yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] CaffeinePizza:
In most places in the world, yes, they have to release source code at least for the kernel since it is published under the GNU Public License. In the West, the GPL is court enforceable and has a few examples of such. However, China isn't known for enforcing copyright laws... The tools I mentioned determine the partitions and their respective sizes for you.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
Onn is a private label sold in Walmarts, so you won't get anywhere asking Walmart for the source code. Do you mean AIDA64? Is that what it shows as the Manufacturer?.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] CaffeinePizza:
The manufacturer is Chunghsin Technology Group. So I very much doubt we'll get any source code.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
I've sent two emails and no response. That was just requesting firmware, so yeah, dout we will get anywhere asking for source. Their website has a spot for downloads but of course it's empty. If not mistaken Chunghsin is same that manufactures or at least did manufacture Amazon's Fire Tablets. Fire OS not open source but they did come off of firmware at least. Right now it would be nice, don't get me wrong but I'm have a blast with all the GSI's that are available. I'll post some notes on some that work, one to avoid and three that function flawlessly as far as I can tell. I'm on Bootleggers ROM now and can't decide between it and Liquid Remix. The amount and level of customization options is insane.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
I am somewhat confused, as one of you states that Joyar is the manufacturer and another states that the manufacturer is Chunghsin Technology Group. Can someone please clarify this? I guess it really doesn't matter at this point as I am about to buy the 8" one anyway. My hesitation is primarily concerns about a solid backup plan, since I want to root it, of course and not end up with a brick. It is definitely a want and certainly not a need since I have 4 Nextbook Ares 8A tablets. I want to try Android 9 and all of it's new features, needed or not.

Has anyone had any of these fail? I have already had 1 of my Nextbooks fail after a few years of use, unexpectedly and for no good reason. I guess this is what you can expect from cheap tablets?

Thanks
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
^how solid of a backup plan do you need? Image the entire thing. After you unlock and root it, use Titanium for regular app backups.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
Joyar group is a part of Chunghsin Technology Group. Chunghsin is the one that applied for FCC ID and ©™. I believe JOYAR.GROUP is more responsible for the manufacturing end of things from the way it looked researching what I could with a translator. As for device failures, you already know you get what you pay for. I had one with a dead spot on the screen so when hitting n key on keyboard you had a 1 in 26 chance of getting it right as it seemed to throw a random letter each time. Took 5 minutes to exchange with no problems. The other 4, I returned because I bricked them and didn't have a backup or preferred a clean slate after multiple bricks. Get a backup. Then you should get another with a different method if possible. That's just my way of looking at it because there are several places within the boot and recovery (vendor also if not mistaken) that call for invalidate on error. If one likes to experiment and wonder what if like I do they will soon find out how fast it will go dark and not be recognized by PC until they remove the back and disconnect then reconnect battery. As long as you have a backup and know to disconnect battery if not responding you will be fine with it. There is also a stock backup made with TFM Tool in google drive folder if anyone gets jammed up without one. For the money I think its fun to phuck around with and not worry about ruining my $400 Tab S2. GSI's are pretty cool too. I think I'm gonna buy a few more next month when the price goes down to almost nothing. I'm thinking probably around 20 bucks around thanksgiving, maybe not but I'm hoping.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] DB126:
I have three - including 2 refurbs purchased at $30 USD. None have failed but you can tell these aren't built for the long haul. That said, they are a good deal at retail and an absolute steal <$40 assuming mine are representative.

I have chosen to leave all unrooted using mtk-su as needed. Android 9 closes most of the capability gaps that would have driven permanent root in the past. Like you I have numerous other unlocked gizmos that were a blast to tinker with when the results were rewarding. Now reliability/stability reins supreme for daily use. I do miss TWRP but it's not really needed sans modding. I don't miss jumping through hoops to hide root, fix/workaround problems, apply the latest builds w/fingers crossed, etc, etc.

As an aside, I generally purchase devices that are easily unlockable and sport a clean stock ROM. The latter is essential as the custom ROM game grew old long ago as most "devs" (weekend warriors) don't have the skills or time fully support the underlying hw/kernel. Not judging - is what it is. I want full control but only when needed.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] TallTommy:
Since you have 3, can you hide the walmart button down by the home button? I wonder if it can be hidden with apps like "Navigation Bar" or "Home Button"?
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] DB126:
Some report it can (read through thread for guidance). I don't bother as the app launcher consumes minimal resources if accidentally tapped. Nor do I need the real estate on the nav bar. In general I do not make changes to my gizmos unless the anticipated benefit justifies the action.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
The Walmart button can be removed without root or an app. Just do it through adb. There's specific instructions earlier in this thread.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] CaffeinePizza:
I'm going to attempt to compile TWRP for the x003 model when I get a chance to sit down and learn how all of it works. Will be incredibly useful for those concerned about backups.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
Has anyone updated this device to Magisk v20? I may buy one tonight.

Thanks
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
I just bought this device tonight. I unlocked the bootloader in fastboot, enabled usb debugging and then flashed the available Magisk patched boot.img in fastboot.

This is where my problems started. I can't turn on wifi and the screen stays in portrait orientation, no matter what I change in settings. I have the latest stable and latest Canary Magisk Managers. I have installed both and when I initially launched them, they say they require additional setup, but I am guessing that it fails without internet access.

Which version of Magisk was used to patch that boot.img? Also, I do have root access, apparently, because I copied Simple reboot through mtp and it works correctly and gave a root prompt, when initially launched.

When I boot the tablet I get a message that about the orange state, The device has been unlocked and can't be trusted, device will boot in 5 sec, which appears to mean that dm_verity has not been disabled. When Magisk Manager is launched I do not see the options to check for encryption and dm_verity, as normal, or the the Safety Net check option, also.

With the patched Magisk boot.img installed, I think the first thing I will try is to factory reset to see if that will fix the issues.

Any thoughts will be appreciated. Everything seemed to be going well, as I had experienced on my Nextbook Ares 8A tablets, until all of this happened.

I just factory reset and it can't find any wifi networks. I guess I will now flash your stock boot.img. This make me wonder if this is a newer revision of the tablet, because I have several Nextbook devices and if I flash a boot.img from a different revision of the tablet, I will also loose Wifi.

I can easily return it as I now work in the Walmart Photo and electronics center of my store.

I guess this is a lession. I should have used your mtk root solution to back up the stock boot, assuming it is a newer revision of the tablet.

UPDATE: what do I have to loose? I am now also flashing your system.img to he if this will help.

On my 5 Nextbook tablets, maching system version with the same version of the boot.img works in all cases. If it fails, I will return the tablet and get a new one.

Thanks
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] DB126:
Well, those would not have been my first actions. Penning this on a locked Onn 8"; can't justify to rooting this pup given shaky stability and clean stock ROM. Sure, I miss being the absolute master but it's mostly a want vs need. Hope things works out for you.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
[MENTION=8126387]martyfender[/MENTION], I have the 10" version without keyboard. Unlocked and magisk, not a single issue.

There is the "orange state" warning at boot, that started as soon as it was unlocked, even before patching the boot img.

But other than that, auto rotate and wifi are both completely fine.

It's currently Magisk 19.3, but I'm about to update to 20

---------- Post added at 11:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:27 PM ----------

Update: upgrade to Magisk 20.0 through MM using direct install went off without a hitch
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
I flashed his backup system.img and just boot to a grey screen. I can boot to booloader mode and recovery.

Maybe I should be using spflash tool to flash the system.img, I used fastboot. I haven't used spflash since the days of my first Android device.

I am only doing this for fun. I really love my Nextbook Ares 8A 6.0.1 devices, with twrp, but they are no longer made. One of them has already died. These cheap devices don't last but a few years, in my experiences. Yes, you get what you pay for, but it is hard to find a 8" tablet that can be rooted. I do see many annoying features I do not like in Android 9, but, Google is all about protecting us and not letting us mess up our devices just like I just did with this device.

Thanks for your input Davey, I have alway respected what you have said on the lspeed thread. You have great knowledge and wisdom.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
When flashing the posted system.img in fastboot, I get:

then it continues to flash the image but device then boots to a grey screen.

Recovery and bootloader mode are still accessible. If I try to boot from recovery mode it is frozen on the boot logo.

I guess it is time to return and forget about this, I don't even need it , I just wanted a new challenge.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] DB126:
Yeah, return window on some Walmart electronics is a short 14 days which they like to strictly enforce. Had to dance with the store manager on phone return that was clearly a mfg defect (no dispute there). They found a way to get it done but had to navigate through a walk of 'no' which had no rational base. Such arguments are easy to methodically disassemble one you get to the right person.

Side note: 2 of my 3 8" Onns are refurbs which arrived in perfect condition. They sit on the shelf in case something exciting happens with this device. Might be an option for you; have to order off Wally's site. $30 USD.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
Yes, refurbs are now $37 and they are out of those. And in my experience with Nextbooks, the option to get an alert when they are available does not work, as I never got any alerts when they were available.

I knew in my heart the route you took with only the mtk su was the correct one. I didn't realize that the rom probably had a revision at some point so the posted backups didn't work. I also tried mtk flash tools, but couldn't figure out how to flash those saved partitions in the backup to the device. The recovery does show the build of onn/ONA19Tb002/ONA19TB002

9/PPR1.180610.011/1551232410 ,If anyone can compare.

The mt8163_backup_tfm-20191012T014811Z-001.zip apparently has everything in it but system, not sure why. When one downloads it one has to wait for gdrive to zip it.

I am trying again and it is also downloading system_002.img.

Maybe I did something wrong, more than likely.

Thanks
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] CaffeinePizza:
If anyone with the 10" x003 model wants to take the jump and test my dump, go ahead. I'd recommend not flashing the nvram.bin and use SPTool, though.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
I have the 003, but what is it you're trying to test?
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] CaffeinePizza:
I posted a link to the dump of my stock rom for SPTool a few pages back. Have no idea if it'll work on other 003 tablets. I would avoid flashing nvram.bin though.

Though I claim no responsibility for bricked tablets, missing limbs, deaths, explosions, etc.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
Oh, I see
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
[MENTION=8126387]martyfender[/MENTION] I can't remember what version of Magisk was used to patch that boot.img but they have updated tablets since then so that may be why. I can't really test it right now as I am using Beast ROM and don't have the Onn firmware installed. System img that gives the invalid sparse image format warning does so because it was copied from tablet using dd command. I don't know why but some images obtained that way are not considered fastboot flashable (although that one still works). I have used it several times myself and haven't had any issues other than the 10 - 15 second hang till it starts sending it. You won't see any options in Magisk till you let it finish setup. If having problems install manager and set it up before flashing magisk_patched.img as in OP. Rotation settings are under display > advanced_something I'm not sure exactly what it says can't look right now. The unlocked bootloader warning splash has been on all androids that have fastboot unlockable bootloaders that I have owned. It can be removed on some but not the majority of them. There is also a yellow and a red state that you hope to not encounter and of course green is all good but we don't see that one. I don't know but seems to me you should leave the canary builds alone as bleeding edge stuff will not always work correctly. You can re-flash everything and start over from beginning following the example in OP or take it back. Remember it is not a guide, rather just a few notes telling how I done it. Just because something can be rooted doesn't necessarily mean that everyone should root it.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
Just out of curiosity, what would something exciting be ? I mean, I have installed numerous custom roms with the available GSI's and there are 6 or 7 of them that perform great without lag and twitchiness of stock plus all the customization one could want. It makes a real improvement IMHO. Again, just curious.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
I just got a replacement tablet but have not attempted the mtk su root yet.

one question, is this the exact command to enter to backup the boot.img:

Quote:

dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot of=/sdcard/boot.img

or do I need to substitute values in there? Also I assume I need to first have the mtk su pushed to the device first to do this? Also do I need to unlock the bootloader again first to do this backup?

In addition, can I push mtk su to the device from my Linux Mint desktop? I have Windows 7 but rarely ever boot to it now, as I like Linux Mint Mate much better on my old, 2009 Dell desktop.

I believe that if I backup the boot.img and patch it with the latest stable version it should work, assuming there was a revision of the rom on the previous failed tablet.

Concerning a previous post about Titaeum Backup, I had pushed it to the back of my mind, as I had unsuccessfully tried it on a much older, Android 5.0 device and never attempted to use it again. However, I believe it was that device and buggy Lollipop that could have caused the issues in the past.

Also, for the life of me, I can't figure out how to remove the time from the home screen, as it was easy in Android 6? I've tried in the clock settings, the display settings, date and time. In addition, this is the first tablet I have bought that didn't have additional wallpapers included, WTF, I can easily fix that though.

Thanks

---------- Post added at 10:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:12 PM ----------

I am having trouble pushing the mtk-su to my device from Linux Mint. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?

marty@marty-Inspiron-570 ~ $ adb push /home/marty/Downloads/mtk-su_r18/arm64 /data/local/tmp/
/home/marty/Downloads/mtk-su_r18/arm64...shed. 3.7 MB/s (38736 bytes in 0.010s)
marty@marty-Inspiron-570 ~ $ adb shell
ONA19TB002:/ $ cd /data/local/tmp
ONA19TB002:/data/local/tmp $ chmod 755 mtk-su
chmod: mtk-su: No such file or directory
1|ONA19TB002:/data/local/tmp $

When I look in Mixplorer without root, of course, I do not have: /data/local/tmp .

UPDATE: I think I got it now with this:

marty@marty-Inspiron-570 ~/Downloads/mtk-su_r18/arm64 $ adb push mtk-su /data/local/tmp/
mtk-su: 1 file pushed. 1.1 MB/s (38736 bytes in 0.034s)
marty@marty-Inspiron-570 ~/Downloads/mtk-su_r18/arm64 $ adb shell
ONA19TB002:/ $ cd /data/local/tmp
ONA19TB002:/data/local/tmp $ chmod 755 mtk-su
ONA19TB002:/data/local/tmp $ ./mtk-su
UID: 0 cap: 3fffffffff selinux: permissive
ONA19TB002:/data/local/tmp #

Thanks
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
You got it on the second try. And yes, the dd command you posted is exactly what I used (from the mtk root shell obviously)

After that, I also did a adb pull of the boot.img to keep on my laptop for safe-keeping.

Once the boot image is patched with Magisk Manager, I've had success with fastboot flashing it, or just dd'ing it back... Just be very careful with the dd route that you get the if/of parameters exactly right

---------- Post added at 11:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 PM ----------

And most importantly, unlock the bootloader before you do anything!
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
Sorry for the newb questions, but this is all new to me. I successfully backed up the boot.img to internal storage with the posted command, then copied it to my external micro SD card. Can I use this mtk-su to gain temp root for apps such as Titanium Backup to backup the rom and other apps, such as Mixplorer, etc?

Also, I just patched my backed up boot.img with Magisk Manager 7.3.5, but am very hesitant about unlocking the bootloader, and flashing it in fastboot, considering what happened to me before.

Thanks
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
Well, if you try to use that patched image without unlocking the bootloader, you got a quick ticket to brick town
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
I will just copy the stock boot to my Linux Mint PC through MTP, seems much simpler, am I wrong? This is the first time with adb push, let alone, adb pull.

And thanks, your feedback is much appreciated. I have a thread for rooting the Nextbook Ares 8A which I have helped many. Sometimes it can be somewhat frustrating when I spend time helping someone and they don't even give me any feedback as to if it helped, or not.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
If you're worried, just take one step at a time. unlocking the bootloader stock, will reset the tablet. But it should work perfectly normal. You could even relock it (provided you don't modify the boot or recovery partitions)

As long as it boots normally unlocked, then you can make sure mtk-su works (this part you've already done, so that's good)

Using mtk-su, make backups of boot, recovery... Or for that matter, every partition if you want.

I see an unlocked bootloader as easier to recover from, because there's far fewer chances for a brick or a situation that's impossible to recover from.

Anyway, once you have full images, you are in a pretty good place to recover even if something goes wrong.

Basically, you have two options... The most straightforward is patching the boot.img with Magisk, and flashing it via fastboot, or even dd. When that's done, you're rooted yay!

The other option is a sort of temp root workaround thing that will allow magisk to use mtk-su for root access instead of the patched boot image. This is more complex to setup, but can allow normal root access that other apps can use (like Titanium, etc...) even on devices where you can't unlock the bootloader.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] martyfender:
Thanks, I realize that, but I just want to be clear on how to backup the rom first, before I unlock it, if possible. I effectively bricked the first device, everyone sooner or later, has their first brick if they try things like this. I am anxious to patch Magisk, but I should wait for a backup.

Since this is a tablet, I alway use it in landscape mode. On previous tablets, when I turned of auto rotate, it stayed in landscape mode. I just booted the device from recovery and it ended up in portrait mode again. That is quite annoying. I just rebooted in Android and still the same. it looks like the only solution is to keep auto rotate on, I hate it because the screen will rotate when I am not expecting it.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
MTP is fine. I'm just used to doing everything from the command line, so I find it faster to just adb pull
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
Yes that is the command, you can also check it by "cd /dev/block/by-name" then "ls -all" or ls -all /dev/block/by-name. Or you can use /dev/block/mmcblk0p10, finding it the same way. The reason I put it the first way using cd is that you can cd one at a time ie. cd dev then ls and get your next option of which one of them would be block, cd block then ls and so on and so forth and you find what you're looking for while gaining a better understanding of partition layout. It's a slow way of getting things done but good way to pick some stuff up. Like there is a big difference in 'ls' 'ls -a' and 'ls -all'. Try them and see what I mean. And yes those work in Linux, whether in a shell or console, adb is going through the shell and commands are the same because you aren't really using windows or Linux it's more unix from my way of understanding the connection. That is not a tech correct definition or description, just the way I view it so I can understand it. So just follow guide for mtk-su by [MENTION=8132642]diplomatic[/MENTION] for the root shell and then my notes in OP and you should be fine. If you get hung up just say something.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
If you're nervous and have room to spare on your laptop, just image every partition on the tablet.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
Those adb commands once learned will be one of the best things in your toolbox. You will wonder how you got by without them. They not as hard as they seem in the beginning you just have to pay attn to the directory your pulling from so you know it's going sometimes. In Linux adb being system-wide you can run them from any terminal so adb pull will go to wherever that terminal is opened at.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] NFSP G35:
^very true. Also, the tab key will soon become your best friend for completing the file paths
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
Has anyone seen the release notes on Magisk about patching recovery for non-AB devices that use system_as_root? It works with boot.img on these obviously but I guess I'm getting confused on what we actually have. I thought this was a-only but uses system_as_root therefore have to use ab GSI's which is what I've been doing. At this point I don't guess it matters but confusing none the less.
[Walmart Onn Tablets General] tek3195:
The images on the link I put up were done with dd to the external sd card on the tablet with terminal emulator. He could do that with mtk-su also before doing anything permanent.