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May 22, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
While the official ClockworkMod recovery is still arguably the most popular recovery for the largest number of Android devices, its wide release nature prevents official releases from being as easily adaptable as other recoveries when new development happens on many devices. As such, it’s up to the developers working on that device to get things rolling with custom recoveries when the old ones are incompatible. As has been the case with many devices being upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Gingerbread custom recoveries occasionally cease to work for one reason or another. However, as time passes, those little problems get fixed and for owners of the Acer Iconia A500, you now have custom recovery for ICS.
XDA Recognized Developer ezterry has released a modified ClockworkMod recovery dubbed the A500 Public Recovery. Its purpose? To bring the latest ClockworkMod Recovery functionality to those A500 owners rocking ICS on their tablets. The recovery has a lot going for it. As with the original CWM recovery, this release is open source. A complete list of the features include:
* cleanup tab option: shortcut to try to fix forcequits after updates, return to recovery and select on the main screen (Wipes Cache, dalvik, and fixes permissions)
* Standard options to backup and restore to either the SD card or internal storage
* Mount points match those of most running roms
* adb shell works as root (with or without system mounted)
* set boot mode menu to select the boot partition (hidden on know non-multiboot bootloaders)
* setbootmode and itsmagic command line tools for advanced users
* /data/linux directory is not deleted on erase userdata, nor backed up on nandroid backup (just like /data/media) to allow a space for linux files for dual boot and chroot linux installes.
Ezterry says it’s a little rough around the edges, but it works as intended, so users can have a functional recovery for their tablets running ICS. It should also be mentioned that this is for A500s running ICS only. If you’re on an earlier version of Android, it is not recommended that this be flashed.
For additional information, download links, instructions, and more, head on over to the original thread.
May 13, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
With tablets getting bad raps for bad GPS reception, it’s no surprise that developers and users alike are trying to find ways to fix them. For some, it requires hardware support, as many Asus Transformer Prime users have been getting USB dongles to help boost their GPS signals to acceptable levels. Thankfully, though, some tablet GPS problems are software related, and can actually be fixed without taking up any ports or a struggle from the manufacturer. This is the case for the Acer Iconia A500.
XDA Senior Member waydownsouth has done a little searching, and has found a way to patch the A500 boot.img to fix the GPS problem for A500 users once and for all. The patch is in an easily flashable update.zip file, so the installation process should be a breeze. However, as you are tinkering with your boot.img, it is strongly recommended that you make a Nandroid backup first. Says waydownsouth:
the zip patches your boot.img so please make a nandroid backup to be safe. (only need to restore /boot if there’s a problem)
Currently, the patch has been tested only on the ICS bootloader, running CyanogenMod 9 with ClockworkMod Recovery, so users with other combinations may be out of luck for the time being. The patch itself automates the process of downloading and updating the lto.dat file, a function that was not working properly before the patch, and this in turn helps GPS functionality.
For more information, hit up the original thread.
April 30, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
As the number of Android devices that are getting official ICS updates continues to grow, the number of devices getting unofficial ICS is growing even faster. With AOSP ROMs making their way around at a healthy rate and leaks flooding the forums, users practically everywhere are getting their shot at some new firmware goodness. This time around, the Acer Iconia A500 receives its share.
XDA Senior Member civato, along with the help of some other XDA members, has created a tutorial that will get users safely from Honeycomb to ICS. However, as stated by civato:
You need to understand that this can brick your tablet and going back to HC roms is not possible…
So before you flash, be sure that you’ve said your goodbyes to Honeycomb. The tutorial isn’t difficult to follow, but the price for missing a step could mean a bricked a device.
The method itself involves users obtaining their CPUID and getting all the appropriate drivers installed. Once that is complete, users then must flash the stock ICS bootloader, ICS itself, and the boot.img all in one shot. From there, you simply flash the unlocked bootloader and custom recovery.
For more information, be sure to visit the original thread.
April 10, 2012 By: Will Verduzco
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: touch-based recoveries are the future. Aside from giving end users easier access to device firmware modification, they add a much needed element of polish to the Android hacking experience. While some may say that these upgrade recoveries take away from the feelings of thrill and excitement, I argue that they offer a more efficient interface and enable some truly unique new features not available in the recoveries of yesteryear.
In a rather large update to what is arguably the most popular touch-based recovery around, XDA Recognized Developer Dees_Troy presents to us Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP, for short) version 2.1. Aside from simply bringing a friendly UI, TWRP 2.1 packs a healthy feature punch by offering zip queuing, a basic file manager, and dual storage support for backups.
TWRP supports scripting via a new scripting engine called OpenRecoveryScript for use with GooManager. With ORS, users can install multiple update.zip files from within Android, wipe cache & dalvik, and run a backup. Furthermore, in the name of openness, Team Win has submitted ORS as a commit to ClockworkMod.
In the words of the developer:
Team Win Recovery Project 2.0, or twrp2 for short, is a custom recovery built with ease of use and customization in mind. We started from the ground up by taking AOSP recovery and loading it with the standard recovery options, then added a lot of our own features. It’s a fully touch driven user interface – no more volume rocker or power buttons to mash. The GUI is also fully XML driven and completely theme-able. You can change just about every aspect of the look and feel.
New features for version 2 of the recovery software:
Zip queuing as seen in TWRP 1.1.x is back
Dual storage capable (backup, restore, and install zips from internal or external storage – you choose)
Slider control (swipe to confirm most actions aka swipe to wipe)
Lockscreen (with slider to unlock)
Basic file manager (copy, move, delete, and chmod any file)
Added support for devices with /data/media (most Honeycomb tablets, new ICS devices like Galaxy Nexus)
Displays sizes of each partition in the backup menu
Added listbox GUI element (currently used for listing time zones)
Updated stock XML layouts to be more consistent and easier to port to different resolutions
XML layout files are significantly smaller
Partitions available backup are more accurate for some devices
Removed unneeded error messages (/misc errors, unable to stat sd-ext, etc.)
Fixed a bug with blkid detection code
Fixed bug where a blank line was inserted between every line of text during zip installs
Fixed a bug during zip installs where an invalid zip would cause TWRP to get stuck in the zip install
Added setting for themers to toggle simulation mode to make theming easier
New devices added – Galaxy Nexus GSM & CDMA (preview only, manual install), Acer Iconia Tab A500, HTC Vivid, Motorola Defy
Added support for .jpg images in the theme engine
Changed images for stock tablet theme – makes tablet builds about 500KB smaller
Removed unneeded non-GUI images from GUI – makes all builds about 100KB smaller
If you’re itching to get started, please visit the development threads listed below. If instead you are looking to theme the recovery, visit their theming guide.
March 2, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
A negative side effect of flashing a new firmware is that there’s always the possibility that you break root, re-lock your bootloader, and lose your custom recovery. Unfortunately, it often takes a considerable amount of time to get root for the new firmware, which means you could very well be stuck until you find a way to downgrade or a new root method is presented. XDA Senior Member jm77 wishes to fix with for Acer Iconia A500 owners with a comprehensive guide on how to get their bootloaders unlocked, restore their custom recoveries, and obtain root once again.
The guide is easy to follow, but does require some ADB, command prompt, and terminal emulator knowledge—so be sure to follow the guide exactly if you’re not up to date on these things. The guide runs users through unlocking the bootloader, flashing a custom recovery, and getting everyone back to normal. The process is fairly straight forward, and it shouldn’t take very long to execute.
For those who have installed the Ice Cream Sandwich leak and are looking to get their custom recoveries back, head over to the original thread to get started.
February 22, 2012 By: Ian Stacy
You may remember last week when we reported that the Acer Iconia Tab A200 was receiving its first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich thanks to an over-the-air update. It was speculated then that the Iconia Tab A500 would be the next Acer device to get an update due to the similarities in hardware with the A200. XDA Senior Member vache, the same A500 owner that managed to boot the A200 update, has provided a leaked copy of the previously promised A500 update in our forums and he reports that it works fine.
Before installing the firmware package, understand that you will lose root access and the ability to flash custom ROMs. You will also lose your recovery partition unless you use RA recovery. XDA Senior Member Moscow Desire has put together a post detailing this here. Currently, the only way to get back those root privileges is to downgrade your device and start the rooting process over.
Do not attempt to install this unless you are confident with what you’re doing. If you’d like to give the update a try you can check the original thread here. Be sure to keep an eye on the device forums and the portal the latest news!
February 15, 2012 By: Ian Stacy
January 27, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
The Acer Iconia Tab A100 may have been superseded by the newer Acer Iconia A500, but thanks to the works of developers like crossix the aging tablet isn’t on its last legs just yet.
If you happen to own an Iconia Tab A100 and want to try this mod, it’s highly recommended by crossix that you back up your original in case anything goes wrong, but otherwise the mod is pretty powerful and simple to use. It is a list of changes that the user can to the build.prop in order to improve performance and functionality. Crossix explains:
Your build.prop file contains a lot of information about your tab. Things like what model, version of android, manufacturer and other info can be found within, but it also can control certain aspects such as display density, wifi scan time and other misc tweaks that improve overall smoothness.
The mods are all changes made to the single file, so there’s no need to flash or adb push anything. Simply grab the modified build.prop, place it where your current build.prop is and you’re done. Changes made range anywhere from the name of the device to the Iconia A500 so you can get apps in the Market intended for only the A500 to a range of tweaks to improve system performance.
For a list of all the changes made, the download link to the modded build.prop and additional disclaimers you can find all that and more in the original thread.
January 26, 2012 By: PoorCollegeGuy
Users of the Acer Iconia A500 tablet have had ClockworkMod Recovery for their flashing needs for awhile now and it has done quite well as expected for the famous and widely used recovery.
However, more is always better and it’s in that spirit that XDA Senior Member drillisdee has compiled Amon Ra Recovery for the Acer Tablet so its users could have a choice. The Recovery is packed with a lot of useful features including:
Touch enabled UI
Can use usb flash drive or normal sdcard as sdcard to flash roms and to use in nandroid backup/restore.
Automatically runs itsmagic on boot
External sdcard mass storage works on iconia
Automatically backs up usb serial (uuid) and the start of mmcblk0 in nandroid backup.
Will not remove /data/media unless full ext wipe option is selected (off by default)ADB as root user
USB-MS Toggle :mounts sdcard as mass storage
The Recovery can also be flashed two ways. One is via ADB using the program itsmagic and the other is a handly, much easier ClockworkMod flashable zip.
If you’d like to check out the touch enabled recovery, you can head on over to its original thread for the download links to both methods, installation instructions and a full list of menu options and features.
September 30, 2011 By: egzthunder1
Every time a new device comes out, we tend to either want to get it or what is included with it. Since most of us are cash strapped and cannot spend $400 – $700 dollars per device each time one comes out, we are only left with the option of trying to get what we currently have to look and behave in the same way as the original thing. For this purpose, you normally will need dumps of systems such as the one that surfaced in the Acer Iconia A500 forums for the Lenovo Thinkpad. XDA member triebstahl has posted a link to the dump in the hopes that someone would grab it and strip it of all the goodies that Lenovo packed on the upcoming tab. Whether a whole port will be required to get the UI going on other devices or not is still not clear. However, if the launcher is a stand alone like Ex GoLauncher, there should be no need for a complicated port.
Having said that, if you have the required porting skills, please be sure to pop in, grab the image and have fun while getting it to boot in other tabs.
some nice apps reinstalled and a great favorit launcher
You can find more information in the original thread.
Want something published in the Portal? Contact any News Writer.
September 17, 2011 By: egzthunder1
As you are probably aware, there are a few mods for a couple of tabs sporting Honeycomb that will allow you to attach a usb dongle for 3G capabilities on non 3G tabs. Well, it seems that XDA member nateleduc has decided that a tab with a tail does not look all that great. After taking his Acer Icons A500 apart, he found an empty space with mount screw holes and solder points in the mother board. Essentially, this is the slot where the modem would fit, and after looking around for a bit, he figured it would be perfectly possible to adapt it to his A500 effectively turning it into an A501, which is 3G enabled.
However, he has some questions regarding delivery adaptability on HC as well as the best possible card bracket to hold the card in place. So, if you believe you can help his cause, please visit his thread and leave a few tips to see this project be driven to completion.
I’m looking to start a thread about turning an a500 into a a501. I’ve done a teardown of the a500 and it has the capability of potentially being able to support an internal card. It has the space/slot and screw mounts.
You can find more information in the original thread.
Want something published in the Portal? Contact any News Writer.
August 15, 2011 By: Will Verduzco
As part of our regular Q&A session here on the XDA-Developers Portal, I’ll be covering some questions and issues frequently seen here in the world of XDA. This week, we’ll concentrate on everyone’s favorite large-screened devices–Honeycomb-powered tablets!
Q: Is it possible to turn the a500 display off when connecting to a TV using HDMI out? If you try to lock the device (hit the power button), it halts the device completely. There is not brightness option for “completely off,” so that’s not an option. Ideally, I’d like to save battery if I’m watching a movie via HDMI. Does this require a 3rd party app, if so, do you know of any? [Question originally seen in the Acer Iconia A500 Q&A Section.]
A: “You could conceivably use Widgetsoid or something similar to reduce screen brightness to 0%.”
Q: Have a wi-fi only version i bought and it says no updates available but i dont have touchwiz…any ideas as to why i dont get the update or how i can get it? [Question originally seen in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Q&A Section.]
A: “In order to prevent network or server overload we are limiting the number of Tabs that can download the update. You can either keep trying, or wait for your Tab to receive a push update notification.”
Q: Need to run two reader apps (two parallel texts for reading the original literature) on one screen. Two copies of the same program like Moon+ would be even more nice.? [Question originally seen in the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Q&A Section.]
A: This is not possible with the stock Honeycomb OS. However, custom UXes such as TouchWiz on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 allow for multiple applets to run simultaneously on the screen. Additionally, there are UIs in the works that rethink application management altogether.
Q: My bookmarks won’t sync from my PC to transformer. Is this a known problem if so is there a known fix/workaround ? [Question originally seen in the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Q&A Section.]
A: “I had the same problem on my Asus Transformer 3.2,but found the solution. From your home screen.go to settings/manage applications /all/browser then clear data.go back to the browser and it should automatically sign you back into your gmail account. Then go to your browser settings/ general / sync to chrome. In a few minutes they should be back. Also make sure your gmail account/browser are in autosync in settings/accounts and sync. This worked for me and if this helps you please let me know.”
Q: For the last few months I’ve been unable to update/install Facebook on a500. App does not show in marketplace app, does show on web android market but shows as not compatible with Acer. I’ve got factory install (of honeycomb) and received latest updates—though I had the problem prior to 3.1. Note I already have older version of Facebook when I was able to install (when I first got a500…just after release). I’m not interested in rooting if possible and believe issue must be related to configs on marketplace in my profile? [Question originally seen in the Acer Iconia A500 Q&A Section.]
A: For Facebook access, you should give the locally-developed Friend Me a shot. As for Netflix, once you load a certain patch that can be found right here on XDA, the side-loaded APK (also available in the aforementioned thread) will work just fine.
That wraps it up for this week’s session. Stay tuned for more news and Q&A sessions! As always, if you have any suggestions for stories or questions that we should cover, please feel free to send me (or any other News Writer) a private message.
Those who bought any of the first 3 Honeycomb powered tabs are likely happy with the launcher. However, for those truly addicted to their Android devices due to the ability of customizing it and its behavior, it gets boring after a while. Since there are now other players in the field (Samsung), a not-so-new UI has emerged: TouchWiz UI. However, it is only available for the Galaxy Tab as it is part of the rom. Well, if you have an Acer Iconia A500 and would love to get some TouchWiz on it, you are in luck because XDA Recognized Developer m-deejay has successfully ported the Galaxy Tab rom over to the Iconia. Aside from a few bugs, which are currently being fixed, the port works really well. It includes features such as improved ext4 performance, Virtuoso CPU scaling scripts, 3G modem support via Huawei USB dongle, and much more. Up until yesterday, there was a bug where the rear camera would only shoot up to 3 MP. The good news is that this was fixed by the dev and can now shoot in all of its magnificent 5 MP glory.
Please try this one out if you have an Iconia and let the dev know if you find any bugs or if you have any suggestions.
- 100% stock Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7500
- Awesome TouchWiz UX
- Multilanguage
- Improved EXT4 performance
- Ultra Fast
- Virtuous CPU scaling scripts - READ MORE
- Deodexed
- Zipaligned
- 216-1200MHz default
- Photo Editor
- 3D Photo Browser
- Asus weather widget
- Busybox / Superuser
- 3G modem support (Huawei)
- Nano text editor support
- Bash command shell support
- and more
You can find more information in the port thread.
Want something published in the Portal? Contact any News Writer.
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