RFinder B1 Classic, B1+ (14) rooting. - Android Software Development

RFinder B1 Classic, B1+ (14) rooting. - Android Software Development

EDIT: Instructions for updating the ROM are in the third message and they work for everyone, rooted or not.
This is specifically for the RFinder B1+ with 6 GB of system RAM and 128GB of built in ROM but with or without the First Responder designation or Band 14. It will likely work with all three RFinder B1+ radios as they use the same MediaTek chipset.
***THE B1 CLASSIC ROOT METHOD IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT***
***I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU DAMAGE OR DESTROY YOUR DEVICE***
***I AM ALSO NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU VIOLATE FCC RULES OR WHATEVER THE EQUIVALENT AGENCY US IN YOUR COUNTRY***
In a nutshell, if something goes wrong, it's up to you to fix it. Though there are very few ways to brick the RFinder, keep in mind it's also a two way radio, so don't blame me if yours falls apart, you burn yourself on an exposed part of the antenna, the family cat runs off, you manage to summon security on their local DMR channel, or if it gets stuck in an infinite loop showing sample Pac Man footage.
For those unfamiliar, there are a few combo radio and Android units. The RFinder B1+ is one of them. I see no advantage to rooting on the radio side; most amateur radios offer you as much access as you need. AnyTone offers access to *everything*, they're completely unlocked. Motorola Solutions (not the Motorola seen most often here) keeps strict control of what you can access. Analog only devices vary but have a lot of access through the program Chirp.
Now that we've worked out you're here to root the Android part instead of the radio, let's dive on in.
Here's what I used:
A laptop running Windows 11
My Moto G7 (Mobility, not Solutions)
A typical USB-A to USB-C cable
ADB tools
MediaTek drivers
Magisk 23
The latest RFinder firmware, which can be found here:
Index of ./B1-Plus-APKs/
While there you may need to grab the latest APKs. Towards the end of this post I'll explain a bit about DMR and analog radio, this will help you understand what the B1 does and if it's worth the investment ($1,600 currently) to you.
Please be patient, it may take a couple of tries to download the firmware.
I don't see a need to change the recovery. If you have other ham radios with you, you will likely have a computer as well which can be used to reflash the ROM to the radio if need be.
First, back everything up. Files and whatnot can be backed up to SD cards, radio info is to be backed up to the cloud. Install the latest firmware (this will include the ROM) as per RFinder's instructions. It takes a little digging to find it. My B1 has the firmware I linked to, so I used that. With the latest firmware installed, shut the B1 down and either charge it or attach a fully charged battery.
Over on the G7 (you may use any phone that runs Magisk Manager 23) I extracted boot.img from the downloaded firmware. You also need to extract vbmeta and lk.bin (depending on your preferences). lk.bin can be added to clean up the boot screen. I used a blank vbmeta intended for a rooted Onn 10.1 tablet, but it's better to use the one that comes with the firmware.
Next I patched the boot.img with the Magisk Manager 23 on my rooted G7 and took note of the file name. I have several patched boot images for different devices, no need to risk flashing the wrong image and possibly turning my radiophone into a light bulb.
Then I hooked up the laptop to the phone. ADB tools are in the most basic directory I could make: c:\adb. I put the patched boot.img in there. You'll need to copy vbmeta and lk.bin as well. I disconnected the laptop from the G7 and hooked it up to the B1, then started the B1 normally. Windows 11 recognized it immediately and installed the drivers. I enabled developer options (settings->system->about phone, then tap build number several times) and enabled OEM unlocking through Developer Options.
Next I unhooked the B1 and rebooted it to the super simple MediaTek bootloader by holding power and volume UP together for a few seconds. I followed the on screen prompts to get into fastboot mode.
With the laptop and the B1 connected, I went to C:\adb on the laptop, right clicked, and opened a terminal. This may be listed as open PowerShell or command prompt depending on your version of Windows.
For the next part, we're telling certain programs to do certain things to certain partitions within the radiophone with certain files. Imagine giving someone a command: "Fastboot, please flash the boot partition with the boot.img. file." That's the flow of each command.
The first command was to verify the laptop and PC could communicate, so I typed (without quotes)
"fastboot devices"
The RFinder put a number up on the laptop screen. All good so far.
Next
"fastboot flashing unlock"
This unlocks the bootloader and frees up every bit of storage on the radio's installed ROM storage.
Next, without quotes or parentheses, I typed "fastboot flash boot (whatever Magisk named the patched boot image).img
Last was "fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img"
At this point if you want to patch the lk.img file and have that nice, clean battery warning specific to the B1, patch it in a hex editor, put it into the ADB folder, and type:
"fastboot flash lk (whatever you named the patched lk.img).img
If for some reason you want to re lock the boot loader,
"fastboot flashing lock" should do it. I left mine unlocked.
Once that's done, reboot the B1. You can power cycle it or type
"fastboot reboot"
That will either get it booted to Android 9 or into a boot loop. If it boot loops, re check your work and try again. Worst case scenario you can flash the respective files from the firmware you downloaded, start with vbmeta, though!
The last step is to install Magisk Manager 23. It should recognize the Android part is rooted.
You can use a later Magisk or even a different root solution. I used 23 because it's the latest one I'm familiar with.
Now... just what exactly does this oversized, bulky piece of hardware do?
Most any radio, your cell phone included, has to connect to a central point and identify itself to be allowed to use that connection. For a cell phone, we call that a "tower", for ham radios, it's called a "repeater". Shocking idea...they both do the exact same thing: take in information and then repeat it either over the air or via physical connection (backhaul for cell, network for radio) so that other devices can receive it. Some radios can talk directly to one another without all of this.
When your radio connects to a repeater, it also sends certain information to activate that repeater. Both analog and digital modes require this, but the digital identification carries more information.
Enter DMR radio. An analog repeater has one or maybe two "channels". A DMR repeater accesses a network called Brandmeister or sometimes DMR_MARC which contains thousands of channels known as "talkgroups".
In either case, someone has to program those ID signals and the desired channels into the radio. No two repeaters are exactly the same, but someone with a lot of patience can set the radio up to automatically access each repeater on a long trip much the way a cell phone roams from tower to tower.
Most programmable two way radios have to have all this info entered at least once by hand. The B1 does it automatically.
Aside from that, there are obvious advantages to an amateur radio operator with a single device that can serve as their cell phone, their handheld radio, and possibly even their wallet. There's also an advantage to being able to simply switch out a dead battery for a charged one, the B1 is offline for perhaps a minute while this is done rather than being captive to a power bank and cable for an hour or two.

OK, post #2. I like to put my ham and GMRS call signs on my radios' boot screens, and I hate that orange mode warning, so a good place to put change that is in the lk.bin file.
Dumb skull moment #1: fastboot flash lk onn_10_lk.bin (should have flashed the B1+'s lk.img, not some bin file from a cheap tablet...oops!)
Dumb skull moment #2: fastboot reboot.
Step 3: Enjoy my new $1,800 brick. Smartphones ain't cheap!
I went through the same steps I normally would to unbrick a Walmart tablet because the chipsets are almost identical. Bob designed a next gen B1+ and added some lifesaving features to a few of them for first responders, then ran a batch or two with the better hardware but no access to US cell band 14 for the rest of us. In the end, we got a good ham radio with a solid cell phone as the front end and batteries that absolutely devastate what would normally be in the phone.
Here's the catch: the RFinder B1+ flash memory is formatted a little different than a standard MTK 6765. The scatter file used in the ROMs doesn't play nice with SP flash tool because of this. This is actually fairly common among different radio models, but before now I've had to do some soldering to repartition a handful of AnyTone units. What I did was grab a generic MTK 6765 scatter file and compare it to the B1+. I changed line numbers and memory addresses on the generic file to match the RFinder official ROM, but left the generic file structure intact. I double checked my work and it matched up. Next I loaded it into SP Flash Tool and hit download without the B1+ hooked up. It stalled where I expected it to. A quick driver update, some frustration with Windows 11 (I said the magic words a few times), then back to Windows 10 because that laptop is working still... another driver update and presto! The radio swallowed a stock lk.img faster than I wolf down steak and taters.
Another warning: on the B1+, if you need to use SP Flash Tool, only use the "download" function and untick ALL the boxes except just what you need! If you're hacking up the scatter file, one mistake can soft brick the radiophone, but if that mistake isn't on a partition you're flashing it won't matter.
Anyway, back to hackin' devices and yakkin' on the radio!
-73

ROM updating:
If you open the RFinder HAM app and go to "Advanced Settings" it may prompt you for an update. If it's updating the app itself, follow the on screen instructions.
If it's updating the ROM, follow the instructions to download the file, then STOP. Back everything up including the radio memories, then unmount any SD cards you have, power down, and remove them from the radio.
Re attach the battery to the radio and charge it fully. Once it's charged, unplug the USB and remove the radio from the cradle.
ROOTED USERS ONLY (all others skip to "ALL USERS"):
Get the radio into fastboot mode and connect a USB cable. Locate the downloaded zip file that matches the ROM you have, unzip it into a folder on your PC that's easy to find, and then use fastboot to flash *stock* files from that zip file into the radio to replace any files you've patched or modded. Specifically you'll need the boot.img and the vbmeta.img and they MUST match the ROM currently in the radio. Open a command prompt, then change to the directory where your fastboot is installed. I recommend you put the official vbmeta and boot files in this directory.
"fastboot devices" and wait for your B1+ to show up.
"fastboot flash boot boot.img" where boot.img is the official boot image that matches the one in the radio. Double check your typing, then hit enter.
"fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta" Again, you need to be sure it's the matching official vbmeta.img. Double check typing, then hit enter.
Double check everything.
"fastboot reboot" Your B1+ will boot back into Android.
Go to Settings -> Reset Options -> Erase All Data, then read the text and hit "Reset Phone".
Alternately you can reset from the B1+'s Recovery Menu (power +vol down IIRC, if not try power +vol up).
Sideload the Magisk app. Again, I used 23, which is older but it's the one I understand best.
ALL USERS:
Plug in a live USB cable (preferably to a USB power outlet, not a computer).
Go to settings -> System -> About Phone -> System Upgrade. Click that and choose update from local storage, then choose the update file the radio downloaded or that you received from the customer support team. Follow the instructions. The radio will shut down. You may have to power it up manually. It'll go into a mode that looks like recovery, then it'll say it's updating. If something isn't right the update will abort and generate an error message. If everything is OK the update takes around five minutes. The first reboot hangs on the tower splash screen for a while, so please be patient!
Non rooted users are done. Hooray!
ROOTED USERS:
Once the update is finished, go to your fastboot folder on the PC and replace vbmeta with the empty one you used with the old *rooted* boot.img.
Unpack the new update file, copy it to the radio's internal storage, and use Magisk to patch it. Copy the patched file back to your PC, preferably into the folder with fastboot.
Get the radio into fastboot mode and connect it to your PC with a USB cable.
Use fastboot the same way you did above except this time, flash the patched boot.img and the empty vbmeta.img.
Double check everything you just flashed, then type "fastboot reboot" and hit Enter.
Once the radio loads up, download a root verification app and run it. You should get a superuser request. Hit grant, read the root checker output, and voila!
Next find the RFinder HAM apk and install it. Ideally you should have a backup of it, if not, get it from RFinder.wiki.
Make any other mods you need to make, then reinstall any SIM and SD cards, update the RFinder HAM and IMEI apps if necessary, restore your memories into the RFinder HAM app. Reload your other apps, restore any backups they have, re grant root access as needed, and you're done.

B1 Classic rooting.
If you got hold of one of these, you're in for a rough ride. If it's got the latest update, version 25, you have your work cut out for you. The best way to get hold of the ROM is from Bob Greenberg with RFinder support. RFinder has an official and an unofficial Facebook group and a Zoom channel. Bob is proactive in contacting people who post with issues in either of those groups. He has a number of beta roms available as well as beta RFinder software. Serious, go sign up and ask.
If you're NOT on 25 or you'd care to chat via Zoom, things are a lot easier.
I started with a B1 classic from a silent key That operator was part of a Jeep club out of Oregon and for whatever reason they sold off his B1 Classic as part of the estate.. That's a term of respect for a ham operator who has passed on. Obviously if the person had a startup PIN on the device, it soft bricks when hey pass on unless someone knows it. You also have the FRP lock to deal with, however, this operator had either logged out of Google before he passed or never logged in.
Here's what I did:
To remove the startup lock, shut the unit off and remove the battery. Cherge the battery it its cradle (the B1 Classic will not charge via USB). Reinstall the battery, press and hold "Power" and Volume down, release them after a few seconds. This gets you to recovery. Factory reset the radiophone from here.
Once the B1 restarts, head over to RFinder.wiki and get the latest RFinder ham apk. Install it, go into settings, and Advanced Support. If you're not on version 25, you'll get a notice to update an an option to download a ROM. Do both, and save the ROM file whe n you're finished.
Unzip the ROM file and locate the boot.img and the scatter.txt. You know what to do with the boot imagw: get it onto a device that has the Magisk apk, rooted or not, and patch it. Put it back into the folder with the unzipped ROM file.
Shut down the B1 Classic and remove the battery. Unplug the USB cable from your PC.
Next grab a scatter file for a stock MTK 6763. Go through it and the scatter file from RFinder, match up the start points of all the partitions and as man of the sizes as you can. You'll need to delete one of the partitions in the stock file and do all of your edits on the *stock* MTK file, not the RFinder one. Chenge the "is download" value on ALL partitions except the Preloader and the Boot to FALSE. Save that in the unzipped ROM folder.
Now grab SP Flash tools. The B1's bootloader can be unlocked, but it's difficult and I happen to like my data. Open SP Flash tools (unzip, find flashtool.exe and double click it). Hit "browse" and go to the unzipped ROM folder, then click on your scatter file. If everything went well, you should have only two lines showing on the download screen: Preloader and Boot.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO MODIFY THE PRELOADER! Uncheck that option. You have to have the line populated or SP Flash Tools will throw an error, but you MUST UNCHECK IT. If the two lines don't populate, find the respective images in the unzipped rom. Click the empty line, then find the image and click that. Ensure the Boot line is checked, preloader unchecked, double check your work, then hit "download".
Grab the B1, plug the loose USB cable into it. Press and hold Volume Up and Volume Down while you plug the other end of the USB cable into your computer where SP Flash Tools is waiting. You do not need a battery. SP flash Tools will connect to the B1, the progress bar will turn RED, then it will verify your work and attempt to download your changes to the B1. If that's successful, the bar will turn yellow. When it's finished, it'll notify you of the results.
DO NOT FORMAT ANYTHING IF IT ASKS YOU TO. That's an error which needs addressed, so fix it and try again.
Unplug the cable, attach the battery, and boot the B1. You will not need to reinstall anything save for an SU manager (Magisk is fine) and a root checker.
Keep in mind that we didn't touch the bootloader, it is still LOCKED. I was all over it trying to unlock it to no avail, and I didn't care to dig out my old Toughbook for Ubuntu. Not everyone has an old Toughbook with Ubuntu on it anyway, you may be on Windoze.
I strongly suspect this method will work for future updates to the other B1 models as well, and since we're not fooling around with the bootloader, no data will be lost. Runbo puts out quit a few ROM updates for their stuff (yes, Runbo) so those who own the newer devices will be re rooting a time or two.
E81 owners: if these methods work, please let us know! Or if you flashed a B1 to an E81 or vice vera, let us know how that went.

Related

Wrong SPL zip file. Now what? [SOLVED]

[SOLVED. READ BELOW FOR DETAILS]
HI all.
I've managed to brick my Hero (T-Mobile G2) by flashing the wrong SPL file.
To make things more difficult I've lost the USB cable.
I can still:
Power+Menu (three vibrations + blinking green)
Power+Back (Fastboot)
Power+Search (Storageclean)
Power+VolumeDown (HBOOT, SD checking ...)
Is there a way to reflash the right SPL with one of these menus?
I've not found any similar case here and in MoDaCo.
Thanks in advance.
[SOLUTION]
This case is particular as there is no system available to use the "adb shell" commands. Nonetheless it's recoverable.
At least in one case
Almost everything comes from MoDaCo.
Despite I would say I'm not a real newbie, this time was a little bit harder than with other embedded devices for some reasons I'll explain later.
What do you need?
1. A miniUSB cable. Now I know that any miniUSB can work.
2. A Windows XP PC. A Linux or Mac OS X should also work. Read below.
3. The right USB software driver (I used this one) otherwise it won't work.
4. A modified recovery image (I used this one) that has flashing capabilities from the SD.
5. A working SPL (Second Program Loader) image (I used this one, thanks to the enlightner.
6. A system ROM image (again, I used this one).
What was the problem?
I used to play also with a Magic and still had an SPL zip of its on my SD.
I already had rooted and modded my Hero with MoDaCo's mod.
By mistake I flashed that SPL zipped image into my Hero and since then nothing was working any more.
The boot process was simply stopping at the "G2 Touch T-Mobile" screen up to the complete battery drain.
The directions found here were ineffective due to the fact that there was no running system to execute the "adb shell" commands.
I am using 99.99% of the time a Linux laptop but decided to get a Windows XP PC in order to simplify the troubleshooting while asking people for help and hints.
Maybe in the future I'll dare to reproduce the problem and solution with Linux. Maybe,
But let's see a stepwise procedure.
How I solved it (impossible to me without MoDaCo's and englightner's help, kudos to them)!
0. Unpack the USB driver and the recovery image ZIP files somewhere into your PC. Put the SPL and the system ROM image zip files into the SD card. Use the root directory of the FAT partition in case you have already partitioned it.
1. Switch off the Hero (by pulling the battery out).
2. Turn it on again without the USB cable in by pressing the back and the power keys. I've noticed some different behaviour if you keep the cable plugged in.
3. A white screen (the Initial Program Loader aka IPL aka Fastboot) will pop up.
4. Plug the USB cable in both the Hero and the PC. The screen will now show in red "FASTBOOT USB".
5. Windows should warn you about some unknown hardware having been plugged (Android 1.0). Ask for a manual installation by browsing to the directory where you unpacked the USD driver. Install it. No reboot is required (unbelievable!).
6. Open a command line session on your PC (Start-->Execute-->CMD on Windows), change the current directory (cd) to where modified recovery image has been unpacked and where both the fastboot.exe and cm-hero-recovery.img files are located.
7. From the command line run this command (without the quotes): "fastboot boot cm-hero-recovery.img". You'll see a green progression bar rising on the right side of the Hero screen and after 1 second you'll see the modified recovery image running.
8. At this point I tried to recover a previously saved nandroid backup. But for some reason this time the recovery was complaining about a chown/chmod not being able to change the permissions on a system file! So it's useless to try it.
9. Instead I asked to flash the SPL zip file. It worked fine and I asked for a reboot.
10. the final step was to pop the recovery tool again (Home+power, keep the home pressed until you'll see the friendly black and green screen) and to slash the system ROM zip file.
I also reset all user data before doing it. I'm not sure whether this reset is required.
11. At the reboot the flashed system ROM was happily waiting for me to customise the settings.
12. As a last check, I rebooted once again the Hero to see whether the solution was permanent. And it was.
Few suggestions for seniors.
Please, please be patient with newbies. This could be the first time they hit the wall and panic and frustration can play an important and irritating role.
Please, please be as precise as possible. What a senior thinks is an implicit piece of information, can lead to hours of frustration for the newbie. For example, the SUB driver installation is not mentioned very often in any thread. It looks trivial. It's not.
Please, please be positive to newbies. By encouraging them they'll become less newbies than they are now.
And a few suggestions for juniors (like me).
Please, please don't panic! If there's a solution, you don't need to panic. If there's none, you don't need to panic as well.
Please, please be precise in describing the problem (I've not been myself). Small unseen details can matter a lot.
Please, please don't blame people for late answers. Very probably they are busy with their own job, life or hobbies.
Please, please remember that if you are in trouble is very probably due to your own mistakes. Not someone else's. You are playing with low level stuff, not just application settings.
If you decide to follow someone's directions, please do it carefully. If you take some decisions on your own, please document them in the thread.

If you can get to fastboot with power and back, then all is not lost. And most importantly it's not a 'brick'. A 'brick' is a device that won't turn on.
You can flash the recovery via fastboot (using this guide) then a new ROM (I suggest my custom ROM) but, er, you're obviously gonna need a USB cable!
P

I was already using your marvelous mod, though.
I only took the SPL file from the wrong directory (I have been playing also with Magic, aka G1).
The cable is a huge problem, now.
At the moment I'm using a mini-USB cable which is good for charging the battery, but has no effect on the communication side.
Can I put some file in the SD card from my PC in order to have it booted into?
I still have a couple of nandroid backups in the SD but have no idea whether this makes any difference.
Anyway, thanks not just for the hints. Your 1.5 (1.5.1 when I'll fix my problem) rocks!

A real miniUSB cable should work fine. Yours must be only wired for charging. Go and buy one.
There's no other way to do it unless power+home gets you into recovery (which it sounds like it should?)
P

The mini-USB comes from my USB 2.5" HD.
It works with cameras and other mini-USB devices for full dvice access.
But it does not work with the Hero.
The original cable looked different from this one because of the asymmetric shape (and possibly an extra pin or two).
The Hero cable looks like it's proprietary design and buying one seems quite difficult. Would any HTC USB cable work?
Now I'm not in the Netherlands anymore and here the HTC stuff looks quite uncommon to have a cable lent.

I never use my HTC cable, I use a standard mini USB cable.
P

OK.
I've bought a brand new mini-USB cable. It works with my Nokia phone, my digital camera dnd also my USB disk.
1. I've donwloaded the file from the guide MoDaCo referred previously.
2. I've unpacked the ZIP file, opened the CMD session, CDed to the directory containing the adb.exe file
3. I've booted the phone to the FASTBOOT (VOLUMEDOWN+POWER)
4. I've connected the phone to the cable.
5. The HERO screen says now "FASTBOOT USB"
6. I've run the command "adb shell reboot bootloader"
7. I get "error: device not found".
What's next?
P.S.
Steps 3 and 4 are not mentioned in the guide, though.

You can't use adb shell from the fastboot screen, you need to boot a recovery image using the "fastboot boot <filename>" command.
Just of curiousity. What is the HBOOT version displayed on your fastboot screen?
Could you type all the text it displays?
I might be able to help you out.

Try following the guide linked above.
You can't do ADB until you've done the 'fastboot boot cm-hero-recovery.img'.
Seriously... how hard can it be to read thru a handful of steps!
P

You are right! It's hard unless you already know how to.
I quote:
- download this file and extract it to your PC or mac
- open a command prompt to the directory containing the extracted files
- type the following commands (prefix each command with ./ if you're on a mac)
So far it's trivial ...
adb shell reboot bootloader (wait for device to reboot into bootloader)
fastboot boot cm-hero-recovery.img
adb shell mount /sdcard
adb push cm-hero-recovery.img /sdcard/cm-hero-recovery.img
adb shell flash_image recovery /sdcard/cm-hero-recovery.img
That could also be trivial if:
1. I knew about the driver installation (quite later in the thread)
2. I knew in which initial status the phone is to be
Of course, a bit at a time I find everything.
Maybe re-editing the original post to include all the bits in one single place would both boost the success rate of n00bs like me (really) and lower the amount of stupid questions (really) like mine.
Anyway, I need to thank you very much!!!

Hmm, bad news, ust spoken to an extremely knowledgeable friend of mine, and he says your device is knackered.
P

I'm impressed the SPL actually booted on a Hero.
It's is a "real" Hero you have right? aka T-Mobile G2 Touch?
Fastboot can be used when you are in HBOOT, with FASTBOOT USB being displayed.

So, if this doesn't work, you're screwed.
- download this and extract the rom.zip
- copy the .zip to your SD card and name it HEROIMG.zip
- turn on your device with volume down+ power
If it doesn't start flashing, buy a new Hero.
P

packetlss said:
You can't use adb shell from the fastboot screen, you need to boot a recovery image using the "fastboot boot <filename>" command.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. I have no idea about this specific device!
And the help is quite fragmented among a large number of threads.
packetlss said:
Just of curiousity. What is the HBOOT version displayed on your fastboot screen?
Could you type all the text it displays?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HERO CVT
HBOOT-1.33.2005 (HERO10000)
MICROP-010e
RADIO-6.35.05.15
Apr 20 2009,15:30:43
packetlss said:
I might be able to help you out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope so.

Try doing what modaco suggested and see where that ends up.

modaco said:
So, if this doesn't work, you're screwed.
- download this and extract the rom.zip
- copy the .zip to your SD card and name it HEROIMG.zip
- turn on your device with volume down+ power
If it doesn't start flashing, buy a new Hero.
P
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope to fix mine.
Anyway, is there any comprehensive guide about the booting (not rooting) process with the software stack and the "cheat codes"?
I don't think I'm really a n00b, but the fragmentation of information is quite large for these marveloous Android phones.

The HEROIMG.zip has been flashed, I presume, as a vertical blue bar appeared on top right screen.
After fre minuted the process ended ... with no news.
At the reboot everything is again as before.
Home+Power won't make the CyanogenMode+JF menu pop up.
The simple boot itself won't make my Hero botting in any system.
Only a big "G2 Touch T-Mobile" on the black background.
Now what?

That HEROIMG.zip contained a hboot. When you boot to bootloader is still the same?
You say 'fastboot boot recovery.img' (as per my instructions) didn't work?
P

'fastboot boot recovery.img' works.
It's the subsequent step that doesn't. I cannot mount /sdcard (error: device not found)!
And even recovering a previous nandroid backup won't help.
What I understand there's something in between the fastboot and the actual image (the SPL?) that is missing doe to my original error.

Does the bootloader still show the old version?
P

[GUIDE] Recover Moto Maxx from HARD BRICK

WHAT IS HARD-BRICK?
The Hard-Brick, translated means device NULL, without function neither one! This happens a lot for forced updating: AS ANDROID 4.4.4 FOR 5xx ....
Most of the time, the cell phone stays in BOOTLOOP (infinite loop), another case as hard brick gets on the black screen with LED access.
Then you ask me?
Wagner, I Brickei my device, how to recover?
YES! There is always a way to recover. More remembering that each device has a way of doing, some are easier and others more complicated. We just need to find the right files.
So let's go!
MOTOROLA DRIVER
Drivers required for device recognition on PC.
If you have already installed, you do not have to install again.
Download
HAND-BRICK.exe
It will install the drives, recover the cell phone and recover the fastboot.
Download
STEP BY STEP
1- Turn off the phone and enter the fastboot mode:
Yes, I know the phone is off!
Plus the device is in operation and we need the phone to be turned off and enter the Fastboot mode.
HOW DO I DO THAT? I discovered two ways!
- Fast and easy mode:
OPEN THE PHONE AND DISCONNES THE BATTERY, IT WILL PLACE THE FATBOOT MODE.
IF YOU MAKE ERRORS IN COMMANDS, YOU CAN GET THE FASTEST ANSWER.
- Time-consuming and need patience:
PLUG THE PHONE TO CHARGE "INTO THE SOCKET", THE LED GOES ON, WAITES THE LED OFF.
If the LED does not turn on?
SAFETY THE POWER BUTTON ON + THE DOWN VOLUME, FOR 2 SECONDS OR ACCOUNT UP TO 30!
THEN PLACE INTO THE OUTLET, AND OBSERVE THAT THE LED WILL TURN ON! And wait until the LED turns OFF.
Why did I say I had to be patient?
Well, you're going to do this straight, each made the commands go wrong.
And it will only work again if the phone restarts. Many times the LEDs do not light up among other things like not recognizing on the PC.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT IT WORKS?
When using the unbrick, it will show you a path:
EXP:
C: / USERS / NAME / DESKTOP / MOTO MAXX / PORTUGUESE [BR] / 2 - REVIVER FB / UNBRICK - 5.1> .QBOOT BLANK - FLASH
AND THEN HE SHOWS THE RECOGNIZED FILES.
When of FAILED?
(BLANK-FLASH: **********):
THE FILES WILL BE DEMANDED TO BE RECOGNIZED, THEN IN THIS CASE THE COMMANDS WILL NOT WORK! AND AI FOLLOW THE STEPS AGAIN THE LED!
OK! now that the phone is off and ready to use the unbrick.
Remember, every time you use the unbrick and appear errors, you will have to repeat the STEP to turn on the LED!
2 - Connect the device to the PC, and check that the device is being recognized as QUSB-BULK.
Search the device manager for your PC.
And look in the part (Ports (COM and LPT)) and see if you recognize the device!
3- Install the MOTOROLA + Qualcomm USB drives.
In the Device Manager will shows that the device is being recognized as QUALCOMM.
4- Choose the Unbrick option and execute the files "GO" and wait ends up to 100%
NOTE THAT: THE PHONE WILL BECOME LIFE, AND SHOW THE BOOTLOADER WITHOUT ANDROID!
If it looks like FAIL - You have to repeat STEP 1 to turn on the LED, done that, Test other files
Contains GPT.BIN files from Android 4.4.4 to the latest version 6.0.1!
CASE NOTHING WORKS USE THIS FILE "download"
1 - REMOVE THE ARCHIVE
2- EXECUTE THE FILE WITH THE NAME "GO.bat"
3- NOTHING EVEN? ENTER WITHIN THE "DATE" FOLDER AND EXECUTE THE "01 GO.bat"
4 - NOTHING EVEN? EXECUTE THE FILE "02 GO.cmd"
ONE OF THOSE FILES MUST WORK, BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY THIS FILE!
Now go to the Fastboot option and execute the files "GO"
Contains GPT.BIN files from Android 4.4.4 to the latest version 6.0.1!
THE NEW VERSION IS MARKED WITH RED!
6. Ready! the cell phone will restart with Android 5.0.2, but this one with ERROR does not connect in the WIFI!
To correct this error, turn off the phone
Enter Fastboot mode
Choose a ROM STOCK "here" and install.
If you want a customized ROM First:
Download the new version of TWRP "here"
Choose a CUSTOM ROM "here"
And the GApps according to Android Chosen "here"
READY! YOU CAN BE HAPPY AND INSTALL ANY ROM THAT YOU WANT.
REMEMBER THAT THE ROM Stock 4.4.4 CAN NOT BE UPDATED OVER.
Hope this helps!
do not forget to leave your LIKE and SHARE, leave your comment than you found.

Hi Wagner! The "HAND-BRICK.exe" download link isn't working. Could you provide a new download link, please? Thanks in advance!!!

Atoto A6 Info on Rooting, Backup and Recovery

All instructions were performed on an Atoto A6 A62721P. There may be variations with other models.
What you will need:
Mediatek VCOM drivers ---> https://mtkusballdriver.com/download/mtk-usb-v1-0-8
SP Flash Tool for Mediatek Devices. ---> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pkJ6lXKZ0IBAljHw3f0N7eeU9f4iW6b-/view
MTK Droid Tools with mod by Bovirus ---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4458732&d=1522117513 (has added info to recognize MT8127) Original file is from---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2160490
Notepad++ ---> https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.5.5.html
MT8127 Scatter File ---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4437810&d=15202295
(Most of this can be executed in linux, there is an SP Flash Tools, but I couldn't find an MTK Droid tools version)
To connect to the unit you need a male to male usb cable or mini male to full male usb adapter and usb cable.
Using the SP Flash tool requires full reboots. Since I didn't have the unit installed in a vehicle, I simply made up a 12 volt cord with two
light switches, one switch to 12V constant wire(yellow) and feeding other switch, which then goes to ACC wire(red).
You can also use the pull down and reboot, you just have to get the timing for plugging in the usb cable.
Connection is made to the quick charge usb port. You will want to disconnect and reconnect at that port, not at the computer.
All processes assume you have Developer options enabled, with OEM unlocking and USB debugging enabled. Also allow install from unknown sources
enabled in Security.
Backup and Recovery with SP Flash Tools and MTK Droid tools
With the unit turned off and not connected, open the sp flash tool folder and run sp flash tool as Admin.
For the Scatter-loading File, click choose and select the downloaded scatter file, MT8127_Android_scatter.txt.
Now click the Readback Tab.
Select add, to add an entry to the list below. Double click the the entry. You can make a folder to save it in, but leave the
name ROM_0.
After selecting save, you will get the Readback block start address screen. Type will be Hex, Region - EMMC_USER.
Start address will be left at 0x0000000000000000.
The length we can get from the scatter file. Open the scatter file in Notepad++.
The scatter file is your partition table along with other info. You can use the start address for the cache, so that will backup everything
to that point. The address is 0x00000000D4000000.
Select ok and then make sure the box on the left for the entry you created is checked.
Now click Readback.
With Sd Flash Tool Readback running, turn on both constant and acc to the unit.
Connect the usb cable to quickcharge port in four to five seconds after powering.
If you are too late it won't work and you will have to reboot. If you are too early it won't work either. If the Atoto screen appears on the
unit, you need to try again.
Once you connect, the bottom process bar in SP tools will first turn red, and then you will see the process as it is backing up your system
in blue.
I was having issues with the unit timing out before completing. I found that turning off the power to the ACC after about two minutes,
and then back on in two minutes, would keep the process from timing out. Just keep doing that until it finishes.
Once it has finished, disconnect and restart the unit. You can close the message that it finished in SP Flash.
Now you want to run MTK Droid tools downloaded from here, as admin.
When the unit is up and running, and MTK Droid tools up, connnect the usb to the unit.
In a few seconds, MTK Droid tools should recognize the unit and display some info. When that happens, click the "root.backup.recovery" tab.
Now you want to select "To process file ROM_ from Flash Tool".
Now go to the folder where you saved the ROM_0 and select it. This cut the rom into the actual partitions, making it flashable.
When asked "To make CWM recovery Automatically" select no, and then it will ask for an optional file to use, just click cancel.
When it has finished, go into the MTK Droid Tools folder, and in the backups folder, will be a folder with all of the partitions.
You will want to change the name of factory_NONmodified_recovery.img to just recovery.img.
To restore, run SP flash tool, and select the the scatter file from the backup folder. Always make sure that the Preloader is never checked.
Typically Preloader and Uboot are not checked, but make sure anyway. If the Preloader if erased, or accidently written over, you will have hard
bricked your device. Other mediatek devices(mainly phones) are able to recover from this by either booting into a hidden metamode, or by
finding a test point on the board marked KCOLO or COLO and grounding it. I have not found either of these methods to be available.
So don't mess with the preloader.
Flashing is the same method as before. When you see all the partitions loaded if SP Flash tool, click Download.
Power up the unit and connect the usb in four to five seconds. Turn ACC power on and off to keep it from timing out.
If you get an error in sp flash that it is the wrong scatter file, you should replace the scatter file in you backup folder with the one
downloaded from the link above.
Flashing a partition, such as recovery is the same process, you could simply put the recovery in a folder with the scatter file and then
select that in scatter in SP flash tool. (Flashing a custom recovery requires the system to be rooted)
Rooting
The easiest way to gain root I found, was by running KingOroot in windows, connected to usb. Once KingO has root, you have to replace KingOroot
with SuperSu. The first time, I replace files manually through ADB with root privileges.(Could also use ES File Exploer)
But an easier way is once KingOroot has root, do not reboot. Install SuperSU and then Run SuperSU, and when it fails, run it again. Eventually you will
see a prompt that SuperSU is asking KingOroot for root privileges. Grant it and run it again. When it fails, reboot the system. SuperSU should now have
root. Make sure kingoroot is gone. When you make SuperSU a system app, the only way to lose it is by unrooting in the SuperSU options.
If you got this far, you might have realized that a custom recovery is not exactly necessary, due to the SP Flash Tool. Once rooted, you could use Flashfire for apps
that need to be flashed, such as Xposed. However I did compile a TWRP recovery from Omnirom source using ---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2798257
There is an issue with it that it keeps going to lock screen, you just have to keep swiping to unlock.(Was able to 'cut out' the lock screen issue, no longer locking)But everything seems to be functioning.
You can get the custom TWRP recovery here ---> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1k_9rrG0_4dkw45cetUzbq0m0Q3VgZ7P1
I don't credit take this, there is tons of info on Mediatek devices on here, just do a search. I just took the info and found what works for this device.
Some other info: Fastboot is not enabled on this device. If you use adb reboot bootloader, You will see a fastboot mode screen for a moment, until the unit automatically reboots. I was able to get the screen to last for a while by either turning off power to the ACC or disconnecting and reconnecting the USB. Even though the screen remained on for a bit, there is no way to connect. You can also get to an odd Recovery like menu if you do adb reboot sideload and wait for it to timeout.
Could not find a way to connect to or control that either. And if you flash a custom recovery without having root, it will go to a factory reset.
My biggest issue with this unit is Atoto's Gui, I have been trying Nova Launcher and CarWebGuru, both seem to be much better options. After looking at some of the other units stock setup, I think this has to be one of the worst. Maybe one day atoto will decide to update it.
Thats really my only major gripe. There is the issue with radio being attached audio device, but it seems to be with a lot of these units.
Hope this helps anyone interested and gain's some interest in this unit.

Awesome! Thanks for this. I will have to look in to this this weekend.

Stabone00, you never disappoint.
Thanks so much as always.

stabone00 said:
Rooting
The easiest way to gain root I found, was by running KingOroot in windows, connected to usb. Once KingO has root, you have to replace KingOroot
with SuperSu. The first time, I replace files manually through ADB with root privileges.(Could also use ES File Exploer)
But an easier way is once KingOroot has root, do not reboot. Install SuperSU and then Run SuperSU, and when it fails, run it again. Eventually you will
see a prompt that SuperSU is asking KingOroot for root privileges. Grant it and run it again. When it fails, reboot the system. SuperSU should now have
root. Make sure kingoroot is gone. When you make SuperSU a system app, the only way to lose it is by unrooting in the SuperSU options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, after some trial and error, I have this thing rooted, permanently! Here is how it went for me...
I hooked up the head unit via the USB B (Fast charge) cable.
Then ran KingoRoot on the computer and hit the root device button and once the head unit showed I has root via SuperUser (The KingoRoot SU app), I then installed SuperSU v2.79 (v2.82 WILL NOT work!!!! It will complain that there is already and SU binary or some junk and wont even let the app start so its a no go).
Now open SuperSU aand let it run, attempting to update the SU Binary. Just let it run for a while, took mine almost 5 minutes, then when the SuperUser prompt pops up, grant/allow SuperSU root access. If it fails and the root access prompt doesnt pop up, just close and reopen SuperSU again to try and update the SU binary until it asked for root permission. It will always fail so dont worry. Once it does and you allow/grant SuperSU permission via SuperUser, try to update the binary again in SuperSU. It will fail but dont worry, thats normal.
Next, uninstall SuperUser (The KingoRoot SU app), then reboot your head unit. Once you have rebooted, open root checker and the SuperSU prompt should pop up asking for permission and click allow and should show you have root. Now, open SuperSU and it go to settings and change it to a system app. Once its done changing it to a system app, SuperSU will just close and SuperSU will be gone from your app drawer until you reboot. Once you reboot, SuperSU will be back in your app drawer. Thats all there is to it. Enjoy having permanent root access. I have rebooted my device at least 10 times and still have root access. Happy camper here. Thanks for the tips on rooting this thing. I was going crazy the first time I tried a couple weeks ago trying to keep it rooted.

I completely forgot about the issue with supersu 2.82. When I was first trying to root, I downloaded it from the play store. When I installed it manually I used the zip of 2.79 which I already had. I even tried installing 2.82 manually, later, but it never worked.

i'm a little lost with this
The scatter file is your partition table along with other info. You can use the start address for the cache, so that will backup everything
to that point. The address is 0x00000000D4000000.
Select ok and then make sure the box on the left for the entry you created is checked.
this is whats shown on scatter file.
partition_index: SYS26
partition_name: CACHE
file_name: cache.img
is_download: true
type: EXT4_IMG
linear_start_addr: 0xD4000000
physical_start_addr: 0xD4000000
partition_size: 0x10000000
region: EMMC_USER
storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
boundary_check: true
is_reserved: false
operation_type: UPDATE
reserve: 0x00
what do i change??
thanks again for any info.
scoolro

scoolro said:
i'm a little lost with this
The scatter file is your partition table along with other info. You can use the start address for the cache, so that will backup everything
to that point. The address is 0x00000000D4000000.
Select ok and then make sure the box on the left for the entry you created is checked.
this is whats shown on scatter file.
partition_index: SYS26
partition_name: CACHE
file_name: cache.img
is_download: true
type: EXT4_IMG
linear_start_addr: 0xD4000000
physical_start_addr: 0xD4000000
partition_size: 0x10000000
region: EMMC_USER
storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
boundary_check: true
is_reserved: false
operation_type: UPDATE
reserve: 0x00
what do i change??
thanks again for any info.
scoolro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you load the scatter file into SP Flash tool, it brings up the list under the Download tab. There you can see that the addresses are listed with all sixteen numbers, so that's that's what I used for the readback.

where can i get
MTK Droid Tools with mod by Bovirus??
the link is down
Thanks Again
Scoolro

Didn't know it wasn't working.

Thanks again Stabone,
I took care of the back up and recovery partitons on the mtk tools.
Now how do i flash twrp that i download from above into stereo do i use flashfire and how do you access recovery on stereo when installed in car??
again as always thanks for all the help. appreciate it so much.
scoolro

stabone00 said:
Didn't know it wasn't working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i beleive i inserted twrp but i do not know how to get into recover mode, can you let me know?
many thanks as always,
scoolro

adb reboot recovery
But from the system, lots of apps will reboot to recovery, Twrp app, flashfire, etc... or just search the play store for reboot recovery.

stabone00 said:
adb reboot recovery
But from the system, lots of apps will reboot to recovery, Twrp app, flashfire, etc... or just search the play store for reboot recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh understand now.
was hoping to not use a computer to the stereo when i install in my car. i was hoping to hit some buttons to activate twrp on stereo when it is installed, just in case i mess something up and want to restore stereo.
activate restore as i do like my phone.
any info on installing xposed??
thanks stabone once again.

You could reboot to recovery from xposed. You can install xposed installer 3.1.5. You need to flash version 89. If you have the Twrp recovery installed, you could flash it from there.

i hope i'm not asking way too many questions for you, if i am i appologize but just installed xposed
and its working. as always you helped so much with my stereo. Im sure everyone here appreciates your wisdom.
thanks stabone,
scoolro

Not a problem.

hello stabone, thanks for all your great posts and not going postal on all the newb questions. I've not posted much here, but I have a hopefully simple question for everyone. I have 3 ATOTO units, one bricked (hardware accident, not software brick) and one I just received which is the 1/16GB model with PB. This latest unit is a gift for stepdad, and I picked up the PB mainly because of the radio app thing and his eyesight being poor, his wrangler has no SWC so I figured when he needed to turn down volume quickly he would appreciate the buttons. After playing with the unit I really dont like the PB, the recess is too deep and it doesn't have that nice thick glass look like the touch models, not to mention they actually fixed the radio app issue. Anyways...… So I swapped the screens from the touch only to the PB unit, it fired right up and the touch is calibrated perfect. My issue is, the touch buttons on left side, I only get response from volume down button, which equates to volume up, the power/back/vol.up are unresponsive. Obviously, in my mind, the MCU is loaded for the other panel. I have a working touch model as well, can I simply pull the MCU file off the touch model and load it onto the PB model? I only ask because I have a couple other bricked Sofia units and really nervous about doing ANYTHING to these units anymore. With the MCU update happening parallel to the firmware update, I am unsure how to initiate only an MCU load and which exact file I need to pull. Thanks for any direction, I appreciate anything.
Just to add, I have an APK with the name com.zhonghong.mcu_20170527 . could it be that easy??

I haven't messed around with the mcu too much. You could try but should probably make a backup with the sp flash tool first. The unit that you said is bricked, is the preloader still accessible? You would be able to connect with sp flash tool and re-flash if it is.

Tthanks so much for your reply, I forgot to respond last week. It all ended up being a waste of time anyhow, because my stepfather preferred the physical buttons..........
Now, I'm plagued again. My wifes unit, got the update from ATOTO website which fixes the radio app opening thingy, but it killed the mic, internal or external the mic is totally unresponsive. I didn't even play with the mic on that other unit, so ill need to check it next time I'm over there. Did this happen to everyone, or is my unit having another issue? I've tried rerunning the update package a couple times as well as resets.

stabone00 said:
All instructions were performed on an Atoto A6 A62721P. There may be variations with other models.
What you will need:
Mediatek VCOM drivers ---> https://mtkusballdriver.com/download/mtk-usb-v1-0-8
SP Flash Tool for Mediatek Devices. ---> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pkJ6lXKZ0IBAljHw3f0N7eeU9f4iW6b-/view
MTK Droid Tools with mod by Bovirus ---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4458732&d=1522117513 (has added info to recognize MT8127) Original file is from---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2160490
Notepad++ ---> https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.5.5.html
MT8127 Scatter File ---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4437810&d=15202295
(Most of this can be executed in linux, there is an SP Flash Tools, but I couldn't find an MTK Droid tools version)
To connect to the unit you need a male to male usb cable or mini male to full male usb adapter and usb cable.
Using the SP Flash tool requires full reboots. Since I didn't have the unit installed in a vehicle, I simply made up a 12 volt cord with two
light switches, one switch to 12V constant wire(yellow) and feeding other switch, which then goes to ACC wire(red).
You can also use the pull down and reboot, you just have to get the timing for plugging in the usb cable.
Connection is made to the quick charge usb port. You will want to disconnect and reconnect at that port, not at the computer.
All processes assume you have Developer options enabled, with OEM unlocking and USB debugging enabled. Also allow install from unknown sources
enabled in Security.
Backup and Recovery with SP Flash Tools and MTK Droid tools
With the unit turned off and not connected, open the sp flash tool folder and run sp flash tool as Admin.
For the Scatter-loading File, click choose and select the downloaded scatter file, MT8127_Android_scatter.txt.
Now click the Readback Tab.
Select add, to add an entry to the list below. Double click the the entry. You can make a folder to save it in, but leave the
name ROM_0.
After selecting save, you will get the Readback block start address screen. Type will be Hex, Region - EMMC_USER.
Start address will be left at 0x0000000000000000.
The length we can get from the scatter file. Open the scatter file in Notepad++.
The scatter file is your partition table along with other info. You can use the start address for the cache, so that will backup everything
to that point. The address is 0x00000000D4000000.
Select ok and then make sure the box on the left for the entry you created is checked.
Now click Readback.
With Sd Flash Tool Readback running, turn on both constant and acc to the unit.
Connect the usb cable to quickcharge port in four to five seconds after powering.
If you are too late it won't work and you will have to reboot. If you are too early it won't work either. If the Atoto screen appears on the
unit, you need to try again.
Once you connect, the bottom process bar in SP tools will first turn red, and then you will see the process as it is backing up your system
in blue.
I was having issues with the unit timing out before completing. I found that turning off the power to the ACC after about two minutes,
and then back on in two minutes, would keep the process from timing out. Just keep doing that until it finishes.
Once it has finished, disconnect and restart the unit. You can close the message that it finished in SP Flash.
Now you want to run MTK Droid tools downloaded from here, as admin.
When the unit is up and running, and MTK Droid tools up, connnect the usb to the unit.
In a few seconds, MTK Droid tools should recognize the unit and display some info. When that happens, click the "root.backup.recovery" tab.
Now you want to select "To process file ROM_ from Flash Tool".
Now go to the folder where you saved the ROM_0 and select it. This cut the rom into the actual partitions, making it flashable.
When asked "To make CWM recovery Automatically" select no, and then it will ask for an optional file to use, just click cancel.
When it has finished, go into the MTK Droid Tools folder, and in the backups folder, will be a folder with all of the partitions.
You will want to change the name of factory_NONmodified_recovery.img to just recovery.img.
To restore, run SP flash tool, and select the the scatter file from the backup folder. Always make sure that the Preloader is never checked.
Typically Preloader and Uboot are not checked, but make sure anyway. If the Preloader if erased, or accidently written over, you will have hard
bricked your device. Other mediatek devices(mainly phones) are able to recover from this by either booting into a hidden metamode, or by
finding a test point on the board marked KCOLO or COLO and grounding it. I have not found either of these methods to be available.
So don't mess with the preloader.
Flashing is the same method as before. When you see all the partitions loaded if SP Flash tool, click Download.
Power up the unit and connect the usb in four to five seconds. Turn ACC power on and off to keep it from timing out.
If you get an error in sp flash that it is the wrong scatter file, you should replace the scatter file in you backup folder with the one
downloaded from the link above.
Flashing a partition, such as recovery is the same process, you could simply put the recovery in a folder with the scatter file and then
select that in scatter in SP flash tool. (Flashing a custom recovery requires the system to be rooted)
Rooting
The easiest way to gain root I found, was by running KingOroot in windows, connected to usb. Once KingO has root, you have to replace KingOroot
with SuperSu. The first time, I replace files manually through ADB with root privileges.(Could also use ES File Exploer)
But an easier way is once KingOroot has root, do not reboot. Install SuperSU and then Run SuperSU, and when it fails, run it again. Eventually you will
see a prompt that SuperSU is asking KingOroot for root privileges. Grant it and run it again. When it fails, reboot the system. SuperSU should now have
root. Make sure kingoroot is gone. When you make SuperSU a system app, the only way to lose it is by unrooting in the SuperSU options.
If you got this far, you might have realized that a custom recovery is not exactly necessary, due to the SP Flash Tool. Once rooted, you could use Flashfire for apps
that need to be flashed, such as Xposed. However I did compile a TWRP recovery from Omnirom source using ---> https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2798257
There is an issue with it that it keeps going to lock screen, you just have to keep swiping to unlock.(Was able to 'cut out' the lock screen issue, no longer locking)But everything seems to be functioning.
You can get the custom TWRP recovery here ---> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1k_9rrG0_4dkw45cetUzbq0m0Q3VgZ7P1
I don't credit take this, there is tons of info on Mediatek devices on here, just do a search. I just took the info and found what works for this device.
Some other info: Fastboot is not enabled on this device. If you use adb reboot bootloader, You will see a fastboot mode screen for a moment, until the unit automatically reboots. I was able to get the screen to last for a while by either turning off power to the ACC or disconnecting and reconnecting the USB. Even though the screen remained on for a bit, there is no way to connect. You can also get to an odd Recovery like menu if you do adb reboot sideload and wait for it to timeout.
Could not find a way to connect to or control that either. And if you flash a custom recovery without having root, it will go to a factory reset.
My biggest issue with this unit is Atoto's Gui, I have been trying Nova Launcher and CarWebGuru, both seem to be much better options. After looking at some of the other units stock setup, I think this has to be one of the worst. Maybe one day atoto will decide to update it.
Thats really my only major gripe. There is the issue with radio being attached audio device, but it seems to be with a lot of these units.
Hope this helps anyone interested and gain's some interest in this unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your tutorial but it seems KingOroot is reported as a malware buy every antivirus software and even by Android. What do you think about this?

* * * BASIC Fastboot / ADB Troubleshooting ~ 2 XL * * *

It seems MANY users still do not know that a majority of 2 XL fastboot / ADB related issues can be easily, and quickly resolved by following these few steps.
If you are having issues, getting "failed" or "not recognized" error messages while flashing files to your 2 XL via fastboot or ADB; these should be the FIRST troubleshooting steps you take, BEFORE going to the threads.
* Are Your SDK Tools Up To Date?
This doesn't mean kinda new, recently updated, worked well with your last device, it means the VERY LATEST VERSION POSSIBLE. Also, make sure that you do not have any older version that might conflict with the newer version. It's best just to completely UNINSTALL the older versions prior to installing the newest version.
* Are Your .zip Files Properly Unzipped AND In The Correct Platform Tools Folder?
After downloading the Google factory image from here, unzip the file. Within that zip file will be a second zip file. The files inside the SECOND zip file are the ones that need to be in the SAME platform tools folder as the FASTBOOT application.
*Are You Using A USB 2.0 Or 3.0 Cable?
If you run into issues, using eitherof these cables, SWAP OUT the cable for the other version. It will probably NEVER be explained, but there are weird issues that have to do with these cables. If you experience issues, SWAP the cables. TRUST ME!
*Are You Using The Same USB Port?
If you run into issues while using fastboot/ADB, move that USB cable to a NEW PORT and retry it.
Again, no one knows why or how this affects the process, but it sometimes does.
*Are You Flashing / Typing The Correct File Name?
This one is a two-parter: Make sure you have the CORRECT files to start with, and make sure that you are typing the names EXACTLY as they are in your platform tools folder. And always include the .zip or .img suffix in fastboot (except for flash-all it doesn't need the bat added [if you're on a Mac, I believe you use the flash-all.sh file]. Remember, guides are sometimes general and while the commands "fastboot flash radio" don't change, the radio filename does. And the repeated commands like "fastboot flash radio radio-taimen-xxxxx" where radio is listed twice is NOT a typo, they both need to be in the command.
*Are You Stuck In A G Screen Boot Loop?
There are a few things here that have worked for many users.
First, try a hard reboot. Long press the POWER button. If that doesn't boot you back into system try this.
Second, reboot into the bootloader. Simultaneously press POWER & VOL Down buttons until you get into the bootloader. Then cycle through the menu using vol buttons and select START with the power button. If that doesn't work, time to hit the Q&A threads

adb tool to make it more beginners friendly similar to odin

having worked with adb i've realized how much of a powerful tool it is for Android Modding, but the googling on what commands to use is annoying so a few suggestions on a tool that would have made my experience much easier.
you start the tool it automatically detects if a device is connected so no adb devices, then clearly show this, commands show neatly as buttons, if you want to flash a custom recovery you press the button flash custom recover and then a dialog pops up asking you to browse for the img file, so no command, if you want to flash a rom you press flash rom button then again a dialog pops up asking you to navigate to the file, theres no need for commannds, and then a checkbar (reboot after flashing) and once flashing is finished you have a simple reboot button (reboot to system,reboot to recovery, reboot to bootloader) this tool would also let you flash zips such as gapps or magisk, same deal there you press a flash maybe module button you get asked to navigate to the file it does the flashing for you i know it's possible just complicated a tool could fix that, this tool would also check if all the proper drivers are installed and display it as a green ok mark and if not ask you to install said drivers, this tool would be portable no installation required, there would also be a open terminal button for the standard adb, other ideas include foolproof safety features if you're about to flash a custom recovery a window will pop up
flashing an incorrect custom recovery can damage your device if you have a dual sim version of your phone and flash a single sim version you can cause damage, would you like to google the name of this recovery to make sure it's supported for your devices (model number) (google) (pressing google will start a google search with the recovery name as well as the model name of the phone)
flashing an incorrect custom rom can damage your device would you like to google the name of this rom to make sure it's supported for your device, if you have a dual sim version of your phone and flash a single sim version you can cause damage (model number) (google) (pressing google will start a google search with the rom name as well as the model name of the phone)
safety checks can always be implemented that rom and recovery developers include so a recovery or rom has a specific file this tool will look for and if all information is correct to the model name of the phone it will continue if information isn't correct then it won't flash anything if so it would show this error
this rom/recover does not support your device if you proceed you can brick it, contact the developer for clarification as it may just be a mistake with the identifcationfile (continue any way) and then Another warning message if you continue this would be a red one. and you have to type in text (i understand the risks that my device can be bricked and permanently damaged by continuing) (and then a continue button that Counts down from 10 until it can be clicked)
personally i like the idea of this even if it would be annoying but it would shove it in the users face that they are willingly about to destroy their device, i wen't through a literal nightmare yesterday because there were things i wasn't aware of when flashing, for example someone put a rom for the huawei mate 10 lite under the mate 10 section without clarifying that it's not officially supported for the mate 10 pro so i got error 7 i also failed to install adb 15 seconds because it didn't work a portable version would fix that , not to mention the annoyances of googling what commands to use for each function, all of which i could have avoided with a tool like that, a tool like that would also let me know that i don't need twrp, i had no idea adb could do Everything twrp did, it would also replace the typing out the entire file location with a browse button instead, Another idea is fully automating the entire process even after the phone is rebooted, the developer makes a package that the tool supports, then the tool will flash the recovery and reboot into, or flash the rom and reboot, it would just be a simple start button.

Database Users

welcome