How to Install Android on Your HP TouchPad Using OS X

This step by step guide will walk you every step of the way through installing Android (the latest version) on your HP TouchPad via your Mac.

1. Lets jump right in. First you’ll need to install Java on your Mac. If you’re using OS X Lion, head to this page, download and then install Java. If you’re using an earlier version of OS X, you probably already have Java installed. But you should double-check just to be sure – this page has the instructions (and it’s very straight forward). It’s likely that after Java has been installed you’ll need to restart your Mac. Do so now (might want to bookmark this page first…).
2. Now we’ll install the required drivers on your Mac. Head over to the WebOS Quick Install page and click the Download Here link to download the file WebOSQuickInstall-4.4.0.jar. Once the download has finished, navigate to your Downloads folder and double click the WebOSQuickInstall-4.4.0.jar file.
3. You’ll be promptly greeted with a ‘warning’ window explaining that you need to install the Novacom drivers. Click the Yes button.

   
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4. The driver download will begin.


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5. The ‘installation wizard’ will run as soon as the download completes. Click Continue.


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6. Make your way through the installer (just click “Next” a few times and enter your password when prompted). Once it has finished, click the Close button.


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7. A window should pop up saying Driver installed successfully. Click OK to close that window, and exit out of/quit the WebOS Quick Install application.


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8. Grab your HP TouchPad. Make sure it’s not plugged into your Mac and in the Just Type: bar, enter:
   

   upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart

   as one long string of text. Side note: If it looks familiar, it is in fact the Konami Code.

   Tap the Developer Mode button in the Launch field.


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9. Tap the Submit button.


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10. Developer Mode should now be set to ON as illustrated in the screenshot below. Exit out of the Developer Mode application.


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11. Now you’ll need to download a number of files. They can be found here, and save yourself some time by scrolling straight down to the Downloads: section of the page. The files you’ll need are:
    

    ACMEInstaller2 – which is labeled as New ACMEInstaller
    update-cwm_tenderloin-1012.zip – which is labeled as Clockwork Recovery
    moboot_0.3.5.zip – which is labeled as Moboot
    update-cm-9.0.0-RC0-Touchpad-alpha0.6-fullofbugs.zip – which is labeled as Alpha0.6 CM9 for Touchpad

    If you wish to have the Google Apps (Market, Gmail, Maps etc) installed, you’ll need to download and install them separately. Once you’re done with this guide, just follow the steps in the tutorial How to Install Google Apps on Your Android Device. Assuming you do want to install the Google Apps, download the file here and keep it handy.

12. Once you’ve downloaded all of the files listed above, plug your TouchPad into your Mac using the USB cable that came with your tablet. An ‘alert’ window will appear on your TouchPad asking you if you would like to put the device into USB Storage Mode – tap OK. Your tablet screen will turn into one large “USB” icon.
13. On your Mac open a Finder window. In the DEVICES column, you should see HP TOUCHPAD listed. Select it.


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14. Create a folder on your HP TOUCHSMART ‘drive’ titled cminstall. Copy the following four files into that folder: update-cm-9.0.0-RC0-Touchpad-alpha0.6-fullofbugs.zip, update-cwm_tenderloin-1012.zip, moboot_0.3.5.zip and Gapps ICS 4.0.3 11.12.22.zip (if you decided you want to also install the Google Apps – Market, Gmail, Maps etc). If you don’t want to install the Google Apps, the first three files are the ones you need to copy to the cminstall folder.


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15. Once you have copied the files, click the Eject button next to HP TOUCHPAD in your DEVICES list. Leave your HP TouchPad plugged into your Mac.
16. Now you’ll need to copy one of the files you downloaded to a specific folder on your Mac. Open up a Finder window and select “Your Hard Drive”. From there select the opt folder, then the nova folder and finally the bin folder. Locate the file ACMEInstaller2 (which you downloaded back at step #11) and copy it to the bin folder.


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17. Now you’ll need to restart your HP TouchPad. Navigate to your Settings and select Device Info.


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18. Tap the big red Reset Options button.


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19. Now you’re going to restart your HP TouchPad but also force it to start in a specific mode. Tap the Restart button and as soon as your HP TouchPad screen goes dark, click and hold down the Volume Up button on your tablet.


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20. This will force your tablet to start up differently, and a large “USB” icon will be displayed on the screen.
21. Back on your Mac, open a Terminal by going to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal. At the Terminal command prompt, enter the command:
    

    cd /opt/nova/bin

    followed by the command:
    

    ./novacom boot mem://

    
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22. A whole slew of text will start flying on your HP TouchPad’s screen. Be patient :)


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23. Your HP TouchPad will now boot into Android!
24. Going forward, each time you start your HP TouchPad, you’ll be prompted to select which Operating System you want to boot into – webOS or Android. Use the Up and Down Volume keys to scroll through the list, and the Menu key on your tablet to click. Note: boot CyanogenMod is the default – which is Android OS.
25. That’s it – you’re done! Again, we’ll have a tutorial up very shortly that shows you how to install all of the Google Apps that are not included by default. Have fun!