[GUIDE][BOOTLOADER,TWRP, ROOT]Lenovo TAB3 8/TB3-850F

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Hi mate. Not solved yet. It's not a huge problen but it's one of those things that has me wondering why. I am so excited to try the Lineage you are teasing us with above. Sounds fantastic!

Coo. Yeah I'm wrapping things up on the LineageOS 14.1 ROM. I ran into some buggy behavior on the system-wide dark mode feature I added, so I've undone all of that and resorted to good old-fashioned deodexing and per app theming with an overlay manager. This way is much nicer in terms of UI aesthetics, and won't cause stability issues like my previous implementation. While LOS 14.1 does natively support USB OTG protocol, I am adding custom OTG drivers for

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Hi mate. Not solved yet. It's not a huge problen but it's one of those things that has me wondering why. I am so excited to try the Lineage you are teasing us with above. Sounds fantastic!

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Hi mate. Not solved yet. It's not a huge problen but it's one of those things that has me wondering why. I am so excited to try the Lineage you are teasing us with above. Sounds fantastic!

I'm wrapping things up on the LineageOS 14.1 build. Had to resort to another tactic on my added dark mode feature, but it'll be better in the long run. While LOS 14.1 does natively support USB OTG protocol, I have added custom OTG drivers for added filesystem support; exFAT (R/W), FAT32 (R/W) and NTFS (R). This effectively forces recognition and accessibility on OTG storage devices which have been formatted and configured on a Windows PC, for example, and would not normally be supported by Android's native OTG implementation.

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Hi mate. Not solved yet. It's not a huge problen but it's one of those things that has me wondering why. I am so excited to try the Lineage you are teasing us with above. Sounds fantastic!

I am having some major difficulties with the XDA app as well as the XDA web-based user interface. I either cannot get my posts to add to the thread, or they will be duplicated and post multiple times. I have the app on 8 different devices and the result is always the same. When creating posts or threads, the cursor freezes and sticks, resulting in a huge effort to type even a single word. I made a post here earlier today -- which I do not see now -- that was a small paragraph, but took me nearly one hour to complete. I'm typically very calm and sedate, but my patience gets quickly unravelled on this XDA issue. Reaching my boiling point, I took my Tab3 8 and pummelled the floor with it until the logic board actually came through what was left of the digitizer assembly. While this was very therapeutic for my built up stress with this app, it does create a bit of a holdup on my LOS 14.1 project, which I was actually wrapping up. I am going to order another device and see what I can figure out about getting the XDA app to work. I may also need to get another device just for it. I'm on the web-based interface now and it's not much better. I will keep my progress posted. Thanks guys for your support.

 

[comfortable]

I am having some major difficulties with the XDA app as well as the XDA web-based user interface. I either cannot get my posts to add to the thread, or they will be duplicated and post multiple times. I have the app on 8 different devices and the result is always the same. When creating posts or threads, the cursor freezes and sticks, resulting in a huge effort to type even a single word. I made a post here earlier today -- which I do not see now -- that was a small paragraph, but took me nearly one hour to complete. I'm typically very calm and sedate, but my patience gets quickly unravelled on this XDA issue. Reaching my boiling point, I took my Tab3 8 and pummelled the floor with it until the logic board actually came through what was left of the digitizer assembly. While this was very therapeutic for my built up stress with this app, it does create a bit of a holdup on my LOS 14.1 project, which I was actually wrapping up. I am going to order another device and see what I can figure out about getting the XDA app to work. I may also need to get another device just for it. I'm on the web-based interface now and it's not much better. I will keep my progress posted. Thanks guys for your support.

Sorry to hear about the tablet!

I know the feeling. I have had a fair share of editing text frustrations on xda (I haven't tried the app yet). Please just take your time if you decide to get a new device to finish things off. No dramas if you decide not to.

Sidenote:
One of my best experiences has been with LineageOS on the samsung galaxy s5 due to the support for other filesystems (which you spoke about earlier). I guess LineageOS dropped support due to licensing?

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Sorry to hear about the tablet!

I know the feeling. I have had a fair share of editing text frustrations on xda (I haven't tried the app yet). Please just take your time if you decide to get a new device to finish things off. No dramas if you decide not to.

Sidenote:
One of my best experiences has been with LineageOS on the samsung galaxy s5 due to the support for other filesystems (which you spoke about earlier). I guess LineageOS dropped support due to licensing?

I needed a new device anyway. I have a refurbished 850f en route. The one I got a few months back was used and had considerable wear. The volume rocker was in the mid stages of giving out as well. On filesystem standards and licensing, the subject matter gets rather complex. Keep in mind that, while Android has long supported USB OTG, it has never officially supported NTFS or exFAT. Still to this day, the NTFS filesystem is not supported by AOSP., while exFAT is supported only on some newer devices. Certain device manufacturers, such as Samsung, have added such support via their custom Android overlays like Samsung Experience and One UI. Huawei done the same thing with EMUI and more recently with HarmonyOS 2.0. Samsung was also known to add native support by way of firmware implementations on some devices.
The legal waters on this topic are extremely muddy. It appears that some companies and corporate entities interpret the licensing and fair use guidelines differently, resulting in a vast disparity regarding native support of these filesystems. Some companies will, while others won't entertain the notion. Many Android file explorer apps now include native support for these filesystem standards. MiXplorer is a good example, as well as a file explorer by Paragon Software.

 

[comfortable]

I needed a new device anyway. I have a refurbished 850f en route. The one I got a few months back was used and had considerable wear. The volume rocker was in the mid stages of giving out as well.

Oh

On filesystem standards and licensing, the subject matter gets rather complex. Keep in mind that, while Android has long supported USB OTG, it has never officially supported NTFS or exFAT.

I have noticed this whenever I have tried to download a linux iso of 4GB+ on storage using fat32

Still to this day, the NTFS filesystem is not supported by AOSP., while exFAT is supported only on some newer devices. Certain device manufacturers, such as Samsung, have added such support via their custom Android overlays like Samsung Experience and One UI. Huawei done the same thing with EMUI and more recently with HarmonyOS 2.0. Samsung was also known to add native support by way of firmware implementations on some devices.
The legal waters on this topic are extremely muddy. It appears that some companies and corporate entities interpret the licensing and fair use guidelines differently, resulting in a vast disparity regarding native support of these filesystems. Some companies will, while others won't entertain the notion. Many Android file explorer apps now include native support for these filesystem standards. MiXplorer is a good example, as well as a file explorer by Paragon Software.

Good info. In my opinion better file system support is one of those critical things that's just never talked about. Thanks for your work.

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Oh


I have noticed this whenever I have tried to download a linux iso of 4GB+ on storage using fat32



Good info. In my opinion better file system support is one of those critical things that's just never talked about. Thanks for your work.

My Tab 3 8 is due to be delivered this Friday. I could have probably finished up without having a device, but I have building blind. Testing is crucial to me.
Out of curiosity, which variant of the 850F do you have? The 80 or 81 HW variant? On the back of your device will be a manufacturer's sticker with your serial number printed on it. At the end of the serial number, you will see either an 80 or 81 within parentheses...(80) or (81).

 

[comfortable]

My Tab 3 8 is due to be delivered this Friday. I could have probably finished up without having a device, but I have building blind. Testing is crucial to me.

Good policy. Take all the time you need to test.

Out of curiosity, which variant of the 850F do you have? The 80 or 81 HW variant? On the back of your device will be a manufacturer's sticker with your serial number printed on it. At the end of the serial number, you will see either an 80 or 81 within parentheses...(80) or (81).

My 850F is the 80 variant.

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Good policy. Take all the time you need to test.

My 850F is the 80 variant.

Mine too. I've only ran across maybe 3 people that own the 850f (81) variant. It seems much less common.

 

[comfortable]

Mine too. I've only ran across maybe 3 people that own the 850f (81) variant. It seems much less common.

Did they improve anything?

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Did they improve anything?

Seems to be an insignificant difference in board platforms. The (80) variant has the MediaTek mt6735m SoC, while the (81) variant has the MediaTek mt8161p. The kernels on both variants, however, are compiled for the mt6735m. The two platforms are virtually identical in terms of specs.
I got my new 850F yesterday, so I'm back at it again.

 

[limited_imagination]

Seems to be an insignificant difference in board platforms. The (80) variant has the MediaTek mt6735m SoC, while the (81) variant has the MediaTek mt8161p. The kernels on both variants, however, are compiled for the mt6735m. The two platforms are virtually identical in terms of specs.
I got my new 850F yesterday, so I'm back at it again.

I haven't visited this thread in a long time, having moved on to a Mi Pad 4 to replace my TB3-850F.

But it's really cool to see you pick up the baton on this.

You now know four people with an (81) variant... add me to the list.

Mine has a manufacturing date of 2017-04-10 on the sticker.

I look forward to testing your new build!

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

I haven't visited this thread in a long time, having moved on to a Mi Pad 4 to replace my TB3-850F.

But it's really cool to see you pick up the baton on this.

You now know four people with an (81) variant... add me to the list.

Mine has a manufacturing date of 2017-04-10 on the sticker.

I look forward to testing your new build

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I've found out that, not only are there two hardware variants to the 850F, but there are also some regional variants as well. Lenovo and Motorola have long been known to push the envelope on device variants, a tactic that has greatly broadened their global marketing of mobile devices. I am currently making bids on a 850M on eBay. If I can snatch it up at a decent price, I'm curious to see the difference between the two Tab3 8 models (other than the 850M's GSM support).
Anyway, thanks to you, @limited_imagination, @pndwal, @comfortable, and all you guys who made me feel invited here. This is the true spirit of the custom Android community. I see no roadblocks in the way for having my LOS 14.1 build posted by this weekend. I have heard from the original OP of the existing LOS 14.1 thread. He has given his blessings for my contributions as well as permission to take over his original thread. I am getting with a moderator to try and make that happen.

 

[yurais]

the google drive link is not working... could someone upload this to androidfilehost ?

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Great news gents (and ladies, if present), I will be posting a build later tonight.

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Folks I haven't jumped ship or anything. The worst aspect of a port ROM is that any development puts you in the role of cleaning up messes and fixing the errors of the handful of people who have worked on it previously. When going to put the ROM back into its default mode of SELinux enforcing, I have system apps crashing all over the place. So bad, in fact, that I booted Safe Mode to try and duplicate the crashing episodes in am emulated runtime environment.

 

[comfortable]

No rush here. Please take your time. If you feel it's too much work, that's fine too.

 

[Viva La Android R.I.P.]

Greetings. Okay I seem to have broken my first rule of thumb when staring on this project: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING. So I assumed that the LOS 14.1 ROM was integrated with a LOS boot image. Had I read the threads a little more thoroughly, I could have saved myself a ton of trouble. As you guys probably already knew, this is a dirty port hybrid boot image, with a LOS ramdisk and a stock Lenovo kernel. My trouble with SELinux enforcing, merged changes and force closing crashes have now come to light. (I do have to assume that either (1) Lenovo never released the kernel source code for the Tab3 8, or (2) nobody has sat down and actually compiled a kernel from source.) I had to go back to the drawing board on a large sum of my work. I just wanted to give an update and apologize for my huge oversight. Now that I have a full perspective of everything, I feel confident that things will go a little smoother. Plus, this will give me a base template for porting other custom builds. Our present kernel, 3.18.19, supports Android 6.0 all the way up to Android 10.
Anyway I'm elbows deep once again. Wish me luck....

 

[comfortable]

Our present kernel, 3.18.19, supports Android 6.0 all the way up to Android 10.
Anyway I'm elbows deep once again. Wish me luck....

When do we receive our refunds?