yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] IkeGolden:
Hello, I have a problem/doubt. I have the files AP, BP... etc I use 7zip to extract the boot.img ..... if I unzip all the AP XXX.tar.md5 the 7zip warns me that there is data after the file, it warns me of an error and at the end it stops in the fota . ...when I replace the boot.img in the AP folder by the one corresponding to the patched with Magisk and use the 7zip again to create the .tar the file does not work with ODIN...I do not know what step or mistake I make. Regards

PS: I'm extracting the files instead of unzipping the .tar.md5 to see if that's the problem ....

PS: Root! Thanks Jameswalker457 Cheers! ....

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
> if I unzip all the AP XXX.tar.md5

That is because a .tar.md5 is a tar file with an md5 concatenated to it.

> use the 7zip again to create the .tar the file does not

The proper tool to create .tar files is "tar".

>PS: I'm extracting the files instead of unzipping the .tar.md5 to see if that's the problem ....

Care to be more specific on how you did that?

>PS: Root! Thanks Jameswalker457 Cheers! ....

Good news.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] lufee84:
Have root my SM-X205 (LTE) for 1 Feb Patch level but no go with latest May update.

Getting constant boot loop (exactly same process, magisk boot.bin etc) so rolled back to Feb for now.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
What firmware version worked, and which failed?

X200XXU1AVC1 worked for me.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] lufee84:
Yes, X205XXU1AVC1 works.

No luck with latest X205XXS1AVE1 (May Patch).
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] dan.langridge88:
Not sure if this helps but i read an article that says you should patch the whole AP tar file rather than extract just the boot.img. Maybe because it patches the recovery and super etc img files too? I havet tried this yet as I cant even get my bootloader unlocked
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
Dunno where you read that, don't care. This works (as above):

1. unlocked bootloader

2. install magisk manager 24.3

3. Download X200XXU1AVC1 from Samfw

4. unzip the firmware

5. Untar the AP tar file

6. Extract boot.img, send to device, and patch with magisk 24.3. Patched boot is magisk_patched-24300-9Iez2.img

7. Replace boot.img with the newly patched one (renamed to boot.img)

8. Create a tar file from the AP folder using

" cd AP_folder"

" tar -cvf AP_patched.tar ."

9. "adb reboot bootloader" to download mode

10. open Odin v3.14.1 and add BL, HOME_CSC, and the AP_patched.tar

9. Flash via Odin, exit download mode, enter stock recovery, factory reset

Note the fixed "tar" command. Do not use "tar -C".
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Ar-Pharazon:
OK, I've un-tarred the AP tar.md5 and patched the old boot-img file on the device, renamed it and replaced the original boot.img in the AP "folder".

Steps 8 & 9 are a little confusing for me, if you could expand on those. Can I use 7zip to re-tar? Those look like DOS commands in step 8.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
Slightly expanded:

1. unlocked bootloader

2. install magisk manager 24.3 on the tablet

3. Download X200XXU1AVC1 firmware from Samfw onto PC

4. unzip the X200XXU1AVC1 firmware zip file

5. Make a directory for the AP tar contents

"mkdir AP"

6. Untar the AP tar file into directory AP, all on one line:

"tar -xvf AP_X200XXU1AVC1_CL23784803_QB49828201_REV00_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT_meta_OS11.tar.md5 -C AP"

7. Change the current directoy to the AP directory:

"cd AP"

8. Using adb send boot.img, to the tablet,.

9. Patch boot.img with magisk 24.3. Patched boot is magisk_patched-24300-9Iez2.img

10. Using adb copy magisk_patched-24300-9Iez2.img from the tablet and into the AP directory.

11. Rename magisk_patched-24300-9Iez2.img to boot.img:

"mv magisk_patched-24300-9Iez2.img boot.img"

12 Create a tar file from the AP directory Note the space and period(".") after ".tar":

" tar -cvf AP_patched.tar ."

13. Use adb on PC to enter download mode on tablet:

"adb reboot bootloader"

14. open Odin v3.14.1 and add BL, HOME_CSC, and the AP_patched.tar as files to be flashed.

15. Flash via Odin, exit download mode, enter stock recovery, factory reset

How about that?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Ar-Pharazon:
I'm guessing those are Linux commands?

In any event, I made 7zip re-tar the AP folder with the patched boot.img, but it ends in .tar.tar

Is this an issue, or should/can it be renamed .tar.md5 like the original?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
I do them on Linux, but they can also work on WinBlows. Since I do not use M$ products, I can only say I've seen those commands work on WinBlows, but can't say how to set that up.

I also can't help you with 7zip, it can run on Linux, but never use it myself.

People have problems when they don't use "real" tar, so don't. Save yourself the pain.

You do not need to convert the .tar to a .tar.md5. Odin will use either file type. A .tar.md5 file is a .tar file with its md5 hash appended. Odin can use the file to verify the .tar integrity, but that is optional.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Ar-Pharazon:
Odin "stops working" when I try to use the re-tarred AP file as .tar.tar or .tar and won't load it if I change it to tar.md5 (md5 error! Binary is invalid). That AP file loads way too quickly anyway, the AP load usually makes Odin go to "not responding" for a couple minutes.

I'll see if I can make your process work on Windows.

Man I hate Samsung more today than yesterday.

ETA: I tried making the .tar with WinZip instead of 7zip. It kept a WinZip icon on the file and seemed to go through the Odin process too quickly, but now ADB is actually showing more apps instead of just .com stuff.

Still not actually rooted.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
"Stops working"? The tar file is large, and it takes Odin quite a long time to process it. Give it a few minutes.

As I said before, use the "real" tar.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Ar-Pharazon:
Absolutely, the stock firmware AP file does the same thing, but eventually loads in there.

"Stopped Working" is Windows for "no mas". Replace the app name here with Odin.exe. Did it repeatedly.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] garyemiller:
Can't help you with WinBlows.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
Did you click on the application at all while it was processing the AP file? By that I mean anywhere on or within the ODIN box for the application? Doing so will cause such an error. The best thing to do is just let it sit until it finishes processing. However if you rename the file from its .tar.md5 name and simply remove the .mp5 so it reads only .tar at the end of the AP file it should process the file almost instantly.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
Also. You do not want it to be a .tar.tar file. That confuses the system. You can't tar a file twice. Either open the archive using 7zip and rename the file inside and remove the .tar at the end of the name or rename the main file itself so ot only reads .tar and not .tar.tar that should fix your error with Odin. Willing to bet that it tries to unzip the file twice which is not what it is programmed to do.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
I tried to port a TWRP recovery for this tablet but it is my first attempt and I was following a guide that explained how to do it using a pre-treble twrp which is missing a lot of the partitions and stuff. It flashed but only booted back into download mode. I am going to give it another shot later on my next day off from work and use the A7's twrp recovery as the base instead of one of the pre-treble versions. Wish me luck. I'm not sure if the files you move from the stock recovery and replace in the twrp one are the same or if I will need to copy more than what is required with a pre-treble version.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] superliukang2020:
I still cannot get root. I DL-ed all the files, used 7zip to extract all of them into their own folders. inside the AP folder i see the AP.xxx.tar.md5, i used 7zip to extract that into its own folder, inside that folder i see the meta data folder along with all different files, i see the boot file, not boot.img. I send that boot file to my tablet, used magisk to patch and send it back to my PC. i renamed as boot.img then the first try is with 7zip to tar just that file, then ODIN, no root, 2nd try replaced the patched boot.img inside the AP folder and delete the boot file, then 7zip to tar then ODIN, i get the not responding error and ODIN would close. 3rd try by make a folder called "AP" then put the patch boot.img in it, then tar, then ODIN, it would flash just like the first try but still no root. any other suggestions? TIA
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
Would love to see this ...thanks in advance
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Aelliaria:
Yes me to
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Droid_JD:
Third'd
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] NickMatto:
I am the fourth of this miserable queue. A detailed step by step guide (Linux only, of course) would be much appreciated. Many thanks, a really good job for the time being!
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Fussel5000:
I would also be very happy about a TWRP recovery for the tablet A8 SM x200
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Ajay.kumar39:
This worked for me, with the latest firmware `X205XXU1AVC1/X205ODM1AVF2/X205XXU1AVC2` Thanks for the help buddy. btw I m using SM-X205. Many people might be having issues with same, This should be the best fix. the trick lies while using the software for compressing to .tar
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
Hmmm I'm guessing this would not work for the SM-X200
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Fussel5000:
does anyone know if a TWRP is already being developed for the samsung A8 sm-x200
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] pshooner:
It did for me. I patched the boot.img partition from my original firmware from Sammobile using Magisk 25.1 (use adb to transfer the file back and forth, MTP transfer via Windows sometimes corrupts big files), tarred it as boot.tar (no compression) and transferred it back to the SM-X200 using only the AP slot in Odin. Then factory reset, reboot and done.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] pshooner:
There seems to be a project on GitHub, but you need to compile it yourself (I think it would be the same as SM-X200, the only difference being the cellular connection) : https://github.com/U4I5/twrp_device_samsung_Tab_A8_4G
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Fussel5000:
Danke für die Antwort. Ich glaube, ich muss warten. Ich kann das nicht zusammenstellen. aber der Ansatz sieht vielversprechend aus
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] pshooner:
I'm sorry, I don't speak German ?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Fussel5000:
lol sorry Thanks for the answer. i think i have to wait I can't put this together. but the approach looks promising
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
So I downloaded "SM-X200_XAR_X200XXU1AVC1_X200XAR1AVC1_X200XXU1AVC1_X200XXU1AVC1.zip"

Now I need to select "patch boot image" of the zip file through Magisk or do I need to rename the file from zip to tar first? Sorry I'm a little confused
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
I went through and did some reading and have all the files ready to be flashed as per from the instructions in this thread.

However as soon as I try to flash, Odin crashes on me and I'm noticing fastboot is listing my device as OEM locked even though I have that checked in the dev options?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] pshooner:
Once your .zip file is extracted, extract again the AP_xxxxxx.tar file using 7zip; you'll find the boot.img in the .tar file. Extract that file and send it as boot.img to your android device where Magisk is installed. In Magisk, select Install, then Select and Patch a File, and select your transferred boot.img file. Magisk will patch it and rename it boot_something.img. Transfer that file back to your computer, rename it boot.img, tar it to boot.tar using 7Zip, and you can then send it using the AP slot in Odin.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] pshooner:
You need to unlock it in the bootloader itself as well; see https://www.hardreset.info/devices/...021/faq/bootloader-unlock/samsung-bootloader/
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
okay ill do a quick recap.

Step 1. unlock developers menu and check the "Allow OEM Unlock" option.

Step 2. Unlock the bootloader by plugging the device into a computer while turned off and holding both power buttons down so it will enter the download mode screen. once on screen hold volume up to start the bootloader unlock process. once done tablet will automatically factory reset.

Step 3. Download the latest stock firmware AND INSTALL it using ODIN 3.13 or 3.14. Then use 7zip to extract the boot.img from the AP file. ( click the firmware file you downloaded which will be a .Zip file. Click extract here. open firmware folders until you find the 4 firmware flash files. AP.tar.mp5, BL.tar.mp5, CSC.tar.mp5, and CSC_Home.tar.mp5. ONLY extract the AP file for boot.img. And install firmware using the CSC file and ignore the CSC_home one.)

Step 3.5. Almost forgot something very important... After you have installed the newest firmware you need to allow the device to fully boot into the OS and complete the beginning setup for android. YOU NEED A WIFI CONNECTION for this or make sure you connect after the setup completes. Unlock the developers menu again. (MUST DO!!!) And make sure the option for OEM_Unlock is still selected. it should be greyed out. This option will not exist if you do not have a wifi connection and the tablet is only unlocked halfway which will cause an ODIN error when you try to flash the patched boot.tar and disabled VBMeta.img files to the tablet. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS AFTER FLASHING NEW FIRMWARE AND BEFORE FLASHING PATCHED FILES!!!!!

Step 4. copy the extracted boot.img file to the tablet and install Magisk 25.1 or better. Have magisk patch the boot.img file. It will put the new patched boot.img file into the tablets download folder and call it something like Magisk_Patched@6482.

Step 5. Copy the new Magisk_Patched file thats in your downloads to your computer and rename it boot.img. Careful not to rename it in a location that already contains either the original or another devices boot.img file already or it will ask if you want to replace the original file and things can get messy that way...

Step 6. using 7zip. right click the magisk patched boot.img file you just renamed and click the "Add to Archive" option. make sure the archive type says .Tar and hit ok. DO NOT CHANGE ANY OTHER OPTIONS!!! It will make a boot.tar file in the same location as your patched boot.img file.

Step 7. Using ODIN 3.1.3 or 3.1.4 (Both worked fine for me) flash the new boot.tar file you just made to your X200 with it in the AP slot and the disabled VBMeta.img file in the Userdata slot. with the device in download mode. (refer to step 2 for download mode entry. just tap volume up to enter the actual download mode).

Step 8. After the flashing is complete the device will reboot. you will need to reboot it into recovery and factory reset or just let it try to boot until it fails and gives the option to factory reset. either way... factory reset.

Step 9. Enjoy Root :)
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
Sorry. My quick recap was not a very quick one at all
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
Also. Here are a few things that are extremely helpful to know concerning Samsung devices. Many may have noticed how hard it is to get the device to boot into the stock recovery after unlocking the bootloader. This is because the device needs to be plugged into a computer or 5 volt device in order for it to allow it to boot into recovery OR download mode. You cannot have the device plugged into your fast charger and get it to boot into either of these modes for most Samsung devices. And this next interesting thing I stumbled upon while playing with the ADB commands while I had the device in the stock recovery using the "Update using ADB" option. (don't ask... I like to explore everything i can) This I have found ONLY works on the new X200 device. I also have the A7 which does not have this feature. Nor does my tab s3 or tab s6... While using the update using ADB option in the X200's stock recovery type ADB reboot-rescue. The tablet will reboot into the stock recovery mode but it will say "Waiting For Recovery Commands" on the screen. This is as far as I got with this new feature but I wanted to let the world know that the A8 seems to have a new recovery mode feature never seen before with any other Samsung device. Can't wait to figure out exactly what the new recovery commands are and what they can do.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Fussel5000:
Thanks Root is done, only TWRP recovery is missing
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
Ok so an update...flashed the new AP along with the other parts and Odin was able to complete the job successfully. Booted into recovery and did a factory reset.

Everything was going fine until two boots later when the tab kept going into download mode with error messages. I was eventually able to get it out of that mode and the device powered down. Since then I have not been able to power it back on holding any type of key configuration. I'm gonna let the battery drain and hopefully get it up and running from there.

Any ideas on what could have happened? And while I've been using 7 ZIP as my default archive handler for years, should I have used 7 ZIP LZMA instead? I had to use LZMA specifically for two older Samsung phones in the past while working with Odin.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
Would it be too much to ask for someone who was able to root successfully to throw the patched firmware up on a server for download? Or does the new boot.img that is patched not exactly the same for each SM-X200
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
The only thing i can think of is that the device became partially unlocked instead of the full unlock thats required. Did you make sure to follow my Step 3.5 that i singled out? Make sure you went back into the developers menu with a wifi connection and verified that the oem_unlock option was greyed out before you flashed the modded boot.img and Disabled_VBMeta file? If you did that then the device should have remained with a fully unlocked bootloader and i dont know what could have happened. Do you happen to remember what the error messages were that the device was giving you? In order to get it to turn back on first try holding both volume buttons and plugging it into your computers USB port. that should put you back in download mode where you can flash the stock firmware. if it still does nothing then leave it plugged in to the computer and hold the volume down and power buttons for at least 15 sec. That should force reboot it.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
After reading your post again i think i may know what happened. You said you flashed the new AP file as well as the others. Did you have magisk patch the entire AP file or did you extract the boot.img file and patch that? This device seems to have the results you described when the entire AP file is patched and flashed. magisk also patches the recovery.img and vbmeta.img which seems to cause issues. You want to extract the boot.img file and patch it. not the entire AP file. Once you get your device powered back on reflash the stock firmware again and then continue from my Step 3.5 and you should have no issues. im uploading my patched boot.tar file if you want to try using it. as long as your using the same firmware version it should work just fine. SM-X200_AVC1_Patched_Boot.img
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] kevinco1:
I've still not been able to get the tab up and running again. I tried your suggestions with plugging it into my computer and holding both volume buttons and also volume down and power button. Did this combo many different times and for long enough. Also rebooting to recovery/download mode via ADB was unsuccessful. So at this point is my only other option to wait for it to drain the battery completely? I'm guessing this may take another day or so since it's high capacity.

When I originally was working on patching the firmware files I extracted and patched boot.img seperately without patching the whole AP file. However disabling the VBMeta file? This step I missed, can you provide any insight on this don't remember that part popping up in any of the tutorials.

Step 3.5 was definitely followed and the OEM was greyed out before and after flashing through Odin. At all times I was using my homes WiFi connection so I was online...but I always skipped inputting my Google and Samsung accounts since I just wanted to get into the system to check it out. Is it imparitive to log into those accounts right away?

Thanks for all your continued help!
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
Well you can download the disabled vbmeta file in the beginning of this thread. At least that's where I got it from. As for your device still not turning on... that's a bit disturbing. I saw something in another post as to how to make it work again. Let me find it and I'll post the thread here.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] Tofor:
Okay... I had a bit of a moment... there is no disabled vbmeta file to download for this device... I got this device mixed up with the a7... so now I'm a bit confused myself as to how I got this device rooted. But I guess letting it sit for a few days does seem to fix the issue with it not powering up. And I tried to re-root the device from stock using my above instructions and it still works for me... except i need to look into which vbmeta file I flashed cause I either used the a7's disabled vbmeta file or one for a different device that I am unaware of... i have 2 on my computer... this is why i should not have so many different devices I play with... I'll get back to you on the vbmeta thing. Here is the thread that explains the brick issue. Should be recoverable after a few days. https://xdaforums.com/t/sm-x200-root-failed.4402111/ also. Does your computer recognize your device at all when plugged in?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] elswerky:
Is this method sure working ??

As before I tested twrp for tab A8 wifi sm-t500 on tab A7 LTE (sm-t505N)

And was able to flash twrp and then format data and boot tab ,, but in first reboot or boot after shutdown ,, pc don't boot system it shows that software has broken and I have to reflash official software by Odin again to be able to boot pc.

Strange for tab to open after format dtat5from twrp then crash when I reboot system

First device to face this issue on it

So is this method of you works for sure on tab A8

Also which is better especially processor in tab A7 and tab A8

Also why no twrp for tab A8 ??
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] pshooner:
If that helps, the only file I patched using Magisk is the boot.img from the AP file of the original stock firmware. I never meddled with any other partition, including vbmeta. Multiple reboots later, the tab still works as expected.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] a dead man:
Ok, tried the patch with the latest magisk From GitHub and flash boot.tar method with no issues. On reboot, it warned me about unauthorised software etc and also did factory reset. However, it seems the root didn’t take. Tried several times even after reflashing the unpatched original boot.img. At one point the tablet told me it had been locked due to unauthorised software and I need to take it to a service centre (I reflashed the original boot.img and that fixed that) anyway, could it not be working because I had updated the tablet to the latest firmware to AVG1? I note that this guide seems to be written for the AVC1
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] elswerky:
So no hope

Also what do you mean by AVC1 ??
[Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021)] a dead man:
Those are the identifiers on the end of the firmware files, as in X200XXU1AVG1, X200XXU1AVC1. The AVC1 firmware is the earlier version