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Help Want to update Android 4.4.2 to 5.0

H

Hajji Abdoullah

Newbie
Hello,
I've a Chinese GPS which works under Android 4.4.2, and I want to upgrade it to the 5.0 Android version.
Device info:
- Brand: Zteng
- Model: ZT502
- Android: 4.4.2
- Build Number: WF-G1.500M.00E.40PIN480.20171011.RLPGDCV-EN.V11
- Kernel version: 3.4.67
- Storage: *(8GB) Ram: 512 Mb
- Root status: ROOTed (I have rooted it, and it contains the official ROM I didn't change anything)
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I have 2 problems:
1) For some reason, the device stores apps and pictures + all data in the space which should be for RAM, the device doesn't use the Internal Storage *(8GB). It stores data in the RAM space, because when I go to storage settings, it displays Internal Storage: (5.79GB Free of 5.79GB), and another space (Which should be the RAM) displays: Internal Storage (70Mo Free of 503Mo). In the description tells me that the apps are installed in the 503 MO storage space (Apps: 400+Mo). and on the other space which should be for the main storage (8GB) it tells that it's totally free?!
2) I want to upgrade the Android version from 4.4.2 to 5.0 or +. But I saw in YouTube and in some Forums that I should access to the recovery mode to wipe data and etc. The problem is that there are no VOLUME BUTTONS on the device, the sound commands are displayed in the screen, and the only button that it contains is the On/Off button. I tried to search on the web and I found a way to access the recovery mode using the Command Prompt of Windows (PC). But this allows me only to access the recovery mode and not to scroll and surfing the menu because this needs the VOLUME BUTTONS.
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- My questions are:
1- Is it possible to Upgrade this device to Android 5.0 ?
2- Is it possible to resolve the Storage problem ? (it maybe because of the default writing disk isn't setup)
3- Is it possible to scroll in the recovery mode totally without Volume Buttons?

I hope you can Understand what I need, and it will be very appreciated if I receive a fast reply.
Thanks !!
 
1 - It's only possible to upgrade the device if the manufacturer has released an update. If no update is listed when you go into the system settings and check for them, or if you've not found an official update image from the manufacturer (plus instructions on how to install it, but it's finding the firmware that's key) then no, you can't update it.

Android updates are always model-specific, so unless an update had been built for this device (not some other device using the same chipset, or some other device from the same manufacturer, but this particular model) there is nothing you can do.

2 - I don't understand how you infer that apps, photos etc are being stored in RAM? Although flash storage is sometimes referred to as "flash RAM" (mainly in old documents) it's completely different from actual RAM, so you cannot actually store things in RAM (RAM is volatile, so anything stored there would be lost if the device was shut down). The system would never describe RAM as "internal storage", and the Storage settings don't tell you anything about RAM usage, so I don't think this second area is RAM at all. But I do think your device has an unusual storage setup.

Historically Android used separate partitions for storing apps and their data and for storing user files (called /data and /sdcard - the second name is itself historical, and it did not refer to an actual SD card!). This model was replaced in Android 4 with a "unified" model, where these 2 partitions were replaced by "virtual volumes" which shared the same partition (but had different access permissions, so e.g. you still need root in order to browse the "/data" partition where apps live). But some budget Chinese manufacturers stuck with the 2 separate partitions for years after that was deprecated, which makes me wonder whether your device is one of those? If so the only mystery would be why photos would not be stored in the user-accessible partition. If you've space for a tiny app, there's an app in the Play Store (if your device has that) called "Storage Truth", written by one of our moderators. If you install that, run it and tell us what it shows it might help understand your setup.

Unfortunately it won't allow you to change anything. But if that is the setup at least you'll understand what's going on, and maybe we can work out how to move photos to somewhere sensible.

3 - Does your device's recovery mode work with a touchscreen? If not, and if you really have no other controls apart from a power button, the probably not. It might be that the manufacturer stuck a recovery module in because Android requires it (in order to do a factory reset from the Settings or, ironically, in order to install updates) but didn't think about the fact that it could not be used directly by the user should they need it.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your reply and time, Hadron;
I want just to tell you that the apps are installed in the 503 Mo space, which should be reserved for RAM. And when this storage space is almost full a warning displays and tell me that it's not possible to store more data. but the other storage space isn't affected by that (it still always free).
- The recovery menu is not a touchscreen responsive. It doesn't response to any command on the screen, so the only way to use it is by Volume buttons :)
- I installed the app you told me and it displays as follows:

/System:
size: 755.9 MB
used: 608.8 MB
free: 147.1 MB
/data:
size: 503.0 MB
used: 432.4 MB
free: 70.6 MB

***- More Info, also the app says:
Your actual operating system also uses other storage areas, not shown, for your audio hardware and other secure functions. All app information is stored under the /data partition, and apps you add or update are installed to /data/app. Simulated internal and actual external SD cards are not shown.
The number of displayed in the title bar indicates the size of your internal storage area, which may be less than specifications due to formatting (i.e., just like a PC's hard drive).

Device info:
Android 4.4.2
Device: zteng27_tb_c_kk
Model: ZT502
Maker: ZTENG
App version: v1.5
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1- When I bought the device, they said in the website that it contains 8GB as an Internal Storage, and 512 Mo as a RAM. But here the app says that in the data partition there is only 503 Mb as a size. In your opinion, how can you explain this?
2- When I go to the Settings>About Tablet> SystemUpdate it tells me to choose a .zip file and paste it somewhere in the device (See the screenshot) So there is no way to check the updates automatically.
3- For the Manufacturer of the device, I searched the net and I didn't found some brand named ZTENG, but in the meanwhile, Google displays a lot of results about ZTE, may it be the same or what ?
Screenshot_2021-01-30-12-37-26[1].png

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And thank you for your answer !
I'm waiting for your reply !
 
1 - I can explain it by saying that the /data partition is not the RAM.

/data is the name of the internal storage partition where apps and their private data are stored. And when the /data partition gets short of space you will get that warning: on the oldest devices the threshold was 10% of the /data partition size, which would be about 50MB on your device.

So I'm afraid that this confirms my guess: your device is still using the old Android 2 style storage model. The storage device is 8GB in size, and it's been split into multiple partitions, including /system (where the ROM lives), /data (as described above), other system partitions such as /cache, /boot and /recovery (not shown by this app) and the 5.79GB partition that's probably intended as user storage (and probably called /sdcard). The fact that the RAM (512MB) is similar in size to the /data partition (503MB) is a coincidence, nothing more. They are completely unrelated, the RAM is a separate chip based on a different technology and is used for something entirely different.

2 - OK, so this device doesn't support over the air updates. My guess is that /sdcard is that 5.79GB partition and /sdcard2 is the actual removable SD card (though not offering over the air updates is highly non-standard, still using the original android storage model at least 4 years after it was deprecated is highly non-standard, so I'm not going to place bets against their being other "quirks" in this device).

3 - ZTE are a big Chinese company, and trade under that name. I have never heard of ZTE marketing their devices as ZTENG, and it may bee that some backstreet outfit decided to use a name that might make buyers think they are ZTE (I can be very cynical about business practices of both small Chinese outfits and global tech companies, though in both cases I'd say with good reason ;)). Curiously I did find a spec sheet for one ZTENG device, which even used the model number ZT502. However the specs are quite different from your device, so either this site is inaccurate or they re-used the same model number for different devices...

So whether you can update it will depend on whether you can track down the firmware, which doesn't look that hopeful. It's very likely that the company has long gone, and even more likely that they have never produced an update for any device they released. That's normally the way with these off-brand devices.
 
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