Unlock/Bypass VZW LG G2 (VS980) Boot Loader - G2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey all,
Now that there is a monthly snapshot of CM11 out for the G2, I am looking forward to trying it out, but I am googling and confusing myself regarding what the latest and most effective way to unlock the bootloader on the VZW G2.
I am already rooted and have been for some time.
I have found some old guides from September on how to install loki and TWRP, but I am not sure if they are still current, and th ebest way to do things. These forums are great but sometimes they amount to a little information overload finding the right info.
Ideally, I'd like to go with clockworkmod rather than TWRP. If I flash loki to my phone, will I be able to install Clockworkmod using the ROM Manager app? What is the best and most current way to do this?
Thank you,
Matt

Bump?
Noone has a link or any information regarding what the latest way to bypass the bootloader and install recovery is?

You can use Freegee from play store since you are rooted. Gives you the option to install lokified Cwm or twrp with the touch of a button. I used it with no issues.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Related

CWM recovery

Ok so I got my AT&T S4 successfully rooted using the guide I found on here that uses the Motochopper tool. Root Checker verified I am indeed rooted. But that's it. I'm only rooted to the stock ROM. Nothing custom. Now how to I go about getting a CWM recovery thing on my phone, while still maintaining the stock ROM?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
On the play store, download goo manager (for twrp) or rom manager (for cwm) to install a custom recovery. Don't use either app to do anything but just install the recovery. Once it's installed, boot into recovery and make a backup, even if you're planning on staying stock. Cheers
Step 1. Go to the development forum and read about how to do it.
Step 2. Know how to do it.
Step 3. Do it.
I need more basic. I mean I know CWM means ClockWorkMod, but I don't know what that means. I also know that CWM is more popular than TWRP (I don't know what TWRP stands for) because the rom manager app has tons more downloads in the play store than the goo one does. What is a recovery mode and why do you need one? I mean if I screw up I can just use Odin to flash the AT&T stock ROM back. I wish someone would post a link to a ROMS for Dummies page.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
If I were you I'd be happy that your rooted and now find out what that means to you and what you want to do with a rooted phone. You don't need a custom recovery if all you're interested in is being rooted. And if you mess up, Odin back to stock may not be an option. You may permanently hard brick your phone. So really decide what you want to do with the phone before you proceed any further.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
feetr2c said:
I need more basic. I mean I know CWM means ClockWorkMod, but I don't know what that means. I also know that CWM is more popular than TWRP (I don't know what TWRP stands for) because the rom manager app has tons more downloads in the play store than the goo one does. What is a recovery mode and why do you need one? I mean if I screw up I can just use Odin to flash the AT&T stock ROM back. I wish someone would post a link to a ROMS for Dummies page.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you really should have read and understood this first: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2301762
These guys are correct and trying to help you avoid a brick. If you are not aware of the basics start reading. Even if you are experienced at flashing on another device.
I had extensive experience on HTC phones and feel like a noob here, but getting better. But I have read over a thousand posts, at least, and dozens of how to videos since early may. And only feel comfortable now to flash a custom rom. Not ready yet as phone stock is pretty good for me atm. And would prefer an unlocked bootloader first. I only rooted and flashed a recovery about a week ago. May be a little slower than some, but never got into a problem I couldn't get out of on my HTC phones using the same learning process.
If you come back with specific questions where they know you have researched things they will gladly help. Googling some of the terminology is a good idea too. Had to do that when I first started flashing roms. A different language for sure.
Good luck and enjoy the phone and the rooted world.
In my experience with the S4 CWM does not work as well as TWRP. I had many issues installing a few custom ROMS with CWM, but as soon as i loaded TWRP those ROMS which wouldn't install would install properly. TWRP also was able to read my ext SD when it was formatted in exFat.

[Q] Remove TWRP without flashing stock?

Sorry if I sound like a total noob here, but is there any way to remove TWRP without flashing the stock firmware? I came from a DROID RAZR, which had safestrap, where we could remove custom recovery at will with that app on the phone. Can ADB remove TWRP similarly as to how it put it there? Thanks for the help.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Wow, this got buried fast. Can someone just say "no" if that is the answer?
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
imhowie said:
Sorry if I sound like a total noob here, but is there any way to remove TWRP without flashing the stock firmware? I came from a DROID RAZR, which had safestrap, where we could remove custom recovery at will with that app on the phone. Can ADB remove TWRP similarly as to how it put it there? Thanks for the help.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you want to remove it? Do you want to flash CWM? If so you can flash CWM over the top using Flashify.
The main reason would be to receive an update from LG like when the release the 4.4 builds.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
imhowie said:
The main reason would be to receive an update from LG like when the release the 4.4 builds.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used flashify to make a backup of the stock recovery and then flashed TWRP. If you haven't already flashed TWRP look into making a backup of stock.
However, though those of use rooted LG G2 users may not be able to update over the air, we should be able to use our computers and USB connection to manually install the 4.4 release at some point after the 4.4 update goes live. I'm new to LG - long time Galaxy owner - so maybe I'm wrong about that and someone with more LG experience can correct me.
I haven't had an LG phone before either, so I don't know. Can someone who has had an LG phone before please enlighten me/us as to how you would go about applying LG updates when you have a custom recovery? That's where this question really came from.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
jkeats20 said:
I used flashify to make a backup of the stock recovery and then flashed TWRP. If you haven't already flashed TWRP look into making a backup of stock.
However, though those of use rooted LG G2 users may not be able to update over the air, we should be able to use our computers and USB connection to manually install the 4.4 release at some point after the 4.4 update goes live. I'm new to LG - long time Galaxy owner - so maybe I'm wrong about that and someone with more LG experience can correct me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if the recovery is universal across non-verizon devices?
If so, would you mind posting a flashable version of yours? I'm a bonehead and flashed twrp before backing up my original...
Sent from my LG-D803 using xda premium
dirt_squirrel said:
Do you know if the recovery is universal across non-verizon devices?
If so, would you mind posting a flashable version of yours? I'm a bonehead and flashed twrp before backing up my original...
Sent from my LG-D803 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if the recoveries are universal - would be reluctant to share my AT&T with you and find you messed up your phone trying to restore. You might want to post this request in a separate thread.

Need advice on TWRP for Sprint on Android 4.2.2

I am looking to install TWRP on my wife's newly acquired LG G2. I have already rooted it using ioroot22.
I am looking at using adb to install TWRP. Is this recommended? I have seen some things about the newest firmware not being Loki friendly, and needing to downgrade the about or some such.
I just want to make sure I am using the best and most current method.
I have searched both here and elsewhere, but I am still confused. In a nutshell, I want to know:
What is the best method for installing TWRP?
Do I need to downgrade anything first?
What is the easiest way to do this?
I have rooted our previous phones [EVO 3D, one with a locked bootloader and one with an unlocked bootloader), my friend's Droid RAZR, my current Note 3 and my Tab 3. So I'm not entirely new at this. But I haven't used add since my 3VO (wife got the unlocked one). I'm hoping to avoid it if possible. If not, well, I haven't PERMANENTLY bricked any phones so far, so I'll go that route.
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Also, should I just wait for the KitKat update for the G2 to even start messing with my wife's phone?
Edit: used FreeGee app, no adb. EASY and headache free.
Mods please close thread. Sorry.
Sent from my JellyBombed Not3 using xda premium 4 mobile app

Root Exploit for Tmobile LG G2 Kitkat

Have updated my Tmobile LG G2 to Kitkat and want to debloat it (as I actually like the LG UI). However everything I google about Rooting just links to Kitkat being available but not how (or if) you can root it.
I assume that IORoot22 will only work with 4.2.2, and vroot/kingofroot don't work either, so does anyone know a way to do this?
Thanks in advance
This should be in the Q&A section
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk
Learnerspermit said:
Have updated my Tmobile LG G2 to Kitkat and want to debloat it (as I actually like the LG UI). However everything I google about Rooting just links to Kitkat being available but not how (or if) you can root it.
I assume that IORoot22 will only work with 4.2.2, and vroot/kingofroot don't work either, so does anyone know a way to do this?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is currently no way of rooting T-Mobile's Official KK update.
your best option at the moment is to flash back to 4.2.2 via KDZ > Root + Custom Recovery > Flash SmiLey's Stock KK ROM ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2664652 ) > Flash SuperSU zip before rebooting (Recovery will be lost after reboot).
or wait until an exploit is found, there are at least 3 threads discussing this exact thing in the G2 General Section
edit: This thread seems to be the most promising so keep an eye on it (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2667227)
TheCoutures said:
This should be in the Q&A section
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the Q&A section
if you want to keep recovery there is a guide here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2673736
Learnerspermit said:
This is the Q&A section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must have been moved it was originally in the Dev Section.
Okay, I somehow rooted my tmobile LG G2 with Kitkat, ran for awhile than did something (don't know what) that removed okay google function from home screen and slowed the google search to a snails pace.
So, like an idiot, I thought I'd just put it back to stock with the D80120a.KDZ. rebooted and restarted everything. BUT the phone still shows rooted in download mode, but rootchecker says I'm not rooted. Also tried to run SuperSU but it says no binary and won't load. Tried Flashify (to try and flash the SU zip) but it also said I couldn't flash because I'm not rooted.
So I ran LG R&D, none of my phone info shows - ran upgrade trying to return it to D80110c/g, but each time it says I'm current and nothing happens.
Have googled every possible search and can't find a fix.
No longer have recovery, because of the stock flash... So I'm in dire need of assistance. Can anyone help me?

[Q]Want GPE, but can't get custom recovery - Help please! :(

Hey guys... Before I get into this, I would like to say that i'm very new to this whole rooting thing, so please forgive me for my lack of knowledge on various terms and such, and I'm a first time user here at xda.
What's written below might get a little bit complicated so i will try to make it as detailed as possible. Please bare with me here.
So I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 sgh-i337 (AT&T) running on android 4.4.4 (with touchwiz, you guys know the deal). I really wanted stock android lollipop, because I really like the look and feel to it. When I decided to root the phone, I went through many tutorials and I tried many different methods, and none of them worked. The phone still worked fine, but SuperSU was not installed and Root Checker said the phone was not rooted. After scouring the internet, I found one tutorial that had my S4 type and the same version. At that point I realized that my android version was hindering my rooting process. The tutorial used Odin to flash a kernel (NC1), root the phone using towelroot, install SuperSU, (Root Checker too to check if it worked), and then flashing the original kernel again (my original kernel was NJ4). After following this process, my phone was rooted, and everything worked fine.
As I said before, I wanted a GPE ROM, and so I needed a custom recovery. I decided to install CWM, since most GPE ROMs used this specific recovery. Again, I followed many different tutorials, and after each and every one, I would try to go into Recovery mode, and it would just launch the stock recovery. I found another tutorial on another website that involved flashing the recovery from an app in the google play store, so I decided to try it out. I now regret this as it led to more problems. I followed these instructions, and when launching into recovery mode from that point on, I get the yellow triangle with the error message "System software is not authorized by AT&T"
Sure, I could get around it by going into download mode from there, canceling, and it would reboot like normal, and the phone still worked, but I needed to get ride of that error message.
Once again doing my research, I figured out that if I flash a stock firmware specific to my phone, it will reset the phone (the only stock firmware available has android version 4.2.2, which is a really popular version, and is compatible with most custom recoveries and ROMs, so I decided to flash the firmware, as it would also change the version back, right?) When I flashed it using Odin like the directions said, it failed. i then figured out that it failed because my binary counter is not 0. I looked into resetting the binary counter for the AT&T S4, and I found Triangle Away. However, in order to reset your binary counter, you need an unlocked bootloader, and the AT&T S4 (sgh-i337) has a locked bootloader (I don't want to use Triangle Away if it's going to brick my phone, i'd rather unroot and keep touchwiz than brick). In the process of finding this out, I also figured out that the only custom recovery that you could use on a locked bootloader S4 sgh-i337 is SafeStrap. But i heard when using SafeStrap you are limited as far as ROMs go? Would I be able to get a GPE 5.0 Lollipop ROM with SafeStrap? Cause if not I might just unroot using SuperSU and software update my phone (will that fix the error when trying to get to Recovery mode?) Also, if I install Safestrap, will it fix the error message?
Again, sorry for my inexperience in all of this, and thanks for staying with me here. Any help and additional information on what I should do (or any GPE Lollipop ROMs I should use that are compatible with my phone and version and such), as well as any links to tutorials are greatly appreciated (also, keep in mind that all of the vocab I know when rooting is used in this post, I am not aware of most other terms - again, forgive me).
You wrote a lot but I'm not sure what state your device is in right now and what you want to do. But as you've found out, safestrap is the only custom recovery you can use. And touch wiz based roms are the only ones you can use. Afaik there are no 5.0 custom roms you can use at this time.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
jd1639 said:
You wrote a lot but I'm not sure what state your device is in right now and what you want to do. But as you've found out, safestrap is the only custom recovery you can use. And touch wiz based roms are the only ones you can use. Afaik there are no 5.0 custom roms you can use at this time.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, thanks for the help! The phone currently works fine, and it is rooted, but when I go into Recovery Mode it gives me the yellow triangle with the error... Will installing SafeStrap fix that? Regardless, thanks for the help, really do appreciate it!
jd1639 said:
You wrote a lot but I'm not sure what state your device is in right now and what you want to do. But as you've found out, safestrap is the only custom recovery you can use. And touch wiz based roms are the only ones you can use. Afaik there are no 5.0 custom roms you can use at this time.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, if i were to update the phone to the next version (i heard there is a way to bump the S4 up in android version) would that reset the error in Recovery Mode? And I also heard that with SafeStrap, you are limited to ROMs on the same android version as the one on your phone? I really like 5.0, but if it's not possible to get it as the moment (and I haven't found any 5.0 ROMs for the sgh-i337 yet - you were right) i might just unroot using SuperSU and just update my version, unrooted and all. I'd rather have my phone be nice and clean than to have root on it with a corrupted recovery mode, and not make use of the root at all (I've seen other ROMs and I prefer 5.0). I might just try to make the phone feel as close to stock as possible by using more google apps and such (keyboard, messages, etc.). Regardless, thanks for the help and additional input, really do appreciate it!
EvilLemon said:
Also, if i were to update the phone to the next version (i heard there is a way to bump the S4 up in android version) would that reset the error in Recovery Mode? And I also heard that with SafeStrap, you are limited to ROMs on the same android version as the one on your phone? I really like 5.0, but if it's not possible to get it as the moment (and I haven't found any 5.0 ROMs for the sgh-i337 yet - you were right) i might just unroot using SuperSU and just update my version, unrooted and all. I'd rather have my phone be nice and clean than to have root on it with a corrupted recovery mode, and not make use of the root at all (I've seen other ROMs and I prefer 5.0). I might just try to make the phone feel as close to stock as possible by using more google apps and such (keyboard, messages, etc.). Regardless, thanks for the help and additional input, really do appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend you flash the nb1 tar file in Odin. That'll bring your device to like new. Then you can let it ota nj4. There are root methods for nc1 and nj4. See this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=56453100
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
jd1639 said:
I would recommend you flash the nb1 tar file in Odin. That'll bring your device to like new. Then you can let it ota nj4. There are root methods for nc1 and nj4. See this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=56453100
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much! I followed the instructions and now my phone is back to normal, Recovery mode and all! Really do appreciate it, thanks!
EvilLemon said:
Thanks so much! I followed the instructions and now my phone is back to normal, Recovery mode and all! Really do appreciate it, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. I'm glad you got it working again
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

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