In depth review of the Lenovo Tab P11 and Tab P11 Pro

[MattySAu]

I notice in the screenshots that in Productivity mode landscape orientation, the icons for Date, time, network, volume, power are shown in top right? Is that fixed or configurable? I saw in some other videos of Lenovo Tab P11 that when the window is maximized, the icons don't show at all? Can they not show on the taskbar on bottom right, like they do on Samsung tablets Dex?

From my (fairly brief testing) the system/status icons and notification icons remain in the same place (top right and top left). They don’t move down to the bottom right of the screen, like they do with Samsung DeX. Although, I’m not sure if having them there would be that useful really? I place shortcuts that open the notification panel and quick settings panel on the home screen. The taskbar includes both running (recent) apps and apps that have been cached – so the list can be quite long. A Windows style notification tray may eat into that space. There are apps like Taskbar that can provide more functionality, if needed.

Personally, I much prefer Lenovo’s minimalistic style of customisation. A Lenovo tablet’s UI is almost identical to what you may find on a Motorola/Nokia/Pixel phone. There is less need to separately memorise where settings are placed, what they are renamed to, what the icons look like etc. - like you may need to with a skin running on top of Android.

This is probably just me though – others seem to not care that their phone’s MIUI is quite different to their tablets One UI, which is different again to their mums ColorOS (when tech support is needed) etc. I just wish that all manufactures provided a choice between their skinned UI and a pure Android One like option. Either when purchasing or setting up the device – a pipe dream, I suspect, for a whole bunch of reasons. Of course, one of the core attractions of Android is choice and customisation (compared to iOS); I just wish that users could choose to have less (manufacturer enforced) customisation.

Imagine if Windows 10 was like this: a Dell laptop had a different UI and different settings in different places to a HP laptop and a user couldn’t choose to change this (without voiding their warranty). I know some PC manufactures do supply deep-rooted bloat, unwanted dual boot type functionality etc. but a clean install via a Windows 10 ISO and USB drive remedies this, without issue, in my experience at least.

Sorry for the somewhat irrelevant (and probably ignorant) rant.

 

[tranngocminh]

I will buying new Xiaoxin Pad next week, then I want to ask how to do flashing it to Global ROM of Lenovo P11.

Tks.

 

[Smitay95]

I recently bought the XiaoXin Pad Pro, Had to sideload Netflix but after trying 3-4 different APKs I'm stuck on Widevine L3. I wonder if I'm on a different Global ROM.

 

[deacde]

Current price in China still $305 for pad pro? Do you find any chinese seller doing shipping to Malaysia? I know there's Banggood, Aliexpress, etc. for that but that $90 differences wit hcurrent price $39+ is a big value for me. Maybe I'll cave in and buy it at $39+ later this week.

 

[jotanvillarreal]

Hi, i new in this stuffs and on XDA Forum.
If i buy a Lenovo Tab P11, how change chinese firmware?
Unlock bootloader and flash global rom with recovery?
Which recovery?

or

where i can buy a Lenovo Tab P11 Global?

 

[MattySAu]

Personally, if the P11/P11 Pro is available locally then I would buy it locally. The lack of Play Protect Certification for the XiaoXin Pad Pro/XiaoXin Pad isn’t really much of issue now but it could be in 6 months, or a year from now. If, over time, as more Android devices meet certain security criteria, Google/app developers may step up restrictions. I don’t know if or when that will happen; as intentions aren’t completely clear to me. It seems as though the TB-J606F_PRC and TB-J706F_PRC *should* be certified and I can’t find any clear information as to why they aren’t.

For now, only certain apps (like Netflix) require sideloading (they can’t be installed/updated/viewed on the Play Store). Allegedly, some banking apps won’t work at all without Play Protect Certification.

Below is the process that I followed for the XiaoXin Pad Pro TB-J706F_PRC (the chinese version of the Tab P11 Pro). I believe the same process can be applied to the XiaoXin Pad TB-J606F_PRC (the chinese version of theTab P11).

What I did:

• I booted the device into recovery mode, performed a factory reset and turned the device off (please note that these particular steps are likely not necessary, it’s just what I did).
• I downloaded and installed LMSA (Lenovo Motorola Rescue and Smart Assistant). I believe Windows 10 and/or a PC with reasonably up to date hardware may be required to use LMSA successfully. https://support.lenovo.com/uk/en/downloads/ds101291-rescue-and-smart-assistant-lmsa
• I then clicked on the Rescue tab and choose the “Power-off Mode” recovery option and selected the Tab P11 Pro TB-J706F (select the Tab P11 TB-J606F if you have the XiaoXin Pad). The HW Code can be found on the back of the tablet.
• The program should then offer to download the latest firmware. Once downloaded, select the firmware, click on “Rescue Now”, and then follow the instructions. The process may take a while.

 

[MattySAu]

I recently bought the XiaoXin Pad Pro, Had to sideload Netflix but after trying 3-4 different APKs I'm stuck on Widevine L3. I wonder if I'm on a different Global ROM.

Regarding the Widevine dropping to level 3 - I’m not sure why this would be the case. As far as I know, this should only happen if the device’s bootloader is unlocked, or, if the device is rooted.

I initially downloaded the Netflix APK from here > https://apkpure.com/netflix/com.netflix.mediaclient/versions . Choosing the most recent APK (rather than XAPK etc.) avoids having to use a third party app just for installation. The latest single APK provided is, as of right now, v7.89.0 build 18 35322.

More recently, I’ve used APKUpdater 2 > https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/app-4-0-3-gplv3-apkupdater-2-get-updates-for-your-apps.3444517 to keep the Netflix app up to date.

 

[MattySAu]

Hi, i new in this stuffs and on XDA Forum.
If i buy a Lenovo Tab P11, how change chinese firmware?
Unlock bootloader and flash global rom with recovery?
Which recovery?

or

where i can buy a Lenovo Tab P11 Global?

See my post above. No need to manually unlock the bootloader, just use LMSA to complete the entire process.

To buy the Tab P11 locally (if available) go to https://www.lenovo.com and, if necessary, select your region/country via a menu at the bottom of the page. Also, try Google Shopping (and other price comparison sites).

 

[jotanvillarreal]

See my post above. No need to manually unlock the bootloader, just use LMSA to complete the entire process.

To buy the Tab P11 locally (if available) go to https://www.lenovo.com and, if necessary, select your region/country via a menu at the bottom of the page. Also, try Google Shopping (and other price comparison sites).

Thank you!, I will wait to try to buy locally or in Europe.

 

[deacde]

Lenovo Xiaoxin Pad Pro to be available for 1,999 yuan ($310) from March 2 - Gizmochina

does anyone know a way to have at that price with international shipping? I can't find the source of the sale.

 

[ChrisM243]

Thank you!, I will wait to try to buy locally or in Europe.

I bought mine from Banggood.com. The guys from that shop ship it with the international ROM.

Is there already any form of custom rom for this tablet? Concerning customization there is not that mich possible yet, unfortunately.

 

[RMVC1968]

I got my self a P11 from banggood, how can I see if my room is the global one?? It's strange that the security patch that I have its from 5 October 2020, and the system update from Google its from may 2020. The from is this one TB-J606F_S000145_201105_ROW. Some help would be appreciated.

 

[MattySAu]

Lenovo Xiaoxin Pad Pro to be available for 1,999 yuan ($310) from March 2 - Gizmochina

does anyone know a way to have at that price with international shipping? I can't find the source of the sale.

I'm guessing that price is in reference to how much the XiaoXin Pad Pro costs in China domestically (can’t officially be shipped internationally). When I was looking a few months back ¥2000 was the price at onetime (seemed to vary between ¥2000 and ¥2500, if I recall correctly). Currently, looks like the (base) price is ¥2100.

联想平板小新Pad Pro 11.5英寸 影音娱乐办公学习平板电脑 深空灰_报价_价格_多少钱_联想商城

买联想平板小新Pad Pro 11.5英寸 影音娱乐办公学习平板电脑 深空灰就到联想官方商城，为您介绍联想平板小新Pad Pro 11.5英寸 影音娱乐办公学习平板电脑 深空灰的价格、参数、用户评价等详细信息。

item.lenovo.com.cn

Although, unless you know someone who will happily order, take delivery and reship the tablet for you (i.e. that doesn’t care about making a profit), then this information isn’t of much use (to anyone outside the PRC).

For the rest of us, its sites like AliExpress and Banggood: which will charge a markup, since their business likely depends on doing so.

 

[MattySAu]

I got my self a P11 from banggood, how can I see if my room is the global one?? It's strange that the security patch that I have its from 5 October 2020, and the system update from Google its from may 2020. The from is this one TB-J606F_S000145_201105_ROW. Some help would be appreciated.

The last three letters (ROW) stands for "Rest Of the World". Also, the UI is quite different between the PRC and ROW versions - take a look at the pictures in Jupit3r's review.

Although, the firmware version that you've listed (TB-J606F_S000145_201105_ROW) appears to be old? It’s not even listed at https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/lenovo/Tab_P11/TB-J606F/ (an unofficial host for official Lenovo/Motorola ROMs). Five more recent updates are available, the most recent being TB-J606F_S120039_210121_ROW

 

[RMVC1968]

The last three letters (ROW) stands for "Rest Of the World". Also, the UI is quite different between the PRC and ROW versions - take a look at the pictures in Jupit3r's review.

Although, the firmware version that you've listed (TB-J606F_S000145_201105_ROW) appears to be old? It’s not even listed at https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/lenovo/Tab_P11/TB-J606F/ (an unofficial host for official Lenovo/Motorola ROMs). Five more recent updates are available, the most recent being TB-J606F_S120039_210121_ROW

What do you advise me to do, keep it ( working fine until now) or is there a way to install a better one?? I am kinda noob at this things, but i would like to have updates.
I already downloaded Lenovo’s Rescue & Smart Assistant and even there there are not a newer version, is it easy to do the rescue and change the firmware to one on the list so i can get updates in future?
Scanning with Lenovo’s Rescue & Smart Assistant i get the message that the firmware is not the right one, and sends me to the on of 5/2/2021 that shows on the list you posted. If i execute the rescue what could be the problems i will face ( i didnt understand very well what you have writen on your early post about that ). Thank you for the help .

 

[RMVC1968]

Well tried the LMSA method but agter 5m i got the message failed and now my P11 wont turn on i think i ruined my tablet, any help?

 

[RMVC1968]

After many google searchs i manage to get from the deads my P11, but still on the same rom. Tried 3 more times, but it goes from 40% to 100% in 5m and then gives me the message failed in red square. If anyone can help me on correcting what i am doing wrong i would apreciated.

 

[biglins]

Somehow I even find the P11’s display better suited for reading

Dear Jupit3r, thank you for your very detailed review!
My goal is a tablet to use mainly to see lecture's videos and read and writing in PDF books.
Then, if you do not bother:
Why an AMOLED screen could be worse than an LCD Screen? My only drawn back about the Xiaoxin Pad Pro is the pentile screen after see one youtube review.
At the moment my top choices are:
Global Firmware Lenovo XiaoXin Pad Pro >>> Global Firmware Lenovo Xiaoxin Pad 11 >>> ALLDOCUBE iPlay40 >>> Alldocube KNote X Pro. Unfortunately, the Alldocube X Neo, my top choice at first looks bugged and outdated now on...
It's hard to choice a good screen without seen it for myself... I am from Brazil, and my only options for purchase are Aliexpress or Bangood.
Any opinion should be grateful.
Thanks in advance!

 

[The Mero]

in depth review ! just elaborated on the spec sheet smh

 

[MattySAu]

After many google searchs i manage to get from the deads my P11, but still on the same rom. Tried 3 more times, but it goes from 40% to 100% in 5m and then gives me the message failed in red square. If anyone can help me on correcting what i am doing wrong i would apreciated.

If you followed what I did in my post above then I'm not sure what else to suggest, sorry. It may be worth trying a different computer, USB port/cable etc.

I presume that your device won’t update via OTA (Over The Air) – e.g. when connected to WiFi?

LMSA’s Power-off Mode is designed to restore a dead device, so, in theory, as long as you have selected the correct model, turned the device off and followed the instructions, it should work.