Flashing tablets: step by step instructions. How to update correctly? Video playback and offline operation

This method is used to sew InfoTM X220 tablets (Flytouch II, WOWpad, SuperPAD, CEM111, APad GF10) withhelpbootablecardsmemory.

To flash using the boot card, we need:

Download archive with the program Winhex and the boot disk image file - aben.start sector.001

Download archive with firmware

Important! Before flashing, do backup your programs and tablet settings, as a result of flashing, all data and programs you installed will be lost.

Getting started with the firmware:

1. Unpack the archive with the Winhex program and the boot disk image on the computer in separate folder... We insert the memory card into the computer's card reader.

2. Run the program and go to settings -> Options -> General and make sure that all four input fields for the paths to temporary and working files indicate the folders existing on your computer. If not, specify any existing ones, you can specify the path to the program folder.

Important! If you have Windows 7 or Vista installed, the program must be run as administrator.

3. Write a disk image to the card. For this in the menu programs go in Tools -> Disk tools -> Clone disk -> in the window that opens, fill in the following fields:

In field Source select the file aben.start sector. 001 from the folder where we unpacked our program;

In field Destination, select a memory card from the list of physical disks;

In field Start sector (Destination): put zero, and press OK.

If the program reports errors, ignore them.

Important! When choosing a memory card, choose exactly physical disk –Phisical Media from the disc list, otherwise the bootable memory card may not be created correctly.

4. At the end of the recording process, exit the Winhex program, and format the memory card in FAT32.

5. From the archive with the firmware, unpack the folder on the memory card android with all the files inside it.

As a result of the above operations, we get a 700 megabyte bootable memory card with the new firmware recorded on it.

6. Turn off our tablet. We insert the memory card into the upper slot (between the two USB connectors), and turn on the power of the tablet. No need to press any keys when turning on - just turn on the tablet as usual.

7. The tablet will boot from the memory card and install new firmware... After the message about resetting the tablet appears, press the Reset button on the bottom of the tablet, take out the memory card, and turn on the tablet. After calibrating the screen, your tablet is ready to go.

If the tablet does not boot from the memory card, we repeat the procedure for creating a bootable map (steps 1-5) again.

We've already told you about budget tablets more than once. Despite their obvious imperfections and not always interesting functionality, they are in demand. At the same time, people who buy them do not always just want an iPad, but do not have enough money. Budget tablets little-known manufacturers may also be of interest to competent users, enthusiasts who clearly know what they need, but cannot always get it from famous brands.

Still, the main plus of countless Chinese tablets (besides the price, of course) is the variety. After all, well-known manufacturers can still offer two, well, a maximum of three models. And there are less than a dozen such manufacturers. Therefore, if you need something special (“do you have the same one, but with mother-of-pearl buttons?”), Then here, rather, you should look for the Chinese. After all, the same models in terms of hardware configuration can have dozens of design options, and, conversely, models that are similar in design can have completely different fillings. Therefore, choosing exactly what you need is not a problem.

Unfortunately, the third version of the OS has not yet arrived in budget Chinese tablets. Google android(well, or just starting to come), so the vast majority of them work on Android 2.x. However, as our testing of the MIReader M10 and M801 has shown, this also has its advantages: at least with video, these tablets often work better than the top Android 3.x models of well-known manufacturers (although, of course, the "Chinese" have hardware weaker).

Today we have to study another such tablet - just no longer Russian brand, and the most that neither is the Chinese noname (more precisely, FlyTouch 3 SuperPad 2) costing about 5000 rubles.

The price is as low as possible. It's amazing how such a device can be made for that kind of money. And this is still a record. We tested tablets for 10,000, for 8,000, but not for 5,000. It is all the more interesting to understand what you can get for this money, and whether it will work at all.

Complete set and accessories

The tablet came to us in a large light-colored box. As with phone Star A1000, from the box it was difficult to understand the name of the tablet itself. Apparently, Chinese manufacturers deliberately avoid any specifics, so that it is possible to pack something different or even completely different models in the same boxes.

The package bundle turned out to be poor: in addition to the tablet, mediocre headphones fit in the box, external antenna GPS, Charger and quick guide user.

Design

The appearance of the SuperPad tablet, as is already the case with Chinese manufacturers, pretty much resembles Apple iPad... The main recognizable element of the iPad - a round concave button - is also here, and even the white square drawn on this button, the SuperPad manufacturers were not afraid to copy.

The back side of the tablet is made of plastic, painted "aluminum" (and coated with a colorless varnish that protects against damage).

But what makes the SuperPad's design fundamentally different from the iPad is its thickness (almost 15 mm) and the number of connectors. It must be admitted that if the first is a minus, then the second is a plus, and one follows from the other.

All connectors and slots are located on the right side of the device. These are two USB 2.0, an Ethernet port, a microSD card slot and a Mini-HDMI. There is, of course, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a charger hole.

On the upper edge of the tablet there are two speakers, an on / off button, a volume up / down rocker, Menu and Home buttons, a Wi-Fi module on / off lever, and a microphone hole.

The left side of the device is completely empty, and on the bottom there is only the Reset button.

So, the tablet is equipped with almost everything you need to work with Android 2.2. The presence of the hardware Home and Menu buttons is encouraging (although you can evaluate differently the decision to place them on the upper edge, and, say, not next to the screen), we warmly welcome the presence of two USB ports, Ethernet and Mini-HDMI.

Since the tablet is entirely made of plastic, its weight is not that large: 695 grams (with dimensions of 269.91 × 170.45 × 14.89 mm).

Screen

The tablet is equipped with a resistive TN-matrix screen with a resolution of only 1024 × 600 (with a diagonal of 10.1 inches). The picture looks not very clear and sharp, the colors are pale and faded, the black color is desperately lacking in saturation. The viewing angles are uneven: when you turn the tablet left and right, the image does not deteriorate much, but if you tilt the screen away from you, the picture immediately ceases to be distinguishable. In general, all the "charms" of low-budget screens are there. And - yes, in general for a tablet this is a huge minus, because we have said more than once that it is the screen that is the main element of the tablet, and, first of all, your impressions of work will depend on its quality (even performance is less important).

But, nevertheless, one must understand that the presence of a higher-quality capacitive screen would immediately increase the cost of the tablet by 2-3 thousand rubles, and he would no longer be such a record holder (in terms of cost). However, if you are not chasing the lowest possible price and are ready to pay some extra money, then it is quite possible to find an analogue of the tablet we are considering in Chinese online stores, but only with a capacitive screen. We have already said that capacitive screens are gradually moving to the low-budget segment, and in the mid-budget segment, you can even pick up something on the IPS matrix (although this in itself does not guarantee a perfect picture either).

Thus, the SuperPad screen is the very minimum for today. Unfortunately, in addition to problems with color rendition and viewing angles, it also suffers from unstable responsiveness. Sometimes you have to press the icons several times with effort in order to launch the desired application.

Operating system and software

The operating system is Google Android 2.2, but with its own shell, made clearly in the image and likeness of the iPad, on the one hand, and HTC Sense, on the other. It looks like this: at the bottom there is a kind of Dock, on which the most popular applications are placed.

The main part of the screen is occupied by two widgets - weather and time. Alas, the weather widget cannot be configured for Moscow: the list of countries includes Peru, Romania and other not the largest countries, but Russia is not. Therefore, you will either have to delete the widget altogether, or admire the weather in some Chinese city like Huinan.

In the center of the dock is the "Applications" icon. Clicking on it will open a full menu of apps installed on your tablet. It is curious that the icons of the standard Android applications have been redrawn to look like iOS icons. It is clear that the similarity looks like a parody - the detail is much lower, there is no bulge effect. But this did not bother the developers. They even made the background like an iPad.

As for HTC, the manufacturers took the idea of ​​a virtual cube from them: the transition from one screen (for example, with widgets) to another (with applications) looks as if they are on different faces of the virtual cube. It looks nice, but the question arises, how much do all these decorations eat off random access memory... In the case of this tablet, this is a very burning question.

Among the applications there are as many as three browsers (regular "Browser", Opera Mini and Dolphin), as well as additional utilities for configuring ADSL, Ethernet, etc.

Of course there is Android Market, however, not all applications installed from it worked correctly for us. For example, Angry Birds Seasons would freeze at launch - you had to do a Reset. But, perhaps, this is already due to very low performance, which will be discussed below.

Performance and work experience

The declared specifications- 1GHz iMAPX220 processor, 512MB DDR2 RAM - looks pretty good for an ultra budget device. Indeed, the OS interface (despite all sorts of beauties like a cube) works quite smartly - at least, no serious "brakes" were noticed. But once you open some application (even a browser), problems begin. The tablet draws pages for a very long time, surfing the Internet is simply uncomfortable. Moreover, we are not even talking about some kind of animated content and the like. But just look at the photos of Vkontakte - and that is possible through the stump-deck.

Subjective impressions of the work are confirmed by tests. In Quadrant Standard, the tablet scored a ridiculous 357 points (moreover, this was the best result, since we ran the test several times; however, the spread was not large). For comparison, tablets on NVIDIA Tegra 2 gain from 1500 to 2100 points in the same benchmark. And 357 is the level of smartphones (not even tablets!) Two years ago.

The results in SunSpider 0.9.1 were even more disappointing. The SuperPad passed the test in 22,545.9ms (± 2.7% accuracy). Comparison with tablets on Tegra 2 and even with first iPad discouraging: the results of Tegra-tablets fluctuate around 2100 ms, the first iPad passed this test in 3000 ms (since the test evaluates the rendering speed certain elements and the result is displayed in milliseconds, the smaller the number, the better). It is clear that SunSpider results are influenced by different factors- including the browser. But we tested in three different browsers, and the results were very close. The main thing is that SunSpider is very indicative in terms of real web surfing comfort. Indeed, surfing the web is unlikely to be fun in SuperPad.

It’s surprising why, at a sufficiently high processor frequency, the results of all tests turned out to be so bad. Apparently, the matter is in the non-optimized software for a specific "hardware". But it doesn't make it easier for the user.

Video playback and offline operation

It was no coincidence that we combined the impressions of video playback on a tablet with the results of testing the battery life, since we usually check it on video. Unfortunately, we failed to conduct a full test here. All the videos that we ran crashed in a minute or two. And it doesn't matter whether it was HD or SD video, whether it was played from an external media or from internal memory... It is possible that the problem is in a specific instance. And you may not have such a problem. But it would be unfair to keep silent about it.

At the same time, we note that the tablet is capable of playing Full HD video without jerking and slowing down, and if it were not for this strange problem with video crashing (which we tend to attribute to firmware problems, but not to the ability of the hardware), then we would safely recommend the tablet for use as a portable media player. Fortunately, there is also a Mini-HDMI connector for connecting to a TV or monitor.

Returning to the issue of battery life, I must say that judging by the battery consumption that we observed when trying to play movies, the Full HD tablet will play no more than two hours. As for surfing the web, here you can count on three hours. Well, we could not check the duration of the game in Angry Birds - the game simply did not start.

Camera

The tablet is equipped with a front-facing webcam (and, unlike the iPad 2, it is located on the wide, not on the narrow side of the device). And among preinstalled apps there is Skype. But alas, the tablet does not support video calling via Skype, so the webcam is practically useless.

There is no rear camera in the tablet - and this is understandable: with such dimensions, it will not be very convenient for them to shoot, and most importantly, the presence additional camera would increase the cost of the device.

conclusions

Well, the result was expected: if you save decisively on everything, then we will get exactly what we have in this case. The two main parameters of any tablet - screen and performance - are at a very deplorable level here. Because of this, using the tablet is not a pleasure. That is, of course, you can do some operations with it. And if you connect a mouse and keyboard to it, then it can easily replace a netbook (again, when compared with the cheapest models). But to play games - do not even dream, to watch movies comfortably - also hardly, to wander on the Internet - only if there is nothing else at hand (even modern smartphone will handle it better).

But on the other hand - a lot of connectors and a price. Whether to consider recycled Android interface plus - it's up to you to decide, but it is quite possible that this can become an additional argument in favor of buying such a tablet. There is only one "but": the purchase of such a device is, unfortunately, always a lottery. Their reliability is very low. We had a similar tablet on testing (not from this manufacturer, but about the same regional origin and level). Two months later, his screen failed. Perhaps this is a marriage of a particular specimen. Perhaps this is the fault of that model, and this one is devoid of such a flaw. It happens that even a very inexpensive device (phone or laptop) serves the owner faithfully for several years and becomes obsolete faster than physically. But there is no doubt that the risk of buying a device that will fail (or at least lose some of its user qualities) without having worked for a year is much greater with Chinese goods than with well-known brands. However, this is understandable.

If your " mobile friend"Began to glitch and slow down, and quite noticeably, then it's time to change its firmware to a more recent one. Most tablet owners contact service centres to replace the firmware. But you can easily do it yourself. Why, one wonders, overpay? All you need is a tablet, a cable for connecting to a computer and unlimited internet.

Let's say right away that the firmware process mobile devices the same type. Only minor details of the process depend on the model and manufacturer. Otherwise, everything happens according to the same scenario. Problems with self-flashing the tablet should not appear for anyone. After all, this is not a Newton binomial.

Why do this?

There are many reasons for changing the firmware. For example, the tablet does not turn on, or it slows down, or somehow began to work inadequately. There are cases when the firmware of tablets can restore an already completely "killed" device. And many manufacturers patch holes and vulnerabilities in new firmware, optimize work with hardware and improve in every possible way operating system... It is already vital to re-flash your device.

There is also another reason. The point is that some users hate official firmware... They only need "custom" (user-modified firmware). There is a grain of truth in this. Custom ones are usually much faster than their official counterparts. However, there are also pitfalls. Access to management is open in custom file system OS. And this is not good, because unknowingly, you can turn the tablet into a brick.

What should be done before the firmware process?

Before taking on this risky business, you should make a backup copy of the OS (if your tablet is working). If something goes wrong, you can always restore a working system. Next, we need to decide on the type of firmware and find it. Although custom is faster, but the most stable are still official versions firmware. And we will put them.

Let's assume we have found and downloaded the firmware. Now is the time to install the drivers required to connect the device to your computer. Without this, the firmware of the tablets will be impossible. After installing the drivers, you can connect the tablet to your computer and start the process itself. There are several ways to flash an official OS device. Basically, it all depends on the tablet itself.

Firmware with SD card

The simplest and efficient way... All you need to do is download the firmware file and unpack the DLOAD folder to the root of the SD card. Next, you need to "drive" the tablet into the update mode. Have different types devices can be used for this completely different key combinations. But in the standard version these are combinations of the type "turn on - volume up" or "turn on and 2 volume buttons".

If everything is done correctly, a green robot will appear on the screen and the tablet will start flashing. Upon completion of the process, you need to reboot the device. In some cases, you will have to press the power button for a very long time to do this. After rebooting, the device will try to start the updated OS for a very long time. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes.

Samsung Products

The firmware is slightly different from standard way... This happened due to the hardware and system features of the products of this company. Without software intervention, nothing will come of it. To carry out the firmware process, you will need to download the Odin program. It is specially designed for flashing Samsung tablets.

By installing all required drivers and having downloaded the firmware itself, you can start the installation process. Launch the Odin program and press the PDA button in it. Then we "drive" the tablet itself into bootloader mode. To do this, press the key combination "volume up and turn on". The combination of buttons may vary depending on the model. We connect the tablet to the PC. Odin will automatically detect the device. After that, it remains to press the "Start" button. The flashing of the tablet will start. The program will notify you of the end of the process with a sound signal.

After installing the firmware, it is recommended to go into the recovery (volume down and power button) and reset the settings to standard (wipe data). Otherwise, the firmware may become unstable. Then you can start configuring the installed system.

Chinese tablets

It's not that simple with the "Chinese". For them, you need to select the firmware, focusing on the exact name of the model. For, if you use the wrong firmware, you can get a "brick". Programs for flashing "Chinese" vary depending on the type of processor. If your device uses processors from MTK, then your choice is SP. If the device is based on Allwinner, then Live Suite is suitable for its firmware.

They are sewn strictly using a computer. There is no way to flash them from an SD card. Although custom is installed on them through the Clockwork Mod. Let's look at an example of a Chinese firmware. In the process of flashing, you should be extremely careful. The Chinese are extremely moody. One awkward move and you have a brick. Of course, bricks can be brought to life too. But why do we need extra problems? This is what it is - the firmware of tablets from China.

Firmware Samsung N8000 (China)

Samsung Galaxy Note N8000 - chinese tablet, its firmware, accordingly, depends on the type of processor. In this device, Allwinner A13. Accordingly, you need to download the Live Suite program. Also, don't forget about the drivers. It is difficult to find a firmware for it, but it is there. As a last resort, you can try other firmware from the same devices.

So, unpack the archive with the firmware into some folder with an English name. We launch the Live Suite. Turn off the tablet, hold down the "volume up" button and connect to USB. Press the button with the gear image in the program and select the folder with the unpacked firmware. After that, the process itself will begin. At the end of the installation process, the program will display an English message like Update Success. We turn off the tablet and try to turn it on.

The firmware of the N8000 64Gb tablet may differ slightly in functionality, but in any case, they all work stably on devices of this type.

Tablets from MegaFon and other operators

At their core, tablets from operators are the same devices from ZTE or Huawei. This means that they are subject to the rules of the standard firmware. They can be flashed using an SD card. The method with firmware update and DLOAD folder is suitable. There are no problems with the firmware process.

The firmware of the MegaFon tablet with a custom OS is carried out according to the typical scenario of updating the firmware using Clockwork Mod. In general, these tablets are one of the most flexible in terms of firmware. There are never any problems with them. The only difference from conventional versions of tablets is that these devices are hardware locked to use only one SIM card of a particular operator. Otherwise, these are ordinary devices.

DNS tablets

These devices can be safely called "purebred Chinese", even though they are produced in Russia according to the passport. No build quality, strange Allwinner and MTK processors. In general, all the trappings of a miracle of Chinese engineering. Accordingly, they are stitched in the same way as their Chinese counterparts. You need to accurately select the firmware and program for the update. Otherwise, you get a brick.

The DNS tablet firmware is no different from the Chinese firmware. Therefore, all the actions performed when flashing Chinese crafts are relevant here as well. These tablets have only one plus - they are more responsive than the "Chinese" in this regard. And usually the firmware is installed on them without any problems.

Conclusion

Flashing tablets is not that difficult. The main thing is to have firmware for tablets 4.1, 4.2 or 4.4 versions. The rest is a matter of technology. The process of updating or replacing the tablet itself is distinguished by a clear sequence of actions. It is inadmissible to arbitrarily change the order of actions. Perhaps this is the main rule that should be remembered when flashing a device.

Of course, the process of flashing one or another device may change somewhat due to the design features of the device. But the very essence of this process does not change. There are several ways to flash. Choose which one you like best and go ahead.

I'll make a reservation right away that the instructions apply to the Ainol Novo 7 Advanced tablet. But all devices based on the A10 chip must have a similar firmware scheme. Allwinner has already taken care of this, the interface for USB firmware is built into the chip itself. Therefore, theoretically, devices with this chip are software-indestructible. Those. you can always restore a corrupted firmware via USB, usually without opening the device. You just need to put the device into firmware mode. To do this, you need to have at least one button on the tablet other than the power button. But first things first.

First you need the LiveSuit program. You can download it, for example, at this link: http://goo.gl/OZe6o. In case the link doesn't work, you can always find it on Google. This is a program from Allwinner for the actual firmware.

Next, you need to find the firmware for your tablet. You can, of course, try the firmware for other similar tablets. It is important that the characteristics match. But it is not a fact that a screen with the same characteristics will not have another controller, and accordingly the driver will also be different. Therefore, something may not work. But you can always reflash.

1. To do this, you need to connect it to your computer via USB and turn it off completely.
2. Then hold down any physical button (touch buttons will not work!), Except for the power button. For example increasing the volume (vol +).
3. Without releasing the button, you need to press and hold the power button for about 2 seconds (sometimes you need more). Nothing will happen, the device should not turn on.
4. Do not release the button pressed in step 2, release the power supply and press it again 3 times (you can just do more until the device "turns on").

Update 11/28/2012 from user BronX. An alternative method is proposed:

Holding down the Vol + key, insert USB cable into the device and hold until the screen prompts you to format the device.
The amendment is that you do not need to hammer on the power key 5-15 times.

That's it, now the device is in firmware mode. A new device should appear on the computer. We install the driver from the UsbDriver folder of the previously downloaded LiveSuit.

Reasonable addition on 12/13/2012 from user Artem:

Dear users! If someone fails to enter the tablet programming mode, try connecting the tablet with a better quality USB cable and directly to the rear USB port of the computer!

PS: There is also a firmware option Phoenix program USB Pro, but more on that later.

Update as of 09/19/2012 : if you "kill" boot partition, this method may not work. This is rare, but in this case, a simple way with firmware using PhoenixCard can help. To do this, you need your own program and an empty microSD card(all data on it will be deleted as a result of PhoenixCard's work).