Synrgic Dreambook W7

[BobC]

Here's how :
1. from stock firmware, upgrade to firmware v20. You still can download v20 from here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11839213/V20.rar
2. after upgrading, see if you have HD105 or HD 104.
3. from then on, go to synrgic site and download the latest firmware based on you hardware version.
- latest version is v25. for HD104, it is still Android 2.2. for HD105, it is now android 2.3.

I've been thinking about this (I'm really cautious so I spend a lot of time analyzing things before I do them) and I'm wondering how this idea to "upgrade to V20 to identify hardware versions" can work.

As I understand it, the ROMs are hardware specific, right? And the update process just reads whats in the update files and writes them to the appropriate memory locations. If that is the case, then isn't V20 designed for one specific hardware configuration? And isn't it going to write the same data to the same memory locations regardless of the hardware version? Has anyone ever seen an HD104 with the V20 ROM, and did it correctly display HD104 in the build number?

From what I've seen I know that when the V20 ROM is installed it can show a build number of B20V06-20110622(HD105), but if it is installed on a HD104 version, wouldn't it write that same info to the memory location where the build number is stored - making an HD104 display a build number indicating that it is an HD105?

Or is the V20 ROM a special "universal" ROM that somehow actually detects the hardware version and installs a different data set based on which hardware version it detects?

Sorry if I seem to be worrying this question to death. I'm one of those who believes very strongly in the old adage "look before you leap" - and then look again a couple of more times before you take the plunge...

 

[felipe]

I've been thinking about this (I'm really cautious so I spend a lot of time analyzing things before I do them) and I'm wondering how this idea to "upgrade to V20 to identify hardware versions" can work.

As I understand it, the ROMs are hardware specific, right? And the update process just reads whats in the update files and writes them to the appropriate memory locations. If that is the case, then isn't V20 designed for one specific hardware configuration? And isn't it going to write the same data to the same memory locations regardless of the hardware version? Has anyone ever seen an HD104 with the V20 ROM, and did it correctly display HD104 in the build number?

From what I've seen I know that when the V20 ROM is installed it can show a build number of B20V06-20110622(HD105), but if it is installed on a HD104 version, wouldn't it write that same info to the memory location where the build number is stored - making an HD104 display a build number indicating that it is an HD105?

Or is the V20 ROM a special "universal" ROM that somehow actually detects the hardware version and installs a different data set based on which hardware version it detects?

Sorry if I seem to be worrying this question to death. I'm one of those who believes very strongly in the old adage "look before you leap" - and then look again a couple of more times before you take the plunge...

I can tell that if you have a HD104 hardware and install a HD105 software, the most obvious symptom that you have the wrong version is the power led that never goes off (this had been said some posts ago, along with some other clues). It happened to me and I just returned to the previous software to solve the problem. I don't know exactly what would happen if you use HD104 software on a HD105 tablet, but my conclusion is that, if you are unsure, install HD105.

Can't you just turn the 3G off with airplane mode when you aren't using it to save battery - or is there a problem with getting it to turn back ON when you do that?

Radio problem? Are you talking about problems with the FM radio or with the 3G "radio"?

I'm not that concerned about 3G since I don't currently have a data plan and probably won't sign up for one right away - or at all if it doesn't work right. Though I did talk to an AT&T customer service rep the other day and found out I can sign up for a 200Mb a month "starter plan" for only $10 set up and $15 a month. They said that 200Mb is enough to view about 500 web pages.

FM radio, that only worked when I installed HD105 on my HD104 tablet. After I installed Android 2.3 HD105 on my tablet and returning to V25 HD104, the radio started to work. The bug that turns Bluetooth on when FM radio turns on still persisted.

3G takes a very long time to connect (may take hours). Once it's connected, I think is a good idea not to mess with it. Not turn off 3g, not set to airplane mode (when it will also turn off the phone). But this would drain the battery faster.

Felipe, you never did answer the questions I asked about the 3G and radio problems you mentioned a couple of posts back.

Too many questions for someone who does not have this tablet anymore!... All the answers are on previous posts. I know there are 50 pages today, but it really worths a read.

 

[BobC]

I can tell that if you have a HD104 hardware and install a HD105 software, the most obvious symptom that you have the wrong version is the power led that never goes off (this had been said some posts ago, along with some other clues). It happened to me and I just returned to the previous software to solve the problem. I don't know exactly what would happen if you use HD104 software on a HD105 tablet, but my conclusion is that, if you are unsure, install HD105.

Thanks for the suggestion felipe, but that just isn't the way I do things. I strongly suspect that at least some of the issues people have had (in addition to the power LED issue you mentioned) are due to using the wrong ROM, writing over it repeatedly - possibly incomplete re-writes or even incremental upgrades that fix one problem but cause another, etc.

What I am trying to do is AVOID as many of those problems as possible. I don't want to re-invent the wheel. Instead I want to try going from the factory ROM V16 that I currently have to the correct V25 for my hardware and see if some of the trials and travails others have experienced are indeed due to installation of the wrong ROM for the hardware.

I've been emailing the factory to ask them how to ID the hardware version by the serial number, or by the version of the ROM that came on the unit, or even by the date that the HD105 version came out, since the factory ROM has the date in it (V16-20110324 in my case). So far I haven't been able to get a straight answer from them on any of those questions.

FM radio, that only worked when I installed HD105 on my HD104 tablet. After I installed Android 2.3 HD105 on my tablet and returning to V25 HD104, the radio started to work. The bug that turns Bluetooth on when FM radio turns on still persisted.

3G takes a very long time to connect (may take hours). Once it's connected, I think is a good idea not to mess with it. Not turn off 3g, not set to airplane mode (when it will also turn off the phone). But this would drain the battery faster.

Too many questions for someone who does not have this tablet anymore!... All the answers are on previous posts. I know there are 50 pages today, but it really worths a read.

Yeah, like I said, I've read it, but at 50 pages its hard to keep it all straight - especially which upgrade causes which problems. Guess I am going to have to read it again a few more times.

One last question for you. You say yours was an HD104 - how did you figure that out? Did you install ROM V20 and afterwards the build number said it was a V104? If that is how you found out which hardware version you had, then that would answer my questions about kopeland's suggestion to upgrade to V20 first to determine the hardware version before ugrading to V25...

 

[ditman]

One last question for you. You say yours was an HD104 - how did you figure that out? Did you install ROM V20 and afterwards the build number said it was a V104? If that is how you found out which hardware version you had, then that would answer my questions about kopeland's suggestion to upgrade to V20 first to determine the hardware version before ugrading to V25...

Allow me to add my two cent here:

I got my BD W7 about 3 weeks ago. It came with version V25(HD105) installed. Charging led worked without any problem. My only problem was that one out of three times the tablet went to sleep (screen turns off), it would loose the 3G connection. Needless to say, this made the thing practically useless - I had to restart every time I needed 3G or keep the wi-fi hotspot always on (the 3G would not get lost then), which killed the battery.

Reading this thread, I got the impression that the problem with the 3G was introduced in V25, so I decided to roll-back to version 20. I performed a factory reset and wiped the cache, then installed firmware V20. To my HUGE surprise, the version number now indicated version V20 HD104 (!!!!!). 3G keeps getting lost, charge light keeps working fine, BUT no hotspot available.

Moved to V21 (HD104), 3g keeps getting lost charge light keeps working fine, NO hotspot.

Moved to V24 (HD104), NOTHING CHANGES!!!!!!!!!

So, my charging light works with both HD104 and HD 105 versions - what type of hardware do I have?!?!

I will try soon V25 HD104 and this completes all the versions I have available - will report on results.

If anyone has a link to HD105 versions, please let me know, as I would like to check them out too (currently the synrgic link to V25 HD105 does not work).

Looking forward to your views on this.

 

[BobC]

Allow me to add my two cent here:

I got my BD W7 about 3 weeks ago. It came with version V25(HD105) installed. Charging led worked without any problem. My only problem was that one out of three times the tablet went to sleep (screen turns off), it would loose the 3G connection. Needless to say, this made the thing practically useless - I had to restart every time I needed 3G or keep the wi-fi hotspot always on (the 3G would not get lost then), which killed the battery.

Reading this thread, I got the impression that the problem with the 3G was introduced in V25, so I decided to roll-back to version 20. I performed a factory reset and wiped the cache, then installed firmware V20. To my HUGE surprise, the version number now indicated version V20 HD104 (!!!!!). 3G keeps getting lost, charge light keeps working fine, BUT no hotspot available.

Moved to V21 (HD104), 3g keeps getting lost charge light keeps working fine, NO hotspot.

Moved to V24 (HD104), NOTHING CHANGES!!!!!!!!!

So, my charging light works with both HD104 and HD 105 versions - what type of hardware do I have?!?!

I will try soon V25 HD104 and this completes all the versions I have available - will report on results.

If anyone has a link to HD105 versions, please let me know, as I would like to check them out too (currently the synrgic link to V25 HD105 does not work).

Looking forward to your views on this.

WOW! Good info! IF I determine that mine is HD104, can I get copies of all the versions you have? Seems that there is no archive available on the Synrgic site (which is totally STUPID if you ask me). Does ANYBODY around here have a good archive of all the different ROM versions that they have released?

Since yours originally had V25(HD105) and installing V20 made it say it was HD104, that would seem to indicate that installing the V20 truly does identify the hardware version, just like kopeland said. Unless of course there were two "flavors" of V20 - one for each hardware version - and you happened to get the HD104 file and install it. I'm becoming more convinced that the only way to find out which version a person has is through Synrgic's records - if they will play ball and help us with that.

Just curious, but have you considered going back to V20 each time before upgrading to the next higher version (i.e. from 21 back to 20 then to 24)? Wonder if that would yield any different results?

 

[ditman]

OK, I should first correct myself: upgrading to V24 (HD104) DID resolve the issue of the wifi hotspot, which now works OK.

Also, although I did not test each version exhaustively, I did notice the following:
- In V20 and V21 HD104 notifications were not cleared when acted upon (i.e. after pressing on the bar on the upper side of the screen and viewing a new email, the email icon remained in the bar). This was fixed with V24 HD104
- In ALL versions, when a new email arrives the tablet keeps on playing the notification sound again and again until the notification bar is acted upon. This was not the behaviour with the original firmware (V25 HD105)

In any case, I think both bugs are related to the launcher and can be fixed by installing another one (I have seen good comments for LauncherPro).

Since yours originally had V25(HD105) and installing V20 made it say it was HD104, that would seem to indicate that installing the V20 truly does identify the hardware version, just like kopeland said. Unless of course there were two "flavors" of V20 - one for each hardware version - and you happened to get the HD104 file and install it.

No, I do not think so, since I got this version from this thread and some people reported that their hardware turned out to be HD105 - can't be sure, though.

IF I determine that mine is HD104, can I get copies of all the versions you have? Seems that there is no archive available on the Synrgic site (which is totally STUPID if you ask me). Does ANYBODY around here have a good archive of all the different ROM versions that they have released?

Totally agree!!! I will try to upload all the versions I have and post the links here. Come one people! If you have any other version available, please make it public!

Just curious, but have you considered going back to V20 each time before upgrading to the next higher version (i.e. from 21 back to 20 then to 24)? Wonder if that would yield any different results?

That's a good idea! I will try to go back to V20 before going up to V25 HD104.

 

[kopeland]

No, I do not think so, since I got this version from this thread and some people reported that their hardware turned out to be HD105 - can't be sure, though.

I am actually not really sure if installing the V20 would tell whether you are hd104 or hd105. I only say that it is the way because, it was the last firmware update that should work on both HD's. After this, synrgic started releasing versions for on each HD, (v21 for HD104 v21 for HD105) . so who really knows. =)

 

[BobC]

I am actually not really sure if installing the V20 would tell whether you are hd104 or hd105. I only say that it is the way because, it was the last firmware update that should work on both HD's. After this, synrgic started releasing versions for on each HD, (v21 for HD104 v21 for HD105) . so who really knows. =)

AHA! While that isn't a definitive answer it is GOOD info and gives us an important clue! Like I said earlier, mine came with ROM version 16 dated March 24, 2011 (V16-20110324) and according to the factory rep I've been corresponding with version 20 is dated June 22, 2011 (she says she has V20B-20110622 on hers) the picture is becoming clearer as we add each piece of info.

So if V20 and older are a "universal" ROM that detects the hardware and installs the appropriate ROM image it should be safe to install. From there I'd really like to try installing each of the appropriate versions of the ROM to test and figure out what works and what doesn't with each version. With the V16 I have installed, WiFi works great, bluetooth will pair with my hands free, but not with my phone GPS and radio don't seem to work at all EXCEPT the A/GPS seems to work well with WiFi (not very useful).

Looks like the V20 upgrade is in my near future. Wish me luck

Oh, and I agree 100% with ditman. If everyone who has any version of the ROM will post links here, I'll download them ALL, host them all in one location, and post a link for everyone to be able to access all versions in one place....

 

[kippo]

my dreambook w7 does not want to switch on after i switch it off. I recharged the battery overnight but d charging LED will not turn green but d battery is warm.
When i switch it on, nothing happens but the battery gets warm and drained away.

need help in using mfg tool as i can hardly understand d manual.
I've hooked it up to my notebook with winxp sp3 OS and two removable drive are detected. Tried pointing the driver update in the driver folder in mfgtools-rel-ext4-et1000v104\driver but it is not detected.

so i am at loss in how to proceed in using the mfg tool. Anyone has simplified tutorial for those not good in understanding this kind of stuffs?


thanks

hi,
anyone can share their experience on how to use the mfg tool?


regards.

 

[BobC]

I'm getting a little worried guys. All the ROM download links on the Synrgic web page are dead. They all point to some filesharing site called Wikifortio - and all of them return a "file not found" error.

The sudden halt in new releases a couple of months ago (no more money to invest in development?) combined with them using a file sharing service to host their downloads (to save money on web hosting costs?), plus their inability to readily answer a question as simple as "when did the hardware version change?" (maybe due to the people who would know having left the company already?).

Taken all together that sounds more and more like a company that has cut back to the bare bones level and may be just one step away from closing their doors IMO. Man, I sure hope not - this tablet has a lot of potential. It would be a shame to see it die from lack of support..

 

[mightyiam]

I'm getting a little worried guys. All the ROM download links on the Synrgic web page are dead. They all point to some filesharing site called Wikifortio - and all of them return a "file not found" error.

The sudden halt in new releases a couple of months ago (no more money to invest in development?) combined with them using a file sharing service to host their downloads (to save money on web hosting costs?), plus their inability to readily answer a question as simple as "when did the hardware version change?" (maybe due to the people who would know having left the company already?).

Taken all together that sounds more and more like a company that has cut back to the bare bones level and may be just one step away from closing their doors IMO. Man, I sure hope not - this tablet has a lot of potential. It would be a shame to see it die from lack of support..

I'd expect support to come from the open source developers in the form of a CyanogenMod build. We don't need Synrgic for that.

 

[BobC]

I'd expect support to come from the open source developers in the form of a CyanogenMod build. We don't need Synrgic for that.

Yeah, but there needs to be a large enough user base - including some very talented open source developers - to support that happening. Right now I don't think there have been enough W7 tablets sold to organize much of a developement effort and if they go under there won't be anymore built.

I've been searching all over the 'net and this thread in a generic FreeScale forum is the biggest and most active W7 community I've found anywhere. Theere are NO W7 specific forums anywhere outside of China - at least not that I've been able to find...

 

[BobC]

... mine came with ROM version 16 dated March 24, 2011 (V16-20110324)...With the V16 I have installed, WiFi works great, bluetooth will pair with my hands free, but not with my phone GPS and radio don't seem to work at all EXCEPT the A/GPS seems to work well with WiFi (not very useful).

CORRECTION. The GPS works! I tried it with different software (Mapquest) today and it worked! Must've been something wrong with the installation of Google Maps, because it never could seem to locate my position. I also stopped by the local AT&T store & tried one of their SIM cards in it. It recognized the SIM, but since it wasn't an activated card that was as far as I could test it. They said if I wanted to test it further, I would have to go to one of their bigger main stores. So that is the next step.

So at this point its looking like the only thing that flat out doesn't work is the radio. I'm not sure if I even want to bother with updating it at this time.

Oh, and I agree 100% with ditman. If everyone who has any version of the ROM will post links here, I'll download them ALL, host them all in one location, and post a link for everyone to be able to access all versions in one place....

So far after a few hours searching the 'net I've found V20, V21 (not sure which hardware version), V22HD105, V24HD104, V25HD104 & V25HD105. If anyone out there has other versions, please let me know so they can be added to the archive I'm starting.

 

[joopdroid]

CORRECTION. The GPS works! I tried it with different software (Mapquest) today and it worked! Must've been something wrong with the installation of Google Maps, because it never could seem to locate my position.


So far after a few hours searching the 'net I've found V20

Thanks to the new (e.g Bobc) to give there energy to make something of what i have no hope for anymore, if the more experienced like Fillipe quit Pfff then whatt??
Synergic have to give the sourcecode so developers can help us.

My GPS does't work so i try mapsource asap... Radio i can live whitout but it was sold as a device whith radio..
No Agenda for me, no 3G for me so what i have now is a static (expensive) bookreader whith WIFI.

Question: my W7 is still whith the stock Market, agenda enz... how to force the device to update at least the google apps ???

Joop,
W7, HD104 (B02v05-20110525)

 

[ditman]

OK, I have managed to come up with a few versions, which I uploaded to rapidshare - maybe an admin can move this to the first page of the thread. Anyway, here it goes:


Version 20 (common version for HD104 and HD105?)
https://rapidshare.com/files/3811948774/V20.ZIP

Version 21 for HD104
https://rapidshare.com/files/3587507325/V21_HD104.ZIP

Version 24 for HD104 (attention: when installed it reports version as B02V03)
https://rapidshare.com/files/3071294828/V24_HD104.ZIP

Version 25 for HD104
https://rapidshare.com/files/1319000259/V25_HD104.ZIP


Hey BobC, any chance you could send me a link for V25(HD105)? I cannot seem to be able to locate it.