[REQ] [INFO] [ROOT] Walmart Black Friday Tablet: Lenovo 'Lenovopad' TB-X103F

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bornagainpenguin

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2010
379
71
There's been a lot of changes since I posted this thread!

We've now got a rom for LineageOS 14.X based on Nougat which can be found in its own thread here!

This thread is still useful because it provides links to the history of how the tablet was rooted and how we were able to get a custom recovery but all discussion on the LineageOS rom should take place in that thread from now on. When new roms are created I will add them to this first post for posterity so everyone can find them. Does anyone know how to best request our own forum? I think we're starting to get big enough one would be of use...

Here's what we have so far....

First we unlock the bootloader, explained here. Thanks for the easy to follow summary, 20tibby_gt06!

Extracted stock recovery here. Thanks jmo!

Stock image with root and updates. Can be fastboot flashed here. Another debt of gratitude to jmo!

Working TWRP recovery image here. Thank you bbelos for getting this working for us!

A listing of items you might wish to freeze upon rooting here. Thanks Pegasus Epsilon for posting this!

Another list of apps you might wish to freeze or remove here. This time courtesy of GartimusPrime

Lineage ROM, Build one Current Build: lineage-13.0-20170219-UNOFFICIAL-x103f.zip All hail bbelos for hacking away at this and sharing the results!

As per usual all things related to rooting and installing roms is at the users' own risk. You also assume the responsibilities of administering your own hardware when you seize administrative rights and control. Be careful and responsible when undertaking any actions. These links are intended to help find discussed items in the thread, not act as an HOWTO. You must do your reading before acting on anything or the brick you create will be yours to hold.

PS: What else do we need to petition for an official section for our tablet? We've got root, unlocked the bootloader, and a mostly functional rom created via Lineage by that wonderful individual known as bbelos. What else do we need?

Original post quoted below:


I've searched and searched the site and Google for answers before giving up and posting this thread.

I picked up the new Walmart Black Friday tablet, which is known as Lenovo TB-X103F or model ZA1U0000US depending on where you look. I'm mostly satisfied with it as is, but I desperately miss my adblocker and my xposed framework features, as well as the ability to move updated apks to the system partition so as to not have redundant apps wasting space.

Unfortunately there is very little information available about this tablet.

Walmart.com listing

Energy Star page.

Lenovo's own website doesn't seem to have much mention of it beyond the source code dump listed here. I run Ubuntu on my laptop and my TV box for Kodi but I couldn't tell you if the code has everything and it would be possible for someone to build something or if it's missing critical information making hopes of a new community rom or cyanogenmod rom impossible. Does anyone else have this model tablet and know how to root it, put in a recovery? The one that comes with the device is in Chinese so I powered it off because I wasn't sure how else to get out of there.

Thanks in advance for all help given.
 
Last edited:

bornagainpenguin

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2010
379
71
yes i am trying to figure out how to root this tablet but i am having no luck. i hope their are some solutions
Do you have a Windows machine? Have you given Kingoroot a try from Windows yet?

I don't have a Windows box so I haven't tried it yet.

I did notice there's an option in Developer Options to allow OEM unlocking, which allows the bootloader to be unlocked but am not sure if it actually does anything or not.

Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk
 
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volkstony

Member
Sep 11, 2016
10
1
re:

yes i have a windows laptop. i have had no luck with either versions of kingo root on this tablet. all my android items have been rooted and upgraded with no issues but this tablet has not been cooperating at all lol. i hope someone will have a solution for this tablet soon.
 

pwillikers

Member
Oct 30, 2012
5
3
I also bought one of these "Lenovo TAB 10 (TB-X103X)" tablets from WallyMart for $100. It is an apparently excellent tablet, perfect for my intended purpose. Great screen albeit only 800 lines but rich colors and bright. And it is speedy.

I tried the following to root it with no success:
Towelroot: tr.apk​
Kingroot: KingoRoot.apk​
Kingroot: via ADB​

Booting the tab into it's stock "Recovery(?)" (power + volume down) confronts the user with a Chinese language "Recovery" (in quotes because I don't read Chinese so it actually could be saying anything like "ROOT? HAHAHA"):

Here's a link to a picture of the recovery screen: tinyurl.com/jhfwgt7

Anyone care to translate into English? Please? Is one of these options for the purpose of installing a .zip file (like SuperSU)?

Another thing to try is installing a custom Recovery like TWRP and from that installing SuperSU. I have little confidence that TWRP will install on this device so using the stock recovery may be a better option, if it is an option at all.
 

jmo

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2005
83
36
I was able to get the bootloader unlocked as well and have since confirmed that it is unlocked. However, I believe that is just the first step. We need a custom recovery made for it and then we should have no problem getting root. I don't know what is required to make a custom recovery but since the source code is available, it seems like this is something that someone smarter than I might be able to accomplish. Anyone know anything about custom recoveries?

Jonathan
 
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bornagainpenguin

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2010
379
71
61a91f196e8192c83ac3158c55f16023.jpg


This is an image of what I see when I boot from a shut down tablet with the volume down button and the power button held down. Does anyone read enough Chinese to tell us what it says?

Doing the boot from a shut down tablet and volume up and power button held gives a different screen, which is in English and resembles Clockwise recovery.



Sent from my 0PM92 using Tapatalk
 

jmo

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2005
83
36
Rough translation

61a91f196e8192c83ac3158c55f16023.jpg


This is an image of what I see when I boot from a shut down tablet with the volume down button and the power button held down. Does anyone read enough Chinese to tell us what it says?

Doing the boot from a shut down tablet and volume up and power button held gives a different screen, which is in English and resembles Clockwise recovery.


----------------------
Good find. However, it seems to just be a diagnostic app.
1) Display backlight
2) Button
3) Motor
4) Display
5) After the camera (I am guessing back camera)
6) Front Camera
7) Speaker
8) Headset
etc...

I just used an app that would translate the text. Good to know but probably not helpful in obtaining root.
 

jmo

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2005
83
36
Root/Recovery Bounty?

I could really use these tablet for a project that I am working on. However, I need root and custom recovery. It is a pretty nice tablet, especially for the price. I picked it up at my local Wal-mart for $79. They still have a stack of them. I have heard of people putting out "bounties" for rooting, etc. I am not rich, but I would be willing to put up some money. I could even provide a device to a qualified person to experiment on. Any other interest in adding to the bounty?
 

Rooted Droid

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2015
158
46
25
Barrie
Well a good place for you guys to start would be finding out if the device bootloader is locked. If you have windows (don't know if you can do this on MAC or Ubuntu) you can download the Android SDK and when connected to the device with debugging enabled type in CMD in the adb and fastboot folder "fastboot oem status" to possibly find out if its locked and "fastboot oem unlock" to unlock it if you're willing to take the risk.

Get back to me with your thoughts on this and if this works and unlocks it/its already unlocked, check if the device has an MTK Chipset. If it does there's a tool to make custom CWM Recovery's for MTK devices and you could flash a SuperSU zip from there.

Best of luck guys! :D
 

bornagainpenguin

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2010
379
71
Well a good place for you guys to start would be finding out if the device bootloader is locked. If you have windows (don't know if you can do this on MAC or Ubuntu) you can download the Android SDK and when connected to the device with debugging enabled type in CMD in the adb and fastboot folder "fastboot oem status" to possibly find out if its locked and "fastboot oem unlock" to unlock it if you're willing to take the risk.

Don't currently have access to a Windows machine at moment. My stuff is all Linux or my MacBook (which I'm increasingly developing a loathing for). I take it that the 'unlock bootloader' option in Developer Options is not really something that does anything then?

Get back to me with your thoughts on this and if this works and unlocks it/its already unlocked, check if the device has an MTK Chipset. If it does there's a tool to make custom CWM Recovery's for MTK devices and you could flash a SuperSU zip from there.

Best of luck guys! :D

OK, this I can answer. It has a Snapdragon 210 not an MTK. People were ragging down the tablet before Black Friday because of that so it stuck in my memory.

Sent from my 0PM92 using Tapatalk
 

Rooted Droid

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2015
158
46
25
Barrie
. I take it that the 'unlock bootloader' option in Developer Options is not really something that does anything then?.

I really couldn't tell you if the unlock bootloader in developer options would really unlock it (though it defiantly would make sense to!) without checking the status in CMD.

If the "device status" CMD doesn't work then I'm pretty sure it means there isn't a bootloader lock/its always unlocked. There is an alternative for Mac and Linux os's to do this I think but I can't remember how its done. (Worst case scenario use a virtual machine to run these tests in windows).

After we figure this out, since you said you can't find anything on this tablet, there probably isn't a custom recovery. (There is a tool to make Recovery's but its for MTK chipsets, although there may be a tool or something now for snapdragon chips to make them).

If you are able to look into checking the lock status using Mac/Linux and you find it's unlocked/unlockable, then there is also a way for Mac and Linux (or a virtual machine) to push a superuser zip with the CMD.

Let me know if what I wrote wasn't straightforward enough because I confused myself a bit even writing it lol.

Best of luck! :D
 
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jmo

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2005
83
36
Bootloader can be unlocked - Confirmed

I really couldn't tell you if the unlock bootloader in developer options would really unlock it (though it defiantly would make sense to!) without checking the status in CMD.

If the "device status" CMD doesn't work then I'm pretty sure it means there isn't a bootloader lock/its always unlocked. There is an alternative for Mac and Linux os's to do this I think but I can't remember how its done. (Worst case scenario use a virtual machine to run these tests in windows).

After we figure this out, since you said you can't find anything on this tablet, there probably isn't a custom recovery. (There is a tool to make Recovery's but its for MTK chipsets, although there may be a tool or something now for snapdragon chips to make them).

If you are able to look into checking the lock status using Mac/Linux and you find it's unlocked/unlockable, then there is also a way for Mac and Linux (or a virtual machine) to push a superuser zip with the CMD.

Let me know if what I wrote wasn't straightforward enough because I confused myself a bit even writing it lol.

Best of luck! :D

I can confirm that the bootload can be easily unlocked. I have done this with my device and verified the status.

---------- Post added at 12:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:49 PM ----------

I really couldn't tell you if the unlock bootloader in developer options would really unlock it (though it defiantly would make sense to!) without checking the status in CMD.

If the "device status" CMD doesn't work then I'm pretty sure it means there isn't a bootloader lock/its always unlocked. There is an alternative for Mac and Linux os's to do this I think but I can't remember how its done. (Worst case scenario use a virtual machine to run these tests in windows).

After we figure this out, since you said you can't find anything on this tablet, there probably isn't a custom recovery. (There is a tool to make Recovery's but its for MTK chipsets, although there may be a tool or something now for snapdragon chips to make them).

If you are able to look into checking the lock status using Mac/Linux and you find it's unlocked/unlockable, then there is also a way for Mac and Linux (or a virtual machine) to push a superuser zip with the CMD.

Let me know if what I wrote wasn't straightforward enough because I confused myself a bit even writing it lol.

Best of luck! :D

I have tried flashing SuperSU on my device both before and after bootloader unlock. The factory recovery will only flash ZIP that are signed with their signature, so despite having the bootloader unlocked, I think we need a custom recovery to gain root access. Does anyone know of a recovery for the same chip? I am willing to put mine at risk, I just haven't found an option.
 

Rooted Droid

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2015
158
46
25
Barrie
I can confirm that the bootload can be easily unlocked. I have done this with my device and verified the status.

I have tried flashing SuperSU on my device both before and after bootloader unlock. The factory recovery will only flash ZIP that are signed with their signature, so despite having the bootloader unlocked, I think we need a custom recovery to gain root access. Does anyone know of a recovery for the same chip? I am willing to put mine at risk, I just haven't found an option.

That's good news to hear its unlocked, nothing will ever flash in a stock recovery unfortunately unless developed by the OEM, so now its the more difficult part.. I did a quick look around and I can't seem to find a recovery. I found out though, if you can find a recovery with the same chipset and the same resolution, it's able to be ported. (Pretty sure I read somewhere that twrp can't be ported so it'd have to be cwm, phillz or another one. Not entirely sure though).

A lot of the ones I came across while looking for a portable recovery were all guides for MTK devices and I haven't found a snapdragon one yet :/.

Also I appreciate you willing to put your device at risk, but I want to be damn sure its right first otherwise its not worth messing up your tablet! :)

We're making good progress here now
 

jmo

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2005
83
36
Any recoveries?

That's good news to hear its unlocked, nothing will ever flash in a stock recovery unfortunately unless developed by the OEM, so now its the more difficult part.. I did a quick look around and I can't seem to find a recovery. I found out though, if you can find a recovery with the same chipset and the same resolution, it's able to be ported. (Pretty sure I read somewhere that twrp can't be ported so it'd have to be cwm, phillz or another one. Not entirely sure though).

A lot of the ones I came across while looking for a portable recovery were all guides for MTK devices and I haven't found a snapdragon one yet :/.

Also I appreciate you willing to put your device at risk, but I want to be damn sure its right first otherwise its not worth messing up your tablet! :)

We're making good progress here now

Anyone who finds any recoveries that are similar in hardware, please let me know.
 

pwillikers

Member
Oct 30, 2012
5
3
I could really use these tablet for a project that I am working on. However, I need root and custom recovery. It is a pretty nice tablet, especially for the price. I picked it up at my local Wal-mart for $79. They still have a stack of them. I have heard of people putting out "bounties" for rooting, etc. I am not rich, but I would be willing to put up some money. I could even provide a device to a qualified person to experiment on. Any other interest in adding to the bounty?

I went by WallyMart to buy (another)one for my wife. Was the $79. you paid a day sale or something? They're $99 in TX.
 
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jmo

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2005
83
36
Local Wal-mart

I went by WallyMart to buy (another)one for my wife. Was the $79. you paid a day sale or something? They're $99 in TX.

My local Wal-mart just has a stack of them out on the counter (approx 20) with the $79 price on them. They aren't going very fast but they don't have any display models out and you would have to look for them to find them.
 
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  • 13
    There's been a lot of changes since I posted this thread!

    We've now got a rom for LineageOS 14.X based on Nougat which can be found in its own thread here!

    This thread is still useful because it provides links to the history of how the tablet was rooted and how we were able to get a custom recovery but all discussion on the LineageOS rom should take place in that thread from now on. When new roms are created I will add them to this first post for posterity so everyone can find them. Does anyone know how to best request our own forum? I think we're starting to get big enough one would be of use...

    Here's what we have so far....

    First we unlock the bootloader, explained here. Thanks for the easy to follow summary, 20tibby_gt06!

    Extracted stock recovery here. Thanks jmo!

    Stock image with root and updates. Can be fastboot flashed here. Another debt of gratitude to jmo!

    Working TWRP recovery image here. Thank you bbelos for getting this working for us!

    A listing of items you might wish to freeze upon rooting here. Thanks Pegasus Epsilon for posting this!

    Another list of apps you might wish to freeze or remove here. This time courtesy of GartimusPrime

    Lineage ROM, Build one Current Build: lineage-13.0-20170219-UNOFFICIAL-x103f.zip All hail bbelos for hacking away at this and sharing the results!

    As per usual all things related to rooting and installing roms is at the users' own risk. You also assume the responsibilities of administering your own hardware when you seize administrative rights and control. Be careful and responsible when undertaking any actions. These links are intended to help find discussed items in the thread, not act as an HOWTO. You must do your reading before acting on anything or the brick you create will be yours to hold.

    PS: What else do we need to petition for an official section for our tablet? We've got root, unlocked the bootloader, and a mostly functional rom created via Lineage by that wonderful individual known as bbelos. What else do we need?

    Original post quoted below:


    I've searched and searched the site and Google for answers before giving up and posting this thread.

    I picked up the new Walmart Black Friday tablet, which is known as Lenovo TB-X103F or model ZA1U0000US depending on where you look. I'm mostly satisfied with it as is, but I desperately miss my adblocker and my xposed framework features, as well as the ability to move updated apks to the system partition so as to not have redundant apps wasting space.

    Unfortunately there is very little information available about this tablet.

    Walmart.com listing

    Energy Star page.

    Lenovo's own website doesn't seem to have much mention of it beyond the source code dump listed here. I run Ubuntu on my laptop and my TV box for Kodi but I couldn't tell you if the code has everything and it would be possible for someone to build something or if it's missing critical information making hopes of a new community rom or cyanogenmod rom impossible. Does anyone else have this model tablet and know how to root it, put in a recovery? The one that comes with the device is in Chinese so I powered it off because I wasn't sure how else to get out of there.

    Thanks in advance for all help given.
    12
    lineage-13.0-20170219-UNOFFICIAL-x103f.zip

    Alright, I have a Lineage 13.0 build for anyone anxious to try it out. :D

    It's not 100% working but it seems to be in pretty decent shape.
    Working:
    Camera, Wifi, Bluetooth, Netflix (etc.)., GPS

    Partially working:
    Music audio isn't working thru the speakers, but will play over bluetooth. (Fixed as of 2/16/17)

    Not working:
    Internal GPS (Working 2/19/17)
    Wired Headphones (Working 2/19/17)
    Gestures
    Let me know

    Don't forget your gapps. I recommend opengapps (i personally prefer the nano version, although it shouldn't matter which one you pick).

    Download: lineage-13.0-20170219-UNOFFICIAL-x103f.zip (~400MB)

    This is built on the Lineage cm-13.0 branch and currently uses the following gerrit patches (for those of you building at home):
    https://review.lineageos.org/#/c/160205/ (Not needed after 2/14/17)
    https://review.lineageos.org/#/c/161396/ (Not needed after 2/13/17)
    https://review.lineageos.org/#/c/161397/ (Not needed after 2/13/17)
    https://review.lineageos.org/#/c/161398/ (Not needed after 2/13/17)

    Sources:
    https://github.com/bbelos/android_device_lenovo_x103f
    https://github.com/bbelos/android_kernel_lenovo_msm8909
    https://github.com/bbelos/proprietary_vendor_lenovo_x103f
    11
    OK, one more. Sorry for the spam but I think I figured out what I was missing.

    This version required no post-build manipulation. I was able to reboot normally from this build. I also did a seemingly successful data restore. I didn't test everything yet, but if anyone finds anything broken, please let me know.
    6
    Updated build

    OK, I have uploaded a new build. Fixed the headphones, GPS, and the input rotation (this means extra gerrit patch no longer necessary).

    Le me know if you find any problems or otherwise think of something missing from stock. Thanks :D

    You can find it in the previous post, #168
    6
    Post #25 has the instructions with unlocking the bootloader. It might be hard to follow, but the instructions are:

    Have adb and fastboot installed

    Be sure to enable "OEM unlocking" under Developer Options (enable developer options by tapping "Build Number" several times in succession)
    Reboot into bootloader "adb reboot bootloader"
    You should see the device with Fastboot (fastboot devices)
    Use command "fastboot oem unlock-go'
    That's it. Device will reset.


    For myself I had to reboot into recovery to get device to reset.