Sylvania SYTABEX7 Owners: Must Read

[JPardee]

I had recently purchased a Sylvania SYTABEX7.

During my testing of the unit, I realized at least two things that needed addressed by the manufacturer:
- USB port were not functioning
- Updater would not allow the unit to update to the latest firmware release

I called: Digital Gadgets / 1-888-571-0866
Explained them my problems, and at no extra cost to me, they are sending me the SYNET7LP
The difference between the two models is the HDMI port, and the SYNET7LP will have the updated firmware. They provided me with a shipping label, all I have to do is box it up and drop it off to UPS.

For a cheap / budget Android tablet, this is not a bad device for simple tasks.
They are working on the Android 2.2 firmware for the units.

SYTABEX7 owners could benefit from this.

 

[fatmanwalking]

Thanks for the tip. I bought mine three days ago and discovered the same problems. USB ports not working and Updating not working.

I tried calling today (Saturday) and got sent to voicemail. So I sent them an email and am waiting for a reply.

 

[haymond]

I tried calling also.I'm going to send them a email as well.

 

[novadar]

Thanks JPardee. My update did not work at least the Version number did not advance but my Host USB port began to work. I also discovered that only FAT32 USB sticks are recognized.

Will be calling on Monday as well.

 

[JPardee]

They will ask you to make a copy of your receipt and put it in the box when you ship as well.

Good luck to all, going to send mine out tomorrow, Ill post any updates.

 

[haymond]

Has anyone been able to talk to anyone at DG?I've been calling all day and wasn't able to talk to anyone.

 

[JPardee]

Thats odd. When I called Friday, got an answer right away.
Not sure if they are short-staffed or what.

Keep trying, just sent mine out today.
Tracking shows it will be there on Wednesday.
I'll update as it progresses.

Don't give up, you can't beat a free upgrade.

 

[novadar]

Haymond, as the Brits say "I rang them up all bloody day, no answer, pure rubbish".

Will try again tomorrow as I concurrently work my tender, hands-off, safety, if-at-all-possible, light rooting. I just need to kill that Phone.apk. I eats up 70-80% of the power! I was shocked when I saw that on a nifty system screen that came with my LauncherPro installation.

 

[JoseGala]

We are doomed with DG/Sylvania & CVS... very bad. Please tell us if tomorrow someone answers the phone or your e-mails... I will do the same, if happens to me

 

[The Doctor Who]

I've had a problem with the updating of my tablet, so I sent an E-Mail to the tec support address given ([email protected]) and got a response within a few days from what I presume is one of their technicians. It isn't next-day-service, but it's been sufficient... although they haven't answered my questions in full yet.

But, really, what kind of tech support do you expect from one of these third-rate companies? When even the big-name computer companies have horror stories of awful tech support, it shouldn't be a surprise that Sylvania isn't that reliable.

 

[novadar]

Woo Hoo! Universal AndRoot worked like a charm. Root in less than 1 minute. Phone.apk ---> DEAD (renamed to Phone.OLD), along with many others. Battery looks like it is doing much better. Along with the changes to use LauncherPro (much nicer looking menus, etc), adding Amazon Apps Store, adding Notepad program, I actually feeling pretty good about this value purchase. CVS' 25% off coupon was the real kicker to get me in this game, I could not see myself paying $390+ for the old iPad or crazily even more for the "High-end" Android tablets. Having good Linux skills I am not afraid to try more tweaks, very carefully however. I setup the Android SDK with an Emulator set to this thing's resolution. I will play around there before I trying anything extreme.

 

[fatmanwalking]

I've had a problem with the updating of my tablet, so I sent an E-Mail to the tec support address given ([email protected]) and got a response within a few days from what I presume is one of their technicians. It isn't next-day-service, but it's been sufficient... although they haven't answered my questions in full yet.

But, really, what kind of tech support do you expect from one of these third-rate companies? When even the big-name computer companies have horror stories of awful tech support, it shouldn't be a surprise that Sylvania isn't that reliable.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Doctor Who. I'll give it about a week before I send the Cybermen after them!

 

[The Doctor Who]

Woo Hoo! Universal AndRoot worked like a charm. Root in less than 1 minute. Phone.apk ---> DEAD (renamed to Phone.OLD), along with many others. Battery looks like it is doing much better. Along with the changes to use LauncherPro (much nicer looking menus, etc), adding Amazon Apps Store, adding Notepad program, I actually feeling pretty good about this value purchase. CVS' 25% off coupon was the real kicker to get me in this game, I could not see myself paying $390+ for the old iPad or crazily even more for the "High-end" Android tablets. Having good Linux skills I am not afraid to try more tweaks, very carefully however. I setup the Android SDK with an Emulator set to this thing's resolution. I will play around there before I trying anything extreme.

How did you rename Phone.apk? I got AndRoot installed and it (claimed to) successfully root my tablet, but when I tried renaming the .apk (via Astro), it just told me 'insufficient permissions' and refused to hear anything about it.

 

[novadar]

I installed "AndRootFile" from the Amazon App Store. I actually installed and ran it before I rooted using UnivAndRoot. It said I did not have root access (d'uh). After the shockingly fast root process. I opened AndRootFile again. Hit the "Super-User" button, found Phone.apk, clicked, selected rename, clicked ok, fought with the tablet for a few seconds to get it to shutdown (I kept holding the power button because the warning message about Phone.apk being in fault would not go away.

Amazon.com: AndRootFile: Appstore for Android

 

[ImagineThat]

How did you rename Phone.apk? I got AndRoot installed and it (claimed to) successfully root my tablet, but when I tried renaming the .apk (via Astro), it just told me 'insufficient permissions' and refused to hear anything about it.

By default the permissions on the /system/app folder are read only. You'll have to change that in one of several possible ways. Sounds like novadar's technique may work...I use root explorer as my file manager program and there's a option at the top of each folder that you can press to change between read only and read/write. You'll only be able to get read/write access if you are rooted.