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Definitely give Konsta’s CM12.1 a spin–it seems to work great.  No lockups for me over several hours while using it, but 3-4 lockups over the same time period when using the stock Remix OS 2.0 install.

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<< I get stuck in recovery with a black screen I connect to a computer and use adb reboot to get out of it and try again.>>

Interesting–I did not think adb was up and running when using Konstantin Matvievsky’s Hi12 recovery image, at least that was my cursory experience yesterday evening.  When I got into the black screen mode (i.e. with temp recovery booted), I tried a few adb commands but nothing took.  Maybe I tried it too early in the process while the recovery image was still booting?

Whatever the case, adb’ing is not really a solution to this because the change I am suggesting is in BIOS.  So with a 50% chance of one of the options being incorrect, well, the result would be video forced to one output or the other.  An adb reboot would not fix this…  Without a Micro HDMI adapter, you would have to plug in a keyboard, and blindly hope to reset BIOS to its default with a few deft and well-timed keystrokes.

Anyway, we could figure this out with a Micro HDMI connector if we work together…  You could pick one option like “eDP”, and if it works, great!  If not, I would try the other option of “HDMI Port B”, and that would theoretically work.  Or we could both end up tabs needing a BIOS reset–who knows!

Here’s to hoping somebody with a Micro HDMI adapter might be willing to give this a shot else it’ll be about 2 weeks before I can test it (my adapter is on the slow boat from China).

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I can vouch for Konsta’s CM12.1 ROM!  I received a Vi10 Plus late last week, and initially found Remix OS 2.0 to be interesting, but quickly became tired of limitations, and also, the frustrating lockups.  So I installed the most recent version of Konsta’s CM12.1 as of yesterday, and was thrilled with what I saw.  I spent several hours getting stuff installed, and the tab configured, and not once ran into a freeze (whereas the same effort with the stock Remix OS installed on the tab ended up with 3-4 freezes over a few hours).  I have no long-term comments about CM12.1 as of yet because I only installed it yesterday, but so far it is great!

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Ok, so I am bitten by this bug, too–black screen on trying to boot temporary recovery.  But I have been thinking about the issue–the tablet is mistakenly trying to output the video signal to the Micro HDMI port instead of the internal panel.  So this is probably avoidable at the BIOS level–find the setting that controls video output, and instead of auto-sensing it, force it to the internal panel instead of the external port.  So I went hunting around in BIOS, and have a promising lead, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger because of non-existent documentation, and the fact that I don’t have a Micro HDMI adapter yet for disaster recovery (one is on the way in the mail…).

Let me explain–under one of the chipset menus (I forget which–I did not take explicit notes), there is an “IGD Boot Type” setting with three options:

1.)  Auto [what the system was set to by default]

2.) HDMI Port B

3.) eDP

So now the question comes down to if “HDMI Port B” is referring to the port that feeds the internal display or if it is referring to the external Micro HDMI port.  The “eDP” third option doesn’t help me too much with this–in some places, I’ve seen it referred to as “embedded Display Port”, but I can imagine it might just as easily mean “external Display Port”.  Of course, the lack of documentation, as mentioned above, does not help.

For me, it’s a 50%/50% chance, but I am not willing to take those odds now since I have no means for recovery (i.e. no Micro HDMI adapter in case I pick wrong).  But I’ll test this out when my adapter arrives, and report back here.  Otherwise, maybe somebody with a Micro HDMI adapter can give it a shot before then?

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I’ve had a Hi12 for a few weeks, and have not really had a chance to use it heavily yet.  While normally I would use tablets with Android, the fact that this has Windows 10, too, means I have actually spent more time on the Windows side than under Android because of some Windows-only apps I use.  Regarding speed under the Windows side, it is ok, but certainly not snappy.  Then again, I do things under Windows that I would not do under Android–for example, opening 10 tabs at once under Firefox whereas I use Chrome under Android, and open on a tab by tab basis.  So it’s not really a straightforward comparison, for sure, but let’s just say that lags are not strangers under Windows 10 in my own experience.  One other qualifier about this–on getting the tablet, I immediately let it do all its Windows Updates, and eventually it finished up on the Anniversary Edition.  If you look around, people who started with earlier versions of Windows 10 and then did Anniversary Edition update seem to suggest the machines ended up slower.  Since I have only ever used it with the Anniversary Edition, I have no point of comparison.  But certainly under Android it feels snappier.

One other thought if you are considering to purchase the keyboard as well.  I purchased the metal keyboard because the option of turning the tablet into a psuedo-laptop was obviously interesting.  The quality of the keyboard itself seems good, but actually typing on it frankly stinks.  If you are a hunt and peck typer, it might be ok as you are using a single finger to tap straight down on a key.  But if you are touch typer, forget about–there are tons of missed keystrokes.  Maybe my keyboard is not good–it’s hard to say much with a sample size of one–but do look for some comments on this first if you are touch typer, and expect the keyboard to be useful!

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I just got a Hi12 at the end of last week, and had the same issue–pretty poor sensitivity with the touch screen.  But I think I figured out the problem just today–the plastic screen cover that ships with the Hi12 actually covers a plastic screen protector beneath it.  I thought the plastic screen cover directly covered the screen, and so I did not actually remove it till today.  That is when I saw the plastic screen protector beneath it.  Anyway, I ended up removing everything, and putting on a nice, 9H glass screen protector, and the sensitivity is much improved.

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Well, after ~10 minutes, and still a black screen, I started some furious attempts at CPR by pressing the power button, sometimes holding it, sometimes pressing it quickly, basically anything I could think of, and nothing was happening.  Eventually, I went through a few minutes where the red power led on the tablet was blinking about once per second, and by holding the power button, I could switch it off.  Again, more furious mashing of the buttons, lots of sweating, and finally about 30 minutes after the original reboot, I saw the Chuwi logo flash on.  That happened a few times like the screen was glitching, but eventually, I got to the Android/Windows boot menu, and was able to boot.  I don’t think this is normal–simply changing the memory speeds in BIOS should not result in a 10+ minute reboot, but at least the tablet finally came back to life.

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Well, just got in my Hi12, charged it up completely (took about 4.5 hours), and booted for the first time directly into BIOS to make the RAM 1067–>1600 MHz tweak.  Saved, rebooted, and … black screen…  It has been about 5 minutes now, and I’m starting to sweat.  But I just read SDSakuragi’s comments on YouTube–“Oh god. The reboot after the bios tweak took 10 minutes. I almost pissed my pants!!!” so I’m relaxing for another 5 minutes!!!

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So it’s clear that the Chuwi HiPen H1 can be used with the Hi12 tablet, but can the HiPen H2 be used with it, too?  The H2 version is interesting because it is rechargeable (via micro-USB connection) instead of using an AAAA battery like the H1.  The H2 is surprisingly cheap–about US$14 at geekbuying currently.

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The only thing about sikke1’s debloated stock rom is that after cleaning it of all the Chinese apps, he added back a few Google apps like the Google Now launcher and the Google app for voice input.  I think Google Photos is included, too, and maybe something else–I did not pay close attention to details because I was mostly concerned with making sure the camera worked with Skype.  Whatever the case, the rom definitely does not have Chinese app cruft.

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So Michiel, I just rebooted, and now double-clicking a document file directly opens it in the appropriate application.  When I was testing as per above, I did it immediately after installing the MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint apps.  So the hiccup I mentioned was temporary, and after rebooting, it seems to have cleared up.

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So Michiel, I have loaded MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint onto my Air 3/III with sikke1’s debloated stock rom, and all programs load and open fine.  I did not just open the programs, but also tried opening actual Word/Excel/Powerpoint document files, too.  They opened fine, but with a slight hiccup.  When I clicked on any of the files (using ES File Explorer…), the correct app opened up, but the document itself was not displayed–only the app.  But on going back to ES File Explorer, and clicking the document name a second time, it would open up fine.  So my impression is that the program already had to be active and loaded into memory to actively open the document file.  Else if the program was not already running in the background, clicking a document file would launch the application as needed, but not actually open the document in it.  I hope this explanation makes sense.

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Michiel wrote:

As Mirek190 states in his xda post of the rom: Camera works on air 3g ( c5j5, c5j6 , c5j8, c8j6 ), air 2, 3 ( hg9n, hg9m ) That implies it doesn’t work (100%) on the M5C5…

Fair enough, I recognized this, but was encouraged by various reports of mirek190’s roms working fine for the Air 3/III despite not being specifically built for it. And then when the cameras worked in normal mode after the cross-flash that is what led me to (prematurely) declare success a few posts back. By the way, this has nothing to do with a problem by mirek190–I accept complete responsibility because as you have pointed out, mirek190 says nothing about the Air 3/III (M5C5) camera working. But the nice clean rom he provides is attractive so I sure wish it would work.

There might be an intermediate solution–for example, packaging up the camera files from the Air 3/III stock rom, and then flashing them on top of a mirek190 rom. But I suspect this would involve more than just the apk for the camera app, and would probably involve drivers/libs, too.

Whatever the case, for the moment, I will go with sikke1’s debloated stock rom as it does seems to solve the camera issue at least partially. I will check about MS Word/Excel on it, too, and let you know if the open/run successfully.

For those interested in sikke1’s debloated Air 3/III (M5C5) rom, you can find the posting about it at http://forum.xda-developers.com/x98-air/development/teclast-x98-air-iii-air-3g-debloated-t3266740.

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Ok, I reflashed with sikke1’s debloated stock rom for the M5C5, and now the camera does not appear to freeze up while in Skype, but this is with just a few minutes of testing.  I will test more tomorrow, but it certainly does not freeze up after a few seconds like previously.  Regarding the QR apps, curiously, when I went to install them, the Google Store declared that one was incompatible with the tablet, and would not let me install it.  But I was able to install the second one, and alas, it does still suffer from the frozen image syndrome.  As mentioned above, I will do some more testing tomorrow, but whatever the case, this appears to be progress.

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Well, I am pretty frustrated with this tablet because it was supposed to be a Christmas gift.  But late yesterday afternoon as I was doing the final preparations I realized that the device cross-flash I did might not be 100% compatible as it seemed initially.

As a recap, I started with an X98 Air 3/III 32GB (M5C5) on stock rom v1.04.  I downloaded the v6.1 Ultra-light version of mirek190’s rom for the Air 2/II, i.e. “X98_Air_2_android_5.0_mirek190_v6.1-ultra-light.7z”, and did a clean install for the reflash.  For all intents and purposes, everything seemed fine, in particular, the cameras.  For example, I could snap pictures with both the front and rear cameras no problem, they appeared in my gallery, and I could view them no problem, so the cameras seemed to work fine.  And indeed, if that is all I was doing with the cameras, I would say they are still working fine…

However, a problem emerged with the cameras when I set up Skype (and sadly, that was the main purpose of me buying this tablet…).  Basically, the camera would work for a few seconds, and then the image would freeze up.  Skype itself would not freeze up–the sound would still work, and it did not balk about the camera at all.  Just the camera image would freeze.

I tried a whole bunch of on-the-fly things to see if they would be helpful, for example, switching back and forth between the front/back cameras, killing and restarting the Skype process, etc., but to no avail.  I cleared all the Skype and camera data, and started them fresh, but again to no avail.  The only seeming solution was to reboot the tablet, and then, the camera would work for the first few seconds in Skype, but then the image would freeze again.

I subsequently tried with two QR code apps, and realized a similar problem.  The camera would work initially on starting the apps, but then freeze making the apps pretty useless.  Similar to Skype, the apps would continue without problem–they did not recognize a problem with the camera even though the image was frozen.

Uggh, uggh, uggh.  This is a major quandary for me because I do not know whether this is a problem with the cross-flash being <100% compatible, or an actual problem with the cameras.  The issue is that on originally testing the tablet with its v1.04 stock rom before flashing the mirek190 Air 2/II version rom, I only tested the camera directly, and that seemed to work fine (just like it does with the Air 2/II cross-flash).  I never actually loaded Skype or the QR apps at that point so I cannot confirm they work with the v1.04 stock rom.

Can anybody on the v1.04 stock rom confirm that Skype and other camera apps seem to work correctly?  If so, I will go back to the v1.04 stock rom instead of the mirek190 roms.  This kind of stinks because the mirek190 roms are much cleaner/lighter.

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