[GUIDE][SM-T290/SM-T290N] Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) - How to Install LineageOS 18.1 (GSI) + Gapps

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Just Mike

Just Mike

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V0latyle said:
I wasn't flashing the Multidisabler every time, I only thought you had to do that the first time. I did before flashing 18.1, but all I did when I flashed 19.1 is wipe data (even though data should have been clean, didn't complete setup)

I'm really starting to hate Samsung. I wish the Pixel Slates weren't so expensive. I'd love a tablet powered by an i7...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. I should've been more clear about the Multidisabler, small mistake from my end.

I did hear about those Pixel Slate tablets, but they don't sell those in The Netherlands afaik, so I don't know a whole lot about them. In fact they only recently started to sell the Pixel 7 here, the older models had to be imported from Germany.

But to stay on topic, did the 19.1 image actually boot?
 
V0latyle

V0latyle

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Just Mike said:
I see. I should've been more clear about the Multidisabler, small mistake from my end.

I did hear about those Pixel Slate tablets, but they don't sell those in The Netherlands afaik, so I don't know a whole lot about them. In fact they only recently started to sell the Pixel 7 here, the older models had to be imported from Germany.

But to stay on topic, did the 19.1 image actually boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got 18.1 to boot, I wiped data and flashed 19.1. It booted no problem. But after trying various 20.0 images, all of which bootlooped, I tried wiping data and going back to 19.1, and it still bootloops.

I'll screw with it some more this evening
 
Just Mike

Just Mike

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V0latyle said:
When I got 18.1 to boot, I wiped data and flashed 19.1. It booted no problem. But after trying various 20.0 images, all of which bootlooped, I tried wiping data and going back to 19.1, and it still bootloops.

I'll screw with it some more this evening
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A'ight. Just follow the instructions I listed and you should be good. Good luck! :)
 
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V0latyle

V0latyle

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So the multidisabler fails:
Code: 
- Detected a T290 device with a ATF1 bootloader.
- The environment appears to be Android 16.
- Mounting /system_root...
-   Attempt failed.  Mounting at /system_root...
-   Even that attempt failed.  Aborting...
I noticed that I can't mount/unmount /system in TWRP. Not sure why.
 
Just Mike

Just Mike

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V0latyle said:
So the multidisabler fails:
Code: 
- Detected a T290 device with a ATF1 bootloader.
- The environment appears to be Android 16.
- Mounting /system_root...
-   Attempt failed.  Mounting at /system_root...
-   Even that attempt failed.  Aborting...
I noticed that I can't mount/unmount /system in TWRP. Not sure why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Hmm...

Not sure if this will help, but can you try to reboot to recovery and try to format data and flash the multidisabler again?
 
V0latyle

V0latyle

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Just Mike said:
Same here. Hmm...

Not sure if this will help, but can you try to reboot to recovery and try to format data and flash the multidisabler again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wiping /system fixes it

I got the 20.0 bvS to boot, but Gapps didn't install properly.

Still testing to confirm this but it almost seems like the unrooted flavors are the ones that are bootlooping?

Yep...Seems like that is the case. The only images that will boot are the S ones, but I don't use SuperSu
 
Last edited:
Just Mike

Just Mike

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V0latyle said:
Wiping /system fixes it

I got the 20.0 bvS to boot, but Gapps didn't install properly.

Still testing to confirm this but it almost seems like the unrooted flavors are the ones that are bootlooping?

Yep...Seems like that is the case. The only images that will boot are the S ones, but I don't use SuperSu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A'ight, we're making progress!

I also don't use SuperSu, but I'll just leave the Phh menu in the settings alone.

You also mentioned that Gapps failed to install, did it give out any sort of error?
 
V0latyle

V0latyle

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Just Mike said:
A'ight, we're making progress!

I also don't use SuperSu, but I'll just leave the Phh menu in the settings alone.

You also mentioned that Gapps failed to install, did it give out any sort of error?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hadn't resized system.

Talked to Andy in his thread, it sounds like the issue may be the secure builds, not root.
 
Just Mike

Just Mike

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V0latyle said:
I hadn't resized system.

Talked to Andy in his thread, it sounds like the issue may be the secure builds, not root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Although I haven't tried any of the secure builds, could you try to test any of the secure builds to see if any of those can actually boot? Or did you flash the secure builds instead of the regular flavours?
 
V0latyle

V0latyle

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Just Mike said:
I see. Although I haven't tried any of the secure builds, could you try to test any of the secure builds to see if any of those can actually boot? Or did you flash the secure builds instead of the regular flavours?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first I thought it was the builds with root, but it turns out that ALL the builds without root are secure. I haven't done extensive testing with 18.1, but since all builds are rooted and none are secure, I think it's pointless. It appears that on the T290, the secure/unrooted builds crash. @AndyYan is aware of the issue as the props changes seem to affect other devices as well.
 
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levanhoanh2000

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thepalek1ng said:
5. Go back into Install and select your MindTheGapps zip file and install it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hi bro, I followed your guide to step 5, and it's no enough space to install Gapps. But I can't see the System partition in TWRP to do the next step, even I tried to Mount it. Any suggestion here? Thanks.
z3967069018444_1530fb98f189dcfc557b07c7cd16942c.jpg
 
ebod

ebod

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OPPO Find X3 Pro
Hi, I'm here with a UK stock rom SM-T295 ( LTE version ) that I want to upgrade to LineageOS 20.0 but so far in 2 attempts I've failed.

I've got bootloader unlocked ( with stupid annoying Samsung warning message ) and achieved root using TWRP following a guide on this forum for the SM-295.
My stock rom is not the oldest..nor the newest. Its an Android 10 version. Not sure whether it matters either way.
I was guided to use a GSI file on xz file which I unzipped to an img file added to and SD card. I did a thorough wipe beforehand of all except internal folders and SD card.
The image install appeared to go fine, but on re-start it was just stuck in a boot cycle.

Its painful recovering everything back to a rooted stock rom and keeping TWRP installed too. So I just wanted some clear direction on taking an unlocked/rooted SM-T295 and making it. Android 13 Maybe some of these snippets of pics I've taken along the route can trigger some to spot glitches.
Thanks
 

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thinsea

thinsea

New member
Feb 28, 2023
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ebod said:
Hi, I'm here with a UK stock rom SM-T295 ( LTE version ) that I want to upgrade to LineageOS 20.0 but so far in 2 attempts I've failed.

I've got bootloader unlocked ( with stupid annoying Samsung warning message ) and achieved root using TWRP following a guide on this forum for the SM-295.
My stock rom is not the oldest..nor the newest. Its an Android 10 version. Not sure whether it matters either way.
I was guided to use a GSI file on xz file which I unzipped to an img file added to and SD card. I did a thorough wipe beforehand of all except internal folders and SD card.
The image install appeared to go fine, but on re-start it was just stuck in a boot cycle.

Its painful recovering everything back to a rooted stock rom and keeping TWRP installed too. So I just wanted some clear direction on taking an unlocked/rooted SM-T295 and making it. Android 13 Maybe some of these snippets of pics I've taken along the route can trigger some to spot glitches.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash BL first https://xdaforums.com/t/root-instru...g-galaxy-tab-a-8-0-2019.4515305/post-88202549
 
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RyanMychael

RyanMychael

Member
Dec 29, 2018
20
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S4
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
I’m currently running Pixel Experience Plus on my sm-t290.

How well does it work?

On first boot the Google logo was off center and was zoomed in and at the bottom right corner of the screen. When the OS booted up everything displayed correctly.

During setup with connected but then gave a message saying something to the effect of, “WiFi cannot connect.” So if I’m mistaken I skipped setting up with WiFi and finished the setup. I then turned it back on and it worked fine.

I haven’t tested this enough, but several webpages that I tried on Chrome seem to load slow (but this could just be on my end).

At some point (and I can’t remember why or what I was doing) I was getting an error about settings (while in the settings app), but I just chose “wait” and it didn’t crash or anything. This happened maybe 3 times. If I happens again I’ll report back what exactly I was doing at the time.

I disabled a lot of apps and turned off all system sounds as well as animations (which I always do with any device that I’m using).

Screencast doesn’t seem to work (which I have never personally gotten it to work on any GSI that I’ve ever installed, and there are many on other devices).

Bluetooth couldn’t pick up, or find any devices but I’ll have to do more testing, for it was brief.

My thoughts:

Overall, it runs just as good as it did on stock firmware. It’s certainly usable depending on what you’re going to be using it for, and if rooted (and with some tweaking) I could see it being used regularly.

I will be trying other GSI builds and reporting back if anybody is interested.
 
Last edited:
L

LUCID_DREE

Senior Member
May 4, 2020
140
19
Realme 5
Follow up :
Can we utilize the info in my comment in this thread in gaining some control on SM -T290's bootloader ?
xdaforums.com

[ROM][OFFICIAL][13] LineageOS 20.0 for the SM-T290 (gtowifi)

WARNING: Samsung rolled out a new firmware update starting roughly at the end of January 2023. This contains bootloader version 4. From what we understand with SM-T295 bootloaders, this may or may not permanently lock you out from ever flashing...
xdaforums.com xdaforums.com
 
traman124

traman124

Senior Member
Mar 31, 2023
306
89
Longmont, CO
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S III
Samsung Galaxy Tab A series
V0latyle said:
So the multidisabler fails:
Code: 
- Detected a T290 device with a ATF1 bootloader.
- The environment appears to be Android 16.
- Mounting /system_root...
-   Attempt failed.  Mounting at /system_root...
-   Even that attempt failed.  Aborting...
I noticed that I can't mount/unmount /system in TWRP. Not sure why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here - I just flashed the Project Elixir GSI and had similar problems (tried to bypass face unlock at setup but could not mount system in TWRP).

I also started to get space not available errors when trying to flash another GSI until I reflashed stock and TWRP.
 
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    thepalek1ng
    thepalek1ng
    Hello!

    So recently I was able to install LineageOS 18.1 (GSI) + GApps on my Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8 (SM-T290) tablet and wanted to share how I did it. I noticed a lack of decent step-by-step guides to modding this tablet so I figure I'd share what I learned through scouring multiple threads and through multiple headaches. Fun fact: I also got this working with LineageOS 19 (GSI), however it ran pretty poorly and Android 12 is ugly as hell so why bother anyway? ALSO interestingly enough, you'll see I wrote [SM-T290N] in the title as well. That is the model of the Kid's Edition of this phone, which happens to be the one I had. So I can confirm this process works for the Kid's Edition of this tablet as well as the original.

    Some Things To Note
    Below I'll list the software/firmware I used in this process. You don't necessarily need to follow this exactly but I don't see any reason not to. The end result is a working install of LineageOS with GApps so if that's what you want I would just follow along step-by-step. ALSO I'm writing this from memory so if I make a mistake please let me know and I'll try and correct it.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    What You'll Need
    Your tablet
    A USB Cable to connect your tablet to your PC
    A 4GB+ MicroSD card
    A Windows PC
    Some patience

    Instructions
    Preparing Your MicroSD Card
    1. Place the LineageOS 18.1 .img file from this thread (On SourceForge, there is a section below the files about the naming conventions and how they relate to the hardware of your device and configuration of your ROM. I used the lineage-18.1-20220315-UNOFFICIAL-arm64_bvS-vndklite.img.xz image for my device. If your device is slightly different, you can use Treble Info to determine what ROM you should use. Just make sure to use the VNDKLITE rom if your device supports it.
    2. Place the multidisabler .zip folder on there as well. This will preserve encryption provided by TWRP after rebooting.
    3. Finally, place the MindTheGapps .zip folder on your SD card (make sure to get the correct version. In my case this was the 11.00-arm64 version).
    4. Insert your MicroSD card into your device.

    Unlocking the Bootloader
    So the first thing you're gonna want to do is unlock your OEM bootloader on your Samsung device.

    1. Go to Settings->About Phone->Software Information and look for a field called "Build Number". Tap this Five Times until you see a notification saying developer settings were enabled.
    2. Go to Settings->Developer Settings and look for the setting labeled OEM Unlock and turn it on.
    If you don't see this setting try connecting to wifi, changing your date and time to around two months prior (I set mine to back to May 2021 since the firmware I was using was set in July 2021), then go back to your developer settings and switch them off and back on again. You should now see the OEM Unlock option.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    3. From here, you can reboot your device into Recovery Mode by holding the Vol+ and Vol- buttons when the device begins to boot again.
    4. You should see a blue screen with some options. Press the Vol+ button to enter Download Mode. This is where you'll use Odin to flash the firmware you need as well as TWRP.

    Flashing Firmware
    So when I attempted this process I used Magendanz's Unofficial TWRP 3.6.0 as it is the only version of TWRP I found for this device. I also used Odin v3.14.1_3B Patched from this XDA thread. Magendanz's TWRP requires you to have the T290XXU3CUG4 Firmware (I used the XAR region) in order to flash TWRP to your device (you can check wether or not you already have this firmware on your phone by looking the About Phone section again). It takes a while to download though make sure you have some time.

    1. Download Odin and run the program. Unzip your firmware folder and use the relevant files when selecting the BL, AP, CP, CSC fields in Odin. I didn't use the HOME_CSC just leave it blank.
    2. Connect your device via USB and Flash this firmware to your device.
    3. Once your device restarts, go through the setup process and then repeat the Unlocking the Bootloader instructions above in order to make sure it is unlocked again.
    4. Reboot your device the same way as stated above.

    Flashing TWRP
    Before starting, be aware that after you flash TWRP to your device, your device will restart and attempt to open the stock system again. You're going to want to hold the Power and Vol+ buttons simultaneously. You will likely get a warning screen saying that the bootloader is unlocked and may ask you to do a factory reset, this (I believe) is fine. The key here is that once you press the Power Button to continue (as instructed on the warning screen) you'll want to immediately press and hold the Power and Vol+ keys for around 6 Seconds before letting go again (you should be seeing the Samsung Galaxy Tab A logo screen). After letting go, wait around 3-4 seconds, if nothing changes, restart the device by holding all three buttons (Power, Vol+,Vol-) and attempt the process again. It's a pain in the ass but you'll get it eventually. Just make sure not to let the device boot into the system again as that can cause problems in TWRP and you'll likely have to start the process over (from flashing the firmware).

    1. Once your tablet is once again in Download Mode, open Odin again and flash the TWRP (tar.md5 file) to the AP (recovery) partition. Do not use any of the other partitions.
    2. If this is successful, your phone will begin to reboot. Quickly press and hold the combination of buttons Power and Vol+ until you see the warning dialog pop up. Once you do, release all buttons and be ready to quickly press and release the Power button continue, and then immediately after press and hold the Power and Vol+ buttons again for 6 seconds. After around 6 seconds, release all buttons. Wait around 3-4 seconds and, if the screen does not change to the TWRP logo, restart the device by pressing and holding all buttons simultaneously and try this step again.
    3. If you have entered into TWRP, congrats!

    Installing Custom ROM + Software in TWRP
    1. The first thing you'll want to do is select the Wipe->Format Data. Type 'yes' and hit enter (or swipe I forget which).
    2. Next, select Install, and then select your MicroSD card as your storage device. You should see your zip files (if not switch from the install image option).
    3. Install the multidisabler, do not reboot
    4. Go back into Install and select Install Image (might not be the exact naming) option. Select your MicroSD card as the storage device again and install the LineageOS 18.1 rom. Do not reboot.
    5. Go back into Install and select your MindTheGapps zip file and install it.
    Now, a lot of people run into a problem when trying to install Gapps which is your device complaining about no more available space in the system partition. If this is the case, go back to Wipe and select Advanced Wipe. Select your system partition and then select Change or Repair Partition. Once you're here you should see the size and available space of your partition. You'll want to hit Resize Partition and let it do it's thing. To confirm it worked, go back to Wipe->Advanced Wipe->Select System->Change or Repair Partition and your available space should be much larger now. Now just attempt to install MindTheGapps again.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    Final Steps
    Once you reboot you should be able to successfully reach the setup screen for Lineage. Go through the steps of setting up your device as usual and be sure that Gapps are installed. Go ahead and re-enable developer settings and enable USB-Debugging and Root Debugging. The reason for this is that, when I first installed Gapps, Google Play Protect would keep throwing warnings at me about my device not being Google Play Certified. This means I couldn't actually use any of the google play services. If you run into the same issue, here are the steps you can take to fix it:

    1. First, go into Settings->Apps and find your Google Play Services app. Clear the cache and delete the app data, then reboot your device. If you try and sign into the Google Play store and you are able to without getting any play protect warnings, then you're good you can disregard the following steps.
    2. If you are still receiving these warnings, you'll want to head over to this site and follow the instructions (I'm not gonna tell you how to use ADB here). Once you submit your framework ID, reboot your device. Everything should be working fine now.

    And that's it! If I am forgetting any steps please let me know, again I am writing this from memory of the process so it may be missing some minor details. I hope this helps!!!
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    Just Mike
    Just Mike
    V0latyle said:
    Shouldn't matter, TWRP is the same for both variants.

    There's two ways to get around the secure check fail problem:
    1. After updating via Odin, make sure you immediately interrupt the boot and force reboot into Download Mode. Then, flash TWRP.
    2. Or, after updating, allow your device to boot to Android, skip through the setup wizard (make sure you connect to the internet), and enable Developer Options. Ensure OEM Unlocking is there and grayed out. If not, leave it for a bit until it is. This disables Vaultkeeper on the bootloader. Then, reboot to download mode and flash TWRP.
    3. In both cases, after flashing TWRP, DO NOT let the device boot into Android. Force boot into recovery, then install the Multidisabler from here.

    Now to my own problem...
    I don't know what I did differently (or wrong) but I cannot get LineageOS to boot correctly on my T290. I was running 18.1 before. I recently updated to CVG3 and followed the same process as I did before - flashed TWRP, then installed the LineageOS GSI to /system.

    18.1 continuously bootloops without even loading LineageOS.
    19.1 gets to the LineageOS splash screen, and occasionally the setup screen, but continuously reboots also.

    After flashing TWRP, I'm installing the multidisabler, then wiping /system, /data, /cache.

    Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
    @J.Michael any thoughts? You're more familiar with Samsung than I am
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    I think I have a solution.

    I see that you are installing the multidisabler after you booted TWRP and by wiping the partitions, however, what you are supposed to do is this:

    After you have booted into TWRP and have swiped to allow modifications, go to Wipe> Format Data and type yes. Don't reboot, and don't wipe any other partitions.

    After that, go to install and then install the multidisabler, don't reboot.

    Then install the latest LineageOS gsi to the system partition, and finally install gapps, then reboot.

    Make sure you are choosing the arm64_bvS_vndklite variant, otherwise it will bootloop.

    Hope this helps!
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    1
    Just Mike
    Just Mike
    V0latyle said:
    Okay, so install Multidisabler AFTER wiping data. I'll try that.

    I'm using the bgS image so it's already got Google apps. I didn't have any success flashing any of the Gapps packages on the vanilla images.

    Is Multidisabler still necessary on Android 11 on this device, or do we just need a patched vbmeta.img?
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    Yes, Multidisabler is necessary, otherwise it'll bootloop. I haven't tried anything with a patched vbmeta and frankly don't want to.

    The bgS version will work just fine for Android 11.

    Currently running Android 13 with LineageOS 20.0, the bvS version. Gotta say it works great. MindtheGapps 13 will work, I haven't encountered any "This device is not certified" issues.
    View
    1
    Just Mike
    Just Mike
    V0latyle said:
    Skipped setup and went to 20.0 bgN-secure. Bootlooping.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    I see. Can you try the 20.0 arm64_bvS_vndklite version? You will need to flash MindTheGapps 13 right after flashing the GSI, then reboot into system :).
    View
    1
    Just Mike
    Just Mike
    V0latyle said:
    When I got 18.1 to boot, I wiped data and flashed 19.1. It booted no problem. But after trying various 20.0 images, all of which bootlooped, I tried wiping data and going back to 19.1, and it still bootloops.

    I'll screw with it some more this evening
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    A'ight. Just follow the instructions I listed and you should be good. Good luck! :)
    View

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