Related
I owe much credit to toastcfh, none of this would be possibly without his work on originally rooting the EVO.
Getting Root & Recovery Mode
(My version, dumbed down even more)
You have three options with rooting:
1) Toasts Rooted ROM - Missing Apps in Market
2) Rooted Stock ROM - No 4G Support
3) Unrevoked Root Patch - No system access in recovery (can't remove sprint apps, etc)
To get a rooted stock ROM, you have to start with Toasts, instructions below; you can find details after.
If you want the Unrevoked Root patch, install a file browser on your EVO and install this.
1. Copy this to the root folder of the SD card, you can do this by syncing the Evo as a disc and just copying in windows.
2. Shut off the Evo, and hold the "volume down" button while powering it on until you see a white screen. Every question it asks, just answer yes. DO NOT UNPLUG, let it finish at all costs, no matter how long it takes.
3. Rename the file you copied to the SD card. (to avoid accidental re-flash and save it for later)
4. Download this and unzip to anywhere of you liking on your desktop. Run the setup, if it asks to accept and install a bunch of stuff, hit cancel, you wont be needing most of it. Select available packages and it will show a repository url, the actual url is irrelevant and will be google's be default...we want to expand the list and select SDK Platform 2.1. Accept an install the selection.
What you just did is installed the Android SDK which includes adb, a shell connector for your phone that we need to operate in recovery mode.
5. Hold the Windows key and press "R", type CMD in the run box. (Run the task with Administrative privileges if there is an option)
Type "cd " in the CMD window, do not forget the trailing space, it is important and DO NOT HIT ENTER yet.
Now, with that CMD windows open, go to the folder you installed the android sdk. There will be a "tools" folder, drag the tools folder into the cmd window.
Press enter, this will set your working directory to the tools folder.
6. If you have not installed drivers for your Evo, there is a folder that comes of the sd card called "HTC-Sync", run the setup in there and it will install sufficient drivers automatically.
After drivers are setup sync the phone using the HTC Sync mode, this will ensure we can control the phone using adb.
Go to your CMD window and type "adb reboot recovery", you will see your phone reboot...it will show a red warning icon on the screen afterwards, this is perfectly normal and good to see such.
7. Your phone should not be in recovery mode, but the filesystem will be offline. Download this to setup the shell for us before we can mount the filesystem. Run "recovery-windows.bat", if you are using Vista or Win7, make to sure right click the file and "Run as Administrator"...you will see another CMD window popup and do some work, just leave it open. You should now have the shell setup in Recovery Mode on your Evo.
8. Go back to your original CMD window we setup, type "adb shell" and hit enter, this will set all commands to work right on the phone. You should see a line with just "#", that is what we want.
Now type "mount /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system" and hit enter.
You should now have your Evo in recovery mode with a shell setup and filesystem mounted. This is where we can begin making changes.
Now that this has all been setup, you may want to go back after making some changes.
Repeat steps 5-8 to re-enter recovery mode with the filesystem mounted.
If you want to continue and do the stock update, check here.
Basically, copy that file to the SD and do steps 5-7.
Then use the onscreen (on the EVO Recovery Mode) to "Flash from ZIP" and select the rooted stock rom update.
WARNING: You must clear user data if the update creates issue, you will know right away.
so this is a third way of rooting, if i used a different way how do i get rid of it and use yours, i'm so tired and confused.
Post Removed to maintain consistancy, see 1st post in thread.
root rom and activesync?
I'm a complete noob here but: By using this method do I still retain the ability to run ActiveSync/Exchange support? (Didn't think this was in the SDK Platform 2.1)
What about Sense?
What the crap is up with the title of this thread? How us this a tweak or an optimization?
Good noob friendly guide, kinda tldr, but what I did readlooked good!
Change ur title
Neotelos_com;
[B said:
You have two options with rooting:
1) Toasts Rooted ROM - Missing Apps in Market
2) Rooted Stock ROM - No 4G Support[/B]
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any thought about the third option (i.e. unrevoked, new sticky, apk??) will it do the same things? i read users aren't losing full market, 4g etc.? Someone much smarter than me please weigh in.
adeyo said:
Any thought about the third option (i.e. unrevoked, new sticky, apk??) will it do the same things? i read users aren't losing full market, 4g etc.? Someone much smarter than me please weigh in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, adding in right now...just tested and it works well.
I need to check if it allows things to be changed in recovery mode (which is important for removing the Sprint bloatware)
johnsongrantr said:
What the crap is up with the title of this thread? How us this a tweak or an optimization?
Change ur title
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have plans for adding in tweaks, which will be delayed a bit...
Sorry for any inconvenience.
Neotelos_com said:
Yes, adding in right now...just tested and it works well.
I need to check if it allows things to be changed in recovery mode (which is important for removing the Sprint bloatware)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have root at all, and you have "rw" permissions for "system". You should be able to remove sprint apps when the phone is booted, assuming you dont have root while in recovery.
Is something different on the Evo that im missing?
can you not do this
adb shell
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cd /system/app
ls
Then remove the apps like so
rm NameOfApp.apk
rm NameOfApp.odex
Not saying this will all work.. But if you have root, shouldnt this work to remove sprint apps.
Jus10o said:
If you have root at all, and you have "rw" permissions for "system". You should be able to remove sprint apps when the phone is booted, assuming you dont have root while in recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can make changes like that but it will not actually save to the NAND.
So...you can remove, but it will come back after reboot.
Neotelos_com said:
You can make changes like that but it will not actually save to the NAND.
So...you can remove, but it will come back after reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thats all kinds of dumb..
I give it a week and there will be something better working.
Nice write up. The only problem is, I don't have the sync software on my sd card because the best buy employee knew about the evo's sd card problem and formatted it, erasing everything on the card. I checked htc's site and they had the drivers for download, but it keeps giving me an error saying it's not compatible. I'm using windows 7 64bit. Any ideas guys?
Jus10o said:
If you have root at all, and you have "rw" permissions for "system". You should be able to remove sprint apps when the phone is booted, assuming you dont have root while in recovery.
Is something different on the Evo that im missing?
can you not do this
adb shell
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cd /system/app
ls
Then remove the apps like so
rm NameOfApp.apk
rm NameOfApp.odex
Not saying this will all work.. But if you have root, shouldnt this work to remove sprint apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you CAN remove apps like that, using toast's custom recovery. if you do your shell, and mount, in recovery, using adb, you can go to /system/app and rm whatever you want (be careful not to remove anything important, probably wise to pull whatever first, in case you need to push it back)
i had problems when i did an rm on a file, but that is because apparently i forgot to rm it's info in /data/data too. word to the wise
HTC Sync Torrent
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/5609530
PLEASE SEED AFTER DOWNLOAD!
New android user here!
So to me it seems like all three have something they're not able to do. Seems best to wait for a root release that your able to take full advantage of, right?
I'm a former WM flasher , I need to learn android still. I want the free hot spot/tethering, more battery life as I need 2 batteries to make it through the day -.- (I kill apps constantly, 4g turned on rarely,ect, ect)
Any feedback is appreciated,
Sean
can someone point me in the right direction to do this using a mac not new to android just the mac os i did pretty much everything but im stuck on the htc sync part HELPPP PLZ thanks
kingcliff00 said:
can someone point me in the right direction to do this using a mac not new to android just the mac os i did pretty much everything but im stuck on the htc sync part HELPPP PLZ thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try going to Settings -> Applications on the evo and enable usb debugging...if that5 gives you adb access that's all you need
confirmed working with unrevoked root method. It can tether 3G or 4G, depends on how you connected to the Sprint network. 3G was 0.80Mbps DL, 4G was 2.63Mbps DL.
Before using unrevoked root method, I had applied the sdcard patch already. so it doesn't matter if you applied the sdcard patch or not (OTA updated).
You really shouldn't kill tasks. Just cycle the battery a couple of times and turn your antennas off and on when u need them. Especially if u are in spotty 3g coverage. There already one or two official write ups that say task killing is bad I use to do it and got forceloses and errors all the time. Its not about how many tasks you have running I.e. memory, items about cpu and antenna signal that kills you're battery I'll find the link if I can. My battery life is pretty good and I'm a heavy user.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
i cannot get recovery bat file to work. I am at the red exclamation point screen on my evo and i run the bat file as amdmin. it pops up for a second then closes and nothing happens.
Edit: NVM I figured it out. on to the next step.
1.0 – WELCOME AND DISCLAIMER
So, it seems like a lot of people are having problems with their new Samsung Epic 4G. I thought I'd take a minute and throw together a little comprehensive guide on, well, everything. I'll be updating this periodically, so be sure to check it out.
I'll also be working on formatting it to improve readability... I'm not so good with this markup language that forums make you use, so bear with me. If I can figure out some basic tricks, we'll be in business.
And, just so you know, this is just a guide. As long as you follow it and do research, everything should go fine. That being said, I am not responsible for what happens to your phone. This is all elective and I am not forcing you to do any of this. You brick your phone, you own up to it. I'm only trying make it as easy as possible for your to avoid that.
2.0 – GETTING STARTED
New to Android? Need to root? Just got your phone? Not totally clear on everything? Start here. Even if you have experience with Android, had your Epic since day one, or whatever, you'll still want to check this section out.
2.1 – TERMINOLOGY
First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the terminology. This is vital to understanding what you are doing, so I'll outline as many as I can.
Brick – Not a term that should be thrown around as much as it is. If you have a bricked device, it is worthless. Like, completely. It is literally as useful as a brick. You CANNOT fix a brick. Everything else is just just breakage.
Root – a)This term comes from Linux/UNIX. To obtain root access means that you have elevated privileges. Look at this like administrator rights in Windows. It's what allows you to run custom software and access administrator setting in Android.
b)The uppermost folder. Such as “/”, “C:\” , et cetera.
Rooting – Gaining elevated root admin access.
Kernel – A kernel is the base of an operating system. For Android, it's where all the drivers and system information resides. A custom kernel can contain undervolting instructions, overclocking instructions, and many other battery-saving, power-giving, phone-enhancing features. There are several options, so make sure you do your research and choose the kernel that offers what you are looking for.
Shell – The shell is the part that you see. It's the interface that interacts and allows you to interact with the kernel.
ROM – A ROM is the combination of a kernel and a shell. Think of this like an operating system.
Dev – Dev is short for developer. These are the people who spend their days and nights writing code and bug testing to bring you the ROMs you love. These guys are the reason you're here, so show your appreciation!
Chef – Chefs and devs are essentially the same thing.
Recovery – A system that allows basic phone function. You can flash from this, clear data, and do very basic debugging. As long as you can boot to this, your phone is NOT bricked.
Flashing – The act of installing a ROM or fix to your phone through recovery.
Wiping – The act of performing a factory reset or cache clear from recovery. Your settings are gone, your apps are gone, your phone is as it was when you you got (to an extent). Formats /system/. This is not reversible.
CPU – Central Processing Unit. The brain of the phone. All data travels through this at some point.
Overclocking – Pushing your CPU to its limits. The CPU has a stock clock speed (1GHz for the Epic), and overclocking is pushing it past that.
Undervolting – Making the phone use less power. This saves battery.
AOSP – Android Open Source Project. Frequently referred to as “Vanilla”. The actual people who make Android. Go here for more information.
Theme – A cosmetic change to the user interface.
One-Click – A script or program that does everything for you.
Busybox – A collection of scripts that allow deeper editing of the system while it is running.
Remount – An easy method of mounting /system/ for writing.
Stock – Samsung-released, no editing, as-is stuff. Basically, how the phone came.
OTA – Over the air. Updates that automatically come to your phone, through your service.
adb – “Android Debug Bridge” A debug program for accessing your phone.
deODEX – Combining the ODEX file and the APK files for all the items in the /system/ folder. Allows for easier theming and customizing.
FC/Force Close – When a program or app crashes.
2.2 – WHY SHOULD I ROOT MY PHONE?
Rooting offers several great things including, but certainly not limited to, access to hidden features, total customization, better battery life, and overclocking. It gives you control over the device that you paid money for in the first place. The devs here are great at finding features that the manufacturers left out or disabled and making them work.
It also is a great hobby. Even if you aren't a developer yourself, flashing ROMs and trying out new features can be a lot of fun and definitely kill boredom. And who knows? Maybe you'll end up learning something and start coding yourself.
2.3 – ROOTING
Great! Now you know some words! So, what next? Well, we need to achieve root access on your phone. There are a few ways to accomplish this on the Epic. Please note that the one-click methods are hit and miss and are affected by several factors, including computer speed, cable, USB ports, and, for all intents and purposes, random chance. I HIGHLY recommend you open the .bat files and run every command in adb manually. I'll update this guide, eventually, with how to do this.
If you're running Windows, you're going to need the drivers for this phone. Install them BEFORE connecting your phone to your computer. You can get them here:
32-bit: Click here
64-bit: Click here
You'll also need to put your phone into debug mode. After you turn this on, you can just leave it on. To do this, go to settings, and then to applications, then to development, and then tick the “USB debugging” check box.
I also recommend using a cable other than Samsung's cable that came with the phone. Really, that cable is hardly good for anything more than charging. It's low quality and has caused a lot of users more than a headache. If you are unable to get another cable for whatever reason, run each command individually from adb. Check the section about adb and the Android SDK later in the guide for more information on how to do that.
2.3.1 – The Jokeyrim temporary root with noobnl's one-click script method – DO FIRST
Let it be known that I don't recommend relying on this method. It's janky and can cause problems once you get deeper into Android modification. Use it to get your remount scripts and then quickly do the kernel mods in the steps in 2.3.2.
Go here and download the .zip file. Extract the .zip contents to your desktop. Open the folder, run “run.bat” and let it go.
NOTE: This is just root, this is temporary, and this DOES NOT give you access to a recovery. All this will allow you to do is run applications that require root or busybox and adds the remount script.
2.3.2 – The rooted kernel and recovery method method – DO SECOND
I do recommend that you use this method. This gives you true, permanent root.
There are a couple of ways to do this. I actually suggest you follow both guides, too. This will help prevent you ever getting to Samsung's stock recovery, which is worthless for your purpose.
The first is noobnl's recovery method, and definitely the one you should do first. You can find it here. Download the .zip file and extract its contents to your desktop. There is an issue with this .bat file, so you're going to have to do some extra steps. With adb (go to the section about the Android SDK and adb further in the guide if you do not know what this is) and type:
Code:
adb shell
su
remount rw
exit
exit
(the two 'exits' is not a typo)
After running those commands, open your extracted folder and run the run.bat file. Should be smooth sailing.
The second is koush's method. koush's thread is here, but I that's a complicated method. After you do noobnl's method above, go to this thread and download the .zip from that. Put that .zip on the root of your SD card. Boot into the Clockwork recovery by turning the phone off, holding down the camera button, the volume down button, and pressing the power button until the phone turns on. Once in there, do this:
1. BACK UP YOUR PHONE. I cannot emphasize this enough. Backups are sooo important in your Android modding quest. Backup and do it often. (Backup and restore → Backup).
2. Go to “Flash zip from SD card”
3. Choose zip from sd card
4. Select the zip we put there earlier
5. Click “Yes”
6. Let it do its thing
Once you've done this, you need to boot into the phone, go to the market, and download “ROM Manager”. From that, click “Flash recovery” (the top option) and select the Epic. This will take a minute. From this point on, you can use ROM Manager to boot into the Clockwork Recovery.
2.3 – FLASHING ROMS/KERNELS/FIXES
This is the fun stuff. This is why you're here. Now that you have root and a recovery, we can get some work done. First, you have to select a ROM that you want. Always pick a ROM that is designed for the Epic. ROMs designed from other phones can and will brick your phone!
You can find ROMs for the Epic in the Epic 4G Android Development section of XDA. Do some research to each ROM to make sure it's what you want. If you want a kernel, make sure your ROM supports other kernels and that the kernel supports your ROM.
Once you've picked your ROM, put it on the root of your sd card and then boot into Clockwork Recovery using your method of choice, then:
1. BACKUP. I seriously cannot stress this enough.
2. Wipe everything. Factory reset and clear cache.
3. Go to “Flash zip from SD card”
4. Choose zip
5. Choose “Yes”
6. Let it run
7. -OPTIONAL- To ensure it worked, repeat steps 2-6. This is just to make sure everything worked. Problems with this can be intermittent and this helps to avoid them.
8. Reboot.
3.0 – ERRORS
Stuff goes wrong. You have to understand, EVERYTHING in this is experimental. The devs here do not have access to EVERYTHING that is required to make these phones work and have to guess at some things and, basically, just do their best (And their best is pretty damn good!).
Basically, just be sure you have backups that you can restore from, and this will all be fine.
3.1 – BLACK SCREEN
Oh no! I flashed ROM X and now my phone won't boot and I hate everything!!!
Worry not! As long as you can boot in to recovery, you have nothing to fear. Just restore the backup that I told you to make and you're back in business. Easy fix.
3.2 – CONSTANT FORCE CLOSES
You boot up your phone and are immediately greeted with force closes. Chances are that you didn't wipe OR that the ROM you're using isn't ready for show time. Again, just restore your backup from Clockwork.
3.2 – CAN'T GET TO RECOVERY, CAN GET TO DOWNLOAD MODE
Well, looks like you'll be returning your phone to stock using Odin. Read later on in the guide how to use Odin in the section about Odin.
3.4 – PHONE WON'T TURN ON AT ALL
Welcome to bricksville, population you. Sorry, but you're phone is a $500 paperweight... Probably shouldn't have flashed that GSM ROM, huh? Not even Odin can save you at this point...
4.0 – THE ANDROID SDK AND ADB
The Android SDK (Standard Developer Kit) is a tool freely available to everyone. You can find it here and it is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
4.1 – INSTALLING THE SDK
So, the first step is going to be how to install the SDK on your system. I have experience with Linux and Windows, so that's what I have for now. If someone with a Mac can help write the set up instructions for that, I'd be very appreciative.
4.1.1 – Windows
First, download android-sdk_r07-windows.zip from here to your Desktop. Once it has downloaded, double-click the file and extract it to the root of your C:\ drive (this is optional, but it will make things a lot easier in the future). Rename the extracted folder “android-sdk-windows” to just “android” to make your life easier.
Open the new folder, then run the SDK Manager. If you run into an error about Java, go to java.com and get the latest version of the Java JRE (pretty much just click whatever the biggest “download” button is that you first see).
Once you have the SDK open, it will ask you to install packages. Just tick the “Accept All” radio button on the bottom right and press install. Depending on your internet connection, this can take a long time. Just be patient. Once they are all installed, you're good to go.
How you use adb is simple. Open a command prompt (press the Windows key + r and type “cmd” in the box that shows up, or go to Start → All Programs → Accessories → Command Prompt) and type in “cd C:\android\tools\” and type your commands (list of common commands at the end of this section.
-OPTIONAL- This step is optional, but HIGHLY recommended. Now that we have the SDK set up, we're going to adb to the Windows paths so that you can use adb from anywhere you can open a command prompt.
First, click the start menu and then right-click “My Computer” (Just “Computer” in Vista and 7. You'll also need to click the “Advanced System Setting” on the left side of the window that appears.). Click “Properties” and the Properties window appears. Now, click on the “Advanced” tab and the the “Environment Variables” button. A new window appears with two scrollable boxes. In the lower box, scroll until you find a “path” option and select it. Click “Edit” underneath the box. Move your cursor to the very end (Press END on your keyboard, just to be safe) and type “;C:\android\tools\”” (That leading semi-colon is important and may already be there. Check to be sure).
And you're done! Open a command prompt and type “adb devices” and see what comes up. If a list of devices (phones; will be empty if your phone isn't connected in debug mode) comes up, you've succeeded! Congrats.
4.1.2 – Linux
I use Ubuntu personally, but most of this information should be universal. If anyone running anything else sees anything missing or wrong with other distributions, let me know and I'll update or fix it.
First, you need to acquire the SDK. The file is android-sdk_r07-linux_x86.tgz from this site. Once downloaded, extract the contained folder to your home folder (/home/*USERNAME*, using your username) and rename the folder “android' for later ease of use.
Use terminal and cd to the android folder your created. Use the command “tools/android update sdk” to make the SDK updater come up. Just tick “Accept all” in the bottom right and then click install. This can take a while depending on your internet connection.
Once you have all of the files installed, you're ready to use adb. Using terminal, navigate to /home/user/android/tools and type (For Ubuntu):
Code:
sudo chmod 777 adb
This will allow the adb file to be read as an executable. Note that this only has to be done once. Then, use this code:
Code:
sudo ./adb start-server
(replace 'sudo' for 'su' for distros other than Ubuntu)
This is necessary every time you use adb (in Ubuntu, at least). You only have to do it once per session, but if the adb process is ever killed during your session, you must do it again. I've just gotten into the habit of doing it every time I log into my computer. You could also create a boot script that does this for you... which I've been meaning to get around to. After you have the process running, you won't have to use su/sudo or ./ to use adb.
Note that one-click scripts written for Windows will have to be opened and run manually. There are scripts for Linux floating around, but I can't seem to find the thread.
-OPTIONAL- This isn't a needed step, but you'll probably want to do it. Here we're going to add adb to the paths folder so that after you have started the process as an administrator, you can run it from any folder.
Open terminal and use these commands:
Code:
echo $PATH (should return the directories associated with $PATH)
export PATH=$PATH:/home/user/android/tools (replace with path to your tools directory, you may need to add 'sudo' or 'su' to the beginning of this cmd)
echo $PATH (you should now see your tools directory added to the end of the $PATH variable)
Once done, you're set. Once you have the process started, you can run adb commands from any terminal window.
4.1.3 – Mac OS
-I don't own a Mac, never have, and I have zero experience with Mac and Android... If someone else can help with this section, I'd appreciate it -
4.2 ADB COMMANDS
This isn't a complete list, but it should be enough to get you by for your purpose.
adb shell – opens a terminal on your phone. Terminal is like the command prompt of Linux.
adb push – pushes a file to the phone. The syntax is ”abd push *file location on your PC* *Location you want it on your phone*”
adb pull – pulls a file from your phone. The syntax is “adb pull *file location on the phone* *location to be placed on your PC*
adb shell rm – deletes a file from your phone. The syntax is “adb shell rm *location and name of the file to be deleted*. NOTE: adb shell rm -r is a recursive deletion and can cause damage to your ROM and phone. Make sure you know what you are doing if told to do an rm -r.
adb devices – lists all connected Android phones.
5.0 - ODIN
(I don't have a ton of experience with Odin, so if someone can refine this section, let me know and I'll update it)
Odin is a tool that was created for previous Samsung phones. It is a powerful tool and very useful for saving your phone from many malfunctions. As long as you can boot your phone into download mode (Hold down the “1” key on the slide-out keyboard while powering the phone on) you can almost always save your phone.
That said, Odin is also fairly experimental in its implementation on the Epic. There have been several reports of failed flashes and intermittent errors. This guide will hopefully help prevent that from happening.
5.1 – SETTING IT UP
If you haven't already, you need to get the drivers for the phone. Install them BEFORE Odin and before connecting your phone to your computer. You can get them here:
32-bit: Click here
64-bit: Click here
After that, you're going to need to get Odin. You can find that, as well as a basic guide and the stock files from noobnl, here (External link to SDX). Odin is the .rar file from the first link fo the post.
5.2 - USING ODIN
After you have it downloaded, extract the files somewhere (I recommend a folder on your desktop). From the extracted files, double-click “Odin3_v1.0.exe” and the Odin window opens. Have it completely ready to go before connecting your phone. Put all your files in the spots they belong (refer to the post where you got the Odin files for instructions on that... it seems to vary a lot depending on the purpose). Make sure that no other check boxes are ticked besides “Debug En.” and “Auto-reboot”. All the others can have very negative effects.
Before connecting your phone, put it into download mode by holding down the “1” key on your slide-out keyboard while powering the phone up. Once it is in download mode, connect the phone. The first box in Odin should come up as something akin to “COM4”. If it doesn't say exactly that, don't worry. Make sure all your files are placed correctly, and then click “Start”. It should take up to a few minutes, so be patient. Cutting this process off early can have negative effects. When it is finished, the phone should reboot.
6.0 – CLOSURE
I hope this guide helped you. If you have any questions, you can contact me, but I can't guarantee I can help you. Most devs are willing to help, too, so you can shoot them a PM and they'll try to get back to you.
Good luck and happy flashing!!
[Update Log]
*10-5-2010 - Added sections for Odin and adb/Android SDK. Updated sections, fixed typos and mistakes, reorganized a little. Fixed links.
None of those links are working for me. I get sent to a page with a message saying "Sorry, we can't find "xn--http-fb7a". We suggest that you check the spelling of the web address or search above."
Thanks a bunch, this was a very useful tutorial on the basics and for me helped out greatly with understanding where and what you need to do to be getting the best out of these awsome phones!
blasted across the interwebs by the Epic 4g!
Lonewuhf said:
None of those links are working for me. I get sent to a page with a message saying "Sorry, we can't find "xn--http-fb7a". We suggest that you check the spelling qof the web address or search above."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird. I just went through and checked them all and everything is working on my end. All the URLs are correct. Maybe try clearing your browser cache?
DevinXtreme said:
Weird. I just went through and checked them all and everything is working on my end. All the URLs are correct. Maybe try clearing your browser cache?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of them work for me either. The urls all start: http://xn--http-fb7a//forum.xda-developers.com/
dwyw42 said:
None of them work for me either. The urls all start: http://xn--http-fb7a//forum.xda-developers.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is so weird... It's showing up like that for me now, too. I've checked the source, and it stills is showing the right links in my post.... It's something on XDA's end right now... I'll look into getting it to work a little later.
Good work! This should be a sticky!
Sent from my Epic 4G
dwyw42 said:
None of them work for me either. The urls all start: http://xn--http-fb7a//forum.xda-developers.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah same here, i just cleared everything before "forum" from address bar and page loaded.
You might wanna ad that you need done battery life when flashing a kernal. If your phone dies during the flash your phone will be a useless brick.
You might also wanna adds the odin steps for flashing back to stock
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
mysteryemotionz said:
You might wanna ad that you need done battery life when flashing a kernal. If your phone dies during the flash your phone will be a useless brick.
You might also wanna adds the odin steps for flashing back to stock
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless whatever you're flashing messes with the recovery partition, an incomplete flash shouldn't cause a brick. As long as you can boot to recovery or download mode, you can save your phone.
And I'm working on an Odin section for my next update to this. A lot of things will be added next time I update the main post.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
i've got the first part of your guide done by completing noobnl's method but i cant get koush's method down. you say to hold down the volume, camera, and power buttons to boot into clockwork recovery, but it seems like it goes into the stock samsung recovery? how do i get the clockwork recovery?
The link for noobnl's easy method always takes me to Koush page not noobnl's might want to check your links there.
but very great idea and should be sticked on the front page.
dsummey30 said:
The link for noobnl's easy method always takes me to Koush page not noobnl's might want to check your links there.
but very great idea and should be sticked on the front page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770388
for the proper thread
^^^ I have the same problem he did: I followed the instructions to root, but when I tried to restart with the "Epic 3-finger salute", it went into what appeared to be the stock bootloader, not clockwork.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
bitbang3r said:
^^^ I have the same problem he did: I followed the instructions to root, but when I tried to restart with the "Epic 3-finger salute", it went into what appeared to be the stock bootloader, not clockwork.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with me. I selected "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery" and after a number of tries it was successful. Yet when I boot with the 3 buttons it still goes into the stock recovery.
you might wanna add how to set adb
Spunkzz said:
i've got the first part of your guide done by completing noobnl's method but i cant get koush's method down. you say to hold down the volume, camera, and power buttons to boot into clockwork recovery, but it seems like it goes into the stock samsung recovery? how do i get the clockwork recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bitbang3r said:
^^^ I have the same problem he did: I followed the instructions to root, but when I tried to restart with the "Epic 3-finger salute", it went into what appeared to be the stock bootloader, not clockwork.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vanquish46 said:
Same with me. I selected "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery" and after a number of tries it was successful. Yet when I boot with the 3 buttons it still goes into the stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I know the issue here. It's that /system/ isn't being mounted as rw. Run the jokeyrim root method and then go into adb and type this:
Code:
adb shell
su
remount rw
exit
exit
If you don't know how to use adb, just wait until a little later tomorrow. I've got a whole section about it to add to the guide, but I don't have it completed yet (did some work on my laptop in the middle of writing it, forgot to reconnect my WLAN card and was baffled for most of the day...)
dsummey30 said:
The link for noobnl's easy method always takes me to Koush page not noobnl's might want to check your links there.
but very great idea and should be sticked on the front page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that. Should be fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out
mysteryemotionz said:
you might wanna add how to set adb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All in the works I expect to have the guide updated early tomorrow, if not tonight.
Updated the guide with a lot of new info. Two new sections for adb/the SDK and Odin as well as a general update to the whole thing. Some of the sections changed (HARD and EASY mode are now both required, unfortunately...) and some things got a little moved around.
Also, all of the links should now work correctly. Something about the way XDA was handling quotations... So I just stripped them all from the forum code stuff...
If anyone has any experience with Mac, I could use your help for the adb/SDK section, and I could also use some help from someone more experience with Odin for that part.
Thanks, guys! I really hope this guide helps some people.
not to be a pain Devin but the two links for noobnl's programs goes to the same page for the easy and hard method don't know if that's right or not but wanted to point it out to you.
Thanks again for the great guide.
David
Apologies if this is already answered somewhere or should have been common knowledge - I'm new to Android. I feel like I've read through all the appropriate threads but haven't found the answer.
I wanted to simply remove some of the stock apps from my G2X. I can't get adb connected while in CWM recovery. I've done the following:
- Installed android sdk
- Installed LG adb driver
- Rooted with SuperOneClick
- Installed Rom Manager from the market and "fake" flashed ClockworkMod Recovery
- Booted into CWM and made a nandroid backup
- Factory reset using stock recovery
- Restored nandroid backup using CWM - works fine
Now, I believe all I need to do is get adb connected in recovery mode, mount /system and delete any .apks I don't want; however, the adb device is not present when I boot to CWM recovery. adb works fine when booted normally. As a result, I obviously can't start adb shell. Oh, and I've tried this from XP 32bit and Win7 x64. What am I missing?
Did I need to flash CWM to the actual recovery area using NVflash for this to work? I'd rather not do this for warranty purposes (especially this soon) unless absolutely necessary. Incidentally, the other USB devices (virtual serial port, modem, and storage devices) do show up while in recovery - just not the adb device.
I'm open to other methods of stripping .apks. I don't yet know anything about modifying and repackaging a nandroid backup, if that's possible, or I would try that route.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
EDIT: I've resolved my particular issue by just remounting /system as rw while the phone is booted normally. This still doesn't answer the CWM adb question, but at least for now, I guess I don't need that.
I believe you can just use Root Explorer (or another type of file manager) to delete or freeze the apps that you do not want. Not sure if this belongs in development.
This will be moved soon enough, and you didn't search enough since i know there is threads talking about this. Do a search again. mod plz move this to the right area.
Maybe a freeze is one way to go, but obviously a cleaner way is remove the apps, which should be possible with this method and others.
I did search - a lot - in this forum and others. I found no one directly addressing adb not working in CWM on the G2X. I saw one poster here mention they had a similar issue, but only on XP and no one responded to that either. If you know of a thread with this information in it, please enlighten me.
Maybe this isn't the right forum to post in, but the question is directly about CWM flashed to a rooted G2X and access using adb...
I just use titanium backup's Chuck Norris Mode.
I've resolved my particular issue by just remounting /system as rw while the phone is booted normally. This still doesn't answer the CWM adb question, but at least for now, I guess I don't need that.
Root Explorer is your best friend, a simple delete is all you need, make sure you mount before entering system
davemayo2000 said:
I've resolved my particular issue by just remounting /system as rw while the phone is booted normally. This still doesn't answer the CWM adb question, but at least for now, I guess I don't need that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, plenty of answers, none of which answer your main concern. I too have been mystified by the lack of adb functionality while in recovery. I have come to the conclusion that it's simply not functional with this very early version of clockwork recovery for our phones and probably not a high priority for the devs at the moment as theres probably plenty of other issues deemed more urgent. Especially considering there are many work-arounds to solve this particular missing function. Hopefully I'm wrong though.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I have an LG Optimus T. Not the most ground breaking phone ever, but a heck of a deal for the money. Nonetheless, it's my phone, and I'm not really happy with the internal memory barrier I'm facing. For what it's worth, I have it rooted. I heard a way to partition your SD card (with part of it being allocated to ext3 file system) and re-flashing your phone somehow so the phone utilizes your ext3 partition on the SD card for housing applications. I heard several users in the IRC chat confirm this works well.
However, now that it's show time and I'm trying to do it, I'm a little confused. So please, be gentle, and I apologize if I'm re-hashing simple steps. I'm just trying to make sure I get what I'm supposed to do.
I'm working from this link here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10692249&postcount=1299
So from what I understand, the factory ROM can do fine, so I don't need to locate a custom ROM. That said, I just need to reset the phone to factory settings (thereby getting the factory ROM), run A2SD (is A2SD any different from A2SD Killer that they speak of in this post? I never heard of it), then go through the motions of the initial setup as it suggests (language choice, time zone, etc).
Then, prior to setting up my gmail account, I'm supposed to reboot to recovery. What does it mean reboot to recovery? Am I supposed to hold down the keys to do a factory reset? Is that what they mean by recovery?
I hate to ask these questions in a form of hand holding, but I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. After re-hashing this post several times and talking to 2 buddies about it without any further progress, I figured I'd just ask.
That said, can anyone help guide me in the proper direction? I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
make sure that you are looking at the right forum next time that link was for htc desire (use it only if it says its compatible for your phone)
before you start worrying about a2sd, you need a custom recovery, found here. once you flash recovery and boot into it, everything will be clear (ext, partition, flashing, etc)
for apps2sd, id suggest using ungazes data2sd (apps2sd and data2sd are basically the same thing, at least thats my understanding)
follow the steps there. if anythings unclear, post any questions and ill check back later
I did notice it was an HTC forum, but I was speaking with users who had other devices and claimed they used the same method, so I didn't think much of it. At that point I figured it was more of an Android thing vs an actual manufacturer thing.
When you speak of the custom recovery, what *exactly* does that entail? I was told Android phones have the hard factory reset that cannot be altered as long as you don't mess with /system under root terminal. That said, this phone is pretty much brand new. I have nothing on it that isn't already stored in the cloud somewhere (google contacts, gmail, work's email, etc).
What I'm trying to get at is, is a custom recovery needed only to get my phone back the way it was before I screwed with it? Or if I'm accepting to doing a hard factory reset, is that acceptable as well?
Thank you very much for the link. This seems a little more straight forward than the last one was. I'm also trying to understand the differences between handsets and Android versions here. For example, you mentioned the previous post was for HTC. It's a difficult thing for me to grasp because I come from a very heavy Linux background. If I mess with Ubuntu on one machine, then mess with Ubuntu on a top end server, then tinker with it on a laptop, it's still Ubuntu no matter what machine it's on. So it's hard for me to grasp the concept of Android acting differently on different machines (phones) and having different methods to different devices.
That said, it sounds like the link you posted to me is more of a generic "everything should work" type of scenario. After all, it's just moving /data. It would make sense that it would work that way, right? If not, please correct me, as I'd rather be wrong 1,000 times over again and be corrected than make 1 mistake and mislead someone or brick my phone.
Thanks for your response. Hopefully the recovery thing isn't too much of a hassle and I hope this ext thing can do the trick! What kind of difficulty is involved here? Is this fix, say, grandma approved? Or is that asking for a lot?
EDIT - Also, I noticed you spoke of Apps2SD. I have that installed... is that not acceptable to what I'm running? After all, it just seems to move what parts of the apps it can to the SD card. I was aiming to have the entire application base MOVED to the SD card. Is that what it does and I'm just a little confused??
i understand what you mean (how ubuntu on one machine is the same as ubuntu on another)
its the same thing with android EXCEPT that each android device is made different by the hardware (i.e. my phone is limited by the fact that its cpu is not powerful enough to run some apps; different components make up each device in contrast to lets say iphone, where each iphone is the same; my understanding is that each rom utilizes and has commands for each of these components so if they're different then youll need a rom unique for each device)
heres a general scope over recovery:
custom recovery - allows you to flash a rom, make/restore a nand backup, well it allows you to do a lot of things
stock recovery - only a hard reset (done automatically)
a hard reset wont cut it if you screw up your phone. youll need a custom recovery (which allows you to back up your entire system as a nand backup)
when you say apps2sd, i think you are talking about moving the app to the sd card in settings. thats not true apps2sd. true apps2sd moves the whole app to the sd card, giving you unlimited space to store apps (well actually you are only limited by your sd card)
if i missed anything, tell me. im multitasking right now (sorry)
Hahah, no you're doing quite well for multitasking! I understand what you mean, and it makes sense to me. I mean, after all, isn't it still the same analogy to Ubuntu? (at first I didn't think so, but now I think it may be more relevant) After all, if I'm running a dual proc 6 core system with 24gb of RAM, it'll certainly move Google Earth (aka, an app) faster than a Pentium 3 with 128mb of RAM would, even though they're both packin Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, or whatever your flavor may be. So in theory, I suppose you can apply the same analogy from Ubuntu as you do Android. The catch is, Ubuntu (or any Linux distro for that matter) runs on old hardware great, so the gap between old computer vs super computer is less relevant than today's Android based smart phones, where 300mhz could mean whether or not you can run a certain app. Compared to real life, Ubuntu operates just as quick to me on my dual proc 6 core (12 core total) server with 24gb of RAM as it does my P4 1gb RAM box on my test bench.
Anyway, going back on topic a bit more... yeah I was thinking of the Apps2SD from the market. So I suppose the "real" Apps2SD is a true "mv -R" type of application (linux recursive move of data).
Okay, so get the market based App2SD out of my head. Gone. Done. Okay... the thing I'm still not understanding is the recovery. I mean, I'm looking at the hard factory reset as, say, a recovery "Ghost based" partition that some Windows computers often come with.
Example - Windows gets fubar'd. Reboot. F8. Recover system. And it dumps the recovery image on the main partition. Ta da! Just like it was when you bought it at Best Buy!
I mean, if I could get it back to factory, then I could just start over, right? Trying to put it into words as best I can... I was thinking of it like this.
Hard factory reset = Windows recovery image from Dell factory (back to day 1).
Nandroid custom reset = Own "self made" Clonezilla/Ghost image (customized with your stuff as a backup you made yourself)
That's what I was thinking. So that being said, am I absolutely positively required to do a custom backup? Can I not just rely on the hard factory reset to take me back to day 1 from when I got it from T-Mobile and (if I so desire) start the process over if I tank it? You see, I was told that it's nearly impossible for me to permanently brick an Android phone, as the hard reset, while inconvenient since it would wipe my stuff, would at least get me back to a bootable, functional ROM.
If I'm re-hashing unnecessary things and just need to focus on the fact I have no choice, by all means, e-slap me. Thanks for your help so far. I'm just trying to learn what I can! Your time is appreciated.
the thing is, a time may come when you cannot even boot your phone (lets say you were messing around and modding and all of a sudden you get stuck in a bootloop) and you try doing a factory reset but it doesnt work. this might be because something is corrupted. for android, a factory reset only wipes the data but does not restore anything. this is where custom recovery comes in handy. not only can custom recovery do a factory reset, it can restore a backup if your phone ever gets screwed up (unless you screw it up so much that you cant even access your recovery, then things get much more complicated). think of this backup as a system restore on windows (creating a restore point on windows is like creating a nand backup in custom recovery)
and dont worry about all the questions a few months back i never knew this myself so i understand
Well my friend, your patience is certainly appreciated. I understand a little better now. So let me throw out another analogy just to further solidify what little understanding I feel I have.
Factory reset = Windows restore point
Nandroid reset = Self made recovery image via Clonezilla/Ghost
Your point is a Windows restore point is only good as long as the system is solid. If your hard drive dies, suddenly your backed up restore point is useless. But... dump on that Clonezilla/Ghost image you have saved elsewhere and you're good to go.
That said, how should I get started? How do I make a Nand backup? Any guides you recommend? Will this back up my current apps, settings, etc?
Once done, how would I go about the actual Apps2SD method for making the SD card act as app storage? I assume it's that ungazes link you provided earlier?
Again, thanks for your help!
Figure this is where I should come in to help. You can install Amon_ra's recovery or clockworkmod onto your device (you can choose if there is both) but you should be able to do all that from a backup and restore menu in the custom recovery. You can go get the free version of rom manager and it should be able to install clock work recovery all without that much input from you, then you boot into recovery from rom manager. It shows you this simple yet amazing GUI that you never thought possible with something so small such as your android device. You are then given choices, do you want to flash a zip to mod your system such as custom roms, new keyboards, etc. Backup and restore (nandroid backup) or even mount it in USB mode which is useful if you never backed up, and didn't keep a copy of a custom rom on your SD card. (I never made that mistake of atleast the latter option. lol) So basically, the recovery is the "safemode" of android, only you don't get to access all of your stuff until you leave "safe mode"
and a bit of advice: NEVER flash anything without 50% or more battery.
It probably will atleast softbrick your device if it dies mid-flash.
oh, I see. Yeah I thought recovery was the actual PROCESS of pulling an old backup over, not so much operating in a sterile system environment such as safe mode.
About flashing, I would suspect it would best be done plugged in with AC power. I've had a laptop or two nearly die on me in my flashing days (went to the bathroom, came back, flashing red light, uh oh!) so I think I'll be good there.
So which applications do I need to get started? The problem I face is when I google something, there's no less than 600 ways to do all sorts of various tasks. So I have a hard time separating which one is best practice, which one is the old method, which one is definitely a bad idea, etc. So you say I can choose which ROM to use. Are they pre-built into whatever recovery software I need to use to get this job done? Or do I have to download them somewhere and put them on my SD card and then boot into recovery?
EDIT - hey how about this lil guy here?
http://code.google.com/p/android-roms/wiki/SPL
Came across it when I was googling for Nandroid Backup.
EDIT 2 - Or this guy. Looks to be the same step as the Nandroid step within the first link. Looks like the first link, while a bit more dated, is also a bit more thorough.
http://theunlockr.com/2010/02/06/how-to-backup-and-restore-your-android-phone/
Since you're rooted, you can run thiss https://market.android.com/details?id=com.koushikdutta.rommanager&hl=en and it will be able to install clocwork mod recovery. Then you just boot into it and whatever rom you want to use (found in the android development forum for your device) you install that zip from SD card and voila! You're golden with a new rom on your phone. It isn't completely needed though. lol
if i were you, i wouldnt use rom manager (it is known to cause problems). for now, use the recovery i posted in the second post. if you want to flash a rom, heres a list of most (if not all) roms for our phone.
as you start getting familiar things, you should start referring here
heres a general scope of things when it comes to flashing a custom rom:
1. boot into recovery
2. make a nand backup
3. you MUST wipe data/factory reset, cache, and dalvik cache. wiping the sd card is not necessary
4. flash the rom
5. boot normally (first boot can take awhile)
and remember, never flash more than one file without rebooting normally in between or else you might run into some problems
When you say wipe the dalvik, cache, etc, is that done during a factory wipe or do I need to do that in a separate step?
Edit- which rom would you suggest? I hear a lot about cm7. Thats the only one I recognize.
they are separate processes but they are found under the same category
so itll be like this:
wipe
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache
wipe dalvik cache
wipe rotation settings
wipe battery stats
something like that (at least this is how it works for amonra recovery. for clockwordmod recovery, i believe they are categorized differently but its still the same idea)
Ahh, I gotcha. I remember reading instructions on clearing the dalvik-cache, so that's why I thought maybe I'd have to re-hash those links I found and do that in a separate step. But it sounds pretty streamlined!
Well, I'll give this a shot tonight. I'm still going back and forth on which ROM to use. I hear a lot about CM7, but I also heard of 1 or 2 users saying on CM7 they lost their Google Navigation or Google Latitude functionality, both things I utilize. I also had no idea the Opt T was supported on CM7. But then again, if it's anything like Linux distros, using one of the more popular ROMs has its benefits as those are normally the highest supported.
People weren't lying when they said stop googling and just go to XDA forums. Thanks for the help yet again, bro.
im using cm7 and both google navigation and latitude work for me. and i know that the link i gave you said optimus p500 roms, but all p500 roms work for the p509 (since they both use the same hardware). just remember not to flash any roms from any other forums, flash only from the p500 forum
glad i could help. if you need any more help, just refer to that forum or pm me (since i have the same phone as you)
Sweetnsour, I was just suggesting Rom manager to be able to flash clockwork, then he could flash amon_ra from inside clockwork. I think that's possible? It was more of a hint for a newer user. I remember being on the other side and since I don't personally own your device, I was just offering general android advice. Glad to see you corrected me though, anyway, good luck OP. Hope you enjoy your device modifications.
I come here with my tail between my legs ducking from any backlash I may get from any users here. I spent the better part of the evening Googling around, asking in IRC, and trying to get this part working.
I ran into several issues. Some of them are quite comical to me.
I Googled around, as well as utilized the links that were provided to me in this thread. I learned that Clockwork and Rom Manager are from the same dev team, but they are two separate products. Likewise, I was hearing other users confirm that Clockwork is the bees knees but that Rom Manager is kind of "ehh" with predictability and reliability.
After I ran into some road blocks I ended up asking in the IRC Android chat room. Some users in there directed me to some guides. I read through them. Of course, each one was different. So to a user like me, I have no idea which one is the better one to go with. The one guide kept talking about how I need to run a .sh script. So, of course, I download the files supplied and extract them. No .sh script. I ask in the IRC chat and I caught hell because I should read the directions more clearly. I read through them several times and got no where. Ultimately, some users in the IRC chat decided to link me to the guide they recommended. Later, I too ran into a road block there.
Moving along, I went into the XDA-Devs chat once I found myself at the next road block. There some users spoke to me about what I was trying to do. I linked to them the guides the Android users told me to use and they were wondering why I was using such old guides to do this simple task.
This is where my frustration is brewing. There are a million and one ways to do everything. There's no structure. No consistency at all. I've done a ton of reading and I still feel like I know next to nothing about doing a "simple" recovery. I know phones are different. I know ROMs are different. But holy hell. Doing "xyz" task on one Android phone vs the same task on another Android phone is as different from driving a lawnmower vs a dump truck.
At this point I installed Android SDK on my Ubuntu machine. However, "adb shell" was yielding a command not found error. It's nearly 2 am. I'm packing it up for tonight.
That said, let's back up a bit here. My goal is this. I have an LG Optimus T. I have it rooted. I would like to utilize Clockwork in order to do a recovery as Clockwork came heavily recommended by many sources I read about. Then, I would like to utilize the XDA site for a list of available ROMs for my phone and choose one of my liking.
Is this guide, right here what I should be using to get this job done?
Along with that, how exactly do I need to install SDK on Ubuntu so it works without headache?
Thank you to everybody who has been patient with helping me learn this stuff so far.
that guide works. after you flash the recovery from that guide, don't think that you are always stuck with it. you can always flash another recovery in recovery. as for sdk, do you need it to flash recovery? those commands to flash recovery can be done on the phone using a terminal emulator. (about installing sdk on ubuntu, I will check on that tmrw because I'm doing this on my phone, and over where I'm at I should be sleeping)
EDIT: and here's a list of roms for our phone http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16535249
EDIT: for sdk, have you tried this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=11823740#post11823740
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App
Okay. I wasn't sure if it was safe to run those commands from the phone. I was tempted to but, ahh, figured I'd wait.
Now these instructions are exclusive to the Clockwork mod, correct? So if I get any other recovery (Amon Ra, for example) there will be specific instructions for that exact recovery too as well, right?
I'll give this a shot later and see where I end up. Thanks for your help!
Edit... It's a shame those commands aren't in an sh script already. Just a fun idea... What I'd add them to a blank text file and on the phone just chmod +x it and run it. Would that work??
the commands are fairly similar:
cwm (from your guide):
#mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system
#cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
#chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
#mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system
#flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery.img
#reboot recovery
amonra (from here):
# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system
# cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
# chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
# mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak
# mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system
# flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-GNM-thunderg-1.1.0.img
# reboot recovery
after you flash either cwm or amonra, you wont have to do this again when you flash another recovery. to flash another recovery, you would just have to flash the recovery zip in recovery. these zips can be found here
(NOTE: this post is a duplicate of a similar thread I started on the Android Central user forum)
Hello everyone,
In the continuing saga of the Leagoo T5C i bought before the holidays from GearBest, I've seen the good (the price and overall build quality, along with a reasonably good user experience), the bad (some notifications that I just can't get rid of, among other things), and I now present you the ugly: after watching a review video on YouTube about my device, I learned that it came loaded with a Trojan called "Gorilla.AM"...
***EDIT: apparently, the Trojan's name could actually be "Guerrilla.AM", I'm not sure.***
Needless to say, I did as the tester had, and installed Malwarebytes, which, sure enough, found the exact same Trojan on my device.
You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5l3z7BvBtk
It so happens that it's embedded in Leagoo's own application launcher, called Sujet (in French; maybe it's called "Subject" in English, I don't know). I can force quit the application, since I use another launcher called Apex (good pick, by the way), but Malwarebytes can't seem to shake the Trojan off my device nonetheless.
A quick search on Google gives very little in the way of information about this malware, but I'd like to be on the safe side, so I came here.
Any contribution would be welcome at this stage.
Hi. I've seen your post on a french-speaking forum but for my own reasons I don't want to help there, too many morons.
Leagoo is well-known for smartphones with built-in spyware/adware. I've had both a Z5 and a M5 and both had such crap in the stock firmware.
This one is new to me but you'll probably have to follow the same steps to get rid of it.
Try
Code:
adb shell pm disable <internal name of that launcher>
first (from a PC connected to the device with ADB - zillions of tutorials available for this)
The internal name can be found by guessing or by using one of the many apps that will show you the information. One is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.csdroid.pkg
If that fails, try adding "-k -user 0" to the command line.
If it fails again (denied) then you have no choice but to root your device first, then use this pm command from a root shell or directly delete the folder for "Sujet/Subject" from /system/app or /system/priv-app where you'll find it.
Lannig said:
Hi. I've seen your post on a french-speaking forum but for my own reasons I don't want to help there, too many morons.
Leagoo is well-known for smartphones with built-in spyware/adware. I've had both a Z5 and a M5 and both had such crap in the stock firmware.
This one is new to me but you'll probably have to follow the same steps to get rid of it.
Try
Code:
adb shell pm disable <internal name of that launcher>
first (from a PC connected to the device with ADB - zillions of tutorials available for this)
The internal name can be found by guessing or by using one of the many apps that will show you the information. One is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.csdroid.pkg
If that fails, try adding "-k -user 0" to the command line.
If it fails again (denied) then you have no choice but to root your device first, then use this pm command from a root shell or directly delete the folder for "Sujet/Subject" from /system/app or /system/priv-app where you'll find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
OK, first off, thanks for the reply. Secondly, as I've stated before, I'm new to Android, and though I know my way around the command line in both Windows, Linux et OS X (not so much macOS: my MacBook Pro is 12-years old...), I suppose there are some things to set up first, before you can actually do what you suggest.
I understand that ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, so is it an existing functionality in, say, Windows, that you can trigger from the command line, or a third-party software you have to install first?
On the Android side, what action should I take? Any Developer command to enable/disable to let ADB interact with my device the way it's supposed to?
Yes, you need to enable debug mode on your phone too. I could refer you to one of the zillion tutorials available on the net, but here's a summary.
Go to settings > about... (à propos)
Make at least 7 rapid touches on the line that says "build number" or its french translation.
This will make a new settings menu available from the main settings page: developer options
In this new menu, enable USB debugging.
Then you need to install ADB on your Mac and I'm at loss to help you there because I'm totally foreign to Macs. Never used one.
This seems like a good start: https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/
Note: you may also try issuing the commands mentioned above from a terminal emulator running directly on your Android device, although I'm told that it's not exactly the same thing protection-wise.
Install this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm and try typing the commands from the emulator window. If it works, no need for ADB (although having ADB will probably prove useful sooner or later and I encourage you to take the step).
EDIT: forget the guys from Phonandroid, they're brain-damaged beyond help
Lannig said:
Yes, you need to enable debug mode on your phone too. I could refer you to one of the zillion tutorials available on the net, but here's a summary.
Go to settings > about... (à propos)
Make at least 7 rapid touches on the line that says "build number" or its french translation.
This will make a new settings menu available from the main settings page: developer options
In this new menu, enable USB debugging.
Then you need to install ADB on your Mac and I'm at loss to help you there because I'm totally foreign to Macs. Never used one.
This seems like a good start: https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/
Note: you may also try issuing the commands mentioned above from a terminal emulator running directly on your Android device, although I'm told that it's not exactly the same thing protection-wise.
Install this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm and try typing the commands from the emulator window. If it works, no need for ADB (although having ADB will probably prove useful sooner or later and I encourage you to take the step).
EDIT: forget the guys from Phonandroid, they're brain-damaged beyond help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, thanks for the heads-up; I've already installed a Terminal emulator on the phone, so I'm gonna give it a go in a moment. I concur about Phoneandroid, alas: I've just received flak from one of the moderators because I'd double-posted on the same subject, whereas I'd just posted one thread, in the wrong part of the forum, according to him. Go figure...
OK, please feed back on your attempts, both from terminal emulator and through ADB.
Alas, I suspect that root will be required. It was for me on my Z5 and M5 to get rid of Leagoo's crapware.
Phonandroid is a bunch of losers with bloated egos posing as experts when 2/3 of the replies given are total BS.
"Er, Houston, we've had a problem..."
On Windows: "ADB is not a recognized name for a command applet..."
On OS X: "adb: command not found"
Stumped, I am...
"Er, Houston, we've had a problem..."
On Windows: "ADB is not a recognized name for a command applet..."
On OS X: "adb: command not found"
Stumped, I am...
(Additional question, not quite related: Aida64 indicates that my device runs a 4.4.49 version of the Android kernel, when the current version for Android 7.x is supposed to be 4.4.1; how does that compute--no pun intended--with my issue?)
Missing adb command is because the adb.exe (Windows) or adb (Mac) file is not in the command path. Either make the folder that contains the adb[.exe] file the current folder using the cd command or use whatever context menu for opening a command line window within the currently selected folder works, or even add that folder to the PATH variable. Google "add directory to path" for Windows and MacOS.
No idea about the kernel version. Minor kernel versions may vary within an Android release. Not surprising and most definitely unrelated to your problem. The crapware certainly isn't part of the kernel. It's most likely a system app i.e. a folder within either /system/app or /system/priv-app folders. You can't delete it without root, but you might be able to disable (freeze) it with the commands I gave you.
OK, thanks. I did "cd" to the folder where I had unzipped ADB on Windows (on the Mac, when I tried to open the ADB executable, I got a "cpu not supported" error message in the Terminal, as I feared, since my MBP is 32-bit-only, and most Mac applications nowadays only support 64-bit CPUs), and still got the "adb unrecognized command" error in PowerShell.
The phone was plugged in, and the right USB mode, so I'm still a bit baffled here. Gonna try it again with a different approach. Will keep you posted.
Over and out...
OK, here's what I got: "Error: java.lang.SecurityException: Shell cannot change component state for com.leagoo.launcher3/null to 2"
Basically, from my poor understanding of how Android works, it's root or die, right?
UglyStuff said:
OK, here's what I got: "Error: java.lang.SecurityException: Shell cannot change component state for com.leagoo.launcher3/null to 2"
Basically, from my poor understanding of how Android works, it's root or die, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see that this phone has 7.x android. So, a Magisk Systemless flash might work. After rooting your device, get a good launcher integrate it to /system. Then delete your stock launcher all together.
Tell me if this works.
---------- Post added at 01:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:20 PM ----------
rhn19 said:
I see that this phone has 7.x android. So, a Magisk Systemless flash might work. After rooting your device, get a good launcher integrate it to /system. Then delete your stock launcher all together.
Tell me if this works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are new to this, use an app from play store for uninstalling and integrating apps.
Hi,
Yes, like I said, I'm a newbie when it comes to Android, so I'll abstain from rooting my device for now, but I'll keep your suggestions under advisement, because I suppose there'll be no other option in the long run. I'm gathering info on how to safely root a device.
I've done countless jailbreaks on iPhones, and it was always absolutely painless, but then, I had better understanding of how iOS works than I have Android, so until I know more about the OS, I'll keep my phone as it is.
Thanks again!
UglyStuff said:
Hi,
Yes, like I said, I'm a newbie when it comes to Android, so I'll abstain from rooting my device for now, but I'll keep your suggestions under advisement, because I suppose there'll be no other option in the long run. I'm gathering info on how to safely root a device.
I've done countless jailbreaks on iPhones, and it was always absolutely painless, but then, I had better understanding of how iOS works than I have Android, so until I know more about the OS, I'll keep my phone as it is.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jailbreaking vs Rooting is like 5-1 on difficulty level. Because Android is Open source while IOS is not. I would highly suggest you Root it if your phone does not have warranty. After all something that is on /system partition like your launcher will need superuser access to modify it. I cannot think of a way that wont void your warranty.
You can flash TWRP and then boot into aroma-fm but that will void your warranty. Rooting is the preferred option here.
Yeah, well, the phone is brand-new, and still under warranty, but that's not what's holding me back: I'd rather not brick it, most of all, because I need it, if not as my main phone, at least for connectivity.
I've read tutorials on this very website about using TWRP to flash a new baseband, but I'm curious about what firmware to choose, where to download it from to be sure it's not laden with bad stuff, and how sure I'll be to have an operable phone afterwards.
UglyStuff said:
Yeah, well, the phone is brand-new, and still under warranty, but that's not what's holding me back: I'd rather not brick it, most of all, because I need it, if not as my main phone, at least for connectivity.
I've read tutorials on this very website about using TWRP to flash a new baseband, but I'm curious about what firmware to choose, where to download it from to be sure it's not laden with bad stuff, and how sure I'll be to have an operable phone afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you want a new firmware? I don't get you man, do you want to clear out the malware or try a new ROM? Because i think you would have to build a new ROM, there is not one available i guess.
That's the thing: the malware on my phone is part of the application launcher installed by the OEM. In other words, it's embedded inside the ROM. If I root my phone and somehow manage to get rid of this launcher, what's to tell me that Leagoo won't push it silently back onto my device under the disguise of an update?
I don't know what to do here. I understand that based on stock Android, each OEM applies a certain number of modifications to accommodate the hardware it used to build the phone, and since the SoC is brand-new, I gather there aren't many drivers available, unless I leave the current baseline in place.
I'm kinda caught between a rock and a hard place here...
UglyStuff said:
That's the thing: the malware on my phone is part of the application launcher installed by the OEM. In other words, it's embedded inside the ROM. If I root my phone and somehow manage to get rid of this launcher, what's to tell me that Leagoo won't push it silently back onto my device under the disguise of an update?
I don't know what to do here. I understand that based on stock Android, each OEM applies a certain number of modifications to accommodate the hardware it used to build the phone, and since the SoC is brand-new, I gather there aren't many drivers available, unless I leave the current baseline in place.
I'm kinda caught between a rock and a hard place here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use malwarebytes after root that thing wont happen. And almost all of the OEMs have a trigger which voids when rooting or flashing firmware. After that the OEM wont give you updates unless you use the A/B partitioning system.
OK, I understand how rooting my phone would void the warranty: after all, it's a substantial change in the phone software, and the OEM can't be made responsible for any mishap that occurs after I've rooted the phone.
What's the A/B partitioning system (I suppose it helps partition your storage space)? I don't have a microSD card installed (I use the slot for my second SIM), but I do have 32 Gb of storage space, minus what's already used up.
Do you know KingRoot? Is it as good and (reasonably) safe a rooting tool as they say it is?