Related
Okay, I had ordered another phone from ebay. The guy had just received it and it was new and unused. It has RC28 on it.
fingerprint= kila-user 1.0 TC4-RC28 114235 ota-rel-keys,release-keys
When I launch /system/bin/telnetd from terminal console I am not getting root. I do not see a process running when I run ps afterwards. Also, I tried typing reboot from the contact, and it is not recycling the phone.
Any chance they have updated the init.rc to close the console bug on an older RC for phones just shipping out from tmobile this past week?
I plan to update to the stock RC29 which I manually updated to on my other phone. I'd really like root before I update to the new RC30 modded, so I can back up my files before overwriting them. [Though, last time I upgraded Google did OTAs right away.]
** Anybody want me to explore the phone for any differences to the standard RC28 to see if the cause for the exploit not working?
-oldsk00lz
Just go ahead and install the official RC29 and you should be able to get root access
Are you sure it's not working? IIRC if you don't connect to telnetd fairly fast, it stops running for some reason. I know that I've had to run it a couple times before I could connect.
As for the root console bug, I've also heard that it closes after some time of the phone being on. Did you try it after a fresh reboot?
Updating to RC28 or RC29, the ones that we mirrored, should activate the console bug again, if they are fixing it.
Yeh, it was not working (telnetd/console exploit) on the RC28 I had. I tried hitting enter to clear any previous commands, tried rebooting, tried back to back calls with telnet right afterwards, telneting locally and from several boxes. Was weird.... Much different than another G1 I had. That's why I was surprised.
Only thing I could think of (besides a tweaked RC28) was that my router could have been acting up.
Anyhow, I moved forward with updating to RC29, getting root, updating to modded RC30, and all is good. Just wanted to throw this out there in case any other recent buyers encountered a similar issue.
SIDENOTE: JesusFreak lived up to his name. I was slightly "freaked" out after the recent upgrade. I went to the System settings and looked to be the standard RC30 fingerprint!!! versus the modded xda one. Thought I may have installed the stock update. :O But, everything else is as expected, root, root, and more root. I must have missed a message if he reverted back to the standard fingerprint.
-oldsk00lz
oldsk00lz said:
SIDENOTE: JesusFreak lived up to his name. I was slightly "freaked" out after the recent upgrade. I went to the System settings and looked to be the standard RC30 fingerprint!!! versus the modded xda one. Thought I may have installed the stock update. :O But, everything else is as expected, root, root, and more root. I must have missed a message if he reverted back to the standard fingerprint.
-oldsk00lz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, I thought the same thing, but it is much, much, much better this way. If JesusFreke left the fingerprint to be the same as the old one, Google would be able to target OTA updates specifically for rooted G1s. This way, if they release an update signed with the test keys, they'd have to have millions of non rooted G1s freak out because they couldn't update.
Gary13579 said:
Indeed, I thought the same thing, but it is much, much, much better this way. If JesusFreke left the fingerprint to be the same as the old one, Google would be able to target OTA updates specifically for rooted G1s. This way, if they release an update signed with the test keys, they'd have to have millions of non rooted G1s freak out because they couldn't update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite...
First, I don't think Google cares for those of us having root with RC30 moded recovery and keys. They really only care about patching the "average consumers" phone. They have to do it globaly (I mean in the distribution sense) not to get in trouble, or a BIG bug wich is what was patched.
Second, they only have to do the following if they want to put "us" back to stock (if we don't check the update of course AND don't pay attention and apply the update [BIG IF]):
Script the rewrite of recovery.img from their package (before rebooting in the background) to our phones and apply the update.... ... ... that's it.
This will get a bit of the "unaware" people who have root with RC30. But for the more savey of us, no.
quedijo said:
Script the rewrite of recovery.img from their package (before rebooting in the background) to our phones and apply the update.... ... ... that's it.
This will get a bit of the "unaware" people who have root with RC30. But for the more savey of us, no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what good would secretly rewriting recovery.img do? Once JF replaces the recovery.img with the modified one, it doesn't matter how many times they write it to flash, it's still modified.
They don't need to use the update package to take away your root. With modified RC30, any dalvik program that knows and wants to can write directly into /system. If they wanted to get draconian about it, they could push code down from Market to reflash whatever they want in /system.
You said "With modified RC30, any dalvik program that knows and wants to can write directly into /system".
Aren't these apps sandboxed? If they do have access to /system, I assume they would only have access if they ran su, assuming you didn't rename it, and was able to remount system as read/write.
Or am I missing something like a different exploit? root on 'my' phone is great for me, but not good for others.
-oldsk00lz
oldsk00lz said:
You said "With modified RC30, any dalvik program that knows and wants to can write directly into /system".
Aren't these apps sandboxed? If they do have access to /system, I assume they would only have access if they ran su, assuming you didn't rename it, and was able to remount system as read/write.
Or am I missing something like a different exploit? root on 'my' phone is great for me, but not good for others.
-oldsk00lz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, by invoking su. Deleting or renaming it is probably the safest bet for now. I doubt any Android devs are actively looking for phones to brick but better safe than sorry.
a new workaround for our very insecure rooted RC30
I just read a post here about a better fix for the issue.
This very smart cat, added a password routine to SU and judging by my read of the post it seems to be well implemented, you do have to type some commands and you could pooch your g1 but it seems better than runnin just about as wide open as goog had us...
Without a decent browser getting the link is a pita, if somebody can't find it ill link it when I'm at the desktop
Bhang
*EDIT*
I found the link its just a pain in the arse while typing a message, to all the helpful folks who will want to tell me how to do it, I know how I just think it could be easier
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=448775
[Hopefully I didn't miss this being covered somewhere else, as I am much the same as many of you and get beyond irritated with endless repeat questions. I searched using the best keywords I could think of for the issue, but to no avail. Apologies in advance if this has been covered!]
Alrighty. I've got a TF101, rooted it myself (thank you XDA), running 8.6.5.1.9 i believe, stock rom just with root. Used nvflash and Razorclaw. Worked like a charm.
It's been fine for the last 6 months, no issues. However, I decided to update busybox using its internal updater as I have before with no problems. I noticed I accidentally told it to install to /system/bin instead of /system/xbin, and the only reason I even knew about that was due to having to configure an app to find busybox in /xbin instead of /bin.
Now there's a problem. I can still access the internal virtual sd card, but that's about it. The device can't seem to read or write to the main directory (although it can deal with going DIRECTLY to /mnt/sdcard). Ghost commander can't view the main directory, but ESFile explorer _can_, although root browsing in ESFile Explorer is UNchecked. It shouldn't be able to do what it's doing, and it's only doing it in one of two apps.
As a result, I've got no access to any root apps obviousy, but the wifi is having issues as well, it tries connecting but it can't complete the connection.
I'm toying with just wiping and flashing a new rom entirely, but figured I'd ask before I jump in the deep end of things. I keep backups of stuff, but it's still such a pain in the ass reinstalling things.
Any suggestions? I have a feeling it's something "simple", a link file or ... something which linux gurus would know about and I would not, not being a guru or disciple myself.
Thanks in advance!
If only you have working CWM installed. You could just flash this Superuser3.0.7.
Ah, but the plot thickens. I had superuser on there. I even uninstalled and reinstalled it. No dice.
Update: I said fuggit and did a factory reset. However, my wifi is still not fully connecting to my network although it has no problem finding it. I don't have a recovery image on the external SD and unless i get the network working, will have to wait until tomorrow to get a working microsd->usb adapter to put it on there.
I CAN still get into CWM, thank god.
Current rom is stock 8.6.6.19
Razorclaw gives an error when trying to root.
Also, when trying to moust USB from the recovery menu. it fails, saying "E:unable to upen ums lunfile (no such file or directory).
I am hoping this will magically get fixed after re-installing stock from the SD card ... and that my device isn't somehow crippled.
Sorry for the massive details, but more data = better.
It will magically get fixed
I recommend you flash any Totally stock ota. Then upgrade to the latest OTA, then use my tool PERI (or another) to install recovery and root. Then you should be all fixed up.
Well, it looks like I did get things back on track, but oddly enough, neither of the standard OR modified for root stock ROMs would work. One just wouldn't install, another failed halfway through. MD5s checked out and everything. I had put Revolver 4 beta on there sort of as a "just in case", and that one installed fine (and I was pleased when it displayed "installing Busybox symlinks").
Phew. CLose close call. Now to deal with the bull**** of setting stuff back up again.
However, the question remains: I'm assuming this whole thing happened because of the busybox update and me accidentally installing it to /bin instead of /xbin, and I think it "cleaned up" its own symlinks or something.
I'm not saying don't update your busybox, although I'm sticking with what works and **** upgrading anymore, just be careful...
Thanks for the help!
Recently I used the busybox installer to update my busybox version and it went through great... but after reboot it reverted back to the old version.. And I never touch it since.. don't want to take the hassle further..
There are certain 'plague' versions of busybox that simply don't work. I'd find that list of working BBs and STICK with one that's good. I'm still on 1.63 or someat like that.
Mangraa said:
[Hopefully I didn't miss this being covered somewhere else, as I am much the same as many of you and get beyond irritated with endless repeat questions. I searched using the best keywords I could think of for the issue, but to no avail. Apologies in advance if this has been covered!]
Alrighty. I've got a TF101, rooted it myself (thank you XDA), running 8.6.5.1.9 i believe, stock rom just with root. Used nvflash and Razorclaw. Worked like a charm.
It's been fine for the last 6 months, no issues. However, I decided to update busybox using its internal updater as I have before with no problems. I noticed I accidentally told it to install to /system/bin instead of /system/xbin, and the only reason I even knew about that was due to having to configure an app to find busybox in /xbin instead of /bin.
Now there's a problem. I can still access the internal virtual sd card, but that's about it. The device can't seem to read or write to the main directory (although it can deal with going DIRECTLY to /mnt/sdcard). Ghost commander can't view the main directory, but ESFile explorer _can_, although root browsing in ESFile Explorer is UNchecked. It shouldn't be able to do what it's doing, and it's only doing it in one of two apps.
As a result, I've got no access to any root apps obviousy, but the wifi is having issues as well, it tries connecting but it can't complete the connection.
I'm toying with just wiping and flashing a new rom entirely, but figured I'd ask before I jump in the deep end of things. I keep backups of stuff, but it's still such a pain in the ass reinstalling things.
Any suggestions? I have a feeling it's something "simple", a link file or ... something which linux gurus would know about and I would not, not being a guru or disciple myself.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may have been hit with a bug I introduced.
There was a bug with version 8.0 of my application.
There is not an issue with Busybox V1.20.1.
I apologize for this bug, the application symlinked all applets to Busybox and on some devices there are applets which are unique to the device and should not be replaced by those offered by Busybox.
A simple way to fix this is to simply reflash your rom. You do not need to wipe or clear any data. This will fix the issue and you can update Busybox normally with my application as long as it is version 8.1 or higher.
I apologize for the frustration I have caused, please let me know if I can do anything to help you further. I am trying to find people who were affected to see if I can help rectify the situation.
yeah me too
I guess I should have done a more recent backup. I tell you, there is a reason i have 38 updates waiting, everytime I start going through them, boom blows up in my face
Ok, From now on if i see people asking how to update / how to keep root im going to link you to this thread, im tired of answering it.
This works if you are on STOCK RECOVERY. If you are unlocked there are lots of other options for you (such as flashing a rooted kernel) so go to development and find that. Since im not unlocked i had to do it the hard way. This method works if your OTA updates are screwed up. If you HAVE OTA updates you can just use OTA rootkeeper to backup and disable root, make sure all stock apps are restored, and proceed with root.
Note for the updater: The OTA updater is a DIFFERENCE updater, if files are missing or different versions the update will fail. Best practices say to update sequentially, never skip an update. It might not cause problems now but could cause problems in the future.
If your OTA updates have failed or for whatever reason you can not get OTA's, you have a LOCKED bootloader, or for whatever reason want to manually update and keep root then this guide is for you. Also please note the process for going from .16 to .18 is the same as going from .30 to .16.
First: Make sure you have all stock apps restored, no custom build.prop, etc.
If your not sure, wipe the tablet and reinstall. Better safe than sorry.
To reset the tablet if you dont have stock apps:
Determine which version you are running. For me it was .30WW
Go to www.asus.com and download the firmware for your version
plug your tablet into the usb on your computer, unzip the firmware and put it in the root of your tablet (Dont use USB memory sticks or SD cards, just transfer it directly)
restart your tablet, it SHOULD load the file and go about resetting the tablet to stock.
If that does not work, try starting the tablet holding power and volume down, on the splash screen press volume up and reset the tablet that way.
Once your tablet is returned to stock you can proceed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you are ROOTED. Use whatever method works for you.
Now would be a good time to make sure superuser is updated, mine was old so a quick update on the market and its all good.
Use OTA Rootkeeper to backup root
Download the DLPKG file apropriate for your version.
If you want to update to JB you must have .30 installed and download the .16 file, WW or US, depending on your region. Other packages are provided for convenience (This method can be used to spoof the OTA update to any version as long as you have the file)
DLPKG for .26 WW HERE
DLPKG for .30 WW HERE
DLPKG for .16 WW HERE or HERE or HERE
DLPKG for .16 US HERE or HERE
DLPKG for .18 WW HERE or HERE
DLPKG for .18 US HERE or HERE
(Make sure you only take the file for the version you want to update to, only one step at a time, so if you are on .30 WW you need .16WW before you can do .18WW)
DLPKG for US .20 HERE
DLPKG for WW .20 HERE
DLPKG for US .23 HERE or HERE or HERE or HERE
DLPKG for WW .23 HERE
DLPKG for .25 WW HERE
You will also need the command file HERE or HERE
Transfer the files to your tablet using the USB cable.
If you use a USB memory stick or SD card make sure its formatted FAT32.
Please note there have been reported problems with people using USB memory sticks or SD cards, often the files fail. I have had best success using the USB cable provided with my tablet and directly transferring the file. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once the files are on the tablet use Root Explorer or your favorite root file browser to move the two files
(NOT THE STOCK FILE BROWSER IT CANT SEE THE ROOT DIRECTORY)
"command" goes to /cache/recovery
"dlpkgfile" goes to /cache
Make sure the files are named exactly as shown above. No capitals, no file extensions, etc.
Make sure the permissions for both files are changed to RW-R-R for both.
Note: There has been a little confusion about "root directory" so i will explain a little further. The root directory is generally protected. You will have to be rooted (by definition, having root access, kind of like administrator access in windows) and use a file browser like root explorer. The stock file browser only lets you see a few specific areas and will not let you access the root directory of the tablet. Root explorer will also let you modify permissions which the stock browser will not let you do. Im sure there are other browser applications that work equally well as root explorer, thats just the one i have had success with. As always, Your Milage May Vary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into OTA Rootkeeper and TEMP UNROOT.
Shut down the tablet. Remove the USB cord. Remove any USB memory sticks. Eject your Micro SD card. UNdock the tablet. Lets not let anything go to chance.
Press and hold both the power and volume down buttons (volume down is closest to the power button in case you forgot like me)
Soon as the splash screen comes up you should see some text on the left side, release the power and volume down buttons and press volume up.
Now just sit back and wait, this can take a while. I got myself a snack and took this time to stretch a little.
Once your all booted up you should be running JellyBean. Open OTA Rootkeeper and restore root.
Please note i did not come up with the steps in this guide. I did not originate the files. I am nowhere near smart enough to do all this on my own. I meerly collected the information and links to files and pieced it all together. I wrote this so even my father could follow these instructions so hopefully you all succeed! If something needs clarification please let me know.
- Edit -
Added notes on restoring tablet to stock.
- Edit -
Added .18 links. Thanks to xcal321 for providing them.
- Edit -
Cleaned up the guide a little. Hopefully its less wordy and easier to follow.
- Edit -
Added links to my personal google drive for nearly all the files, should have no problem for overseas users with limited access to mediafire
- Edit -
Sorry it took so long, added files for .20 US and WW. Will copy them to my personal Gdrive when i have more time.
- Edit -
Still alive, added .25 WW. Nearly all the files are uploaded to my personal google docs account so if something goes screwy let me know via PM
That is very helpfull !! Thanks for that !! Just one question: What about if I downgrade to .30 with clean system, root my device, update superuser app, then use OTA Rootkeeper to backup my root, next Temp unroot via OTA Rootkeeper and use upgrade to JB with OTA (not using files that you put above )?? It still works, any ideas ??
Regards
Doncieslacco
doncieslacco said:
That is very helpfull !! Thanks for that !! Just one question: What about if I downgrade to .30 with clean system, root my device, update superuser app, then use OTA Rootkeeper to backup my root, next Temp unroot via OTA Rootkeeper and use upgrade to JB with OTA (not using files that you put above )?? It still works, any ideas ??
Regards
Doncieslacco
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If OTA works for you after that then use OTA. For a large portion of us OTA did not want to work so these are the steps i used. Essentially its the same thing, OTA downloads the same files and puts them in the directories mentioned. Just make sure you do the temp unroot before updating as forgetting to do that step has lost some people root.
This method never worked for me, even when it was originally posted. I keep getting the dead android bot red triangle.
It may be that I'm moving the files from win 7 NTFS to fat 32 and that is somehow modifing them???
Also is there a way on android to check/modify write permission? I just modify write permissions of the files by right clicking them and modifying them from the security tab in windows.
I'll have to examine this in further detail this week.
I'm a bit hesitant to jump to JB because of rooting and DPI setting problems. Until thats ironed out I'll stick with ICS.
Did it twice but was unsuccesful. When the whole process completed I was back on .30 and couldn't restore root. Any suggestions?
Syn010 said:
This method never worked for me, even when it was originally posted. I keep getting the dead android bot red triangle.
It may be that I'm moving the files from win 7 NTFS to fat 32 and that is somehow modifing them???
Also is there a way on android to check/modify write permission? I just modify write permissions of the files by right clicking them and modifying them from the security tab in windows.
I'll have to examine this in further detail this week.
I'm a bit hesitant to jump to JB because of rooting and DPI setting problems. Until thats ironed out I'll stick with ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's very possible that the issue with your sd card, make sure it's 32gb or smaller, find another sd card reformat with fat32 and try again. tf700 could read your card while it's on but not in recovery mode.
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------
john85D said:
Did it twice but was unsuccesful. When the whole process completed I was back on .30 and couldn't restore root. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you unlock or locked? did you try to upgrade from .30 to JB?
buhohitr said:
It's very possible that the issue with your sd card, make sure it's 32gb or smaller, find another sd card reformat with fat32 and try again. tf700 could read your card while it's on but not in recovery mode.
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------
are you unlock or locked? did you try to upgrade from .30 to JB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm unlocked and started the process on. 30 rooted. I did downgrade from JB though and wanted to be rooted again. Should I try to upgrade to JB manually? How should it update to JB, OTA download?
buhohitr said:
It's very possible that the issue with your sd card, make sure it's 32gb or smaller, find another sd card reformat with fat32 and try again. tf700 could read your card while it's on but not in recovery mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a USB cable 2.0 to transfer the files directly to tablet. Also, the cache folder is created on the root level of the tablet right, because originally I never had a cache folder on the tablet at the root level. thanks and cheers.
Here's what I did, and it worked beautifully.
I had unlocked with the guide, rooted .30, ran OTA root keeper, downloaded the JB file from Asus, flashed it in twrp, never lost root
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Jimmah555 said:
Here's what I did, and it worked beautifully.
I had unlocked with the guide, rooted .30, ran OTA root keeper, downloaded the JB file from Asus, flashed it in twrp, never lost root
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP implies unlocked, this method is for locked bootloaders.
If you are still getting the dead android try restoring the tablet to factory condition before proceeding. If you have any frozen apps, if you removed any stock apps, if you have a modified build.prop, etc. it can cause the update to fail.
i will update OP with instructions to return to stock.
Syn010 said:
This method never worked for me, even when it was originally posted. I keep getting the dead android bot red triangle.
It may be that I'm moving the files from win 7 NTFS to fat 32 and that is somehow modifing them???
Also is there a way on android to check/modify write permission? I just modify write permissions of the files by right clicking them and modifying them from the security tab in windows.
I'll have to examine this in further detail this week.
I'm a bit hesitant to jump to JB because of rooting and DPI setting problems. Until thats ironed out I'll stick with ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows security and linux permissions are two VERY different things.
Use something like root explorer to modify the permissions of the files once they are on the tablet. Once you transfer the files to your SD card or even via USB to the tablet the permissions get changed to RW-RW-RW or similar. As far as i know you can not do this in windows.
Syn010 said:
I used a USB cable 2.0 to transfer the files directly to tablet. Also, the cache folder is created on the root level of the tablet right, because originally I never had a cache folder on the tablet at the root level. thanks and cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use an application like root explorer. Regular file explorers can not usually see the root directory of the tablet. If you are just using the stock file browser it will not work.
pileot said:
First: Make sure you have all stock apps restored, no custom build.prop, etc.
If your not sure, wipe the tablet and reinstall. Better safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the OP. I am having trouble getting the JB OTA.
I am running rooted and locked at .30 with some minor tweaks using Titanium backup. Those tweaks are removing ASUS and Google bloat app. In order to get JB OTA, do I have to reinstall the bloat apps or reflash .30? Does all the stupid bloat have to be there for OTA to occur? If so, I hate that.
john85D said:
Did it twice but was unsuccesful. When the whole process completed I was back on .30 and couldn't restore root. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got the same...kind of pissed. Am I just SOL without root now?
Edit: Nevermind...just ran through the whole root process again and got it back.
quartercirclebak said:
I've got the same...kind of pissed. Am I just SOL without root now?
Edit: Nevermind...just ran through the whole root process again and got it back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you use to gain root again? As far as I know, rebuffs does not work with JB. Or are you unlocked?
everytime i do, i get back to .30 and when i check /cache
dlpkgfile still there with rw-r-r
but command in /cache/recovery/ disappear
what i mistaken?
-lukin- said:
Does all the stupid bloat have to be there for OTA to occur?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Since the OTA is a "difference file patcher", the original files need to be where they are expected to be, otherwise the instructions as to which areas of which files should be patched with which values will be invalid. There is no way a difference file patcher can operate if the files are missing or modified - it's in the nature of the beast.
That's why the only option for people who have modified their /system partition is to reflash the entire /system partition (ie. a full update, not one that relies on what is already there).
The reason for using a difference file patcher is that the update will be much smaller if it only contains the differences from the existing setup instead of a completely new file. The downside is that the existing contents needs to be present and unmodified.
HeartWare42 said:
Yes. Since the OTA is a "difference file patcher", the original files need to be where they are expected to be, otherwise the instructions as to which areas of which files should be patched with which values will be invalid. There is no way a difference file patcher can operate if the files are missing or modified - it's in the nature of the beast.
That's why the only option for people who have modified their /system partition is to reflash the entire /system partition (ie. a full update, not one that relies on what is already there).
The reason for using a difference file patcher is that the update will be much smaller if it only contains the differences from the existing setup instead of a completely new file. The downside is that the existing contents needs to be present and unmodified.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense, thanks for the the concise explanation.
Thank you so very much. kept trying to root jelly bean before, and ended up bricking tab somehow. thankfully best buy exchanged under factory defect cause after bricking, it got super HOT. I'll donate some adult beverage money when i get paid.
thank you again.
Hello !
First of all, thank you for your post.
I have a question "Yes or No". I translated your method (thank you again) in french for the french users, and I told them that they could unlock the bootloader once the firmware is back to ICS (.30). I am not sure about it, I would like you to confirm this ?
Then the method would be :
Downgrade to ICS (v9.4.5.30 WW)
Root with RootDebugfs.bat
Unlock Bootloader
Temp unroot with OTARootKeeper
Upgrade to JB (v10.4.4.16 WW) with OTA
Restore root with OTARootKeeper​
Welcome to the Kyocera DuraForce super thread
There isn't much information floating around for the DuraForce and I've created this thread to aggregate information as it's found so we have a single place for useful information, hacks, etc.
I'll keep the thread as up to date as possible and organize any information from future posts into the originals so people can find information easier.
There is a Lollipop update available for the device as of early February, 2016. I have found a way for users to update if the OTA fails (see below). I've also updated the below posts with information regarding the Lollipop update and moved the KitKat notes to another location (link for old notes is below)
Ota - lmy47v1218_2217
For those who are having trouble applying a FOTA on the DuraForce, check /cache/fota/xyz_fotalog_123.dat It's a text file that contains a lot of really good info on what is going on during a FOTA. Including errors. Keep a look out for signature mismatch errors.
I had errors with the following files. Took me a few tries to get the OTA applied as each attempt resulted in one error.
Uninstall Xposed (moar hacks)
/system/usr/keylayout/gpio-keys.kl (disable PTT/Speaker buttons)
/system/etc/permissions/platform.xml (sd card "fix")
If trying to address the issues manually does not work, follow the procedure below.
Download "vanilla" system image from HERE (link)
Extract zip file
Ensure at least 2Gb of storage is available for internal data
adb push mmcblk0p21_KVT49L_0617_0132 /storage/sdcard0/
adb shell
su
dd if=/storage/sdcard0/mmcblk0p21_KVT49L_0617_0132 of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p21
Reboot phone once it completes. It will take awhile and not report anything during the process.
After phone boots, run "adb reboot recovery"
Wipe data / factory reset
Wipe cache
Reboot
Run software update
General Notes - Lolipop
Force Reboot: Pwr + Vol Up + Vol Dn + Back + Home + App Switcher buttons for ~10-30 seconds
Root: Use KingRoot from http://king-root.net/ -- I used the android APK successfully
SD cards bigger than 32Gb still do not work correctly on stock firmware
Known Working Customizations
To be determined
KitKat Notes
All previous notes for KitKat have been moved to a document in box. The notes can be found HERE (link)
Sources / Mirror(s)
The OSS drop is available on Kyocera's developer site: http://www.kyoceramobile.com/support/developers/
Misc file mirror: https://nuskunetworks.box.com/s/p5hwq3hboctl0saze0wkcv3jzfefuw45
Do you trust Kingo?
I'm THRILLED to hear you were able to root and freeze all the AT&T crapware. I can't wait to do the same. But how do you feel about Kingo? I'm almost leaning more to keeping the bloat, kind of the devil you know, you know?
kemonine96 said:
Welcome to the Kyocera DuraForce super thread
There isn't much information floating around for the DuraForce and I've created this thread to aggregate information as it's found so we have a single place for useful information, hacks, etc.
I'll keep the thread as up to date as possible and organize any information from future posts into the originals so people can find information easier.
If you're looking for root, look no further than Kingo. I can confirm the Windows version of Kingo is working on the AT&T varient of the DuraForce.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tomzweifel said:
How do you feel about Kingo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used it a few times over the last year and can only complain it does a sloppier job compared to SuperSU. Every pre-canned root wants to crap all over /system and none is better than the other so long as you get the su binary in a working state IMHO. I know Kingo is harder to clean up after than SuperSU / others but it's a hell of a lot easier to just use Kingo to root and cleanup after. Stacking root exploits and similar like Kingo is doing is a huge PITA and best left to those specializing in such things.
tomzweifel said:
I'm almost leaning more to keeping the bloat, kind of the devil you know, you know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough, I was able to replace Kingo with SuperSU pretty easily:
Install SuperSU from Play Store
Run SuperSU and update su binary via "Normal" mode
Authorize SuperSU when Kingo prompts
Allow SuperSU to replace su binary
Freeze/Remove Kingo
Reboot and enjoy SuperSU
Optional: cleanup other Kingo remnants
Components to clean up?
Any chance you can steer me towards the "remnants" that need to be cleaned up and where to find them, just to make sure I get it all? I'm probably going to go though this exact process tonight or tomorrow.
Thanks for the information!
kemonine96 said:
I've used it a few times over the last year and can only complain it does a sloppier job compared to SuperSU. Every pre-canned root wants to crap all over /system and none is better than the other so long as you get the su binary in a working state IMHO. I know Kingo is harder to clean up after than SuperSU / others but it's a hell of a lot easier to just use Kingo to root and cleanup after. Stacking root exploits and similar like Kingo is doing is a huge PITA and best left to those specializing in such things.
Fair enough, I was able to replace Kingo with SuperSU pretty easily:
Install SuperSU from Play Store
Run SuperSU and update su binary via "Normal" mode
Authorize SuperSU when Kingo prompts
Allow SuperSU to replace su binary
Freeze/Remove Kingo
Reboot and enjoy SuperSU
Optional: cleanup other Kingo remnants
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tomzweifel said:
Any chance you can steer me towards the "remnants" that need to be cleaned up and where to find them, just to make sure I get it all? I'm probably going to go though this exact process tonight or tomorrow.
Thanks for the information!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I don't have notes on what Kingo leaves around on /system... Some searching online or poking about /system should yield results.
New OTA Update
I just got notified of an available OTA update but I can't find a changelog or any info on it yet. I'll be sure to post it if I find it.
tomzweifel said:
I just got notified of an available OTA update but I can't find a changelog or any info on it yet. I'll be sure to post it if I find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please do. I haven't gotten any notifications yet and I'm kinda curious what the OTA will contain.
http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB426870&cv=820
Software update includes
Kyocera Remote Lock
Miscellaneous improvements, fixes, and security updates
Dkesler76 said:
http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB426870&cv=820
Software update includes
Kyocera Remote Lock
Miscellaneous improvements, fixes, and security updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up. Too bad it's not L.
kemonine96 said:
Thanks for the heads up. Too bad it's not L.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
np yeah i wished it was to lol... seems that my phone wont take the ota i did delete the bloatware....probably why it wont update u know how to force the ota or do u know where i can get the apks to reinstall them to update it... ty dan
Dkesler76 said:
np yeah i wished it was to lol... seems that my phone wont take the ota i did delete the bloatware....probably why it wont update u know how to force the ota or do u know where i can get the apks to reinstall them to update it... ty dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to free up some time this weekend and I'm going to be pulling the OTA and seeing what I can do for re-packing it for those of us who are rooted and/or de-bloated.
Will post back with more info after I've had some time to poke at the OTA some.
Edit 1: Looks like this has patches for system and boot. /cache/delata looks like the directory where everything was downloaded. Hopefully binwalk and some other tools will yield useful information on what's contained within.
Edit 2: Looks like I was able to install the OTA despite being rooted. I'm waiting for 1st boot to verify root persisted and I'm also working on mirroring a number of partitions that can be used to "go back" to stock as well as images for updated partitions post-OTA.
Dkesler76 said:
np yeah i wished it was to lol... seems that my phone wont take the ota i did delete the bloatware....probably why it wont update u know how to force the ota or do u know where i can get the apks to reinstall them to update it... ty dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to get a stock boot and system partition uploaded today that you should be able to use to restore the de-bloated apps. The image is here
You can use a Linux machine (or other methods) to extract the APKs and put them back or use busybox + dd to restore the contents of the partition (you may need to re-root if writing the partition using dd). There are some good guys on XDA and elsewhere on how to restore a partition image on an Android device.
Edit: The posted file is for an ATT device
Good news everybody! The ATT OTA doesn't remove root and can be installed as-is provided you've not de-bloated the ROM or installed Xposed. If you've de-bloated (see below) you'll need to restore the missing bloatware and if you've installed Xposed, you'll need to uninstall it prior to applying the OTA.
In one of the early OP's there's a link to the "misc file mirror" that contains partition images for boot and system partitions. These are from an ATT device and can be used to restore back to a state that'll allow the OTA to apply.
Happy hacking and OTAing everyone.
kemonine96 said:
I managed to get a stock boot and system partition uploaded today that you should be able to use to restore the de-bloated apps. The image is here
You can use a Linux machine (or other methods) to extract the APKs and put them back or use busybox + dd to restore the contents of the partition (you may need to re-root if writing the partition using dd). There are some good guys on XDA and elsewhere on how to restore a partition image on an Android device.
Edit: The posted file is for an ATT device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
weird i tried dd and busy box and no go not showing up on device
Dkesler76 said:
weird i tried dd and busy box and no go not showing up on device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What isn't showing up?
Argh! Pulling my hair out over this one. I've been flashing custom ROMs and rooting my phones for years now, since my old HTC G1. Even had KitKat running on my HTC Desire 4G!
... but this Sidekick is proving another matter. I've been through forum after forum, all saying the same things on how to root/flash this thing, but I haven't managed to get anything to work! So, here's step-by-step of what I just did and the result I get every single time, no matter the initial method:
1: Fired up ODIN3.
2: Wiped the user data and cache from the stock recovery (Android System Recovery (3e)).
3: Connect USB cable, reboot phone into download mode (using the battery-pull method).
4: Successfully flash to stock ROM, reboot.
5: Sign in with Google, enable WiFi.
6: Run SuperOneClick, reboot.
7: Grab ES File Explorer from the Market, after it updates.
8: Attempt to replace "recovery" in /system/bin with custom
... and here's where things break. Doesn't matter what version of SuperOneClick I use (and I've tried from 1.9.1 through 2.2.3), nor does it matter what exploit I select. What happens? Well... aside from everything on-screen claiming to be okay, and everything claiming it's working, once the rooting is "successful", I reboot like it says, see that SuperUser is in the applications, it shows me an su binary version...
... but anything that tries to run super-user (ES File Explorer included) that gets added to the super-user list simply does not work. I can't over-write the recovery, can't delete or muddle with anything that requires elevated privileges, and the ROM Manager for sure won't work because I can't get CWR installed.
I love my phones with keyboards. I really do. I'd love to keep this thing, but the stock firmware is driving me up a wall (especially that stupid media scanner). So if anyone has any ideas to throw at me, care to offer some? Haven't a clue at this point what I'm doing wrong.
Hey buddy!
I feel your pain, this is one of the last nicely built hardware keyboard phones, first time rooting it is a bit strange
See post #27 (or so) here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221030
I ran through the manual steps there and have links for needed files
If you get stuck let me know, I'll be around
demkantor said:
Hey buddy!
I feel your pain, this is one of the last nicely built hardware keyboard phones, first time rooting it is a bit strange
See post #27 (or so) here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221030
I ran through the manual steps there and have links for needed files
If you get stuck let me know, I'll be around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! I'll give this a go once I'm all done with today's activities and see if it works.
Well, apparently I have root access for the moment, but it is denying my replacing of /system/bin/recovery - in adb shell, it states "Filesystem is read-only", so I re-mounted /system -rw and no dice. Going to attempt to try again in a moment, after a reboot.
Okay, so since there's a problem with all of this, I'm going to try that second ROM (KD2 I think it was) - but as I recall, it was on a very slow server. Plus I have a load of things to do tomorrow, so it probably won't be until tomorrow evening sometime when I'll be able to flash it. Once I've used Odin to re-flash, I'll get back to you.
Well, I had to dissect "t839-Sidekick4G-UVKG2-One-Click.jar" and remove the xml file from within it, but I acquired the necessary package to upgrade to KG2 from KD1 through Odin3. Took a while to figure out just how to deal with it, and I was successful in flashing... and I even replaced the recovery file after rooting it again!
... however, now it just sits there at the "T Mobile Sidekick 4G" start-up screen when I attempt to boot into recovery, so now I'm preparing to re-flash it again to recover the stock recovery. So... still more on this, later.
EDIT: Also, I named the tar file "KG2OdinHeimdall.tar", since I basically ripped it right off the "HeimdallPackage.tar" file from the Heimdall one-click thing. Turns out, it apparently works just fine if you remove the .xml file from the original tar.
Finally!
I ended up having to use my own method to get the KG2 update installed because the one-click program kept crashing on me when selecting "Show all devices", and I opted to use AntTek Explorer (all you have to do is go into the program's options and it'll attempt to acquire admin privileges, if the device is rooted) to copy the recovery file to /system/bin - but your post worked for everything else, once I got past not being able to copy the recovery file.
I opted for the CM6 package and it's quite fast! Thank you loads, demkantor!
Nice! I'm glad all worked out well for you!
If you get a chance try out the one gingerbread ROM, its cool to see it running but there are still driver issues so keyboard is borked, really makes it pointless to have on this phone...
But there are a few nice froyo ROMs ready to be played with, someday development will hopefully pick up again
Until then, happy flashing!