EDIT: With 15 beta testers, we now have enough participants to try this new firmware. For all the others, please wait a few days until the beta ends and we can finally publicly release the custom firmware.

We are almost done with our custom firmware offering Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Android Market (2.2.7 or 3.0.26) to the Arnova 8 Tablet. So far our tests give positive results, but considering the problems that have been reported on the Arnova 10 custom firmwares, we would like to run few extra tests before publicly releasing the firmware.

By tomorrow 2011/09/15 and for a few days, we would like to open the tests to a small group of the Archos/Arnova users community. If you own an Arnova 8 and want to participate, please leave a comment in this article, we will contact you by email to give you access to the firmware. The firmware will be released the following days, when there is enough feedback confirming proper work.

As usual, there are always risks with flashing a non official firmware and we recommend that you contact us only if you are able to restore a broken firmware with Rockchip tools in case things go wrong.

This firmware is specific to the Arnova 8 and should not be installed on other devices.

WE WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR DEVICE.

THIS FIRMWARE UPDATE IS USED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

WE RECOMMEND TO FLASH THIS FIRMWARE ONLY IF YOU ARE ABLE TO RESCUE A BRICKED DEVICE USING ROCKCHIP FLASHING TOOLS.

Edit 10/17/2011: Please note that the final release for this firmware is currently delayed. We currently have a lot of work with custom firmwares for other Archos and Arnova machines as well. If anyone want to jump in and help on custom firmwares, don’t hesitate to give us a hand.

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146 COMMENTS

  5. Hi, hope someone is still reading this… noob in need! Is there any way to update the superuser binaries? I can’t mount / as r/w and overwrite the files using root explorer etc so I’m guessing the update has to be part of a flashed rom image? any help gratefully received…

    • The Arnova 8 does not support Adobe Flash and probably will never support it, due to its limited ressources (mainly CPU).
      The manufacturer hasn’t released an update since months, there is very little chance to see an official Android 2.2 Froyo on this device.

  15. Hello admin,
    Please would you be so kind to tell us if the new update will still become available? And if so, would that be on a short term, or will it take much more time? If it won’t become available, is there any way to get rid of the annoying Market problem (not able to download any app). I will not pressure you, but I would really like to know where we stand

    • Chris,
      We can hardly set a date, but it’s quite looking like a medium term project that will require weeks. We do it all on our free time and currently have new devices to take care (Arnova 7 G2, Arnova 7c G2, Arnova 10 G2).
      In the meantime if we hear about a more stable solution from other developers, we will be happy to publish it on the Blog.

  22. Hi,

    I’m pretty interested in this project. My aim would be to use a usb ethernet adapator (DM9600) on my arnova 8. Maybe we can tweak drivers from new g9 firmware for this.
    I have some linux knowledge and want to help.

  26. Come on admin put this software out. Been running this software since my last post and i think its good to go. Even the start up problem seems to have sorted its self out. Put it no charge the other night when i got up it start ok with no reset and today i had it in standby and its just booted up great. I love the new market, kindle works a treat. Yes there is something like the doublebar in video that to be looked at and the clock but so what i think you have done a great job. Release it.
    Ian

  27. When ? Froyo update will be available …………. one month …………..
    This machine is great so put the link on ! We can’t wait anymore because adobe flash is necessary for a tablet !
    Thanks

    • Well I’m as eager as the rest of you. The 2.1 update worked well for me so the 2.2 update should be great, but let’s give the guys a break… I’m sure they are working hard to bring us a stable working version of 2.2 and who knows it could be available soon for us all to enjoy.

      :-)

    • There will be no flash support for this device, the hardware inside the arnova 8 doesn’t have enough performance to run flash. If you absolutely need flash I would recommend you to buy a different tablet.

    • Сколько можно ждать, хватит мозг пудрить, будет прошива или нет??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      • Мужики, у меня проша эта есть. но она глючная шо писец. два раза из планшета кирпич делала, пришлось откатиться на 2.1. Советую подождать пока откатают. Из нового в ней почти ничего нет, одни глюки.

  33. Whats the news with this? Ive not heard anything in over a month about the firmware. Is it going to be released or is there still to many bugs?
    Could you release any information you have on it as my arnova 8 is collecting dust and I would like to put it to use.

  34. Hi Admin,

    Just been away for a couple of weeks and this board seems to have gone out of control.

    Is it possible to put a sticky post at the top of the blog giving the latest about the froyo update, maybe with a download link for the Beta?

    It might stop the meetoos and people posting their email addresses.

    Thank you.

      • yes, this is a common fault with the arnova 8 – it will die in it’s sleep and need to be RESET to wake it up.. maybe a froyo firmware will fix this, maybe not.. but at this time (october 9th) there is no sign of any help for this device – the rooted/market firmware is entirely useless, with market looping errors, and archos themselves have moved on.

  47. I installed the firmware 2.2 with RKAndroidBatchUpgrade like someone had mentioned earlier on the 2.2 protected page and what a differance. First i noticed the file structure has changed when viewed with my computer. The books I manualy load in to my kindle folder now show in the kindle app :-) . Auto rotate works. The Market has updated it self to 3.1.5 and works great .
    I now I feel my frist reaction was a bit rushed and this firmware should be made downloadable to others if they want it.
    Thankyou for the great work
    Ian

    • Please read all the messages below! Like i said before, the firmware isn’t ready…. for example there were calibration errors, wifi errors, sd card errors double menu bars etc and perhaps most important there were people who had to recover their tablet from scratch because the firmware actually could brick the device.

      I hope you all get the point, why it hasn’t been released jet and that will spare this forum a long list of unsatisfied people with angry faces because their device isn’t working proparly or was bricked during the process.

      Greets,.

    • I think you have too wait longer, as one of the beta testers we all concluded that the firmware wasn’t ready to go on a public release or public beta.

      When the release will be,, that will depend on the available time of the people who create it. We just have to wait for an official announcement from the admin.

      • As Kevin and other beta testers reported, there are currently issues on the firmware that prevent us from releasing it.
        We’ll make our best to fix these problems, as time permits.
        Any news on the custom firmware for Arnova 8 will be announced on the Blog.
        Please be patient, thank you.

  61. I have tested other firmware including the cyanogen release that needed some additional care and attention before it would function on the Arnova 8.
    I would like to help with this beta – please contact me asap as I will be flying out of the country soon and will be able to test this firmware on my travels.

    #notanoob

    • After 3 days of testing the new CFW i have to say it’s a really good job.
      I liked the Android logo at booting.
      I liked the transparent top bar.
      The new features at clock.
      But the most important part is that the market works fine.
      I didn’t like that when playing videos if you touch the screen to show the option the top bar displays twice.
      I liked very much the improvement that Froyo has in Greek Language.
      I didn’t like that when you suspend your device and switched it on again the SD card has been unmounted and you have to take it off and on again.
      Thank you for giving me the option to try it and i can say that many problems solved and it’s a good update for my Arnova 8 tablet.

    • Paul, Mel and others, the testing is currently closed.
      Many bugs have been reported, some are quite embarrassing.
      We’ll see if some can be fixed easily or if we release the firmware as is.
      Thank you for your patience.

  69. Just flashed to the beta version a couple of times (just part of testing – make sure I can go back to previous version). On the whole looking good – doesn’t appear to be any nasty regressions.

    Some observations from my quick initial tests:

    * keyboard calibration is a little off. Initially thought it was my sausage-like fingers but even using a stylus to calibrate gives occasional mis-readings of keys when keyboard in use (it appears to select the key above e.g. “l” rather than DEL).
    * On-screen calibration did hang on a couple of times – not sure why as I was unable to reproduce on-demand but it just seem to stop responding by the second cross.
    * “ARNOVA 7″ is the title in the notification area.
    * Market place appears to work (with one exception) this time around retains settings (the eclair edition kept “forgetting”). Successfully installed a couple of apps from the market.
    * Only problem with Market that I’ve found is with Adobe flash player – which I cannot install. If I install version 2.2.7 of market the adobe download page just tells me the device is unsupported. Removing 2.2.7 and installing 3.0.26 makes no difference. If I install 3.0.26 from a virgin reflash (of froyo) the adobe site does then take me to the “Flash player 10.3″ application page but there is no “Install” button (as I say other apps work/download/install nicely).
    * Trying to manually install an APK for flash 10.3 that I downloaded does not work either – it says it is installing, goes through the motions and then simply says “Application not installed”.

    I’ll keep testing things and see if I’m being stupid when it comes to Flash. I will post back when I have more. Many thanks for the good work.

  74. I’ve flashed my Arnova 8 tablet since 4 hours.
    It works well and no big problem noticed. Wifi ok. Reactivity similar to 2.1 custom firmware.
    I’ve installed Android Market 2.2.7 through ArcTools (it has been then updated to 3.0.26, I think) and I’ve used it to install 10 apps without any problem.

    But I had some problems with calibration and then with virtual keyboard, especially with “TAB” and ” ?123″ keys.
    Screen timeout was also set to nothing…
    Like TomVS, I’ve noticed a double bar when playing video and calling menu.
    There’s also a “(ARNOVA 7)” label in notification center.
    That’s all!

    So, great job done on this custom firmware! Thank you!

  75. Just flashed my arnova 8. Went straight to videoplayer. Some remarks here…
    user the same h.264 encoder videos as before.
    Video starts black, only sound…
    Changing aspect ratio brings up video. But only aspect ratio is available…. changing does not work
    The bar on top does not disappear… calling menu give double bar!
    Video framerate is choppy, not fluent. This was also the case in previous firmware but only after fast forward
    Typing this message feels more sluggish than before
    This is exciting will try the market now
    Ps video was encoded in handbrake normal profile

    • Typing from computer now. Sorry for the typo’s.
      Just installed market. No problem.
      Downloaded adobe pdf reader… Seems to work now. You can select pdfs on your device ! Never worked before in 2.1
      Installed KINDLE works now. Home bar goes away in this firmware so the first lines of text are readeable…
      This looks promising !

  80. With 15 beta testers, we now have enough participants to try this new firmware. For all the others, please wait a few days until the beta ends and we can finally publicly release the custom firmware.

    To all the 15 beta testers: you will receive today the download link by email.

    • I own a Arnova8 tablet and waited for the first time i used this tablet for such an update. AppsLib is no bad but it has none of the Greek Apps while Android Market is Full of Greek Apps.

  83. Hi,
    I would like to be a beta tester for this custom firmware.
    I’ve bought an Arnova 8 but I’m not satisfied at all with the official firmware. Each time I want to connect to a website, I have to restart the tablet. Very frustrating !
    So I hope that your custom firmware will make the difference ! ;-)

    Thanks, cheers !
    staki, switzerland

  93. I would be interested. I am going on holiday on the 19th of this month, and will take my Arnova 8 with me to test, and report my findings when I get back on the 23rd, if this is ok?

    Thanks

    Mark

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