So I got myself this neat little tablet and as you would expect from a budget device, the stock ROM is a complete rubbish. Custom ICS ROM fixes the following issues:
- Gets rid of all the Chinese apps, folders and media files
- Allows installation of any app from the Google Play store
- Sorts out touch screen edges, because it was acting weird with stock ROM when I was putting fingers close to any edge
The installation is a lot easier compared to the Xoom ICS upgrade that I wrote about a while back. Essentially you need 4 things:
- Custom ROM
- LiveSuitPack v1.09 (it has English language support)
- Windows computer (I did this on a Windows 7 x64)
- LY-F1 tablet that has 1GB RAM
It should take you about 15-30 minutes so take a cup of your favourite beverage (coffee, tea or bear?) and lets begin.
Prerequisites
This guide is for LY-F1 tablet with 1GB of RAM. In Settings -> About tablet it should display model number “MID” and look exactly like the one pictured above.
Update 06/09/2012: As Saf mentioned in the comments this custom ROM is incompatible with LY-F1HD version of the tablet.
- Download and extract LiveSuitPack_version_1.09 on your computer.
- Download the custom ROM from here ICS-Seby_0.6.1_19.05.2012-1GB.7z (please notify me if the link no longer works) and extract it on your computer. The original thread where this ROM can be found is on XDA Developers forum, download link is at the bottom of the first post. This is for a 1GB version tablet, do NOT install this on a 512 MB one.
- Backup your data. The installation will wipe out everything on your tablet.
- Make sure the device is fully charged.
Installation of Custom ROM
Disclaimer before you begin: I take no responsibility if you brick your device.
1. Start LiveSuitPack_version_1.09_20111101.exe and select English
2. Start LiveSuit.exe, confirm installation for drivers when asked.
3. You should see a welcome window. Just click “No“.
4. Click Select Img button on the left to select the downloaded and extracted image file ICS-Seby_0.6.1_19.05.2012-1GB.img.
5. Turn off power for the tablet and disconnect USB cable.
6. Press the following key combination to start the upgrade:
6.1 Press and hold down the “Vol +”
6.2 Connect USB cable to the computer
6.3 Just as soon as you connect the cable, start rapidly pressing power button for about 10 times
6.4 Keep holiding the “Vol +” button until the LiveSuit window pops up
6.5 Once LiveSuit window pops up, you can release the “Vol +” button
If LiveSuit window does not pop up, repeat steps 5 and 6.
7. You should see a dialog box to choose mandatory format. Select Yes.
8. Confirm that you want to force format by clicking Yes again.
9. The upgrade begins and should take about 3-5 minutes.
10. Wait until the dialog box appears showing that upgrade is complete.
11. If tablet does not start, use the power button to turn it on.
Congratulations! You can now enjoy the custom ROM on your LY-F1.
Tips
- Go to Settings -> Display -> Full Screen Mode and choose “Smart screen mode”
- I chose Nova Launcher as default launcher for home screen
Post a comment if you find any issues.
Thanks for the guide, installed successfully and looking forward to trying the ROM. Does this solve the issue where the wireless cuts out frequently?
Wireless turns off only when tablet goes to sleep. I haven’t noticed any frequent wireless cut outs with my tablet and custom ROM.
I for one can confirm that this ROM did fix wireless issues I was having. Albeit mine were if the wi/fi lost connection it would not turn back on. Well 90% of the time that is… but all is great now!
Love this update and thanks for the great FAQ. So glad this cheap little tab I picked up took it so well.
Thanks for the guide. Considering installing but wondering how easy is it to return to the stock rom?
Hello,
I found that the gmail that comes with this rom can not do the following:
1- Select several emails using the checkbox next to emails.
2- Delete one or several emails when viewing them in list view.
Do you know how I can fix this?
Jon, the steps should be exactly the same as installing custom ROM, you would just have to find an image of original firmware. I think it’s here:
http://www.asianfonesforum.com/showthread.php?2599-NATPC-M009S-Capacitive-useful-apps-and-Firmware
Look for firmware for “MID” model with 1GB system RAM – 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich”, but I am about 99% sure this is the right firmware for the device.
Mans, works fine for me without any problems. Can’t tell you what’s happening unless I see some pics.
This works…
http://www.tabtronics.co.uk/downloads/tabtronics-elite-m009s-a10/
Brilliant little blog thanks. A couple of questions if I may:
1. The tablet takes a bit longer to boot up compared to time taken with the the default rom (the shimmering android shimmers, stops and then shimmers again – about 30 seconds in total is that normal)
2. I assume that Live.exe does not actually install anything on the PC other than drivers, as cannot see any programs to uninstall to tidy up?
Thank a million.
Matt
1. As long as it boots without any problems, 30 seconds seems like a very reasonable amount of time. I could expect that custom ROM developers will find ways to optimize tablet to boot faster in future versions.
2. I think it leaves just the driver installed. I find it as a too minor issue considering that I have a usable little tablet. :-)
Thanks for kind words about the blog. :-)
A very good guide it made the process very pain free.
Hello,
Is there any way to calibrate the screen? It seems that sometimes it loses its accuracy and then in some other times it is very accurate.
Regards
Mans
hi..cheers 4 the guide got me throught it !! im new at this so a couple of q’s if you dont mind.
do you have 2 download apps to play music and movies?
how do access stuff on micro sd card? is it only through root app? or would music app find tracks etc
can u save apps to micro card?
soz for the q’s ..getting this far has done my head in..so any direction would be greatly appreciated..Cheers
Try this google play app …should cover all that you need…
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.advancedprocessmanager&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5hZHZhbmNlZHByb2Nlc3NtYW5hZ2VyIl0.
i cant seem to delete apps like calender or clock..or move ‘apps’ from the widget area..is there a website etc u cld point me too?…any help please…
Did your HDMI output work automatically? I have it hooked up but there is no output, nor can I find any options in the Settings menu. Hoping its not a faulty port.
mans: Is there any way to calibrate the screen? It seems that sometimes it loses its accuracy and then in some other times it is very accurate.
Not at this time.
peewee: do you have 2 download apps to play music and movies?
No those, are already installed. No need to install anything else unless you want some additional features for media and videos.
peewee: how do access stuff on micro sd card? is it only through root app? or would music app find tracks etc
Install ES File Explorer:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop&hl=en
or search for “file manager” on Google Play and install anything you like.
peewee: can u save apps to micro card?
You can move them there if you need to free up space. Settings -> Apps -> Choose an app and once you see it’s details, click on “Move to SD Card”
peewee: i cant seem to delete apps like calender or clock
System apps can’t be deleted.
Google for “android 4 guide”. There is plenty of information out there.
Ben: Did your HDMI output work automatically?
Yes, just plugged it into the monitor and set the input to HDMI on the monitor. Didn’t have to set anything on the tablet.
OK, I may have a faulty HDMI port in that case, thanks for the information.
I have another question to ask you, did you manage to set up the device for development purposes? I am unsure as to which driver I need to install in order for it to be correctly recognised. I looked on the OEM site (http://developer.android.com/sdk/oem-usb.html#InstallingDriver) but do not know which one will work.
Thanks for your help,
Ben.
I haven’t been working on that yet. It’s on my list of tasks. I would assume that setup should be identical to any other Android tablet.
Great rom ive found it a breeze to put on my MID tablet very usefull guide as well ARVYDAS a better download site to download the custom rom would be better ive obtained a bit of malaware on my desktop from trying to download from various sites but got there in the end you should have a donate button on your page ;) im sure myself and others wouldnt mind contributing a small donation to yourself or a nominated charity for your work and advice! i was thinking of returning my tablet but now im using it with this rom its a keeper it aint no xoom or ipad for for a cheap n cheerfull tablet its great
Thanks for your kind words! I’m very happy that you found my instructions useful and took your time to post a comment here.
I took your advice and added PayPal donate button :)
The link appears dead to new rom.
Works fine to me.
Thankyou, please can you or others using this page keep us up to date with new custom rom releases as they appear.
HELP !!
link to the rom keeps asking for a mobile phone number and then a pin number – any suggestions ?? – thanks
Just choose a different mirror, for example this one:
http://depositfiles.com/files/ohrpxadwv
The original link didn’t work kept giving me liveSuit download, the mirror worked fine. I have extracted the file and tried liveSuit.exe and nothing. Im maybe a thicko as others are able to do it. Is there another option, can I install from the sd card? Regards
Did you do the steps starting from the first one?
1. Start LiveSuitPack_version_1.09_20111101.exe and select English
2. Start LiveSuit.exe, confirm installation for drivers when asked.
There is no option to install from SD card.
i got a 16gb microsd card today stuck it in my pc and copied some movies onto it then placed it into the tablet the tablet doesnt show the movie files anywhere or that ive fitted a sd card ? do i need to hook it up via usb cable to copy files across ?
Install ES File Explorer:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop&hl=en
or search for “file manager” on Google Play and install anything you like to access any file on the file system.
This just isn’t working for me, not sure if the old laptops not up to the job as when I try to download via liveSuit it says server down and crashes the laptop (5 times now).
I was able to download via you mirror and have the file is there another method to transfer this to the tablet? Another program? as the new rom is extracted and ready. The tablet can’t play iplayer youtube or anything my scroll 800mz 2.1 android was better than this is now.
Just a thought it you could have a link here maybe it would work. Here’s hoping.
Sorry, it’s too big to host it on my blog.
Hi Arvydas,
First of all thank you for a very useful guide; custom rom installed and running well.
Playing around with it I tried installing ubuntu (through ubuntu installer). It does not work because (I think) the kernel does not support loop devices.
Do you know where I can find or how I go about finding a custom rom that will work with this tab but uses a kernel that does / may support loop devices?
Many thanks,
Max
Ubuntu has to be specifically built for these devices. I’ve read somewhere that Cannonical are working on it, but I have never seen anything released yet. Will write a blog post as soon as get my hands on the code. For now, as far as I’m aware we can only run Android on these devices…
hello again … I have a turbotab c8 and upgrade to android 4.0 from idolian page …. I did not like because it has many flaws and there are applications such as youtube, angy and other birds that do not serve … I will be returning to 2.3 can be
Hi,
I have installed this ROM but still can’t connect to Play Store.
Can you please be more specific?
Great instructions, they were very helpful.
I’m now running CM9 after reading through the posts on the linked XDA Developers page. It’s working great – maybe something for a follow-up post?
Is CM9 stable enough and supports all tablet hardware? Back when I was looking at flashing custom ROM on this, I saw that CM9 for this tablet was more in an alpha stage.
Great instructions thank you – I’ve actually used them several times. The first tablet I had kept rebooting so I flashed the rom to see if that was the problem, it wasn’t, so I flashed the original one back and got a replacement tablet. I then flashed the replacement – each time it worked like a charm. I’ve had no problems with the new rom, hdmi works a treat, sd card,Play store, etc, etc – the charger is rubbish so I’ve ordered a USB one from eBay.
The only things I’ve noticed are that the top right of the screen (in portrait or landscape) is not as responsive as the rest. I’ve tested the screen with Touch Test (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.hermit.touchtest) and it all seems fine. Your rom says it fixes the screen edges so is this possibly another tablet fault?
The other thing is the battery life which does not seem that good (when compared with my Froyo mobile which has 3G always enabled and only a 1500mAh battery) even when wifi is off – 10% battery gone with less than 30 minutes light usage – do you have any suggestions as to how this can be improved (are there any setting in your rom that I can look at for example?
Thanks again for the rom and instructions.
I got around to trying again all was going well but now and all I get is a start-up shimmering android and then it freezes , Can I go back to the original rom and try again? Or is that all she wrote..?
Thank you for those very clear instructions, and I whacked it on as soon as I got the tablet. But, I didn’t do a speed test on the standard rom, and I’m finding it very slow and laggy. Did a quadrant test and I’m getting 1635 – is that about right? And if so, am I able to speed it up?
Bought GTA for it – took 20 minutes to download, and it’s unplayable. Not exactly a modern cutting edge game, so wondering whether I’m expecting too much or if it needs to be sent back?!
I have problem with screen edges too but I think it is not as pronounced as in the original rom. It’s about 4-5mm on one long edge of the screen. A lot of apps use the edge for buttons and it’s often necessary to rotate the tablet by 90 or 180 degrees to make them work. I suspect it may be related to the Android bar at the bottom of the screen. The bar is smaller in the ROM update which may explain why it’s not so pronounced. If I run Magic Piano full screen it seems to detect multi touch all the way up to the edges with great accuracy.
In other respects it’s a huge improvement on what was there before. So far everything appears to work – screen rotation, wifi, camera, charging, on/off. The screen packs in more information and GMail and other apps are showing 2 panel tablet layouts suggesting the DPI or something in the original ROM was wrong.
My original ROM was also really slow with background activity, perhaps exacerbated by really slow flash. It’s still a little slow now during background stuff but not intolerably slow.
So everything is working great except for the touch.
Sorry not the pace maybe… but the tab is anyone’s for 20 pounds plus postage, just couldn’t update the rom now frozen prob. an easy job for a techy. Email
Great article, thanks very much – it rescued my NatPC after the original build refused to boot.
Im selling my tablet on as im gonna get the nexus tablet whats the best way to reset the tablet ? to take all my apps and account settings off ? thx
Have you tried Settings -> Backup & reset -> Factory data reset?
yes sorted now thanks i was going one by one uninstalling the apps reset sorted it i feel the response lets this tablet down hence my sale but for the money it was ok
Bought mine and thought it wasn’t running too bad but with some chinese apps on it. Decided to go for update and hey presto the tablet is running like a dream. What a difference it has made. Resoltion is better – responds better. Chrome runs well. Many thanks for custom ROM
Mine works well with the updated ROM too, however Chrome force closes, did you do anything to your installation other than just install it from Google Play? At the moment I’m using Dolphin which works well but I would like to use Chrome as I use it elsewhere.
Nick, I just tested and installed Google Chrome. Seems to be working fine. You could try to clear all Chrome’s data from the settings menu. Maybe this could help?
Thanks for the reply. I’ve cleared the cache and the app’s data and seem to be able to surf around various sites without any problems, however as soon as I select the Chrome settings menu it crashes. I’ve also tried the URL chrome://chrome/settings which is what appears in my PC’s Chrome address bar when I select settings there, but this just comes back as “web page not available”. If you have any other ideas please do let me know, from what I’ve seen of chrome on the tablet it’s very good but I may have to stick with Dolphin.
Sorry, that’s all I could suggest…
Thanks, I’ll see how I get on without using the settings and hope that a future Chrome patch will sort it out.
A quick comment on this (I meant to post this earlier), there was a recent update to Chrome (last couple of weeks) and it now works perfectly :-)
HI, and many thanks for this informative site, I have just bought one of these bargain tabs, I would like to know if its possible, and how, to ROOT the device.
Any advice or pointers very gratefully recieved.
J
Those tabs usually already come rooted. Just install Superuser application from the market and you should be able to test it working.
Arvydas, many thanks for the reply. My tab is a brand new Versus touchpad 7, with android 4.0.3, kernel 3.0.8 shen@compiler #2, build no.20120528-A721. It does not seem to be rooted, checked with Connectbot (returns on ‘local’ $ not # on su command, also used root check basic prog it also says not rooted, when I browse with ESFileexplore it says permission denied for folders that would be availabel to me if it were rooted. I have installed superuser before these checks, but it does not seem to work (no errors but the prog does not want to update, gives ‘no root access’ error). Any thoughts? best Regards
JOE
Sorry, I’m not an expert in rooting. You might want to wait until somebody finds a solid solution to root your device.
Can’t download the ROM without the Liveid downloader.
I never install downloaders !
Is the ROM available elsewhere?
Also – is the ROM compatible with the Phoenix sdcard burner?
Thanks
I have a new LY-F1 tablet MID 1GB RAM, Android 4.0.3 build 20120706-LY-F1.0.6.8
This tablet does not see any SD card installed in the TF slot, no matter the capacity or format of the card. Would this ROM help this?
It definitely won’t hurt if you install this ROM. I haven’t heard anything whether it solves this SD card issue. It could be a hardware problem.
I discovered the answer to my SD card problem on a Blackberry forum. I inserted a slim piece of cardboard behind the SD card when I inserted it, to push the contacts down onto the board within the tablet. VIOLA! The card is read.
Hi, i just flashed the same rom with the instructions you posted but my screen is now knackered. It just throws up a load of lines bounching arround the top of the screen and then it fades into white, then fades into black and thats it.
I have the M009s with 1gb ram but the HD screen (1024 x 600 resolution)
I think i should go back to stock but cant find the rom for it. Please help asap.
The hardware could be different that is causing the problem. I don’t have stock ROM for your device. You might want to go to http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1507 and ask for help there.
Thanks for the response.
I have found the original firmware and reflshed this, it is working again!
Perhaps you should update your instructions saying not to run the ROM that you mention (Seby ROM) on the LY-F1HD to stop the same issue happening to other people.
Thanks, I updated the blog post! Glad to hear that your tablet is working again :)
Good stuff.
Yeah im glad it working too, shouldnt have even messed with it in the first place but im a flashaholic! lol
Also, for the benefit of the blog readers, the original firmware for the LY-F1 (or NATPC M009) range is available here:
http://www.natpcandroidtablet.com/forum/forum.php
Good work that man. Was having trouble with other guides that didn’t quite explain the insert usb cable, click power 10 times whilst holding vol+…..
Mine was a NATPC MS009S, now on ICS.
Thanks again,
Steve.
Thanks
Working fine after upgrade
gallery and videoplayer are missing.any idea
also bluetooth not working
thanks for such a detailed post. really helpful for novices like me. Only one problem im struggling to download the ROM. Every time i click on it tries to install a program called ilividSetup. Do i need this it seems like a piece of software i dont need?
Sorry for being such a noob. never tried anything like this before
Craig, seems the website is trying to download something you definitely don’t need. It’s now possible to install Android Jelly Bean on this tablet. I’ll write up a guide on how the get the latest and greatest Android OS on to LY-F1.
Hi, does the jellybean fix the issue with flash not working? My tablet does not seem to support latest adobe flash? Cheers.
A well written guide with helpful pointers that had me running with a clean (and more notably faster) version of ICS on my NATPC M010S – many thanks Arvydas! Wireless on this device seems a little flaky (device is configured to sleep after 10 minutes and I presume this is the issue causing wireless to drop) but other than that, everything else is good.
Thanks for this excellent tutorial. Any idea when you will be doing the instructions for Jelly Bean? Or if not do you have the location of the correct rom?
I think I need to move over to Cyanogen Mod for this tablet, because it looks like the best option. Will look into this soon, because I don’t like the performance of the current rom I have.
Hi There,
Have you done the Jelly bean update for this, if so can you please provide rom links and instructions.
Many Thanks
Hi
Great guide, flashing worked great but the rom keeps crashing then rebooting the device.
I have reinstalled the stock rom and the device reboots back to a blank white screen. I can still reflash back to this custom rom but it is still unstable.
Model: NATPC 16GB RTB 5785 (1GB ram)
any idea how how I can ammend this issue?
Thank you
ace
You might want to look into flashing a different ROM for your devices. This one could be incompatible. I’m currently looking into flashing Jelly Bean into table and will provide a guide shortly.
I have tried looking for other roms for it, but Ihave been unable to find anything :(
The tablet looks exactly the same as the one in the image, but I guessing the hardware is different.
Any tips would be appreciated.
Hi
I have the NATPC M009S with the A10 chip, 1gb memory and 8gb sdcard. Having messed up trying to update using CWM recovery, I tried this option and it flashed first attempt.
Its faster than the standard ICS that came loaded on it and I no longer get the (app not responding) messages that were a frequent hassle before.
Looking forward to your JB rom.
I already download at freakshare but what I’ve got just same name file but 5kb?can you give me another link?I’m really need it
I already download at freakshare but what I’ve got just same name file but 5kb?can you give me another link?I’m really need it…please
I was sent to you by Tabtronics
Having looked through your instructions I cannot see how it (upgrade) will work if all I have on my tablet screen is the shimmering android! It wont start.
Am I missing something?
Thanks
Oh why did I doubt you?
Bit the bullet and went for it.
I have my tablet back.
THANK YOU very much.
Can anyone tell me if there’s a custom rom that would work with a Versus touchtab 7 not to be confused with the touchpad 7 made by versus,my stock rom doesn’t seem to want to run,it has 512 ram and it seems an Arm A13 chip,