Thursday, November 27, 2014

Applying Firmware Update for the NX700QC16G


Applying the Firmware Upgrade
for the NX700QC16G


Thank you to all parties on the Freaktab forum
and all those who commented this posting.
Special thanks to Brian December 4, 2014


NOTE: This will wipe out all apps and info on your tablet

NOTE: I am using
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Processor with 8 Gb RAM

NOTE: It has been reported that the driver install may not work on window 8. But it does appear to work fine on windows 7. Reported in comments below by d wilson December 4, 2014. A method to install the USB drivers is located at How To Install Nextbook7 (NX700QC16G) USB Drivers on Windows 8 & 8.1.


How to find it



-- Go to the Nextbook Website nextbookusa.com/download.php

-- Go to updates and select Firmware

-- Scroll down to updates and it is there

What You Will See & Download



Nextbook 7 (NX700QC16G)
firmware update instructions:


Directly to the right of this text is a button that will download the a docx file with instructions. Download this Instruction File. This is a Microsoft word compatible file. Wordpad in windows will open this file.

Download the Firmware Update File. This file is 2 gigabytes in size and downloads slowly. Since this is the only good file as far as I can tell.

You now have a instruction file and a firmware file.

Notes on Firmware Upgrade

This upgrade will get rid of the Data Partition. The Application Partition will now be 13.12 Gigabytes in size.

Lots of activity on the FreakTab forum by people reporting success at fixing the drivers.zip problem and installing the new firmware. Also lots of comments below.
I tried the replace the files without success. So I used Brian December 3, 2014 post in the comments below to download the drivers and sp flash tool.

How To Install Firmware Upgrade

NOTE: Use the links below to get the driver and SP Flash Tool. The ones at NextbookUSA do not work at this time.

Doing Step 1

Download the Driver File from China Gadgets Reviews MediaTek Smartphone Driver. Do the right click and Extract Here to decompress this file.

For windows 7 or earlier run the Mediatek Driver Install.bat file. Just pick yes or install to get pass the screens. If you have Windows 8 or later then try following the directions at How To Install Nextbook7 (NX700QC16G) USB Drivers on Windows 8 & 8.1.

Doing Step 2

Do the right click Extract Here to the Firmware file you got from NextbookUSA above.

Doing Step 3

Download SP_Flash_Tool rar or SP_Flash_Tool zip file. Use the file marked as new. Do the right click Extract Here to decompress this file.

Run flash_tool.exe in the SP_Flash folder..

Now you can follow the directions and pictures found in the Instruction docx file from NextbookUSA that you download above.

NOTE: Turn off tablet by holding power button down for a couple of seconds until a screen appears with a power off button and pick power off.

NOTE: I had to connect the tablet to several different usb ports before it would work. If it does not start up by showing progress in the bar at the bottom of the screen in 5 seconds then try another usb port.

Other Sources of Info



nextbook7.blogspot.com also a good run through on upgrading NX700QC16G and a guide to install USB drivers for windows 8.

FreakTab A entire thread on upgrading the firmware and rooting the NX700QC16G. I have not done it yet but I read that this tablet is easy to root once you do the firmware upgrade.

101 comments:

  1. please post any new info on the firmware update problem, thanks

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  2. December 2 -- still getting CRC errors. Got this on Black Friday and am losing patience with this company.

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  3. My avast anti-virus tells me there is malware threat when downloading the flash tool. Do you guys get this too?
    I'm looking for other ways to fix this myself using the SDK. If I can't get it fixed soon I'm returning my 2 Nextbook 7 tablets I just bought. How can a stupid bug about the storage space partitions go unnoticed???

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  4. I got a reply from customer support and they asked me to send a screenshot of the CRC errors. I agree... How in the world could a bug this big get past quantity control?

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  5. flash tool here: http://mtk2000.ucoz.ru/load/soft/soft_mtk/sp_flash_tool/5-1-0-14

    driver here: https://www.copy.com/s/IovXSBaYwLfS/MediaTek%20SmartPhone%20Driver%20Auto%20Installer%20v1.1236.00.rar


    Also, I did install the new firmware, the file on nextbook's site is good, and now there is about 13GB available for app install

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Brian. Those files really worked for me.

      Delete
    2. When I open the SP_Flash_Tool folder I see two items : SP_Flash_Tool_v5.1420.03 and internet shortcut named China Phone.
      When I double click the SP_Flash_Tool folder I see these items:
      a folder named "codecs"
      assistant.exe
      Authentication.dll
      BromAdapterTool.ini
      console_mode.xsd
      CustPT.ini
      DP_PL.bin
      DA_SWSEC.bin
      download_scene.ini
      flash_tool.exe
      flashtool.qch
      flashtool.qhc
      FlashToolLib.dll

      When I double-click on flash_tool.exe I get the following message: "C:\Users\GXXXX\Desktop\SP_Flash_Tool_exe_windows_v5.1420.00\SP_Flash_T...\flash_tool.exe is not a valid Win32 application."

      Can anyone help with this?

      Delete
  6. I have the driver installed, and the flash tool running. What is the flash tool supposed to do? I pointed it to the scatter file from the updated firmware from Nextbook, then selected upgrade firmware -- clicked the download button and nothing happens.

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  7. Nevermind... finally saw the instructions from the Nextbook site. Firmware update installed and working! Plenty of room for apps now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What did you do once the download was not working? Mine has the files but won't do anything when you press the download button.

      Delete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. It appears that the Mediatek Driver Install.bat file will Not work with windows 8.
    I looked in the file and it mentions windows: 2003 , Vista , NT, XP, win 7, but NOT windows 8.
    So if you have windows 8 and it is not loading the driver correctly when you connect the tablet to your computer, that is probably the problem.
    Go find yourself a windows 7 computer to use for a few minutes and it will work fine.
    I now have right around 13gb of space available for apps and such.
    thanks for all the help....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip. I have noted it in the posting.

      Delete
    2. A method for installing the drivers under Windows 8 exist at another blog at
      http://nextbook7.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-to-install-nextbook7-nx700qc16g-usb.html

      Delete
  11. I've successfully applied the firmware update to two Nextbook 7 tablets.

    I've documented the process in detail on my blog. Also I wrote up how to get the USB drivers working.

    Firmware Update: http://nextbook7.blogspot.com/2014/1...re-update.html
    USB Driver Instructions: http://nextbook7.blogspot.com/2014/1...nextbook7.html

    Thanks everyone for your help. Now I'm off to working on getting it rooted and will document that in detail as well.

    Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You shouldn't have made that last posting about the $59.99 price. Walmart must have read it, now they are $69.99 at Walmart. lol
    I'm sure lovin' my Thanksgiving day special $49.99 unit.
    13gb of internal storage available and a 32gb sd card slapped up in there.

    " forgive me, I am a worm "... " nuns. no sense of humor "

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Got 3 on black Friday and they were $28 ea
      Now I just can't get the firmware on driving me nuts

      Delete
  13. I am sure most you know that is can be rooted now, IROOT works in about 5 minutes, http://www.mgyun.com/en/GetIRoot and i removed all the bloat ware and I removed most of the Google crap ware like books and movies and gmail. reply to me if you want help

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  14. help . I cant get my tablet to connect to PC when off to complete the last download set for the upgrade. the tablet connects to PC when it is on

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    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. The SP_Flash_Tool should be running when you and scatter to the firmware so you see a progress bar at the bottom before you plug in the tablet. Try a different USB port.

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    3. Hello I have the same exact problem as Brad Hansmann, I don't understand what you mean with
      "
      The SP_Flash_Tool should be running when you and scatter to the firmware so you see a progress bar at the bottom before you plug in the tablet. Try a different USB port."

      Delete
    4. When I plug my nextbook7 the device will go on "charge mode" and will not communicate with the flash tool.

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    5. The flash tool is in the directions step 3. See my write up and the pictures in the nextbook instruction file. As to just charging if nextbook is off then try another USB port. Or maybe the usb drivers are not installed. Do you have windows 8 or later (recheck directions)?

      Delete
  15. After waiting for almost 2 hours for the firmware file to download, there's an error when I try to unzip it. Any suggestions?

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  16. I've tried several times today to download the flash_tool file from the MKT2000 site but Winzip says it is corrupt.
    Also downloaded the flash_tool from Nextbook site directly and it extracts fine but when I try to run flash_tool.exe it crashes.

    Any ideas would be appreciated.

    Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Just downloaded it with no trouble. It is a "RAR" file. I decompressed it and then zip it with windows and put that file in dropbox. A link to it is in the instructions above.

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    2. Thanks Peter! I haven't had time to try the update yet but I was able to download and extract the file from Dropbox so it's already better! Thanks very much for all your time!

      I'm not sure why I was having trouble getting it from the regular site but to answer your question,
      I am running Windows 7 Home Pro 64 bit with an i5-4440 CPU and 16GB RAM. I had also turned off Avast before trying the download.
      Very strange but again this was a big help.

      Delete
  17. Changed the posting to show a article with multiple sources for driver file and a zip copy of the SP_Flash_Tool

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  18. 5th time trying to download the Firmware Update file. Gets to various stages of completion and just fails. Very frustrating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It takes like a couple of hours. Wait till done. Or try some other time when connection is better. What do you mean by just fails? Does your browser quit and give you a error message? Try another browser or download manager that will handle big slow downloads. I use recent version Firefox.

      Delete
    2. The firmware update file is pretty big (2GB) so you will need to make sure you have enough free space on your C: drive else the download will fail once it fills up your disk/partition). Hope this helps.

      Delete
  19. Under other sources of information is a link to Freaktab where there are other methods of updating and rooting this tablet. Also there is a link to another guide.

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  20. I've followed these instructions (thanks, BTW), but am still not having any luck updating the firmware. I get to the point where the instructions say to fire up the SP Flash Tool, locate the scatter file, and plug in the tablet. When I do so, the drivers get installed, but the flash tool never takes off and does its thing. I've tried multiple computers (both Windows 7, one 32-bit and one 64-bit), but am not having any success. Ideas?

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  21. How long does the update take? I have completed all the steps, but the flash tool doesn't show any sort of progress.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fro those having trouble getting the update to start, make sure you power the tablet all the way down (not just put it to sleep) or it will not start the update.

    It took me a couple of tries to realize this but I held the power button down for a few seconds and chose "Power Off". Once the tablet was off, I connected the USB to the PC and could see the update begin immediately. The progress bar at the bottom of the flash tool started and followed the update which only took a few minutes.

    Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chose "Power off" and still nothing. Is there a particular setting the USB needs to be in? I get the charge indicator so I know it's getting power.

      Delete
    2. Other than making sure it is still fully off before you plug in the USB cable (and following all the instructions leading up to that step first), the only other suggestion I've seen is to use a different USB port on your PC.

      Other than that I'm not sure what to suggest. Sorry and good luck.

      Delete
  23. Good point. Will update page with this. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Reflashing the tablet worked on a Windows 7 PC (though not on Linux under WINE) and now I have full access to my tablet's internal memory for app installation. However, I now have a new problem that may have been caused by flashing the new firmware.

    When I plugged a USB cable into my tablet before, I would get a screen asking if I'd like to turn on Mass Storage Mode. This screen no longer appears and I am unable to transfer files from/to the device. Looking at the messages from the USB core on my laptop it seems a "high-speed USB device" connects but that's it - no vendor information etc. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The SD card partition is gone. All 13 gigabytes is now in the "Application Partition". Now you can install apps using all the internal flash memory except for the space used by android. The application memory cannot be seen as a sd card. You can use a real sd card to store files. You can transfer files using email, cloud services and networking. A simple file manager is included that can move files around including from a sd card to internal flash memory. A better file manager is "ES File" which supports networking. In "Additional Info" above is a link to "Freaktab" where you could root and create a sd card partition. The Sd card partition will decrease the size and flexibility of a application partition.

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    2. I understand but that doesn't relate to my problem. I'm experiencing no problems with the SD card at all.

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    3. Just so you know, that never did start working again. Oh well.

      Delete
    4. Somewhere around Android 4 I believe, Android began using a partition that emulates an SD card. They did this to help ease the transition to 4.4.x, wherein apps must have the media_rw permission to write anything to the external SD card. Android calls it "Internal storage" or "Internal SD card" sometimes. It's mounted at /mnt/sdcard , so most people call it internal SD or SD card partition. ALL of the space that made up the data partition has been moved to the application partition (which was less than 1 GB in the stock firmware, the cause of a lot of complaints that led to update release.)

      The "Freaktab" tool Peter talks about will let you create a new /mnt/sdcard partition in your device, giving you the same functionality other devices have because they aren't made by wise-ass manufacturers: "They want more app space? GIVE THEM ALL THE SPACE."

      /mnt/sdcard is also (depending on device):
      * /storage/sdcard0
      * /sdcard
      * /storage/emulated/0
      * /storage/emulated/legacy
      Juwst to name a few common ones I know of.

      Delete
  25. Hello - I have downloaded all three items as the instructions but when double click on the flash tool, i get a message that the Scatter File can not be found. What am I not doing correctly?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In step 3 above you download and uncompressed the sp flash tool. Then you follow the instructions in the "nextbook instruction file" that you downloaded along with the firmware file from Nextbookusa website. It shows the scatter file being chosen via the "scatter-loading" button. There are some pictures.

      Delete
  26. how do you get the flashtool to work. the one on the next book website downloads but when you click on the flashtool.exe. it says scatter file not found. i also tried the one from here but it downloads as a pdf adobe file and i cant extract the file or open them. any help would be great for i am about to throw this thing out.

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  27. Thanks Peter - I was able to successfully follow your instructions and update the tablets I bought for Christmas - now I don't have to deal with that stupid partition! Thank you! I made sure to reference your article in my review of the Nextbook 7" here: http://blog.poweredbyvision.net/post/nextbook-7-tablet-review-and-tips

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  28. All the flash_tool files I have downloaded or tried to from this site either do not work or my McAfee says the site is dangerous and when I go to it the file takes over an hour to download and then it is empty so can someone point me to a working flash_tool for windows 7 please?

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  29. well I have tried everything i can not get the scatter to work and now guess what My Tablet will not even come on

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  30. I did i I did it I M up and RUNNING I LOVE YOU!! THANK YOU!!!!

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  31. Thank you very MUCH Worked GREAT and make this device much more useful

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  32. I cant get this to work ive followed all the steps pluged into all usb ports and nothing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Repeat the process. Maybe something did not get done right.

      Delete
  33. I have tried on Win 8.1 and Win 7. USB drivers installed and I can see the files on the tablet. Also tried the PDAnet drivers. Tablet attaches. but when I run flash tool the progress bar never moves. Any Help?

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    Replies
    1. Time to return the Tablet. 7 Days, 3 computers and could not get the firmware to upgrade.

      Delete
  34. I do not have windows 8 but installing the usb drivers is different. All I can think of is try a different USB port. Or maybe repeat the process again in case something did not get done right.

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  35. Tim...your post was a great help. It seemed to have worked. I was able to load several apps on the new partition immediately after the firmware upgrade but something unusual is happening. After I try to load addititional apps, it seems to have reverted back and the default write disk is the smaller 1GB partition. How can I change the default write disk to the larger partition? Please help!!! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no default. If you were successful in the upgrade then the application partition is 13 GBs and cannot change.

      To check it

      1. Pull down screen from top right corner and pick "Settings"

      2. Pick out "Device - Storage" and you should see "Internal Storage" as "Total Space 13.12GB".

      Perhaps you are confusing it with the system partition or ram. Both of which are 1GB.

      Tim is over at http://nextbook7.blogspot.com/

      Delete
    2. Peter...thank you...maybe my firmware upgrade was not as successful as I thought. When I go to Storage, I see 2 internal storage partitions and see that the new apps I downloaded were on the larger partition. When looking at this screen, I see the smaller partition as the "Default Write disk" hence my question. I'll check and maybe try upgrading again. Thank you!!!

      Delete
  36. Is there a way to back up my apps so I don't loose everything after the firmware update?

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  37. scatter file not found thats all i keep getting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In step 3 above you download and uncompressed the sp flash tool. Then you follow the instructions in the "nextbook instruction file" that you downloaded along with the firmware file from Nextbookusa website. It shows the scatter file being chosen via the "scatter-loading" button. There are some pictures.

      Delete
  38. fyi...i was having the connecting device issue and after trying all usb's i turned off the app permissions on the tablet, shut it off and the download started right away. Just pull down at the top of the tablet and turn off. It works!! Thanks Peter!

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  39. Did all that still extracted files clicked on flash and still scatter file not found strange and frustrating

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. did you put all the files on your desktop and make sure that is where your program is pointing to load files. I found the instructions that I loaded were not the clearest and had to do a lot of trial and error. Took me 2 days and about 3 hours to get it to work...but I did get it to work.

      Delete
  40. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  41. I have tried all steps twice now at different times couple months apart. I have accomplished the download and unzips successfully get all the way to the flash tool to do the download to the tablet and NOTHING happens. I have made sure it was turned off, app permission is turned off, and on every USB port on my computer and HUB to no help. What else can be tried before I make this a flying disk instead of a tablet????? Any help would be appreciated as long as you are not suggesting I download again for the 3rd time as that is not the problem. Thanks!

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  42. When I finally connect tablet to PC USB port, there is no update. It starts charging it the tablet.
    How do you turn app permission off for update to work?

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I have done all the steps and all goes well till I plugin the USB cable. The flashtool recognizes the NextBook, but shows a popup with this message;
    "PMT changed for the ROM; it must be downloaded." Any suggestions?

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  44. No knowledge of this error. Did a little research. Scatter file and rom mismatch or wrong method.

    Try downloading rom file again. The rom is large and takes a while.

    As per nextbook instructions pick scatter file by pressing the scatter loading button. Change "download Only" to "Firmware upgrade".

    Go thru instructions look at screen shots in the nextbook instruction file. It goes my instructions and files then nextbook instructions.

    You can also ask the experts at the freaktab forum under other sources. I am not a expert but a amateur that got this to work. Good luck.

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  45. I have tried this process a dozen times since Christmas using two different PC's. It has never done anything until today. Today it worked exactly as described above with one exception. After the tablet was "updated," the screen size, position, and touch function were completely screwed up. The image is upside down and the touch points sometimes respond about 90 degrees around the center of screen. So I can make some things work by touching a position along the left edge even though the icon is at the top. This makes this tablet worthless. Any ideas how to fix this?

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  46. I might have figured it out. I'll let you know after I install the correct firmware. Somehow I got the firmware for the Nextbook 8, not the Nextbook 7.

    ReplyDelete
  47. This works exactly as it says, IF you install the right firmware. I thing I had to do to get it to work was to have the download ready to go and turn off the tablet while it was connected to the computer. Just plugging it in while it was off didn't work no matter what I tried.

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  48. Good to hear you are all set. Now you should have plenty of space for apps.

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  49. My son wiped the cache and data and now the nextbook 7 will not make it past the splash screen. can i use the flash tool to put the 4.4 back on it or am i out of luck?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only know data and cache for a app. If a app is messed up then uninstall and reinstall the app will fix it.

      As far as updating the firmware. This will enable you to get have more app memory. So you can install more apps and bigger apps. However all the apps and data on the tablet are erased. So you will have to reinstall the apps.

      Delete
  50. Is there a way to download this fix to my tablet without having a PC? I only have my tablet and my phone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you can download the files with some kind of file manager to the tablet. But there is no way to update the firmware except through a computer. I suggest you find someone with a computer to help you.

      Delete
  51. I've upgraded the firmware and everything went smoothly. but now the tablet won't power on.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Using my experience to get Windows product key.
    Try it: www.aakeys.com
    After i used, my windows work great,hope can help you

    ReplyDelete
  53. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  54. Hello, I just followed your instructions using (a few different windows interfaces but all the same software) windows 10 and I now have a bit over 13 Gig available on my Nextbook 7. Thanks so much Peter. I'm not a Tech Geek by any means. I'm an old retired guy. If I can do it most others will be able to do it. Thanks again for the instructions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know this is an old post ... but hoping someone is still reading it. I've got this tablet and also a Windows 10 computer. Can someone tell me how I can update my tablet and get enough space to hold needed apps. I tried using a Windows XP machine and was not successful. I downloaded everything but not smart enough to know what to do with those files after download. I could only make it thru the end of step one ... after that was unable to follow to step two. Any help appreciated.

      Delete
  55. Hello seems I'm late too the party awesome insight on this page , I have downloaded all files . I did the first step fine as for the second , I'm not sure I have a scatter file program , or do I and not know it , I'm on win 7 64 . Seems when it comes to the scatter file section everyone starts loosing there way , I also tried skipping the step and it said scatter file not found not upset I'm patient and help would be grand at this moment

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scatter file is in the big 2gb firmware file.. under images/MT8127_Android_scatter.txt .. you must load scat file or it will not work..

      I'm also using win 7/64 .. Flash it with no problems..Had to try couple different USB ports but i got it.. Now have 13gb for apps.Tab works great..

      Delete
  56. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  57. plzzz file download link send me

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  58. Hi, i have hard bricked my moms nextbook 7 tablet. Please send me the correct firmware files to fix this problem.

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  59. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  60. the download link doesnt work please help me

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  61. Hi Everyone! I just picked up (now in 2018) a used NextBook NX700QC and am trying to update the firmware — the company website doesn't exist anymore... Any place else that I can obtain the files, etc.? Many Thanks!

    ReplyDelete