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Lenovo IdeaTab A3000 (lenovo-a3000)

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Revision as of 14:03, 31 December 2021 by Wujekbrezniew (talk | contribs) (Sources)
Lenovo IdeaTab A3000
Lenovo A3000 running stock Android
Lenovo A3000 running stock Android
Manufacturer Lenovo
Name IdeaTab A3000
Codename lenovo-a3000
Released 2013
Hardware
Chipset MediaTek MT6589
CPU 4x 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
GPU PowerVR SGX544MP @ 286 MHz
Display 1024x600 LCD
Storage 4/8/16 GB
Memory 1 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software Android 4.2.2
postmarketOS
Category testing
Pre-built images no
Mainline partial
Features
Flashing
Works
USB Networking
Works
Internal storage
No data
SD card
No data
Battery
Partial
Screen
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
No data
Audio
No data
Camera
No data
Camera Flash
No data
Connectivity
WiFi
Broken
Bluetooth
No data
GPS
No data
NFC
No data
Modem
Calls
No data
SMS
No data
Mobile data
No data
Miscellaneous
FDE
No data
USB OTG
Works
HDMI/DP
No data
Sensors
Accelerometer
No data
Magnetometer
No data
Ambient Light
No data
Proximity
No data
Hall Effect
No data
Haptics
No data
Barometer
No data


Contributors

  • Tooniis
  • Wujekbrezniew

Maintainer(s)

  • Wujekbrezniew

Users owning this device


Building

Building is not that easy as from normal kernel source. Kernel source that is linked in Sources section has non standard .config generation procedure. To edit kernel config you need to go to $kernel_source_dir/mediatek/config/mt6589/autoconfig/kconfig and edit "platform" file. Unfortunatelly running make overwrites .config by generating one config from mediatek/config folders. This depends on TARGET_KERNEL_PRODUCT value so "make menuconfig" is basicly useless. However you can generate .config by running "make menuconfig", check what values where added and copy them to mentioned "platform" file. This is bit tricky and propably will generate some config questions by running make so after changing some values you need to patch "platform" config by yourself. In this part you can try to build a kernel without pmbootstrap tools - in standard way that is described in many articles. Environmental values that are needed to build kernel standard way are in $kernel_source_dir/shell_variables so you only need to download proper toolchain (read this file to find out which) and later do . ./shell_variables.

Fortunately proper fixes were added to config in kernel source git repo on branch "postmarketos" so if you only want to build a system for your A3000 you dont need to thinker problems that were mentioned in upper paragraph.

Build kernel with --src flag linking to kernel source code directory. There's high propability that standard way of building will fail.

Kernel config that is obligatory by pmbootstrap is basicly dummy because of how this source code works. Doing pmbootstrap Kconfig does not work because make will not have TARGET_KERNEL_PRODUCT value exported.

Flashing

Fastboot is broken on this device.

To generate system.img and boot.img do: "pmbootstrap export [dir of choise]" after building system. To flash device you need SpFlashTool which works both on Windows and Linux (after unpacking and deleting lib folder) and flash files. Those can be obtained from Custom Android Build or from prebuild pmOS package. Both linked in sources section. SpFlashTool does not automaticaly detect PostmarketOS images so you need to select them manualy in gui. BOOTIMG will be PostmarketOS boot.img and SYSTEM will be lenovo-a3000.img.

To create flash files by your own you need to resize partitions with MTK Partition Editor. However don't forget to persist partition layout in terms of names (this is not confirmed by 100% but removing unnecesary partitions can propably generate errors in "mmcblk names"). Prebuild package has modified partition sizes.

Sources

Kernel source: https://github.com/wujekbrezniew/android_kernel_lenovo_mt8389 Use postmarketos branch to build boot and system!

Prebuild package: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VbhM057c5mpdBAi1h8Ifve981-yvT9NP?usp=sharing

PostmarketOS files: https://github.com/wujekbrezniew/lenovo-a3000h-postmarketos-files/tree/main

Android device tree: https://github.com/wujekbrezniew/android_device_lenovo_a3

Android proprietary files: https://github.com/wujekbrezniew/proprietary_vendor_lenovo_a3

Custom Android build: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-kitkat-4-4-2-v3-0-0-lenovo-a3000-h-stable-version.3414278/

Device can be easily repartitioned with non-open source software called MTK Partition Editor: http://metweaks.com/mtk-partition-editor/

UART

UART is accessible from test points on the board. These are the test points for UART3, which is where bootloader logs can be read from:

It is possible to solder wires to those points and a ground pad for easy access to UART. Those wires can then be passed through the SIM card slot hole in the back shell. The connectors give the back cover a small bump, so you have to use bare wires if you want it to sit flush.

Warning WARNING: Bare wires must be insulated properly with tape or some other method to ensure they don't short out with each other or to pins in the SIM card slots.

Gallery