yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lister Of Smeg:
Hi [MENTION=5919159]Tzul[/MENTION], [MENTION=7905341]brarry[/MENTION] & [MENTION=1662557]mtpc[/MENTION],

** Happy New Year guys.... **

Sorry to interject into an old thread (started by me... lol) and then fizzled out when couldnt get it to work (No ones fault, other than my own..) But after struggling to not get this to connect, and dad waiting on his Tablet for like some weeks...

After I built his Tablet up, with the Apps... I didn't / couldn't have the heart to reset it all, just so I could take a BACKUP at last, with the new discovery of the firmware/backup tool with new DownloadAgent (DA).

However, as luck would have it... Mums trusty old (Tesco's) Hudl has been playing up lately, and so mum decided to buy a new Tablet.... with, none other.... the TB3-850F... ;)

So now we have this firmware/backup tool, that appears to work for everyone... I gave it a try on the new Tablet and SUCCESS too!!! Where as all other options had failed me previously, the SPFT tool now seems to pull data from the Tablet and managed to export some data.... However the sizes baffle me... Where have I gone wrong???

I've selected the following (as shown in the guide)

1) ProInfo (backup file, 3072KB / 3MB)

2) NVRam (backup file, 5120KB / 5MB)

and,

3) Boot (backup file, 16,384KB / 16MB)

4) Recovery (backup file, 16,384KB / 16MB)

So, although its now finally sending data back... Something doesn't appear right for such small DATA partitions, and that the boot and recovery files are exactly the same size??

Is all that's required for a FULL BACKUP / RESTORE and what do those partitions contain / do ??

Looking at this website, both the ProInfo and NVRam seem to display exactly the same sizes when it comes to KB and MB. It's the Boot / Recovery sizes that differ to mine, but at least they are exactly the same size on the website....

I'm getting closer....... lol

Thanks all, who have contributed and gained this far in the process... :)

Cheers, Lister
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Tzul:
[MENTION=5273366]Lister Of Smeg[/MENTION]

Happy new year to you, too!

The sizes are correct. Proinfo just contains the tablet's serial number or something like that, and NVRAM contains MAC, IMEI, and other settings unique to each tablet.

Boot and recovery are the Linux kernel plus initial file system (ramdisk) for booting Android and the recovery, respectively.

But Android itself is on the "system" partition, which should be about 3 GB in size on this tablet.

For a "full" backup, you can make a readback of all partitions.

But "complete" firmware distributions usually only contain the preloader (do NOT flash your readback of a preloader, it needs to be adjusted first), the bootloader (LK, lk.bin), the boot and recovery images, trustzone (tee1/tee2, trustzone.bin), and Android (system.img).

After the Android system partition, there's also the cache partition, but its contents are unimportant.

Finally there's the userdata partition. It contains all your settings, user apps, and media files in the internal storage. If you want to make a backup of that with the SPFT, you might have to add it manually into the program, because it might not show up automatically. Anyway, the userdata partition is wiped with a factory reset, therefore its contents aren't necessary to boot up the tablet.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lister Of Smeg:
Hi [MENTION=5919159]Tzul[/MENTION],

Thanks for getting back so fast (as always), and filling me in a little more... Was gonna say, didn't think the sizes were correct, but guess they are now then. Didn't know that's what they were storing, Serial info and MAC and other unique data. I was expecting them to be large system/data area's, didn't see the actual main system volume sneaked off the bottom of the page, had I scrolled down a bit further.

So to do a full "everything" backup, basically tick every box there is. However when restoring, deselect PreLoad volume?

And I guess this method of backing up is useless across 2x identical devices (different only via Serial / MAC) and that I'd need to backup BOTH (dad and mum's) ProInfo and NVRam partition, and restore them accordingly...?

There is no master / universal file that I could use, if the worse case scenario and either of the Tablets completely died/bricked?

Although I have some knowledge and understanding of "system, data, boot and recovery" volumes in Android. I've only experienced them as ONE master backup file, beit custom roms ZIP, or stock TAR or IMG files in all the previous Android devices I've ever owned. Not been use to backups/restores containing multiple files before...

I'm not sure if I'll ever tweak these Tablets now, like I have in the past with other devices... Just not feeling that confident yet as I have with the others. Which I'm sure for a Pro like you, is nothing but a walk in the park... ;)

Many thanks, Lister
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Tzul:
Yes. And to convert your readback of the preloader into a "valid" file that can be flashed back, just remove the first 2048 bytes.

In case you haven't noticed yet, the "Download" page in the SPFT doesn't list all partitions anyway. You won't find ProInfo and NVRAM there, for example. Only partitions that are meant to be updated/flashed.

You can change that by editing the scatter file (if you open the scatter file, find the NVRAM entry, and change "is_download: false" to "is_download: true" there, save the changes, and reload the scatter file in SPFT, then the NVRAM partition should show up on the Download page). But you shouldn't do that without good reason. Normally, you never need to restore ProInfo and NVRAM, only if you do something stupid (such as doing a "Format All") or something goes horribly wrong.

It's not useless. If you have two tablets that are the same model and are running the same firmware, then most partitions should be absolutely identical. Except for ProInfo, NVRAM, userdata of course, and a few "minor" ones that aren't too important.

The boot chain is Preloader -> LK -> boot (or recovery) -> system (Android); therefore, a "bricked" tablet usually has an issue with one of these partitions and not the others (if it's not a hardware fault or other problem).

There is, a typical SPFT firmware archive. Contains preloader, lk.bin, logo.bin, secro.img, trustzone.bin, boot.img, recovery.img, system.img, and truncated/empty cache.img & userdata.img.

These partitions are the most important ones and identical across all tablets of a specific model (with the eventual exception of cache and userdata again). NVRAM is also important, but since it's unique on each tablet, it is not distributed. Making a backup of your own NVRAM is a good idea, but not really necessary if you're not going to "tweak" the device.

They're separate partitions and therefore separate files, but they can be bundled into an archive, of course.

I explained the MediaTek boot process and partitions in more detail here, if you're interested. The TB3-850F has a few differences (oemkeystore & keystore instead of kb & dkb, plus frp), but the rest is identical.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lister Of Smeg:
Hi [MENTION=5919159]Tzul[/MENTION],

Thanks again for speedy response... My hero!! ;) lol

You make it sound so easy, and easy to follow / understand. :D

No, I didn't notice that ProInfo and NVRam was missing from the Download section, but just popped back to take a look and sure enough its not there. So yes, that makes sense in restoring, not to have these SPECIFIC volumes when restoring.

And so like you say, unless you REALLY bork up your device beyond identification and requires SERIAL or MAC to be re-added. Then there is no need to restore them. Assuming you can restore any of the other partition, or like you say... an "Archive backup" that will flash the full OS back to the device, but as a generic master copy. Providing your unique volumes are not damaged, they will remain intact after a flash, and still contain and maintain their existing data.

So all that said and done, how does one go about making a GENERIC ARCHIVE backup? Is that a single file?? Or is it still multiple backup files, that need to be restored individually. Or is there one master file that can be flashed via SPFT ?

- sorry to come across such a noob... (Understand how things work fully with Samsung, Hudl, HP Touchpad and ZTE Blade) but must admit finding the MediaTek a (FUN) learning curve... :)

Many thanks, Lister
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Tzul:
Exactly. :)

With MediaTek, you bundle the relevant partition images and the scatter file into a zip/rar/7z archive. Though that archive always has to be extracted manually before it can be flashed. Ideally, you should properly truncate each partition file before you distribute it, but that is another topic (the boot image readback for example is always 16 MB, because that's the partition size, but the actual used size is smaller, maybe just 8 MB or so).

Here's an example for the TB3-710I:

[IMG="MTK Firmware"]https://i.imgur.com/NImSFYu.png[/IMG]

Then, all you need to do is run the SPFT, load that scatter file, and it should automatically find all the partition files and assign them to the proper destination (the scatter file contains the filenames that are associated with each partition). Finally, to start the flashing process, just click "Download" and connect the tablet.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Fran89.:
Hello Everyone,

Tab 3 owner here, this thread has been extremely informative. I would like to ask, so TWRP is possible once a Full Backup using SPFT is made? Will it be placed inside the recovery partition or the ramdisk of the boot partition? how about systemless root? So to make such a backup which partitions would be truncate? Why must the first 2mb of the preloader be cut to make it valid? My tablet is encrypted, how would it affect me if I made a backup now and restore it with encryption? and even though this is obvious Format all must never be done correct? I ask because I would then have to be careful and oversee that that option is never selected.

Also what to make of the Open Source provided by lenovo here:

support[.]lenovo[.]com /us/en/products/Tablets/A-Series/TAB3-8?beta=false

I think I can compile it if necessary

Yesterday the latest OTA Update (for me) went live it's

TB3-850F_S100026_160923_ROW_TO_TB3-850_S100030_161209_ROW

Which I downloaded off their server

tabdl[.]ota.lenovomm[.]com /dls/v6/TB3-850F_S100026_160923_ROW_TO_TB3-850F_S100030_161209_ROW_WC0D3D3AB1.zip
<md5>F39EB9C732754EE4899CC0E099518367</md5>

I'm still looking for the official fw zip file though I doubt I'll find it.

Thanks!

F89
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Tzul:
Hello [MENTION=3508474]Fran89.[/MENTION] There already is a full backup of the TB3-850F firmware - mtpc has posted his on the previous page. I won't promise anything, but I might try to make a TWRP build for this tablet in the near future.

As for your questions:

TWRP resides in the recovery partition.

You don't have to truncate the backups of any partition, but you can do it for some, if you know what you're doing and if you want to keep the file sizes as small as possible.

The first 2 KB (not MB) of the readback of a preloader must be removed, because they're some kind of EMMC header. Preloader files from firmware packages do not have this header.

If you use Android's encryption, then your data partition will be encrypted, and the key will be stored in the metadata partition. TWRP should be able to handle that automatically, but I have never tried it myself.

Yes, you shouldn't do a "Format All" in the SP Flash Tool, because it will wipe everything, even "hidden" partitions such as NVRAM.

Those Lenovo source code packages usually only contain the Linux kernel sources. The Linux kernel has GPL license, meaning it can be freely used and modified, but the source code must be published. The modified Android source code on the other hand does not have to be published, because it uses the Apache license.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Fran89.:
Hello [MENTION=5919159]Tzul[/MENTION],

Thanks for the answers. Indeed I was looking at the source code and basically found the 3.18 kernel for the device (code that was not in android.googlesource[.]com /kernel/mediatek/ and can be built using this tutorial [xda] /showthread.php?p=52724911 )and files to add to the android source tree in order to build an image as well as auxiliary programs (such as mkimage) . I'm guessing the binary blobs would need to be extracted from the device or image (as described in this tutorial [xda] /showthread.php?t=2754145). I didn't find the lunch file I need but I can look around and see if I can compile AOSP or LineageOS. I'm guessing it will be something similar to github[.]com /PixNDom/android_manifest_lenovo_Tab2A710F that ported it for the tab2 ("Built from Lenovo "Open Source Code" ?).

I've built my own copies of Cyanogen for the SG3 but that's as far as my experience with android goes, but porting something like this is completely new to me (I don't even know if what I just said up there fully makes sense) and I might mess up big time which is why I would want the full backup, I'd be less afraid to tinker with this if they didn't make it so hard to backup or provided an image that could be fully restored. But knowing I could mess up and leave me with an expensive brick is really making me shy away from this, but I'd really want Lineage or AOSP as my main OS. Cyanogen also shut down and with it the beautiful porting guide they had which may have helped me (I was always interested in doing something like this).

Thanks,

F89.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Z3RO2K:
I'm also interested in this just for the root, bought this tablet for my daughter for Christmas but I need Lucky Patcher on it with root for all the crap she likes to buy in the games haha.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mtpc:
Twrp found!!!

Hey guys,

I found TWRP for our beloved TB3-850 ! The problem is, it has been posted on 4pda.ru, and I can't download it without logging in. Since I don't have an account created there, and registration does not seem to work... Could any of you download it, and upload here? The link is 4pda.ru/forum/dl/post/9375266/recovery.img for TWRP and 4pda.ru/forum/dl/post/9375272/SR1-SuperSU-v2.79-SR1-20161221223537.zip for SU. Thanks :)
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mtpc:
IT WORKS

Hey guys, It's me again. I managed to crack down the russian CAPTCHA and downloaded those files, and it just WORKS! I now have full root on my TB3-850f. I wrote down simple HOW-TO:

1) Copy SuperSU-v2.79-SR1-20161221223537.zip to the tablet

2) Enable developer and USB debugging

3) Open cmd in folder with ADB and FASTBOOT

4) Type these commands:

- adb reboot bootloader

- fastboot oem unlock

5) Hold down power button and reboot. Repeat 2) and enable OEM UNLOCK

6) Repeat 3) and type: adb reboot bootloader

7) then type: fastboot boot recovery.img

(must be copied in the same folder as adb.exe and fastboot.exe)

8) Use TWRP to install SU

Now you have ROOT :)

I also uploaded the files here: filedropper.com/tb3850froot
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sorun343:
Sigh ! too late for me i flash the TWRP 3.0.3 and brick the tablet. by 1 day

Any kind soul that can get his hand on the full rom and scatter file? I want to use sptools flash and revive the tablet.

It was very laggy, was trying to flash root to it and kill some of the app.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mtpc:
You can use the russian ROM i mentioned in this thread. It contains a scatter too
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sorun343:
I flash it using sptool , after flashing went into boot loop . The rom is 850M -LTE version, look like bootloader is different cannot be use.

Anyone who has the full rom let me know.

Or anyone know how to compile the source code to rom , lenovo has release the source code for tab 3-850F

http://support.lenovo.com/au/en/products/tablets/a-series/tab3-8/downloads/DS112711

---------- Post added at 03:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------

Hi

How do you unbrick yours ? I download the rom and flash it successfully but it went into bootloop.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mtpc:
I was in the same position as you, and flashing recovery only from 850M version helped. Anyway, I have uploaded full rom backup of my 850f for you. Here it is:

file.io/PYdjGV

I guess you flashed the whole ROM and that was a mistake. I flashed recovery partition only to save my tablet
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sorun343:
Hi Mtpc .

I just send you a pm.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Fran89.:
Source code only has kernel and various tools (such as mkimage), yes I have managed to compile it for the 850F (there are options for apparmor support :D ) and currently I'm looking for a way to create a device tree with the binary blobs and stuff (and learn what goes into the ramdisk) so I can compile AOSP 6.0.1.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sorun343:
Guys

found the full rom at lenovo-forums ru

TB3-850F_S100030_161209_ROW 1.0.0

manage to recover my brick tablet.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Fran89.:
This method works! and now with my trusty SPFT backup, Titanium backup and I also downloaded the ROM from lenovo-forums I can now (safely) start work on developing a ROM (hopefully)
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sorun343:
Waiting for your rom fran89 . The Lenovo rom is very laggy . My Mom has a Alcatel pixi same spec . The response is so much snappier.

I just root using mtpc method it work fine . But still can't get rid of bloat ware

Also , when in landscape can hide the navigation button ? Can't get full screen on You tube and some video player
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pndwal:
Peter W

Here is link to latest 850f rom:

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/8T5R/RWCkuBz19

It is listed with 850M firmware on Russian site here:

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=764969

Which takes you to 850F page here:

http://lenovo-forums.ru/files/file/1549-lenovo-tab3-a8-tb3-850f_s100030_161209_row/

Which takes you to link above.

Hope this helps everyone,

Peter W

---------- Post added at 12:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------

[MENTION=1662557]mtpc[/MENTION]: many thanks for your information/ links.

I now have TWRP (used fastboot flash recovery recovery.img) and systemless root on my 850f. Beautiful!

Press power, then both vol up & down

after 1 second

, till vibrates to enter TWRP.

Hope this helps Lister and others. (Lister- sorry couldn't help with y550. Hope it's sorted, n courtcase)

Peter W.

P.S. [MENTION=1662557]mtpc[/MENTION]:

I'd love to know how you got past Russian captcha to log into 4pda.ru/forum. Can you let me know how I can log in too?

Thanks,

Peter W.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mtpc:
Hi, i asked my boss for help, because he knows a bit russian. Without his help, I couldnt download it...
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Fran89.:
I'm still working on a device tree, so far I've managed to isolate binary blobs (proprietary-files.txt) by modifying the file from here + the lib64 libraries, I've managed to compile the AOSP for a generic arm64 device and I have compiled the kernel from lenovo open source code. So everything is hopefully coming together... but this is very much all new to me it might take some time.

However I can give you some tips on how to remove bloatware and speed up the tablet. First if you have root grab Titanium Backup and use it to backup you user apps, It can also be used to Freeze/Remove bloatware (however be careful if you remove some system app, I usually just freeze it). Then use Adaway to get rid of ads (hopefully the reduced bandwidth and processing speeds if up a bit...

Hopefully this helps a bit,

Fran89
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pndwal:
Peter W

Well done. May have to enlist you/bosses help in future unless you can tell me how he types Russian captcha letters. Thanks.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] voland34:
Missing step?

Works fine, though i guess after step 6 it goes "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img" as another user said. But finally sorted out! Thanks.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Hemphiz:
Deleted
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sorun343:
any kernel that we can flash to make it oc to 1.3ghz? MT8161 suppose to work at 1.3ghz but lenovo underclock it to 1ghz.

1.3-1.5ghz will be better.

I did flash the kenel auditor put the min freq to 348mhz and govenor to performance. Perform better now.

But need more improvement.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pndwal:
filedropper.com/tb3850froot (for files)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtpc

Hey guys, It's me again. I managed to crack down the russian CAPTCHA and downloaded those files, and it just WORKS! I now have full root on my TB3-850f. I wrote down simple HOW-TO:

[Slightly ammended by Peter Wallace (Original Post #49)]

1) Copy SuperSU-v2.79-SR1-20161221223537.zip to the tablet

2) Enable developer and USB debugging

3) Open cmd (command Window) in folder with ADB and FASTBOOT

4) Type these commands:adb reboot bootloader

Then:fastboot oem unlock

5) Hold down power button and reboot. Repeat 2) and enable OEM UNLOCK

6) Repeat 3) and type:adb reboot bootloader

7) then type:fastboot boot recovery.img (must be copied in the same folder as adb.exe and fastboot.exe)

(Don't flash recovery yet - system will replace stock recovery before you have root)

8) Use TWRP to install SuperSU. - Now you have ROOT (Systemless) (can update to SR3, etc)

9) Repeat 3) and type: adb reboot bootloader

10) Type:fastboot flash recovery recovery.img - Now your new TWRP recovery will be permanent.

11) Use TWRP to reinstall SuperSU as lost in step 10 - Now you have ROOT (Systemless).

To Enter TWRP:

After powering down, press power, wait 1 sec then hold both vol up & down also (all 3 buttons) until vibrates.

I also uploaded the files here: filedropper.com/tb3850froot

Peter W:

Here is link to latest 850f rom:

http://lenovo-forums.ru/files/file/1549-lenovo-tab3-a8-tb3-850f_s100030_161209_row/

Which takes you to https://cloud.mail.ru/public/8T5R/RWCkuBz19

About This File

Lenovo Tab3 A8F - firmware TB3-850F_S100030_161209_ROW

Creator: Lenovo

Build Date: 09/12/16

Firmware type: Firmware for PC

File size: 1.14 GB

Archive password: lenovo-forums.ru

OS: 6.0

Description:

android 6.0

AOSP

Kid mode

ONLY WLAN!

Firmware for the Euro-region (including Russia and Ukraine)
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pndwal:
Firmware

Custom ROM - TB3-850M_Corsair_Edition (Android 6.0, odex, root, pure) -

for 850M

here:

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=764969&st=80 (p5)

Points to:

https://mega.nz/#!y4N2FKBR!eBjDn0l5nfKjTuSO46o3QiKv-Sud4NCoMYUBX7IwOTc

Full link text:

http://4pda.ru/pages/go/?u=https://...fKjTuSO46o3QiKv-Sud4NCoMYUBX7IwOTc&e=56808907

They say not for 850F (p14), but someone may want to try.

Be CAREFUL!

M Model has different processor.

---------- Post added at 12:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 AM ----------

See post above re. 850M rom

Regards, PW.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Fran89.:
Awesome, I'll definitely have a look at it. My work has stalled a bit since I've been working on my thesis, but I'll check this out this week.
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pndwal:
No worries. All the best with AOSP 6.0.1 project. Hoping this may lead to N (when you have more time!) Sounds like you're making good headway. Nice tablet to improve.

PS I managed to create login for 4pda.ru Russian site. Anyone who wants to axcess this great resource for countless devices should study this:

http://doorsgeek.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/4pdaru-loginregister-captcha-tutorial.html

Regards, PW
[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pndwal:
Hi mtpc.

Looks like filedropper.com/tb3850froot no longer works. Are you able to fix, or post new link to these essential files for others?

Thanks, PW.