[Q] RCA RCT6773W22 8GB 7-Inch Touchscreen Tablet - Rooted, but now in bootloop!

[PSCGOhio]

We've managed to get this rooted (see other thread) but now after an adjustment I made, mine's bootlooping.

I did a ton of digging and while there's no apparent ROMs out there, this is a generically made tablet under several brands and makes beyond RCA. RCA and Voyager (RCA Tab parent) claim not to have the ROM for downloading, but that makes no sense for three reasons:

1) How did my tablet know if I had the latest firmware version, etc? It had to surf somewhere and do a check, why can't that also be public or can anyone determine it and we can snag a copy ourselves to distribute?

2) What're they going to do with it if we send it back for 'repair'? I haven't found anyone who has but I'd bet if you tracked the Serial # it'd just be different and they bulk the bricked ones back to China for reloading and resale as 'refurbished'.

3) How exactly did this sucker get MADE? If you had the ROM to load it, hand it built for you, why can't you get it (and back to the updating issue)?

I've discovered this is a Gigabyte based setup, they have a similar model showing but that doesn't mean they made it either - just the hardware states that's what it is. We can't do a ROM that doesn't work on an ARM7 CPU, so the Intel Inside stuff's worthless.

Here's a China declaration about this unit:

We company SHENZHEN ZOWEE TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD hereby declares:
The product model(s):
DPM7828,DPM7827,DPM7826,TM7005,TM7006,TM7008,NB7856,NB7866 is
identical in the same PCB layout, interior structure and electrical circuits with
the model M7054 which tested in Shenzhen Huatongwei International
Inspection Co., Ltd, the only differences are the model name for commercial
purpose.
The trademarks TMAX, APEX, DOPO, NOBIS, DAGE, NUVISION will be
selected by different customers owing to commercial requirements.

I looked up all those models and brands, again similar stuff but customized for their resale and none have a ROM anywhere that seems to be close!

So any further info you find, tag it onto this thread and if anyone can find a ROM that'd at least get back to access I'd be grateful!

I can ADB, but only sideload.
I can use the microSD, can even push a load to the tab with something on the card but can't find anything.
Have done the wipes, etc. and regardless it keeps rebooting over and over endlessly.

Last change I did was to make Titanium Backup convert to a System file and force it thus I think that's what it's doing and I can't stop it. I'm not that experienced enough with Android (vs. Linux and servers, etc.) to be able to get to and edit some files others have noted that might get me back to normal booting, but without anything but ADB sideloading that may be kinda pointless anyways.

Open to any ideas, thoughts and otherwise! This is a nice, basic tablet with some decent power for the price so if you're hear to just bash stuff or make stupid comments please look elsewhere. Hundreds of us are looking so the solution finder would be a hero!

 

[PSCGOhio]

who builds something crappy or not leaves options for recovery and then throws away the operating system which is for the recovery options in these problems such as these and just says oops oh well go buy another or ship it to us to do something that should be able to be done by anyone and be open sourced like android is suppose to be


support support support something. im not gonna go buy another one duh
every brand name knows support is key to good brands
every brand device has recovery
sony, moto, droid, lg, and countless others
like talk about pollution of stupidity among the people who are suppose to think of these things instead communitys fix the problems companys shouldve already figure out

In this case, Venturer Electronics was dumped up in Canada after the RCA and other brand names were bought up in the US by ALCO Electronics. Venturer is how they keep it all separated and harder to sue or class action anything. If you go to 1800customerservice.com, you'll see the brand names and it should become totally obvious.

And as far as all the RCA tablets I can determine, some division of ALCO makes them in Hong Kong (now China owned), there's a theme. They didn't throw anything away, they just never gave it to 'themselves'. Cube seems to support them all for their branded models because it's a different HK corporation. Go figure. But the digital signatures in the files go by the unit & manufacturer so we haven't been able to cross it over... yet.

The Recovery's locked down at the manufacturer's plant according to some giant ass who ordered a ton under the RCA and/or Venturer brand names that way. It's part of Android, so they didn't kill it completely but they wanted a way to get in themselves and refurb these somewhere but keep the rest of us out so we didn't reprogram them and rip them off somehow. Don't ask me how, no frickin idea. The reason the Update options have been there was (allegedly) to allow manual updates if the auto-download didn't work for a customer, we're all stupid or thieves so they have to do it for us. Again, brainchildren. Now the giant ass that did this doesn't work at RCA or Venturer so they just claim they can't get it and we're done.

Quality? Well what sucks is these lil bastages rock IF they're 100% working. Only reason we're trying to get them working again for people who ended up in the same boat.

 

[synius]

i have access to another exact match as mine but its useless unless i can get access to the internal root directory i can on the other unit but as for the recovery bootloop unit no access

could you copy and zip up the entire secured partition and load it thru the sideloader as an update?
kinda like re pushing initialization. like all the system apk if its sideloaded like that it might just reinstall everything to stock
i was reading up on adb and sideloading and it states if something is sideloaded it automatically installs update overwriting everything
has anyone tried this or know if this could be done?

 

[PSCGOhio]

RCA Tablet Support (if you call it that)

RCA Tablets

7" Regular Tablet - 1-855-475-9646

They answer, but bet money it's a call center in india full of screen-reading monkeys who just repeat everything til you get POed and hang up on them. I beat on mine for awhile, he had no clue who I was from my RMA # and mentioned some place was closed til Tuesday. That could be who I've dealt with via e-mail, thus why I got shoved out overseas and accomplished nothing of any value to see where progress on this hot-swap is going to go. Let it be said it may take me 4-6 weeks minimum to return the one I have

 

[PSCGOhio]

i have access to another exact match as mine but its useless unless i can get access to the internal root directory i can on the other unit but as for the recovery bootloop unit no access

could you copy and zip up the entire secured partition and load it thru the sideloader as an update?
kinda like re pushing initialization. like all the system apk if its sideloaded like that it might just reinstall everything to stock
i was reading up on adb and sideloading and it states if something is sideloaded it automatically installs update overwriting everything
has anyone tried this or know if this could be done?

We're hoping that'd happen but the problem lies in that anything we try to update either failed, popped an MD5 checksum error because the tablet we have is different internally by a SN or corroded files and/or doesn't have the digital signature for RCA that ALCO had ordered and uses from the Mfg they bought these off of!

I'm locked out, I can't get into my tablet to copy anything out to use or I'd be able to edit what I think is screwed up and recover from the bootloop. All of us stuck like this are willing to try almost anything at this point though!

 

[synius]

return

i had contacted rca support they are senting me a new unit, free of charge and sending me a box with a return label to return defective unit, i havent paid anything to do this i just filed a repair option and told them a firmware update did
they had me send them my info and s/n of unit comfirmed whatever and said it will be at my door UPS within 10 days
(day 6 not here yet)

this sucks that theres not really a fix for this problem yet,
due to rom difficultys
technical support is NIL
customer support is so/so
they provide 1 year warrenty to defective units and i didnt have a receipt either to prove it was a christmas gift

 

[PSCGOhio]

i had contacted rca support they are senting me a new unit, free of charge and sending me a box with a return label to return defective unit, i havent paid anything to do this i just filed a repair option and told them a firmware update did
they had me send them my info and s/n of unit comfirmed whatever and said it will be at my door UPS within 10 days
(day 6 not here yet)

this sucks that theres not really a fix for this problem yet,
due to rom difficultys
technical support is NIL
customer support is so/so
they provide 1 year warrenty to defective units and i didnt have a receipt either to prove it was a christmas gift

Get ready to sit back and wait! I'm at a UPS tag being issued, but product NOT sent up in Buffalo, NY and it's been well into 25 days now. They'll lie and make that claim to you, but reality when you call or e-mail in is totally different. And the e-mail and phone guys allegedly don't have anything to do with each other, but both will be glad to screen-read stock replies to push you off. No charges for me either, I had to harass one idiot there to get the RA # issued to even get this started at the beginning of this year.

Once the replacement ever arrives, because I believe mine's a software and not a hardware issue like they claim I'm going to attempt to pull a ROM and/or other files from the replacement unit and see if I can liven up the bootlooper, therefore creating the file(s) to fix this long term. If this tablet sucked, I'd have written it off a long time ago. But now I know for the future what's good and what's not in using it!

I should've posted an update here on all this progress but like 20 e-mails and 5 phone calls later they've PO'ed me off good. Class Action Suit good, but they're HQ'ed in Canada on purpose to shield against stuff like this. Chumps. Venturer Electronics outside Toronto's hilarious when you look at Google Maps street view of the place too!

And the wait continues...

 

[Xactot]

I'm thinking maybe we could install our own update.zip file through fastboot containing only the system also and stock settings I'm betting maybe we could override any wrongly installed system apps though I would need know how to properly create the text files that need to be inside of it. I'm not sure what the specific names are but I think the tablet will tell you them the names of the missing files when you try to flash the file in fastboot...

 

[PSCGOhio]

I'm thinking maybe we could install our own update.zip file through fastboot containing only the system also and stock settings I'm betting maybe we could override any wrongly installed system apps though I would need know how to properly create the text files that need to be inside of it. I'm not sure what the specific names are but I think the tablet will tell you them the names of the missing files when you try to flash the file in fastboot...

Well we don't get Flashboot access tho? Just a Recovery screen that takes update files, unless that's a hybrid Fastboot that only allows those type files. Once I get a stock working unit I can get in there and pull files galore to hopefully get some answers. I will snag a backup and xfer it to the DOA one to see if it'll take that, could be some clues inside that too. Mine have been corrupted past the bootloop, therefore useless. Anything else, once I ever get a replacement in hand, I'll be game for someone to let me know what to do!

On principle though, that's what I'm thinking and have said to those chump 'techs' at RVA/Venturer. Just a stock load file to replace things, not even worried about stock apps as everything's reloadable, but the main core. I'm swearing what happens is the NVRAM that holds the one bootloader that's screwing up gets corrupted by something - tablet done or user done - and bricks. And that's replaceable... somehow.

 

[Xactot]

Well we don't get Flashboot access tho? Just a Recovery screen that takes update files, unless that's a hybrid Fastboot that only allows those type files. Once I get a stock working unit I can get in there and pull files galore to hopefully get some answers. I will snag a backup and xfer it to the DOA one to see if it'll take that, could be some clues inside that too. Mine have been corrupted past the bootloop, therefore useless. Anything else, once I ever get a replacement in hand, I'll be game for someone to let me know what to do!

On principle though, that's what I'm thinking and have said to those chump 'techs' at RVA/Venturer. Just a stock load file to replace things, not even worried about stock apps as everything's reloadable, but the main core. I'm swearing what happens is the NVRAM that holds the one bootloader that's screwing up gets corrupted by something - tablet done or user done - and bricks. And that's replaceable... somehow.

Right, I forgot that you have to be able to boot normally and connect through adb before you can be able to reboot into fastboot. Nevermind then...

 

[PSCGOhio]

Right, I forgot that you have to be able to boot normally and connect through adb before you can be able to reboot into fastboot. Nevermind then...

Well, there IS the loading updates in recovery that uses Zip files. That's why i said what you came up with COULD actually work! I think it's a baby firewall the Mfg did to it from RCA/Venturer's order. So something gets overwritten with their update files, why not that stuff? When I get the replacement that's why I think we can dig into that and get what we need before it becomes just another brick in the wall :cyclops:

 

[Xactot]

Really though, we could probably just solve all this if some one could root their tablet then get their hands on the firmware update and upload it here so we could try installing it through recovery lol But that doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

 

[vampirefo]

Really though, we could probably just solve all this if some one could root their tablet then get their hands on the firmware update and upload it here so we could try installing it through recovery lol But that doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

Yep that's what is needed.


Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

 

[Xactot]

Yep that's what is needed.


Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

I just wish I knew about it before installing it. I would of done it when I first got the tablet

 

[PSCGOhio]

Really though, we could probably just solve all this if some one could root their tablet then get their hands on the firmware update and upload it here so we could try installing it through recovery lol But that doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

Sadly I can't give a timeframe, my label ticket's still product not received by UPS. It's a weird label too, some Cross Border Trade Direct thing. Like they're getting it over the border and then reshipping it from Buffalo. Which means it could be in a case pack sitting in freakin Customs! NAFTA was supposed to have solved all that, you can see how that's worked out.

Once it gets here I'm all over rooting that thing, that worked perfectly. My dumbass move afterwards with Titanium Backup is what got me here, not going to do that twice! LOL After that, since I'm not familiar with the structure fully, any instructions will go miles to pulling what we need out of that sucker.

 

[Xactot]

... I think I've uncovered why the tablet is only running at a max processor speed of 1.3 Ghz.... it seems that while the tablet has the MT8127 and can reach clock speeds of 1.5 GHz, RCA or whoever has two firmware patches on the tablet for the MT6571, which just so happens to be Dual core Cortex A7 @ 1.3 GHz. I'm getting the feeling that the connection between the two isn't coincidental. Oh and in case any one is wondering, the patch names are: mt6571_patch_e1_0_hdr.bin & mt6571_patch_e1_1_hdr.bin Perhaps that might assist us in finding the right tools or files needed.

 

[PSCGOhio]

... I think I've uncovered why the tablet is only running at a max processor speed of 1.3 Ghz.... it seems that while the tablet has the MT8127 and can reach clock speeds of 1.5 GHz, RCA or whoever has two firmware patches on the tablet for the MT6571, which just so happens to be Dual core Cortex A7 @ 1.3 GHz. I'm getting the feeling that the connection between the two isn't coincidental. Oh and in case any one is wondering, the patch names are: mt6571_patch_e1_0_hdr.bin & mt6571_patch_e1_1_hdr.bin Perhaps that might assist us in finding the right tools or files needed.

Actually that makes perfect sense because the one thing they didn't get put on this board is the mini HDMI port, all other copies out there have it. Couple that with the non-functional GPS, FM Radio and Bluetooth features of the MT8127 and it seems this was turned out to be an entry-level version and just a tad cheaper to produce. ALCO's Hong Kong plant makes these for all the brands out there, if you look at ads you'll see it with a ton of different names. I think the choice of the MT8127 was for stability because the MT65 series was just crapping out and the embarrassment of 2013's Black Friday. What I can find online researching this mess is that those features can be activated, but something's stopping them - that'd be what you found!

Morning Shipping Update: STILL just a ticket, just a lonely ticket.

 

[vampirefo]

... I think I've uncovered why the tablet is only running at a max processor speed of 1.3 Ghz.... it seems that while the tablet has the MT8127 and can reach clock speeds of 1.5 GHz, RCA or whoever has two firmware patches on the tablet for the MT6571, which just so happens to be Dual core Cortex A7 @ 1.3 GHz. I'm getting the feeling that the connection between the two isn't coincidental. Oh and in case any one is wondering, the patch names are: mt6571_patch_e1_0_hdr.bin & mt6571_patch_e1_1_hdr.bin Perhaps that might assist us in finding the right tools or files needed.

Nope, those files have nothing to due with speed, those files are firmware for your modem nothing more.
Speed is set in kernel when kernel is compiled the person that compiles the kernel sets the speed of the kernel.

sent from my kingSing T1 via taptalk

 

[Xactot]

Figures lol. Anyway I did some random Google searching last night and it seems one of the programs that Mediatek uses fit their products is NVRAM Editor. Anyone think we might be able to use that to enable GPS, etc.?

 

[vampirefo]

Figures lol. Anyway I did some random Google searching last night and it seems one of the programs that Mediatek uses fit their products is NVRAM Editor. Anyone think we might be able to use that to enable GPS, etc.?

Only if the mother board has a GPS chip, I really doubt that it does, won't hurt to try, but for the price of this tablet, I am betting it doesn't have GPS.

sent from my kingSing T1 via taptalk

 

[Xactot]

Only if the mother board has a GPS chip, I really doubt that it does, won't hurt to try, but for the price of this tablet, I am betting it doesn't have GPS.

sent from my kingSing T1 via taptalk

According to the Specifications in the link posted by PSCGOhio, it said:
(
The applicant declared that only WiFi function is used in this product. GPS, FM and Bluetooth functions will not be used in the product.
U2 (MT6627N) is 2.4GHz RF radio core for the WiFi 802.11 b/g/n(HT20)/n(HT40). The built-in GPS, FM and Bluetooth functions are not used in this product.
)
That being said, we have a possibility of activating those features.