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Rooting Allview Speed City

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:
  1. Download the root + google apps package: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?bbuqt6rwxou7cw2 (if the link is no longer valid drop a comment and I will re-upload it)
  2. 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.
  3. Plug in the SD card into the tablet (the procedure requires an external SD card; internal storage doesn't work).
  4. Turn off the tablet
  5. 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)
  6. 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).
  7. 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

Salut.
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 ?
Adrian Popa said…
Pe threadul de discutie de pe xda mai era cineva care se plangea de acelasi comportament in recovery. Teoretic, chiar daca busesti partitia de date nu afectezi recovery-ul si nu ar trebui sa se modifice modul de functionare al butoanelor.

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

Adrian Popa said…
Nu am experienta cu tableta respectiva, dar ideal ar fi sa aflii care e firma chinezeasca care o face si sa vezi daca au ceva rom-uri mai noi.
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...
Adrian Popa said…
Da, e mai greu sa faci backup acum, dar teoretic iti pot trimite o imagine nandroid a sistemului. E posibil sa o poti flashui prin adb in recovery.

Zipul de rootare nu stiu cu ce a fost semnat... am presupus ca nu a trebuit sa fie semnat...
BogdanN997 said…
Man...dar ce root e asta ca vad prin comentarii ca daca instalezi unele aplicatii se blocheaza tableta :|..
Adrian Popa said…
Dupa ce faci root bunastarea tabletei e doar responsabilitatea ta :) Root iti da posibilitatea sa faci ce vrei, inclusiv sa te impusti in picior :)
Eu, personal, n-am avut probleme cu aplicatiile instalate dupa root...
Robert said…
Salut,eu cand sunt in recovery mode pe Speed city nu ma lasa sa dau in jos cand apas pe home button.
Adrian Popa said…
@Robert: Nu merge întotdeauna. Încearcă să intrii în recovery fără un card microsd conectat și fără cablu USB conectat. După ar trebui să-ți meargă tasta.
Baftă!
Unknown said…
Buna! Am o tableta Allview speed city si am apasat pe cele 2 butoane pana cand mi-a aparut ce trebuia sa imi apara pentru a alege :)) Problema este ca nu am tasta volume up si down ca sa o manevrez iar cu celelalte 2 butoane(home si power) nu prea cred ca functioneaza deoarece am incercat si nu a mers....Ce trebuie facut in acest caz? Si pe ce sa apas ca sa pot sa-mi aleg optiunea dorita?
Adrian Popa said…
Ca să poți naviga în recovery trebuie să folosești tasta Home. Ca să selectezi folosești Power. Am văzut că tastele pot să nu funcționeze dacă pornești în recovery cu un card SD atașat sau cu tableta conectată pe USB.

Deci, intră în recovery fără card SD și fără cablu USB și ar trebui să meargă.
Unknown said…
Cand apas pe butonul home imi apare un fundal negru dar luminos ca si cum ar trebui sa apara ceva dar tot nu apare si dupa ceva timp de stat...nu inteleg..exista alta metoda?
Adrian Popa said…
@Gabrii Ela: Deci când intrii în recovery nu se vede nimic pe ecran? Sau se vede, dar se stinge ecranul când apeși Home?

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.
Unknown said…
Trebuia sa spui si ca dupa manevra cu Root_Gapps_complete.zip se schimba versiunea de android, nu doar rooteaza tableta. Daca ar fi doar rootul s-ar putea reveni la versiunea unroot, dar asa ai un android 4.1.1 cu baseband version 2.1 bulid number sv1.1 fata de version 2.0 build number sv1.0 cum era. Asa ca nu mai ai speranta de garantie.
A facut cineva rost de varianta originala pentru ROM ?
Adrian Popa said…
@Prong Man: Nu am fost atent la modificările de versiune raportate, dar din experiență proprie ele apar pentru că se modifică build.prop. Cu un editor de build.prop poți să rescrii vechile valori (în mod normal fără nici o consecință).
Unknown said…
@Adrian Popa: am incercat sa intru in bootloader fara card si fara cablu date in tableta. La fel. se face ecranul negru cand apas butonul home. Daca incerc reset din setari se inchide total. Alte solutii?
Adrian Popa said…
Hmm, din pacate n-am alte solutii - poti incerca daca ai o tastatura usb si cablu otg, dar nu stiu sa mearga...
Adrian Popa said…
Hmm, din pacate n-am alte solutii - poti incerca daca ai o tastatura usb si cablu otg, dar nu stiu sa mearga...

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