[Ehan]

fuser-invent, on 30 January 2013 - 12:41 AM, said:

Depends on what you want but CM10/CM10.1 if you'd like a cyanogenmod or my ROM, Crystal Clear, if you'd like a optimized stock based ROM. Everything else has been abandoned, including SoulGem.

Well I like to've an optimized one..less reboot issue and lag issue.Just smooth performance.So will Crystal Clear be better than CM10??
Thanks in advance.

[fuser-invent]

You should hit of the threads for those ROMs and read through the original posts and at least the last couple pages of comments. Then you'll get a feel for the pluses and minuses of each one. I use Crystal Clear because I made it but I've used CM10 in the past and cool too. Personally I didn't like CM10.1 because I'm not into the new hybrid UI or whatever it's called.

[Ehan]

fuser-invent, on 30 January 2013 - 10:17 AM, said:

You should hit of the threads for those ROMs and read through the original posts and at least the last couple pages of comments. Then you'll get a feel for the pluses and minuses of each one. I use Crystal Clear because I made it but I've used CM10 in the past and cool too. Personally I didn't like CM10.1 because I'm not into the new hybrid UI or whatever it's called.

Ok thank you..I am currently downloading Crystal Clear..gonna get back to you after I install it.

[fuser-invent]

Awesome! Let me know how you like it, v1.7 should be a out in a week or two as well, so keep an eye posted on the thread.

[dhiast]

Hai all,
I've flash my Crytal with SoulGem. Then i ran Antutu benchmark and it shows that my crystal is samsung galaxy S2. is there Anyway to revert back to my device coz it shows all the samsumg spec in the hardware..
Tq

[fuser-invent]

You can grab a build.prop from the stock firmware and replace the one on your tablet but you will lose the ability to download most apps from the play store. That is why it's showing SGS2, it fakes the device so your app compatibility is better.

[braguzz]

Hi,
I'm a happy user of an Ainol Cristal Batch 3.

Anyone is able to install droidmote on it?

Thanks in advance,
PB

[dj-zen]

dear fuser-invent,
is it possible to install Crystal clear without TWRP/CWM ? only using stock recovery.
because my ainol crystal can't boot to those recovery tools, only boot to stock recovery (android system recovery<3e>). I'm already full formated the microSDHC and set to fat32, and extracted TWRP/CWM to microSDHC, but still can't boot to TWRP/CWM, did i do something wrong?
FYI my ainol crystal is batch 2(121208) graddy wang kernel, and currently using stock ROM, but already rooted.
Thanks

[fuser-invent]

dj-zen, on 13 February 2013 - 05:17 AM, said:

dear fuser-invent,
is it possible to install Crystal clear without TWRP/CWM ? only using stock recovery.
because my ainol crystal can't boot to those recovery tools, only boot to stock recovery (android system recovery<3e>). I'm already full formated the microSDHC and set to fat32, and extracted TWRP/CWM to microSDHC, but still can't boot to TWRP/CWM, did i do something wrong?
FYI my ainol crystal is batch 2(121208) graddy wang kernel, and currently using stock ROM, but already rooted.
Thanks

Did you format the card with the SD Formatter application, OPTIONS -> FULL (Overwrite) -> FORMAT SIZE ADJUSTMENT "ON"? Are you using this TWRP? Crystal Clear v1.3 and older I believe were stock based recovery but you'll have to check the change log. Don't try to flash something meant for TWRP or CWM in stock though.

[dj-zen]

fuser-invent, on 13 February 2013 - 11:14 AM, said:

Did you format the card with the SD Formatter application, OPTIONS -> FULL (Overwrite) -> FORMAT SIZE ADJUSTMENT "ON"? Are you using this TWRP? Crystal Clear v1.3 and older I believe were stock based recovery but you'll have to check the change log. Don't try to flash something meant for TWRP or CWM in stock though.

I formated the SDcard using windows7 tools. Ok I will try to use the SD formatter. for the TWRP, yes i'm using v2.3.3.0_aurora2-elf-2-crystal, i've downloaded from your link. I'm willing to install Crystal Clear 1.7 , but stuck in TWRP & CWM.

Thanks very much, i'll try to format the SDcard first.

[toad_frog09]

Dear fuser-invent,
First off, I'd like to tell you how much I appreciate your work. Thanks a ton for compiling all this information into one nice thread.

Next, this is for all, I have a Novo Crystal

Batch number - 121208G18185. (as written on the backside)
Kernel Version - 3.0.8-G170665b-dirty
grady.wang@droid07-sz))
Build Number - 20121119

Regarding which I have a few queries. (p.s I am a newbee in all this android/tablet stuff so they might sound a wee bit stupid. sorry.)

1. I inserted a sd card. Now to move all my data from external memory to sd card, do I simply cut-paste?

2. I am having a similar problem as another user had before, that as I keep on installing apps, my tablet starts to freeze up. Sometimes, the setting menu freezes and after some time it shows the settings have stopped responding
and tell be to wait or close. What about that?

3. I have a Huawei E1732 3G dongle. I try to connect it, but it takes almost 5-6 tries to correctly connect to 3G network. All it does is bilp the green light(2G) twice every two seconds. I have to remove and connect it again multiple times to get it work. I hope this problem sorts out after I root which leads to my next question.

4. I am confused, is my tablet batch 2 or batch 3. If it is batch 3 then should i root it with your custom rom?

Please Reply.
And keep up the good work fellow members of slatedroid.

This post has been edited by toad_frog09: 26 February 2013 - 10:47 AM

[fuser-invent]

toad_frog09, on 26 February 2013 - 08:13 AM, said:

Dear fuser-invent,
First off, I'd like to tell you how much I appreciate your work. Thanks a ton for compiling all this information into one nice thread.

Next, this is for all, I have a Novo Crystal

Batch number - 121208G18185. (as written on the backside)
Kernel Version - 3.0.8-G170665b-dirty
grady.wang@droid07-sz))
Build Number - 20121119

Regarding which I have a few queries. (p.s I am a newbee in all this android/tablet stuff so they might sound a wee bit stupid. sorry.)

1. I inserted a sd card. Now to move all my data from external memory to sd card, do I simply cut-paste?

2. I am having a similar problem as another user had before, that as I keep on installing apps, my tablet starts to freeze up. Sometimes, the setting menu freezes and after some time it shows the settings have stopped responding
and tell be to wait or close. What about that?

3. I have a Huawei E1732 3G dongle. I try to connect it, but it takes almost 5-6 tries to correctly connect to 3G network. All it does is bilp the green light(2G) twice every two seconds. I have to remove and connect it again multiple times to get it work. I hope this problem sorts out after I root which leads to my next question.

4. I am confused, is my tablet batch 2 or batch 3. If it is batch 3 then should i root it with your custom rom?

Please Reply.
And keep up the good work fellow members of slatedroid.

I've not see that kernel so there is a possibility you live in a place where a custom firmware was made for your device. I would say with 95% confidence that you would be able to flash Batch 2 firmwares or custom ROM's to your device because you have a grady.wang kernel and are on a 1119 firmware. You can not move your data to your external memory with a cut/paste. Using an app like Titanium Backup or ROM Toolbox, you can move apps from your smaller internal system partition to the larger internal system partition. If you want to move apps to your external card you need to flash one of the "sd swap/switch" zips for which ever ROM you choose to install. That will swap the larger internal SD partition mount point with the eternal SD card partition mount point.

The more apps you have installed or running, the slower the tablet will be and it can cause freeze ups. Moving some apps to the larger internal SD partition or using the SD swapper and moving them to the external SD card can help alleviate the problem a little bit. The stock firmware also isn't really great when it comes to kernel/vm/task-killer settings, so flashing a custom ROM with optimized settings will also help. You can't use the "settings -> device -> apps" sections in your Settings menu. You need to use an app like Titanium Backup or ROM Toolbox to manage your apps.

Not all 3G dongles are supported. You can try a custom ROM like CM10 or CM10.1 that have additional modules for USB OTG devices. You can also try this, I'm unsure whether or not it will help but it is 3G dongle related:

Quote

Some 3G Dongles Kill WiFi
-Thanks to gybemark for figuring this out.

Quote

When you plug in the dongle, it adds a row to the 'secure' table in /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db with:

name='wifi_country_code'
value='gb'

If you use sqlite3 to delete this row (which isn't there at all by default in my stock ROM) the Wifi works again.

[toad_frog09]

First of all, thank you for such a fast and detailed response. I have a few more query.

I live in India. I could ask the retailer where the tablet was shipped from, if that can help?
Should I go ahead and flash my tablet? Its my first android device and I don't want a heart attack if something goes wrong.

Also, my 3G dongle is supported, it just takes a lot of time to connect and even after that, it disconnects quite often. I am certain that I will flash my tablet with your Crystal Clear Rom, so does it not have the additional modules for USB OTG devices like CM10?

[fuser-invent]

toad_frog09, on 27 February 2013 - 12:07 AM, said:

First of all, thank you for such a fast and detailed response. I have a few more query.

I live in India. I could ask the retailer where the tablet was shipped from, if that can help?
Should I go ahead and flash my tablet? Its my first android device and I don't want a heart attack if something goes wrong.

Also, my 3G dongle is supported, it just takes a lot of time to connect and even after that, it disconnects quite often. I am certain that I will flash my tablet with your Crystal Clear Rom, so does it not have the additional modules for USB OTG devices like CM10?

If you need the camera for something, I wouldn't flash any custom ROM's just in case but I'd say there is a 95% chance you'd be fine flashing, minus the camera thing which no one has any idea about. Someone did just post a picture of their camera's ID, so you could potentially find that post, open your tablet and see if the model number match. I can't remember where I say that post but it was today so you could check the crystal forums for posts from today.

If the 3G dongle you own works on the Stock Firmware it will also work on mine. I'm not sure if CM10 has additional 3G modules but it does have additional modules for things like extra gaming controllers that my ROM doesn't have. With the newer batch crystals that have unknown kernels it's really hard to tell but so far it seems like the majority of the time if you have a grady.wang kernel you are totally fine flashing batch 2 stuff. Also I've not heard of any grady.wang kernel Crystal's with the camera problem, only chengnen.tan kernel tablets.

So yeah, to sum it up, I can't say with 100% certainty but it mostly on the okay side. I think you'd be fine but you always take a little risk when flashing custom stuff. Maybe your seller would know from other peoples reports or maybe they wouldn't. So in the end its totally up to you and what kind of information you can gather for your tablet. Also try googling the kernel number and see if anything pops up with more info.

[OftenZ]

Hello everyone!
I tried to upgrade my Crystal with the Soulgem rom. The update seemed to go well, and appeared the menu from which to restart the tablet. I gave the command to restart the tablet and from that moment was no longer switched on...
It's possible to recover it, or is it garbage?
Thanks

[fuser-invent]

OftenZ, on 27 February 2013 - 04:27 AM, said:

Hello everyone!
I tried to upgrade my Crystal with the Soulgem rom. The update seemed to go well, and appeared the menu from which to restart the tablet. I gave the command to restart the tablet and from that moment was no longer switched on...
It's possible to recover it, or is it garbage?
Thanks

See the unbricking thread. Link in my signature. If it was a Batch 3 with a chengnen.tan kernel then its a huge pain in the butt to fix but all bricked Crystal's are able to be saved. I've unbricked all three batches from deep, hard and soft bricks.

[toad_frog09]

@ fuser-invent

Ok, I have decided to flash my Ainol Crystal using your Crystal Clear rom. Now as I am a newbee, slow learner and probably mentally challenged, I've listed several questions and queries below.
I know it'll be extremely annoying and frustrating to you to spoon feed me through this entire process, so my deepest apologies in advance. The least I could do is simplify my questions which you could answer with yes or no.

Now, to begin the flashing process, I downloaded the following files. (Just to be on the safe side)

1. ainol_factory_reset
2. ainol_format_internal_memory
3. crystal_clear_batch2_compatibility_v1.5.1
4. crystal_clear_re-enable_data_3g_ethernet
5. crystal_clear_revert_to_fake_tabletui
6. crystal_clear_v1.8_signed
7. cwm-5.5.0.4-elf2_aurora2_crystal
8. cwm-5.5.0.4-ubifs-20121026
9. TWRP_v2.3.2.3_aurora2-elf2-crystal
10. TWRP_v2.3.3.0_aurora2-elf2-crystal
11. additional_apps_v1.5.4_signed


A few questions beforehand,

a. The titanium backup does not work without root access. So how do I bacakup the files to sd card before flashing the tablet?

b. I do not understand what it means when you say "Use the CWM or TWRP recovery." What file should I place in the sd card to boot into TWRP or CWP? What is better (or easier to work with)?

c. Is it necessary to flash the ainol_format_internal_memory.zip to clean your NAND, cause my tablet is not freezing frequently.

d. Each time you say "Flash this/that" you mean to press and hold the Volume- and the Power button at the same time stuff and then selecting the "apply update from EXT option" option am I right?

e. After every flash process, do I need to reboot my device?

f. I could not find the SD Card Swap Zips in the files you've provided. Where can I find it (Dont link it, just tell me where to find.)?

g. Can I go back to the way the tablet came out of box after rooting it?

h. What does crystal_clear_revert_to_fake_tabletui file do?



Now, to flash, this are the following steps I am supposed to follow, correct me if I am wrong.


1. Extract the TWRP_v2.3.2.3_aurora2-elf2-crystal.zip file and paste the resultant folder in sd card. Then Flash the uImage_recovery file. (*then reboot??)

2. Then Place the ainol_format_internal_memory.zip file in the sd card and flash the .zip file. (again, do I have to reboot after each step?)
(Side Note - Christian Troy quoted "NEVER flash this two "wiping" zips if you're using an EXT4 partitioned device" What does that mean?)

3. Then paste the crystal_clear_v1.8_signed.zip in the sd card and flash the .zip file.

4. Then paste the crystal_clear_batch2_compatibility_v1.5.1.zip in the sd card and flash the .zip file? (Or do I extract the .zip file and flash the boot.img file?)

5. Then paste the additional_apps_v1.5.4_signed.zip int the sd card and flash the .zip file.

6. Then paste the crystal_clear_re-enable_data_3g_ethernet.zip in sd card and flash the .zip file (If my dongle is not working)

7. Then reboot.

(*, obviously, I have just mentioned to put data in sd card after each step to make it easy for understanding. I will put all the needed data at once in the beginning.)

Please correct me if I am wrong somewhere. And thanks a ton in advance.

This post has been edited by toad_frog09: 28 February 2013 - 10:06 AM

[fuser-invent]

This is a huge amount a questions, you would benifit from doing some research on how to use Android and your tablet. The XDA-Forums are a great place for tutorials. I'll do my best to answer what I can:

a. The titanium backup does not work without root access. So how do I bacakup the files to sd card before flashing the tablet?

You should be able to root your device following the instructions on this thread. If you are already on the stock firmware, you probably don't have to do the wipes though, so you could try to just flash the ROM as is and you wouldn't need to make a backup. The other option is to make a nandroid back-up using CWM or TWRP. If you want to do that google instructions, they are all over the internet since it is a common procedure.

b. I do not understand what it means when you say "Use the CWM or TWRP recovery." What file should I place in the sd card to boot into TWRP or CWP? What is better (or easier to work with)?

You should probably google these as well. CWM looks sort of like the stock recovery and you navigate it with the physical buttons. TWRP is touch based so all the options in it are on the screen. TWRP tends to be easier for most people. You extract the uImage_recovery file from the zip and place it directly on your sd card, not in any folder.

c. Is it necessary to flash the ainol_format_internal_memory.zip to clean your NAND, cause my tablet is not freezing frequently.

No, you should only use this zip if you are having major problems, know what you are doing and are familiar enough with how your tablet works to know that you will not make any mistakes. So don't use it.

d. Each time you say "Flash this/that" you mean to press and hold the Volume- and the Power button at the same time stuff and then selecting the "apply update from EXT option" option am I right?

You only need to enter recovery once, you use those buttons to enter and you will see options depending on which recovery you use. For my ROM or any Christian Troy ROM you must use CWM or TWRP, depending on what the instructions say. You also have to make sure to read carefully and use the correct version of those recoveries. Batch 3 Crystals for example need a special version of TWRP. In TWRP it says "Install" and then you select the zips you want to flash, install them in the order recommended one after another, then reboot the system when you are done installing all of them.

e. After every flash process, do I need to reboot my device?

See above. Only after flashing everything in the correct order.

f. I could not find the SD Card Swap Zips in the files you've provided. Where can I find it (Dont link it, just tell me where to find.)?

They are in the main folder. crystal_clear_v1.5_sd_switch.zip for batch 1 and 2 and crystal_clear_batch3_v1.0_sd_switch.zip for batch 3. The ones with sd_revert will go back to the normal mounting for the sd cards.

g. Can I go back to the way the tablet came out of box after rooting it?

If you have a batch 1 or 2 then yes you can. Just flash the official stock firmware. If you have a batch 3 then you can't because there is no official stock firmware to flash, it was never released.

h. What does crystal_clear_revert_to_fake_tabletui file do?

There is detailed explanation somewhere in the comments of the Crystal Clear thread. In short it switches back to the way Ainol made their tablet appear to have TabletUI but the device was still recognized as a phone and all apps opened in phoneUI. I re-coded the smali to make it a real tabletUI. Some people complained about some apps not going full screen in the real TabletUI, that is why the revert zip exists, because fullscreen works for those apps in the phoneUI.

1. Extract the TWRP_v2.3.2.3_aurora2-elf2-crystal.zip file and paste the resultant folder in sd card. Then Flash the uImage_recovery file. (*then reboot??)

If that is the correct TWRP for your batch. It shouldn't be a folder, just a file called uImage_recovery. Don't flash the file, just leave it on the sd card. On some devices you can flash a TWRP or CWM zip file to permanently replace the stock recovery with the custom recovery but for you I would suggest not doing that until you are more familiar with your device and with Android in general.

2. Then Place the ainol_format_internal_memory.zip file in the sd card and flash the .zip file. (again, do I have to reboot after each step?)
(Side Note - Christian Troy quoted "NEVER flash this two "wiping" zips if you're using an EXT4 partitioned device" What does that mean?)

Don't flash the internal memory format zip. EXT4 is a new partition layout for some Android 4.2 ROM's like PA3+ with multi-user support. If you haven't flashed one then you don't need to worry about it. I'd suggest staying away from multi-user anyway unless you really need it for something.

3. Then paste the crystal_clear_v1.8_signed.zip in the sd card and flash the .zip file.
4. Then paste the crystal_clear_batch2_compatibility_v1.5.1.zip in the sd card and flash the .zip file? (Or do I extract the .zip file and flash the boot.img file?)
5. Then paste the additional_apps_v1.5.4_signed.zip int the sd card and flash the .zip file.

That is the correct order, just make sure you have a batch 2. You can put all of these zip files on your card at the same time since you are flashing them all in row.

6. Then paste the crystal_clear_re-enable_data_3g_ethernet.zip in sd card and flash the .zip file (If my dongle is not working)

If you need to use a 3G dongle then you need to flash this zip after the 3 above. If you don't need to use 3G then don't flash it because enabling 3G really kills your battery life.

7. Then reboot.

At this point you could flash the sd swapping zip if you wanted. Then you can reboot and your done!

I think that covers everything. Good luck.

[toad_frog09]

Completed. Actually I did it yesterday, just after reading your reply, and now when I know how not so complex it is, it makes me appreciate your work even more considering how you have to deal with such newbee questions (or worse, in my case) and yet you handle them so pro efficiently and give such detailed answers. And for that I cannot thank you enough, You sir are brilliant.

As for the Crystal Clear Rom goes, I used it for a day and it is wonderful. The Slicker, smoother and responsive feel is noticeable and it feels quite different from that of the stock rom. The Battery backup is also great.
The camera is also working, same as it used to.
The best thing is that now it does not take several tries to get the dongle to connect as it now does perfectly in the first try. The tablet does feel generally faster, for example in opening the menus or applications.
The application you have provided are also good, checked the antutu benchmarks and score came out to be 8661.

In the about tablet section in the settings menu, the model number shows to be Nexus 7. Dont Know why.



Anyhow, In all it is one excellent rom and i am glad my first flashed rom was this one.

Thank you again for all your help and this wonderful product.

[fuser-invent]

toad_frog09, on 01 March 2013 - 10:15 AM, said:

Completed. Actually I did it yesterday, just after reading your reply, and now when I know how not so complex it is, it makes me appreciate your work even more considering how you have to deal with such newbee questions (or worse, in my case) and yet you handle them so pro efficiently and give such detailed answers. And for that I cannot thank you enough, You sir are brilliant.

As for the Crystal Clear Rom goes, I used it for a day and it is wonderful. The Slicker, smoother and responsive feel is noticeable and it feels quite different from that of the stock rom. The Battery backup is also great.
The camera is also working, same as it used to.
The best thing is that now it does not take several tries to get the dongle to connect as it now does perfectly in the first try. The tablet does feel generally faster, for example in opening the menus or applications.
The application you have provided are also good, checked the antutu benchmarks and score came out to be 8661.

In the about tablet section in the settings menu, the model number shows to be Nexus 7. Dont Know why.



Anyhow, In all it is one excellent rom and i am glad my first flashed rom was this one.

Thank you again for all your help and this wonderful product.

You are very welcome, I hope you enjoy your new tablet. The model number shows as Nexus 7 because that is what is called a "fingerprint." In short, it allows you to download many more apps from the google app market than you could if you're device was recognize as an Ainol Crystal. It's a good thing