Hey Guys,
I just bought my second Android phone and again I want to root this device to get rid of the Huawei bloatware and/or install plain vanilla Android (is there already a custom plain vanilla rom for this device?) but all the unlocking bootloader and rooting tutorials use Windows tools.
Is there a way to root this phone using OSX/MAC? Is there also a way to install the most basic form of Android on this device using OSX/MAC?
I am not the most knowledgeable as a lot has seem to have changed since my last Android device. many thanks!
If you are able to unlock the bootloader, you can flash TWRP (fastboot flash recovery twrpname.img) and then flash Chainfire's SuperSU From recovery to root you phone.
I'm not sure that fastboot commands are the same as Windows, but I think so
Related
Hey folks.
So i'm actually a galaxy nexus user and i was showing my lil bro android out.
he loved it and went out and bought a second hand atrix 4g .. it's ATT version.
its running 2.3.6 / 4.5.141.mb860.att.en.us... phone is not rooted i checked with rootchecker and to my knowledge i don't think it is bootloader is unlocke however it is sim unlocked. not sure if this was done via remote code or some other method.
after reading around in the dev and gerneral forum i have a few questions.
how do i unlock the bootloader on this things safely from 2.3.6?
where can i find CWM that is safe to flash on 2.3.6?
is there anything i should be aware of that is different from flashing a gnex?
thanks in advance. just a lil scared to brick this thing as it feels like this device is pretty locked down from reading brick horror story threads.
Honestly, I'm not sure if it would be the same procedure after the latest update, so I'll let someone with better insight answer that one. Rooting should be the first thing that you should do, it is fairly straightforward and you can find the method with ease, as far as the recovery goes, the Atrix is supported by Koush, so you can find CWM Touch to flash through fastboot on the clockworkmod website.
The relative order in which you should do things is:
-Root the phone (optional)
-Unlock the bootloader
-Use fastboot to flash a new recovery (Latest from Koush will work)
-Flash a new ROM.
The horror stories that you read of bricking are people who keep using RSDLite like a toy, when it isn't meant for consumers to use freely. NEVER use RSDLite to downgrade your OS, it's a guaranteed hard brick for all intents and purposes
I would flash Romracers current recovery atrix 5. Flashing some ROMs or gapps will not work with touch recovery. I have never had an issue with Romracers recovery.
CM9 v7
Unlocked SIM,
& Bootloader!
ok so where can i find a safe root method and where can i find rom racers recovery? is rom racers recovery different then cwm?
The only way currently to root a phone on 4.5.141 is to use the fastboot method. The procedure and files can be found here:
http://briefmobile.com/motorola-atrix-4g-root
As for unlocking, I've been told that the old method for 4.5.91 works on 4.5.141. It can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871&highlight=unlock
Romracer's recovery can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1204500
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
gjjh25 said:
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you will need to unlock to flash custom zip, but u can relock after
gjjh25 said:
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question - why? What do you want to root your phone for if not to use the wonderful tools of root. Why do you think fully rooting your phone will harm something. Locked or unlocked bootloader is not going to affect your phone. Rooted stock rom with recovery will not make it act funny.... Sorry not putting you out there but just asking why? Feel free to ignore me if you must...
Edit: Sorry to answer your question like the post above said you can root and then lock it right back up if that is your preference
playya said:
Question - why? What do you want to root your phone for if not to use the wonderful tools of root. Why do you think fully rooting your phone will harm something. Locked or unlocked bootloader is not going to affect your phone. Rooted stock rom with recovery will not make it act funny.... Sorry not putting you out there but just asking why? Feel free to ignore me if you must...
Edit: Sorry to answer your question like the post above said you can root and then lock it right back up if that is your preference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have come from an HTC Desire, which I rooted and had a custom rom (Cyganonmod) on and was very happy with it.
I am still not sure of what I would gain by doing the same with my Nexus 4 ?
any advice is much appreciated.
Is this new Cyganonmod installer the best way to go?
gjjh25 said:
I have come from an HTC Desire, which I rooted and had a custom rom (Cyganonmod) on and was very happy with it.
I am still not sure of what I would gain by doing the same with my Nexus 4 ?
any advice is much appreciated.
Is this new Cyganonmod installer the best way to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone is built for rooting and modding. You wont know what benefit you have until you either read up and see if the mods are ones you want or actually flash a rom. Sure try the CM installer but if you dont toolkits or just basic knowledge of android can get this phone roooted in minutes.
the CM rom on your HTC will give you the same benefits on your Nexus 4
playya said:
This phone is built for rooting and modding. You wont know what benefit you have until you either read up and see if the mods are ones you want or actually flash a rom. Sure try the CM installer but if you dont toolkits or just basic knowledge of android can get this phone roooted in minutes.
the CM rom on your HTC will give you the same benefits on your Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, what do you recommend for the easiest way to unlock and root then?
gjjh25 said:
Thanks, what do you recommend for the easiest way to unlock and root then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a toolkit but honestly you can unlock manually by just booting into bootloader mode. Go into development and try Wugs Toolkit.... Rooting the phone is easy and all methods are relatively the same.
I do not see anything wrong with giving CM a try as well
gjjh25 said:
Is it possible to just root my phone?
if so how do i do it?
All the posts I have seen go into unlocking and then rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend you to stick to your original plan, its your phone, do what you like, you don't need to flash custom roms if you don't want to. I am using stock kernel and stock KitKat right now and the performance is excellent.
Follow these instructions to unlock bootloader, install latest kitkat factory image, install custom TWRP recovery, and root. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2010312
The links to fastboot package and driver required is in my signature.
Link to download factory image: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
Link for latest TWRP: TWRP recovery
Link for latest SuperSU package: SuperSU package
After you do all that, in bootloader menu, you can flash back the stock recovery (recovery.img), which is location in the "image-occam-******.zip" of the factory image. (fastboot flash recovery recovery.img)
Then lock your bootloader by "fastboot oem lock". You can also use BootUnlocker to lock and unlock your bootloader on the fly while in the phone, without losing your data, since everytime you do fastboot oem unlock, it will wipe the entire device.
By using stock rom, stock recovery, stock kernel and temporarily unroot (SuperSU) or hide root (SuperSU paid version), it allows you to receive future OTA updates from Google. If you want to modify your phones more while staying with stock, read up on Xposed Framework and its module Gravity Box, which is not yet compatible with Android 4.4 but will be eventually.
Just remember if you don't have custom recovery, once something goes wrong and your phone can't boot, its very hard to save the data inside. Once you have custom recovery like TWRP, you can make a backup of your stock image (which also backup your stock kernel) and try out other custom roms and easily go back to stock, then you can flash stock recovery again to receive OTA updates.
Thanks for advice everyone.
I rooted and unlocked with Wugfresh over the weekend. A lot easier than I thought it would be
Searched a lot of forums and couldn't really find anything.So basically the problem is I rooted my nexus 4(Using Kingo Android root) and everything went quite successfully.I saw the bootloader screen and the menu came up,etc.However once I installed some applications which require super root access It gave the error "The phone is not rooted" so I downloaded a root checker and it also confirmed this.However I can access the Android recovery if I hold the right keys and there is an unlock icon when I boot up my phone.Not really sure why this is happening.
p.s:I'm not really used to the technical jargon as I am a relatively new user to android.
Thanks
Omegao said:
Searched a lot of forums and couldn't really find anything.So basically the problem is I rooted my nexus 4(Using Kingo Android root) and everything went quite successfully.I saw the bootloader screen and the menu came up,etc.However once I installed some applications which require super root access It gave the error "The phone is not rooted" so I downloaded a root checker and it also confirmed this.However I can access the Android recovery if I hold the right keys and there is an unlock icon when I boot up my phone.Not really sure why this is happening.
p.s:I'm not really used to the technical jargon as I am a relatively new user to android.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you have Superuser or SuperSu on your phone. Do you have busybox installed? Do you have a custom recovery installed? Personally I never heard of the the toolkit you used. I used Wugs when I did mine
playya said:
do you have Superuser or SuperSu on your phone. Do you have busybox installed? Do you have a custom recovery installed? Personally I never heard of the the toolkit you used. I used Wugs when I did mine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm I don't know if I have Superuser,I got a notification when I attempt to use applications which require superuser access stating I do not have superuser access.Also no I did not download any of the above applications as they all require root access which my phone( for some reason) says I don't have.Which is the main problem.
I can access that screen where there is an android having open-heart surgery(Is that the bootloader?)
Thats pretty much it.I didn't install any additional software after rooting it with that.And tbh the only reason I used that is because it was a one-click root process
Toolkits are pretty useless. All that is needed to root a nexus device is to unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recovery (technically optional), use custom recovery to flash supersu.
The unlock icon means bootloader is unlocked, do you have a custom recovery yet such as TWRP or clockworkmod?
Omegao said:
Umm I don't know if I have Superuser,I got a notification when I attempt to use applications which require superuser access stating I do not have superuser access.Also no I did not download any of the above applications as they all require root access which my phone( for some reason) says I don't have.Which is the main problem.
I can access that screen where there is an android having open-heart surgery(Is that the bootloader?)
Thats pretty much it.I didn't install any additional software after rooting it with that.And tbh the only reason I used that is because it was a one-click root process
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
none of them are truly one click and rooting this phone is not that difficult. To be honest if you have a problem following rooting instructions for a Nexus may I say rooting may not be for you and quit while your a head. If you used a toolkit you might be able to download Superuser from playstore and test your root.
DrFredPhD said:
Toolkits are pretty useless. All that is needed to root a nexus device is to unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recovery (technically optional), use custom recovery to flash supersu.
The unlock icon means bootloader is unlocked, do you have a custom recovery yet such as TWRP or clockworkmod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lets be honest toolkits are useful for most that need a little help. For more advanced users of course its an issue. Flashing a recovery would still require downloading of software and understand adb slightly.
DrFredPhD said:
Toolkits are pretty useless. All that is needed to root a nexus device is to unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recovery (technically optional), use custom recovery to flash supersu.
The unlock icon means bootloader is unlocked, do you have a custom recovery yet such as TWRP or clockworkmod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if I have.But when I hold certain keys when turning it on it does bring an interface which says clockwork something at the bottom(Maybe the mod?)
on Samsung devices, all I have to do is flash TWRP recovery using Odin, and then go to recovery and it has the option to root the device for me.
On nexus 4, I have to ready a whole thread using root toolkit and something like that.
why is it so difficult to root nexus 4?
Are all nexus device this annoying to root?
You can use a million kits on any device, doesnt change the fact there's only a few real steps:
unlock the bootloader
boot a custom recovery
flash a superuser zip
If you want, you could make using odin require 47 different toolkits to get the same thing accomplished.
Rooting nexii is about as easy as it gets, but sometimes you just want to make things more complicated.
If anything I'd say samsungs are harder to root since you have to use odin, it's samsung specific.
Fastboot isn't device specific, it's just that some companies like samsung intentionally remove/disable it on their devices.
It's very easy to root the n4
Unlock the bootloader
Fastboot flash the twrp image file
Flash super su zip in twrp
That's it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
stop looking at root toolkits. they make it sound like they make
e it easier, but many times its not the case.
the right way to root a nexus, any nexus. its easy. in a nutshell..
1. connect your device to fastboot and type.. fastboot oem unlock
thatll unlock your bootloader.
2. now with fastboot, flash a custom recovery.. fastboot flash recovery recoveryname.img
3. now using your new custom recovery, flash the latest SuperSU and reboot.
4. root(profit)
Coming from a Nexus 5 I'm curious about LG's flashing/rooting methods.
With a nexus I had the option of easily unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery, and rooting the device. All of this was done thru adb fastboot after installing the proper drivers. I'm reading a lot about LG's flash tool in g2 and g3 forums, Most zip files such as gapps or flashing a newer radio could be installed thru recovery or adb followed by a reboot on my nexus 5.
For those of you that have G2 T-Mobile devices or a G3 of any region is it as easy as a nexus device to root/install/unlock bootloader or is it more complex? I'm considering getting one in the coming weeks.
tarroyo said:
Coming from a Nexus 5 I'm curious about LG's flashing/rooting methods.
With a nexus I had the option of easily unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery, and rooting the device. All of this was done thru adb fastboot after installing the proper drivers. I'm reading a lot about LG's flash tool in g2 and g3 forums, Most zip files such as gapps or flashing a newer radio could be installed thru recovery or adb followed by a reboot on my nexus 5.
For those of you that have G2 T-Mobile devices or a G3 of any region is it as easy as a nexus device to root/install/unlock bootloader or is it more complex? I'm considering getting one in the coming weeks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
g2:
root is simple just use ioroot(this roots using adb sideload and stock recovery) if on jb(also works on kk but not for t-mo g2) or towelroot(only way to root t-mo g2 on kk)
for recovery on kk we use autorec app while on jb we use adb
we don't have a way to fully unlock bootloader but we have loki patch so we can flash roms and kernels
flash gapps is only necessary when using aosp roms and basebands(radio/modem whatever you want to call it) can be flashed from recovery
g3:
root is simple with ioroot(this roots using adb sideload and stock recovery)
no way for custom recovery yet a few obstacles have to be overcome first(two boot partitions/locked bootloader/etc)
like mentioned above locked bootloader which means no custom kernels for now
no aosp roms and no recovery for flashing baseband
I do know with g3 there are custom roms like 2 or 3 and they use stock recovery to flash and other complicated stuff(have not looked into it)
I don't think it is as simple as doing stuff with nexus but I have never worked with one before so I can't compare