yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
I did not see that you posted here, but I responded to your PM. Another thing I forgot to mention in my PM was you did not, by chance flash one of my modified boot.imgs for a different version of the tablet did you? If you did that can cause you to loose sound and possibly wifi and bluetooth as well.

In addition, have you tried it on multiple wifi networks to confirm it is not a configuration problem or incompatibility problem with your network? This tablet must connect to a 2.4ghz router that can connect an N device. I don't believe it can connect to a 5ghz router unless it can also fallback to 2.4ghz, however I know very little about the 5ghz routers. I believe they are called duel band routers.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Yami94:
I honestly don't remember which boot.img I used because it was so long ago and to answer ur other questions I forgot to answer I didnt have wifi after I had it before I rooted it but after it didn't work at all when I try to turn it on it stays stuck on (turning on) that's it and nothing else happens after that every the Bluetooth does the same thing
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
I have Nextbook 8A, A64 SoC, Model NX16A8116KPB. Am I pretty much SOL?

Also has anyone figured out download mode or some sort of MASKROM via shorting pins on PCB? I'd like to know just in case my tablet gets hardbricked.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
If that is the version that comes with Android 7, I know of no way to root it or boot into fastboot mode.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
According to here, the Nextbook with Allwinner A64 SoC I have has FEL mode which I assume is similar to download mode. Though this stuff beyond my capability :(

My second option is to buy a nextbook motherboard with intel processor on ebay. They go for around 15 bucks, not bad. The PCB layout between the motherboard with Intel and other with A64 SoC seems similar so I could in theory swap it out with no problem. The only things I noticed different is one of them has 2 micro usb ports and other has battery leads soldered. As a noob in electronics I might end up frying the board. Wish me luck!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
Having some past training in basic electronics, I would not recommend that. And how do you know if the button and port placements in the cases are the same? If they are just a little off it may not work. Some user have bought the Android 6.0.1 version of the tablet on ebay, but those that did and posted on my thread were not provided with the DISA activation code. I have not had anyone else post as to if they obtained ones with the activation code.

I work at Walmart and some 6.0.1 versions may be available in some stores, but they would be hard to find since the boxes aren't labeled. The only way I have been able to Identify them is that the older versions have a thicker box.

I had an email correspondence some time ago with Nextbook and they weren't even aware of the existence of the newer tablet version. I doubt if Walmart will continue selling them as they have not sold well, when there are so many other choices and most people use there phones instead. I use my tablet everyday at work on breaks because I like the larger screen and I have an Iphone to do everything else.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
I can always cut holes for buttons and ports :D But yea at this point it seems like too much effort just to have a rooted nextbook. As for DISA there is a guide to bypass it but it is against site rules to explain any further unfortunately.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
I wasn't aware that there was a guide. Will a Google search find it?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
I used different search engines and lot of scrolling and reading from what I can remember. I didn't archive the guide unfortunately, thread got deleted to oblivion.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
Yes, one user posted on this thread, but it was vague and did not really make any sense as to how it would even work. Something to do with the Android Startup Wizard. PM me if you remember anything at all.

Thanks
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
My ARM SoC nextbook is stuck on boot logo now all of sudden after disassembling it. My static charge must've corrupted the NAND chip... though I'm still able to go into recovery which tells me the NAND chip I hope is okay. Meh oh well. Anyway I found a good pile of resources on http://linux-sunxi.org dealing with Allwinner SoCs used in newer nextbooks though I have to admit I don't understand half of it :)

The easiest step to put tablet into FEL mode is using sdcard:

Through a special SD card image

Included in our sunxi-tools repository, there is a small SDCARD boot image that does nothing more than jump to FEL.

Just install it on an sdcard as you would with the u-boot SPL (be sure to change /dev/sdX to where your sdcard is):

wget https://github.com/linux-sunxi/sunxi-tools/raw/master/bin/fel-sdboot.sunxi

dd if=fel-sdboot.sunxi of=/dev/sdX bs=1024 seek=8

Link

https://imgur.com/a/PoPMkDG

This confirms that it is indeed in FEL mode. As to why it's named Onda V972, you probably have a better guess. Now I'm pretty much a dead brick at this point. If anyone of great knowledge could chime in, that would be great!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
I have no clue. The Intel device has FTM mode and can boot to the UEFI boot manager, but I don't know much about the FTM mode.

With a USB OTG cable, one can connect a keyboard and a mouse to set bios options in the boot manager, that is all I know.

I told you that was a bad idea to disassemble it when it was working.

Did you try unplugging the battery then plugging it back in? That helped me on the original Ares 8, with Android 5, when I thought it was bricked.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
Removing battery didn't work (soldered btw), plus the charging LED appears to be gone now. Still goes to stuck boot logo. I've left it overnight in that state with charger and still same thing in morning. Well I guess I'd have to buy that intel motherboard, aye? I won't forget to ground myself this time.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
quick question, did you activate v2.1.5 tablet before making the backup via TWRP?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
Yes I did, as I'm not sure if you can back it up in TWRP before activation, but then, I never tried that. I back it up to the internal sd, because 4 out of 5 external sd card readers have failed on the devices I own. Furthermore, I copy the backups to my PC through MTP, also. For rooting, Magisk v18 stable was just released and is a good root solution. I do this backup before adding any apps, etc. so I have a "stock backup" to go to later. I backup, boot, recovery and system, although, if restore and don't uncheck recovery, it will overwrite TWRP. (I have done that by mistake.)

If you ever wipe the dalvik cache and cache, watch out to not mistakenly check system, as it is listed in a stupid order: Dalvik/ ART Cache, System, Cache, Data, Internal Storage and Micro SDCard, in TWRP and it is easy to check system by mistake. (I stupidly did this twice.)

I'm not sure why the author didn't put Dalvik cache then cache to avoid this?

Just out of curiosity, were you able to get a new Nextbook Ares 8A with Android 6.0.1? If so, where did you get it and does the activation code work for it, if you didn't get it at a Walmart?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
I just bought a "permanently locked" nextbook with android 6.0.1 in good condition dirt cheap for testing. It should arrive by end of december hopefully.

Anyway another question I'd like to ask, did you have to reenter the activation number after full wipe, reflashing system, etc for all of the versions?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
No, not usually. I did on one device once, but I can't remember under what circumstances it was under. It may have been when I accidentally overwrote TWRP with the stock recovery, by mistake, but I don't really remember. I have wondered if it is built into the stock recovery. Sorry I can't remember any more than that. I have reflashed the stock TWRP backup, minus the stock recovery on many of the devices, several times and have never had to enter it. I just have to setup Android as new,enable usb debugging, developer options and download and update app on the Playstore.

On one device that I returned after testing, I restored the stock and it would not boot after restore, so I returned it with the modifed boot.img. Thinking much later as to why this happened, it might have been because I did not relock the bootloader. The dm_verity built in the boot.img checks for a modified system and probably if the bootloader is locked.

I you ever do restore the TWRP backup, don't boot into the system first before flashing root or you will probably boot to the Android verification screen and I this is not to be confused with the activation screen. It will often not boot past this screen unless it is rooted or a modifed boot.img with dm_verity and encryption disabled by unpacking it in Android Image Kitchen and editing certain files, then repacking it.

That is what I did when I used to use SuperSu, unofficial system mode. With both official Supersu sytemless and the Magisk I currently use, when you flash them, they patch the boot to remove these 2 flags by default, unless you change options in the TWRP command line. Running decrypted should speed the device up, also.

What do you mean by permanently locked?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
The seller of the nextbook I bought said he entered a number of pins incorrectly and after a certain number of tries, it "permanently locked" the activation screen. He couldn't enter any pins anymore and pretty much gave up. The electronic repair stores couldn't do anything about it either.

Anyway, the DISA activation screen is an app that starts along with andriod system. It's basically a modified andriod start up wizard. You can in theory delete it and you'll boot straight into UI home which is one of the methods of bypassing it but I don't have much hopes of it working but worth the try once my tablet arrives.

Also because that nextbook with andriod 6.0.1 has UEFI, I could boot up a different OS off of sdcard. Intel Atom seems to be supported quite well in most distros.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
If you are lucky enough to get the original box, the DISA number is on the box and you can enter that at this website to get the activation code. I also read that if the wrong code is entered too many times, the device is permanently locked. Lets hope not.

https://www.getyourcode.com/#/

My guess it that activation is in one of several Android hidden partitions, In the IFWI (Intel Firmware Interface) or possibly in the stock recovery partition.

If it is in the stock recovery partition, theoretically, flashing TWRP in fastboot could deactivate it. However, I doubt if it is that simple. You can also unlock the bootloader with fastboot commands that I list in the OP.

With a root file explorer I tried to find anything that might also be it, but nothing stood out.

If you find out more information about this, please let me know.

You can even PM if you are not comfortable posting it here.

UPDATE:

Just out of curiosity, I flashed the stock recovery backup and it boots to the green Android guy on his side with a red warning sign, not the normal stock recovery or bootloader screen screen. The device is rooted with Magisk but I am not sure if that would cause that or not. I guess that image could be corrupted, also, but it flashed without error and also booted into Android normally. During this I had no activation screen come up.

Of course, I reflashed TWRP after this test.

Thanks
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
I got the tablet today. I'm able to boot off SD card into Ubuntu 16.04 isorespin by linuxnium modified for 32-bit UEFI support and made a backup of entire ROM. On booting into Ubuntu my screen started having bright white stripes but disappeared after hard reboot. The screen would turn off by itself every 10 seconds, only fix was to change screen to landscape. After that I did all the procedures in OP without problems. I tried all of the bypass methods I could remember, none worked until...

I wiped system and TWRP restored to version 1.1.1 (originally came with v2.03, system and boot) and it put me straight into the startup wizard, completely bypassing the activation. All other versions put me into pin screen. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, maybe 1.1.1 has an older DISA software installed. Good enough for me :)

Everything works except for speaker and audio jack. I flashed all the other versions and nothing, only static. Bummer, I suspect it's a corrupted bootloader?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
UPDATE: Audio fixed! I went into UEFI, changed audio chipset setting and everything in working order. Looks like the previous owner had a crack at it.

Another problem appeared, wifi sometimes cuts out occasionally but not too serious.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
Ah that makes sense, v1.1.1 doesn't have the DISA thing at all. That is strange that v1.1.1 is still working despite tablet originally came with v2.0.3.

My tablet currently has M882_JJ.023_JJ according to bootloader, here is the details

PRODUCT NAME - NXM882CAP

VARIANT - N/A

HW_VERSION - Type1 - TBD by OEM

BOOTLOADER VERSION - kernelflinger-02.20

IFWI VERSION - M882_JJ.023_JJ

"TBD"? To be discontinued by OEM?

I used a micro USB to female USB cable to use my normal Desktop keyboard and mouse. To enter UEFI, as soon as you see the nextbook logo press Esc key once. The audio setting I changed is under SCU > Advanced > Chipset Configuration> Audio Configuration >LPE Audio Support. It was originally set to "LPE Audio PCI mode". Changing it to "LPE Audio ACPI mode" fixed the audio issue. I didn't bother reset to default UEFI settings as it might brick the device so not gonna risk it.

The UEFI displays the IFWI version and serial number so it is likely in the UEFI. I took the tablet apart earlier, lifted the copper shield from the board carefully and saw a Winbond BIOS chip. UEFI is definitely stored in there just like a Desktop PC. So if you hardbrick your device, you can boot into UEFI and load an OS or possibly reflash the entire android ROM. I'll need to figure out how to backup the UEFI, I happen to have a ch341a programmer lying around. BTW I used command "adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0 mmcblk0.img" to backup entire ROM. It is about 15GB in size. Android_bootloader2 doesn't appear to contain anything according to HxD editor. I'm not sure what purpose it serves. Honestly I don't see much difference between UEFI and legacy BIOS other than support for modern stuff.

I didn't have a keyboard and mouse combo that used only one receiver so I had to switch between keyboard and mouse to navigate Ubuntu 16.04. I had to immediately rotate the screen right after desktop loads, otherwise it'll go blank every 15 seconds. I couldn't boot into Ubuntu MATE or Lubuntu modified with isorespin.sh by linuxium. Because this tablet has 32bit UEFI, you'll need to have a distro that supports 32bit UEFI which is where isorespin.sh comes in handy. v18.04 of Ubuntu made my tablet freeze occasionally after desktop loads. I had an issue Ubuntu would not boot off of my Sandisk 32GB class 10 micro SD card. My PNY 8GB class 4 boots perfectly fine. Performance is mediocre at best, took ages to load firefox browser.

I rooted the tablet with the usual SuperSU. Seems to be okay at the moment.

P.S. I took apart the tablet again and noticed something... The motherboards for nextbook 8a on ebay and the one inside my tablet have a different IC chip on lower right of the board. I looked up the part number and it appears to be an audio chip. That might explain why not all versions of ROM have sound working.

[IMG=""]https://i.imgur.com/awWQY0Y.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG=""]https://i.imgur.com/bou4kDM.jpg[/IMG]
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
From your experiences, it leads me to believe that the activation is built into the rom. All of my TWRP stock backups were done after I activated so the activation may have been backed up also.

Did you flash any of my other twrp rom backups? If you try it and your tablet is still able to boot to the setup screen, that would prove my theory. If not, then it may be somewhere else, such as the bios or firmware?

In Android settings, about tablet, there is a place to relock disa. It asks for the passwork, which I was not able to figure out. It has been a while since I tried but I believe I tried the lock screen pin and the disa unlock code, if my memory is good.

It may be a password that the only the manufacturer or privileged others can use to reset it, not sure?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
The activation screen is an app located in /system/app/ named "VUDUStartWizard". Deleting it boots you straight into the UI home, completely bypassing pin screen. Unfortunately Android appears to be restricted, installing an app stalls and developer options is locked. I believe it is the modified android start up wizard according to package manager, not to forget package manager can't install apps either through adb shell, leaving an error "system is not yet activated" or similar. I've flashed all versions with TWRP and without TWRP, all put me right into the pin screen except for v1.1.1. The stock recovery backups on android host always shows the android lying sideways with red caution sign. I forgot to mention the tablet came like that as well before flashing v1.1.1 system and boot, previous owner may have flashed TWRP then reverted to stock.

There are 11 partitions in total, I haven't investigated the rest of the partitions at the moment.

After this post, I purchased a motherboard with that mysterious audio chip I mentioned earlier, I'm really interested how it sounds. There were a review on Walmart site saying of horrible sound quality. The one I have has a Realtek audio chip, sounds absolutely fine. In fact, it sounds the same in quality as the one in my PC which happens to use the same Realtek audio chip manufacturer too. The current set up with v1.1.1 I have for this tablet is really nice, don't think I'd want to go any further and may shift all testing to the other motherboard I bought.

Do you happen to notice any difference in sound quality between all versions of android 6.0.1 nextbooks? What about the audio jack?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
To be honest, I don't listen to audio very often on them to know. The one case I have for the one I take to work with me has the speaker blocked in the back. On all of them, the volume is low.

On occasion, I test video with the latest beta vlc and it has an audio boost option that helps, somewhat. I have rarely ever tested the audio jack, although when I tested a different tablets rom version and lost audio, I did briefly test bluetooth sound with my Plantronics Voyager Legend bluetooth earpiece. Youtube music videos seem to have adequate sound, but not great. I just tested on v1.1.1 tablet.

I just plugged in my stock Apple earbuds that came with my first smartphone the Iphone 5c, given to me by my sister. I am currently on a Iphone 6 given to me by my son, when he upgraded.

I just listened to a classic by John Cougar, as he was known back then, when I saw him before he was famous, in my hometown of Bloomington, IN, near Indiana University, Small Paradise. It sounds good to me, but then I have a cold right now.

It not a big deal now, but I still wonder why 4 out of 5 external Micro SD card readers are not working on these devices. Do you know if it has a separate chipset for this, or if it is handled by the Intel Atom processor? Also are there any bios settings concerning this?

UPDATE:

You are indeed correct, I was looking inside the VUDUStartWizard package content with Mixplorer and Activation is in there. I see mention of a device Id and an activation token, also.

However, that VUDUStartWizard is on the v1.1.1 tablet as well.

On the v1.1.1 tablet, the /res/drawable assets don't contain the disa logo, etc.

Also, the unreadable code at the bottom of the AndroidManifest.xml are entirely different.

I am also wondering if it is getting this activation and token info from somewhere else in the system. This is way beyond my knowledge, though. Also, things are broken when you remove that app. In addition, I read somewhere in the last few days that the standard Android Startup Wizard is in and launched by the Google services Framework, if my memory is serving me correctly.

I also assume yours didn't come with the box with the disa code on it, in the serial number area, to get the activation code.

Furthermore, I use DiscInfo Pro and am aware of all of those partitions, but as with you, I don't know what the others are for.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
Yes in UEFI there is a bunch of stuff in USB configuration relating to xHCI, SSIC, HSIC, toggling USB ports and OTG stuff. SSIC is disabled by default, maybe that could be the issue?

What USB version is each of the external Micro SD card readers such as USB 3.0?

Also the tablet didn't come in its original box unfortunately.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
I'm not sure, what ever is built into each tablet. In Aida64 I see:

USB Device Linux 3.14.64-x86_64 xhci_hcd Host Controller

USB 2.0

USB Device Linux 3.14.64-x86_64 xhci_hcd Host Controller

USB 3.0

I didn't type it out but more is listed for each.

I may order a USB-OTG so I can connect a mouse and keyboard, eventually.

On some devices the card will never appear, On others it will appear and disappear randomly. It doesn't appear to be a bad connection, either.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] martyfender:
[MENTION=7933747]shaun279[/MENTION] Here is the android_config.img.

[MENTION=7933747]shaun279[/MENTION] Please let me know what you find out about this file.

Thanks
[Miscellaneous Android Development] y0kiua:
unlock DISa, sound problem

Hi all, first:

I would like to share the activation code hacking method

I tested this method on different tablets Nextbook, RCA everything works fine.

1. With battery charged, turn on the tablet.

2. Once the activation screen appears, plug the tablet into your windows computer with a data cable.

3. Once windows detects the tablet, navigate to the device folder and open the android/data folders.

4. Right click the .testdisa file and choose to open it with notepad etc.

5. Upon viewing the file, locate a repeating string of numbers halfway down the page and copy only the ones that match several times.

There may be upwards of 32 characters in the string.

6. Using your web browser, open crackstation_net

7. Paste your isolated string into the box, click I am not a robot and enter it.

8. Using an MD5 hash decryption method that string of numbers will turn into your activation code on the bottom of your screen to the far right.

Good Luck.

Second, I have a tablet: Nextbook Ares 8A

Build number: V2.0.3

IFWI version: M882_JJ.019

In the process of getting the root, I flashed the wrong boot and now I do not have the sound of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

I tried to restore the boot image that is in the backup "2018-08-28--22-57-57_V2.0.3.MMB29M.20170621.014754"

Wi-Fi and bluetooth work, but the sound still does not work.

Tell me what I'm doing wrong!? :(

Please write instructions on how to restore the sound for all versions tablet, with an indication of the link to all versions of the boot
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shaun279:
Is the boot.img from the backup patched afterward with SuperSU or Magisk? I had the same issue with sound not working without patching the boot.img. Also I noticed you have IFWI version M882_JJ.019, it could be the problem as well. The backup from OP is from IFWI version: M882_JJ.023.

Did the tablet originally come with v2.0.3? Intel Nextbook 8A tablets happen to have different audio chips, either Everest or Realtek.