Teclast P98 4G ( A8H8 )

[Numb_L]

There are notable differences from the previous version A8H6 ??

I'm wondering this too! Is it possible to flash A8H8 Lollipop to A8H6 version?

From 4pda I found this (Google translate): "I asked the Chinese to 5.0 Firmware threw. He says that it will not work, ostensibly only for a new audit. Asked to still find and threw me there. But it is something not well understood, asked ID plate and said that the will look. Says that Tecklast about 5.0 A8H6 stupidly silent. It is not clear whether they intend to release updated to an old revision or not ...In general if the firmware casts - it lay here for shamanism ... But we need to be ported likely"

[hocuspocus69]

One big problem with teclast is that they don't release source code like other chinese producer... not all...unhappy commercial politics!

[Numb_L]

One big problem with teclast is that they don't release source code like other chinese producer... not all...unhappy commercial politics!

I belive that it is because of MediaTek.

But do you know if it possible to flash A8H8 Lollipop to A8H6 KitKat? Thanks.

[hocuspocus69]

Other chinese producer with mtk chipset has release source code...i don't think is possible to flash it on a8h6...

[yuv]

How do you do self compiling kernel without source code? Thanx

You find the kernel source code. It is perfectly legal to redistribute it under the GPL and it seems that Github is no longer complying with bogus DMCA notices that made Mediatek kernels misteriously disappear. I started here. It is a tedious and slow process of trial and error. Tedious because there are tons of possible permutation and slow because at every permutation the kernel has to be compiled and the tablet booted with it. You start with something similar to your device and work yourself through the hardware specifications / drivers.

One big problem with teclast is that they don't release source code like other chinese producer... not all...unhappy commercial politics!

To be fair, it is not a Chinese problem but an endemic problem affecting the whole Android ecosystem.

• Lenovo is Chinese and they are good releasing source code.
• The Google Nexus 9 is manufactured by HTC, a Chinese company, and of all Nexuses that have come under my hands it is the one with the most complete source code release / the least proprietary stuff.
• SONY is a Japanese manufacturer, also quite known for not playing nice with open source in other areas. Against the general trend of serious manufacturers, small and large, to use less Mediatek SoC, SONY is using more. A marriage of two like-minded anti-open-source companies...

You are right that the lack of source code / support is a commercial strategy: there is more money to be made selling new gadgets than fixing/supporting existing gadgets with fresh free software. Short-term-thinking manufacturers like Teclast play exactly that strategy, that marries well with Mediatek's strategy of selling more new chips by making them obsolete for lack of support.

Long-term-thinking manufacturers on the other hand know that in the long term this strategy is a loser. Eventually consumers will smarten up that spending $400 on a tablet that is supported for three years is cheaper than spending six times $200 on a tablet that is barely supported for six months; and that a supported tablet is safer than an unsupported one (Stagefright, anybody?).

I belive that it is because of MediaTek.

Yes, Mediatek is a significant contributing factor, but the problem is endemic to the Android hardware ecosystem.

There are two distinct areas of the software that are concerned by the problem:

• The kernel and its modifications are subject to the GPL and must be shared
• The drivers for the hardware peripherals are not and manufacturers can choose if they want to keep them proprietary

Even the best open sourced devices (Google Nexus) have binary blobs, proprietary device drivers that need to be updated when the kernel's ABI changes. See the list of blobs at the above link for how often that happens. To build a complete and functional Cyanogenmod, I have to extract the binary blobs from the device and reintegrate them in my build. Drivers hell sucks!

Some silicone-manufacturer are better than other. Mediatek is probably te worse. My understanding is that Mediatek tries to prevent device manufactures from publishing its kernel modification (illegal) and not just its drivers (legal). The only way to get the code necessary to make Mediatek chips work on newer kernels is to license it and presumably pay a fee. Since that's not really in the budget for most manufacturer, Mediatek devices go un-updated. This explains also the demise of the Alcatel-Cyanogen cooperation on the Hero 2+, that is widely blamed on Mediatek.

Steve Kondik (Mr. Cyanogen himself) said nicely on a comment to this Google+ post

We won't ship a device that we can't keep alive for a decent duration. I know there are a few weirdos who prefer Kitkat, but unless our users have changed their minds about wanting the latest and greatest, [calling off the Hero 2+] was the right choice. Better stuff is in the works

CM has been able to keep many devices alive far past their intended lifespan (hello GS2) but there are either compromises often made which have no place in a commercial product, or the vendor's support in some way has been outstanding (open source drivers, etc) and the quality is still good.

Only big players like Google (Android One) and Lenovo have been able to withstand MTK's pressure, and only partially. Smaller manufacturers have played by Mediatek's blackmail-model or switched to SoC from manufacturers that strike a better balance between intellectual property protection and openness, or at least support their proprietary stuff for a reasonable time. Qualcomm is currently, to my knowledge, the best choice.

For me, I have learned from the acquisition of this CrapTab: I will only buy new Android devices AFTER I have seen a reasonably long support track record from the manufacturer, and preferably AFTER I have been able to build CyanogenMod for the device. CyanogenMod has a track record of keeping devices supported long past they have been abandoned by the manufacturers. In an ideal world, public policy would dictate a law that forces "recalls" on technology manufacturers like they are forced on cars; and forces manufacturers to either support their devices or publish the source code to the devices they have decided to abandon. But it will take a good 10-20 years for the law to catch up in this area.

[Numb_L]

Just wanted to say thanks for you detailed and informative post. I have been trying to understand what GPL and open source policy means to Android, manufacturers, companies like MediaTek and Qualcomm and specially to customers. This was really helpfull. Thanks again!

It is a tedious and slow process of trial and error.

Good luck to you. I hope you reach your goal. Maybe I some day follow your steps.

[hocuspocus69]

yuv have you see repository on github for p8000 based on mt6753 ? More similar to our mt8752 and with lollipop kernel maybe you can understand better than me!

[androidian]

Hi Yuv, thanks for the great amount of effort and time you are putting into this tablet. I am trying to choose between a chuwi vi10 and this one. I hate windows and probably delete the partition if possible if the android on chuwi vi10 works well. I dont prefer dual boot per se - just want a single boot Android with top hardware performance(when required) and battery life(most of the time). Again ARM chips are better in battery perf per dollar than in Intel, considering costs of clover trail and core M.

I just wanted to know the following:
1. Your last few posts here and at xda sounds a bit dejected about not being able to root/customize fw on this one. Been a couple of weeks now, are you still working on this hardware? Are you hopeful that there will be progress
2. Do you still recommend this tablet based on CPU/GPU performance/battery?
3. What else can I look at as an alternative? (keeping in mind the same or lower budget- around $200)

I try out custom roms/kernel, and general tweaks, but not a developer myself. Thanks in advance :-)

[towenyu]

Hi yuv,

Sorry to disturb you. Would you share your final steps on how to root the P98 A8H8 device? I can access the device with adb and got the root shell, but I don't know how to program the right su binary into the device system...
Could you please help? Get frustrated with so many garbage self-restart software.....

[towenyu]

Successfully rooted.... turn out to be pretty easy.

[Matteuz]

Successfully rooted.... turn out to be pretty easy.

Hello,
it would be nice if I could get a mini guide.

Thanks in advance!.

[hocuspocus69]

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showt...ost&p=44797223
Thanx to Hanuma50 from 4pda.ru
we have
TWRP 2.8.7.0 for A8H8
https://mega.nz/#!ANR1ETyR!ZVTFp1W-a...d0oe9Gk2vjOrRc
TWRP 2.8.7.0 for A8H9
https://mega.nz/#!pQBHQbqQ!9LTV7vS0m...zjN02p9ycSzB6o
HAPPY ROOTING!!!!
Supersu 2.49
https://mega.nz/#!sBpEHJDI!Ii0_ohK8R...gulB_qb8QAuUoI

[g.andi]

Hello, rooting works perfectly. Can someone help me pls resize the system partition to 2gb and userdata partition to 6gb by modifying the scatter-file? I have the A8H9.

Thx in advance

[spzjulien]

Hello, rooting works perfectly. Can someone help me pls resize the system partition to 2gb and userdata partition to 6gb by modifying the scatter-file? I have the A8H9.

Thx in advance

if you provide me the EBR1 and EBR2 file i can do it

[Enzissimo]

if you provide me the EBR1 and EBR2 file i can do it

Hi, i bought a P98 and i want to resize the partitions. Is there a guide to do that? Can i join the two partitions?
Thanks a lot