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Hi there,
I just came up to Android with an Orange branded HTC Desire. Until now, I was using a HTC Diamond 2 with WM and tried some cooked ROM. But it was really easy with WM. Now, I need to understand more or less how my Android phone works to be able to play with it the same way I played with my Diamond 2.
As I'm a bit lost with some Android terms and concepts and I would like to purpose a kind of glossary for newbies like me. The goal is to explain common concepts with a functional and a technical point of view. I try to give example based on Nexus One and Desire based on personal experiments.
I'll start with what I've understood last few days and believe to be right. I'll ask you to correct my mistakes and to complete this FAQ. I'll keep this post updated.
For the moment following lines may contain big mistakes. I will try to flag validated information.
ROM
A ROM contains the OS on your phone. It can be installed like Windows or Linux on your desktop PC. A ROM contains the kernel and a pack of applications already installed for you. You can find a lot of cooked ROM (ROMs made by great people who would like to share with you optimizations they've done on their phone) on Internet. Normally, Android phones only accept ROM which are signed by the reseller. So you can only put Orange ROM on Orange branded phone.
Moreover, installing a new ROM is a way to update your phone. However, Android phone include an internal updating system (it's just a program like Windows update) so you can receive updates without installing a new ROM. It's called OTA (On The Air) update. OTA update is the way for basic customers to receive update for their phone.
Functionally :
Install a ROM is as easy as execute an exe on you Windows PC. It very easy and fast. You can also install a ROM by using the Recovery Menu.
GoldCard
A GoldCard is a modified SDCard which allows you to put the original unbranded ROM on a career branded phone (installing the original HTC Desire ROM on an Orange HTC Desire). Normally, if you try to execute a HTC ROM updater with a Orange phone, you'll be stuck after 4 or 5 clicks on next. With a Goldcard in your phone, you can archive the process.
You can't install a ROM built for an other device just using a GoldCard (installing a Nexus One ROM on a Desire is not possible).
GoldCard is only needed if you have a carrier-branded Desire, even for rooting process. Unbranded phones never need it.
Be sure to keep your GoldCard because it will be needed for each ROM modifications. You can use a GoldCard as a normal SDCard without problem. However, if you create new partitions for app2sd, your GoldCard will ruined.
Functionally :
Create a GoldCard is easy. It will take you 30 minutes. Not all SDCards work to create a GoldCard. Mine (SanDisk 4Go) included in my Orange package worked perfectly.
Instructions can be found here or here.
Technically :
If I'm right, while you are installing a ROM from the executable on your desktop PC, the phone checks if the ROM you're trying to install match a hard coded key on the phone. With a GoldCard, you make the phone believe signature is good.
CID
The serial number of your SDCard. You'll need to retrieve it with ADB Shell to create your GoldCard.
Functionally :
In ADB Shell (see ADB section), following command line give you your CID :
Code:
cat /sys/class/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:*/cid
Fastboot
It's like the BIOS on your desktop PC. You can access the fastboot with a keyboard combo while starting your phone. It give you access to some function like Recovery Mode or SIM Unlock. With fastboot, you can also install a new ROM using a zip placed on your SDCard.
Use can easily unlock Fastboot on the Nexus One using a ADB shell command.
Fastboot give you access to the recovery mode. In this mode, you can gain write permission in the /system partition which is not possible in Disk Drive mode, event with USB Debugging enabled. With this access, you can easily remove applications which are included in the ROM (like FriendStream in HTC ROMs).
Functionally :
To reach Fastboot on Desire : Hold down back button while pressing power.
Technically :
When you connect the phone to your PC in Fastboot, you will establish a special connection with the device. It uses "Android Bootloaded Interface" driver.
Fastboot unlock
An operation to unlock Fastboot. It's the first step to root your phone. It's easily done for the Nexus One via ADB (see here). It much more difficult with the Desire (possible thanks to Paul).
HBoot
An other boot menu.
Functionally :
To reach HBoot on Desire : Hold down volume down button while pressing power.
ADB
ADB means Android Debug Bridge. You can read this. When you connect your phone to your PC, you can choose different modes :
Charge only : No interaction with your PC
Internet tethering (only if you have a HTC standard ROM, Orange & Co disable this option) : Your PC will see your phone like a modem.
HTC Sync (if you have a HTC standard ROM) : Use to synchronize you data with HTC Sync software
Disk drive : Your PC will see your phone as a USB key allowing you to access to your SDCard
If you're in Disk Drive mode (or even if you're in Charge only mode), you can activate USB debugging (setting > applications > development on your phone). In this mode, your PC will use a ADB driver to establish a special connection. With ADB drivers, you have access to ADB Shell.
With ADB Shell, you can list every file on device and deploy your own application.
Functionally :
Activate USB debugging on your phone to play with ADB Shell.
ADB Shell is accessible from Windows or Linux.
For people who don't use to play with command line, on windows, you must either open a cmd.exe and move in the "tools" folder (with cd command) of your unzipped ADB package or add this repository to your path (instructions here[URL].
Then you can check that everything is alright with following command :
Code:
adb devices
You should see :
Code:
List of devices attached
HTxxxxxxxx device
Then you can type "adb shell" to enter the shell. All Unix basics commands are available and you can do whatever your want... almost nothing since you're not root.
Rooting
Rooting a device is a process to become root on its OS. It allows you to install very nice apps like app2sd (to install application on SDCard), SetCPU app (to overclock or downclock your device) or OpenVPN. This kind of apps can not run if your device is not rooted.
With a rooted device, you can install apps which are not yet validated for your phone on the market by modifying the ID of your device (like the user-agent of your browser). It's easier than downloading the apk file from somebody who extracted the application on a device accepted by the market for this application.
Finally, with a rooted device, you can install ROM from an other device (installing a Nexus One ROM on a Desire).
Functionally :
On Desire, become root is now possible thanks to Paul from Modaco. On Nexus One, it much more easy.
Process is easy if you follow guides step by step. Warning, it will remove all data and configuration on your phone. However, your SD card won't be modified.
If you follow the guide to root the Desire, one of the first steps is to put a big zip file on your SDCard (often rootedupdate.zip). In fact, this zip file contains the ROM you'll have on your phone at the end of the process. Guides generally provide an almost generic ROM. The only modification made to this ROM is the addition of the Superuser Permissions app (the Ninja icon) which will help you to grant root access to applications asking for permission. Installing this ROM is the easier solution. However, you can use every ROM you want (you will find some very interesting ROM on this forum). Just put the file on your SDCard at the beginning of the process and point to the good zip file in the last step. Warning, if you want to install a ROM with app2sd in it, you must know that this application requires a special partition on your SDCard, so you must format your SDCard before the first boot of your new ROM. To do this, just after installing the ROM zip file (the last step of the rooting process), you have to stay in the Recovery Menu and use the good option to create partitions on your SDCard. Of course, your SDCard will be formated.
Technically :
I have no idea what are tricks to become root. You have to find a hole in the phone software. It's not easy.
The process itself requires several steps :
The first step is to unlock the bootloader. This step is easy on Nexus One. On Desire, this step is archived by installing a kind of ROM from Fastboot on your phone.
Unlocking bootloader will give you access to the Recovery Menu and will make your phone accept non-HTC-signed updates (for Desire).
Then, you have to connect your device in HBoot mode to your PC in order to write some files on the phone. These files are used to launch the Recovery Menu. From this menu, you can wipe all data and some caches (I don't know differences between all caches)
Finally you can install a new ROM on your device using a zip file on your SDCard.
Recovery Mode
The Recovery Mode is a special mode accessible from HBoot. You'll need to access this mode to push files needed for the Recovery Menu. It's an important step in the rooting process.
Functionally :
When your phone is in Recovery Mode, you'll see a little red triangle on your screen.
Technically :
Recovery Mode is a special provided by Android to do special operations. In fact, I don't know what's the real usage of this mode.
Recovery Menu
The Recovery Menu is a small tool accessible from Recovery Mode. It purposes some options such as wipe your data, format your SDCard and the most important option : deploy ROM or files from a zip file previously dropped at the root of your SDCard.
Functionally :
The Recovery Menu is a green menu you have to use in the root process.
Technically :
On the Desire, Recovery Menu is the only way to write files on /system. Put a zip file on the root of your SDCard and the Recovery Menu will unzip the package and deploy files on your phone for you. You will have to use this menu to install OpenVPN because this application requires to put some file in /system partition. In the last step of the rooting process, Recovery Menu will deploy your ROM (which is nothing more than just a bunch of files) on your phone.
SIM Unlock
SIM Unlock in a process different from all others. If I'm right, you'll have to use Fastboot, put some files on your SDCard and press SIMUnlock. Required files can be provided by your operator. This process works with all ROMs and don't required a root access.
Nandroid Backup
The Nandroid backup process creates binary images (.img) of the boot, data and system partitions (and ext also, if you choose nand+ext). Needless to say you need root in order to be able to perform this kind of backup.
Later, you can use those image files to restore those partitions, in a very similar way you restore a hard-disk partition from a ghost created image. Practically the restore process erases all their content and replaces it with the data saved in the img files, thus reverting the phone's software to the state it was when you performed backup.
Nandroid backup doesn't include the radio image; you can only change (or revert) the radio by flashing it again.
If you want to go back to stock software, you need to use a RUU, which overwrites all the modifications you made into the phone's software (and of course removes the root access as well).
APK
This is the file format for applications. Each application is packaged in an APK file. When you install an application from the market, you're just downlading an APK file which is then automatically installed on your phone.
You can also find APK files on Internet, put them on your SDCard (or directly download them from your phone) and install them.
Deodexed
Technically :
By default, applications are odexed. This allows Android to preload some parts of an application to optimize its launch time. Unfortunately it makes application resources be dispatched outside the APK. Deodexing is a process of gathering all resources inside the application.
Functionally :
Some applications apply a theme on other applications. You need a deodexed version of the targeted application to use this. However, deodexing applications is not a process you should take care of. You'll find some custom ROMs in which all applications have been deodexed for you.
That's all for now. I really want to complete technical information on above lines. It will be great if somebody could explain why you can not install a Nexus One ROM on a HTC Desire using only a GoldCard. Moreover I would like to know how works Fastboot with SDCard. It seems that SDCard plays a really important role (used to update ROM, SIM unlock and GoldCard).
PS : English is not my native language, please be indulgent.
Many thanks to The Professor and silvake for some precisions.
Matco.
Great topic idea, thank you!
Great idea!
Just found out that you need to be in recovery mode in order to have write permissions to the /system partitition (Disk Drive with USB debugging enabled won't work).
More details in the link below, if you want to include them:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6347071&postcount=2
(credits go to emdzej)
Thank your for your support. I just updated the post with your details.
I would like to add some links but I don't have enough rights to add the url tag in my posts.
CID register - serial number of your sd card
Perhaps time to move the info to the wiki ?
Greetings from a vastloper
This should deffinatley get a sticky + be added to the wiki. Great info, so many new terms to learn now that i'm experimenting with android on my blackstone and seriously considering a Desire
Thank you for your replies. I just made some improvements.
It will be ready for the Wiki as soon as someone will confirm informations and help me to complete blanks.
I would really like to have more technical informations. Feel free to share what you know !
For moderators, is it possible to allow me to add URL ?
Matco said:
Thank you for your replies. I just made some improvements.
It will be ready for the Wiki as soon as someone will confirm informations and help me to complete blanks.
I would really like to have more technical informations. Feel free to share what you know !
For moderators, is it possible to allow me to add URL ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
matco my desire was not branded by any network.. does this mean to root I should just go ahead with the root process ignoring the goldcard step?? thanks
Yes, you're right (check [Guide] Rooting in this forum, page 4 post 39). GoldCard is only needed for branded phone.
Anyway, the website which generated the .img has been disabled. So you can't create easily a GoldCard right now...
Negative, it's back online:
http://psas.revskills.de/?q=goldcard
guys stuck on the red exclamation mark.. using vista, i ran recovery bat but the recovery mode is not going green. what other files hould be in the same folder as recovery bat?
Everything that was in the original pushfiles.zip along with adb-nilezon. Not sure if they're still there, but if they are, here's where you should be able to find them.
I just updated the FAQ as I successfully rooted my Desire. Rooting process helps me to understand what are Fastboot and HBoot for.
It would be nice if someone can tell me if you can put any zip you want on your SD Card for the last step of the rooting process or if you have to use special ROM included in the file package (rootedupdate.zip).
Thanks by advance.
You can put any full ROM on as the last step, it doesn't have to be rootedupdate.zip. That one will be exactly stock + root, though - so for people who like the phone as is but want root, that's the ROM they want.
You can download anybody else's ROM and throw it on for the final step if that's your cup of tea, though. May want to mention that if they're picking a ROM with A2SD in it, that they need to perform the SD setup before booting, or they may run into trouble with that.
Thank your for your reply.
I will add a warning for people who want to install a ROM with app2SD in it (if I'm right they can use the little "green" menu just before installing the zip file to create partitions on SD Card).
As you seem to have a good understanding of the rooting process, could you explain me what is the goal of the first step (installing a fresh ROM from RUU Installer with phone in Fastboot Mode)? And what are pushed files for ? Is it for green menu?
You need to partition the SD card (using the partition options in the recovery (green) menu) after your ROM and A2SD are installed - if you partition beforehand, you'll lose the zip files you need to flash.
The first step unlocks the bootloader so it'll allow low-level access and recovery mode and so the phone will accept non-HTC-signed updates, I believe. The pushfiles in the second step are forcing the recovery menu (the green menu you mention) onto the device - but since we can't have write access to /system while the device is outside of recovery mode, we have to push the files every time.
very helpful for winmo converts thanks
it took me some time to figure that out
I've done some updates thanks to The Professor.
Great thread, thank you
Instructions for the Surftab Breeze 7:
In this case it's really easy to get the tab rooted. It already has the su binary installed Get SuperSU from market and let it do the rest.
Instructions for the Surftab Ventos 8:
Big news!
I made it to make another rooting method without the use of any 3rd party software!
It's also not important which OS you are using.
Pre-requisites:
Get a Micro SD card! (up to 8GB as it seems that more than 8GB cannot be used to activate CWM)
Instructions:
1. Get my custom clockworkmod recovery zip from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1995984
2. Unpack the zip file on the root of your micro SD card (there has to be a file named uImage_recovery now)
3. Download the attached signed_SU.zip file and put it either on your internal or external SD (do NOT unpack it)
4. Shutdown your Tab
5. Keep Volume- pressed and tap the power button (while still keeping the Volume- pressed) until you see the clockworkmod menu
6. Choose "install zip from sdcard"
7. Depending on the fact where you have the zip stored, select either the internal or external card
8. Select the zip and confirm its installation with "Yes"
9. After the script finished, hit reboot and check if you have SuperSU installed
This should be it
To do:
I'll make a new thread helping in installing the Playstore without having to root our ventos tablets.
After the tablet rebooted twice you should see SuperSU now as installed application. Now you just need a working play store apk and move it into the system partition (don't forget chmod to 644) to get the Play store running.
Instructions for the Surftab Ventos 9.7:
As I don't have anyone with a rooted 9.7 at the moment (to get a dump of the stock recovery), I can't make a working CWM to get the below signed_SU.zip flashed, sorry! Only the old rooting method listed below only works at the moment (if moborobo is in a good mood )...
As usual I don't take any responsibility for bricked devices (but I assume that the chances of bricking are nearly impossible)
If you have any questions, let me know!
Old Rooting method:
Code:
Hi,
I know, many of you don't know these tables at all. But as far as I know, these are only available in Germany at the moment.
Anyways, I think it is helpful for my German colleagues to know how to root these tablets as they don't need to search for hours and hours until finding a solution that is suitable (as I did :-/ ).
The Windows way:
Pre-requisites:
0. A Windows PC
1. Download Moborobo ([URL]http://www.moborobo.com/download/[/URL])
2. Install any Updates Moborobo needs to install
3. Download the latest release of bin4ry's universal rooting for most ICS and JB phones/tablets ([URL]http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1886460[/URL])
Thanks to bin4ry by the way :)
4. Download my modded Runme.bat
Instructions:
1. Unpack the 7z Archive from point 3 into Moborobo's installation folder. The result should be that you have a new folder "stuff" and a runme.bat and runme.sh in the Moborobo folder
2. IMPORTANT: Unpack my modded runme.bat into the MoboRobo folder and delete the original batch file
3. Start Moborobo and ignore any exceptions which are thrown out (at least my Visual Studio nagged me all the time, and no, I wasn't willing to debug the application :p )
4. Connect the Tablet to the PC and wait until Moborobo says that it is connected
5. Then start the modded Runme.bat and follow the instructions (select the first option by the way, which says "Normal")
6. Watch the screen, you need to click on Restore on your tablet (without any passwords)
7. See the magic happen
The Linux way:
Here is the feedback of an owner of a Trekstor Ventos 9.7:
[QUOTE]
Hi,
[...]
I am using Linux (old Fedora 15), I used Root_with_Restore_by_Bin4ry_v15.zip without any modifications to root the device. I ran the unix shell script that is provided in the package and selected option 1 for rooting, just as you suggested. I did not really understand why you needed the mobo tool, Bin4ry's script seems to work out of the box.
After that I installed SuperUser with latest busybox, terminal app and a console version of openssh, all that also works just fine.
I did not try Google Play or any other market, I use the device without a Google account, so I actually removed the preinstalled AndroidPit market and got rid of everything that wanted to collect my personal data.
I hope some day I can post in the thread but right now I do not see anything else where I could participate to gather those annoying 10 posts.
Again, thanks for your initial walkthrough, it gave me the hints I needed.
Kind regards,
Jin
[/QUOTE]
Regards
TheSSJ
DOES the Play Store work on your device???
All other sources on the net say that the Play Store is not possible on the device...
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 7 mit Tapatalk 2
Yes,it works. but only if you root your tablet. Also it's important to move the playstore.apk into the system partition...DON'T INSTALL IT like a normal apk...
Then reboot and you're done..if you need help pm me..
Can confirm that this method is also working with the 7" Breeze. Moborobo was not able to recognize the device, but manual install of a ADB driver for the Breeze showing as non-working "Android" in the system settings device table enabled it to see it. From there rooting was indeed a "breeze" Play Store and USB devices on host working fine. Great job, thanks for sharing!
Lucas0511 said:
Can confirm that this method is also working with the 7" Breeze. Moborobo was not able to recognize the device, but manual install of a ADB driver for the Breeze showing as non-working "Android" in the system settings device table enabled it to see it. From there rooting was indeed a "breeze" Play Store and USB devices on host working fine. Great job, thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh this sounds good...I was searching for a method to manually install the adb driver for our tablets...can you share how you did this? it sucks having moborobo always running for a little adb work...
I had ADB installed previously with the latest Android SDK as fastboot was acting up on my Win 8-64bit. So the devices manager in settings was already showing a not properly installed Android USB device. I changed the USB connection on the Breeze to "MTP" , and in the computer device list chose to update the driver for this USB device manually - and then chose to search computer for drivers. Under Android USB devices I chose Android ADB Interace (Google ADB driver 7.0.0.1 previously installed with the SDK) - and was able to see the device as ST70104-1413fc082 with "adb devices" from the computer. Its funny, we both speak German, trying to explain in English... . Hope it helps.
Yes,indeed funny
Thank you for your explanations..if i get adb to work too i will update my guide
Thanks again
Edit: doesn't work unfortunately but i heard that on Linux it isn't a problem to get adb running properly...
didnt work for me
hi
I just saw this post and tries doing s instructed but:
1-couldnt get into recovery mode ! I tried the volume down button but it would boot the tab into safe mode
2-tried volume up button but it goes to a black download mode screen and restarts.
3-tried the other method through Moborobo but that didnt work either , it tells me it succeeded but there is no root.
by the way I have the 8" on Jellybean
I just want a way to make more space or install aps on my SD card
Has anyone successfully rooted a Trekstore Surftab Ventos 7.0 HD with some of the above mentioned methods? I've tried both bit without success....
The reason for me wanting to root is to get Tasker running on it. It depends on some google maps framework. The 7.0 HD has playstore and maps but i suppose something is missing and I have to root to get the missing files.
If anyone has some advice I'll be very glad. Cheers
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
Is there a difference between the ventos 7 and the ventos 7 breeze? And are there any KitKat ROMs available?
Hey Guys.
Merry xmas!
3 Days ago I bought a new Smartphone. An "ALCATEL One Touch Pop Star (5022D)" with Android 5.1
Now i want to root this Smartphone.
Any idea how to do this?
I tried oneclickroot.com but not working
Thanks
Bro full root with sw 360 Root.apk.................
Universal rooting methods:
Warnings:
You are modifying your own phone on your own risk.
There is a slight chance that your phone may brick,
and if it does I will not be held responsible for whatever you do to your phone.
If you have a warranty, after rooting it will no longer be valid.
If your phone has a flash counter, some methods may trip it
resulting in a void warranty or a bricked phone (or both).
If your phone has KNOX, it may be tripped by some methods,
resulting in, once again, a void warranty.
If your phone is encrypted, the data partition
may be wiped for some methods.
There are more warnings specific to certain devices. Do your own research on your paticular device model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Computerless methods:
1. Framaroot
2. Towelroot
3. Kingroot for Android
4. Kingoroot for Android (Not recommended, but often works)
5. iRoot for Android
6. z4root
Methods requiring a computer:
1. iRoot
2. Root Master
3. Kingroot
3. Kingoroot (Not recommended)
4. CF-Auto-Root
Root Checker - Check if your device is correctly rooted
SuperSU - the recommended superuser application
ADB and fastboot drivers:
ADB and fastboot are (extremely simplified-ly) a way for your computer to talk to your phone. And installing them may be a bit of a problem for some users.
To install it on windows there is a handy tool called the 15 Second ADB installer which will install pretty much everything you need.
On Ubuntu install with:
Code:
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
On Fedora:
Code:
sudo dnf install android-tools
On OS X using Homebrew:
Code:
brew install android-platform-tools
Recovery:
A custom recovery is an important part of device unlocking. It's the best and the most convinient way to fix your device if something goes wrong.
Root is required (in most cases) for installing the recovery.
The two most popular recoveries are:
1. Clockworkmod recovery (CWM) - CWM is a very stable recovery with many useful features. You can use the link here to download and install the official version via the ROM Manager app.
2. Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) - TWRP is a stable recovery with a very nice UI and many features such as the terminal, partition managment, file browser and so on. I personally use TWRP because of it's functionality, but if you're starting out CWM would be a better choice because of it's stability and compatibility. Also TWRP is a tiny bit more difficult to install as there is no one click installer.
If your device is not offically supported you can get an unofficial version, however there is no gurantee the unofficial version will work, it might even forever break your device. In most cases it does work, just look at what other poeple who tested it say.
To find unofficial recoveries Google:
[your phone model] cwm recovery
or
[your phone model] twrp recovery
After installing the recovery the first thing you should do it do a nandroid backup.
If you have any questions first try to Google the answer, butif you can't find it feel free to ask me here with a post (not a PM).
Also remember to quote me or tag me with @janekmuric if you want me to repond.
WARNING: Performing the actions decribed here will void your warranty and possibly brick your device. This was not written for complete noobs and assumes some prior experience. I will not be held responsible if you ruin your device.
NOTE: This was all tested on a stock iWork 10 Flagship dual boot (aka iWork 10 Ultimate) purchased from the manufacturers website. Device model is "i15 T", Device serial number starts with "i15TD": if you have another variant such as i15TL i can not vouch for any of this working the same way.is tablet
UPDATE: @popcorn2404 modified the boot.img on his USB Type-C variant if this tablet (i15-TCL), confirmed everything working well and was nice enough to provide the modified boot image. See downloads at end of post.
OTA: Most likely this will break OTA. Dont know yet...
Prerequisites:
PC with working ADB/Fastboot
Device properly recognized.
I'm using ubuntu 15.10 so I just added an entry to /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules to get things going properly
(EDIT: Windows 64 bit usb drivers attached to post -thanks @Jade.J.Munkey)
TIP: I would highly recommend extracting your stock recovery, boot and system images for safekeeping. These can easily be flashed back in fastboot if something goes wrong. Some may say this is overkill as you will be able to backup and recover with TWRP, but one never knows...
Unlocking bootloader
WARNING: this will erase all data, settings, etc... AND system default language will be chinese when you reboot
Go to settings, about tablet and tap 5 times on the Build number to activate developer options
Go to Developer options and enable OEM unlocking & USB debugging
Plug in your device while booted into android, then open a terminal
just to make sure adb is good type
Code:
adb devices
my output looks like this
Code:
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF device
reboot tablet into fastboot mode
Code:
adb reboot fastboot
The device will now reboot to the OS selection screen. Select android and then it will boot into fastboot mode
once again just to be sure all is good type
Code:
fastboot devices
once again, my output
Code:
0123456789ABCDEF fastboot
then to unlock the bootloader
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
you then should see something like:
Code:
...
(bootloader) Unlock protection is set
(bootloader) Unlocking anyway since this is not a User build
OKAY [ 15.330s]
finished. total time: 15.330s
This is what you should see now in the bootloader if all went well:
SECURE BOOT - DISABLED
LOCK STATE - unlocked
Your bootloader in now unlocked. When you reboot it will take some time for the first boot and the system language will have defaulted back to chinese. Not too difficult to sort if you're familar with Android settings. Otherwise just google "android change system language from chinese to english".
Tip: At this point you may want to already download/copy the supersu zip to internal storage of the tablet so you're all set up for flashing it later...
Modified boot.img
Because of built in security, if you make any changes to system the device will not boot, so you need a modified boot image.
If you have the exact same kernel version as I do you can download the provided modified boot image here. Otherwise you can look HERE for instructions on how to make your own modified boot image. Personally I used SuperR's Kitchen to unpack & repack the image and did the modifications manually with gedit.
Kernel version 3.14.37-x86_64-L1-R429 made on Wed Mar 2 18:22:46 CST 2016
-if you have that one you are good to go ahead and use the image provided here.
Boot device into fastboot connected to PC. From the directory where you have the modified boot image type:
Code:
fastboot flash boot i15TDboot.img
Obviously if you made your own boot image you'll need to replace "i15TDboot.img" with the name of yours...
That's it, now on to recovery and rooting...
Flashing custom TWRP (compiled by @vampirefo)
Assuming you are still connected to the device in fastboot and the custom recovery is in the same directory:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery i15t_recovery.img
Now use volume buttons to select recovery mode and tap power button.
You should now be in TWRP. First, please be smart and make a backup!
Because this device has an unusual mount point, the supersu script will fail to properly mount system (thus failing to flash) so:
From TWRP main screen select "mount" then select system, then return to main screen
Select "install" and then the supersu zip you should already have on the tablet.
Boot system. Now there is one thing left to do:
To prevent the system from overwriting TWRP with the stock recovery on the next reboot:
With a root enabled file manager mount system r/w and navigate to /system/etc
Rename install-recovery.sh to install-recovery.sh.bak
That's it. Enjoy!
If you're looking for more info on this device, check out Laura's great thread
Thanks
@vampirefo - for taking the time to compile TWRP for this device, you rule man!
Laura - for all the info she's made available for this device
@SuperR. - for his kitchen
@Chainfire
@popcorn2404
Downloads
TWRP recovery
Modified boot image (i15-TD)
Modified boot image (i15-TCL)
SuperSU
There will be additional resources for this device here
Delete
Windows 10 64bit fastboot driver for Cube iwork10 Ultimate
When the device is at fastboot, Windows Device Manager says "Cherry Trail CR" with a yellow exlamation point. abd works fine when it is booted in to normal android. Anyone have this driver or could tell me where to aquire it ?
Cube iwork10 Ultimate Fastboot driver for Windows 10 64bit
Jade.J.Munkey said:
When the device is at fastboot, Windows Device Manager says "Cherry Trail CR" with a yellow exlamation point. abd works fine when it is booted in to normal android. Anyone have this driver or could tell me where to aquire it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the good work, I am successfully rooted. The only deviation from the instructions that occurred for me was that /system/etc did not appear in the TWRP file manager, fortunately the .sh did not run upon rebooting after installing the SU zip. So I just I just renamed the .sh in NextApp File Explorer with Root Add-On installed once booted in to android; I have since tested booting in to recovery and then back to android and it is working fine.
Here is the driver I found to enable the Cube iwork10 Ultimate to be seen by Windows 10 64bit whilst in fastboot:
onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=96BA73741E4680ED!5237&authkey=!ALGigNIfrlvxfvI&ithint=file%2czip
if anyone needs it. (remove space from url before pasting in to browser)
Jade.J.Munkey said:
Thanks very much for the good work, I am successfully rooted. The only deviation from the instructions that occurred for me was that /system/etc did not appear in the TWRP file manager, fortunately the .sh did not run upon rebooting after installing the SU zip. So I just I just renamed the .sh in NextApp File Explorer with Root Add-On installed once booted in to android; I have since tested booting in to recovery and then back to android and it is working fine.
Here is the driver I found to enable the Cube iwork10 Ultimate to be seen by Windows 10 64bit whilst in fastboot:
onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=96BA73741E4680ED!5237&authkey=!ALGigNIfrlvxfvI&ithint=file%2czip
if anyone needs it. (remove space from url before pasting in to browser)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it worked out for you. Based on your experience I changed the instructions in the OP. Actually that's the exact same I did after doing this the first time but I thought it would be easier to do before first boot in TWRP. Anyhow thanks for pointing this out.
Attached windows usb driver to OP. Thanks!
Stock based, recovery flashable ROMs now available:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/rom-stock-cube-iwork-10-flagship-i15-t-t3372281
Can someone please make like a video for this or something more lames terms (user friendly). Cause i have a cube iwork 10 Ultimate Dual Boot (i15-TL) and am having issues on Android side where i do not have an option to move apps to sd card in apps settings. Also in storage there is no tab showing all apps on sd card. Im guessing i would need to root my device right? Can someone please help me i just want to get this working properly... i would show screenshots but i don't know how to attach them.
Will the recovery work with i15-TL?
Thank you in advance
flubber1911 said:
Will the recovery work with i15-TL?
Thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understand from reading at http://techtablets.com/forum/forums/cube/iwork-10-ultimate/
-it *should* work as my understanding is that the TD and TL are virtually identical other than different flavors of windows installed. But I can NOT personally confirm this as I have not tested on the TL variant.
What I can say with a higher level of certainty is that the procedure for unlocking the bootloader should be exactly the same. Once the bootloader is unlocked it is easy to reflash the stock recovery via fastboot should the custom recovery not work properly. (Assuming one has previously extracted an image of the original recovery to begin with. Same for boot and system images.)
So if the custom recovery does not work, it is pretty easy to reflash the original, as well as the original boot or system images should something else get messed up.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ask anything else if anything is unclear...
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
Thank you for your precise answer. I already successfully rooted my Cube. I need the recovery to flash the latest xposed sdk. I' ll have a look if someone extracted the original recovery.
geryalvi said:
Can someone please make like a video for this or something more lames terms (user friendly). Cause i have a cube iwork 10 Ultimate Dual Boot (i15-TL) and am having issues on Android side where i do not have an option to move apps to sd card in apps settings. Also in storage there is no tab showing all apps on sd card. Im guessing i would need to root my device right? Can someone please help me i just want to get this working properly... i would show screenshots but i don't know how to attach them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock android on this device does not offer the option to move apps to sdcard.
Tools such as link2sd require a rooted device.
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
flubber1911 said:
Thank you for your precise answer. I already successfully rooted my Cube. I need the recovery to flash the latest xposed sdk. I' ll have a look if someone extracted the original recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, no problem man. I'm curious to see how xposed works out, I've not got around to trying to install yet. Let us know here how that goes.
A copy of the original recovery from my i15-T(D) can be downloaded here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24499762636003042
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
I installed an app called Rashr - Flash Tool on my phone. It says it can backup the recovery.
So I did; lets see then if your custom recovery works out
jetfin said:
The stock android on this device does not offer the option to move apps to sdcard.
Tools such as link2sd require a rooted device.
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so i have i15-TL, with the instructions provided will i be able to root my Android? Also if i Root Android does anything happen with the Winows side? (I still would like a Dual Boot) So im looking to be able to move apps to my sd card, can someone please help me understand how to Root my device and be able to move apps to sd card? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and also thanks to Jetfin for replying my last post. Plz hlp...
geryalvi said:
Ok so i have i15-TL, with the instructions provided will i be able to root my Android?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As clearly stated in the OP, I do not know for sure because I have not tried on that variant, but it *should* work. If you read a few posts back, you can see that another TL owner seems to have successfully rooted his device. Hot tip: *reading* is very important here before asking questions.
geryalvi said:
Also if i Root Android does anything happen with the Winows side? (I still would like a Dual Boot)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this will not affect the windows side of things. Dual boot is unaffected.
geryalvi said:
So im looking to be able to move apps to my sd card, can someone please help me understand how to Root my device and be able to move apps to sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The instructions for unlocking and rooting in the OP are very simple and straightforward. If you are inexperienced in general with rooting android or with adb/fastboot, those answers can easily be found on XDA and elsewhere by searching.
As far as moving apps to SD, since nobody seems to have done it yet (or posted that they have) the only way right now would be to root your device and try out one of the specific apps for that like link2sd. I will try to check this out ASAP but can not promise how soon because I'm focusing my efforts right now on porting another ROM to this device...
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
I could cry right now ... At first I have to say that flashing the TWRP recovery worked flawlessly But always when I tried to flash the Xposed SDK I got an error saying: Updater process ended with error: 255 ( I have no idea how to fix that yet
flubber1911 said:
I could cry right now ... At first I have to say that flashing the TWRP recovery worked flawlessly But always when I tried to flash the Xposed SDK I got an error saying: Updater process ended with error: 255 ( I have no idea how to fix that yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you manually Mount system in TWRP before flashing xposed?
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
jetfin said:
Did you manually Mount system in TWRP before flashing xposed?
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, do I have to do that? D
---------- Post added at 10:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------
Ok I manually mounted System, but it still doesn´t work ...
jetfin said:
As clearly stated in the OP, I do not know for sure because I have not tried on that variant, but it *should* work. If you read a few posts back, you can see that another TL owner seems to have successfully rooted his device. Hot tip: *reading* is very important here before asking questions.
No, this will not affect the windows side of things. Dual boot is unaffected.
The instructions for unlocking and rooting in the OP are very simple and straightforward. If you are inexperienced in general with rooting android or with adb/fastboot, those answers can easily be found on XDA and elsewhere by searching.
As far as moving apps to SD, since nobody seems to have done it yet (or posted that they have) the only way right now would be to root your device and try out one of the specific apps for that like link2sd. I will try to check this out ASAP but can not promise how soon because I'm focusing my efforts right now on porting another ROM to this device...
Sent from my OnePlus2 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, so my question before i attempt to root my device is: if i follow the steps provided on OP will i loose any of my current information on my Android side? If so would i need to backup my android (How so). Sorry for all of hte questions but i am a noob on how to do this..
Thanks again
We are trying to get hold a custom recovery for Lenovo Tab3-710F. We are using hundreds of Lenovo tablets in our projects and have up until now used Tab2 A7-10 which has a custom recovery build for it (found here att XDA).
The reason we need the custom recovery is for cloning the unit which works good in CWM or TWRP.
The problem now is that Lenovo have stopped selling Tab2 so we are now stuck with a unit we cant clone.
Have somebody successfully created a custom recovery for the unit? If not or if you have we are offering payments/devices to get this working asap. Are you interested please PM us? When we have it we can share it to the world here no problems for us.
If you need to root the device KingoRoot latest APK works.
So hope somebody can help us.
Perhaps useful for you: I've managed to extract the stock rom of a brand new TB3-710F
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/lenovo-tab-3-7-essential-tb3-710f-mt8127-t3416397
This also includes the "recovery.img" so you could try to change this image and simply flashing it. If it does not work you'll have a stock rom to restore it.
gogetrd said:
We are trying to get hold a custom recovery for Lenovo Tab3-710F. We are using hundreds of Lenovo tablets in our projects and have up until now used Tab2 A7-10 which has a custom recovery build for it (found here att XDA).
The reason we need the custom recovery is for cloning the unit which works good in CWM or TWRP.
The problem now is that Lenovo have stopped selling Tab2 so we are now stuck with a unit we cant clone.
Have somebody successfully created a custom recovery for the unit? If not or if you have we are offering payments/devices to get this working asap. Are you interested please PM us? When we have it we can share it to the world here no problems for us.
If you need to root the device KingoRoot latest APK works.
So hope somebody can help us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did u manage to get TWRP or CWM for TB3-710F ?
zwirc said:
Did u manage to get TWRP or CWM for TB3-710F ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I built it for them. Download here
@Tzul @gogetrd We are trying to achieve something similar, configure about 700 tablets of this model. I have played with custom ROMs in the past, but mostly as a consumer (e.g. Cyanogen on personal devices).
It is my understanding that installation using the files provided by @Tzul would require to;
0. create a custom ROM.
Then for each device
1. root device (e.g. Developper mode, allow "Unknown source"s, adb install one rooting apk, run it, etc).
2. install custom recovery on device
3. flash custom ROM
Am I right?
If so do we agree that the time spent doing these operations might be about similar than the time spent e.g. manually installing / configuring the device? Or is there a way to automate the steps above?
You can configure 1 tablet, then extract the ROM and flash it with the "download mode". You don't even need to boot the tablet!
If you want more info let me know, back from holiday in a few days
@lacostej You can certainly automate some steps, and you do not always need root. (And the best way to root is to install the latest SuperSU via TWRP; no need for questionable apps that are doing who knows what...)
There are three ways to install another firmware:
The MediaTek SmartPhone Flash Tool (SPFT). This is a PC program (Windows and Linux) that allows reading and writing of the entire internal storage (on a partition granularity). Via USB, while the device is powered down. Only for devices based on MediaTek chips, of course (this tablet is MediaTek-based).
Fastboot. This is a little USB protocol implemented by the bootloader. A Fastboot client on PC can communicate with the bootloader via USB and execute certain commands, e.g. "fastboot flash" for flashing partitions. However, there are a few drawbacks with this:
First, you need to boot the device into fastboot mode. Some devices have a boot menu that allows you to do this, but this device doesn't. Starting the tablet via power+volumeUP takes you directly to the recovery instead of a boot menu. But in the recovery, whether stock or TWRP, there's a reboot to bootloader option. Using ADB (adb reboot bootloader) should also take you there.
Second, the "fastboot flash" command is restricted on this tablet. If you were to use "fastboot flash recovery <recoveryfilename_here>", for example, it would abort with an error message. I have patched the bootloader to allow the flash command, but you'd first need to install this patched version on your tablet(s), of course, via SPFT or other means.
Third, the "fastboot flash" command has a size limit - the bootloader needs to buffer the USB data in RAM before it can be written, and since the tablet has only 1 GB of RAM, you obviously can't flash a 1 GB system image this way. The buffer is actually a lot smaller: just 128 MiB. Meaning whatever file you send to the tablet via "fastboot flash", it cannot be larger than 128 MiB. So, how do you flash the system or userdata partition then, which are much, much larger? By splitting their image file into many smaller "sparse" image files, each of which is below the size limit. There's probably a tool for doing this, but I don't know any details.
TWRP, or another custom recovery. They allow you to create and restore backups. TWRP has some automation support via OpenRecoveryScript.
So, if you have 700 tablets to configure, you can configure just one, then save its state via SPFT or TWRP, then restore that on each other tablet.
What is its "state"? Well, the system, cache, and data partitions. The system partition is normally read-only and won't change, therefore you do not need to clone it. Unless you install root and modify stuff on the system partition, of course. The cache partition is quite irrelevant. It is the data partition that has all the app settings.
However, if you clone the data partition from one tablet to others, then you're causing each tablet to use the same Android ID (a long number identifying an Android device, usually randomly generated when Android is first booted after a factory reset), the same Bluetooth and WiFi MAC addresses, and some other IDs that should be unique on each device (the tablet's Lenovo serial number might be in some cloned files as well, e.g. the WiFi settings).
You can at least avoid cloning the MAC addresses by deleting the entire directory /data/nvram/ before you create your backup. MediaTek devices have a dedicated NVRAM partition that contains the MAC addresses and some other stuff, and this data gets unpacked to /data/nvram/ when Android boots. Unless the files there already exist. So, by deleting /data/nvram/ before you clone, you force each tablet to extract its unique MAC addresses again at the next boot...
Thanks a lot for the feedback. Really appreciated.
Tzul said:
@lacostej And the best way to root is to install the latest SuperSU via TWRP; no need for questionable apps that are doing who knows what...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't SuperSU already requires root? (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538053)
How did you get root on your Lenovo device? (I assume you had one to dump the image)
However, if you clone the data partition from one tablet to others, then you're causing each tablet to use the same Android ID (a long number identifying an Android device, usually randomly generated when Android is first booted after a factory reset), the same Bluetooth and WiFi MAC addresses, and some other IDs that should be unique on each device (the tablet's Lenovo serial number might be in some cloned files as well, e.g. the WiFi settings).
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly the thing I was worried about when it comes to cloning. Those problems might arise later during QA, and I probably don't have the time required to do it properly this time.
lacostej said:
Doesn't SuperSU already requires root? (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538053)
How did you get root on your Lenovo device? (I assume you had one to dump the image)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SuperSU is just like any other root manager. It provides the actual "su" (superuser) binary that other programs rely on to obtain root privileges, plus an Android app for managing permissions and settings. The su binary needs to be installed on the system partition (at least traditionally), but in order to get write access there, you need root privileges. Therefore, this is a chicken and egg problem: SuperSU provides root, but it also needs root in order to be installed. Other root manager are no different - except that some try to exploit security flaws in Android in order to temporarily obtain root and install their su binary.
Anyway, the classic solution to this conundrum is the (custom) recovery: it basically has root built-in. It can write to the system partition by default, after all one of its jobs is to install firmware updates.
TWRP includes a SuperSU stub. If you leave TWRP via the Reboot menu, it checks whether or not the su binary is installed (at least in Android 4 and 5), and if it isn't, it asks if you'd like to install the SuperSU stub. Which you can then use in Android to update to the latest SuperSU via Play Store. But you can also install SuperSU's latest "update zip" in TWRP to immediately install the full version.
lacostej said:
That's exactly the thing I was worried about when it comes to cloning. Those problems might arise later during QA, and I probably don't have the time required to do it properly this time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it is annoying. MediaTek apparently wisened up a bit. Newer platforms they produce do not unpack the NVRAM partition to the data partition anymore. Instead, they use a dedicated "nvdata" partition for that purpose. That way, if you clone the data partition, you at least won't include the unpacked NVRAM data (MAC addresses and IMEI). But still, some other IDs such as the Android ID, references to the serial number, etc. will very likely be referenced by some other files on the data partition.
I created a little "update zip" that can be "installed" via TWRP, which is just a shell script that tries to delete all the files on the data partition that contain unique or sensitive info. I use it to "clean" a data partition before publishing it. But it's not perfect yet...
@Tzul Your modified rom is great. But I have one problem with it.
When you connect your turned off device to the power supply there is a clock and charging animation. The clock is several hours ahead of the system clock. System clock and clock during the charging are connected (when I change the system time the 2nd clock also changes the hour).
I was trying to use hwclock but without success.
Is there some kind of file where I can set the correct time zone for the 2nd clock?
Sorry for my English.
@Yozen I didn't modify the ROM. I extracted and packaged it.
When the tablet is turned off and then connected to a power supply, it will usually start "off-mode charging" (can be disabled, so that Android will boot up instead). This is handled by the bootloader (LK, lk.bin), which also displays the battery animation and the clock that you see. Apparently the bootloader on this device doesn't handle time zones, because the clock shown uses China Standard Time (CST, UTC+08:00). This is the first MediaTek-based device I've seen which shows a clock in the off-mode charging screen at all. I guess they normally don't because they have no simple way to figure out the user's correct time zone at that stage.
Will this method and these files work for TB3-730F?
Sir, is there a custom ROM available for Lenovo tab3-710f ?
lacostej said:
@Tzul @gogetrd We are trying to achieve something similar, configure about 700 tablets of this model. I have played with custom ROMs in the past, but mostly as a consumer (e.g. Cyanogen on personal devices).
It is my understanding that installation using the files provided by @Tzul would require to;
0. create a custom ROM.
Then for each device
1. root device (e.g. Developper mode, allow "Unknown source"s, adb install one rooting apk, run it, etc).
2. install custom recovery on device
3. flash custom ROM
Am I right?
If so do we agree that the time spent doing these operations might be about similar than the time spent e.g. manually installing / configuring the device? Or is there a way to automate the steps above?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you do it in the end? I'm trying to do something similar here and am very curious!
.acy said:
How did you do it in the end? I'm trying to do something similar here and am very curious!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For us it is this "simple".
1. Manually configure a single device
2. Readback the ROM (get the ROM from the device and store it on your PC) using SP Flash Tool
3. Parse the ROM from a single file to multiple files using Mtk Droid Tool
4. (clear cache partition & remove stuff like serial number)
5. Load your ROM in SP Flash Tool
6. Click start
7. DO NOT START your new tablet
8. Connect it to USB
9. Wait (assuming you already have the preloader drivers installed)
10. Done, new ROM is flashed to your tab!
edit:
Oh and with 700 tablets it might be nice to look into compressing the file as the full 8gb dump we flash (and we don't do a lot these days) will take ~30-40 minutes
mattiemvs said:
3. Parse the ROM from a single file to multiple files using Mtk Droid Tool
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's unnecessary, because the SP Flash Tool can already read back partitions into separate files.
Also, you don't need to clone some partitions like cache, and you really should not clone nvram and parts of data, otherwise you'll end up with tablets sharing unique IDs such as MAC addresses, which will cause problems.
Tzul, you are absolutely right! I typed the items from my mind as it has been quite some time since I've created the ROM
tb3-710f s000028
Tzul said:
Yes, I built it for them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello tzul,
Thanks for your jobs.
I want to install Lenovo_TB3-710F_S000027_TO_S000028_Patched_Tzul.zip
But i don't know how i do this when i try with SPFT i choose teh scatter-file and i have an error :
sp flash toll error : 5417
The load scatter file is invalid !
hint :
please check the scatter file and select again
Can you help me ? please
@siegheart73 That is a patched OTA update. It needs to be installed by the recovery (stock or TWRP). If a zip file contains a "META-INF" folder, then it's most likely intended for the recovery, and not for the SPFT.
Tzul said:
@siegheart73 That is a patched OTA update. It needs to be installed by the recovery (stock or TWRP). If a zip file contains a "META-INF" folder, then it's most likely intended for the recovery, and not for the SPFT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your answer.
I go to test it.
I want to root this kernel 000028 and i have difficult to do it ?
Do you have a easy solution ?
Thanks a lot for your help.