yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Thinkpad Tablet General] DoHxBoY:
Not sure if it is the same, or if it will work, but here is a link to the stock recovery I backed up from my TB-8704V:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V9irT_Li0zxXZzNqCOgApR3jijL4QTjd

These files are provided with no warranty and I don't know how device specific any of these things really are, so I take no responsibility if anything blows up :P
[Thinkpad Tablet General] neo4uo:
You wouldn't happen to know where I could get a backup of the non-plus version 8504F version?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dywersant:
http://lenovo-forums.ru/forum/795-lenovo-tab4-a8-proshivki/
[Thinkpad Tablet General] neo4uo:
Man thanks again, unfortunately everyone of those files are OTA update files to be used with stock recovery :( I ran across 8r earlier and ask eww d of anyone has the whole stock rom or stock recovery. The recovery in all of those update OTAs are partial, I tried extracting one and flashing it with no success.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dywersant:
Might be a good idea to ask someone with same tablet to send you his backup with matching firmware version.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] LuckyStriker33:
I'm looking for the best 8-9 inch tablet around with LTE for Europe (b20/800) and that can be rooted. I like the tab 4 8 plus but I wonder if there's a new rival around that surpasses the tab4. Also, anyone knows of a good deal for this tablet? I'm in Spain and prices are at 300€.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] noname2no:
I strongly suggest you to invest in the Huawei Mediapad m5 LTE/4G (8 inches). You'll get a better screen (less blueish), a faster CPU, a compass for GPS navigation, Oreo (Treble), can be used as a phone, custom roms are being developed. Drawbacks are : less storage (32gb), no camera flash, battery runtimes may be shorter due to the screen resolution and cpu, more expensive.

What I hate about my Lenovo Tab 4 4G 8" (TB-8704X): blueish screen, sluggish, scarce security updates, no oreo support, cannot phone/sms (4g only), no custom roms, poor camera, slow wifi, poor car navigation.

What I like about it: storage (64gb), fingerprint reader, USB-C, audio jack, 1920x1200 resolution, not too pricey
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
Hmmm not sure about some of your complaints. They may be personal opinions. I don't have any issues with " blueish screen " the camera is actually pretty decent when you learn how to use the camera settings, and about making phone calls.... I'm in the USA and have NO issues making phone calls with 4g service on at & t.. wifi is fine. Navigation can be slow, but works. I'll agree with you on the lack of custom roms, but root has allowed debloating without issues.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
[MENTION=5753995]noname2no[/MENTION] [MENTION=5387867]kc12[/MENTION]: I own a Mediapad M3 and I just saw for the first time the Tab 4 8 Plus (3 GB Ram/16 GB internal memory/WiFi only) that I gifted my sister. Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus did not have all the updates, it was stuck on December 2017 updates. I updated it to the latest available version and I honestly say that Tab 4 Plus offers a better experience. It did not have Facebook and all the other apps I am using in my Mediapad M3, but it felt snappier and better than the Mediapad M3 that I am using.

Don't get me wrong, I love the media experience on my Mediapad M3, I think it offers the best media experience on any mobile device (even smartphones), but Tab 4 was behaving a lot better. Be very aware of your choices, Mediapad M5 does not have audio jack and its SoC is not the latest and greatest that Huawei could have used (just Kirin 960). I would not consider it for an upgrade, even if I had the money. Huawei sends software updates from time to time, on my M3 I received Nougat at the beginning of the year and then about 2 updates. One strange thing is that Huawei has a weird policy on selling its variants for a device, it is not selling all variants all over the world. They are only selling Mate 10 Pro here, without audio jack and without microSD card slot and their tablets cannot be bought online after a while. I can only find M5 10 inches here locally, not the 8 inches variant.

I am glad I bought Tab 4 8 Plus for my sister. There are no real best buys besides these 2, mainly because Samsung Tab S are very, very expensive tablets. LG is going down the drain day by day.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] PtKt:
tablet price
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
Thanks for the comparison. The tab4 8 plus 8704f & 8704x variants are scheduled to get oreo in November. Not sure what varient your 3gb/16 version is. I think this version is the Chinese release. Is your security patch april 2018?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
I do not have access to it now. It was bought fr9m4 Amazon UK, it is not the Chinese version. I think it had the a latter security update, September 2018 or something like that. I know for sure it is not the Chinese variant.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] LuckyStriker33:
Thank you all for your suggestions. I indeed discarded Huawei Mediapad M5 because of the audio jack and specially because of all the complaints I've read about it's wireless antenna. Apparently if you switch on bluetooth (something probable if you want to use bluetooth headphones), wifi signal drops and makes navigation/streaming useless. Others have reported similar issues even without bluetooth on. Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 was also an option but it has chinese LTE bands. It's so ridiculous that more than a year since it's release, tab 4 is basically the only 8" option around. If there was an upcoming device I would wait, but there are barely any coming soon.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
8704x s000042 update

I restored my system back to stock. downloaded and installed the update, security patch July, 2018. I received the message update installation aborted, but on system reboot the message system updated successfully was present. :confused: anyway, the about tablet confirms s000042 is installed.

anyone else get this?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Ja_som:
That's a joke, July security update in October, I think this is my first and also the last Lenovo device. Don't get me wrong, I really like this device, but the system updates are really slow.

Anyway can someone please share a screenshot of the update screen to see what's new? I've missed it somehow, thanks.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
I was interested to read this, as I had an offer this morning of a 50MB update which of course is hidden somewhere in the root directories - which I can't access because I'm not rooted (and if I were rooted it wouldn't work anyway, I guess). Also since I have TWRP installed I just get to TWRP on rebooting for the OTA.

So to clarify your steps - TWRP wipe, restore system.img, accept and install OTA (because I'll have stock recovery again)? Then if I want to reflash TWRP again I can - but with the promise of a November Orio update that would pretty much be shooting myself in the foot again, no? :)

So short-term after the small update I could boot TWRP (not flash) and take a backup of the updated system in preparation for the November Oreo? Any holes in my understanding?

Appreciate your advice... :)
[Thinkpad Tablet General] harryw66:
I purchased a Huawei M5 a few months ago as on paper this looked like a well specced tablet with HD screen - one reason for upgrading from my again Sony Z3C tablet was so that could watch Netflix HD.

After initially discovering the M5 did not support Netflix HD, I was pleased when they released an firmware upgrade which provided Netflix HD support.

BUT, I then found that if I used my Bluetooth Headphones with Netflix HD shows, the Netflix app became unresponsive if I paused the show and tried to resume. I would have to force close the Netflix app, and start it again in order to continue watching my show.

This was not acceptable to me - I had paid around £300 for the privilege of watching HD stuff but could not realistically do so.

So, I returned the M5 and got myself a Tab 4 8 Plus - OK my Netflix is NOT HD, but I have been quite happy with it otherwise. In fact, I just ordered a Tab 4 10 Plus for bedtime usage.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] noname2no:
Coming from a z3tc as well (sgp612) I ended up hating the tab4 8plus screen as compared with the older Sony Triluminos display. I find the colors both inaccurate and blueish.

Regarding Netflix, the tab4 8plus is widevine L1 enabled and should be able to play movies in full hd. Unfortunately I understand Lenovo might not have passed the Netflix certification.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
Following on from my earlier post, three above this one, I restored a TWRP system image which I took very early in my ownership of the 8704F. Unfortunately it was (naturally) one which contained TWRP recovery, not stock. However, I downloaded the OTA anyway and tracked it down in TWRP file manager to a root data directory, but when I tried to install it I got "Zip is corrupt". I deleted it and downloaded again, with the same result. Does anyone have enough tech knowledge to explain this? I would have thought that if this OTA zip installs in stock recovery it should also install via TWRP. Maybe it was genuinely corrupt, though twice seems unlikely?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
[MENTION=6161558]dahawthorne[/MENTION]: the OTA usually contains patches over existing files. Your OTA is not installed by TWRP because it may try to patch the current recovery (TWRP). I am not near the Tab 4 8 Plus I gifted my sister, so I cannot dump the existing recovery to a file and post it here. She does not know how to do it, it would be waaay to difficult for me to explain her how to do it. Maybe some of the other users here can dump their recovery and help you with your issue.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
Correct. Sorry for the late response.

But, if you don't have root you haven't changed the system files except recovery. Instead of going to all that work - wiping, restoring system.image, ect... Try just restoring stock recovery- flash stock recovery in twrp. Then you can just install the update and wait for oreo. If restoring stock recovery doesn't work you can use your system.image backup. ( And yes, the system.image backup does contain the stock recovery and replaces twrp when restored.)

---------- Post added at 11:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 PM ----------

Yup, as stated above, twrp can't flash our updates. You have to do it with stock recovery.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dywersant:
Newest update is still having the ghost touch issue. Way to go Lenovo...
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Surya1998:
Mine too got the ghost touch issues, especially if the screen is slightly wet.. Turning screen off fixes for some time.. How many of the owners faced ghost touch issue? I thought i physically damaged the touch sensor.. But after browsing a lot, i figured out many users faced this error.. And to note, latest update 906_row reduced ghost touches..
[Thinkpad Tablet General] phynix5800:
For me the ghost touch issue was introduced with an update a while back but it never was that severe. In all those months it happened maybe 4 or 5 times and could always be solved temporarily by turning the screen off and on again. The intensity of the problem differs from device to device and some (most?) units don't seem to have it at all.

After months that this hasn't happened for me again, I recently had a very light ghost touch situation. The weather is currently getting colder here again and it happend when I had the window open and the temperature in the room was low, so I suspect my touchscreen doesn't like the cold that much ?.

I too believe it's a hardware issue but probably influenced by software. I think they probably fiddled with the touchscreen driver back then when the issue appeared on my unit (directly after an update). They made it better for some but worse for others it seems. Kind of reminds me of the Nexus 7 2013 situation where they released a boatload of different driver versions in an attempt to mitigate similar problems.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
ICYMI: Lenovo confirmed that Tab 4 10 Plus won't be getting Oreo :( https://www.xda-developers.com/lenovo-tab-4-10-plus-wont-get-android-oreo/. I really, really, really do not get companies complaining about the market share of tablets, even 8 inches tablets, when their support is missing. It is like complaining that your child doesn't speak foreign languages when you make him a mathematician.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Ja_som:
Nice job Lenovo, nice :slowclap:

Announced in Feb 17, released in July 17, only 7 OTA updates in (only) 1,5 year update cycle?!

Weird, according the gsmarena all Tab4 devices was announced and released at the same time, so why only the 10 Plus variant ended?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
This lack of updates has made me regret my hasty decision to buy this 8" tablet, now passed on to my wife, and also prompts me not to buy any more Lenovo products. Very shabby customer relations.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
[MENTION=5201515]Ja_som[/MENTION]: XDA has gotten official confirmation. It does not say why, of course. I will probably get the Xiaomi Mi Pad next, even with all my reservations towards Xiaomi and that form factor that is too squared for my liking. At least Xiaomi improved the Mi Tab with each iteration.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
It doesn't make voice calls. Otherwise it seems like a good tablet. Xiaomi has terrible support for it's tablets. But they do send security updates for a while.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
[MENTION=5387867]kc12[/MENTION]: some may want it in a tablet, but I surely do not want it. It is a large device, I have my smartphone for placing calls. You can install the European MIUI version that has OTA updates. But it all depends on un Xiaomi still allowing us to unlock the bootloader.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Surya1998:
Will Tab 4 8 plus variant get Oreo this november or it will be discontinued the same way like they did for 10 inch variant?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Ja_som:
It should, all other variants are still in the update matrix

https://support.lenovo.com/sk/sk/solutions/ht501098#tablet
[Thinkpad Tablet General] tmihai20:
According to that website Tab4 10 should get the update. Lenovo is nuts to keep Tab4 10 Plus out of the update (the Plus version being the one with better hardware).
[Thinkpad Tablet General] redcodefsu:
Is there anyway to remove/uninstall the Lenovo Launcher? I have Novo Launcher installed and every time it gets an update, the tablet makes me choose a default launcher.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
You would need root. I would disable it first. If all goes well after a few days, then delete it. Be sure to wipe caches afterwards. Our device is very particular about things being removed, be sure to have a backup, just in case it bootloops...
[Thinkpad Tablet General] kc12:
Just got the 8.1 update to my 8704x.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Hemphiz:
I take it TWRP needs an update before we can start mounting Data on Oreo?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] swieder711:
On the other Tab thread, someone reported root with magisk and running xposed. Maybe the current TWRP is fine for this new Oreo release.

Later to today, I plan to reset to factory Nougat via MiFlash and then apply the update to Oreo. Than I will reflash twrp, Magisk and xposed.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] mujju85:
Got the update
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
Would you please be kind enough to point me to the Miflash you mention? I had a look but saw only Xiaomi. I installed TWRP and rooted, and a factory reset didn't restore recovery, so I'd like to be ready if the upgrade ever comes my way in the UK. Thanks...
[Thinkpad Tablet General] swieder711:
I used MiFlash 2016.08.30.

You can try to get it from me here https://www.dropbox.com/s/cvzqlixbu5yyoy2/MiFlashSetup.msi?dl=0
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
Thanks - got it. So does this work for Lenovo as well as Xiaomi?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] swieder711:
I just used MiFlash on on my Tab 4 8 plus. Worked great. Took about 7 minutes to flash the default ROM via Emergency Download Mode which I got to via TWRP. 7.1.1 updated from ver24 to ver 37. Than updated to 8.1.0.

Now its time to install TWRP and Magisk.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Ja_som:
So after this update my notification LED does not signalize new notification from Gmail (for now I noticed only this app), I also enabled "unread email" in LED settings in Display settings. Did I miss something?

I also really like that we got two great new games in this update, which I uninstalled right after I saw them in my app drawer :)
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
I've spent the past hour trying to find the firmware and method to restore my 8704F to stock, with no success. Would you please be able to point me to the full stock firmware and ideally also the instructions? I've been spoiled by years of Nexus simplicity... :)

Edit much later: serious request. I tried to restore my 8704F by flashing the recovery from a firmware and restoring a backuo via temporary TWRP, but the device either did nothing or asked for a PIN, and neither of the two possible PINs were satisfactory, so I have a paperweight at the moment... :)
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
kc12, can you please tell me how you did this? I've spent literally hours searching for a stock image, but all I can find is a series of OTAs and a June 2017 version 24 image which QFIL refuses to accept because it doesn't contain a flash-all.bat file.

Any advice would be much appreciated - at this moment I have a tablet that can get into stock recovery (because I flashed it manually to replace TWRP) and fastboot, but nothing else, so it's just a pretty paperweight... :)

---------- Post added at 19:44 ---------- Previous post was at 19:33 ----------

Thanks again - I can get as far as filling in all the values and my TB-8704F's serial number is recognised, so I guess that the link between my laptop & tablet is ok, but all I end up with is the error message about "missing flash-all", so I'm back to square one wondering why I'm unable to find the mythical image which contains all the necessary pieces. I have the July (not June) version 24, which would at least give me a working device, I guess, and it contains boot, recovery, lots of system parts, etc., but no flash-all... duh... very frustrating, and probably my last purchase of a Lenovo device if they make things this difficult. I'm spoiled by years of Nexus devices... :)
[Thinkpad Tablet General] swieder711:
Sounds like you are still doing something different than what I use, like using QFil instead of MiFlash

Can you confirm the following:

The July v24 release is what I use. Do you have the zip image unzipped in a folder like c:\tab\images?

Are you in EDL mode via TWRP terminal?

Are you using the 2016 version of MiFlash? Are you pointing to the write folder?

Can you try a different USB cable?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
Thanks, [MENTION=4239524]swieder711[/MENTION]. I'm Lenovoed out for today :) so I'll check out your suggestions tomorrow and come back to you.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] swieder711:
I understand, as I was up until 1 am last night reviving my Tab 4 8 Plus back to a stable TWRP and Nougat installation. It seems good now. You should be able to get your tablet working. Forget QFil and use MiFlash!
[Thinkpad Tablet General] danih:
Got the OTA Oreo update to my device I got just a week ago - didn't do any root or whatsoever, factory settings. Now the tab doesn't boot but gets stuck on the orange lenovo logo right after turning it on. Fantastic. Anyone else got the same issue?
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
Thanks again for the advice...

1) I downloaded the July v24 from lenovo-forums.ru. It's unzipped to its own folder (TB-8704F_S000024_170706_ROW_QFIL) in a Lenovo folder. It contains 3 folders - Drivers, Images, Tools. Images has 157 items, but no flash_all.bat, which appears to be what MiFlash is looking for.

2) I'm in Bootloader mode - I believe that's synonymous with Download mode? MiFlash recognises the tablet serial, so I guess the connection is ok. I've installed Qualcomm & Lenovo drivers until they're coming out of my ears.

3) Yes, MiFlash 2016.08.30.0. I'm pointing it to the Images folder.

4) Yes, all cables are fine - including two brand-new Anker USB-C cables.

I'm still baffled by this missing flash_all file. If we have the same MiFlash and same source image file, how can yours work and mine not? Do you have a flash_all.bat file on your laptop?

Thanks yet again... :)
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Ja_som:
I don't understand, I did a factory reset yesterday and the notification LED still does not signalize, only charging states.

It was working fine on Nougat, but now it doesn't. I didn't found any other settings, only turn on/off for unread e-mails.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] G3nRik:
Just installed the Update after my 2nd qfi recovery, still Frozen at the Lenovo boot Screen. Seems Like some devices are not updateable...

Bootloader/Fastboot and edl(Download Mode) are not the Same. Google how to get to edl with Fastboot Commands, then it gonna work
[Thinkpad Tablet General] swieder711:
Emergency Download is not the same as bootloader.

To get into Emergency Download Mode, you type reboot edl from the terminal interface within TWRP. Once you do that then MiFlash will work.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] dahawthorne:
Thanks. I'll give that a go ASAP.

Edit 45 minutes later...

Yee-hah, boy, I say yee-hah...!

I booted temporarily into TWRP and followed your instruction. The screen went black, so I thought "Oh well. here we go again", but when I pressed the flash button it went off like a rabbit, and now I have a setup screen to walk through.

Thank you again big time. I was imagining that I'd have to use a hammer on it... :)

Edit 2: I received two OTAs, the first to September Nougat (800MB) and the second to Oreo 8.1 (1600MB), which was the reason that I started this saga in the first place... :)
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Ja_som:
OK, so, I still don't understand why Lenovo did that, but when app has its own LED notification settings, e.g. Sync (app for Reddit), then it works, but for any other app w/o its own setings (Gmail, YouTube, Twitter, ...) it does not work. My favourite app for managing notification light and sound LightFlow also does not work properly on this device, I had to move to Light manager, which is not so good, but atleast it works for LED.
[Thinkpad Tablet General] Bodegroes:
Hi, Please help me, I have this Tab 4 Plus 8 purchased as a x-mas gift. I have booted it up today and followed the updates offered and now it is a brick after the last update. MiFlash does not flash the old images that I have managed to find. It is asking for this flash_all.bat file that everyone is talking about. My device is recognised by MiFlash. I have followed guides. 6 hours worth of effort. I execute the "reboot-edl" from windows (after installing the adb thing system wide) whilst the tablet is in fastboot mode and it buzzes, a black screen appears for one second then the orange Lenovo logo forever. Miflash then no longer sees the tablet. The lenovo forums are full of ranting people about this update. I just want to reset to factory defaults but this option does not work in the recovery menu either!! I feel so close. How do I flash a stock image to this tablet which cost me a whopping £180 back in Oct? It's a brick! Anyone give me a step by step? Thanks