Hi!
I would like to apologize, if I was unable to find a matching thread for my problem. I am rather new to Android and have great respect for unlocking and modding my device, but would like to do so. I own a TF300TL and are stopped at the very beginning. I am unable to find the matching TWRP for the device and would like to know, which would be the correct file, as I am afraid, that I could easily brick my device. Perhaps someone has done this with a TF300TL. At the moment, I have not yet unlocked the bootloader.
I have installed the latest stock rom on the device.
Do I have to flash the TG version of TWRP? And I am unsure, if I need -JB, -4.2? It is very difficult to understand.
Regards,
Matthias
xcommy said:
Hi!
I would like to apologize, if I was unable to find a matching thread for my problem. I am rather new to Android and have great respect for unlocking and modding my device, but would like to do so. I own a TF300TL and are stopped at the very beginning. I am unable to find the matching TWRP for the device and would like to know, which would be the correct file, as I am afraid, that I could easily brick my device. Perhaps someone has done this with a TF300TL. At the moment, I have not yet unlocked the bootloader.
I have installed the latest stock rom on the device.
Do I have to flash the TG version of TWRP? And I am unsure, if I need -JB, -4.2? It is very difficult to understand.
Regards,
Matthias
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try going to the TWRP website then search by your device. The differences are clearly explained there. I have the 300 and I have the late July OTA, I beeline it's 10.1.6.25.1 ire something close to that. In any event I had to use the 4.2 version. Be sure to use the blob file and not the IMG file.
Sent from the Awesome Lone Star State where the law abiding carry guns and the criminals think twice.
Hello
I am aware that there isn't any warranty at all here that anything you do won't have negative effects on your phone. I've flashed quite a few roms on phones like the oneplus one, sony xperia sp, samsung galaxy core plus, nexus 5x, lg cookie, moto defy plus,... I've had tens of soft bricks, but never anything I couldn't recover from.
Anyways, I'm sick and tired of the laggy MiFavor UI on this phone, and would like to install CM13. I've an A2016G. I've seen some EU folk have issues with Tenfar's unlocking method, having hard bricked them since they can't get into a certain (EDL?) mode.
My question is this: if I read every thread and follow every step very carefully, is there a major risk my axon 2016G turns into a 450 euro paperweight? Is there perhaps another unlock method that's 99% secure?
Thank you
Jan
Hate to be that guy, but is there no-one with some knowledge around this?
Thanks.
Controllerboy said:
Hate to be that guy, but is there no-one with some knowledge around this?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me be the second guy, I'm amazed no one replied...
I'm in the same predicament; do I stay stock and use a great piece of hardware with crap software, or do I dare take the plunch and be able to make the phone as it ought to be at the risk of ending up with a very expensive paperweight...
What the hell did ZTE think when developing the A2017G model. And why is there after all these month no clear answer/procedure for this model. Is it that rarely used? How come there is no solution even though the firehose files are out there?
Hope someone finds a fullproof solutions soon....
Cheerz,
/Cacti
Verstuurd vanaf mijn ZTE A2017G met Tapatalk
I have the US model and I won't use tenfar's method on the phone for which it's intended. It's a questionable method
Unlocking your bootloader and Flashing CM13 is pretty easy and I don't really think there is much risk of permanently bricking your phone. However as of right now it really isn't worth the effort. I flashed CM 13 yesterday and it ran well, but the camera wasn't working so I decided to go back to the stock software. So unless you don't need the camera I'd skip flashing for now.
lag?
Controllerboy said:
Hello
I am aware that there isn't any warranty at all here that anything you do won't have negative effects on your phone. I've flashed quite a few roms on phones like the oneplus one, sony xperia sp, samsung galaxy core plus, nexus 5x, lg cookie, moto defy plus,... I've had tens of soft bricks, but never anything I couldn't recover from.
Anyways, I'm sick and tired of the laggy MiFavor UI on this phone, and would like to install CM13. I've an A2016G. I've seen some EU folk have issues with Tenfar's unlocking method, having hard bricked them since they can't get into a certain (EDL?) mode.
My question is this: if I read every thread and follow every step very carefully, is there a major risk my axon 2016G turns into a 450 euro paperweight? Is there perhaps another unlock method that's 99% secure?
Thank you
Jan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, where is this lag? I've been using it stock since I got it after the Note 7, which was very laggy, and have failed to notice any lag.
Zero lag here as well, buttery smooth at all times. Heads and shoulders above the Note 7 that I came from in terms of responsiveness and general performance.
Sent from my ZTE A2017 using Tapatalk
jawz101 said:
I have the US model and I won't use tenfar's method on the phone for which it's intended. It's a questionable method
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the US model, you can get an unlocked bootloader & all the trimmings without using tenfar's tool at all, although it's a bit more of a roundabout method.
Just unlocked mine working great.
Hi,
Just thought I'd add as I'm one of those who did end up in DFU mode permanently. I have a reasonable understanding of the issue at hand and I've been one of the few who have been vocal about not calling the current method safe of us.
My suggestion if you have a A2017G is not to bother using tenfar's tool unless you're willing to RMA or make use of your warranty. I'm not in a position where I can do that, but since most are there hasn't been much interest in a solution.
I don't have the firehose itself to begin working on fixing the issue, though I do have a rough idea of how do so using the partition table for TWRP but I don't think I have the time to learn how to put it all together myself. Particularly when I'm replacing my Axon 7 with a Mi Note 2.
What is needed is an unbrick tool, ZTE have made and released them for their own devices before, why they don't do that with Axon 7 is beyond me.
rendler said:
Zero lag here as well, buttery smooth at all times. Heads and shoulders above the Note 7 that I came from in terms of responsiveness and general performance.
Sent from my ZTE A2017 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must be using the US or CN model, because the EU model is laggy as hell. It's by far the laggiest ROM I used on a phone with high-end specs..
keessonnema said:
You must be using the US or CN model, because the EU model is laggy as hell. It's by far the laggiest ROM I used on a phone with high-end specs..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, using Chinese model with 128GB of storage.
Sent from my ZTE A2017 using Tapatalk
Just my 2 cents having unlocked the bootloader on my A2017G. I used tenfar's tool to backup the boot and stock recovery images and flashed the TWRP recovery and didn't run into problems fortunately. I wouldn't recommend to flash the rooted boot.img by tenfar until (hopefully) we'll have a unbrick tool for the G version.
My recommendation ----- On the G version don't mess around with the bootloader! ----- My recommendation
I've been able to unlock the bootloader on B03, reflashed stock recovery with tenfar's tool and successfully updated to B05 from the SD card.
If you want root I recommend to go the unlock bootloader - flash SuperSU 3.65 route instead of flashing the pre-rooted boot.img from tenfar with a locked bootloader as chances of things going haywire seem to be greater with the second method on the G version.
In case you have any reservations I definitely recommend to wait for a unbrick method of the G version before you try any of this. If and when such a method will come is undetermined at this point in time.
@lag of G version: Can't confirm that on B05, everything running smooth so far. There are a few graphical glitches though (stock browser displaying left side first und has sometimes trouble to show the content fullscreen.
Pull down notification bar has double lined icon text slightly cut off on the bottom once you switch to landscape mode and pull down the notification bar.
jawz101 said:
I have the US model and I won't use tenfar's method on the phone for which it's intended. It's a questionable method
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen this said a couple of times (or maybe it's just you in different threads, I don't know), but I don't understand it. By its very nature, rooting your phone is "questionable". Why is tenfar's method/tool any worse than any other method or tool? Do you have some technical insight to provide (and if so, please do so) or is it just an opinion based on nothing? I certainly don't have any issue with the latter, but I find it odd that people without any technical expertise speak as if they're an authority of some kind.
rczrider said:
I've seen this said a couple of times (or maybe it's just you in different threads, I don't know), but I don't understand it. By its very nature, rooting your phone is "questionable". Why is tenfar's method/tool any worse than any other method or tool? Do you have some technical insight to provide (and if so, please do so) or is it just an opinion based on nothing? I certainly don't have any issue with the latter, but I find it odd that people without any technical expertise speak as if they're an authority of some kind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably me and a few others. Ok, answer me these questions:
What does the tool specifically modify on the phone?
What is a "firehose mbn" anyway? Tenfar mentioned it is how it gains access to the phone. I don't know if that is a tool to do so or if it's a file that gets put on the phone in a more permanent chipset-level storage only meant to be altered by Qualcomm or phone manufacturers. I'm find with replacing a recovery, kernel, ROM- the boot.img or anything lower than that is closed source for a reason. Probably because it's talking directly to the hardware and code at that lower level can circumvent anything in a kernel, recovery or ROM.
Would it affect Snapdragon SmartProtect?
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/security/smart-protect
Why do virus scanners call it a Windows trojan if it's an Android hack?
Yes, I call it questionable because I have questions. Since the file is encrypted you can't answer those questions for me. All I can gather is everyone who has used it has basically said "I used it and it did what I wanted it to do so it must be safe."
---------- Post added at 10:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 AM ----------
@rczrider
Here are the posts in the thread by a security expert asking questions about the method.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=430010789
Here is tenfar's response to him
http://forum.xda-developers.com/axo...r-unlokced-t3441204/post68301899#post68301899
Here's a post from him on ZTEUSA
https://community.zteusa.com/message/50425
Here's a blog post he made about it
https://blog.onedefence.com/signed-firehose-images-and-why-theyre-dangerous/?pk_campaign=zte-forums
jawz101 said:
It's probably me and a few others. Ok, answer me these questions:
What does the tool specifically modify on the phone?
What is a "firehose mbn" anyway? Tenfar mentioned it is how it gains access to the phone. I don't know if that is a tool to do so or if it's a file that gets put on the phone in a more permanent chipset-level storage only meant to be altered by Qualcomm or phone manufacturers. I'm find with replacing a recovery, kernel, ROM- the boot.img or anything lower than that is closed source for a reason. Probably because it's talking directly to the hardware and code at that lower level can circumvent anything in a kernel, recovery or ROM.
Would it affect Snapdragon SmartProtect?
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/security/smart-protect
Why do virus scanners call it a Windows trojan if it's an Android hack?
Yes, I call it questionable because I have questions. Since the file is encrypted you can't answer those questions for me. All I can gather is everyone who has used it has basically said "I used it and it did what I wanted it to do so it must be safe."
---------- Post added at 10:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 AM ----------
@rczrider
Here are the posts in the thread by a security expert asking questions about the method.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=430010789
Here is tenfar's response to him
http://forum.xda-developers.com/axo...r-unlokced-t3441204/post68301899#post68301899
Here's a post from him on ZTEUSA
https://community.zteusa.com/message/50425
Here's a blog post he made about it
https://blog.onedefence.com/signed-firehose-images-and-why-theyre-dangerous/?pk_campaign=zte-forums
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, It would be nice if people would inform themselves about this but unfortunately this is the state of XDA now... so here we go
- Firehose is a protocol used to communicate to the qcom chipset directly at a level lower than OS. Since there are security measures in place, in order to talk to it you need a signed firehose withe a coresponding certificate that is burned into the SBL. This is what ZTE uses to directly flash the units at factory and can also be used at repair centers. Tenfar is in possession of such a file and his flasher utilizes it to write modified boot and recovery that would otherwise be discarded by SoC's security protocols. Since it's obfuscated code to hide the firehose plus in addition uses comm libs and code that probably reads and writes other files, it is no wonder it gets flagged by AV software. I had ODIN flagged by Avast once.
- The boot.img is not closed-source, it is actually kernel and ramdisk and can be unpacked so you can see what's inside. It can be compared to stock as well and in fact that is exactly what his are, patched stock boot images. The boot image has been patched in order to allow the modified boot img with root to boot since SecureBoot is still in place due to locked bootloader. In addition is modifies SE Linux to allow root to run. And that brings us to why this tool exists in the first place. It is to allow you to bypass SecureBoot and have root and was created in the period before unlock method was provided by ZTE. It is still the only method to use on non-US model. It is a hack tool by definition and has made development on this phone move ahead way further then it would.
- The security concerns raised were more along the line of how bad it is that the signed firehose is in the wild, not so much to what tenfars tool does or how it does it. The expert even wanted the firehose to be posted on the forum(SMH), which tenfar refused since he did not wanted it to spread and hence obfuscated the code. The signed firehose would present a security vulnerability if someone came in physical contact with your phone since they could dump data or load something on it without your knowledge, as pointed out on the sec blog and other posts, but it has nothing to do with whether you use tenfars tool or not.
- Smart Protect is an API feature that the an AV app would have to use, it exists in the SoC but does nothing on it's own so is irrelevant but i figured i'd clarify it (again)
Most either understand that or don't care. This is the XDA, where we break our warranties and bypass SafetyNet in order to have different emojis Thanks to tenfars tools i have noticed that ZTE has broken the FDE on their stock builds since TWRP was able to decode /data with default password even though it shouldn't. So in my book it's a net plus, at least i know how unsafe it is now.
xtermmin said:
On the US model, you can get an unlocked bootloader & all the trimmings without using tenfar's tool at all, although it's a bit more of a roundabout method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would that be this method?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/bootloader-unlock-t3437778/page1
And thank you @peramikic for the answer. I've been googling forever on the mbn stuff but never found much on what it exactly is save that it's a manufacturer's tool. This clears up a lot for me. My biggest concern was if an mbn was something that actually rewrites code on the chip itself. Sounds like it's just an external tool a manufacturer uses to put their image onto the phone.
jawz101 said:
Would that be this method?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/bootloader-unlock-t3437778/page1
And thank you @peramikic for the answer. I've been googling forever on the mbn stuff but never found much on what it exactly is save that it's a manufacturer's tool. This clears up a lot for me. My biggest concern was if an mbn was something that actually rewrites code on the chip itself. Sounds like it's just an external tool a manufacturer uses to put their image onto the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. The mbn itself is just a file format. In this case it has information about emmc partitions. It is also signed with proper certificate. That let's it talk to the chip and is pretty much just a low lever read/write interface.
As far as that method linked, it will work only if you are on the B20 release, US model only. The file looks for a particular build signature as well as partition signatures so it will not flash on anything else.
peramikic said:
No problem. The mbn itself is just a file format. In this case it has information about emmc partitions. It is also signed with proper certificate. That let's it talk to the chip and is pretty much just a low lever read/write interface.
As far as that method linked, it will work only if you are on the B20 release, US model only. The file looks for a particular build signature as well as partition signatures so it will not flash on anything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. At this point I think I'm too lazy to futz with downgrading, patching, then upgrading, and all that. Probably just go with the tenfar tool then 0_o
jawz101 said:
Would that be this method?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/bootloader-unlock-t3437778/page1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I used that method because I was already on B20, and my PC runs linux so :effort: to setup a Windows VM to use tenfar's tool. Using that (ZTE's official B20_Boot) and ZTE's official B20 image, you can have an unlocked BL and be on B29 without using tenfar's tool.
tl;dr: Whatever version you're on -> B20 -> B20_Boot -> unlock BL -> B20 -> OTA to B27 -> OTA to B29 (-> flash TWRP, SuperSU, whatever)
So I bought this head unit and i am looking to root it. I'm accustomed to XDA and rooting and I also found the russian forum that disscusses these head units but I'm lost. It seems mine is newer(?) or more up to date than im seeing. It says android 10.1(it seems to be really 9) and is API 27.
Things i see seem to be giving root for my device but downgrading it. Is there any assistance I can receive on this? Attached some screenshots.
Reckerr said:
So I bought this head unit and i am looking to root it. I'm accustomed to XDA and rooting and I also found the russian forum that disscusses these head units but I'm lost. It seems mine is newer(?) or more up to date than im seeing. It says android 10.1(it seems to be really 9) and is API 27.
Things i see seem to be giving root for my device but downgrading it. Is there any assistance I can receive on this? Attached some screenshots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so having the newer Android shouldn't be a problem as your unit type and MCU are right for modding.
I've successfully modded a similar unit only a couple of weeks back. Backup your current ROM by exporting the full memory dump, just in case of brick.
You start with installing TWRP recovery. Normally only version 3.0.2 will work. If not, try newer then older versions. One of them will stick.
After TWRP it's an easy ride. Install SuperSU v2.79 and if it doesn't work, try newer then older versions.
Now you can install Viper4Android. I suggest you stick to version 2.5.0.
Now just configure everything you need.
Ok thanks for the reply. I did some searching today on the forum after reading your post but all I see is flashing a whole new rom.
Is there a guide to just install TWRP to my current stock rom(I actually like it) and then the usual SuperSU to obtain root priveleges?
Reckerr said:
Ok thanks for the reply. I did some searching today on the forum after reading your post but all I see is flashing a whole new rom.
Is there a guide to just install TWRP to my current stock rom(I actually like it) and then the usual SuperSU to obtain root priveleges?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just posted this this guide that provides custom firmware and lots of improvements to YT9216BJ, that includes TWRP, SuperSU and much much more. You can of course stick with the stock firmware but there is an option of making your unit much more appealing
Hallo everybody.
I have a tab s3 with Android 9, firmware T825XXU3CTA1, and I hate it, too slow.
I would like to downgrade it to Android 8 or, if possible, even better to 7.
I boughy it via Amazon Italy
Which firmware should I download and, if I may, where can I?
I wouldn't like to root, but if needed I can do it.
See enclosed for more details.
Thank you and have a nice day.
tsolignani said:
Hallo everybody.
I have a tab s3 with Android 9, firmware T825XXU3CTA1, and I hate it, too slow.
I would like to downgrade it to Android 8 or, if possible, even better to 7.
I boughy it via Amazon Italy
Which firmware should I download and, if I may, where can I?
I wouldn't like to root, but if needed I can do it.
See enclosed for more details.
Thank you and have a nice day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just complete Steps 1-3 from my guide at:
Newbie-friendly: TWRP and Root for Samsung S3 Tablet
Tested SM-T820, for Android O. It is reported that it works for Android P as well, with small modification (see below). This post is designed to gather information found across this forum to give a step-by-step guide for obtaining a custom...
forum.xda-developers.com
(Note, I haven't recently downloaded the firmware, and the hosts for such things change frequently.)
hey there,
just a quick recap:
The phone is still on Android 7.1.1, I"ve got a script with ADB from 7to Forum through 4pda.to, got the custom TWRP working, but after getting root through flashing magisk, it got stuck on boot. After I got the official 7.1.1 zip, it is back on official recovery and I gave up... (Link to 4pda, which I got my inital files from - it is a link to google translate, so you could read, what it is all about
The forum here on xda-developers for Nokia 5 is really messed up and there is no real guide or any help which could help me out, I don"t know any valid source of official ROMs, there are no tools - nothing.
I planned to get on Android 9 with ROOT through MAGISK, so I"ve got a unlocked bootloader and wanted just update to Android 9, so I could install MAGISK through TWRP.
but none of that worked, I got only the unlocked Bootloader....
maybe someone could please help, I just don"t know where to start now - I have some knowledge about Android, because every single smartphone of mine got rooted (HTC EVO 3D, SAMSUNG S5, HTC MI8), as I love AdAway and Viper4Android, but this phone for a family member got me started..... This phone is brand new, never used, got it from the grandmother of my girlfriend, wanted to get it to work and give it to someone else in need of a smartphone, but I got stuck...
Thanks it advance
I've managed to update it to pie, with some obscure errors, but it works flawlessly, but I'm on 6.12 now, want to update it to 6.19, but it doesn't work through the recovery, but I'm on it.
Maybe I will write a little tutorial after all, for someone, who has also those problems like me - it is getting harder and harder to get things done on older devices...
Ubuntu_Man said:
I've managed to update it to pie, with some obscure errors, but it works flawlessly, but I'm on 6.12 now, want to update it to 6.19, but it doesn't work through the recovery, but I'm on it.
Maybe I will write a little tutorial after all, for someone, who has also those problems like me - it is getting harder and harder to get things done on older devices...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
write a little tutorial pls