[ROM] PMID4311 / EM543 - CM10, CWM, Root, PlayStore

[dolorespark]

These ROMs are for the Polaroid PMID4311 and Emerson EM543. Their compatibility with their Uniden-branded cousin is unknown.

They are based on CM10 (Jellybean) and offer a customized version of CWM 6.0.1.2. Each ROM is fully rooted and includes these apps: PlayStore, Gmail, SuperUser, Apex Launcher, ES Explorer, Root Checker, and KoiPond live wallpaper.

Of particular note, these LiveSuite images reformat your NAND (internal storage) to provide a 384mb '/system' partition (up from 256mb). With 122mb left free, it should be large enough to handle the addition of numerous system apps and future upgrades. This extra space was obtained by eliminating the hidden '/OEM' partition which contained the vendor's preinstalled apps.

There are separate LiveSuite images for each tablet:

• Polaroid PMID4311 (4311-cm10-dopa-20121209.zip)
• Emerson EM543 (543-cm10-dopa-20121217.zip)

Also available from the Polaroid link is a zip with all the apps that were preinstalled in the two tablets' stock ROMs.

If you haven't used LiveSuite before, you can get it, along with instructions on using it from here: LiveSuite
Note: when you select the LiveSuite zip, GoogleDrive will show you its contents. To download the file, select File->Download from the menubar on the webpage (not the menubar on your browser).

Installation

• if you haven't used LiveSuite before, RTFM
• the instructions say you should hold the Vol+ button when inserting the USB cable, but I've always had better results holding the Back button instead (no need to pulse the power button)
• once Windows recognizes the tablet, the main LiveSuite window may disappear; to get it back, click on its tiny icon in the system tray at the right end of the Start bar

First Boot

• it takes about 3 minutes from the time you press the power button until the first Setup Wizard screen appears - most of that time is spent in the CyanogenMod boot animation. Be patient.
• the Setup Wizard may not be able to identify any wireless networks; if you know the name of yours, you can select "Other Network" and enter its name - otherwise, you can back out of the Wizard and setup your WiFi and Google account later
• the first time you open the App tray in Apex, the icons will be all scrunched together; open its settings, select 'Drawer settings', then change the grid settings. For 'Portrait', try 5 rows/3 columns; for Landscape, 2 rows/6 columns; and for both, select no horizontal margin.

Compatibility

• the very newest Polaroid 4311's may actually be Emerson 543's in disguise - there's no way to tell from the outside. If your touchscreen stops working after flashing the 4311 version of this ROM, try the one for the 543.
• the CM10 package this was based on (compiled by William Kleiman on Oct. 6th) contained support for USB audio and several game controllers. Those modules have been removed because they weren't compatible with the kernel I used. A future version may include them if the issue can be resolved.

[dolorespark]

Changelog

v20121217 - EM543

• initial release - identical to the 4311 version except for changes to accommodate hardware differences

v20121209 - PMID4311

• ROM now loads all likely drivers to ensure compatibility
• restored CWM's standard names for the internal and external SD cards ('/emmc' and 'sdcard', respectively) - fixes bug that prevented applying updates from external SD card

v20121204 - PMID4311

• initial release

[chuck3565]

This ROM is for the Polaroid PMID4311 and possibly its Emerson and Uniden-branded clones.

It is based on CM10 (Jellybean) and offers a customized version of CWM 6.0.1.2. The ROM is fully rooted and includes these apps: PlayStore, Gmail, SuperUser, Apex Launcher, ES Explorer, Root Checker, and the app that caused me to buy my first Android tablet, KoiPond live wallpaper.

Of particular note, this LiveSuite image reformats your NAND (internal storage) to provide a 384mb '/system' partition (up from 256mb). With 122mb left free, it's large enough to handle the addition of numerous system apps and future upgrades to Android v4.2 and beyond. This extra space was obtained by eliminating the hidden '/OEM' partition which contained the vendor's preinstalled apps.

The LiveSuite image file (4311-cm10-dopa-20121204.zip) is here: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B3...J5bF80Yzg/edit
Also available at that URL is a zip with all the apps that were preinstalled in the stock ROM.

If you haven't used LiveSuite before, you can get it, along with instructions on using it from here: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B3YCNH987rISLTJDMXFUWlFjUzA/edit

Note: when you select the LiveSuite zip, GoogleDrive will show you its contents. To download the file, select File->Download from the menubar on the webpage (not the menubar on your browser).

Installation

• if you haven't used LiveSuite before, RTFM
• the instructions say you should hold the Vol+ button when inserting the USB cable, but I've always had better results holding the Back button instead (no need to pulse the power button)
• once Windows recognizes the tablet, the main LiveSuite window may disappear; to get it back, click on its tiny icon in the system tray at the right end of the Start bar

First Boot

• it takes almost exactly 3 minutes from the time you press the power button until the first Setup Wizard screen appears - the last 2 1/2 minutes is spent in the CyanogenMod boot animation. Be patient.
• the Setup Wizard may not be able to identify any wireless networks; if you know the name of yours, you can select "Other Network" and enter its name - otherwise, you can back out of the Wizard and setup your WiFi and Google account later
• the first time you open the App tray in Apex, the icons will be all scrunched together; open its settings, select 'Drawer settings', then change the grid settings. For 'Portrait', try 5 rows/3 columns; for Landscape, 2 rows/6 columns; and for both, select no horizontal margin.

Compatibility

• unlike most 3rd-party LiveSuite images, this one includes the files that (should) confirm the hardware is compatible with the ROM. If it isn't, the installation should fail. I don't expect there will be any problems with Polaroids, but the Emerson or Uniden models may be slightly different. If so, post a message and I'll try to create separate versions for them.
• the CM10 package this was based on (compiled by William Kleiman on Oct. 6th) contained support for USB audio and several game controllers. Those modules have been removed because they weren't compatible with the kernel I used. Just yesterday I read of a way to force compatibility; if I can get it to work, I'll release a 'v2' which restores those features.

Does the camera work with Skype in your rom? Thanks. Chuck

[cheenouvue14]

PTAB8000

Electik has been working hard on the Ptab8000 and trying to get stock custom roms to flash in stock recovery anyone got a working cwm for Ptab8000? The ptab8000 is a hard one to get done

[dolorespark]

Does the camera work with Skype in your rom?

Sorry, I haven't a clue. Does it work with the stock ROM?

[rusty2788]

i tried this on my emerson tablet would not install so i installd the update from emerson and now have no touch screen any idea how to fix it

[dolorespark]

i tried this on my emerson tablet would not install so i installd the update from emerson and now have no touch screen any idea how to fix it

If the 4311 ROM wouldn't install then we should assume there's some difference in hardware. I'll download the Emerson ROM and see what that difference is.

Now, if the vendor's own ROM has caused you problems, then I'd question your download. Normally, I'd say you should run 'md5sum' on it to see if it's corrupt. However, the value they posted is identical to the checksum for the PMID4311 download. It doesn't inspire confidence in S.T.

I should have some idea of what's going on in an hour or two. BTW... do you remember what the error was when LiveSuite failed to flash the 4311 ROM?

[rusty2788]

If the 4311 ROM wouldn't install then we should assume there's some difference in hardware. I'll download the Emerson ROM and see what that difference is.

Now, if the vendor's own ROM has caused you problems, then I'd question your download. Normally, I'd say you should run 'md5sum' on it to see if it's corrupt. However, the value they posted is identical to the checksum for the PMID4311 download. It doesn't inspire confidence in S.T.

I should have some idea of what's going on in an hour or two. BTW... do you remember what the error was when LiveSuite failed to flash the 4311 ROM?

i dont think tere was any code just would not install mybe idid somthing wrong cause i have flash both

emerson rom and the polariod one still no touch screen and no wifi i can use a wireless mouse so just screwed up some drivers or somthing ok redownload your rom and tried agian
the only message i get is the ok like you get when livesuit is finshed but it dosnt install wish icould help more but i dont much about andriod stuff

[dolorespark]

i have flash both emerson rom and the polariod one still no touch screen

If the stock polaroid ROM installed OK then the hardware should be the same. That's what it looks like when I compare the stuff in the original Polaroid and Emerson ROMs. All the h/w-related files are identical. Only the files that contain things like logos and product name differ.

ok redownload your rom and tried agian the only message i get is the ok like you get when livesuit is finshed but it dosnt install

What happens? Does the progress bar get to some point then fall back to zero? Or, does it hang? (It should sit at 59% for quite a while before continuing.)

I'm going to do some more research but first, one more question: did you ever flash your 543 before today? If so, do you still have the ROM you used?

[rusty2788]

If the stock polaroid ROM installed OK then the hardware should be the same. That's what it looks like when I compare the stuff in the original Polaroid and Emerson ROMs. All the h/w-related files are identical. Only the files that contain things like logos and product name differ.


What happens? Does the progress bar get to some point then fall back to zero? Or, does it hang? (It should sit at 59% for quite a while before continuing.)

I'm going to do some more research but first, one more question: did you ever flash your 543 before today? If so, do you still have the ROM you used?

No it doesn't do anything it just says OK and that's all no progress .and no I had not flashed anything before on it just thought while I had the cable out I would flash the ROM just to clean up some junk apps and things . I don't know what I did to screw it up but hey it is cheap tablet anyway . Thanks for your help if there is anything I can do let me know like I said idont know anything about android I just follow directions

[rusty2788]

just thought iwould let you know i switched pc and got your rom to install i still have no touch screen but wifi conects

[bbsux]

I just opened up my polaroid pmid4311 and compared it to my em543. BTW the Volume keys and power key are not attached to anything and make it really annoying to put the case back together...

they are a little different.

ram chips are the same 2x hynix h5tq2g83cfr

wifi is the same Realtek 8188ctv

polaroid: be carefull taking this one apart one ribbon cable is just soldered to the board, where in the emerson it has a connector. So I couldn't get a pic of the other side of the polaroid board.

board says m434 v3.0.0 2012/06/27

hynix h27ubg8t2btb

emerson:
board says m434 v4.1.0 2012/08/11

mem chip is (micron?) M 29e32g08cbaca

all in all they are pretty much the same

flash maybe the main difference....

[dolorespark]

just thought iwould let you know i switched pc and got your rom to install i still have no touch screen but wifi conects

If the stock ROM didn't give you back the touchscreen, I doubt the following will but try it just in case.

In /system/etc/init.d you'll find '02modules'. You can use ES Explorer to get there, then open it in its "ES Note Editor". All of the lines are commented-out with a '#' because none of the modules listed were compatible. Add a new line and enter this (no #) "insmod /system/lib/modules/ft5x_ts.ko". Save the file, change its permissions to "rwxr-xr-x", then reboot.

These tablets could have either a "gt811" or an "ft5x" touchscreen controller. I (foolishly) only had the init process load the "gt811" driver. This change will add the "ft5x" and maybe fix things (though I doubt it).

I'm going to build a new ROM using the stock EM543 LiveSuite image as a starting point. I'll post it in the next day or two.

BTW... you've changed PCs - have you tried a different USB cable? The shorter and fatter, the better.

[dolorespark]

In /system/etc/init.d you'll find '02modules'. You can use ES Explorer to get there, then open it in its "ES Note Editor". All of the lines are commented-out with a '#' because none of the modules listed were compatible. Add a new line and enter this (no #) "insmod /system/lib/modules/ft5x_ts.ko". Save the file then reboot.

I left out an important step: after editing the file, you'll have to change its permissions back to the way they should be: rwxr-xr-x

If you had a touchscreen, you'd long-press the file in ES Explorer, then select Properties at the bottom of the menu. If you're using a mouse, I guess you'd right-click. Also, the owner/group for this file gets changed when you edit it: it should be root/shell but gets changed to root/root. Fortunately, it still gets run even with the incorrect group.

[Spidengo]

Of particular note, this LiveSuite image reformats your NAND (internal storage) to provide a 384mb '/system' partition (up from 256mb). With 122mb left free, it's large enough to handle the addition of numerous system apps and future upgrades to Android v4.2 and beyond. This extra space was obtained by eliminating the hidden '/OEM' partition which contained the vendor's preinstalled apps.

@dolorespark
I LOVE YOU! Thank you!!!! I, for the life of me, was hoping someone would figure out how to increase our system NAND partition. I was about to return this bad boy. What tool did you use to do this initially?
Is there any way in the future (not at the present) to use or allocate more (or all) of the Nandj partition (the 1gb internal Nanj partition) to the system partition for future JB or other Google Android Roms. In CM9 build.prop it was built in to be able to swap internal SD and external SD based on preference. We could point the internal SDCard to the external SD if for any reason more Nand system partition memory is required.

The EM543 ROMS are completely compatible. I flashed it to my PMID4311 and back again.

@dolorespark
You should link to LiveSuite 1.09. The icon menus are in Engrish (literally, Engrish as all the English is misspelled), but with English Livesuite's icons menus are much more navigable. I use it to flash stock image every time.