Tuesday, January 17, 2017

How to convert a Dell Venue 11 Pro (5130) to Android

Disclaimer - this could cause data loss and render your tablet useless.  I take no responsibility for your data or system if you decide to try this with your device. This is no guarantee it will work on your device. Also this article is not an endorsement of any kind for the products or companies listed.

Early last year I received a Dell Venue 11 Pro (5130) tablet as a gift.  It had Windows 8 and even upgrading to Windows 10 I found it - well, not very useful.   Why you ask?  The applications I wanted to use work only on Android or IOS.  So hence another research project - this one took several months and then some!

I tried many versions of Android, Remix OS, 64 bit and 32 bit versions, dual boot options and design loads.  I will not bore you with all the iterations and failed attempts - trust me, there were many!

Remix OS for 32bit worked with dual boot and installing from Windows was straight forward using their install utility. The downfall, Wi-Fi would stop unexpectedly and usually in the middle of a movie, causing the family to look at me with a funny look. Most of the Apps seem to work, but first you have to side load google play using GMSActivatotr.apk.

Since the intense stares were increasing, I decided to go with a straight Android load and found a way to utilize the entire disk storage - there is a trick to get Android to recognize the entire disk storage rather than the default 4Gb storage.

What Worked and What You Need

  •  A USB Thumb drive
  •  The Android X86- 4.4-R5 ISO image
  •  Rufus 2.11 install utility

Steps to install: 

Disk format utility in Android Install
Storage greater than 4gb default
  1. Download the Android X864.4-R5 image to a windows pc.
  2. Download Rufus 2.11 to the windows pc.
  3. In the bios settings of the Venue Pro, you must turn off Secure Boot and ensure booting from USB is enabled.
  4. Run Rufus, and pick the Android Image.
  5. Pick the USB drive (be careful with this step not to pick your OS drive).
  6.  Format and install the image as an ISO.
  7. Boot from the USB drive on the tablet (either hit the fcn F12, or hold the volume down key after power-up to bring up the boot menu selection).
  8.  On the Android boot screen, pick install to disk (3rd option).
  9. Using the disk utility, Select Create/Modify partition, pick all the disk partitions and delete them (this will destroy any data, so make sure you have saved anything off the tablet, this includes anything in windows as you will wipe that off the tablet).
  10. Create a new partition. Pick a small primary size.  This is the trick I mentioned.  I made mine 1Gb in size.
  11. Create a secondary partition using the rest of the space.
  12. Write the new partition data, then quit the disc utility.
  13. Install Android on the second partition. Answer yes to all remaining questions. Format it NTFS (ext3 doesn’t work - the tablet just will not boot).
  14.  After it installs, it will ask about the size of the data.img file, enter the size of the second partition minus 1Gb for the OS size (this will take a while to write).
  15.  Once complete, Reboot and Android should boot up.

Summary

The only app I found not to work so far is the Time Warner TV app. All household automation apps, screen cast (I use localcast), HD Movies, Kodi and others all seem to work and update.

I hope this helps others out and shows open source can work.  Good luck!

Until next time - happy computing
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22 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 5, 2017 at 6:23 AM

    Hi there. I have the same tablet myself and I was wondering what I could do in case I wanted to reinstall windows after following your steps. Also, how's your battery life on android? Is the tablet able to enter some sort of sleep mode? Thanks in advance.

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    Replies
    1. TimFebruary 5, 2017 at 6:43 AM

      Hi and thanks for the question. Although I don't have a good answer on reinstalling windows, here are two thoughts.

      1) If you have windows already on the tablet, just shrink the HD size down (disk manager). They you create a second partition and install android on that partition.
      2) If you make a smaller partition on install of android initially, you should be able to then install windows from a thumb drive to the second partition.

      There are many articles on dual boot on google search.

      Battery life is ok. There is a sleep mode but it is not as good as I would like. I usually either just leave it plugged in, or shut it down. The boot is fairly quick.

      Good luck!

      Delete
    2. UnknownMay 24, 2017 at 6:04 AM

      I have just loaded Android onto a 5130. It works nicely apart from Bluetooth and the camera. Not sure if there are any other problems but these jumped out at me immediately. Did u get the same problems?

      Delete
    3. TimMay 24, 2017 at 7:03 AM

      Thanks for the question Roo. Yes Bluetooth didn't work for me either, and I didn't try the camera. Since this article, The system stop working with google play services, and most video streaming apps would not play video (TWC app as mentioned, but others as well). I tired all the new version of Android but all had the same issue with video streaming if they did load and boot. Since then, I have gone to a Firestick TV, Direct TV and Tablo TV 4-ch OTA box. So I reloaded with windows 10. Most of these services have a web app, and home automation I can control with Alexa, which also has a web app. I intend to write another how-to on this, just haven't had the time.

      Delete
  2. UnknownMay 24, 2017 at 7:25 AM

    I too have a 5130 and was able to get android working using your tutorial with the same issues on the streaming video services. I did a reinstall and formatted the drive ext3, my machine booted just fine, with the advantage of not requiring 10 hours to set up the drive image. With the new file system most of the streaming apps work for me. There are still some quirks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TimMay 24, 2017 at 7:31 AM

      Thanks William for your post. I could never get any version of ext format to boot. It would just sit at the flashing Android graphic. Wonder if that is a bios version thing? Did you use 32 or 64 bit version?

      Delete
    2. UnknownMay 24, 2017 at 9:16 AM

      I am using the 32 bit version. Bios version A16.

      Delete
  3. UnknownJuly 14, 2017 at 1:00 AM

    hello everyone . Thanks for the article. Pls i am having difficulty trying to install windows on my dell venue pro 11. i have created the bootable USB flash but it doesnt work at all as the system goes straight to windows even if it is configured to boot from the flash. What can i do please ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TimJuly 14, 2017 at 5:17 AM

      Hi and thanks for commenting. It is probably you don't have a 32bit image for flashing. Try this article.

      http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln291028/imaging-recommendations-for-the-dell-venue-11-pro--5130-32bit-?lang=en

      Delete
  4. UnknownDecember 10, 2017 at 2:20 PM

    I installed a Android x86 7.12 with 64bit UEFI on a Dell Venue X11 vPro wir Core i5 ans it worked. But I need an externe Keyboard for the installing. The wiki ist working.But it needs a little Bit patient for connection. The touch Seen is working too. But the mobile Internet is not discovered by the android. I fear, that the GPS is Not working too. Both Cammeras are working too. I created a 64 GB ext4 Partition for the android. WhatsApp can I do to make GPS and mobil Internet working too? The Bluetooth shims to work als but I had Problems to connect my Bluetooth keyboard.

    Gerd

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TimDecember 11, 2017 at 8:26 AM

      Thanks for the information! Happy Computing! tim

      Delete
    2. UnknownMarch 15, 2018 at 3:58 AM

      You should try the CM14.1. There on my Dell Venue 11 Pro with core i5 the blue tooth and the wifi is working. But mobil internet and GPS is not working.

      Delete
  5. UnknownJanuary 7, 2018 at 8:07 PM

    Thank you for the tutorial but I am having some trouble completing the image. I have deleted all partitions and am at screen where it says 58.2 free space and the Part# is blank. When I click new it says first sector. What do I input if I Want to get the 1gb partition? Size in sectors is next? Then it wants guid? None of this was mentioned in the tutorial and I am at a loss at how to proceed?

    Thanks in advance for any help

    Randy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TimJanuary 8, 2018 at 10:25 AM

      Hi and thanks for reading! It has been quite a while since I have done this so not sure of the exact values/method. I do remember dividing the total number shown at the top of the disk utility by the size of the hard drive. This will give you the bits per gig. Add that the start. This should give you the 1gig partition. Then be sure to format the second drive starting after the total. It was something like that.. Good luck!

      Delete
    2. UnknownMarch 15, 2018 at 5:16 AM

      I used Mini Tool Partition manager to split my SSD. That is free. I it. In the UEFI Bios I diabled seccureboot. I installed the Android with UEFI2 but without virtual mashine.

      Delete
  6. UnknownAugust 12, 2018 at 12:23 AM

    i have dell venue 10 in have install android 4.4.2 but after installation now need to install drivers how can i install dell drivers????? please help???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cdo.krApril 18, 2019 at 8:46 PM

      hey guy.
      did you success installed dell venue 10 in adnroid?

      i was installed, but not working touch screen action.
      please help!

      Delete
  7. emax4June 19, 2019 at 10:54 AM

    Sometimes you may have to reboot it once or twice in order to get it working. Alternatively, you can try one of those handheld keyboard/touchpad USB devices as well.

    I am installing and reinstalling it myself and am slowly getting the hang of it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CasperSKDecember 18, 2019 at 7:45 AM

    Hi!
    My Venue crashes when i press buttons. Is that a known issue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownMay 3, 2020 at 10:27 PM

      Can you google the error message(s) that come up if they appear? If no messages appear, it may be a board issue. Try reinstalling first.

      Delete
  9. UnknownNovember 16, 2020 at 12:21 PM

    Hi all, I've tried several times to install this on my venue and on XPS 12, but i've run into issues were some simple games won't load, and if i remove the usb (after the install completes) nothing works at all. Any thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TimNovember 16, 2020 at 12:42 PM

      Hi, thanks for commenting. Sounds like you did not install Android on the hard drive but running it from the USB drive? If you have secure boot turned on in the bios, the tablet will not boot at all. Not sure on what steps you took to install and your specific details. Since this, I have reverted back to windows 10 as the video apps stopped working on rooted devices.

      Delete

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