yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Shield Tablet General] Curn:
Hi, So I finally got round to getting my old tablet sorted (think I did it right, going to have an unhappy girlfriend on my hands if it ****s up now after giving it to her) and turning on my replacement. Now is there not meant to be a restore prompt for the stuff off my old tablet. I mean I made sure to back up all my pictures etc to my PC so I didn't lose anything but I thought once set up my new tablet and entered the same account as was on the old that there is a prompt to restore all your old apps and settings so it was like you never changed it. Or was I just imaging things? I know on google play any app I paid for will still be on my account and I just have to re-download it. I just don't want to start setting everything up the way it was only to figure out I just had to hit a restore button somewhere.

Also Thanks for all the helpful posters in this thread who helped out the clueless people like me.
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
It should be in the setup wizard. Did you bypass any steps?
[Shield Tablet General] Curn:
I'm fairy certain I didn't skip anything. As I said its no big loss, but more of an annoyance
[Shield Tablet General] An Droid:
Wrong thread, but you need to be running the same version of Android on the replacement.
[Shield Tablet General] Skalman:
I'm rly sorry but i'm a noob at this and i just get confused when reading the first post.

Are there any step by step guide or video of how to delete the OTA?

And how to flash/root the device?

Thanks a lot guys =)
[Shield Tablet General] Orwen:
I have shield k1 running on marshmallow, rooted with super su and twrp installed. I couldn't find TegraOTA in any of the mentioned paths. Any ideas how to make sure that nvidia won't brick my tablet? Thanks
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
your K1 shouldn't have any issue.

this mod is for people with the OG Shield Tablet that got replacements for the Battery Recall.
[Shield Tablet General] gavin-phelan:
Will we flash this after flashing the new 6.0 update
[Shield Tablet General] j4rp0:
Any confirmation if this metod works on ota 4.0 would be appreciated

Enviado desde mi Nexus 6 mediante Tapatalk
[Shield Tablet General] Flash-User:
Hi, zip file from 1st post should work. TegraOTA is placed in system/priv-app.

After installing the update via zip in recovery and booting in android 6 i deleted the TegraOTA from system/priv-app folder with es datei explorer via root access.

OG Tablet is after update working smooth and fast without TegraOTA :)

enjoy !

btw, What exactly means "Next OTA: ST - yy (urgent)" this is displayed for my serial number from my OG Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
It means that is marked to be killed.

If TegraOTA goes online will update your tablet with the killing firmware.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] rizhee:
where did you get upgrade 4.0?
[Shield Tablet General] gavin-phelan:
So can anyone make a script to delete the folder position?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
So, Marshmallow is safe to use once I delete TegraOTA ?

Bogdacutu, now nomoreOTA.zip removes the TegraOTA in Marshmallow or I have to delete it manually ?

Thanks.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
The Zip looks to delete TegraOTA from /system/app

In MM TegraOTA is in /system/priv-app so will need to be deleted manually.

---------- Post added at 11:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 PM ----------

you can delete it with TWRP File Manager after flashing the 4.0 Zip
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
I don't think it communicates that the old one has to be killed per se, it's likely that Nvidia knows the serial number of the tablet that was sent for each recalled tablet and just waits for the new one to come online (no matter if it is through update checking, random stat collection, Play Store, etc).
[Shield Tablet General] Gracham:
I need help from you guys. I didnt get the new tablet yet (i didnt get even the delivery confirmation lol). I need clear steps to not screw something up. there comes my questions. Do i root/unlock boot loader/ flash older roms/ before i get the new tablet or when i have new tablet in my home activated or not activated yet? Right now im on stock non-rooted 3.1 newest update. It would be nice if someone will put links to guides how to downgrade and all other things.
[Shield Tablet General] crazygoldfish:
ive not received my new shield but tried this.

I forgot to enable developer options and went ahead and fashed cwm, ran the ota zip and the folder is indeed gone.

what I found weird is that when i restarted the tablet again about 10 mins later the cwm is gone.

its now doing the annoying apps optimizing
[Shield Tablet General] namaste74:
We're all bout helping but there are threads where those things belong, like just 4 threads below this one you will find one about flashing official ROMs including links.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2988881

Most find they have time between their tablet arrival and the kill switch being activated, as is written all over the place in this thread alone. If you don't take time to read and learn than tinkering with an expensive toy probably isn't for you. No offense but this is how this board works.
[Shield Tablet General] ffelice:
Thank you! If you need any more serials to check/test, I'd be happy to provide mine. Let me know
[Shield Tablet General] Baccoba:
I activate new tablet today and tr to root and install Blisspop in the old tablet. but the old tablet is died, I don't know if it was my fault or Nvidia kill!

how I can check if the tablet is died or not?

I tried to reboot pressing oll buttons, long press, ecc and nothing help me.
[Shield Tablet General] Jackill:
whose is that? mine ? :)
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
Nope, yours is fine so far.
[Shield Tablet General] Mr.Optimistic:
Ok another wild idea but can't you just replace your old serial number with the new one's..avoiding the kill
[Shield Tablet General] Jackill:
I would say you screwed something up while rooting/flashing...the kill is not delivered instantly...but there seems to be a delay of a couple of days at least...mine was activated on wednesday (12th) and up until today there is no kill update waiting for my old device (as Bogdacutu confirmed in post #108 above).

I suggest you follow some flashing/troubleshooting tutorials listed in the development section...
[Shield Tablet General] Beauenheim:
Mine is awaiting the xx update.

Going to stick with Blisspop for now because the girlfriend won't be using the Nvidia features. I went ahead and flashed this on my new tablet for security reasons. But now I know that if I flash a stock image, and don't flash this, "old tablet is kill".

Once again, we cannot thank you enough [MENTION=4937137]Bogdacutu[/MENTION]

.
[Shield Tablet General] tecnoworld:
It'd be interesting if someone created a customized original OTA without TegraOTA in it.
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
[MENTION=4937137]Bogdacutu[/MENTION], if you can use one more serial, I can give you mine also. My new tablet did not arrive yet. I am also from Ro.
[Shield Tablet General] LanthesX:
Boy that's a hard work congratulations with your help about stopping the kill switch, I have got blissrom and mine still works yet I haven't received my replacement so still waiting ... Do u think mine is safe ?
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
For those who are offering their serial numbers, thanks, but I've already gotten enough to prove my point :) I'll have a tool up tomorrow to allow you to check if your serial number has the urgent OTA waiting.

Probably
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
That would be great (the tool) !

Just rooted and removed TegraOTA on the latest update (3.1). I hope my Shield will survive the kill switch. I had no problems whatsoever with it since I got it. I will use this (old) one until it breaks down (hopefully not from Nvidia's destructive powers :D ).
[Shield Tablet General] An Droid:
I'd guess the kill server has a master list of "kill" eligible tablet s/n's (i.e those that registered for rma) along with the co-related replacement tablet s/n's.

TegraOTA on the tablet then checks in with this server periodically and reports it's s/n and gets it's instructions - if the replacement hasn't checked in yet, no action is taken. When the replacement tablet checks in, the related rma s/n then gets flagged for suicide - on the next check in by the recalled tablet, since it's s/n has now been flagged, it receives the xx OTA and follows through by taking the pill (i.e. flashes xx OTA, reboots, RIP).

The TegraOTA process is probably flagged for auto start since it's possible it could be killed as a process by Android depending on what you're doing with the tablet. A reboot would surely activate it explaining the differing kill times people are seeing - could also explain any errors people are reporting after deleting the .apk and the system is trying to auto start the missing .apk.

I'd even guess that it's possible if the recalled tablet has already been flagged for death and somehow manages to continually check in from beyond the grave (i.e. hasn't been killed), that the opposite could be arranged - replacement tablet then gets flagged instead.

However, once defectives are received back (can even be tracked by their return tracking shipping numbers provided by nVidia) for those tablets requested back, the kill server can then flush out the two related s/n's from it's master list.
[Shield Tablet General] tecnoworld:
One thing for sure. As soon as I succeed in rooting the new tablet and installung a custom recovery in it, before connecting to internet I'll run the zip file to delete the tegraota from it as well.

I'm planning on installing blisspop on the new one, since it looks like a great rom.
[Shield Tablet General] nex86:
So wait, the TegraOTA process is responsible for the KillSwitch?

It means I can still run the latest Firmware (3.1) but just need to delete the TegraOTA.apk?

I don't really wanna downgrade to 2.X unless I really have to.
[Shield Tablet General] Bogdacutu:
yes. not sure where you got the idea that you need to downgrade from, I've never ever mentioned that in my posts
[Shield Tablet General] wejgomi:
The script in the OP seems to be updated for Marshmallow. It now deletes the app from both system/app and system/priv-app. So you should be safe to go long as you install the .zip over the update before booting.

Relevant lines in new .zip:

"delete("/system/app/TegraOTA.apk");

delete("/system/priv-app/TegraOTA.apk");

delete_recursive("/system/app/TegraOTA");

delete_recursive("/system/priv-app/TegraOTA");"
[Shield Tablet General] zarish:
It seems you all missed the post I quoted from 'Bogdacutu' above as well as where the 'Bogdacutu' updated Original Post of the thread on (January 11th) and specifically mentions those paths.

Bogdacutu, thank you again for this research and keeping our systems safe not only from NVIDIA's kill switch but the poor security (none) they have put in place to protect against Man-in-the-Middle type attacks that could push Urgent updates that may contain this or worse without our knowledge/choice.
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
[emoji33] indeed. I had the old zip, and missed his update [emoji85]

Sent from my Moto X
[Shield Tablet General] sinichi21:
Can you confirm even the tegraota is removed the system update is still there, can you make sure if they can still send the urgent ota even after removing the tegraota apk thanks
[Shield Tablet General] thetrystero:
i'm on 5.1.1 but TegraOTA was in app instead of priv-app. i've deleted it from app but cannot find TegraOTA in priv-app. is it somehow hidden from view?
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
depends on your OS version.

if you're on 5.1.1, then it's in /system/app

if you're on 6.0, then it's in /system/priv-app

it's not in both
[Shield Tablet General] zarish:
Interesting. TWRP sees no TegraOTA in /system/app or /system/priv-app on N4.0.0 A6.0 LTW RoW, but System Updates are still enabled (thankfully the system I am checking with is not yet set to get a kill switch hit).

I know TWRP is working fine as I was able to go to /system/vendor/app and delete the NvBenchmarkBlocker just fine.

Could it possibly be in a new location on the Original Shield Tablet N4.0.0 A6.0 ROMs?

FWIW, my WiFi works (and has everytime I've flashed 6.0 to this tablet so far). :)

--

TegraOTA definitely gets deleted. Confirmed via a whole new flash of the ROM + TWRP. had TWRP power the tablet down. Bootloader to recovery. Used TWRP to browse the file system and found TegraOTA right as expected under /system/priv-app/ at which point I installed used nomoreota.zip. I then browsed to the folder and indeed, no TegraOTA anymore as expected. Wipe and then power off. Boot one more time to recovery, use TWRP to browse and confirm no TegraOTA. Power off.

Power on, boot all the way to N4.0.0 A6.0. Walk through initial setup. Get to settings, System Update still available. I was even able to check just fine. Seems TegraOTA is not the only dog in town for this build.

Might want to keep the pyro tabs off 6.0 for a bit. I'm going to do so with my pyro tabs for now.
[Shield Tablet General] igeigeige:
Yeah, im still skeptic too, if there is really no kill switch command hidden somewhere, maybe they changed it to some random name to make it harder to find.. until this is 100% confirmed from kill switch command, i'll keep my pyrotab away from 6.0.. Anyway, to those who put effort in finding a way to make our pyrotab safe from kill switch, thank you very much :)
[Shield Tablet General] zarish:
Well, so far even with TegraOTA deleted, that system update option remains no matter what I do. Hence no 6.0 for my pyro tabs till I can get updating disabled on that one.

I'm sure one of the many folks here smarter than I will have it figured out in due course. I can wait.
[Shield Tablet General] quangv:
[MENTION=2476451]romracer[/MENTION]: can you update your apk for MM rom?
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
yeah, the Update selection remains in Settings. i've gone 2 days connected to Internet on 6.0 with no issues so far <knocks on wood>
[Shield Tablet General] sinichi21:
So I am assuming you have the pyro tablet, did you check if they already sent you the urgent update? if it is sent and your tablet is alive then i guess maybe the tegra ota is still the one that is responsible for the kill switch.
[Shield Tablet General] kickbutkuss:
I have the pyro tab as well as the replacement on stock 6.0 with no problems after deleting the tegraota..The kill switch has also been dispatched per the check. Rebooted 5-6 times with no dead tab.?
[Shield Tablet General] lofas33:
Hi Guys, I have question, maybe its stupid but I hope someone will know the answer. In shield tablet OTA check i have this: Next OTA: ST - yy (urgent). What it exactly means? I want to know it, because I'm now on BlissPop 5.1.1. and I would be happz if I could go back to stock Update 4.0 (M) or 3.1.1. (L) But I'm scared that if I will flash stock firmware my Shield will be bricked...Can someone help please?? :(
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
If you do, without removing TegraOTA.apk before going online, will be bricked.

ST - yy (urgent) is the killing update.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] lofas33:
Thanks a lot man, so I will flash recovery update 3.1.1. from nvidia site, flash it, then flash cwm and nomoreota.zip, check if TegraOTA.apk is gone and than I can go online a use it as normal?

Last question, Can I flash Update 4.0 or its too risky right now?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Yes, once TegraOTA is gone, you are safe to go online.

Regarding Update 4.0, I don't know what to say. Some have WiFi problems, update is still there without TegraOTA... I would wait a little more to see what happens.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
i have not gotten the "urgent update" yet and the System Updates section just says my tablet is up to date.

i deleted the TegraOTA in the same TWRP session as when i flashed the Full OTA Zip
[Shield Tablet General] zarish:
Some more interesting notes: I modified the /etc/hosts file on my N4.0 A6.0 tablet with TegraOTA disabled and then rebooted the tablet.

I confirmed access to OTA.nvidia.com failed since it returns an IP of 127.0.0.1

TegraOTA is deleted

System updates menu still shows

System updates menu still completes a check and says the system is Up To Date even though there is no TegraOTA, and the hosts entry for ota.nvidia.com points to 127.0.0.1 and fails to connect with ping or a web browser.
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
Attached are screenshots pre / post deleting TegraOTA on my replacement tab.

pre is the Green and the Settings menu item is "System Upgrade"

post is the Blue with an AOSP look to it and the Settings menu item is "System Updates"
[Shield Tablet General] zarish:
Very interesting. Yes, what is left is exactly as your second shot, the ASOP looking screen.

It may very well be ASOP too. As I pointed out, blocking 'ota.nvidia.com' does not prevent it from checking and reporting as 'System up to date'. This would make sense if it was ASOP and not checking NVIDIA at all.
[Shield Tablet General] AldoMC:
Hello everyone!

Can anyone confirm it´s safe to flash MM and go online on the replaced tablet if you delete TegraOTA folder and set OTA.nvidia.com to localhost on /etc/hosts file???

Thanks for any response.
[Shield Tablet General] Peccoskaify:
I have no idea what I'm supposed to do honestly... :D
[Shield Tablet General] drewski_1:
i deleted TegraOTA, but didn't do anything with the hosts file. everything is OK so far . . . but now folks are getting me paranoid so may custom ROM it . . .
[Shield Tablet General] willdono:
Sorry if this sounds stupid, but have they stopped sending the OTA message out. My new tablet came back in August, and I've been using the old one up to this point.However, yesterday I started using the new one .Do I need to follow these instructions and custom ROM it or will I be safe?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
After you start using the new one, the kill switch is released. Unless you remove TegraOTA.apk asap, you will have a dead tablet.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] masmgt:
I have the killer OTA pending. I tried to use nomoreota.zip, but got nowhere. Just a dumb newbie! How do you use it? Unzip on the pc while connected to the tablet via usb? Transfer the file to the old Nvidia, then unzip?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
You don't open the zip. That is an installation package you run in custom recovery.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] kickbutkuss:
Are you rooted? If not you need to root your tablet first then follow the directions in the original post to get rid of TegraOTA.
[Shield Tablet General] adamgfox:
hello gents!

is it safe to update

NVIDIA SHIELD Hub apk to 4.8.2 (up date:25/01/16)

and

NVIDIA Dabbler™ apk to 3.02 (up date:04/09/15)

??

thanks for your time!

RESPECT! :good:
[Shield Tablet General] manoweb:
Basic steps

Hello, I tried to go through this thread but it's so long, I am at the very beginning, and I need some clarifications. This is my very first Android device, I really like it, but I have basically no knowledge on how to operate on some low-level aspects.

From what I have understood, there are three ways to avoid the tablet being disabled by nvidia:

1) disable wifi. nvidia will not be able to send the kill command. One will only be able to use content from the SD card.

2) install a "custom ROM" and root the device

3) install this zip file that will remove the kill feature while maintaining the original firmware

am I correct? In that case, how to proceed for solution "3": do I need to "root" the device or not? How to do that?

Thanks!
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
You don't need to root the tablet. You do have to unlock the bootloader, replace it with a custom one and from there flash Nomoreota.zip that removes the "kill feature" (aka. TegraOTA.apk).

Look on internet after rooting the shield tablet guide but instead of flashing SuperSU.zip, you flash nomoreota.zip. Ofc, would be a good idea to root also but is not a must.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] manoweb:
Well, I will try to find a guide, I've read some but the problem I see if that they all more or less make "assumptions" the user knows what they are talking about. Also, it seems it's mandatory to have a window PC to perform this. I wonder if I could use an XP I have in a virtual machine...
[Shield Tablet General] manoweb:
So I think I was able to "supersu.zip" and "nomoreota.zip" my tablet. I am not sure what the advantage with supersu is, but as you said it could be a good idea, I did it. After that I put also nomoreota, but how can I now confirm that I am safe to turn on the other tablet??? Is there a way to positively check I am safe to do so?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Check the first option in the list from Settings - > About Tablet. If is Send feedback to Nvidia, you are safe.

Although some people disagree, I removed TegraOTA.apk on both old and new tablets and doing to, the killswitch never came to the old tablet.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] zarish:
Or if running NVIDIA 4.0 Android 6 Marshmallow, your system update screen will look like the second image when safe (blue). The first is unsafe.

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=65166814&postcount=1206
[Shield Tablet General] willdono99:
I've rooted my old tablet and flashed the zip file that removes tegra ota? Are my new and old tablets 100% safe now?? And how do I know that tegra.ota is removed?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Man, just read the 2 posts above yours :screwy:

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] willdono99:
When I checked it still says "ST-yy urgent". Is this normal or is meant to go to "None"? Also, people are saying that if it says "send feedback to Nvidia" then you're ok. However, on my new tablet it says "system updates". Is it possible for my new tablet to get bricked?

---------- Post added at 09:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 PM ----------

One more thing. I'm not really bothered about the OS of my old tablet, and am happy to keep it on 5.1.1. I know this may sound a noobish question, but there are no possible ways for nvidia to install updates now on this tablet? And updating apps on the google play store won't influence anything?
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Bogdacutu page shows if the tablet is marked for killing. It will show ST-yy no matter what you do.

The new tablet is not going to be killed, so there is no problem if you kept TegraOTA (although is good to remove from both).

Once removed TegraOTA, the tablet will not receive system updates and apps from Google play don't have access to change system files, so you can update them without worries.

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] thriceless:
So if I can still access the boot loader and TWRP I can save my old tablet right? Cause that would be all sorts of awesome :D
[Shield Tablet General] manoweb:
OK after a few days I see on the "shield.bogdacutu.me" that the random serial number I gave nvidia has the "Next OTA: ST - yy (urgent)" - my own serial still does not have it. I wonder if they just use the serial number that has been manually provided in the request form without any cross-check...

As for the "Settings - > About Tablet. If is Send feedback to Nvidia" both the old and the new tablet have it, I was under the impression that the new one should read something different as I have not performed the procedure there... something is not right...
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
They have the option but is it the first in the list ?

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.
[Shield Tablet General] manoweb:
Oh wait, the "old" one has it as first option, the "new" one has "System updates" first and then "Send feedback to NVIDIA" second, OK I should be "safe" now...
[Shield Tablet General] topcat36:
Has to be the 1st option. If you have System update, then TegraOTA is still active and the tablet can update with whatever is available (including killer update).

Sent from my old SHIELD Tablet.