[?] FAQ [?] Please Read Here First - Sony Tablet S

The Sony Tablet FAQ Thread
Why this thread, I am sick of repeating myself LOL
Why trust me?? I have been through a fair bit of crap with this tablet (Original Tablet S)....
Bricked after messing with build.prop (BIG NO NO) sent to Sony repair....
Well it was sort of repaired the second partition was not quite right. I could not update if I wanted to.
Tried to fix using Flasher but did not have enough room to deflate files = semi-brick
Managed to install 3.2 HoneyComb but the non rootable version so I am stuck.
First thing. HoneyComb 3.2 with kernel 10 maybe rootable by flashing updates. 3.2.1 (big difference) kernel 10 IS NOT ROOTABLE.
However ICS is now rootable, thanks to the 'adb restore' loophole in ICS.
JB is also rootable thanks to the motochopper exploit.
Both are compiled in All in One tools by condi
Next thing some HOUSEKEEPING
Install drivers here @ Sony
or On XDA here thanks to BluechipJ
and driver for R5a recovery thanks to andyabc THEN:
Options:
a. install Android SDK
b. download zip attached to this post
Best thing to do is create a folder on main drive such as C:/ADB
Next we want to 'link' the adb.exe file so it can be opened without having to be in that folder.
Goto My Computer > Properties > Enviroment Variables > Select Path then edit > Scroll to the end of textbox and add ;C:\ADB
Note the entries are seperated by ;
Now you can open cmd: Windows Key + R, type cmd then enter. Or windows key, type cmd, then enter.
Lots of ways to do that.
Then type 'adb devices' without ' ' it should come up with a device listed
When you have that working shut down tablet. Hold vol+ and turn on tab (still holding vol+) this should boot into recovery.
Once again 'adb devices' and now it should say blahblahblah recovery
If that went well then adb is set up and you won't any problems rooting
FAQ
Q. Can I install a cutom rom?
A. NO! You can not, there is no such development for Sony and Xperia Tablet S'. If you want development try Sony Tablet Z.
Q. But, why not?
A. Bootloader is locked down tight and because both Sony and Xperia Tablet S are developed by Sony VAIO not Sony Mobile. The VAIO team knows nothing about Android compared to Mobile team.
Q. I am a noob, how do I install (flash) these update zips that everyone is talking about?
A. Good question, firstly go to here for current files or here for my 4Shared older zips.
Then copy file(s) to sd card, turn off tab, insert SD card, hold VOL UP and turn tablet on by pressing POWER button
but keep holding VOL UP until recovery menu, then use UP and DOWN keys to navigate and POWER button to select.
Recovery Menu > Update System From SD Card > signed-...............
Q. Arrrgh I think I am bricked!
A. Ok firstly calm down and DO NOT factory reset if you haven't already. Next try the step above (installing zip) twice in a row, any zip will do and then use the command adb pull /tmp/recovery.log
Once the file is pulled please rename it from .log to .txt and create a new thread and add attach the file to it and don't forget to tag me "@stifilz" so I see it.
Q. I unistalled an app and need a copy!
A. Don't be lazy.... First of all you should have an update.zip for your region. If not see question 1 for the links (or my signature).
Once you have the file use desklunvr.exe thanks to robin. You can simply drag the zip onto the .exe file and it will output a decrypted zip.
Next you will need to extract the zip using your favourite zip program (I use 7-zip from http://7-zip.org)
After this you will see a bunch of files. You can use ext2explore.exe to open system.img. (See attached) NB: Hidden.img is just that hidden, it CAN NOT be accessed.
In ext2explore you can open the img you want and then navigate the file you want and right click and select save.
Q. Can I root Jelly Bean in Xperia Tab?
A. Yes you can!!! See here.
Q. WAIT!!! Xperia S has JB... WTF.. Do we get JB for Sony Tab?
A. NO. It seems Sony is being dumb and not going to give us JB.
Q. How do I root ICS or JB? Easiest AIO Method
A. To do it the easy way follow this post here for the AIO tool.
Q. How do I root ICS? Manual Method
A. Try to use AIO first, it is the most effectve. To do it manually follow this post here for step by step instructions.
Q. How do I root ICS? Above is not working... Semi-Auto Method
A. Try to use AIO first, it is the most effectve. To do it semi-auto go here and download the latest zip. ( I used 13)
Q. I have a non US Tab S can I flash down to HC?
A. Kind of. Use region changer to change to US region. Download this. And then either
flash normally and then root tablet using HC method (see post #2).
Q. I have a new Xperia Tab S can I flash down to HC?
A. At this stage NO, HC was not released with this Tablet (that I know of) and there is no way to 'fake' as old Tablet atm (to go down to HC).
Q. I have a new Xperia Tab S can I change region?
A. At this stage NO, although it would not be hard to implement this into condi's AIO tool.
Q. I have 4.0.3R5 rooted and want to downgrade to something else
A. When you install R5 OTA or flash normal file the recovery is 'upgraded' you will not be able to use AIO to pre-root future updates nor flash them. You can still root using the ICS method (if it is still current for the update. You can however flash either ICS or ICS R1A by lowering your incremental and manually flashing through recovery. Or see below for condi's amazing solution.
Q. I want 4.0.3R5 rooted and don't want the stupid new recovery
A. See this post here.
-- Now with double flash (flashes both system0 & system1)
UPDATE: Now you can also use FLASHER
Q. My region is not US?
A. Then you may be out of luck. But check here to see if we have a 3.2.1 for your region:
Click Here or PM Me.
Q. AIO still isn't working 100%?
A. Please dowload the attached file ADB v1.0.31, extract and replace the files in the "files" directory.
This has helped a user at post #4 with AIO. This is somewhat obsolete.
Well that was a short FAQ but will add more questions as I think of them, or they pop up.
Please feel free to ask any questions here and I will try answer and post to OP.
Thanks
Stifilz

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OLD FAQ Outdated v2
Q. GRRRR I CAN’T ROOT MY TABLET
A. Not really a question so go to next.
Q. Why can’t I root my tablet?
A. That’s more like a question. There can be many reasons for this. Most likely you have R5A / R6A/B or Jelly bean.
Q. How can I root HC?
A. See post #2 or update to ICS and see below.
Q. Can I root ICS, R1a, R5? Or R4, R5, R6 in Xperia Tab
A. YES see below.
Q. Can I root ICS R6a/b in Xperia Tab?
A. NO you can not, however there is a work around to keep root upgrading from R6. See here.
Q. Can I root ICS R5a in Tablet S/P?
A. No you can not however if you have R1a or lower and have not flashed anything higher then see here.
-- Now with double flash (flashes both system0 & system1)
Q. I now have 3.2.1R2 and want to upgrade to ICS?
A. Don't not accept any Over The Air (OTA) updates as this WILL UNROOT your Tab. Instead go here and download the 4.0.3 or 4.0.3R1A / R2A
Then use AIO tool to pre-root and install; follow here.
OR You can use root method above to root ICS.
Q. I have 4.0.3 rooted and want to upgrade to 4.0.3R1A / R2A?
A. Same as above.
Q. I have 4.0.3R1A /R2A rooted and want to upgrade to 4.0.3R5?
A. Same as above except change to US region (only region with release 5 at the mo)
OLD FAQ Outdated v1
Q. GRRRR I CAN’T ROOT MY TABLET
A. Not really a question so go to next.
Q. Why can’t I root my tablet?
A. That’s more like a question. There can be many reasons for this. Most likely you have ICS 4.0.3 installed. Settings > About Tablet > Android Version
i.e. 4.0.3 (release 1a)
Q. But I don’t have ICS 4.0.3 Installed, I have HoneyComb!!!!
A. Ok, do you have 3.2 or 3.2.1. Settings > About Tablet > Android Version
i.e. 3.2.1R2
3.2 maybe able to ROOT see below.
Q. I have 3.2.1!
A. Do you have 0035 (R1) or 0042 (R2)?
What is the build number? Settings > About Tablet > Build Number
If you have 0035 3.2.1 then see “Q.My tablet is 3.2.1 build 0035” below.
Q. I have 3.2.1R2 (0042) and still can not root!
A. Ok what is you kernel build? Settings > About Tablet > Kernel Version
i.e. “2.6.39.4 [email protected] #1” is what we call kernel 5
Generally build 10 is not rootable, but in some cases neither is 9 or 8. You MUST wait until another root method is discovered.
Q. I don’t have 3.2.1, I have 3.2?
A. What is the build number? Settings > About Tablet > Build Number
You may be able to save you TAB yet, see below.
Q. My tablet is 3.2 build 11000.
A. If you are US region. Flip over tablet check model SGPT111US/S or SGPT112US/S or
Open a file explorer, navigate to /system/build.prop look for
“ro.sony.sku.base=nbx03_001” is US region.
NB Some users have been able to skip 0035 and flash 0042. If you are having trouble with 0042 then flash 0035 first : )
Then flash this: 3.2.1 build 0035
http://www.mediafire.com/?cti11ejoxpxx4cm
Then flash file in next question.
Q. My tablet is 3.2.1 build 0035 (R1)
A. If you are US region. Flip over tablet check model SGPT111US/S or SGPT112US/S or
Open a file explorer, navigate to /system/build.prop look for
“ro.sony.sku.base=nbx03_001” is US region.
Then flash this: 3.2.1 build 0042
http://www.4shared.com/zip/03dah__B/signed-nbx03_001-ota-0042001.html
OR
http://www.4shared.com/zip/8nuDXOQZ/signed-nbx03_001-ota-0042001.html
Q. But I am a noob, how do I flash these?
A. Good question, firstly copy file(s) to sd card, turn off tab, insert SD card, hold VOL UP and turn tablet on by pressing POWER button
but keep holding VOL UP until recovery menu, then use UP and DOWN keys to navigate and POWER button to select.
Recovery Menu > Update System From SD Card > signed-nbx03...............
Q. My region is not US?
A. Then you may be out of luck. But check here to see if we have a 3.2.1 for your region:
Click Here

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wise man
Wise idea with all the new wooters like myself ....
Thanks

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Thanks for the thread. I followed your instructions in the ALLinONE thread and that was helpful!
Two extra things I experienced when rooting my tablet:
1. I somehow skipped 0035 and directly updated from 11000 to 0042. No problem with that.
2. With 0042, I still had problem with ALLinONE (4.0, 4.1, whatever version) froze after launching adb [AiO froze after "daemon started successfully"]. No root process performed. It turned out that the adb files come with AiO seem to be outdated. I updated my SDK tools to rev 20 just this afternoon. The new adb.exe (under android-sdk\platform-tools\) is able to recognize the device when the adb.exe w/ AiO cannot. Copied adb.exe, AdbWinApi.dll, and AdbWinUsbApi.dll to \files\ solved the problem with a successful rooting.
Now challenging pre-rooted ICS! Fingers crossed....
[Updated] after 3 or 4 rounds of failed, now i'm officially on rooted ics!! The most confusing part for me was after signing the decrypted update file and flash custom_update_signed.zip.
Here's how it finally worked for me:
1) install busybox;
2) when in the recovery model: run install.zip [it wouldn't fail] -> run _hack_recovery.zip [this one failed!!] -> run the new install.zip [it was the old custom_updated_signed].
ps: i'm not allowed to post in the dev forum yet so can't add to the original AiO thread. @@

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Perfect for all the questionnaires out there
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using xda premium

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House keeping added....
How to set up adb properly
Stifilz

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andyabc said:
Perfect for all the questionnaires out there
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all...
I read all of the posts (forumSony Tablet S how to root) but do not had any sucess to root my Sony P. I finally found out that it is not possible to root the device with ICS 4.0.3 ....
After I bought my Sony it was running 3.2.1, but I updated it to ICS 4.0.3 and then tried to root (found this forum to late). Can I downgrade the software? I would like to ask if there is a solution to root an ICS 4.0.3 (release 2)???

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dimatrixxx said:
Not all...
I read all of the posts (forumSony Tablet S how to root) but do not had any sucess to root my Sony P. I finally found out that it is not possible to root the device with ICS 4.0.3 ....
After I bought my Sony it was running 3.2.1, but I updated it to ICS 4.0.3 and then tried to root (found this forum to late). Can I downgrade the software? I would like to ask if there is a solution to root an ICS 4.0.3 (release 2)???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can not downgrade and it has not been found possible to root any version of ics.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app

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cslingerland said:
You can not downgrade and it has not been found possible to root any version of ics.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for information. I have to wait until some one will find a solution:crying:

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This may seem a bit strange - I rooted my Nook Color to get the full Android system. What will I get if I root my Sony S? For example, will I get my Windows 7 machine to recognize my Sony S (and sd card) with a letter instead of just Sony S? I did look through many of the discussions and couldn't find the answer - if this is the wrong place, please let me know where to look.
Found answer in wikipedia!

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oh....no......,my tablet Kernel Version is 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1,it can not be root in this time.how long can solve it?????? http://forum.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

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[email protected] said:
oh....no......,my tablet Kernel Version is 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1,it can not be root in this time.how long can solve it?????? http://forum.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/frown.gif
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of Android do you have? If you have anything less than HC 3.2.1 (release2), you may be able to pre-root and update to ICS.

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my tablet is 3.2.1(release2),how to do?thanks

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[email protected] said:
my tablet is 3.2.1(release2),how to do?thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a shame. You cannot root Android version 3.2.1 (release2) with Kernel version 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1. If you would have had Android version 3.2 with Kernel version 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1, you could have updated to and rooted Android version 3.2.1 (release2) with Kernel version 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1 and then pre-rooted and updated to Android version 4.0.3.

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Cat McGowan said:
That is a shame. You cannot root Android version 3.2.1 (release2) with Kernel version 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1. If you would have had Android version 3.2 with Kernel version 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1, you could have updated to and rooted Android version 3.2.1 (release2) with Kernel version 2.6.36.3 [email protected] #1 and then pre-rooted and updated to Android version 4.0.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is bad news for me!!!!so,it means i am nothing to do now?

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[email protected] said:
it is bad news for me!!!!so,it means i am nothing to do now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. There is nothing you can do now. Your only hope is that someone will discover and post an exploit that can root the unrootable versions of Android or better yet, discover a way to unlock the tablet's bootloader.

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Cat McGowan said:
Correct. There is nothing you can do now. Your only hope is that someone will discover and post an exploit that can root the unrootable versions of Android or better yet, discover a way to unlock the tablet's bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your answer.

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Cat McGowan said:
Correct. There is nothing you can do now. Your only hope is that someone will discover and post an exploit that can root the unrootable versions of Android or better yet, discover a way to unlock the tablet's bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry,i forgot to tell you,my tablet is chinese version,somebody say chinese tablets are different,bulid 10#1 can be root.is it really?

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[email protected] said:
sorry,i forgot to tell you,my tablet is chinese version,somebody say chinese tablets are different,bulid 10#1 can be root.is it really?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meaning that Chinese tab can be unrootable from kernel 8 and up. Unlike most regions where 10 is no good. If the AIO tool gives you the red screen then you will have to wait for another exploit like alot of us
Stifilz

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Hello,
i just want to root my tablet, then i noticed i have firmware 3.2 with kernel #10.
As i know I need a OTA update 3.2.1 with a different kernel than #10
My problem ist to get the update for my region, I'm from austria.
Pleace can anyone provide me such an OTA update or just give me a link to it.
It would be verry kind of you.
Best Regards
Benjo