I was looking for a budget tablet with decent hardware (except for the screen which is crappy) so I settled on the Allview Speed City. This tablet is similar to the Chinese Onda 701 with the small difference that the Speed City does not have Volume Up/Down hardware buttons. The same hardware may be marketed and sold under other names in various countries, so check the specs before attempting to root it.
The tablet is running a custom ROM based on Android 4.1.1 that includes some bloatware (like an antivirus) next to the standard apps. Fortunately, it has a recovery ROM that lets you install zip files, so, it doesn't appear to be fully locked.
So, as any power user, I wanted to root the tablet and be the master of the software installed. Problem is - there was no known root available when I bought it.
Note: before proceeding make sure you understand the risks of rooting, and also be advised that you may lose your warranty.
Rooting instructions for the impacient
So without much ado, to root the tablet, you will need to follow these steps:
The emergency ROM
All Android devices have a recovery ROM that allows you to unbrick your device if tragedy strikes. For the Allview Speed City you can enter in the Recovery ROM by holding the HOME and POWER buttons pressed at startup. You will be presented with something like this:
Since unlike the Onda 701 you do not have hardware keys for Volume Up/Down, you'll need to use the HOME button as DOWN ARROW and the POWER button as ENTER.
Other than that, the Recovery ROM is pretty functional.
Extra resources: Visit this link to learn more about rooting this tablet and alternate firmwares for it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2119354
Also, special thanks to the members of the XDA community who made this possible.
The tablet is running a custom ROM based on Android 4.1.1 that includes some bloatware (like an antivirus) next to the standard apps. Fortunately, it has a recovery ROM that lets you install zip files, so, it doesn't appear to be fully locked.
So, as any power user, I wanted to root the tablet and be the master of the software installed. Problem is - there was no known root available when I bought it.
Note: before proceeding make sure you understand the risks of rooting, and also be advised that you may lose your warranty.
Rooting instructions for the impacient
So without much ado, to root the tablet, you will need to follow these steps:
- Download the root + google apps package: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?bbuqt6rwxou7cw2 (if the link is no longer valid drop a comment and I will re-upload it)
- Unzip the archive downloaded above (Root_Gapps_complete.zip) to an external SD card in the root of that card. You will get two files: factory_update_param.aml and root.zip.
- Plug in the SD card into the tablet (the procedure requires an external SD card; internal storage doesn't work).
- Turn off the tablet
- Turn on the tablet in recovery mode. You do this by holding the HOME button and the POWER button pressed until you will see a big green android on the screen. You can release the buttons now. (the screen looks like the following image - sorry for the quality)
- Once the update is complete, the tablet will reboot automatically and you will get a message "Updating system apps". Once it's finished, you are rooted (if Superuser is not installed, you can install it from the market).
- Profit! :)
The emergency ROM
All Android devices have a recovery ROM that allows you to unbrick your device if tragedy strikes. For the Allview Speed City you can enter in the Recovery ROM by holding the HOME and POWER buttons pressed at startup. You will be presented with something like this:
Since unlike the Onda 701 you do not have hardware keys for Volume Up/Down, you'll need to use the HOME button as DOWN ARROW and the POWER button as ENTER.
Other than that, the Recovery ROM is pretty functional.
Extra resources: Visit this link to learn more about rooting this tablet and alternate firmwares for it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2119354
Also, special thanks to the members of the XDA community who made this possible.
Comments
Am o tableta e-boda e200 impresspeed (http://www.e-boda.ro/tableta-pc-android-7-e-boda-impresspeed-e200.html) .
As vrea sa pun un o versiune mai noua de android ( ea are vers 4.0)
Poti sa ma ajuti ?
Eu am incercat sa vad daca pot sa o bootez in recovery intr-un fel incat HOME sa-mi inchida ecranul, dar nu mi se intampla. Ma gandesc ca e posibil sa fie un bug - cateodata sa nu mapeze corect butoanele, asa ca mai incearca sa dai reboot si sa retestezi...
O alta varianta ar putea fi sa incerci sa conectezi o tastatura usb printr-un cablu otg, dar n-am testat
Alta alternativa e sa incerci un AOSP sau CyonagenMod, dar exista riscul sa nu ai drivere pt tot hardware-ul si sa nu poti folos wifi, bluetooth sau camera.
Orice ai incerca fa un backup nandroid al romului curent sa nu plangi dupa el...
Zipul de rootare nu stiu cu ce a fost semnat... am presupus ca nu a trebuit sa fie semnat...
Eu, personal, n-am avut probleme cu aplicatiile instalate dupa root...
Baftă!
Deci, intră în recovery fără card SD și fără cablu USB și ar trebui să meargă.
Alte metode nu știu (din păcate recovery-ul lor stock nu are adb să poți intra așa).
Dacă chiar vrei root în situația asta poți încerca să flash-uiești ROM-ul de la Onda (pentru v701-v5). Am impresia că vine root-at (dar nu l-am încercat). Dacă nu, ar trebui să poată fi rootat cu aceeași metodă ca în thread.
A facut cineva rost de varianta originala pentru ROM ?