Nextbook Ares 8A with Android 6.0.1 root solutions

martyfender said:

the last folder was the unique name for that particular backups folder, such as: 2017-07-04--04-33-03_V1.2.0.MMB29M.20170216.211208.
This is getting very frustrating for me as well as you.
On your external sdcard or internal sd card, you have a folder named TWRP. You open it and within it you have a folder named BACKUPS. You open the backup folder and within it you have one named NX16A8116K or slightly different. You open it and have one named: 2017-07-10--23-29-03_V1.2.0.MMB29M.20170216.211208.
Within it you have all of the loose twrp backup files starting with the name boot.emmc.win, system.ext4.win00, system.ext4.win01.
Those are the backup files, the others are checksum files, recovery log and system info.
As far as I know you can't do that in adb. In fastboot you could with file renaming, but since the system images are split into two files, I'm not sure how they would be combined.
File permission could also be an issue, but I have not experienced that or know what would cause it. A google search revealed this.
You didn't, by chance, choose read only for the system in twrp? there is a box that shows up when you launch twrp, if I am not mistaken. In twrp click the mount button. In twrp setting, general, none of the options are checked, by default.

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martyfender said:

the last folder was the unique name for that particular backups folder, such as: 2017-07-04--04-33-03_V1.2.0.MMB29M.20170216.211208.
This is getting very frustrating for me as well as you.
On your external sdcard or internal sd card, you have a folder named TWRP. You open it and within it you have a folder named BACKUPS. You open the backup folder and within it you have one named NX16A8116K or slightly different. You open it and have one named: 2017-07-10--23-29-03_V1.2.0.MMB29M.20170216.211208.
Within it you have all of the loose twrp backup files starting with the name boot.emmc.win, system.ext4.win00, system.ext4.win01.
Those are the backup files, the others are checksum files, recovery log and system info.
As far as I know you can't do that in adb. In fastboot you could with file renaming, but since the system images are split into two files, I'm not sure how they would be combined.
File permission could also be an issue, but I have not experienced that or know what would cause it. A google search revealed this.
You didn't, by chance, choose read only for the system in twrp? there is a box that shows up when you launch twrp, if I am not mistaken. In twrp click the mount button. In twrp setting, general, none of the options are checked, by default.

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martyfender said:

That will only flash the boot.img not the system. That boot.img with your 1.1.0 system would produce no sound, wifi bluetooth. Twrp has the ability to produce a system.img, but I have never created one.
You could save your original, first backed up, boot.img named: boot.emmc.win, zip it and share it to me on google drive or other file sharing site by creating a shareble link and I could modify it to remove encryption and dm_verity and share it back to you once done. Sending the boot.emmc.win.md5, though not necessary, might be a good idea, also. It is just a checksum file to verify that the file has not changed. Then you could keep your original version 1.1.0 .You can create a shareable link in your google drive, for example.
I am off work tommorrow so I could modify it then. You would then just have to flash it only, in fastboot, and flash a different, systemless version of supersu for it to work. Systemless supersu is the official version for android 6.0+ I can't patch selinux to make it permissive as I don't have the tools or skills to do it, like vampirefo did for my original two images. Systemless supersu patches this in the boot.img for us. Let me know.
I still feel that the naming or folder structure wasn't right, somehow, though in your attempts.

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martyfender said:

Did you check each box in twrp that you wanted to back up? boot, system etc? If you had only system checked, that would explain that. you mean to say you don't have a backup of your original boot.img? before you flashed any files? The more you tell me the more it leads me to believe it is user errors.

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martyfender said:

Do you mean my 1.2.0 backup? If so hit restore, choose the proper twrp backup folder and swipe to flash it. If not, I'm not sure what you mean. you shouldn't have to mount it, but it can't be read only to restore. You are talking about my 1.2.0 backup?

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dednotebook said:

yes your 1.2.0 version, it's restoring now[/QUOTE

EXCELLENT! We finally did it! Everything is fixed, wifi, bluetooth, camera works with no issues. Marty, I know it was frustrating working with me on this, I am just grateful you did. You helped me out a lot tonight. Thanks!

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martyfender said:

That is great to hear. Was it the folder naming structure or the loose files placed in the wrong one? Please let me know how it works.
Don't forget that it takes a good amount of time to boot the first time. It will appear to be in a bootloop. 5-6 minutes. The next boot after you set it up should be much faster. After setup, test, sound, wifi and bluetooth.

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martyfender said:

So is yours named: NX16A116K instead of NX16A8116K? Can you install Aida64 from the play store? Under the system tab model what does it show? On the android tab fingerprint, what does it show?
Thanks
This could either be due to slight hardware differences or a different Intel firmware version.
Under settings about tablet what IFWI (Intel Firmware Interface) does it report? My 1.1.1 tablet is:M882_JJ.018.
A 2.1.1 tablet owner reported to me that his has M882_JJ.019.
Thanks

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martyfender said:

I've never seen that kind of behavior. Did you approve the security prompt that pops up on the tablet to allow usb debugging? After flashing the rom again that always comes up on my tablet before I can get to the first setup screen.
Is developer options enabled? settings, about tablet, tap 7 times on the build number to enable it. It should say something like: you are now a developer.

I'm on Linux now, but from what I recall, go to device manager in windows. When plugged in you should see Intel adb interface or device. Is USB debugging enabled in developer options? Look at developer options: Select USB Configuration.
Have you tested with a real charger such as the one that came with the tablet?
You might also try booting into twrp recovery and choose wipe, advanced wipe and check cache and dalvik cache and swipe to delete, then reboot. Upon reboot, you should see android is optimizing apps 1 of (the number of apps) etc. before it boots to the desktop.

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dednotebook said:

soo weird, I will try linux later, for now I have found a program called airdroid that allows file transfer via wifi

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martyfender said:

I have started this thread as a place to post a working root solution for this tablet.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nextbook...-System/122137749?variantFieldId=actual_color
This is a great Android tablet for the price. It features an updated Intel Cherry Trail quad core 1.92 GHz processor, 1gb RAM, 16gb internal storage. and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

UPDATE: I now have root, a custom TWRP recovery and modified boot images for this device.

I would like to thank @vampirefo for his TWRP and original boot images, for without his work, this would not be possible.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT HIM ABOUT THIS HE WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY SUPPORT FOR IT, THAT WILL BE PROVIDED BY ME AND OTHER GENEROUS FORUM MEMBERS.

I strongly recommend, though that you donate to him, in his signature, for all of his hard work on this, even if it is a small amount. I asked him twice about this and he never responded, so please donate to him.

His original boot.imgs are modified to remove encryption and make the kernel permissive.
I unpacked them and removed dm_verity to remove the failed verification message, on boot then repacked them.

FILES ARE UP ON ANDROID FILE HOST
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=197521
Choose the version of the tablet that you own. Go to settings, about tablet and scroll to the bottom and look at the first few numbers of the build number. For example: V1.2.0.
Do not use this on the 1.0.8 version of the tablet or you will loose sound, wifi and maybe bluetooth. If you have this version of the tablet and can provide me a twrp, backed up, original boot.img, I can modify it to work with your tablet. You can temp boot twrp, to do this (see below). As of yet no one has provided one to me for the 1.0.8 tablet version.

Here is a twrp backup of the 1.2.0 rom, with userdata deleted to start fresh. It will boot to the Android setup screen. If you have any major, unexplained problems, I recommend starting fresh with this. It works great on either tablet version: 1.1.1 and 1.2.0.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=673368273298970542

TO PREPARE YOUR DEVICE:

This will be long and thorough, because I see so many people who have trouble with this because they don't have their computer setup properly from the get go.

This will help you get ready to be successful in applying this.
First and foremost, unlocking your bootloader will delete all userdata on the tablet so you need a good backup of important files. If you backup to an external sd card, I strongly recommend also copying the files to an external source such as your computer. You can do that through mtp or remove the card and place it in an sd card adapter and insert it into an sd card reader. I did not do this, even though I knew better and my sd card was corrupted in the process, so I lost the original twrp backup of the virgin, untouched system partition.
Secondly, if you are on windows you need the proper drivers for adb and fastboot installed on your system. Proper drivers are the number one issue I see with windows users. For this Intel device get them here:
https://software.intel.com/en-us/android/articles/intel-usb-driver-for-android-devices

The best way to to set up adb and fastboot in windows is to install it system wide. Here is an installer to do this that works well:
https://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2588979

Third, enable developer options by going to settings, about tablet, and tap on the build number seven times to enable it.

Then go to developer options and make sure usb debugging is enabled. watch on the tablet screen for a popup dialog the approve usb debugging. check the box to always allow for this computer and hit ok.
Now, with the proper drivers installed, adb and fastboot properly installed, You need to test that it is functioning properly. This is done with the tablet booted into Android. If you used the adb I recommended, go to my computer, C drive and open the newly created adb folder. Left click in an open area of the folder to select it. then shift right click to open a contextual menu, then select: open a command prompt here. Once the command window is open, type:

Code:

adb devices

and hit enter:
you should see the device serial number listed. I am now doing this from linux, so it may differ,slightly:
adb devices
List of devices attached
YFGV1216059870 device
Sometimes you get starting daemon on port... and you have to type it again to see the device listed. If you don't see this, then your drivers or adb/fastboot aren't properly installed.
If you see your device, then type:

Code:

 adb reboot bootloader

and hit enter. your device should now reboot to bootloader mode. once in bootloader mode, type:

Code:

fastboot devices

enter and you device should once again be listed.
the next step, is to unlock your bootloader. Warning: ALL OF YOUR USERDATA WILL BE DELETED, HENCE THE BACKUP CREATED EARLIER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
It has come to my attention that this is not clear: after unlocking the bootloader, all userdata will be deleted, like doing a factory reset.
Go into developer options and select OEM unlocking. This does not unlock your bootloader, it only enables the ability to do it from a fastboot prompt.

Now, while still booted into bootloader mode, type:

Code:

fastboot flashing unlock

and hit enter to unlock your bootloader. All data will be deleted and the tablet will be re-encrypted upon boot, without encryption option removed from the bootloader. Now type

Code:

fastboot reboot

t, to reboot the tablet and you should reboot to the android setup screen, You can set it up again if you want, but you will be deleting userdata later when you flash the modified boot.img, so keep this in mind.
So you may want to wait to unlock until I release twrp and the boot.img, so you can continue using the tablet.
UPDATE: The files are now live.

To summarize, the above steps are to prepare you for the next exciting adventure to come and to realize the full potential that a rooted device offers..................
To be continued.

THE FILES ARE NOW ON ANDROID FILE HOST. DOWNLOAD HERE:

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=197521

Boot or flash TWRP Recovery and flash boot.img

These instructions are for Windows, for Linux you must type sudo before fastboot commands
Instructions: first make sure you read the instructions above to be sure you have the proper drivers and adb and fastboot are installed and tested before proceeding. Unlock your bootloader per above instructions. WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! THIS PROCEDURE WILL DELETE ALL USERDATA ON YOUR TABLET SO BE SURE YOU HAVE A BACKUP OF ANY IMPORTANT DATA.

First, unzip the files to a directory. I usually do it in C:\adb, and leave the SR2-SuperSU-v2.82-SYSTEMMODE.zip, zipped.

Now, left click in that folder in an empty spot, or where ever you unzipped it and select it. Now right click and choose open a command prompt here from the contextual menu. once the command window is open type

Code:

adb devices

, hit enter, to confirm your device is listed. Now type

Code:

adb reboot bootloader

and it should reboot to bootloader mode.
I recommend booting into twrp temp first so you can backup your original boot, recovery and system.
now:

Code:

fastboot boot Ares8A_recovery_twrp.img

enter and it should reboot to twrp temp. Don't choose read only after it boots. Once in twrp choose backup and hit select storage and choose micro sdcard. now swipe to backup. You can later install twrp permanently if you want to. To flash permanently:
From bootloader mode:

Code:

fastboot flash recovery Ares8A_recovery_twrp.img

Now

Code:

fastboot flash boot Ares8A_111_boot.img

enter, for the 1.1.1 version, or

Code:

fastboot flash boot Ares8A_120_boot.img

enter, for the 1.2.0 version, to flash the appropriate boot.img

For the newer 2.1.5 version of the table:

Code:

fastboot flash boot unsigned-new.img

hit the enter key, to flash.

Next, again in bootloader mode issue:

Code:

fastboot format userdata

enter, and wait for a successful message in the command window and on the tablet. it will take a little while.
Next

Code:

fastboot format cache

enter, wait. Now

Code:

fastboot reboot

hit enter, and the tablet should reboot to the android setup screen where you can set it up. It will take some extra time to reboot, so be patient. You may see the boot animation for awhile. This will be booted unencrypted now without root. I recommend doing a backup again in twrp before rooting.

There has been some misunderstanding about the above. Your data is encrypted and will not be accessible it twrp, hence, the backup before you do anything with this tablet.
You must wipe the userdata, so a new, clean data partition can be created that is unencrypted. A factory reset is not enough. You will have problems if you don't format userdata in the above step to created a decrypted data partition.

Flashing SuperSu for root
For the v1.1.1 and v1.2.0 tablets:
Make sure you have the SR1-SuperSU-v2.82-SYSTEMMODE.zip on your ext sd card.

For the newer 2.1.5 you need a systemless version of SuperSU:
SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip Get it at:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/supersu/download/zip/SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip Copy it to your external SD card.
When flashed, this systemless version will also patch your boot image for sytemless mode.

Furthermore, to install SR1-SuperSU-v2.82-SYSTEMMODE.zip, or SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip, either boot twrp temp again, from bootloader mode issue:

Code:

fastboot boot Ares8A_recovery_twrp.img

, or if you already have it installed permanently and you are booted normally, issue

Code:

adb reboot recovery

enter to boot to it.
Next hit the install button in twrp and choose SR1-SuperSU-v2.82-SYSTEMMODE.zip or SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip and swipe to confirm flash. after it is complete, go back to the main menu and choose reboot system. I choose not to install the twrp app before reboot.
Once rebooted, open the supersu app, making sure the following are selected in settings enable superuser, default access prompt or grant, enable su during boot, trust system user and enable pro, then go back and enable full content in logging. Next download a root check app to confirm root.
congratulations you should now be rooted! Now download a desired app that requires root and test to confirm you have no problems with root.
If you want an app that makes it easy to reboot in the various modes, I recommend Simple Reboot by Francisco Franco. It works great with this device and android version.
I was using Easy Reboot [ROOT] by Simone Luconi with my older, ares 8 with 5.1.1 and it had worked well.
Apparently it is not compatible with this device or rom. when I rebooted to recovery with it, I was not able to mount my external sd card and the card was corrupted on reboot. That is why I don't have a virgin, unrooted, copy of my system image now.
Good luck!

Here is a quick start guide for the already initiated:
https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=72970060&postcount=82

Please report successes and problems on this thread, not to @vampirefo.
Thanks

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dednotebook said:

Update: Used another usb cable (one that didn't come with my tablet) and all the options are there now.... I can't explain at all why that works and gives me all the file transfer option.s.

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