[ROM][MOD] Lenovo A820

[ROM][MOD] Lenovo A820

In this post you can find a multilingual (mainly European) modified rom for the smartphone Lenovo A820.

IMPORTANT NOTE!
The newer phones do not work well with S138 or older kernel (no info about S147).
The symptom is that the touch screen works on inappropriate way: after the first screen lock it does not work again.
For this reason it is highly recommended that update your kernel if you have got this issue.
The kernel changer to S150 zip can be run from modified recovery (CWM, TWRP, COT, Carliv, etc...).

Note that all the things in this thread you do with your phone can be dangerous. Do it at your own risk.

Before you do anything, it is recommend you to save your current ROM
There are many ways to save:
1, for non-rooted phones:
- SP_Flashtool, readback option.
- CWM (or TWRP) backup, if it is available on your phone

2, for rooted phones:
- MTKDroidTools backup
- command line dd-backup

In order to install this ROM, you need to have CWM recovery on your phone.
If you have not got this recovery or you do not know which recovery you have got, you have to read below before you do anything.
If you get error during the installation of the ROM, see below.
The restore option of the CWM rcovery is not as good as it could have been expected, so please read below carefully for CWM restoration issues, tricks.
Update: CWM 6.0.4.0 with S150 stock kernel.

Just to clarify the power-on modes:
Normal phone mode: press the power button
Meta mode: VOLUME DOWN + POWER
Factory mode: VOLUME UP + POWER
Recovery mode: VOLUME DOWN + VOLUME UP + POWER

Consider the warranty issues, you need to backup you rom.
In addition, it is always suggested to do a backup before install any new ROM to your phone.
You can do it with CWM recovery in backup menu.


About installation in general.
Pre-requisites: CWM recovery menu installed on your phone. (This ROM can be installed from CWM recovery.)
The ROM file must be saved on your physical SD card.
Enter into CWM recovery.
In CWM recovery you can go up/down with the volume up/down keys. The “enter” is the power button.
Choose the “install zip from SD card” menu item.
Choose the “choose zip from SD card” menu item.
Select the rom you want to install.
Choose “OK” in the menu item.
If you need a detailed explanation of its use, see the tutorial : http://bm-smartphone-reviews.blogspo...-recovery.html
Right after the ROM installation has been finished, you can install gapps as well, before restart.


Windows driver installation:
Instructions in XP under Virtualbox :
Download the Lenovo drivers
Manually add the com ports in control panel.


MOD CP4.0


 

V1
The modified rom has got the stock kernel - Lenovo A820_ydss_S135_130403

This completely changes your phone appearance, your Lenovo UI will be disappeared.
Also Lenovo applications are not integrated to this rom.
It will look like the stock Jelly Bean.
Main features:
-The firmware is rooted.
-Boot logo, boot/shutdown animations and sounds are changed to Lenovo.
-Minimalist appearance and content, for this reason you have to install google applications manually, from CWM recovery <link>. After gapps installation everything works well (many people wants to have mainly Google Play. It do work.)
-Slide unlock.
-Multilingual. For supported languages, see the screenshots.
-The default language/region is Hungarian, but you can easily choose your one.

Known bugs:
- The charging logo with turned off phone is not proper.
- The camera does not work adequately in video-camera mode.
- The default setting in some of the application is V987.


V2
The modified rom has got the stock kernel - Lenovo A820_S135_130403

The camera was changed to a non-multilingual one. It looked that the black screen in camcorder mode solved.
But after googleapps something went wrong... black screen again.



V3
The modified rom has got the stock kernel - Lenovo A820_S135_130403

In V3 there is not any significant changes (camera app was changed back to the multilingual one), but the gapps were modified, which caused the camcorder issue.
So, for this modified rom you need to use this gapps.
V3 download link: CP4.0-by-cappa72-v3 - dropbox
or
CP4.0-by-cappa72-v3 - 4shared
Bug: Still, the camera has got green lines in the case of playback.



CP4.1

 
V1
The kernel has changed to A820_YDSS_S130_130324.
The camera application does not generate green bands in playback.
The default language was set to English, default time zone was set to London.
CP4.1-by-cappa72-v1
You can use the googleapps mentioned for CP4.0-v3



CP4.2

 
V1
The kernel has changed to A820_S138_130419
CP4.2-by-cappa72-v1



MOD CP5.3
Available now (25.11.2013.)
 
CP5.3
V1
Change log; what’s new compared to CP4.2
Aromainstaller is used for optional installation possibilities.
- still Jelly Bean 4.1
- kernel is the stock S150
- Modified systemUI (1% battery signal; automatic hide function for non-used sim signal)
- Modified Settings
- Baseband is from the stock ROM S150.
- gps.conf is set to EU by default
- apns.xml is modified for Telenor-HU from “net” to “online”
- gps-tracker solver added to build.prop (dalvik.vm.execution-mode=int:fast)
- libvcodecdrv.so replaced to solve green bars in case of video playback.
- updated MobileUncleTools (2.9.5) in case of 3rd party SW.

There is no default ringtone set! Right after the installation you have to set the ringtone, message alert and so on... otherwise your phone will not play sound...

Important feature!
If you have already repartitioned with the script, you can simply install this ROM, it will recognise that the repartition had been done; and you do not have to run "disable internal SD card" script from CWM.
But please note that this function is onyl available with the repartition script; with Meteos rom editor repartitioning this function is not available.

Right after the installatio, there is not any sound set. Nor the ringtone, nor the message an alert. So, you have to set it first.


Available on mediafire : Link
md5sum: 86e241fcac6faf4fa6baf0f9cc4a18a0



Additional possibility:Change of FM radio
The FM radio can be changed back to Lenovo’s one with this script. It was requested by some people due to the fact that Lenovo’s FM radio can work without connecting the earphone.
The link is here. http://data.hu/get/6494163/FM-radio-change.zip
You can install it from CWM recovery, with the same method that you used during the installation of the ROM. This script does not affect any other part of the ROM, but the FM radio.


Repartition
Please DO NOT USE IT for Lenovo-based ROMs. Sometimes it can cause bootloop or other inconvenience.
The repartition of internal memory of the Lenovo A820 phone has been solved already.
With this action youd intednal SD card will be disappeared and will be added to the /data partition.

Before you do anything, make a CWM backup, and save all your data from internal SD card!

The easiest way is to use this CWM script, if you want to have the maximum available size (2,7GB) for the /data partition.
You have to install it from CWM recovery.
After the installation you need to do a factory reset.
After the factory reset, you have to disable your internal SD card, with CWM script.
And then, you can reboot your phone to check if yo have got the new size of /data partition:
settings --> storage
"internal data storage; full capacity 2,7GB"
"internal SD card; full capacity <your physical SD card capacity"
If the above data appear, you have successfully repartitioned you phone's internal memory!

If you want to have your data back, go into CWM recovery, and choose
backup and restore --> advanced restore --> <choose your save> --> Restore data
And then, your data are available again, after the reboot.

Please do not use it, if you do not want to have the 2,7GB of /data partition!

For Lenovo-based ROMs you need to use Meteos-apk for repartition of A820.

Internal/external SD card exchanger
If you want to use your physical SD card as the default one, and still want to use your emmc-SD card (aka internal SD card by default), you can change it by this CWM script.

Important link in summary:
The driver what works is here.
The original stock recovery is here
The autoroot package can be found here.
The preferred CWM is here.
The root script is here, you can install is from CMW, and your phone will be rooted.
The usable Flashtool is here.
The scattel file for Flashtool is here.

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Installing CWM on your phone
You need to install proper drivers to your computer.

Available (ported) CWM recoveries:
With newest kernel:
CWM recovery 6.0.1.2 - S150 - ported from bgcngm@xda ZTE V970 recovery.
CWM recovery 6.0.4.0 - S150 - ported from carliv@xda ZTE V967S recovery.
CWM recovery 6.0.1.2 - S138 - ported from bgcngm@xda ZTE V970 recovery.
CWM recovery 6.0.1.2 - S135 - ported from bgcngm@xda ZTE V970 recovery.


Option 1, with SP Flashtool

 
Download the SP_Flashtool software to your computer. Extract it to a directory, where you want to run it from.
Download the scatter file, which you will need if you want to use SP_Flashtool.
Download the CWM
(5.5.0.4, 6.0.1.2, 6.0.2.8; it is your decision)

Run the SP_Flashtool.


Browse your scatter file.



Choose only the recovery.




Tick the “DA DL all with checksum” (you can find it close to the download button). It is a really important point!


If your phone is connected, let’s disconnect it from the computer.
Turn off your phone. Take the battery out from your phone for 5 sec. Insert the battery to you phone. Keep it still turned off.

In the flashtool press the Download button.


Choose OK to the warning message.


Connect your phone to the computer.

The flashtool will flash the recovery into your phone.


When the green circle appears, wait for 5-10 secs, and the unplug your phone.

If everything went well, you can enter into the recovery menu (see above, power-on modes)

Option 2, on rooted phone, with MobileUncleTools.
Install MobileUncletools 2.8.x or higher from the Play Store.
 
Save one of the CWM that was linked to the root directory of your physical SD card.
- select menuitem Recovery Update. The program will list the available recovery images.

- choose the one, what you want to install
- It asks back: "Are you sure flash recovery!" - Use recovery file: <name of the recovery what you choose previously>. Tap to OK.
- After the flashing process it offers you to reboot into recovery. If you tap OK, it will automatically reboot your phone to recovery. If you tap cancel, you can use your phone as a phone.
- Before you tap to "reboot to recovery", it is suggested you to wait approx. 5-10sec.


Use of the CWM.
If you enter into the CWM (6.x.x.x) recovery, the following buttons can be used:
- Power button : “enter”
- Volume down : step down in the menu
- Volume up : step up in the menu
- Soft key “option”: step down in the menu
- Soft key “back” : step back in the menu
In 5.x.x.x you cannot use soft keys, but the physical buttons works on the same way as in the case of 6.x.x.x


CWM restoration
Experienced failures in restoration of the CWM backup.
This was a real surprise because this issue was not faced with other MTK phones.
So, the issue is that the CWM restoration does not work immediately.
In details:
-Saved the stock rom by CWM 6.0.1.2 (CWM was complied, and modified it for A820)
-For checking the restore function, did a factory reset: the phone stopped working.
-Did the CWM restoration, but still the phone stopped at the boot animation. And stayed it for 15min. Removed the battery then.

In order to solve the issue, the following method was done:
-In the advanced restore, choose the restore /system (only!)
-After restoring the /system, turned off the phone took the battery out, waited 5 secs, inserted the battery back.
-Turning on the phone it worked again with the restored data, BUT the internal SD card was injured! Formatted the internal SD card – with this action, lost all data that were saved on the internal SD card.
So, please be careful using it! Save your internal SD card data before the CWM restoration!
This was experience in case of all the available CWM (5.5.0.4, 6.0.1.2, 6.0.2.8).

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If you cannot install the ROM by an error:

Code:
assert failed: getprop("ro.product.model") == "Lenovo A820"
E:Error in /sdcard/Lenovo-a820-update-CP4.0-v1.zip (status 7)
This is a safety feature, not a bug.
This error message is a warning that you have not got the proper CWM. (Most of the available CWMs are based on ZTE, STAR phones and contain improper model description.
These CWMs contain the proper one, modified them, so you need to install a CWM modded for Lenovo A820.