Tecq360

Disabling Automatic Updates on Windows 10 (WiFi)

2018-01-20T10:43:00.001+05:30

Windows 10 is cool. It is fast, it is fluidic, it is functional, and for the best part, it WAS free, atleast for some time. While most of the changes are welcome, the change in update policies is a bit difficult to digest. Well, Microsoft has good intentions in forcing its users to download updates. Updates provide users with protection from the latest malwares and threats. That's a good thing of course, but for users with access to limited bandwidth, it can be a nightmare.
There isn't any straightforward way to disable these updates, but it is possible to trick Windows-quite literally.
Sadly, the trick works only if you are on a WiFi network.
On the brighter side, it works on any variant of Windows 10.
Open the Settings app and select Network and Internet. Now connect to your hotspot. Your screen must show something like this.

Select Advanced Options. Toggle the Set as Metered Connection switch to On.

Now, hopefully, your computer should stop downloading updates automatically.

A word of caution, though. I am not responsible for any damage that may occur to your computer as a direct consequence of not installing critical updates.

Installing GApps on Nokia X

2017-05-03T11:45:00.000+05:30

Nokia X is an Android device released in 2014. People expected the device to be a flagship, for it officially marked Nokia's foray into the world of Android.

However, the device is far from being flagship. It lags behind in both the hardware and software aspects. The 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and 2 GB ROM cannot handle even low strain games and apps. To make things worse, the device ships with the Nokia X Platform, a modified version of Android, which does not come with GApps inbuilt.

All this explains why the device did not sell well.

Well, this doesn't necessarily mean that one has to use the device as it is. A root exploit has been discovered, custom recoveries and ROMs have been developed, and there is a special GApps package available for the device.

Several websites mention that GApps can be installed by performing some complex operations using Root Explorer and a special GApps package created by someone called 'kashamalaga'. Of course, it may work [I haven't tried it], but I have devised a simpler way to flash GApps.

Pre-requisites

A rooted Nokia X [RM-980] with atleast 60% charge -root using Framaroot or Kingoroot
A PC with Nokia X ADB Drivers installed
Nokia X Flasher
A custom recovery [in my case, Lewa recovery]
The GApps package [copy to SD card]

Steps

Switch off your phone. Then boot into fastboot mode by pressing Power and Vol- buttons together for 15-20 seconds
Connect the phone to your PC.
Open Nokia X Flasher. It will look something like this.
If the utility recognises your device, you'll see your device's ADB hostname along with the word 'fastboot' in the 'Log' area, as in the image above.
Now select the recovery image [In this case, Lewa recovery]
Now click on 'Start Flashing!'. The process will take a minute at the most.
After this is done, click 'Reboot'.
Now boot into recovery by pressing down on Power and Vol+ buttons. You'll see something like this.
Select Install and navigate to the GApps zip file.
Swipe to confirm install.
After completion, wipe dalvik/cache.
Then reboot device. You will slowly see some of the Google Apps in Launcher.
Then open Play Store and Sign In to your Google Account.

Note: Initially the GApps may not appear in the Launcher. Please wait for sometime.

Downloads

Nokia GApps package: http://clkmein.com/qOsGQR
Nokia X ADB drivers: http://clkmein.com/qPdylQ
Nokia X Flasher: http://clkmein.com/qPdy8t
Lewa Recovery: http://clkmein.com/qPduFh

Please disable your ad blocker while accessing these links. They are not malicious. They will automatically redirect to the Mediafire download page.

If you encounter any problems, or if you are not able to access the Download page, feel free to leave a comment or mail me at: techfreak13@outlook.com

Solving the Accurator problem on Lenovo Tab 2 A7-10F

2017-03-28T18:07:00.000+05:30

When you flash your device, almost always you visualise seeing your device running the original firmware. You remember the good old days when your tablet used to run the stock ROM, bug-free and......

'Oh no!'

You see something that you hadn't expected.

Many a times, it so happens that the 'firmware' for a particular device isn't actually made for that device. Most of the times the firmware is fully functional on the device, but not to perform the functions that the device was designed to perform.

One such device is the Lenovo Tab 2 A7-10F. It is a cheap, but an equally respectable multimedia tablet having a 1.3 GHz Quad core MTK 8127 chipset with 1GB of RAM. Here in India, many educational institutions use this tablet as a digital learning aid for students, but at the end of the year, flashing it becomes a big problem.

You simply don't get genuine Android 4.4 Firmware for this device.

You do get firmware for the device. No doubts. But flash the firmware and you see a white screen on startup, with the word 'Accurator' in Chinese.

I believe it is an educational app which was built for a 10.1 inch Chinese tablet, which also runs on MTK 8127. This app practically immobilizes the Android system, and this fact is evident when you have a look the Settings application.

It looks like a human without his skeleton.

To me, this app initially looked inpregnable. But then, just then, I discovered a bug in the app. All that you need, in addition to the tablet is a Wi-Fi hotspot-no kidding.

Steps to get past the Accurator app

Switch On the tablet and wait till you get to the Accurator home app.
Now go to the settings.
Though everything is in Chinese, you can change the language, atleast that of the settings app. Search for the Language Settings[it usually is accompanied by an icon consisting of a rectangle enclosing an 'A'.
Open the first option and select 'English' from the popup.
Go back to the Settings home page, and open Wi-Fi. Switch on your router, and connect the tablet to the network.
Go back to the settings and open Display.
Open Wallpaper, and from the options, select 'Gallery'.
In the Gallery, somewhere at the top will be a symbol of a Camera. Touch the symbol, and the camera opens.
Now shoot a short video. It doesn't have to be about anything. Just a video. Max 2 seconds.
Swipe to the left, and you'll probably see your video.
Open the video. You get an 'Open With' dialogue box with two options, Browser and Video Player. Select Browser, and then touch the 'Only Once' option.
Now you get the browser. It is rather impractical to use, but that isn't a problem. In the Address bar, type; google.com
Once you get to Google, download two apps; a launcher[preferably Apex or Go Launcher] and the Non Root Button Savior app. Install both. Don't open the launcher. Just open Button Savior.
Now activate Button Savior. Almost immediately, you can see a small trigger button, usually on the right edge of the screen. Touch the trigger, and you can see the Home, the Back, and the Recent Activities button, along with some other functions.
Touch the Home button to go back to Accurator.
Go to Settings, and change the Home app to the launcher you just downloaded. Press Home button to go to the new launcher!

However, we still can't access the all-important Status bar, and the GApps, which is a big disappointment. Even viewing the notifications is impossible without the help of Gesture support offered by 3rd party Launchers. So it is better to root the device, and flash the debloated Lollipop update for the device using the stock recovery [for the Lollipop ROM go to XDA]

But if you are happy without GApps, so be it!

If it was useful, please leave a comment, or email me at: techfreak13@outlook.com

How to flash an MTK device using SP Flash Tool

2017-03-28T13:29:00.001+05:30

MediaTek. It is a very common term which is being used by Androiders these days. This Taiwan-based company has created ripples with its dirt-cheap processors, which power most low-end Android devices.
With low-end, I don't exactly mean those phones with those slipshod finishes, and screens which crack in a few days. These processors even power the cheaper Lenovo, Sony and Oppo devices, and they are definitely NOT of such kind.
The moment a person like me thinks of these brands, probably he will remember Custom recoveries, ROM's etc. First, you root your device, flash a custom recovery, and then a custom ROM. When you do all this, you run a real chance of bricking your device.
Bricking-sounds rather ghoulish, right? When you brick your device, you lose all your data, including the Android OS itself. So the only solution is to reinstall the OS again, or, technically, flashing the device.
Flashing MediaTek devices is pretty straightforward, if you have the firmware for your device. If you don't, search for the firmware on Google, or better still, on XDA. You will probably get it.
All that you need for this process is a computer[running Windows or Linux], your bricked MTK device, and a working USB cable.

Steps for Flashing

Initially, extract the contents of the firmware zip that you have downloaded on your computer . This may take a minute or so, at the most.
After this is done, check out whether the SP Flash Tool has been included. Otherwise, download it from this site: http://spflashtool.com/
Also download the MediaTek USB VCOM driver from the same website and install it.
Now open the SP Flash Tool. It'll look something like this.
Now select the Scatter Loading file. It will be in the Firmware folder, with the form [MTxxxx_Android_scatter.txt]. 'xxxx' here corresponds to the model number.
Unless you are interested, don't change any of the other advanced settings.
At this point, your mobile device comes to play. Switch off your device, and if possible remove the battery as well. If the battery is on, ensure that there is atleast 60-70% of charge on it.
Click on the Download button.
After this, connect your device to your computer, preferably with the USB cable that came with the device. If your device switches on and starts charging, press the power button till the screen switches off.
The flashing process can take a few minutes. Chances are that your computer may hang, but don't do anything. It may cause more harm than good.
If the flash is successful, you'll see a pop-up, with a tick mark enclosed in a green circle. The window's title will probably be 'Flash OK!' If there is any error, retry the process.

If you find this article useful, don't forget to leave a comment. If you had some problems or repeated errors during the process, leave me a negative comment, and I'll surely help you. You can also mail me at: techfreak13@outlook.com