yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Device Reviews and Information] UnpredictableN:
I am currently using android 9 gsi v123 phh treble vanilla

Tried it because I thought it would fix the oversaturated and oversharpened screen but it didn't. Also tried flashing v300l vanila but got stuck on android screen for very long....still didn't boot.....I tried the overlay @santosst gave in 9.0 gsi but the navigation bar disappeared so removed that......and flashed gapps pico but some apps with security concerns don't work....what should I do ? I have twrp installed and want to fix the screen and other app issues. Is there anything like we get in pixel experience plus rom to adjust screen saturation and any fix for the overlay issue?
[Device Reviews and Information] UnpredictableN:
Also if the screen issue remains....what should I prefer on this device for now? To get everything working like the apps with security concerns?
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
I'd recommend you to test the newer Android 11 GSIs, especially the eternityson's ones, since they have an inbuilt option to pass SafetyNet, checking "SafetyNet" and "Spoof Pixel 5" in Phh Treble Settings -> Misc Features. With this feature, you should be able to use all apps in Play Store (I'm used to use NikGapps).

Only be sure you've flashed dm-verity and force encrypt disabler before booting to the GSI for the first time. Probably the issue you faced in v300l is related to the encryption (which is partially broken in A11 for some MTK devices including ours).

For me, the best GSI at this moment is Bless, the battery life is stunning and the only bug I've found is the upside-down front camera (what's a common issue since the latest A10 GSIs). I didn't notice any screen issue, however, I always use low brightness. Btw can you explain this screen issue, please?
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Hey guys, I updated the overlay since I noticed that there were problems with the audio (sound also comes out through the speaker as well as through the headphone when connected in 3.5mm jack input). The new overlay should not have the navigation bar issue. However, the battery usage data isn't working yet.

Link to overlay sources: https://github.com/santosst3/vendor_hardware_overlay/tree/master
[Device Reviews and Information] amg314:
Please let know URL for download in your posts.

I find out Bless TrebleGSI for a/b architrcture only

TrebleGSI

Download TrebleGSI for free. None

sourceforge.net
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Oh, of course! We can use any of the arm64_a*Z builds here.

For example, this one (avZ) is vanilla, so we can install any gapps we want (or don't use them lol).

By the way, for some reason, when I did a factory reset, I'm not able to pass SafetyNet anymore using "SafetyNet"+"Spoof Pixel 5" options, and I really don't know why. If anyone can test, I'd appreciate it.

EDIT: Several custom ROM development teams have commented on the issue of SafetyNet failing with Pixel 5 spoofing due to a new Google certification algorithm strategy. In fact, several ROMs have already fixed it, such as PE, Descendant, and CAOS. Unfortunately Bless hasn't been updated for a while, but maybe we can be able to use some updated version of Gapps with Spoofing (I know NikGapps does that, but there's no updated stable version since mid-August, maybe a Canary Release can help us).
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Hey guys, some awesome news!

I was able to repartition my Hi9 Air, increasing the system partition to about 3.9 GB (4000 MB). The process was a bit tricky but I succeeded on my first try. Then I installed Pixel Experience 11 Unofficial by ponces (about 3.1 GB), and it's running almost perfectly (only flashlight and front camera aren't working, like the LOS-based ROMs* - Check EDIT). By the way, here are some screenshots:

I'll probably make a tutorial soon, but my reference was this site: https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-32750.html

The only con is that the SP Flash tool doesn't work anymore if you repartition the device, only if you use "format all", but I fear that IMEI can be lost if using this option. For me, it's not a problem, but I should warn you.

EDIT: I rebooted the tablet and now flashlight and front camera works well (front camera is upside down, but it's a known bug related to cam2api).
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Wow, great, thank you very much! Everything I'd like to tell are in your tips (including Modern Boots 😁 )

Furthermore, thanks for sharing your tools, I'll probably take a backup of all partitions right now lol, and if you manage to write the re-partitioning tool, it'd be amazing :D
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
Haha Thx! :P I guess I needed a gentle nudge to write this guide :P
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
For anyone else getting:

parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
/sbin/sh: parted: Permission denied

I solved it by doing another factory reset in TWRP, un-checking all mounts (since it has rebooted), and "Disable MTP" (apparently not needed).

@thecoolkid your .bat tool appears to only delete the partitions 28-31, but does not re-create the system partition? Am i reading it wrongly? Or does the system partition not have to be manually re-created?

Also, which PixelExperience did you flash? I tried "PixelExperience_arm64-aonly-11.0-20211009-UNOFFICIAL.img.xz" but it does not work for me. Still boots back into TWRP.

I had a lot of trouble understanding the instructions, but finally got it to work. For anyone else confused, this is the set of commands I used after entering parted.

Your exact locations may differ from mine, please double check your factory settings and re-align. Best to print after every mkpart x... to check.

rm 28
rm 29
rm 30
rm 31

mkpart vendor ext4 241 741
name 28 vendor
set 28 msftdata on

mkpart system ext4 741 4837
name 29 system
set 29 msftdata on

mkpart cache ext4 4837 4937
name 30 cache
set 30 msftdata on

mkpart userdata ext4 4937 100%
name 31 userdata
set 30 msftdata on

quit

mkfs.ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p31
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
My tool does not create or delete any partitions on it's own. It boots parted and when parted exits it asks if you want to format partitions 28-31 as EXT4, because they need to be formatted before they can be used and parted doesn't do that even if you flag newly created partitions as EXT4. You can skip that process and format manually in TWRP, my tool just makes it easier and faster, but it assumes all necessary partitions are already created.

From you instructions I noticed you're leaving unallocated space between partitions, you don't have to do that. Read through my tips and change unit to MiB and use the same number as end of one partition and a start of the next one, parted will fit them nicely and then again change unit for userdata to B and then fit it exactly in the leftover space.
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
You don't need to factory reset or disable MTP, just unmount all partitions that you plan to work on, it's part of the guide, you only need to read ;)
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
Thanks, I've edited my post above to fit.

Do mind sharing instructions and which specific files needed to flash PixelExperience? When I tried it it only boots me to TWRP. Should I flash back to OEM with SPFT?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
If you read my tips you'll know that you can't use SPFT after repartitioning, it'll format whole memory block. By now, you should've made a backup using my tool and a twrp backup of system, vendor, boot and para partitions. After repartitioning you have to restore vendor and para in twrp. Then PE should work.
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
Sorry some of your tips are not very clear... especially with the Hovatek guide, steps are all over the place.

So for someone coming in fresh (or with a semi-bricked device):

1. SPFT back to OEM, boot in to enable OEM unlock... USB Debugging... fastboot unlock oem... flash twrp

2. Do the repartioning stuff above

3. "restore vendor and para in twrp", is this just steps 21-22 in the Hovatek guide? Also, what is "para"? I've never seen this partition before.

4. Flash Pixel Arm64 AONLY? Any need for other stuff like "no-verity-opt-encrypt" or "permissiver" or anything like that?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
1. If you format with SPFT and don't have IMEI backup you'll lose all the keys of your device. Make a backup first. After flashing stock, unlock bootloader, flash twrp.

3. No. You need to restore data to vendor partition after you deleted it's data, this is where all the drivers are. Para is a partition that holds a flag that will prevent booting even on a working system after a bootloop. You need to restore it to be able to boot.

4. You don't need permissiver, but of course you need to flash disable verity and optional encrypt, encryption is not supported in TWRP and GSI's and verity needs to be disabled to be able to boot any custom ROM.
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
Thanks! Feels like it's all coming together.

Two last questions: "If you format with SPFT and don't have IMEI backup you'll lose all the keys of your device."

1. is this a different back up than the vendor/para back up to be done in twrp?

2. what "keys" are you referring to?

Because I've already semi-bricked my device many times, each time I just flash back to OEM with SPFT and it works. Should I be worried about this?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
I'm taking about all partitions that aren't flashed in SPFT because they are device specific like IMEI and DRM keys. It's a different backup, use my tool for that.
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
I still need help mate, it refuses to boot to anywhere but TWRP.

The detailed steps I've done:

What am I doing wrong?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
set 31 msftdata on

Remember to format partitions after you create them (use the prompt after you quit parted and select yes)

8. You don't have to restore now. It's for when you wipe whole memory block in SPFT only.

Also flash disable verity, force encrypt.

Also mount system in twrp and make sure there are files in /system. And make also sure there isn't a "system" folder inside /system. Otherwise the image is broken or system-as-root...

PS: my repartitioning tool should be ready in about two weeks ;) I'm out of town now, but it's almost ready. Stay tuned for more info ;)
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
OMG thank you! Can't believe I missed that....

Do you mind sharing where to get this? The ones I can find are all "no-verity-opt-encrypt", which give the error quoted above.
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
Zackptg5 - Android

zackptg5.com

Edit: I almost forgot. My backup tool backs up boot, so if your IMEI and the rest are ok, make a backup after you flash dm verity force encrypt disabler, bc when you restore stock boot you will have to flash it again. Or just comment out boot partition from restore.bat
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
I found that too, it flashes but at the end gives an error about not being able to find/mount /nvdata, which is probably for other devices since it's /NvData on the Chuwi Hi9Air. After the flash, I can't even manually mount /NvData anymore, which is possible before the flash or after a reboot.
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
It's not important, works for me with that error. If you like you can restore nvdata from your backup manually
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
So it boots for you despite that error? That means my mistake lies elsewhere?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
Most probably. Yes, I have no problems.

Try to boot phh aosp first to troubleshoot.
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
is "phh aosp" a different ROM?

Will I need to restore to OEM with SPFT and re-do all the partitioning stuff?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
Yes. It's the base that all other phh gsi's are based on:

Release AOSP 11.0 v313 · phhusson/treble_experimentations

October security patch 313 bootanimation! Probably latest AOSP 11 build, unless I get super motivated

github.com

No. Just flash to system and boot.
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
I tried it as well, same. Either with or without disable verity, it always boots back to TWRP.

Also, for what it's worth, I did a naive patch of that disable verity, simply replaced all "nvdata" with "NvData", and the error I was getting no longer appears.

Still, doesn't help me boot to system though (with either phh or PE ROMs) :(
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
As a last resort try restoring "para" partition, it holds a flag for unsuccessful boot. You should have a backup of it from the time your system was booting (either gsi or stock).
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
One more thing... You did remember to restore vendor partition after you formatted it? Kek 😆 it'd be funny if you didn't 😂
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
Simply running your "restore.bat" tool should cover both "para" and "vendor", right? I tried that, and without flashing anything else, attempted a reboot to system, which fails. Only boots to TWRP even with a full restore.

From this point, neither phh nor PE (+ disable verity) boots to system, either.
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
No? If you read my tips I said to make a TWRP backup of Vendor, Para, System and Boot. My tool only makes a backup of partitions that can't be backed up in TWRP and can't be flashed in SPFT aka. device specific partitions (+BOOT bc it's small). You need to manually backup and restore vendor. If you're resizing vendor partition to smaller size, you need to make a compressed file backup of Vendor, bc original image might not fit. Try to flash stock vendor.img and boot.img in TWRP. Then again verity disabler.

YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO BOOT ANY ROM WITHOUT VENDOR, NOT EVEN STOCK
[Device Reviews and Information] GreZord:
Thank you for your activity! So, in terms of battery consumption, is Bless better or at least the same as stock? Or should I try to repartition device for PixelExperience to achieve even better performance/battery ratio? I've got a special 128 Gb model of Chuwi Hi9 Air and certain earlier experiments with Android 9 based GSI firmwares were quite troublesome. Even my older Sony Xperia and newer Xiaomi Redmi Note phones were easier to restore after boot loop.
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Wow, 128 GB is nice! 😮

Well, in my opinion, Bless + NikGapps had better battery consumption than stock, but it may vary according to your use. However, Bless A11 didn't receive updates since May, so I migrated to OctaviOS + BitGapps (with their SafetyNet fix). The battery life isn't as good as with Bless but it's ok for me.

About boot loops, in theory, flashing stock with SP Flash Tool is the best way to recover the device, but other ways are also good. For example, formatting data plus flashing stock system.img should be enough if you didn't modify the boot partition (like using Magisk). If the device is rebooting to recovery, you can use thecoolkid's tool to restore the para partition.
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
Vendor, Para, System and Boot

Thanks for your help, but this still does not work. Still only boots to TWRP.

I also realized that once I flash TWRP, and nothing else, it's already not possible to book back to system, even if the system is the stock ROM from SPFT. Is there something wrong with this TWRP?
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Is your bootloader unlocked? If yes, try to reflash the stock recovery or para partition, because there may be a flag to do a factory reset (and this TWRP is not able to remove this flag)
[Device Reviews and Information] ULAMSS5:
Yes, I thought it was necessary to unlock the bootloader to flash TWRP? Is this not the case for this device?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
You can also flash it with SPFT ;)

Sounds like you're doing something wrong ;) can you explain step by step, in as much detail as possible, what you're doing?
[Device Reviews and Information] N3aroo:
hello.

i have problem, i tryed installed AOSP 11, LinageOS17 and always have this sam problem. After instalation i reboot device ( metod install fastboot from cmd) and always i have black screen with "Fastboot mode....". I tryed a few method :/
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
Hello!

Double-check if you're installing the A-only version instead of AB. Furthermore, you can try to format data, sometimes the old data can interfere in the boot process.
[Device Reviews and Information] bjo12:
Hello

I installed lineage os 15 and blissrom

Was able to boot both but my orientation is off for the both of them

My screen is in landscape but the touch function seems to be in portrait

I can't use it properly

Any advise?

Thanks
[Device Reviews and Information] Imperial.mack:
Anyone have luck with any pen or stylus to draw on pdf files?
[Device Reviews and Information] amg314:
The 3C Toolbox app allows you to set any orientation (including built in tablet sensor orientation) for any application.

https://xdaforums.com/t/app-4-0-3c-all-in-one-toolbox.2942186/post-56796227
[Device Reviews and Information] techdimi:
So what is the best rom to use ? Stock rom is outdated, security patches are old. Are there any good compatible roms with more features, better performance, updated security patches etc to replace the stock ?
[Device Reviews and Information] daitalos:
Search for GSI / treble 10 or 11 (for example "Phh-Treble AOSP")

https://www.xda-developers.com/flash-generic-system-image-project-treble-device/

https://github.com/phhusson/treble_experimentations/wiki/Generic-System-Image-(GSI)-list
[Device Reviews and Information] techdimi:
I know that it is GSI / treble 10 or 11 compatible, the problem is if it worth all the trouble to install such an image and how good it is going to be a generic image comparing to stock without common issues eg. Bluetooth not working, wifi poor performance, battery drain issues etc.

I mean I need to do a lot of reading but does it worth ? Is there an already tested image that works well and it is up to date with security updates this tablet or am I asking too much ?
[Device Reviews and Information] gumka77:
Any news, any ROMs? :)
[Device Reviews and Information] santosst:
- Bluetooth issue is solved through phh Treble settings -> Bluetooth workarounds -> Mediatek

- I didn't face wifi poor performance in any GSI, in fact wifi signal seems weak for me in stock (and I'm in stock rn lol)

- Battery drain is common in A9 and in phh's AOSP. LOS 18 and A11 GSIs based on Lineage OS have a poor battery performance, but is ok in some cases.

From that, I'd reccomend any AOSP-based A11 GSI, like bless, octaviOS or PE (this last one requires repartitioning because the image is really big). A10 GSIs based on LOS are also good, but they are a bit old.
[Device Reviews and Information] rolfn:
Again: Resizing system partition

My intention was to only enlarge the system partition of my "Hi9 Air" so that relatively large custom ROMs fit in. @santosst and @thecoolkid's posts inspired me to write two Linux shell scripts that do this.

The first script "resize_setup" installs the two binaries "parted" and "mkfs.ext4" on the device and writes two partition lists with MiB and bytes as units ("Hi9Air_partitions_before_MiB.txt" and "Hi9Air_partitions_before_B.txt"). Prerequisite for the next steps are the following entries in "Hi9Air_partitions_before_MiB.txt":

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
...
29 896MiB 3456MiB 2560MiB ext2 system msftdata
30 3456MiB 3888MiB 432MiB ext4 cache msftdata
31 3888MiB 59600MiB 55712MiB ext4 userdata msftdata
...

If the partitions have different start and end values, "resize_partitions" must be adjusted. A backup of the affected partitions seems unnecessary to me because they will be reassigned by the custom ROM to be installed anyway.

The second script "resize_partitions" deletes the partitions "system", "cache" and "userdata", then creates them again, increasing "system" to 3600MiB. Finally, the partitions are formatted and two new partition lists are written for comparison ("Hi9Air_partitions_after_MiB.txt" and "Hi9Air_partitions_after_B.txt"). See also the comments in the script.

I have successfully tested each of the steps individually and as a whole. Rewriting the Linux shell scripts to Windows batch files seems easy to do.

In the following I was able to successfully install e.g. BLESS and PE. I don't know yet which custom ROM I'll finally install.
[Device Reviews and Information] rolfn:
After successfully extending the system partition, now I have a serious problem. Apparently PE drains the battery quickly and towards the end my tablet turned itself off. I immediately started charging it. Unfortunately it does not work. After inserting the micro USB plug, a current of about 300mA will flow for a while. Then it rises to approx. 1A and after a while only the few 300mA flow. If I wait longer, the current drops to almost zero. Charging is no longer possible. No type of booting works anymore. I'm desperate! What can I do?
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
Offline charging doesn't work with GSI's. Boot to system while connected to a charger and charge there and if not possible boot to TWRP and charge there for a while. If the battery drained so that you can no longer boot twrp leave it connected to charger for a few hours, it might recover enough to boot twrp, but never drain your battery completely when using GSI's because you might brick your tablet.
[Device Reviews and Information] rolfn:
Thank you for your hints. The problem of "offline charging" was previously unknown to me. I kept trying to boot without success. I only succeeded with a trick. I put my tablet in the fridge (about 5 degrees Celsius) for about 2 hours. After several more attempts, I was finally able to boot to TWRP and charging went back to normal.

If I hadn't had any luck, I would have tried the following:

Opening the tablet and removing the battery.

Charging the battery outside the tablet with an external charger. This "MEGA-IDEA ICHARGER 3.0" is probably a good fit (also available from other retailers).

Reinstalling the charged battery into the tablet.

I wonder if there is a chance in the future that the "offline charging" problem for the GSI's can be solved.

Otherwise, thank you again for your tips, which did not let me give up.
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
For me when the tablet turns itself off it usually still has enough battery juice for me to be able to connect the power cable and boot into system, but system boot process takes longer in which time the battery still drains so it's risky. Booting into TWRP is faster so good to know. I would advise against putting a tablet into fridge because there might be a build up of condensation on the mainboard and camera lenses.

If the tablet doesn't turn on at all just leave it connected to power for a couple of hours and when the screen turns on and hangs on offline charging screen quickly boot it into twrp and charge a bit before booting the system.

Offline charging issue is just mediatek's and chuwi's fault. It shouldn't rely on system partition at all. There were some attempts for other devices to fix it, but to this day nobody was able to find a fix.
[Device Reviews and Information] thecoolkid:
Anyone managed to flash and boot latest Magisk 25.2 on a GSI?

Edit:

Nevermind, I had leftover modules making boot imposible xD