[SM-T505,T500,T507] Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 LTE GSI flashing guide [UPDATED] [Android 13 GSIs]

[Hausemaster]

ah ok lemme try it tonight

Also, don't use trebledroid GSIs they are buggy(magisk also won't work for them for some reason )... So far pixel experience is stable...

 

[Hausemaster]

Check post #1 for A13 GSIs, is fully updated now...

 

[Pewdeadcake]

Also, don't use trebledroid GSIs they are buggy(magisk also won't work for them for some reason )... So far pixel experience is stable...

can you send me the link to PE A13 gsi that you used to flash?

 

[Hausemaster]

can you send me the link to PE A13 gsi that you used to flash?

Okay

Releases · ponces/treble_build_pe

Script and patches for building PHH-Treble Pixel Experience - ponces/treble_build_pe

github.com

Edit: Use the latest release, as I'm also on it now...

 

[shorty9210]

* Currently work in progress *


Just before we get started, I would like to say that you will not brick your device if you follow the steps as is without any, and I mean any deviations.
Read what works and what doesn't first!
Okay, enough preface, let's jump right in!
Firstly, pre-requisites(hardware):-
1.A micro SD card
2. A windows PC, windows 7 or later (32 or 64 bit)
3. A USB Type-C cable
4. A galaxy tab A7 running the latest one ui 4.x build

Pre-requisites (software on PC), you'll need:
1.Stock firmware:

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (LTE) Firmware Download SM-T505 Free Download

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (LTE) Firmware Download SM-T505 Free Download ⭐ Official and fast update ⭐ Max speed and free download ⭐ Best Samsung Galaxy website

samfw.com

Download the latest firmware from here

1.1 After downloading it, extract it on the PC and copy the AP file to your micro SD card, as we need it on the tab later

2. Samsung USB drivers
download them from here and install them on your pc, it'll take a while but it's essential for this process
https://developer.samsung.com/android-usb-driver

2.1 Reboot your PC after installing the drivers

3 Download the twrp.img from below
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...axy-tab-a7-10-4-sm-t500.4358595/post-87038713
(Yes, correct, download the .img as we won't be using Odin to flash custom recovery)
Copy this to your SD card as well

4. Download Canary apk of magisk delta from link below
https://huskydg.github.io/magisk-files/
Copy the apk to your microSD which has the previously extracted AP file

5. Download dynapatch from the file attached below credits to @redymedan for developing this!
Then move it to your micro SD card

6. Download the GSI image of your choice, and (make sure that it doesn't exceed 3.3GB after extraction) extract it from .img.xz format to .img format and then copy it to the micro SD card
(also, if it exceeds 3.3 GB, don't worry,follow the steps in important notes on how to expand your system partition to accommodate larger GSIs...)

7. If your gsi doesn't have gapps or you want to flash a system mod then download a vndklite variant of your gsi, as system is mounted as RW in vndklite gsi, where's system is mounted as read only in normal gsi images

8. Download Odin and extract it
https://samsungodin.com/

9. Download SmartPack kernel manager apk and copy it to the sdcard too
https://github.com/SmartPack/SmartPack-Kernel-Manager/releases
(We will be using this to flash twrp in a later step)

10. Download termux apk
Copy it to SD card

(Optional) 11. If you don't want your install storage encrypted, download the following two zips and move them to SD card,

[Pie/10/11] [System-as-root] Multidisabler: disables encryption, Vaultkeeper, auto-flash of stock recovery, proca, wsm, cass, etc.

The multi-disabler started life on the Exynos S10 range, the first Samsung devices to launch with Android 9 (Pie). Since then, it has grown to support a great many Samsung devices running either Android 9, 10 or 11, and with either an Exynos or a...

forum.xda-developers.com

https://zackptg5.com/downloads/archive/Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt_11.02.2020.zip

Process to flash GSI:
1) Unlock the bootloader
To unlock the bootloader, follow the steps from here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...4-unlock-bootloader-root-with-magisk.4185993/

2) After that patch the AP image we copied to the micro SD card earlier and then copy the patched ap to the micro sd card and then to the pc. Steps of patching can be found here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...4-unlock-bootloader-root-with-magisk.4185993/

3) After patching the AP image, copy the patched image from downloads folder to your micro sd card

4. After that turn your device off

5. After the device is fully powered off, hold both volume up and volume down buttons simultaneously and connect it to your pc, then click volume up button once during the prompt to enter download mode

6) After entering download mode, select the BL, CP, and CSC (do not choose HOME_CSC!) files from the extracted firmware, after doing that, for AP, select the patched AP file we copied earlier and then click start on Odin.

7. After the flash is successfully finished, reboot your device and set it up, after setup install the magisk Canary apk from the micro SD card

8. After installing the apk, open it, and click 'OK' on additional setup prompt and the device will reboot after a few seconds

9. After the reboot completes, install the smart pack kernel manager apk we put in the SD card earlier, then open it, then, navigate to
Tools>Backup>(swipe to the right where it says "boot partition")> it changes to recovery partition> click on the plus symbol> two options show up, select the flash recovery option> select the twrp image from SD card (file manager opens automatically)> click on "select" and then flash it...

10. Then open magisk delta app, and reboot to recovery

11. After rebooting to recovery, flash dynapatch

12. Then reboot to recovery (very important)

(Optional)12.1 Flash multidisabler we downloaded earlier, along with disable dm Verity to disable FBE on integral storage

13. Then select install>Micro SD Card>install image> select GSI image you downloaded> select System Image > swipe to flash

14. Here, hectic nature of you must be used...

15. Boot to your GSI, and set it up as fast as possible as a watchdog crash is triggered every 30-50 seconds which causes a reboot

16. Install magisk apk and reboot for additional setup

17. After reboot, install termux apk

18. Type "su"
Then execute this command
"echo -n V > /dev/watchdog1 && echo -n V > /dev/watchdog0 && echo -n V > /dev/watchdog"
(Credits to @ponces for the second command)

19. At this point you won't get random reboots

20. Here, it's a small bit of info, you need to run the above two commands every time you reboot, otherwise you GSI will reboot randomly

21. Here, for brightness to work, you can follow two methods,
1. Flash permissiver V5
2. Or flash the magisk module fix ( credits to @mrspeccy )

22. Now you can enjoy your GSI...

Community Request: if someone knows how to make a magisk module for running commands on boot, please do make one for the command "echo -n V > /dev/watchdog1 && echo -n V > /dev/watchdog0 && echo -n V > /dev/watchdog", as I've not worked with boot stage modules before and don't want to give people bootloops...

Now, onto what works and what doesn't...

Working:
Boot
Touchscreen
Sound
WiFi
Bluetooth
Mobile data
Camera
Microphone
Doze
OTG
Power buttons
Volume buttons
Charging
Rotation
Gyroscope
Calling(works with VoIP)

Not working:
VoLTE
In call audio (in case of Sims)
Auto brightness
Offline charging

Untested:
Cast
USB tethering
MTP

Tested roms:
1. Trebledroid GSIs (don't use, as magisk doesn't work and gapps can't be properly installed for some reason)
2. Pixel experience ( magisk works and it's stable after running the watchdog command)

Now credits!
To team XDA for keeping this forum alive and well,
@phhusson for developing GSI images that actually made this possible
@topjohnwu for creating magisk
@agreenbhm for the TWRP image and for helping me,
@duyfken for correcting the firmware links, and also, for informing me to add the type of GSI for this device!
And finally all other members of XDA for taking interest in the modding scene,
Thank you!
I'm quite new to the GSIs as a whole, so, I still can't find any workarounds for issues, I can only list them for everyone to know..

Nice work! The only thing I would say is after you flash the gsi is to do a factory reset before booting,, I've been looking for away to just flash the recovery.img instead of using Odin for sense I feel Odin doesn't actually know we're to put it on its own!! But if no one else has made a module for the command I'll look into how to make one sense I'm running lineageOS 20 on my smt500 and it doesn't start randomly restart after I set zigiest and flash gapps!!

 

[Hausemaster]

Nice work! The only thing I would say is after you flash the gsi is to do a factory reset before booting,, I've been looking for away to just flash the recovery.img instead of using Odin for sense I feel Odin doesn't actually know we're to put it on its own!! But if no one else has made a module for the command I'll look into how to make one sense I'm running lineageOS 20 on my smt500 and it doesn't start randomly restart after I set zigiest and flash gapps!!

The problem i have with odin is that if the power goes out while doing something, I'm scared that it'll hardbrick..., I'll add the factory reset part now, thanks for the mention! And the random reboots are due to watchdog service used by samsung... (That's what the command disables...)

 

[Pewdeadcake]

Okay

Releases · ponces/treble_build_pe

Script and patches for building PHH-Treble Pixel Experience - ponces/treble_build_pe

github.com

Edit: Use the latest release, as I'm also on it now...

oh nice thanks

 

[shorty9210]

Yea I feel that!! I've hard bricked plenty of phones on accident but it's the matter of the right software To bring them back, I had a straight talk s3 back in the day I killed and the qualcomm chip was still able to talk to the computer so you could send the stock firmware through a program or command it's been awhile so don't quite remember if it was Odin or cmd. And noice sounds good!! And if I teach my self something new or fine a way to shut down the watchdog with out breaking something else I'll post it here!!?

The problem i have with odin is that if the power goes out while doing something, I'm scared that it'll hardbrick..., I'll add the factory reset part now, thanks for the mention! And the random reboots are due to watchdog service used by samsung... (That's what the command disables...)

 

[Hausemaster]

Yea I feel that!! I've hard bricked plenty of phones on accident but it's the matter of the right software To bring them back, I had a straight talk s3 back in the day I killed and the qualcomm chip was still able to talk to the computer so you could send the stock firmware through a program or command it's been awhile so don't quite remember if it was Odin or cmd. And noice sounds good!! And if I teach my self something new or fine a way to shut down the watchdog with out breaking something else I'll post it here!!?

Actually there's no need to rediscover how to disable watchdog, all we need is a way to disable it on boot as of now, but if you find a permanent solution, do post it!

 

[shorty9210]

Actually there's no need to rediscover how to disable watchdog, all we need is a way to disable it on boot as of now, but if you find a permanent solution, do post it!

Oh most definitely!!!

 

[Hausemaster]

Another small piece of info, I was able to modify @mrspeccy brightness fix module to include the watchdog fix command, so, now you can just install that module in post #1 which fixes brightness and watchdog together...

 

[Pewdeadcake]

Another small piece of info, I was able to modify @mrspeccy brightness fix module to include the watchdog fix command, so, now you can just install that module in post #1 which fixes brightness and watchdog together...

ZAMM nice, appreciate that

 

[Hausemaster]

ZAMM nice, appreciate that

Just out of curiosity, do you have a strong internet connection without any limits on usage?

 

[Pewdeadcake]

Just out of curiosity, do you have a strong internet connection without any limits on usage?

well I do

 

[Hausemaster]

well I do

If possible, and only if you want to, do try as many GSIs of A13 as you can and report whether they work or don't, and which is the most stable, etc... (As I'm on a limited data plan, i can't download more than one GSI per day)
Edit: What I've deduced so far is that
1. Trebledroid GSIs are a no go on this device as magisk won't work
2. Pixel experience GSI is nice and stable and magisk also works on it
3. Google GSIs are way too barebones and lack basic fixes

 

[shorty9210]

Oh most definitely!!!

How to run a script at every boot using Magisk

Note:

I tested the instructions below with Magisk 24.3 . They may or may not work with other versions of Magisk


Another very useful feature from Magisk that can also be used without creating a Magisk Module is the ability to start scripts after booting the phone:

To execute scripts after rebooting the phone just copy them to one of the directories

/data/adb/post-fs-data.d
/data/adb/service.d

on the phone, make the script executable (chmod +x scriptname) and reboot the phone.

(See also https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/docs/guides.md#boot-scripts)


Because the mapping will be done while booting the phone it will also survive updating the OS on the phone to a new version as long as the user data is not deleted and Magisk is installed.

To remove the script just delete the script and reboot the phone.

In case the phone does not boot anymore after adding the script just boot the phone from a recovery with adb support, for example from the TWRP:

# boot the phone into the bootloader and then do

sudo fastboot boot  /data/backup/ASUS_ZENFONE8/twrp/twrp-3.6.1_12-1-I006D.img

Then connect via "adb shell" to the phone and delete the script .

I used this method to correct the SELinux context for the NFC device in the first version of AospExtended 9.0 for the ASUS Zenfone 8 (the device tree is recreated from scratch each time the phone boots so the change must be done after every reboot):

cat /data/adb/service.d/correct_dev_pn553.sh
#!/system/bin/sh

NFC_DEVICE="/dev/pn553"

echo ""
echo "The SELinux context for  \"${NFC_DEVICE}\" is now:"
ls -lZ  ${NFC_DEVICE}
echo ""
echo "Correcting the SELinux context for the NFC device \"${NFC_DEVICE}\" ..."
chcon -v  u:object_r:nfc_device:s0  /dev/pn553
echo ""
echo "The SELinux context for  \"${NFC_DEVICE}\" is now:"
ls -lZ  ${NFC_DEVICE}

Again, if the script is tested and working you should create a Magisk module for it.

Update 06.06.2022 20:27

Corrected a minor typo

Update 18.06.2022

Corrected a typo : chmod -x must be chmod +x.
(Thanks to oldman20 for the hint)

​

Update 26.06.2022​

Fixed minor typos in the title of the post

I did find this but I'm at work and my z fold 4 arrived so I haven't got the chance to do much about it yet

 

[Hausemaster]

I did find this but I'm at work and my z fold 4 arrived so I haven't got the chance to do much about it yet

I already modified an existing module to do the same, and it works flawlessly!

 

[shorty9210]

I already modified an existing module to do the same, and it works flawlessly!

Right on I don't suppose you can share said module lol I finally tried zigist back on and now it's restarting

 

[Hausemaster]

Right on I don't suppose you can share said module lol I finally tried zigist back on and now it's restarting

Um, i attached the module in post #1 itself, is right next to dynapatch...

 

[shorty9210]

Um, i attached the module in post #1 itself, is right next to dynapatch...

Oops I did see ill take a look, oh you added it to your brightness fix my smt500 won't flash that unfortunately, so imma just need to put my big boy pants o. And make something myself lol