Database Users

Bootloader on OTA 2.3.4 w/root

Just updated to 2.3.4 and rooted. Atrix is locked, which is fine by me to AT&T. Looking to just unlock bootloader (so i can overclock) and run custom ROMS. Cant seem to find a process/guide for LOCKED atrix, just unlocked. Looking for a safe/non-possible brick method to unlock bootloader.
Tried: http://briefmobile.com/how-to-unlock-the-atrix-4g-bootloader to unlock bootloader and got an error....will edit and update with message in a bit.
CM7 is a ROM correct...?
Much thanks

If you did the OTA from AT&T you will soft brick when unlocking after you do the first flash. Re-enter fastboot and issue the unlock commands from command line. All will then be fine.
mranirezusa's script really simplifies this.
Yes CM7 is a ROM and an excellent one at that.

enomai said:
If you did the OTA from AT&T you will soft brick when unlocking after you do the first flash. Re-enter fastboot and issue the unlock commands from command line. All will then be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After doing the first flash, soft bricking, and then issuing the unlock commands should you flash a second time or is everything good to go? I ask because when I unlocked from 2.3.4 OTA, i didn't flash a second time, just issued the commands and then installed CWM + Alien.

dcarpenter85 said:
After doing the first flash, soft bricking, and then issuing the unlock commands should you flash a second time or is everything good to go? I ask because when I unlocked from 2.3.4 OTA, i didn't flash a second time, just issued the commands and then installed CWM + Alien.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, sorry for the confusion.

"mranirezusa's script really simplifies this."
tried to search for this...no results here on XDA.
attached is what I get when I boot to fastmode support and run the oem flash command:

leftshark said:
"mranirezusa's script really simplifies this."
tried to search for this...no results here on XDA.
attached is what I get when I boot to fastmode support and run the oem flash command:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must first flash pudding using RSD Lite 5.3.1
You can't fastboot oem unlock until pudding is flashed.
It is the first sticky in the Dev forum, give it a read.

leftshark said:
"mranirezusa's script really simplifies this."
tried to search for this...no results here on XDA.
attached is what I get when I boot to fastmode support and run the oem flash command:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871

[Guide] Rooting Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi and 3G Edition) [Newbie-Friendly] [ADB/Fastboot]

Information: If you're experienced with ADB/Fastboot or Manual Android Rooting, you could read this thread and see if you find something that seems wrong and report to me, thanks!
Introduction​Hello there!
I decided to create a new Nexus 7 Rooting Guide, I know that there are some guides already, but I have a few reasons to make this guide.
Unlike many rooting guides, this one doesn't use an automated program (a.k.a Toolkit) and it works for both Nexus 7 Wi-Fi and Nexus 7 3G.
This guide has been tested with a Nexus 7 3G Edition, running Android 4.2.1/4.2.2.
Last Topic Update: Never
Last Minor Topic Update: Check thread edit date!
Requirements:
Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi or 3G Edition)
Android SDK
ADB/Fastboot Drivers
Unlocked Bootloader
If you don't have ADB/Fastboot drivers installed, please check out this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1907796
See Basic Knowledge and Driver Installation parts.
If you have Android SDK and ADB/Fastboot drivers installed and working, you can continue reading.
Make sure you have USB Debugging enabled in your Nexus 7.
Don't forget to unlock the bootloader!
Warning: You're the only one responsible if something bad happens to your device!
Nothing bad is going to happen, but there is always a small risk.
Personally, I recommend having +60% of Battery during ROM Changes (Flashing and etc).
I also recommend you to learn how to do a Factory Image Restore (Flash Stock ROM) before attempting to root...
Rooting your Nexus 7​
To root our device, we're simply going to put in our tablet a small program called "SuperSU", you might want to download it now to your PC:
SuperSU v1.04
Basically, we´re going to put SuperSU in /system partition, the file you downloaded is a "Flashable ZIP".
We're going to use TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project) to flash the Flashable ZIP (In this case, SuperSU), after flashing SuperSU you get root privileges!
Now, go to your Android SDK Folder where Fastboot (fastboot.exe) is located (platform-tools), open a command prompt and change directories to your Fastboot location, if you need help just search on Google.
Now, you have CMD (Command Prompt) open with the Android SDK Directory, and we need to reboot your device into Fastboot mode, to do that just type the following:
adb reboot-bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're now in Fastboot Mode (a.k.a Bootloader), type the following to make sure you're in Fastboot Mode:
fastboot devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should see something like this:
Code:
> fastboot devices
# the following output should be returned
<device serial number> fastboot
Type "fastboot reboot" to reboot the device, then copy the SuperSU.zip you downloaded to your Nexus 7.
I also forgot to tell you to download TWRP, if you have the Nexus 7 Wi-Fi Edition, your board codename is Grouper, if you have the 3G Edition, your board codename is Tilapia.
TWRP for Nexus 7 [grouper]
TWRP for Nexus 7 3G [tilapia]
Copy the correct TWRP Edition to your Nexus 7, then boot into the bootloader.
Temporarily boot TWRP using the following command:
fastboot boot TWRP.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replace "TWRP.img" with the correct file name.
You can also flash TWRP instead of temporarily booting.
Inside TWRP click "Install" and select the SuperSU ZIP File, then Confirm Flash.
After flashing, reboot your device and you should have SuperSU installed. (Open SuperSU just to test)
Congratulations! You now have a Rooted Device!
To make sure you have rooted, download "Root Checker" from Google Play.
Conclusion​As you can see, this tutorial is a little different from others, I explained what we were going to do and also explained the commands instead of giving you directly the commands.
This tutorial was written to teach the basics of ADB/Fastboot, I hope you rooted your device without problems and learnt/learned something, have a good day!
Feel free to give suggestions or corrections!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.​

Just for newbies wondering what this really means:
1. install and boot into TWRP/CWM recovery means you boot up a 'mini' linux which can do whatever it wants(as root) to any of the partition on the device(including the /system one)
2. the supersu package contains 2 files(an APK and the more importantly 'su') plus some update scripts that (1) would run and copy them to the appropriate places(mainly the 'su' which is the only file that is critical)

I think you need to mention the bootloader unlock someplace.
Perhaps you can find those specific instructions in another good reference thread; but if not then, at a minimum you should put it in your prerequisites list.
In the narrative as it stands, you casually mention the other thread
[GUIDE] Flashing a Factory Image with fastboot / return to stock
but don't insist that your reader looks at that thread.
But the time for doing the unlock sequence follows the begginers first (fastboot) driver installation, so unless someone reads that thread pretty thoroughly, they will skip it in your description here, and will get stopped out at
Code:
fastboot boot TWRP.img
which needs the privileges of an unlocked bootloader. Since unlocking the bootloader currently entails performing a full-phone wipe, the consequences of that are pretty significant and shouldn't be skipped over.
cheers. Thanks.

bftb0 said:
I think you need to mention the bootloader unlock someplace.
Perhaps you can find those specific instructions in another good reference thread; but if not then, at a minimum you should put it in your prerequisites list.
In the narrative as it stands, you casually mention the other thread
[GUIDE] Flashing a Factory Image with fastboot / return to stock
but don't insist that your reader looks at that thread.
But the time for doing the unlock sequence follows the begginers first (fastboot) driver installation, so unless someone reads that thread pretty thoroughly, they will skip it in your description here, and will get stopped out at
Code:
fastboot boot TWRP.img
which needs the privileges of an unlocked bootloader. Since unlocking the bootloader currently entails performing a full-phone wipe, the consequences of that are pretty significant and shouldn't be skipped over.
cheers. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello!
Thanks for your answer, I completely forgot about the "Unlocking Bootloader" part, tomorrow when I get some time I will edit the thread...
Have a good day/night.
Edit: Added "Unlocked Bootloader" to the requisites list and a small note after "Make sure you have USB Debugging enabled in your Nexus 7", tomorrow I may edit the thread again.
Edit 2: I think the essential part is written, and because I'm a little busy, I will leave (temporarily) this thread. You're free to enhance this guide and re-publish it following Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

[Q]root before updating?

I just purchased a N7 yesterday, and it's supposed to arrive in a couple of days. I'm using a Mac OS computer and comfortable with ADB, so which is better: root first before updating the firmware, or update to the most recent version of firmare and then root? And which rooting method do you recommend with a Mac?
Thanks for your suggestions!

mj56gt said:
I just purchased a N7 yesterday, and it's supposed to arrive in a couple of days. I'm using a Mac OS computer and comfortable with ADB, so which is better: root first before updating the firmware, or update to the most recent version of firmare and then root? And which rooting method do you recommend with a Mac?
Thanks for your suggestions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would update first then root, and use wug's toolkit to help you through the process.

mj56gt said:
I just purchased a N7 yesterday, and it's supposed to arrive in a couple of days. I'm using a Mac OS computer and comfortable with ADB, so which is better: root first before updating the firmware, or update to the most recent version of firmare and then root? And which rooting method do you recommend with a Mac?
Thanks for your suggestions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally have done the following steps:
- I've rooted it first;
- installed OTA RootKeeper (to keep the root after updating - the app must be configured before updating firmware);
- I've updated the firmware to the last version.
I performed all those steps using my notebook which has Windows 7 OS, so for Mac OS I cannot make any recommendation.
I hope this helps you.

Thank you both for the suggestions! Is the Wug's toolkit for Windows OS? Any such toolkit for Mac OS or Linux system? Thanks!

Leonhan said:
I would update first then root, and use wug's toolkit to help you through the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good Dog. The OP said he had a Mac.
@OP
May as well do stock firmware upgrade first if it is needed.* On the rare chance that you get a device that suffers some kind of infant mortality - the device will be pure stock for the first little bit of operation (in case an RMA is needed). And the flashing operations which take place IF an OTA is needed will give flash memory a little workout.
Just bear in mind that the bootloader unlock operation will erase everything from /data (factory reset) when the "fastboot unlock" command occurs. So, if you operate the device as pure stock for a while, you will either need to backup stuff or regard your initial customizations as disposable.
fastboot methods are the most expeditious way to proceed on a Mac.
If you use TWRP 2.4.4.0 as your custom recovery, it will peek in /system to see if you are rooted and offer to root your device with SuperSU for you (just before you reboot from within TWRP).
The way I see it, the rooting procedure is 4 steps total:
(Note: use the "tilapia", not grouper recovery image if you have the 3G/LTE Nexus 7)
Code:
fastboot unlock
fastboot boot openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-grouper.img
... make a pure stock Nandroid backup
... reboot TWRP and it will offer to install SuperSU for you
(optionally: fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-grouper.img )
Those 4 steps above will leave you with Pure Stock + Rooted ; even the recovery on the tablet will be pure stock until you flash it there (optional step 5 above).
It's up to you to get the Mac SDK (for fastboot & adb) installed and figure out using command lines - search for that, don't ask.
good luck
* I thought I saw a report recently that someone had JDQ39 on a device purchased less than 4 weeks after the last update - your device may not need upgrading yet.

bftb0 said:
@OP
May as well do stock firmware upgrade first if it is needed.* On the rare chance that you get a device that suffers some kind of infant mortality - the device will be pure stock for the first little bit of operation (in case an RMA is needed). And the flashing operations which take place IF an OTA is needed will give flash memory a little workout.
Just bear in mind that the bootloader unlock operation will erase everything from /data (factory reset) when the "fastboot unlock" command occurs. So, if you operate the device as pure stock for a while, you will either need to backup stuff or regard your initial customizations as disposable.
fastboot methods are the most expeditious way to proceed on a Mac.
If you use TWRP 2.4.4.0 as your custom recovery, it will peek in /system to see if you are rooted and offer to root your device with SuperSU for you (just before you reboot from within TWRP).
The way I see it, the rooting procedure is 4 steps total:
(Note: use the "tilapia", not grouper recovery image if you have the 3G/LTE Nexus 7)
Code:
fastboot unlock
fastboot boot openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-grouper.img
... make a pure stock Nandroid backup
... reboot TWRP and it will offer to install SuperSU for you
(optionally: fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-grouper.img )
Those 4 steps above will leave you with Pure Stock + Rooted ; even the recovery on the tablet will be pure stock until you flash it there (optional step 5 above).
It's up to you to get the Mac SDK (for fastboot & adb) installed and figure out using command lines - search for that, don't ask.
good luck
* I thought I saw a report recently that someone had JDQ39 on a device purchased less than 4 weeks after the last update - your device may not need upgrading yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the detailed information and the kind help, bftb0! I really appreciated it.
I had a two-year-old version of Mac SDK, and only used adb before. Just finished grabbing the most recent version. I prefer command lines instead of button pushing. Once N7 arrives, I will start to have fun with fastboot...

bftb0 said:
Code:
fastboot unlock
fastboot boot openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-grouper.img
... make a pure stock Nandroid backup
... reboot TWRP and it will offer to install SuperSU for you
(optionally: fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.4.4.0-grouper.img )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more question. Is the first step (unlocking) necessary for the later steps such as root access? The reason I'm asking is that, unlike rooting, unlocking is irreversible, and would avoid the warranty.
Edit: I guess that the bootloader has to be unlocked to flash a custom recovery, right?

Unlocking is necessary to use fastboot commands and it's not irreversible as you can relock it with "fastboot oem lock" but if you want to unlock it another time it will wipe your device again. And if you flash recovery with fastboot then yes your bootloader must be unlocked but you can relock it after.

Nico_60 said:
Unlocking is necessary to use fastboot commands and it's not irreversible as you can relock it with "fastboot oem lock" but if you want to unlock it another time it will wipe your device again. And if you flash recovery with fastboot then yes your bootloader must be unlocked but you can relock it after.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great! Thanks a lot for the help...

Any chances to get root with a locked bootloader ? (w/o unlock bootloader)

I don't want lost my warranty and for many others reasons, i don't want unlock my bootloader. I see many people saying "you want root with a locked bootloader ? Unlock your bootloader !" To this people, i say "no". Why i would take the risk to cancel my warranty for that ? Many devices with a locked bootloader will be upgraded to lollipop. So this is my question, any chances to get root with a locked bootloader ?

Here And then go here

And in any case, it can be done, depending on what state your tablet is currently in.
I'm on Lollipop, rooted and still with a locked bootloader.
If you're already on Lollipop without a custom recovery, you may be out of luck or will just have to wait.
If you've got a custom recovery, or are still on KitKat, it can be done. See here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2945044
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using XDA Free mobile app

I was so ecstatic when I got the tablet, I ran the OTA to Lollipop before using towelroot.
I followed the steps using adb
The tools they provide using the root method through; pushing recovery.img from bootloader, etc. Worked well
I was really amazed how fast I upgraded, before I knew it, towelroot said "device is not supported" I about wined.
On lollipop (from immediately upgrading from Kitkat), and have root using the adb method
-to unlock bootloader (oem unlock)
-push recovery.img (provided in link)
-install the lastest SU from the recovery (CWM v6)
reboot
The steps to re-enable bootloader lock is simple
adb oem unlock
If anyone would like assistance I would be happy to help.

Root without unlocking bootloader

Hi,
I'd like to root my zenfone 2 laser (ze550kl z00ld). I've been trying to unlock the bootloader with the Asus app (version 9.0.0.3) for a few days but it fails every time as for many other users (can't post urls but several threads on asus zentalk forums). I can't find version 9.1.0.0 of the tool unfortunately. However, it looks like I could root the phone without unlocking the bootloader because I can use adb to reboot to fastboot mode (adb reboot bootloader from pc command line) as I have enabled developer mode with usb debugging and the computer is allowed on the phone.
Am I right to do this?
- download latest twrp recovery image for phone model (twrp-3.3.1-0-Z00L.img from dl.twrp.me) on computer
- connect phone to computer (linux OS) & reboot to fastboot mode
- flash twrp image via
Code:
flashboot flash recovery twrp-3.3.1-0-Z00L.img
from computer
- simultaneously reboot the phone from computer via
Code:
fastboot reboot
while simultaneously holding down the volume down key on the phone
- this should allow me to reboot into twrp recovery from which I can flash the supersu app zip dowloaded from supersu.com and copied from the computer onto the phone's sd card root
Does this seem correct to you? Is this likely to succeed or should I continue trying to unlock the bootloader?
Thank you very much!

DrWaste said:
Hi,
Does this seem correct to you? Is this likely to succeed or should I continue trying to unlock the bootloader?
Thank you very much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
You won't be able to install TWRP without unlocking the bootloader.
The official unlocking tool is very buggy, and pretty much useless since it never works.
I recommend you follow this unofficial method.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ze...de-unlock-bootloader-asus-unlock-app-t3405850
You should be able to unlock the bootloader in less than 5minutes. Just enable adb, boot into fastboot and run the code available in that thread, and it should do the trick.
After unlocking, then you can install TWRP and then Magisk, if all you want is to have root.

Hello,
FHC1998 said:
I recommend you follow this unofficial method.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ze...de-unlock-bootloader-asus-unlock-app-t3405850
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's something I don't understand. On the first message of that thread it says:
You MUST be rooted to use this method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can't work for me as my phone isn't rooted.
It says to follow other methods given in another thread to try to root the phone beforehand. I'd read all these threads before. There are three which give a guide to root the zenfone 2 laser ze550kl. One requires to first unlock the bootloader (feels like I'm going round in circles here...) and the other two link to a firmware patch which used to be hosted on mega.nz but aren't available anymore.
I'd love to go the easy way and unlock the bootloader first before flashing twrp recovery and then rooting, but it seems like that's just not possible because all the guides are obsolete, or am I missing something more subtle?
Thanks!

DrWaste said:
Hello,
There's something I don't understand. On the first message of that thread it says:
That can't work for me as my phone isn't rooted.
It says to follow other methods given in another thread to try to root the phone beforehand. I'd read all these threads before. There are three which give a guide to root the zenfone 2 laser ze550kl. One requires to first unlock the bootloader (feels like I'm going round in circles here...) and the other two link to a firmware patch which used to be hosted on mega.nz but aren't available anymore.
I'd love to go the easy way and unlock the bootloader first before flashing twrp recovery and then rooting, but it seems like that's just not possible because all the guides are obsolete, or am I missing something more subtle?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I recall correctly, the root part is only used to make the partitions backup with adb shell.
The bootloader unlocking part (the two line code that goes "echo ....") doesn't need it.
I used this tutorial a long time ago, so take this info with a grain of salt.
The problem is that this phone is almost 4 years old now, so most links are not being updated or dead.
So it might be worth a shot trying to run that code without root. (By my understanding, root does not alter the fastboot binaries, so it should not be necessary).
In any case, I might have a backup of a patched system IMG somewhere on my computer. I'll try searching for it and if I find I'll upload it to you.

Hello,
FHC1998 said:
If I recall correctly, the root part is only used to make the partitions backup with adb shell.
The bootloader unlocking part (the two line code that goes "echo ....") doesn't need it.
I used this tutorial a long time ago, so take this info with a grain of salt.
The problem is that this phone is almost 4 years old now, so most links are not being updated or dead.
So it might be worth a shot trying to run that code without root. (By my understanding, root does not alter the fastboot binaries, so it should not be necessary).
In any case, I might have a backup of a patched system IMG somewhere on my computer. I'll try searching for it and if I find I'll upload it to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I'll give a shot that way. If you do find the system image that would be cool.
Thanks.

Hello,
FHC1998 said:
If I recall correctly, the root part is only used to make the partitions backup with adb shell.
The bootloader unlocking part (the two line code that goes "echo ....") doesn't need it.
I used this tutorial a long time ago, so take this info with a grain of salt.
The problem is that this phone is almost 4 years old now, so most links are not being updated or dead.
So it might be worth a shot trying to run that code without root. (By my understanding, root does not alter the fastboot binaries, so it should not be necessary).
In any case, I might have a backup of a patched system IMG somewhere on my computer. I'll try searching for it and if I find I'll upload it to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, seems to require root to modify the hex value of byte 16 on the boot device (I presume that's what the command does, there's no man accessible via adb shell but that's what that dd command does on unix machines). I can't even, as normal user, list /dev/block or even /dev:
Code:
1|[email protected]_Z00L_63:/ $
count=1 seek=16 of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/devinfo <
dd: /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/devinfo: Permission denied
1|[email protected]_Z00L_63:/ $ ls /dev
/dev: Permission denied
Bummer, really hoped it would work. Back to unlocking the bootloader via the buggy Asus app it seems, or chucking the phone out of the window maybe...
Thanks for your help anyway :good: