Firmware for flylife 7. Why can't we make a normal firmware, or One difficult question for Fly. Appearance and design features

Why it is impossible to make a normal firmware, or One difficult question for Fly

27.05.2016

I managed to win this Fly tablet in the "Five Simple Questions from Fly" competition, which was held on the site. I won back in July 2014, and received the tablet in August of the same year, if I'm not mistaken. Nevertheless, I decided to write my review only almost two years after these happy events (victory and delivery).

The fact is that the tablet was problematic until a certain point, or rather, I did not like the firmware, which made it almost impossible to use the device normally. Especially surfing the Internet turned into a real nightmare, but, nevertheless, the tablet served me, and still serves as a means by which I test various games and applications, and then write reviews on them.

Stable firmware in 2014 was never published, and for some reason I decided that it would not be there anymore, therefore, until recently, I did not even look into the topic about Fly Flylife Web 7.85 Slim on the w3bsit3-dns.com forum. And in vain, because at the beginning of 2015, a custom Android 4.4 KitKat firmware appeared, nimble and with an already installed root. It was decided not to hesitate to replace the drain, as I was already tired of resetting the hardware settings from time to time due to freezes. After flashing the tablet received new life, and almost all of his problems have been resolved.

But I'll start the story with a description standard firmware... From the screenshots in the "Hardware and Operating System" section, you can immediately notice the presence of various software "garbage", some of which cannot be removed without superuser rights. It is not surprising that the speed of the device suffered from this - part of the RAM and user memory was spent on all this software, which, probably, will not be useful to anyone (I'm not talking about Google services at all now).

Another problem for me was the lack of a file manager in the firmware (this is what the manufacturers really should have installed!). It seems to be okay if there is Internet access, but for the first time after receiving the prize, I did not have access via Wi-Fi to any access point, so download file manager in the application store, it was not possible how to install it by downloading it, say, from a computer.

In the unofficial firmware, there is already a simple file manager, for which thanks to the person who provided everything. In addition, it cleaned out all unnecessary applications, significantly increasing the amount of internal storage available.

Contents of delivery

  • charger (5 V, 2 A);
  • micro-USB cable for PC connection;
  • user guide.

Everything is standard, there was no headset in the kit. Length charger is about 120 cm.

Appearance and design features

  • dimensions (LxWxD): 201x137x8 mm;
  • weight: officially 365 g, my kitchen scale confirms this. Not a gram more, not a gram less.

One of the main advantages of the tablet is its good looks and good build quality. The front of the device strongly resembles the products of the "apple company" (only the "home" button under the screen is missing), and the back is made of metal (anodized aluminum), without any plastic inserts (although they say that this may cause problems with Wi-Fi signal). In general, Web 7.85 Slim turned out to be quite compact, thin and not heavy, which pleases. When you press the case hard, you can hear a soft crunch, and the power and volume buttons when pressed stagger from side to side in such a way that one part of the button may be higher than the other. All this personally does not bother me at all. But my phone is blue, and there is also a white one, for which, apparently, the buttons are made somewhat differently, judging by the photographs.

The prints only remain on the front of the tablet, but they are very noticeable.

All connectors are located at the top of the tablet - there are a large number of them, including micro-HDMI and a separate 5V connector for the charger. You won't be able to charge the tablet via micro-USB, this is the peculiarity of the "tablet". This has its advantages, because when charging, the micro-USB remains free, and you can connect something to it. Do not forget that it is easier to break the micro-USB connector (I will not say that breakdowns are so frequent, but still) than 5 V, especially if you play while the device is charging. And the downside is that a 5V charger is harder to find - it is not sold in all stores, and some users have never even heard of it.

I liked how conveniently the connectors are spaced apart. It doesn't matter what you connect to the micro-USB, it doesn’t interfere with using the other connectors, and not all devices can boast of such a solution. For example, I connect a fairly wide AVerTV Mobile 510 TV box to my Ritmix RMD-1080 tablet, as a result of which the charging (5 V) and micro-HDMI connectors become unavailable, which, of course, is not convenient. There are no such problems with the Fly Flylife Web 7.85 Slim tablet - only the memory card slot becomes inaccessible, which is not at all critical.

Display

  • resolution of 1024x768 pixels;
  • 7.85 "TFT IPS;
  • maximum number of simultaneous touches: 10!

The dimensions of the display seem to me very comfortable, and the viewing angles are not bad, in any case, the colors are not inverted. The main problem with the display is the inability to see anything in sunlight. Why, even the presence of a bright sun is not necessary, it is just enough to go outside during the day, and everything, anything, becomes extremely difficult to see. Things are better indoors, but also not ideal, and if there are dark colors in a game or film, then looking at the screen, you will see your reflection (if the room is not dark), and not any details from the film / game ... I will not say that the maximum backlight level is enough for me; maybe all the problems are just due to insufficient brightness. But the minimum level turned out to be very comfortable for reading in the dark.

Automatic brightness adjustment does not work due to the lack of a light sensor.

Hardware and operating system

  • operating room Android system 4.2 out of the box, no official updates. It looks like a standard Android, only with applications installed by the manufacturer. I could not find anything interesting and memorable;
  • RockChip RK3188 1600 MHz processor, 4-core;
  • built-in memory: 8 GB;
  • RAM: 1 GB;
  • microSDHC, up to 32GB.

Synthetic tests:

  • Antutu Benchmark gives out 23412 points;
  • Epic Citadel - 44.7 FPS, High Quality.

    As I already wrote, you must immediately get rid of the native firmware and it is advisable to replace it with Android 4.4 KitKat (all the details). To those reviews that praise stock firmware, it’s better not to pay attention. Well, I don't believe that everything is fine there.

    Battery

    Capacity 3 300 mAh, Li-pol.

    For a tablet with a 7.85 "display, the battery is rather weak, because even some 7" devices have a larger battery. With active use, my Fly has to be charged every day, or even several times a day. Problems are also added by the charge indicator, which lies as to whether the device is fully charged. Users are advised to focus on the LED located on the side, next to the 5V connector, but I don't really believe it either. If my doubts are in vain, then as soon as the LED turns green, you can immediately remove the tablet from charging.

    Cameras

    • resolution of the main and front camera 2 MP (1600x1200 pixels);
    • video recording 640x480 pix.

    Both cameras in the tablet for show. I did not manage to read the QR code using the main camera, no matter how hard I tried. Affected by the low resolution and lack of autofocus, and there is no flash either. For photographing, it is better to use another device, and the maximum that can be squeezed out of the Web 7.85 Slim cameras is communication in Skype and its analogues. Fortunately, the interlocutor will definitely be able not only to see you (in good lighting), but also to hear, thanks to the microphone built into the tablet.

    Sample photos:

    Other

    • Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n 2.4 GHz;
    • Wi-Fi hotspot mode;
    • Bluetooth 4.0;
    • USB-OTG support.

    The tablet has almost minimal functionality. There is no GPS, FM-radio and communication module, and the set of sensors is limited, perhaps, only by the accelerometer. However, you can connect a 3G modem (some models only) and other devices via USB-OTG to the tablet. And thanks to bluetooth version 4.0 and new custom firmware, various gadgets become available for connection, and, in particular, fitness bracelets, for example, Xiaomi Mi Band, the application for which runs on Android 4.3 and higher. Therefore, not everything is as sad as it might seem at first glance. In one of the reviews I read that the tablet has AGPS, but in fact, the location is determined through Wi-Fi connection, which makes the device unsuitable for use as a navigator. Naturally, programs like GPS Test are not supported by the device.

    The standard player originally installed in the stock firmware was different from the usual player found in pure Android. It is more functional and omnivorous, but it can hardly replace the same MX Player. The sound quality in the tablet is budgetary; it will probably be impossible to enjoy listening to music. But in terms of the volume level in the headphones, everything suits me, there is even a margin, which cannot be said about the speakers built into the tablet. They play quite quietly, but even with such a sound, there is no need to talk about high-quality sound.

    Most of the time, the tablet served me as a gaming device, and I did a lot of reviews on games because of it. So, in most toys, problems were not observed. Yes, the quality of the graphics was not always the case. high level(although GTA, for example, worked well even at maximum speed), but it can definitely be called a semi-game device.

    Outcomes

    Who is it for this tablet? It seems to me that the target audience (and these can be people of different ages) of this device uses it at home, for the purpose of watching movies, as well as for games and applications, perhaps. Personally, I still view various materials in PDF format on it and do not feel any discomfort. Since the tablet is thin and quite stylish, it may suit the taste of the younger generation, those who will find it easier to cope with the disadvantages of the tablet and install custom firmware. However, even beginners should not have any difficulties with this, you just need to strictly follow the instructions.

    We managed to find an analogue of the described tablet. The Chinese twin seems to be no different from Fly, only the presence of a headset in the kit is striking. Well, the price now is somehow inadequate, although I understand that the device already has 16 GB of internal memory on the link and that the tablet has not been on sale for a long time.

    A small demonstration of the work of custom Android firmware 4.4 KitKat

    • Alexander Salishchev


    In front of you detailed step-by-step instruction how to flash a Fly Flylife Web 7.85 Slim tablet. Our editors have chosen the most suitable method for flashing this Fly model. If this instruction will not give a result try flashing with a different method: TWRP Recovery, ROM Manager, Fastboot or Classic OTA.

    A warning! After flashing the device, all your data from internal memory- will be erased, so to save your contacts, settings and applications, first save all data from the tablet.

    Installing the system using CWM Recovery 1. Charge the flashing tablet at least 80%. 2. We save all data that cannot be lost from a flash drive, sim card and tablet memory. Simka (if any) can be pulled out. 3. We place required firmware to the tablet memory. The firmware file must be in archive format zip... You can select and download the firmware. 4. All Fly tablets have a Recovery from the manufacturer, so we change it to ClockWorkMod Recovery. We do this according to the following instructions: Install the app from Google Play on your tablet. Miss it and provide Root rights... If there is no rutrav on the tablet, we get them by. Select "CWM Recovery" from the list of options. Then the application will show a list of available Recovery. In the example, Rashr showed 2 options: ClockworkMod with support for taps on the screen and the classic version (controlled by the volume and power buttons). You will be prompted to download. Click "Yes". Then the download of the CWM Recovery image for the tablet will begin. A notification will appear that the firmware was successful and now you have installed modified recovery... We immediately go into it, for this click "Yes". Ready. If you already have ClockworkMod Recovery installed, then just enter it by holding any of the combinations for 3-5 seconds: - Volume up + power button - Volume down + power button - Volume up / down + power button + "Home" - Volume up + volume down + power button 5. Movement in the Recovery menu is carried out using the volume buttons, and the selection is confirmed with the power button. Before installing the firmware, you must first do a factory reset. Therefore, in the menu, select the item wipe data / factory reset.
    6. Then just confirm that you agree to reset: Yes - Wipe all user data.
    7. Now in the main menu of Recovery select install zip.
    8. Then select Choose zip from / sdcard.
    9. Navigate to the folder where you saved zip file firmware and select it.
    10. You will be prompted to confirm the action. Please select Yes - Install ....
    11. The process of installing the firmware will begin and at the end the message will appear Install from sdcard complete. The firmware is complete. We return to the main menu of CWM Recovery and reboot the tablet. For this we choose reboot system now.
    12. Ready. The tablet will start downloading with the already installed firmware. Other materials

    In front of you detailed step by step instructions on how to flash a Fly Flylife Web 7 tablet. Our editors have chosen the most suitable method for flashing this Fly model. If this instruction does not give any result try flashing another method: TWRP Recovery, ROM Manager, Fastboot or classic OTA.

    A warning! After flashing the device, all your data from the internal memory will be erased, so to save your contacts, settings and applications, first save all data from the tablet.

    Installing the system using CWM Recovery 1. Charge the flashing tablet at least 80%. 2. We save all data that cannot be lost from a flash drive, sim card and tablet memory. Simka (if any) can be pulled out. 3. We put the necessary firmware into the tablet's memory. The firmware file must be in archive format zip... You can select and download the firmware. 4. All Fly tablets have a Recovery from the manufacturer, so we change it to ClockWorkMod Recovery. We do this according to the following instructions: Install the app from Google Play on your tablet. Launch it and grant Root rights. If there is no root-channel on the tablet, we get them by. Select "CWM Recovery" from the list of options. Then the application will show a list of available Recovery. In the example, Rashr showed 2 options: ClockworkMod with support for taps on the screen and the classic version (controlled by the volume and power buttons). You will be prompted to download. Click "Yes". Then the download of the CWM Recovery image for the tablet will begin. A notification will appear that the firmware was successful and now you have a modified recovery installed. We immediately go into it, for this click "Yes". Ready. If you already have ClockworkMod Recovery installed, then just enter it by holding any of the combinations for 3-5 seconds: - Volume up + power button - Volume down + power button - Volume up / down + power button + "Home" - Volume up + volume down + power button 5. Movement in the Recovery menu is carried out using the volume buttons, and the selection is confirmed with the power button. Before installing the firmware, you must first do a factory reset. Therefore, in the menu, select the item wipe data / factory reset.
    6. Then just confirm that you agree to reset: Yes - Wipe all user data.
    7. Now in the main menu of Recovery select install zip.
    8. Then select Choose zip from / sdcard.
    9. Navigate to the folder where you saved the firmware zip file and select it.
    10. You will be prompted to confirm the action. Please select Yes - Install ....
    11. The process of installing the firmware will begin and at the end the message will appear Install from sdcard complete. The firmware is complete. We return to the main menu of CWM Recovery and reboot the tablet. For this we choose reboot system now.
    12. Ready. The tablet will start downloading with the already installed firmware. Other materials