Uberoid Android

Rooting the MID M80003W WonderMedia WM8650 Android Tablet

The Epad isn’t a bad Android tablet, but it sure has some issues (battery life, display). With a price tag of $200, it’s hard to be that picky when it’s a full fledged tablet. It’s called Uberoid, and it removes apps and features that aren’t necessary for the MK802, while updating some of the software that you probably do want. HoneyCombMOD Uberoid Android operating system specially designed for Android tablets that you can usually find on E-bay for $100 or so. This has been stripped of all the bulk and the unnecessary junk that makes your tablet perform slower. This also enhances the overall user experience of your Android Tablet. Android Market having problems or generating errors. 7.Upgrading to new Android OS. Universal WM8650 Uberoid v12.1 Works without Factory Firmware.

Update August, 24 2011: If you are attempting to root your tablet please check out the latest Uberoid mod instead of the one listed in this review. You can read about my experiences with the update on this blog entry along with links to the latest mod.

Original Article:This is my review of a MID 80003W android tablet purchased from Geeks.com and my experiences rooting it. It's a no name MID (Mobile Internet Device) that comes up as model Wondermedia WM8650 when I check the device's about screen.

Uberoid Android 4.4

The device was of particular interest because it boasted 3G, 8' screen, and Android 2.2. Unfortunately I struck out on all three features. The 3G connectivity wasn't compatible with my AT&T SIM card because it doesn't have a SIM slot. The device does have a 8' screen but it is a low quality resistive surface which is more compatible with finger taps and a stylus instead of finger presses that a quality capacitive screen can sense. The tablet does have Android 2.2 but it was loaded with an unlicensed Android OS and filled with sketchy Chinese apps. Apparently an unlicensed OS can't access the official Android Market. The user interface was slow and applications were very unsettling. For a more comprehensive review check out this OSnews article on the device.

Two features that are usually standard were surprisingly missing; a USB interface for connection to a computer and a head phone jack!

Uberoid For Android Tablets

There isn't anything I can do about the 3G and screen but rooting the device turned it into a half usable tablet. Unfortunately there is a lack of clear directions on rooting it and what ROM to use so below is the procedure I followed. You'll need a micro SD card, Windows computer, and several downloads.

Download Uberoid_WM8650_2.2_v1.2.2_NL_v20110414-HcH Uberoid ROM from TechKnow.
Note: To access the download you must be logged into the TechKnow forum. Free registration.
Download SD Formatter and install it on a windows.
Connect the SD card and use the SD formatter to create an empty FAT32 volume.
Unzip the Uberoid download and copy the files onto the SD card. The wmt_scriptcmd file and FirmwareInstall folder should be on the root of the card.
With the android tablet turned off, insert the SD card, and turn it back on.
During startup the android tablet will read the SD card and install the firmware. It took about 4 minutes for the process to complete before the device rebooted into the new OS. Watch the screen because the SD card must be ejected when the firmware installation completes or the upgrade will run again after the device restarts.
The final step was to blunder my way through the menu to calibrate the screen.

Overall the process was straightforward and worthwhile. The device now runs faster and user interactions are more fluent. The sketchy Chinese apps are gone and the official Android Market is available.

We don’t usually write articles about rooting or jailbreaking phones and tablets but this particular model was hard to find any information on the system and what firmware it uses.

This method should work on most any tablet , phone or netbook using Wondermedias wm8850 processor. First what we’re going to do is identify the model of your tablet or netbook. To do this download wonder media analyzer to your phone/tablet/netbook. Before running the analyzer make sure you have a SD card inserted and mounted. When you run the analyzer it will generate a file in the root of your SD card with all of the device configuration. What we are looking for is the model type this should be at the top of the report.

Model
wmt.model.no
PID10_8199

In this case the wm8850 netbook is model pid10_8199 with that information check to see if your model is supported (Most 8850 devices are at this point). Once you have confirmed your device is in the supported list we’rewgoing to download and run uberoid which will root your phone/tablet/netbook and install an updated firmware. Download 8850_Univeral_Uberoid and extract the Firmwareinstall directory and wmt_scriptcmd to the root of your SD card.

Now that we have the firmware we need to change a few configurations to make it update the right firmware for your device. Open the Firmwareinstall/config directory. Find the file that starts with “+” and rename it with out the “+” for example “+testfirmware.bla” to “testfirmware.bla”, afer you have changed that file locate the file with your model number and add “+” to it. In my case PID10_8199.fwc to +PID10_8199.fwc. Open the file and make sure it has all of the appropriate entries in <cmd> that were in the model.txt file. Add any that aren’t present, sometimes you will need to add “<cmd>setenv wmt.gpo.wifi 6:1:6:0xD8110040:0xD8110080:0xD81100C0</cmd>” as it is missing in some firmwares. You may also want to edit settings_remove line to not include developer_options and tethering which will give you access to them.

Once you’ve made all the necessary changes reboot your tablet/phone/netbook, remember to keep the SD card in your system when you reboot, so it will load the firmware update. Once it has completed installing remove the SD card and it will reboot. If every thing was done correctly you should be rooted and firmware updated.