Android Firmware Update Problems ...

[vja4Him]

Last night I went ahead and took the plunge ... Updated the Firmware on my Archos 70 Internet Tablet 250GB (2.1.3 - Android 2.2.1).

My tablet still worked after the update. Slower than before though.

This morning I found out that I can't get online!

None of my four radio apps work (they all worked fine before).

Bible.is no longer works.

All three of my browsers no longer work.

Firmware Update doesn't work (can't connect to the Internet).

Wi-Fi shows that my Archos is connected to my Internet service. My son and I are both online with our computers, so there is nothing wrong with our Internet connection.

Looks like I have no choice now, but to reformat the Archos and start all over again (for the 4th time!!!!) .... That will be very time consuming, as I will have to download all of my many apps all over again, and then reload all of my files all over again ....

[CrowdAds]

[Olley]

It doesn't surprise me that some folks have no trouble with updates, and some have so many problems they lose faith in all technology. My 70 with hard drive choked on the update it downloaded itself, but when I side-loaded the updated I downloaded from Archos.com it worked fine, and every app I've tried works fine. It connects using 802.11n with my d-link router, hasn't crashed once, and in general seems peppier.

I suggest you re-download the update and try again. If WiFi seems to not work, delete your setting and try to set it up again. Perhaps do an android reset anyway, as that will switch the swap ram to 64mb.

[Greg_E]

My wireless N still does not work, I even changed channels on the router to see if it had one that the a43 didn't like. Does it really have a 5Ghz modem installed?

I have gone back and forth several times between 2.0.71 and 2.1.02 and the only way I have done it is to sideload the thing. Tried using the recovery mode (hold volume button down and power button to turn it on) and you will see an update firmware choice. I also tried putting it into USB mode through recovery to transfer the firmware. So far everytime it has worked this way.

What I did notice is that some of the apps got buggy, so I unistalled them and reinstalled them and now they work correctly again. Most noted was app TuneIn for streaming radio. I may try wiping the entire device this weekend and see what kind of trouble I can cause for myself, I only have about 5 or 6 apps that I would need to fetch so not a big deal, and I may try one of the app managers to spit out .apk files to try keeping them.

[Olley]

Mine isn't connecting at 5Ghz. Only 2.4Ghz. Nothing else I have connects at 5 either even though my router supports it. If your router has a setting to turn off 5Ghz you might try it.

[Greg_E]

I guess that is why it will not connect.

[vja4Him]

Originally Posted by Olley

It doesn't surprise me that some folks have no trouble with updates, and some have so many problems they lose faith in all technology. My 70 with hard drive choked on the update it downloaded itself, but when I side-loaded the updated I downloaded from Archos.com it worked fine, and every app I've tried works fine. It connects using 802.11n with my d-link router, hasn't crashed once, and in general seems peppier.

I suggest you re-download the update and try again. If WiFi seems to not work, delete your setting and try to set it up again. Perhaps do an android reset anyway, as that will switch the swap ram to 64mb.

I've read that some people are reporting their device is slower when they switch to 64mb. I was wondering how to switch anyways. Maybe I'll give that a try.

[vja4Him]

After reinitializing my Archos 70, it is working again, but keeps losing WiFi. Our other three computers have no trouble with Internet.

I have to keep rebooting every few minutes to get connected again.

[Olley]

Look into your wifi settings and make sure power saving is turned off. Mine shows a drop about 20% signal at my router when I switch it on.

[Greg_E]

I have no problems with wifi G on my a43, nice and solid unless I hold my hand over the antenna.

[vja4Him]

Originally Posted by Olley

Look into your wifi settings and make sure power saving is turned off. Mine shows a drop about 20% signal at my router when I switch it on.

I've tried all three power settings. There is no difference. It must be an issue with the Firmware Update.

[Olley]

I'm not talking about the three power management modes. I'm talking about
Settings,
Wireless and networks,
WiFi Settings,
WiFi On
Hold down on your active network till a window pops up.
Select Modify network.
You may have to scroll the next window up, but look for Disable Powersave.
Put a check in that box if there isn't already on there.
Tap on Save.

And if you have an older n-capable router that is the one giving you grief, see if there is a firmware update for it. The Gen8 devices don't work with n at 5Ghz. The n standard wasn't completely standardized when n routers first started showing up.

[vja4Him]

Originally Posted by Olley

I'm not talking about the three power management modes. I'm talking about
Settings,
Wireless and networks,
WiFi Settings,
WiFi On
Hold down on your active network till a window pops up.
Select Modify network.
You may have to scroll the next window up, but look for Disable Powersave.
Put a check in that box if there isn't already on there.
Tap on Save.

And if you have an older n-capable router that is the one giving you grief, see if there is a firmware update for it. The Gen8 devices don't work with n at 5Ghz. The n standard wasn't completely standardized when n routers first started showing up.

Thanks! I've been following ArchosFans Forums, and haven't seen that tip mentioned.

I followed your directions, and finished the set-up. Will see if that fixes the WiFi issue ....

Now I'm having some new issues:

-- can't turn screen off (worked fine before the update)
-- when I turn the tablet from landscape to portrait or visa versa, desktop disappears, no icons until a minute or so later
-- sometimes the screen turns black (not off), then desktop comes back a minutes or so later, then icons appear later ... .
-- tablet shuts down all by itself unexpectedly

Still having problems with music files skipping (like vinyl records skipping). All my music work just fine on my desktop and my son's Archos 20b.

[Greg_E]

What are the files files compressed with?

The icons disappearing is a new one and I don't have that with my 43.

[vja4Him]

Well, it's been almost five hours since I changed the hidden settings, and my WiFi hasn't dropped yet ... Hopefully this fix has resolved the WiFi issue.

[vja4Him]

Originally Posted by Greg_E

The icons disappearing is a new one and I don't have that with my 43.

The icons disappearing has been an issue before and after the Firmware Update.

[vja4Him]

Originally Posted by Greg_E

What are the files compressed with?

I imported the music from my CDs to iTunes on my MacPro. I have iTunes set to import the CDs as MP3 files.

I can also change AAC files to MP3 files in iTunes.

[Olley]

When these android device appear to get sluggish, it is usually because too many services/processes/apps/etc., are running. One thing Archos included that helps is the System Monitor app. For example, within one minute of seeing my home screen after turning on my 32, there are 16 different apps that show up. When I tap "Stop all programs" those process are stopped, and my device will become amazingly peppier. Icons stop disappearing. Swiping the screen becomes fluid again. Etc..

Olley

[Greg_E]

Which makes one ask... How do we prevent some of the garbage from loading on boot?

Since these devices use a multimedia chip, I would expect all the main stream codecs to get handled with the chip, this should include AAC, AAC+, MP3. I have not noticed that my 43 runs the processor much when playing back aac+ and I know that if raw processor is used to decode these file it takes a lot of power (check Rockbox work on aac+ decoding).

[Olley]

You ask good questions, Greg_E. Hopefully as Android versions progress, they'll start adding an option in Settings/applications that lets you turn off auto-start on boot-up.

Some codecs can be processed (decoded) in hardware. Some have to be processed by software. I've heard hardware decoding is more efficient, but not whether that causes the processor to run harder (more heat) than when the system is running the processor to process software decoding.