Lenovo ThinkSmart
The Lenovo Thinksmart device is a nice Android tablet with a nice sounding speaker at an unbelievably low price (~$40 USD). https://amzn.to/3POGKW3
This set up is not for the faint at heart. You have been warned. I can give moral support but will not provide detailed help as this thing took a bit of my soul away in getting it to operate. Hopefully what I provide here will help lessen the strain on your life.
Special thanks to @mattmon and @endlessvoid on their work on this project and their help and listening ear while I got through this.
Find the original thread here with tons of useful information:
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/is-this-the-perfect-standalone-tablet-for-ha/658422
Start by watching this video. I'm setting the link at the install procedure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7CMizEOT-0&t=533s
Download the tools that he provides but DON'T use the ROM he provides in this package:
Once you have all the tools installed STOP before flashing the ROM using QFIL. Watch the video for that part so you are familiar with how to use it but instead use the files and the procedure set out from this forum post:
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/is-this-the-perfect-standalone-tablet-for-ha/658422/445
The file download link to the A11 ROM:
Here's a video I created showing how to set up the software needed to use with View Assist.
This video shows the actual flashing process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tiXUjK-hC4
From this point you should be booted into the tablet.
- Do not set any apps to autostart. I had issues where the device would fail to boot after making that change causing a bunch of extra work to get back to where I was before. Use Android app AutoStart Manager and use it to auto launch the applications you will be running
- Install Webview DevTools from Play Store. This will allow for proper display of CSS content
AND YOU KNOW, as soon as I rebooted this thing it went to that Lenovo screen again. I was able to get past it by restarting and banging on the back/home button as the Android interface showed and everything is back to working. This is a really strange bird.
UPDATE User @flab offers a suggestion:
Turning off auto connect in WiFi settings seems to solve the reboot to Lenovo logo issue. If you or anyone else does find themselves stuck on the Lenovo logo boot screen, you can get around having to do a factory reset by just leaving the device unplugged for a few minutes and then trying again. Leaving it unplugged seems to give more time in the lock screen dance described at then end of your linked wiki.
Additionally, I've found that after leaving the device unplugged you can quickly turn off the wifi and it will not crash to Lenovo. That may not be necessary either. Perhaps just unplugging for a few minutes is enough.
Multiple devices? You may need to change the MAC address on additional to avoid wifi issues
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/is-this-the-perfect-standalone-tablet-for-ha/658422/581
Watch this page for updates. The device has been really stable short of these boot oddities