[Q] Can somebody PLEASE do this?

[55mls]

I am certain that by now (over) half of the (normal) Archos G9 users really only want one thing and NOBODY (including Archos) seems to care at all about doing it!

Very few need/want 'rooted' firmware (not to mention it wastes valuable memory space because the original Archos firmware is still leftover).

What MOST of us actually want (and in many cases need) is a simple way to just remove the totally idiotic restriction that Archos has put in their firmware that prevents us from ever installing an older firmware version (that is KNOWN to work correctly on our specific device).

At one point, somewhere during the problems with the 4.0.x firmware releases Archos did actually provide a way for users to go back to 3.2.80. WHY they have not provided us with a way to go back from the the 4.0.2x (worthless garbage) firmware releases to older firmware that we KNOW actually works makes no sense at all. Seems like they just hope you will be stupid enough to by a newer Archos model (something I sure will never ever do with that kind of idiot way of dealing with us users).

It's bad enough that Archos does not care at all about us users, but... there are some really sharp and smart people here on XDA that SHOULD be able to hack around things. Yet, it seems like none of them have any interest in doing so. WHY???

 

[stevemp]

firmware

It's bad enough that Archos does not care at all about us users, but... there are some really sharp and smart people here on XDA that SHOULD be able to hack around things. Yet, it seems like none of them have any interest in doing so. WHY???

Because the most likely result would be a bricked tablet. It is not an easy thing to do and people who could do this are not wanting to use older firmware. Not that I'm one of the sharp and smart people but I think archos has keys you would need and they don't release them to the public.

 

[55mls]

Because the most likely result would be a bricked tablet.

At this point I would be happy to brick my 101 G9 since it's of absolutely no use to me now anymore without having to install SDE and rooted 4.0.7 firmware (I've come close to bricking it a few times with all the various rooted/custom/alternative firmwares and other crazy things I've tried myself already). In other words, if NOBODY ELSE finds a way... I'll just keep trying things myself until it either works or ends up bricked. Not like it really matters now to me now anymore

It is not an easy thing to do and people who could do this are not wanting to use older firmware.

Although I'm no expert on things, I actually think that it really is NOT all that hard to do (if anybody that actually knows what they are doing would care to do it). I think you are dead on with how all the so-called 'developers' simply only care about whatever the next thing they can do instead of about actually fixing anything with the actual Archos firmware. Seems rather foolish to me though when they could actually PROVE how good they are by actually doing something instead of just adding all kinds of extra fluff (most of which can be downloaded/installed from Google Play for anyone with a stock rooted ROM if they really wanted that junk).

Not that I'm one of the sharp and smart people but I think archos has keys you would need and they don't release them to the public.

And that brings us right back to my original question... WHY? By now, Archos has already totally ruined their reputation. They've gone out of their way to totally trash as many G9 tablets as they could, then hoped people would just buy their newer devices... and NONE of their newer devices actually work right either. So, WHY would a company want to continue running their reputation down the toilet when they COULD actually do something that MIGHT actually improve it?

In other words, the one single thing that Archos COULD have done for us G9 users was to provide a way to install whatever older 'official' firmware version that we KNOW actually did work on our devices? So, again we're right back to WHY had Archos not done what us G9 users actually need/want instead of locking us into crap we NEVER WANTED?

 

[55mls]

I suppose I COULD live with rooted stock 4.0.7 if I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO, but...

Installing SDE and the kernel files for rooted firmware use up some RAM space. And, with only 512MB to start with, well every single bit (pun intended) alters the capabilities and performance of the device. Heck, just going from official Archos 3.2.80 to official 4.0.7 already was at a cost of both RAM and system memory space.

On top of that, installing a 'rooted' firmware always uses up even more of the system flash memory. Depending which ROM, that ranges from 300MB to 500MB. When you only have an 8GB device, that really only ever had a little over about 6GB of usable flash left with official Archos firmware...

Well, when installing a 'rooted' ROM, that uses up more space for the ROM on top of the space that the original Archos firmware. And, that's the part that really bugs me!!! I had already been suckered into that the device had 8GB of Flash, then found out only really had about 6GB of "usable" memory, then had to install SDE and a 'rooted' ROM to ever get it to work right again ending up with only about 5GB of flash in the end (even deleting the leftover archos.ext4.backup file does not get back to what the device originally had).

Now, if somebody could tell me how to remove/delete ALL of the supposed 'official' Archos firmware so that I would actually have what I originally would have with the 'official' Archos firmware... well, I MIGHT just be happy enough to live with it (even though it DO NOT WANT 'root').

Anyway, I just don't care anymore!!! I simply want ALL TRACES of that horrible crappy Archos official 4.0.2x firmware TOTALLY REMOVED from my device!!! I'd prefer that it be totally reset to something close to whatever it came with (maybe something like 3.2.79) and then be able to upgrade to whatever higher firmware I want from there.

Oh, wait a minute, there ARE companies that actually do repair/refurbish these G9 tablets and CAN reset them... so, it would cut into their profit making if anybody else ever told us how they do it. Sure, now I get it... paid $250, now pay another $200 to get it to work again. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll totally brick this thing and throw it into the garbage before paying to have it fixed now anymore. Damn LiThion batteries only last 2 years before the drop way down in usage, and I'm already coming up on a year and a half since this piece of Archos crap came out. Now I get it, just throw it away and NEVER buy another Archos procduct again!!!

 

[y2grae]

I called up Archos today and had a stock answer when I asked about this.
I didn't give up and they have passed the issue to the tech department. (my hopes aren't high) however the bloke I spoke to said he hadn't had any calls or feedback regarding this.
he suggested formatting then loading up the older firmware, after instructing me how to download older firmwares by copying link then pasting, then editing build number for firmware I wanted.
I told him that Archos doesn't allow for this and everyone else does, so it isn't software from google but from archos that is blocking the install.

he took my number and said I would get a callback....

will update if I ever get one

 

[55mls]

he took my number and said I would get a callback....

Welcome to a group of thousands that will very likely never get any response back from Archos!

Pretty clear that is not going to happen simply because of the totally idiot instructions that gave you. Seems like EVERYBODY ELSE except the people at Archos already KNOWS FOR A FACT that you can not install any older firmware version. Why they ever told you to even try to do that is just pure stupidity on there part.

Of course, if they actually do call you back an provide any USEFUL information I'm all ears, but I don't expect anything from Archos on this matter at all now anymore, or they WOULD have already told us how to do it. After all, it was about 3 months before they got around to putting out 4.0.28... and even then the screwed it up and there are actually 3 different versions of 4.0.28 they put out (am I the ONLY one that caught that and actually cares about it?... Seems surdu_petru has NOT bothered to update his rooted ROMS to the last of what Archos put out).

Really sick of Archos trying to con people over and over and over and over and over and over (am I repeating myself of is Archos?).