Category: Technology

After Lenovo’s latest update for the Tab S8-50 (TABS8-50F_141103), the ro.sf.lcd_density value in the build.prop file changed from 240 to 320. A comparison screenshot can be seen on the right. Click the image to view the larger version.

The two major differences between the two settings of 240 and 320 are the dock placement and, most importantly, the sheer size of everything.

1. Dock placement: On the 320 setting, the dock is no longer at the bottom of the screen but the right side of the screen. In the 240 setting, the dock is located at the bottom of the screen.
2. Size: Everything (icons/text) is much larger on the 320 setting. This might be better for people that have trouble reading small text. However, based on what I have read online at the Lenovo Forums, it looks like the increased setting results in some GUI glitches as well. You can read more about it here.

To change the ro.sf.lcd_density value back to its original value of 240, the Lenovo Tab S8-50 needs to be rooted. Rooting instructions can be found here. The root file can be found in this forum post.

Once everything is rooted, you can use a file manager like Root Browser or ES File Explorer to edit the system/build.prop file. Look for ro.sf.lcd_density=320 and change the 320 value back to its original value of 240. Don’t forget to make a backup of build.prop before making any changes.

Original build.prop: http://jyong.ca/files/Lenovo Tab S8-50 141103 build.prop
SHA1 of text only (not file): D54B5A5B63334AC22020CE4728080C4257C91C28
Note: There should be 113 lines in the file. If there are 112, the 113th line should be a line break.

Update (10/29/2015): Alternatively, you could run adb and use the following command: wm density 240 (add adb shell in front of it if needed) to set the dpi. This will NOT affect your build.prop. If you mess up, you can use: wm density reset. Credit goes to pdinc on the Lenovo Forums (last post on the page).

All credit goes towards the original posters and developers.

Recently, one of the voip.ms servers (Chicago) was experiencing high packet loss. As a result, my analog telephone adapter (ATA) was unable to register with their server which, in turn, resulted in our home phone connection going down.

After doing some Googling, I’ve found that it’s possible to set up failover servers in the Obi110 (credit goes to: obiliving). Please note that this only solves OUTGOING calls. If the point of presence (POP) for your phone number goes down, there’s nothing you can do until voip.ms redirects traffic from that server. You could potentially change your phone number’s POP to a different server but that would involve utilizing their API or logging into their Portal area to change it manually. (more…)