way to prevent the new tablet communicating that the old one has to be killed? Does it do that through the same app?
[Shield Tablet General] Alex132b:
Hello guys,

I have a little problem, i don't know if this was said on another post it's too long to search... :(

I deleted TegraOTA.apk mannually and i rebooted after. I checked on shield.bogdacutu.me but "Next OTA: None"

I saw on a forum a guy who install Xposed and NVSilentUpdateKiller, so i did the same thing that him and i checked "Next OTA: None", That's not ST - yy :(

My Shield tablet runs with 5.1.1

I wanna be sure before activate the new.

Thanks for your help,

and sorry for my bad english ;)

(Fr)
[Shield Tablet General] djricekcn:
How do I use nomoreota.zip? need step by step instructions
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
-Boot to TWRP

-Install the Zip

-Profit

Sent from my Moto X
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Deleting TegraOTA is enough to be safe. Check in Settings, About Tablet if the first option is Send feedback to NVIDIA.

On Bogdacutu page it only shows if Nvidia sent the killswitch. Is even better if is none.

You can activate the new one without worries.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] jsc_tidus:
Got my replacement tablet just now, my old tablet is still working since already flash the kill switch. Do I need to flash it to my new tablet too?
[Shield Tablet General] diafebus:
There is no need for that, my dad is using the new one, and I got the old one (with the tegraOTA.apk deleted) and they both are working okay! So if you did that on the old one you're good to go.

Good luck!
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
so that's why so many people nowadays are selling their old nvidia shield tablet.. most of them stated that they already have two of them, but did not explain further.. so this explains it.. lol :D
[Shield Tablet General] Alex132b:
Yes i see this option "Send feedback to NVIDIA"

Is it good or not ?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Is good. TegraOTA is gone and the tablet is safe from the killswitch.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] S-VL:
Hi.

Still have not found ways to get SBK?

Where can I get technical scheme microplate?

thank
[Shield Tablet General] hawktalon:
Just received my replacement tablet, have not powered it on yet. Flashed nomoreota.zip via TWRP to my old tablet, cleared dalvik and rebooted. Going to power on and setup the new tablet later on. How long does it take to know the result? Not expecting much from this but just want to contribute to the statistics.
[Shield Tablet General] Buddaluva408:
I searched my serial number and it returns a result of none. My old tablet Is asking me to update the OTA. I haven't updated it yet and don't think I will. Should I try and turn on my replacement tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] hadramos:
Hi,

I have the black screen now :(

No effect when pushing power button

What can I do ?

Please help me !

Very thanks for your help
[Shield Tablet General] d-style:
I just wanted to be the 1000th comment by giving a big thank you to Bogdacutu for finding a way to save our old tablets from being bricked with his hard work and intelligence. You, sir, are the man!

:thumbup:
[Shield Tablet General] xelemental:
Hey guys,

found this on google to help me with my replacement.

-Received my new Tablet today (32gb)

-Old Tablet is completely stock/not rooted and I barley used it as well. Its running 5.1.1 right now.

I read this thread for the last hour and checked online and it says: OTA: NONE. I read thats a good thing for now.

I also plan on flashing the ZIP into my old tablet using TWRP (which I had to google what that was) and realized that I have to root my device in order to use this TWRP program. I just wanted to make sure that rooting is an absolute most? I ask only because the OP didnt mentioning Rooting but maybe thats because it should already be assumed. Thanks!!
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
You don't need to root to flash the zip.

The .zip if flashed from CWM or TWRP. To put this custom recovery you need to unlock the bootloader using ADB on your computer. Read more on internet about this procedure.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] xelemental:
awesome.

I didnt see your post and rooted my tablet for nothing I guess. OOps. Flashed the Ops zipped drive and now the file is gone. YAY!

ANy reports on if we got a newer version of the tablet? or is it exactly the same one minus the defective battery?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Same with different battery.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] CM17X:
Does anyone knows if flashing the recovery image of the OTA 3.1.1 into the old tablet would kill it?
[Shield Tablet General] DreadApex:
as has been stated dozens of times in this thread...

you can flash the new OTA but will always have to follow the directions in the OP every time you update to remove TegraOTA to prevent the killswitch.
[Shield Tablet General] CM17X:
Hell, really? Well, okay. Thanks, man.
[Shield Tablet General] DreadApex:
just keep in mind you do not want your tablet to connect to the internet until after you have safely removed the killswitch mechanism.

best way:

flash the update from recovery

reboot directly into recovery (to prevent possible mounting errors after the update)

flash the zip in the OP

confirm TegraOTA is gone using the recovery file manager.

boot system like normal.

enjoy!
[Shield Tablet General] CM17X:
I rather delete it directly from Solid Explorer than using the Flashable zip. In any case, since i have unlocked the bootloader, i could mount any image i want even if this is "killed"
[Shield Tablet General] DreadApex:
you can use any method you like as long as you are sure it never connects to the net in the process.
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
right after i bought my pre-owned shield tablet (y01), a random combination of letters and numbers, appear automatically downloading to my tablet.. and my instinct told me to immediately force stop the download manager or there's a chance to say goodbye to my pre-owned tablet.. after i flash the nomoreota.zip, no more random downloading stuff happened afterwards.. :)
[Shield Tablet General] Panpaper:
I did as instructed, and then turned on my new tablet. Old tablet still functional.

Then I kept checking for the urgent ST - yy OTA update. Today it finally appeared, and my old tablet is still functional.

Thanks a whole bunch!
[Shield Tablet General] hadramos:
Hi,

It's possible with this solution ?

http://xdaforums.com/shield-tablet/...let-due-to-t3169461/post62305413#post62305413

It's possible that my tablet will reboot with power + volume down (recovery mode)

Thanks
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
[MENTION=5271336]CM17X[/MENTION]

There is no current protocol for recovery if the tablet is "killed"

Sent from my Moto X
[Shield Tablet General] colin_kerr:
How?

yea but HOW do you delete tegraOTA? using what to delete it?? I have rooted my shield and there is no file manager and i cant connect to the internet to get a file manager other wise the kill switch will be enabled.
[Shield Tablet General] Timbamboocha:
i don't have the folder /system/app/ . there're someone that have the same problem?

what can i do?
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
What is that random combination of letters and numbers that automatically downloaded by my tablet? Does anyone also experienced this? it is a .unity3d file. What is it? is part of the killswitch process or not? If not, why is it automatically downloading without my permission and i have no option to stop it unless i force stop the download manager, can someone enlighten me please? thank you
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Flash nomoreota.zip from the first post by using ADB in custom recovery.

Follow this guide. Nomoreota.zip is flashed the same way as SuperSU.zip.

http://xdaforums.com/shield-tablet/development/root-root-nvidia-shield-tablet-lollipop-t2972316

You don't have root access or you don't look in the System partition. Better use nomoreota.zip as this forum suggests. Follow the same link I gave to Colin_Kerr.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
It's this in TWRP? If so you need to mount /system first

Sent from my Moto X
[Shield Tablet General] ianpac:
The killswitch downloads and installs silently so whatever you are seeing it is not part of the killswitch. Maybe a virus?
[Shield Tablet General] hadramos:
Hi,

What does the update?

It's software?

It cuts the power button?

Thanks
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
WTF! is it really a virus? this freaks me out. as i mentioned from my previous post it is a .unity3d file.. i just want to know if some other shield owners also experienced this auto download of a certain .unity3d file :(
[Shield Tablet General] P00r:
A simple google search show unity3d as a multiplatform game engine so you probably have one of those apps installed and it is trying to update itself

http://madewith.unity.com/

you may also be 0wn3d...
[Shield Tablet General] Krystoforo:
Back to Stock from CM

Hi

Can anyone help me, pls? I've got the y01 tablet from my friend and flased cyanogenmod right away (using twrp...).

Now I'd like to try the stock ROM. What is the safe way to do so? Also safe to my friend's new tablet?

Is it just downloading stock recovery, and flashing from twrp again with nomoreota.zip? (Can anyone provide me with the safe link to Stock ROM and step-by-step guide?)

Thanks!
[Shield Tablet General] seijinzero:
I was just checking back, hoping to find out that the kill switch has been abandoned by Nvidia. Guess not. LOL

Seriously though. I messed up something, somewhere, really bad, while trying to root. It's been 8 weeks, so I can't really remember my exact steps. Last I checked, the recovery images had been pulled offline by Nvidia. I just checked and they are back. So far my restore seems to be working.

My new tablet is still sealed in the box. That means my kill switch has not been activated yet, correct? That has not changed since I was last here 2 months ago?
[Shield Tablet General] MusikMonk:
According to some posters here and on NVIDIA's forums there have been cases where the old tablet has been killed before using the replacement tablet.

There are no fortunetellers around so we can't tell if that's the case for you, but the first post has the information you need to check if the kill switch is active or not for your tablet. So how about starting there.
[Shield Tablet General] seijinzero:
Holy Crap! Yeah, I've been checking my status. That is scary. I just managed to finish my restore, root, and remove TegraOTA.apk. The whole time during the setup after the post-unlock wipe, before I could see if the root worked, before I could even download an app to check and a file browser to delete the folder, it kept saying "checking for updates". This past hour was nerve wracking!

---------- Post added at 10:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:05 AM ----------

it still says OTA: None by the way.