Hisense A5

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by dennisdd

So far i did not experience any issues with the rooted A5 but sometimes english instead of German, but more importantly, i cannot find how to force a refresh quickly, which sometimes would help against ghosting. This is easily done on the pro cc with pushing the eink button twice.

So, on the rooted A5, do you lose the functioning of the eink button? That would be a shame.

On my unrooted A5, I have it configured so that two short presses trigger a screen refresh which is very handy.

Unfortunately, Hisense doesn't seem to offer a full screen refresh as an option for the Floating Navigation Ball. I wonder why. My Onyx devices have that as an option for their Floating Navigation Ball.

[dennisdd]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

So, on the rooted A5, do you lose the functioning of the eink button? That would be a shame.

On my unrooted A5, I have it configured so that two short presses trigger a screen refresh which is very handy.

Unfortunately, Hisense doesn't seem to offer a full screen refresh as an option for the Floating Navigation Ball. I wonder why. My Onyx devices have that as an option for their Floating Navigation Ball.

At least with the Rom that came pre-installed with Google from cect, the eink button seems to not do anything and i would not know how to configure it the way you mention.

Edit: i have to correct myself - if lock screen is on, pushing the eink button will bring up the configured APP, however, the two short presses do not work for refresh like they do on my unrooted A5 pro CC.

[orebmur]

Originally Posted by dennisdd

i cannot find how to force a refresh quickly, which sometimes would help against ghosting. This is easily done on the pro cc with pushing the eink button twice.

Button behaviour can usually be configured either via 'Settings > Buttons > Short press Eink button' or 'Settings > Buttons > Double click Eink button' on the latest official Hisense ROM. The rooted multilingual version is stuck with an older ROM release version so maybe this is not available.

[Villain]

Originally Posted by tracey1

Thank you. Obviously, not every store can afford to have Amazon-like policy. It does make one a bit more hesitant to purchase it on the other hand.

So I checked their shipping policy and apparently shipping (to european countries) costs about 10 euros. Adding import sales tax (15-35 euros) and another national delivery fee (at least 12,50 euros). So ,could one end up paying over 60 euros more than the actual price for the phone ?

Anybody know if Aliexpress could be a more viable option ?
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000315968160.html

I bought my second A5 from them three days ago and the delivery cost by DHL (to Europe) was $17,64 plus $9,45 for PayPal payment processing. And the tax (23% VAT) is $65. They put a lower price of the phone in papers but the customs office wanted the original invoice and other documents from me anyway so no cheating here.
Personally, I would not dare buying anything from Aliexpress.
Why are you hesitating? It's a great phone is you don't mind a black/white display. I got the original version (no google play in both cases - I was afraid a rooted phone might cause problems). No google play means a little bit more work (like an hour or two to find and install all necessary and working apps from F-droid and Aurora) but there's nothing I'm missing now.

To answer your other question, I don't know how easy it would be to resell it. I'd say only people who really value their eyesight or have light intolerance issues are interested in e-ink so you'd have to find a person like that. I won't be selling mine. I'll try and fix the issue I have once I get the new phone.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by orebmur

Button behaviour can usually be configured either via 'Settings > Buttons > Short press Eink button' or 'Settings > Buttons > Double click Eink button' on the latest official Hisense ROM. The rooted multilingual version is stuck with an older ROM release version so maybe this is not available.

This is exactly how it works on my A5 with the latest firmware. However, from what I recall, it worked the same way with the original firmware which my A5 shipped with.

From what I recall, the options for the eink button were listed in Chinese at that time whereas now they are listed in English.

Again, I have the unrooted version of the A5 so I don't know if the rooted version has the same options for the eink button.

If it does, and if a screenshot of the options in Chinese were provided, I or somebody else could always point to the option for screen refresh. It could also be found through trial and error.

[cartz]

I rooted and installed GAPS on my A5 and the ability to configure the e-ink button is still there.

When I first bought it I thought the button did nothing but once configured it is fine.

Somewhere in this thread is a list of what the options are.

[dennisdd]

Originally Posted by cartz

I rooted and installed GAPS on my A5 and the ability to configure the e-ink button is still there.

When I first bought it I thought the button did nothing but once configured it is fine.

Somewhere in this thread is a list of what the options are.

But can you configure the button to force a refresh?

My settings look like this https://easyupload.io/0xotif
and this
https://easyupload.io/18v4yv

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by dennisdd

But can you configure the button to force a refresh?

My settings look like this https://easyupload.io/0xotif
and this
https://easyupload.io/18v4yv

Hmmm, from the screenshots which you provided, it seems that you only have the option to choose an app to be configured with the eink button, not the various functions such as screenrefresh, screenshot, lockscreen etc.

I wonder if there is an app out there somewhere for refreshing one's screen or what it would take for someone to make such an app?

[dennisdd]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Hmmm, from the screenshots which you provided, it seems that you only have the option to choose an app to be configured with the eink button, not the various functions such as screenrefresh, screenshot, lockscreen etc.

I wonder if there is an app out there somewhere for refreshing one's screen or what it would take for someone to make such an app?

I was also trying to find out if there is an APP for refreshing that i could just put on the button.
So far not successful. Also, because launching the configured APP only seems to work on lock screen with the eink button.

Any ideas how to update my rooted a5 to a newer Version?

[cartz]

Originally Posted by dennisdd

I was also trying to find out if there is an APP for refreshing that i could just put on the button.
So far not successful. Also, because launching the configured APP only seems to work on lock screen with the eink button.

Any ideas how to update my rooted a5 to a newer Version?

You'll need to go to this thread:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...mizer-t4097951

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by dennisdd

Any ideas how to update my rooted a5 to a newer Version?

Unfortunately, I haven't a clue. I've never rooted any device and am not all the tech savvy. Am now very glad that there was not a rooted version with the Play Store on it when I bought my A5. Otherwise I might have been tempted to go for it instead.

I'm really surprised that the rooted Play Store version does not include some way of easily refreshing the screen. That would seem to be a fairly important feature for any eink device due to ghosting.

One thing which you could do is make sure that the eink control panel is available on your Navigation Bar. It is the rectangle with the line beneath it. if you switch between eink modes that should trigger a screen refresh. Not as simple as using a double click of the eink button, but it should get the job done.

You may also want to contact the CECT Shop or Hisense to see if they have any ideas.

[dennisdd]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

If you switch between eink modes that should trigger a screen refresh. Not as simple as using a double click of the eink button, but it should get the job done.

You may also want to contact the CECT Shop or Hisense to see if they have any ideas.

Yes, thanks, switching modes does work, but change to another mode lets the menu disapear, you have to open it again and then switch back. Not that handy but works.

I already talked to CECT but they have no idea how to do a refresh. Also, i asked how to update because it says no OTA updates on their website so i thought maybe uodate via cable. their answer: "there are no updates for this Version, it is a custom rom."

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by dennisdd

I already talked to CECT but they have no idea how to do a refresh. Also, i asked how to update because it says no OTA updates on their website so i thought maybe uodate via cable. their answer: "there are no updates for this Version, it is a custom rom."

That's unfortunate. I wonder if it would be possible to flash to original A5 firmware to replace the custom rom.

Of course, you would then lose the Play Store, but it might make your A5 more usable. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience flashing firmware so can't help you with that.

Best.

[orebmur]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I wonder if it would be possible to flash to original A5 firmware to replace the custom rom.

It is possible, and quite easily so by just putting the unpacked firmware zip file on a freshly FAT formatted SD card to boot the A5 from.

Did this with a second A5 supposedly equipped with an international ROM i foolishly bought at Aliexpress. Localizations turned out to be completely useless and i'm glad it was possible to convert it to a normal A5 and at least gain the possibility of receiving OTA updates. No, i don't care about the Google stuff and i am glad it is not included.

The download link for the suitable firmware can be found at wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Hisense_A5#Rooting_and_firmware_availability ("latest official OTA release").

Here is a description of the installation procedure:

translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=cn&tl=en&u=https://fans.hisense.com/thread-171079-1-1.html

Relevant excerpt of above text:

1. The upgrade operation will clear all the non-factory preset user information in the mobile phone. Please save important information in advance.
2. Make sure that the battery power is sufficient. It is recommended that the battery has at least 50% power to avoid interruption of the power during the upgrade process and cause the upgrade to fail.
(2) Preparations before T card upgrade:
1. Prepare a TF card, first format the TF card into FAT format;
2. Unzip the downloaded product software version (usually a compressed package and divided into multiple compressed sub-packages), and copy the resulting folder named "HLTE202N_TF" to the root directory of the TF card;
3. Insert the TF card into the mobile phone and put the battery into the mobile phone. Confirm that the battery charge is greater than 50%, if the battery charge is low, please charge first;
(3) T card upgrade process
1. Hold down the two side keys "Volume +" and "Volume-" at the same time, then press the power button, the phone will automatically enter the T card upgrade mode for upgrade, if the phone does not enter the T card upgrade mode, please shut down Then repeat the operation.
2. Wait for about 5 minutes for the upgrade to complete, and a prompt for successful upgrade will be displayed.
3. Restart according to the prompt after the upgrade is successful. If there is no such prompt, press and hold the power button for more than 20 seconds to restart. The first boot after the upgrade will take a long time, which is several times the normal boot time. Please be patient.

It might take a few times to initiate the boot process from SD card using the side keys until getting it right. It's just a matter of patience and multiple trials if it fails for the first time. Took me three times to finally get it going.

Once the ROM has become fully operational, please directly check for OTA updates. There is a version upgrade available for which no full separate ROM has been made available elsewhere yet. Therefore upgrading to the latest release is a two step procedure, at least for the time being.

[dennisdd]

Originally Posted by orebmur

It is possible, and quite easily so by just putting the unpacked firmware zip file on a freshly FAT formatted SD card to boot the A5 from.

Great, thanks, Orebmur.
Because I was looking to find a way to change black background of some apps to white, I enabled developer mode on my Hisense A5, which I bought from CECT-Shop with the multi-language ROM and Google Services pre-installed.

Trying things, I also enabled "Color Blind Mode", which led to weird looking lines and things and me not being able to shut this mode off again.
Now I am stuck and when doing a re-start, I also get lines all over the screen and cannot see anything, or it just shows the Hisense Logo.
I might have also deleted all user data when trying to enter save mode and messing with all the Chinese buttons.

Tried to get into save mode and other things, but this didn't work or help, even though I used a translator to understand all the Chinese buttons.

Do you have any suggestions how to turn off the Color Blind Mode or the developer mode without being able to access the phone?


I tried both methods with the microSD and via USB cable. However, for the Card, it says "E: mount sdcard device error: Invalid argument". I had reduced the size of a 128Gig card to 16 Gig and formatted it with FAT32.

Then I tried via USB, installed the driver and QPST. The device shows up as a removable memory but it doesnt show in the QPST as an active phone. Any ideas what to do?

Maybe I do not have the correct USB driver? I tried several that I found on the web. But from the list in the guidelines that you sent, I couldnt identify the one for the A5: getdroidtips.com/download-hisense-usb-drivers/

The version before I broke it was: L1657.6.03.02.00

Thank you for any help!