[Peter]

I own the plastic version (x80 pro) which is really simple to open. Just use a small plastic piece (guitar pick etc) and insert it at the center of a long tablet side.
For the plastic x80 the tool should be pushed down right from the top. I also own a tbook 10 with a metal back cover where it needs to be inserted from the side, because the top overlaps the metal back.
Next just move the tool along the edge, done!

I really like that Teclast uses rounded plastic clips, as they don’t get damaged easily during disassembly.
I’ve removed the cover about three time and it does not show any signs of wear.

Hope that helps

Edit: looking at the x80 power, it should be the same like the pro, so the tool needs to be inserted between the metal and plastic

[Peter]

Hey,  just wanted to share that replacing the antenna can work really well.
I used one from an old notebook and placed it next to the speaker.

Signal is now comparable to my moto g, little worse but definitely usable all over the house.

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[Peter]

Hi,

its an Ampak AP6212 combo module, which indeed feature a Broadcom BCM43438 wireless chip.

[Peter]

I’m not sure about that, as a full flash would overwrite the efi variables and secure boot settings and I don’t know much about them.

[Peter]

It is a GD25LQ64CVIG, a Datasheet can be found here: http://www.elm-tech.com/ja/products/spi-flash-memory/gd25lq64/gd25lq64.pdf
If you have one of those cheap ch341 programmer, you can select GIGADEVICE as manufacturer and GD25Q64 as device.
The chips allows a maximum of 2V, meaning you’ll need a level converter from the programmers 3.3V.

Hope you find someone who can share a dump, flashing it to your should not be a problem if its a full one. (but it will overwrite specific data like your windows key!) Using a normal bios binary might also work, but you need to find the offset of it inside the chip. (most likely 0x400000)

[Peter]

Hi, just found the time to make a full dump of the bios.
You’ll need a spi flash programmer and some test hooks or a soic-8 clip.
Here is a thread that covers the flashing process and tools: http://techtablets.com/forum/topic/unbrick-x98-pro-bios-usb-flash/
Note that the chip operates at 1.8V, using a cheap ch341 programmer without a level converter might destroy it!

The dump was verified three times and should be fine.
I’ve removed my windows key, but you can add yours with a hex editor at address 0x415014 (replacing XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX)

Download: http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=79803607492286945536
Bryan, if you want you can add this to your google drive share, as I don’t know how long this link will work and the forum upload does not work somehow.

Hope that helps someone.

 

 

[Peter]

I was finally able to pick my tablet up and can confirm that this tool does not work, even with admin rights.

If you can wait a little longer I’ll open my tablet and make a full dump, using an external programmer.  I should have enough time next weekend.
My guess is that you will also need a programmer, I’ve never tried your emergency flash method and even if it would work, I don’t think that it expects a full dump.

That being said, you should also backup your old bricked bios before if you use an external programmer, because it also contains unique data like the windows key, mac address etc.

(Just noticed that you send it back, well thats better anyway, but I hope this will help others here)

[Peter]

Should be easy then. Note that the BIOS actually sits on its own chip, together with the settings made.
Reading and writing that chip is pretty easy, a cheap programer only costs about 3 dollar. (guess an arduino will also do)

If you look at this picture from a Tbook11, you can see that they have made a cutout on the RF shield / heatsink.
That’s the BIOS, easy to access once you’ve opened the case.

Maybe there is some kind of recovery mechanism, but I guess we won’t see any documentation on that.
My Tablet should arrive in two weeks, I’ll post a little guide then.

[Peter]

Sad to hear this. I do not want to flash the BIOS anyway, I just want to be prepared to do so.
I really love tinkering around with Bios Settings :), so it’s just a matter of time until something breaks.
The actual BIOS settings seem to be stored inside the flash chip (mentioned here for a similar device: Link),
therefore they won’t be restored by cutting the power off.
Anyway after my Tablet arrived, I’ll take a look inside of it, read that chip and post a dump here.

Since you’ve already disassembled it, is there anything special to take care of? Do you have any pictures of the inside?

[Peter]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but these are backup files of the emmc? (downloading them right now)
What I actually search is a dump of the BIOS chip. (most likely one of those little spi flash)

 

[Peter]

That’s one of the threads where I read about the BIOS issues. But as far as I understood Bryan’s tablet is bricked and I haven’t read anywhere about a backup.

 

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