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Hey Guys -
I have had my A9 for about 2 months and love it. When I first purchased it, I rooted it using the method pinned to this forum which seemed to work well. Soon afterwards, I found out that when I inserted and tried to format an SD card as "internal", it wouldn't work and result in it showing as "corrupted." I soon found out that this seemed to be due to the root replacing the original boot.img which messes with encryption. Since the root was posted, SuperSU has been updated and that step has changed supposedly.
Now that I have some time, I want to fix this issue. Before doing so, I've read through many posts and think I have a plan. I wanted to post the steps I need to follow as I understood them to make sure my plan is correct and will result in not only being able to format an SD internally and be rooted, but also a working phone Below are the specs of my phone, the steps I think it may take to resolve, and a few questions I have after reading through numerous posts. Any help is appreciated!
Phone Specs
Some as currently listed in Settings
- HTC One A9
- AT&T USA
- Rooted / s-off
- Android 6.0 / Sense 7.0g
Software Number: 1.10.502.3
Kernel: 3.10.73-perf-g28d66e0
Baseband: [email protected]_29.05_F
Build: 1.10.502.3 CL635081 release keys
Android Security Patch Level: 2015-10-01
Steps to Fix
1. Backup any data desired (I have a nightly Titanium backup)
2. Download RUU for same version (1.10.502.3) from http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-a9/general/wip-ruu-htc-one-a9-t3240344
Should I use newer version or are those for different carriers?
3. Apply RUU (via embedded EXE or try to extract and apply using adb/fastboot)
4. Once phone is restored, make a backup of boot.img from phone just in case it's needed later
5. Install TWRP via adb/fastboot
6. Install SuperSU via TWRP
At this point (if I can make it to this point), test and see if the phone's rooted and I can format the SD internally. If so, great. If not, continue with the following steps...
7. Download & flash modded boot.img from A9 Root post
8. Install TWRP via adb / fastboot
9. Install SuperSU via TWRP
10. Flash original boot.img backed up in step #4 to my phone (since modded one was only needed initially to install SuperSU) So that encryption keys match and I may successfully format sd cards for internal use
My Questions
1. Are the steps above basically the process i need to perform or is there a better / easier way? I don't know if I could flash a common boot.img from an RUU or if it needs to be flashed to phone first for encryption purposes. Even if I can, I've tried to extract it from ruu.zip before and could not
2. Should I use an RUU for a newer version (over 1.10.502.3) or are those for different carriers and not work with my AT&T phone?
3. Does it make a difference if I install the RUU via embedded EXE or extract and apply using adb/fastboot?
4. What versions of TWRP & SuperSU should I use?
Any additional suggestions would be appreciated - I just want to get this resolved once and for all! - Thanks!
bzowk said:
Hey Guys -
I have had my A9 for about 2 months and love it. When I first purchased it, I rooted it using the method pinned to this forum which seemed to work well. Soon afterwards, I found out that when I inserted and tried to format an SD card as "internal", it wouldn't work and result in it showing as "corrupted." I soon found out that this seemed to be due to the root replacing the original boot.img which messes with encryption. Since the root was posted, SuperSU has been updated and that step has changed supposedly.
Now that I have some time, I want to fix this issue. Before doing so, I've read through many posts and think I have a plan. I wanted to post the steps I need to follow as I understood them to make sure my plan is correct and will result in not only being able to format an SD internally and be rooted, but also a working phone Below are the specs of my phone, the steps I think it may take to resolve, and a few questions I have after reading through numerous posts. Any help is appreciated!
Phone Specs
Some as currently listed in Settings
- HTC One A9
- AT&T USA
- Rooted / s-off
- Android 6.0 / Sense 7.0g
Software Number: 1.10.502.3
Kernel: 3.10.73-perf-g28d66e0
Baseband: [email protected]_29.05_F
Build: 1.10.502.3 CL635081 release keys
Android Security Patch Level: 2015-10-01
Steps to Fix
1. Backup any data desired (I have a nightly Titanium backup)
2. Download RUU for same version (1.10.502.3) from http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-a9/general/wip-ruu-htc-one-a9-t3240344
Should I use newer version or are those for different carriers?
3. Apply RUU (via embedded EXE or try to extract and apply using adb/fastboot)
4. Once phone is restored, make a backup of boot.img from phone just in case it's needed later
5. Install TWRP via adb/fastboot
6. Install SuperSU via TWRP
At this point (if I can make it to this point), test and see if the phone's rooted and I can format the SD internally. If so, great. If not, continue with the following steps...
7. Download & flash modded boot.img from A9 Root post
8. Install TWRP via adb / fastboot
9. Install SuperSU via TWRP
10. Flash original boot.img backed up in step #4 to my phone (since modded one was only needed initially to install SuperSU) So that encryption keys match and I may successfully format sd cards for internal use
My Questions
1. Are the steps above basically the process i need to perform or is there a better / easier way? I don't know if I could flash a common boot.img from an RUU or if it needs to be flashed to phone first for encryption purposes. Even if I can, I've tried to extract it from ruu.zip before and could not
2. Should I use an RUU for a newer version (over 1.10.502.3) or are those for different carriers and not work with my AT&T phone?
3. Does it make a difference if I install the RUU via embedded EXE or extract and apply using adb/fastboot?
4. What versions of TWRP & SuperSU should I use?
Any additional suggestions would be appreciated - I just want to get this resolved once and for all! - Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, this isn't Development.
Secondly, I explained to you how to fix this in the very root thread you linked several times.
Thirdly, there's a newer, official RUU from HTC right on their ROM Downloads website. I'd start by installing that (though I also have a recovery-flashable version of that ROM in my Base ROM thread).
Fourthly, with access to an official RUU, and my ROM decrypt script, you have access to the stock boot.img (which is also in the firmware zip in my Base ROM thread), which you can use as your baseline for restoring the verity key to the ramdisk, thereby allowing you to use adopted storage without any issues. Note however that I was only able to use adopted storage with the "forceencrypt" flag enabled.
Fifthly, you can't just restore the stock boot image (at least not if you want to stay rooted). You can be both rooted and encrypted, but you have to first make sure SuperSU is flashed and set up prior to allowing the device to be encrypted again (adopted storage only works with an encrypted device, and then you won't be able to access your storage with TWRP).
OK, OK - sorry.... It had been a while since posting and honestly forgot about that thread - my fault.
I decided to start fresh so have already restored the phone to HTC's latest RUU (1.27.502.5 ATT) as I already had it downloaded. I've also flashed TWRP 2.8.8.1 to the phone, but am obviously prompted to enter a password when I try to enter recovery. Based off what I've read, the steps below seem to be what I need to do so that I may be rooted + still have encryption for internal sd formatting. Is it correct (or close to it)
Using an Ubuntu 14.04 x86 VM...
1. Download & extract your decrypt script to a temp folder in linux vm
2. In Windows, run same RUU I applied and copy out rom.zip from %temp%
3. Rename "rom.zip" to "rom_a9.zip"
4. Copy rom_a9.zip to the ""place_rom_zip_here" folder of your extracted script in the vm
5. Run ./decrypt-htc and wait for script to complete to get img files
On Phone (Currently has same RUU installed + TWRP but not rooted)
6. Root phone using original method of flashing modded boot.img, install SuperSU, and get rooted
7. Once done and rooted, flash boot.img I extracted using your script above to phone via adb
Once that's done, it should be rooted + have encryption thus allowing me to use internal sd card, right? Sorry to be such a bother - just want to get this fixed and done with
Thanks!
bzowk said:
OK, OK - sorry.... It had been a while since posting and honestly forgot about that thread - my fault.
I decided to start fresh so have already restored the phone to HTC's latest RUU (1.27.502.5 ATT) as I already had it downloaded. I've also flashed TWRP 2.8.8.1 to the phone, but am obviously prompted to enter a password when I try to enter recovery. Based off what I've read, the steps below seem to be what I need to do so that I may be rooted + still have encryption for internal sd formatting. Is it correct (or close to it)
Using an Ubuntu 14.04 x86 VM...
1. Download & extract your decrypt script to a temp folder in linux vm
2. In Windows, run same RUU I applied and copy out rom.zip from %temp%
3. Rename "rom.zip" to "rom_a9.zip"
4. Copy rom_a9.zip to the ""place_rom_zip_here" folder of your extracted script in the vm
5. Run ./decrypt-htc and wait for script to complete to get img files
On Phone (Currently has same RUU installed + TWRP but not rooted)
6. Root phone using original method of flashing modded boot.img, install SuperSU, and get rooted
7. Once done and rooted, flash boot.img I extracted using your script above to phone via adb
Once that's done, it should be rooted + have encryption thus allowing me to use internal sd card, right? Sorry to be such a bother - just want to get this fixed and done with
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Re-read my post. If you flash the stock boot.img, you will no longer be rooted.
And as I said in the original thread, you need to pull the rooted boot.img and add the verity key from the stock one to it. Also you'll need to add the forceencrypt and verify flag back.
P.S. You also need to re-read the instructions in the decrypt thread. You don't have to rename anything anymore.
Good Afternoon -
OK - sorry to frustrate you, but I think I finally have it figured out. I started from scratch, re-read many posts, and took notes. I was a little confused on the last part so wanted to verify, please...
I've already unpacked the boot.img from the latest HTC A9 (AT&T) RUU and have the two folders. I restored the same RUU to my phone, flashed TWRP 2.8.8.1, backed up the boot.img, and unpacked it before realizing that I should have probably rooted it first.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's all I need to do to finish....
1. Download modified A9 boot.img from top of root thread
2. Flash modded boot.img using fastboot
3. Verify TWRP is still installed then use it to install SuperSU 2.67 (latest)
4. Back up boot partition just like I did before in TWRP
5. Unpack it on PC to create ramdisk and split_img folders
6. Copy verity_key from unpack of the actual RUU and overwrite one in rooted unpack
7. Edit the file fstab.qcom in the ramdisk folder of the rooted unpack in Notepad++ and add the "verify" flag after the wait flag on the fist uncommented line - save
8. Repack rooted boot.img
9. Flash phone with repacked boot.img using fastboot
10. Reboot & enjoy a rooted phone + encryption allowing sd internal formatting
Promise not to bug anymore if I can just get this resolved.
Thanks again for your assistance!
UPDATE
Hmm - was just prepping and went to download modded file from root thread's first post. Doesn't seem to have one that matches newest build of RUU I flashed - if I'm interpreting it correctly. Researching further, but if know of alternate method or another solution to get through steps 1 & 2 about (assuming they are correct), I'd appreciate it. Thanks
bzowk said:
Good Afternoon -
OK - sorry to frustrate you, but I think I finally have it figured out. I started from scratch, re-read many posts, and took notes. I was a little confused on the last part so wanted to verify, please...
I've already unpacked the boot.img from the latest HTC A9 (AT&T) RUU and have the two folders. I restored the same RUU to my phone, flashed TWRP 2.8.8.1, backed up the boot.img, and unpacked it before realizing that I should have probably rooted it first.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's all I need to do to finish....
1. Download modified A9 boot.img from top of root thread
2. Flash modded boot.img using fastboot
3. Verify TWRP is still installed then use it to install SuperSU 2.67 (latest)
4. Back up boot partition just like I did before in TWRP
5. Unpack it on PC to create ramdisk and split_img folders
6. Copy verity_key from unpack of the actual RUU and overwrite one in rooted unpack
7. Edit the file fstab.qcom in the ramdisk folder of the rooted unpack in Notepad++ and add the "verify" flag after the wait flag on the fist uncommented line - save
8. Repack rooted boot.img
9. Flash phone with repacked boot.img using fastboot
10. Reboot & enjoy a rooted phone + encryption allowing sd internal formatting
Promise not to bug anymore if I can just get this resolved.
Thanks again for your assistance!
UPDATE
Hmm - was just prepping and went to download modded file from root thread's first post. Doesn't seem to have one that matches newest build of RUU I flashed - if I'm interpreting it correctly. Researching further, but if know of alternate method or another solution to get through steps 1 & 2 about (assuming they are correct), I'd appreciate it. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need anything from that root thread. Everything there is deprecated (which I've said several times).
If you already have the stock boot.img unpacked and ready to go, all you have to do is flash SuperSU, then back up the rooted boot.img that you now have on your device thanks to SuperSU. Unpack that boot.emmc.win and add the verity_key from the stock ramdisk and replace the fstab.qcom with the one from the stock ramdisk. Repack, flash to your device via fastboot or TWRP, and your device will encrypt on that first boot and you'll be good to go.
Just to make sure - you did a Format Data in TWRP prior to flashing SuperSU, correct?
Captain_Throwback said:
You don't need anything from that root thread. Everything there is deprecated (which I've said several times).
If you already have the stock boot.img unpacked and ready to go, all you have to do is flash SuperSU, then back up the rooted boot.img that you now have on your device thanks to SuperSU. Unpack that boot.emmc.win and add the verity_key from the stock ramdisk and replace the fstab.qcom with the one from the stock ramdisk. Repack, flash to your device via fastboot or TWRP, and your device will encrypt on that first boot and you'll be good to go.
Just to make sure - you did a Format Data in TWRP prior to flashing SuperSU, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks -
Well, that's the thing... One of the two unpacked boot.img I have currently is wrong. The two I have are:
- One unpacked boot.img extracted from latest RUU using your script in linux
- One unpacked boot.img backed up from unrooted phone which only had TWRP flashed
That was part of my question. I know that the 2nd unpacked boot.img above is worthless as the phone needed to be rooted prior to me backing it up. The question for me is how to flash superSU onto the phone (which currently has the same latest RUU + TWRP 2.8.8.1 installed) if I can only access TWRP is a read-only mode as I'm prompted for password upon booting to recovery. That's why I brought up the legacy root method as I don't know of an alternative... unless SuperSU doesn't require write permissions to whatever TWRP has locked down currently.
Once I can root it, backup it's boot, and unpack it; I just need to literally copy & overwrite the "verity_key" and "fstab.qcom" files (assuming the only difference is the fstab.qcom I'm overwriting doesn't have the verify flag), repack, then flash back to phone via fastboot, right?
Thanks for your patience!
bzowk said:
Thanks -
Well, that's the thing... One of the two unpacked boot.img I have currently is wrong. The two I have are:
- One unpacked boot.img extracted from latest RUU using your script in linux
- One unpacked boot.img backed up from unrooted phone which only had TWRP flashed
That was part of my question. I know that the 2nd unpacked boot.img above is worthless as the phone needed to be rooted prior to me backing it up. The question for me is how to flash superSU onto the phone (which currently has the same latest RUU + TWRP 2.8.8.1 installed) if I can only access TWRP is a read-only mode as I'm prompted for password upon booting to recovery. That's why I brought up the legacy root method as I don't know of an alternative... unless SuperSU doesn't require write permissions to whatever TWRP has locked down currently.
Once I can root it, backup it's boot, and unpack it; I just need to literally copy & overwrite the "verity_key" and "fstab.qcom" files (assuming the only difference is the fstab.qcom I'm overwriting doesn't have the verify flag), repack, then flash back to phone via fastboot, right?
Thanks for your patience!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you Format Data in TWRP and reboot recovery, you can flash SuperSU and you will be rooted. You just have to back up the boot.img after flashing SuperSU on the unencrypted device to re-enable verity so that adopted storage will work.
P.S. And no, the verify flag isn't the only difference. As I also said earlier (I'm constantly repeating myself), the device must be encrypted for Adopted Storage to work, so the forceencrypt flag from the stock fstab must also be present. That's why it's easier just to replace the whole file. The problem you have at the end of the day is that, while you'll be rooted and be able to use adopted storage in Android, you still won't be able to access said storage (or /data) in TWRP.
Captain_Throwback said:
Once you Format Data in TWRP and reboot recovery, you can flash SuperSU and you will be rooted. You just have to back up the boot.img after flashing SuperSU on the unencrypted device to re-enable verity so that adopted storage will work.
P.S. And no, the verify flag isn't the only difference. As I also said earlier (I'm constantly repeating myself), the device must be encrypted for Adopted Storage to work, so the forceencrypt flag from the stock fstab must also be present. That's why it's easier just to replace the whole file. The problem you have at the end of the day is that, while you'll be rooted and be able to use adopted storage in Android, you still won't be able to access said storage (or /data) in TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great - Thanks!!
Just to make sure, below's my plan with a small question @ step #5. Does it get your stamp of approval?
Phone (A9) already had latest RUU restored (same RUU I ran against your script to pull boot.img from) and TWRP 2.8.8.1 flashed
1. Boot into TWRP & bypass initial screen prompting for password
2. Format Data
3. Reboot back into TWRP
4. Flash SuperSU 2.76 zip
5. Reboot to system then back to TWRP and backup boot partition? / Stay in TWRP and backup boot partition? / Reboot back into TWRP and backup boot partition?
6. Unpack backed up boot partition from phone
7. Copy "verity_key" & "fstab.qcom" files from ramdisk folder in unpacked RUU boot and paste into & overwrite same files in ramdisk folder of unpacked boot from rooted phone
8. Repack rooted phone boot (which includes both new files)
9. Flash newly packed boot.img to phone using fastboot
10. Enjoy
I really appreciate your help and patience with me!
bzowk said:
Great - Thanks!!
Just to make sure, below's my plan with a small question @ step #5. Does it get your stamp of approval?
Phone (A9) already had latest RUU restored (same RUU I ran against your script to pull boot.img from) and TWRP 2.8.8.1 flashed
1. Boot into TWRP & bypass initial screen prompting for password
2. Format Data
3. Reboot back into TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good so far . . .
bzowk said:
4. Flash SuperSU 2.76 zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure this is just a typo, but that should be 2.67, not 76 (there is no 2.76).
bzowk said:
5. Reboot to system then back to TWRP and backup boot partition? / Stay in TWRP and backup boot partition? / Reboot back into TWRP and backup boot partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bolded the correct one above (no need to leave TWRP as the necessary modifications have already been made).
bzowk said:
6. Unpack backed up boot partition from phone
7. Copy "verity_key" & "fstab.qcom" files from ramdisk folder in unpacked RUU boot and paste into & overwrite same files in ramdisk folder of unpacked boot from rooted phone
8. Repack rooted phone boot (which includes both new files)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks good . . .
bzowk said:
9. Flash newly packed boot.img to phone using fastboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP can also flash the new image, but fastboot is probably the most reliable way to do it.
bzowk said:
10. Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully . . . You'll likely get a reboot on the first boot (possible multiple reboots), as SuperSU needs a reboot to install the necessary files. Since your device will also encrypt on that initial boot, I'm not sure whether there will be a conflict or not.
bzowk said:
I really appreciate your help and patience with me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess we'll see if it all works out . . .
Thanks!
I proceeded by formatting data, booting directly back intoTWRP, flashing SuperSU, backing up the boot partition, then mounting and copying it over to my PC. The boot.img size was 65,536kb - the same size as the one I unpacked from the RUU. Once unpacked, it was missing the verity_key file and the fstab.qcom file was different + missing the verify flag.
I replaced those two files, then ran repackimg.bat which created image-new.img which I renamed to boot.img. Interesting, though, that this file was only 45,890kb. If it's a repack, shouldn't it be the same or similar? Anyways, the phone was still in TWRP (hadn't booted to system since before the format data) so booted it into bootloader directly and tried flashing boot using my new 45mb boot.img.
If failed - but - my phone was only at 17% power. Don't know if that's why it failed or not so it's charging right now while still in the bootloader. Below is what was echoed when I tried flashing it:
Code:
c:\adb>fastboot flash boot boot.img
target reported max download size of 800000000 bytes
sending 'boot' (45890 KB)...
OKAY [ 3.488s]
writing 'boot'...
(bootloader) HOSD CL#656287
FAILED (remote: 4 RU_BATTERY_LOW please connect charger (17% < 30%))
finished. total time: 4.506s
The reason I didn't boot to system is that I thought that was when the encryption might take place. Going to wait until above 30% power then try flashing again. Powered down to charge, but plan to boot straight back into bootloader to flash. If you see anything that stands out or that I need to do otherwise, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll report back what the result was after getting above 30%.
Thanks again!
bzowk said:
Thanks!
I proceeded by formatting data, booting directly back intoTWRP, flashing SuperSU, backing up the boot partition, then mounting and copying it over to my PC. The boot.img size was 65,536kb - the same size as the one I unpacked from the RUU. Once unpacked, it was missing the verity_key file and the fstab.qcom file was different + missing the verify flag.
I replaced those two files, then ran repackimg.bat which created image-new.img which I renamed to boot.img. Interesting, though, that this file was only 45,890kb. If it's a repack, shouldn't it be the same or similar? Anyways, the phone was still in TWRP (hadn't booted to system since before the format data) so booted it into bootloader directly and tried flashing boot using my new 45mb boot.img.
If failed - but - my phone was only at 17% power. Don't know if that's why it failed or not so it's charging right now while still in the bootloader. Below is what was echoed when I tried flashing it:
Code:
c:\adb>fastboot flash boot boot.img
target reported max download size of 800000000 bytes
sending 'boot' (45890 KB)...
OKAY [ 3.488s]
writing 'boot'...
(bootloader) HOSD CL#656287
FAILED (remote: 4 RU_BATTERY_LOW please connect charger (17% < 30%))
finished. total time: 4.506s
The reason I didn't boot to system is that I thought that was when the encryption might take place. Going to wait until above 30% power then try flashing again. Powered down to charge, but plan to boot straight back into bootloader to flash. If you see anything that stands out or that I need to do otherwise, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll report back what the result was after getting above 30%.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The repack is smaller because the backup uses "dd" to copy the entire block device. Not all that space is actually used after compression. That's nothing to worry about.
And these devices are very picky about flashing only when there's sufficient battery, so I'm sure that's the only reason it failed. TWRP, however, doesn't care how much battery you have, so you could always flash the new boot.img in recovery.
Captain_Throwback said:
The repack is smaller because the backup uses "dd" to copy the entire block device. Not all that space is actually used after compression. That's nothing to worry about.
And these devices are very picky about flashing only when there's sufficient battery, so I'm sure that's the only reason it failed. TWRP, however, doesn't care how much battery you have, so you could always flash the new boot.img in recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, hey, hey - think it worked!!
Once I got above 30%, I flashed without issue. I rebooted and was able to format an sd internally successfully, too. Now, I just need to verify it's rooted, but think it is. Thank you so much for your help! I'm going to write a guide for newbs like me to use in the future soon.
Thanks again!
bzowk said:
Hey, hey, hey - think it worked!!
Once I got above 30%, I flashed without issue. I rebooted and was able to format an sd internally successfully, too. Now, I just need to verify it's rooted, but think it is. Thank you so much for your help! I'm going to write a guide for newbs like me to use in the future soon.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your adopted storage doesn't show as corrupted, and you're able to open the SuperSU app in your app drawer and not get a message that no su binary is installed, you should be good to go .
bad topic
Hi,
I been searching for a way to encrypt the data partition with magisk and i didn't succeded at all. No matter if flash magisk in an already encrypted system (it says "using cache walkaround" but it gets stuck in the glowing samsung boot logo) or if i try to encrypt the terminal after having a magisk working system. I even tried to mark in magisk "Keep Forced Encryption" in MagiskManager with no success. It makes the system hang again in the boot secuence after reflashing magisk and rebooting.
I just want root in the stock firmware to be able to debloat and use titanium and a couple of apps.
Any way to have encrypted data and root in nougat?
Yes.
There are two requirements to support rooted stock firmware and encryption:
- You MUST use the stock kernel binary. Custom kernel binaries are blocked by TIMA, which handles encryption.
- You need to change "ro.config.tima" in the system build.prop to 0. This doesn't entirely disable TIMA, but seems to relax the encryption requirements a bit(less salting?) which will allow a modified ramdisk to work properly. It's slightly less secure, but still more secure than going unencrypted
Notes: You will need to wipe /data initially after making the build.prop change. You'll need to disable dm-verity after modifying /system. If you installed a custom kernel before you should reflash the entire firmware as the kernel installer likely deleted the TIMA trustlet binary. Some success was had before with getting custom kernels past TIMA by killing the TIMA service soon after boot, but this had the tendency to brick the data partition. Perhaps in future...
Edit: attached a flashable zip to make the build.prop change from TWRP
CurtisMJ said:
Yes.
There are two requirements to support rooted stock firmware and encryption:
- You MUST use the stock kernel binary. Custom kernel binaries are blocked by TIMA, which handles encryption.
- You need to change "ro.config.tima" in the system build.prop to 0. This doesn't entirely disable TIMA, but seems to relax the encryption requirements a bit(less salting?) which will allow a modified ramdisk to work properly. It's slightly less secure, but still more secure than going unencrypted
Notes: You will need to wipe /data initially after making the build.prop change. You'll need to disable dm-verity after modifying /system. If you installed a custom kernel before you should reflash the entire firmware as the kernel installer likely deleted the TIMA trustlet binary. Some success was had before with getting custom kernels past TIMA by killing the TIMA service soon after boot, but this had the tendency to brick the data partition. Perhaps in future...
Edit: attached a flashable zip to make the build.prop change from TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey , thanks a lot for the info and the file . I learned more from it than 2 days on the internet struggling with this "issue"!
Actually I already tried another way and it worked!
I'll try to explain for the record.
I just installed TWRM and formated /data (not wiping. cause you have to write a file there afterwards) and from there I opened the terminal of TWRM and created /data/.magisk (as in magisk FAQ is explained) with KEEPFORCEENCRYPT=true in it . Then installed a rom (ambasadii's one with magisk 13.6 root ) and... that's it. it worked.
Afterwards i did a lot of automatic tasks of secure network daily backups since when you're encrypted it's kind of easy to f^ckup the system and lose everything and now I'm happy.
Probably i was lucky since the kernel probably is the stock one as you said in this ROM.
I still have to try more stuff to be sure everything is working and the data is safe (safe enough at least)
one question:
do you think it would work if i activate dm-verity or this firmware and or magisk modify the ramdisk (so it wont.) ?
forocarlos said:
Probably i was lucky since the kernel probably is the stock one as you said in this ROM.
I still have to try more stuff to be sure everything is working and the data is safe (safe enough at least)
one question:
do you think it would work if i activate dm-verity or this firmware and or magisk modify the ramdisk (so it wont.) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dm-verity likely won't work on a custom ROM(unless the ROM maker specifically re-signed it, but that's unlikely and bloody difficult). Making any changes to /system (including the build.prop tweak I mentioned!) will necessitate disabling it and there are a bunch of changes in custom Roms. Ambasadii's nougat ROM does indeed make use of the stock kernel and most likely has the TIMA prop already toggled. So an ideal setup I think. The data should be pretty solid provided the TIMA trustlet never goes missing(encryption keys basically self-destruct, which bricks the partition )
EDIT: You also might want to check in TWRP if the data was genuinely encrypted. Android generally won't complain if it isn't. If TWRP can mount it it isn't encrypted.
EDIT: You also might want to check in TWRP if the data was genuinely encrypted. Android generally won't complain if it isn't. If TWRP can mount it it isn't encrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
checked.
/data unmountable.
So wrapping things up:
- Magisk root
- CTC passed
- Encryption
- Custom Rom
- Lastest Nougat
:good::good::good::good::good:
the only thing left is figuring out how to update the rom without losing data or everything actually.
forocarlos said:
checked.
/data unmountable.
So wrapping things up:
- Magisk root
- CTC passed
- Encryption
- Custom Rom
- Lastest Nougat
:good::good::good::good::good:
the only thing left is figuring out how to update the rom without losing data or everything actually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, have you figured out a way of updating without losing data?
charliebigpot said:
Hey, have you figured out a way of updating without losing data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Little late sorry, but if you keep the TIMA prop disabled you can flash the full firmware with HOME_CSC and it will keep the data. Just reflash twrp after it does the update(needs full reboot into stock recovery first to finish update) and flash the TIMA zip in this thread with a root zip.
Step-by-Step-Guide to a S7 with Nougat+Root+Magisk+Encryption
Hi there,
I am glad that there is a way to use Nougat, Root and Magisk on an encrypted S7. For the last months I have tried every so-called-solution (TWRP, CF-AutoRoot, reflash Stock boot.img, Helios' Stock kernel) but always ended up in bootloops or an unencrypted device.
Can someone provide me with a step-by-step-guide how to achieve a rooted-magisked-encrypted S7 running Nougat?f I am now running unrooted stock 7.0 with VIA CSC, Build G930FXXU1DQH9.
Thanks in advance!
A step by step for this would be great.
i tried several variations of the proposed methods and did not succeed in any way, please clarify
i tried these variations, and many many more:
flash stock
reboot
flash twrp
wipe system
format data
terminal: KEEPFORCEENCRYPT=true >> /data/.magisk
flash ambassadi rom, dirty flash, magisk root, wipe cache
reboot
set fingerprint & password + fast encrypt
bootloop
format data
wipe sys caches
terminal: KEEPFORCEENCRYPT=true >> /data/.magisk
flash ambassadi rom, clean, magisk root, wipe cache
reboot
set fingerprint & password
reboot
encrypt
bootloop
flash stock
reboot
set fingerprint&pw
reboot
flash twrp
tima
format data
magisk
no-veri opt enc
reboot
set up fingerprint + pw
reboot
encrypt
unsucessful but bootable
The most sucess i had with the stock rom, though i dont remember how exactly. I didnt take my password, which i suspect to be a verification error since the password was the right one
On the batman rom the ui hanged itself on first encrypted startup.
On ambassadi rom i got into bootloop every time.
Did i miss something??
Regarding stock rooted encryption there are some notes, in addition to the requirements in my post above(stock kernel etc):
- Samsung's encryption never handles post setup encryption that well. At least from my experience. You need to be encrypted from the get-go. This implies re-wiping data the moment you're finished flashing the custom ROM as TIMA won't encrypt unless the partition is blank(which it won't be with the leftover magisk config file).
- The TIMA prop must be changed before first boot. Data encrypted with prop in either state is incompatible with data encrypted during the other state. State "1" bootloops on rooting. State "0" allows it.
So for stock the step-by-step would be:
- Flash full stock and use CSC(NOT HOME_CSC), let it reboot to the initial setup screen. This is important to apply the CSC settings from the firmware package, which if not done will result in an unusable secure keyboard and cause various other issues.
- Flash TWRP
- Flash the TIMA prop zip in the post above
- Flash a verity disable zip which DOESN'T disable Force Encryption. For convenience I have attached a modified version which doesn't.
- Format /data
- Reboot into setup and run through the wizard.
- Reboot back to TWRP and flash a root solution like Magisk. Don't worry about force encryption now as the data partition should be encrypted already by this stage. Magisk should revert to the /cache workaround.
To update:
- Flash the latest full stock firmware package but this time use HOME_CSC
- Let it reboot into stock recovery and do the upgrade process.
- It should end up on the secure Startup page asking for your password. No password will work at this point because your data was encrypted in TIMA state "0".
- Reboot to download mode and flash TWRP.
- Reboot to TWRP
- Flash the TIMA prop and verity zips.
- Reboot into to Android (password should work now)
- Let it finish the upgrade.
- Reboot to TWRP and flash your root solution.
These are the basic processes which worked for me.
CurtisMJ said:
Regarding stock rooted encryption there are some notes, in addition to the requirements in my post above(stock kernel etc):
- Samsung's encryption never handles post setup encryption that well. At least from my experience. You need to be encrypted from the get-go. This implies re-wiping data the moment you're finished flashing the custom ROM as TIMA won't encrypt unless the partition is blank(which it won't be with the leftover magisk config file).
- The TIMA prop must be changed before first boot. Data encrypted with prop in either state is incompatible with data encrypted during the other state. State "1" bootloops on rooting. State "0" allows it.
So for stock the step-by-step would be:
- Flash full stock and use CSC(NOT HOME_CSC), let it reboot to the initial setup screen. This is important to apply the CSC settings from the firmware package, which if not done will result in an unusable secure keyboard and cause various other issues.
- Flash TWRP
- Flash the TIMA prop zip in the post above
- Flash a verity disable zip which DOESN'T disable Force Encryption. For convenience I have attached a modified version which doesn't.
- Format /data
- Reboot into setup and run through the wizard.
- Reboot back to TWRP and flash a root solution like Magisk. Don't worry about force encryption now as the data partition should be encrypted already by this stage. Magisk should revert to the /cache workaround.
These are the basic processes which worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when first reboot into TWRP wich option should get? "keep read only" or "allow modifications"?
if I select "allow mods" when I try to flash TIMA.prop file I get an error about mount\data
is it necesary to format data before?
thanks
xbizkuit said:
when first reboot into TWRP wich option should get? "keep read only" or "allow modifications"?
if I select "allow mods" when I try to flash TIMA.prop file I get an error about mount\data
is it necesary to format data before?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the TIMA prop zip doesnt even need data. Not sure why I made it try to mount, but any error about mounting can probably be ignored. It modifies /system so you should swipe to allow.
CurtisMJ said:
Actually the TIMA prop zip doesnt even need data. Not sure why I made it try to mount, but any error about mounting can probably be ignored. It modifies /system so you should swipe to allow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, thanks for your reply and for your small guide
What I did was flash lastest full stock official rom from sammobile with odin and let it reboot to the initial setup screen
Reboot to download mode and then I flashed TWRP also with odin and reboot manually to recovery
When first time entered into recovery just selected "allow modifications"
After I flashed the TIMA prop zip and verity disable zip modified version
In both cases, I received error messages about mount/data on the screen but the installation seems to be complete
Finally format/data, reboot and complete the wizard and the installation
The last step, reboot again into recovery and flash magisk v14
At the end of this procedure, all seems ok, magisk is running, safetynet test is OK, superuser is OK and root apps with no problem
Also a couple of mods flashed with recovery (zero camera mod and sound mod by zubi) gave me error messages about format/data but both of them were done
So, the question is how can I check now if my phone encryption is OK and working ??
The only thing seems not work is the OTA firmware updates, it doesnt work, error message about modified phone
I tried to hide root with magisk for the apps in relation with the ota updates but no work for me
Is there any solution for that??
Thanks for all and very appreciated for your help
And sorry for my english hehe
xbizkuit said:
First of all, thanks for your reply and for your small guide
What I did was flash lastest full stock official rom from sammobile with odin and let it reboot to the initial setup screen
Reboot to download mode and then I flashed TWRP also with odin and reboot manually to recovery
When first time entered into recovery just selected "allow modifications"
After I flashed the TIMA prop zip and verity disable zip modified version
In both cases, I received error messages about mount/data on the screen but the installation seems to be complete
Finally format/data, reboot and complete the wizard and the installation
The last step, reboot again into recovery and flash magisk v14
At the end of this procedure, all seems ok, magisk is running, safetynet test is OK, superuser is OK and root apps with no problem
Also a couple of mods flashed with recovery (zero camera mod and sound mod by zubi) gave me error messages about format/data but both of them were done
So, the question is how can I check now if my phone encryption is OK and working ??
The only thing seems not work is the OTA firmware updates, it doesnt work, error message about modified phone
I tried to hide root with magisk for the apps in relation with the ota updates but no work for me
Is there any solution for that??
Thanks for all and very appreciated for your help
And sorry for my english hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the recovery is giving errors about /data mount then the phone is encrypted. TWRP simply cannot work with Samsung encryption at all at the moment. Also: If there is no "Encrypt" option for the internal storage in the Security section of the settings app, then the device is encrypted(There may still be one for the external SD). There's no way I know of to fool OTA into working, I've always just fully flashed the latest firmware. Samsung firmware is really easy to get so I've never really looked into using OTAs to update. They'd probably fail horribly anyway due to the modified system in which case the OTA tool is probably correct to block the update. (Newer Android standard requires updates to be done via raw block writes so dm-verity remains intact. Could lead to corruption if done wrong...)
CurtisMJ said:
If the recovery is giving errors about /data mount then the phone is encrypted. TWRP simply cannot work with Samsung encryption at all at the moment. Also: If there is no "Encrypt" option for the internal storage in the Security section of the settings app, then the device is encrypted(There may still be one for the external SD). There's no way I know of to fool OTA into working, I've always just fully flashed the latest firmware. Samsung firmware is really easy to get so I've never really looked into using OTAs to update. They'd probably fail horribly anyway due to the modified system in which case the OTA tool is probably correct to block the update. (Newer Android standard requires updates to be done via raw block writes so dm-verity remains intact. Could lead to corruption if done wrong...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK so it seems my phone is finally encrypted and rooted!!!
anyway, I forgot about OTAs and I´ll continue installing updates manually,
so can I flash the full firmware with HOME_CSC without losing the data?
Only reflash TWRP after the update and flash the TIMA prop zip ???
Thank you very much for your help!!!
Thank you CurtisMJ! It finally works!
xbizkuit said:
OK so it seems my phone is finally encrypted and rooted!!!
anyway, I forgot about OTAs and I´ll continue installing updates manually,
so can I flash the full firmware with HOME_CSC without losing the data?
Only reflash TWRP after the update and flash the TIMA prop zip ???
Thank you very much for your help!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops. Didn't see those were questions. Yes, full flash with HOME_CSC will keep data intact. The TIMA prop will need to be in state "0" to decrypt, so yes again, reflash TWRP and the TIMA and verity zips and you should be good. Just make sure to have "Auto Reboot" checked in Odin. It will do some stuff in stock recovery first (including a screen with "Erasing..." Don't worry! It's just cleaning up the working files in /cache ).
CurtisMJ said:
Whoops. Didn't see those were questions. Yes, full flash with HOME_CSC will keep data intact. The TIMA prop will need to be in state "0" to decrypt, so yes again, reflash TWRP and the TIMA and verity zips and you should be good. Just make sure to have "Auto Reboot" checked in Odin. It will do some stuff in stock recovery first (including a screen with "Erasing..." Don't worry! It's just cleaning up the working files in /cache ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again mate!!!!!!
WyRM
Hello Guys
Do you think it would work also on Note8 ?
Im stuck on step when i flash 2 files via TWRP, it shows erros with cant mount Data because it is already encrypted somehow, it wouldnt be issue as you said as it does to system.
But when i finish the installation of the Firmware and came back to TWRP for flashing Root solution it is encrypted and cantbe flashed.
Any idea?
WyRmiE said:
Hello Guys
Do you think it would work also on Note8 ?
Im stuck on step when i flash 2 files via TWRP, it shows erros with cant mount Data because it is already encrypted somehow, it wouldnt be issue as you said as it does to system.
But when i finish the installation of the Firmware and came back to TWRP for flashing Root solution it is encrypted and cantbe flashed.
Any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds about right actually. The data is supposed to be already encrypted by the time you flash root. TWRP on the S7 and it appears any recent Samsung device cannot decrypt the stock ROMs encryption. The root solution should revert to using the cache workaround. Both Magisk and SuperSU support this setup. Just flash and ignore the /data mount errors.
DISCLAIMER
Code:
The usual disclaimer with an extra warning, this recovery
WILL automatically modify your phone on first boot.
While this should be an entirely safe modification
it is always possible your phone is in a broken state
either on a software or hardware level causing further problems.
This recovery should under no circumstances be flashed
for the first time on a bricked phone
as the automatic changes might damage it further.
ONLY FLASH THIS ON A PHONE IN GOOD CONDITION!
By flashing this recovery you consent to a vendor partition
being created and to take full personal responsibility of any damage
the usage of this recovery may cause rather than blaming it on me.
ABOUT
This modified TWRP is the recovery image i have been using on my personal OnePlus 3T for the past month, with the increasing popularity of system-as-root roms and the issues this causes for older zip files (Such as Google Apps not flashing with wrong arm version errors) i have decided that it would be worth sharing with the community. This recovery image is a ramdisk modification of the TWRP supplied by the LineageOS Unofficial Treble Port Project (Similar to how SHRP is a ramdisk modification of existing TWRP images). Because this is not a source modification (and neither has TWRP been compiled from source) you can find the original source code in their topic. I hope this recovery will be useful to those who often flash multiple kinds of roms and want one recovery that does it all. It has been tested on the Oxygen OS 4, 5 and 9 firmwares and should have great compatibility with all of them.
Included Features
Automatic Vendor Partition Creation and full Treble support
WARNING: Because this recovery will automatically create the vendor partition it should exclusively be used on devices in good conditions. In the very rare case that bricks occur you can revert the change using the MSMDownloadTool (This can only be used on healthy hardware). If you are unsure about the condition of your device or if your device is currently in a bricked state it is best to use another recovery. I am not responsible for further damage to your phone.
Originally the TWRP image provided by the Treble project needs you to type in the 'treblize' command followed by manual reboots, I have automated this process. From the moment you first boot this recovery the vendor partition will automatically be created and the recovery reboots automatically in a new recovery session (This is not a crash and only happens once). If vendor partition has been detected you will be able to see /treblized as a directory on your phone (This is done in RAM and only visible during your recovery session). The vendor partition does not conflict in any way, you can use and pass safetynet on regular roms at will as it is invisible to a rom using a non treble kernel. Before flashing GSI roms please first flash a proper vendor partiton (This can be done by flashing the LineageOS treble rom the regular way).
/system and /system_root hybrid for maximum compatibility!
This is one of my main reasons for sharing this recovery publicly, i have modified the /etc/fstab file to be able to both mount to /system and to /system_root. This means that older zips that expect /system now work again without breaking compatibility with newer system as root or GSI roms. This is one recovery that can do it all! Inside the root folder you will find a flashable zip called Mount-System.zip. This can be used before incompatible zips to mount the /system partition correctly. This tool will automatically detect system-as-root if present and mount /system to /system_root/system, if not present it mounts /system to /system_root. You should prefer this method over the mounting options found in the menu, these should only be used for unmounting system. Keep in mind that by doing this you are messing around with scenario's the original developers have not foreseen and while flashing these previously broken zips is now possible you cause issues in your ROM. Always flash these previously incompatible zips with care and make a backup first! Do not use this Mount-System.zip to flash new roms, those are best flashed in an unmounted state. The same applies for Magisk and any other system-as-root compatible zips. If you are flashing regular roms my fstab changes will be enough and mount-system will not be needed.
Magisk + Magisk Manager on the ramdisk
In the / directory alongside the other zip files you will find Install-Magisk.zip and Manage-Magisk.zip, these can be used to both install and recovery from Magisk related issues. You no longer need to worry about keeping a copy of Magisk at hand after wiping the data or when you are in need of a downgrade, with this a copy of Magisk and a GUI management tool is always available to you directly from the recovery's root folder.
Persist Backup Tool
It is very important that you keep a spare backup of your persist partition, even the MSMDownloadTool will not be able to repair this as it is unique to your device. In addition devices with persist issues (Sensors, LTE, IMSEI, Wifi, not working / blank) should not use the MSMDownloadTool at all since it can leave you with an unbootable phone. Flash the Backup-Persist.zip file (Found in the recovery's root directory) to automatically create a copy of your persist partition stored on your sdcard so you can easily back this up to a secure location. Persist is even more important than backing up the EFS! An EFS backup alone will NOT recover your phone in the case of persist corruption!
Download
Modified Files
This project contains work from
TWRP Base Image and original Treblize scripts : The Unofficial LineageOS Treble Project
Install-Magisk.zip : Magisk
Manage-Magisk.zip : Magisk Manager Recovery Tool
Known issues
Before uploading i did extensive testing, in some scenario's i managed to cause a hard crash of the recovery image, this is not related to any of the included tweaks but seems to be an issue with flashing a rom when you have just formatted partitions. I advice to always reboot after a partition format or before flashing a system rom to ensure that everything is in a state it can be properly mounted. If you did trigger this white light crash do not fear, your device is not bricked (Unless whatever you flashed bricked it). You should be able to turn it off using the power button after which it will boot up just fine and you can try flashing again.
<deleted>
henk717 said:
Before uploading i did extensive testing, in some scenario's i managed to cause a hard crash of the recovery image, this is not related to any of the included tweaks but seems to be an issue with flashing a rom when you have just formatted partitions. I advice to always reboot after a partition format or before flashing a system rom to ensure that everything is in a state it can be properly mounted. If you did trigger this white light crash do not fear, your device is not bricked (Unless whatever you flashed bricked it). You should be able to turn it off using the power button after which it will boot up just fine and you can try flashing again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might not be restricted to just your recovery.
This happens to me on official TWRP as well, when I restore a system image from a backup. It gets stuck on a white light, and I have to hard reset it. The restore does seem to work though.
I flashed the backup persist but did not found the file it should create. Where is it located? Thanks in advance
It should be located in the main directory of your storage and be called persist.img.
However when i just did another test i noticed the zip gives a 255 error that does not happen on the zip on my gitlab.
I am unsure how this difference happened but generated a new img file where i tested and verified all the zip's manually, if you run into the 255 error please redownload and reflash.
I am preparing to use this phone as a dedicated display on a custom embedded system. Changing the boot logo is a must. I have been playing around with it and reading threads for hours and no luck.
Rooted with the latest Magisk, TWRP, unlocked bootloader, the whole 9 yards. A10 Stock ROM. I don't care I break SafetyNet, just need this to work.
I can't put the new bootloader on the system partition because it's mounted as read only. Since it's A10, I haven't found a working way to modify it with TWRP or within the ROM. Has anyone been successful yet?
There are existing Magisk modules for boot animations, but I need a custom one, and I don't know how to make it into a flashable ZIP. How do they do this?
I also tried a Magisk module that is supposed to let you put the boot animation on /sdcard, and it gets overridden on boot by the module, but that did nothing. But it was on a OnePlus forum, so maybe incompatible.
Thanks!
i think you can mount system within twrp then use the twrp file manager to move it. if not, get a terminal emulator, su, mount system, mv file.xxx /system or whatever folder youre looking for
Hey there,
I am currently struggeling with my Samsung Galaxy S7 (Exynos) device, running on superman rom (Android 8).
What happened?
For root I´m using Magisk Manager and for banking apps I have Magisk hide running. Then the program told me that there is an update (Magisk App) available. So, as always and recommended, I choosed "Direct Install" but that failed for some reason. OK I thought´, no problem. Later I wanted to reboot my phone but it didn´t. The screen says "Downloading.... Do not turn off device!". I only can enter "Download Mode" and "Recovery Mode via TWRP".
What I tried so far:
1) Wipe cache/dalvik --> not successful
2) Tried to do a factory reset via twrp --> not successful
3) Tried to flash BL via Odin --> not successful
At this time I realised that the same problem occured to my Galaxy Tablet SM-T580. So I came to the point that I did something wrong with updating magisk on both devides.
What I also tried next:
4) Tried to delete magisk modules via twrp --> not successful
5) Tried to uninstall magisk through twrp by downloading the latest Magisk app and rename it to "uninstall.zip" as recommended in installation guide --> Not successful because of Error installing zip file: Unsupported /Unknown image format (unpacking image format)
What can I do next?
Can anyone please help me, since I have two bricked devices now????
A simple kernel flashing would fix the problem, extract the original boot.img of your current ROM, and flash it via TWRP.
Cause it is clearly a problem with your boot.img, if that didn't work (I'm sure it will), then just dirty flash your current ROM.
P.S. If you are encrypted, you might encounter an error doing a simple factory reset, you'll have to format the whole data partition.
Hi @Mohamedkam000,
many thanks for your help. After hours of browsing the web and trying various methods I was able to get my 2nd device (Samsung Galaxy Tab A from 2016) back to life.
What I did: I installed the latest samsung mobile phone drivers on my PC then I connected the tablet to it. I was able to access the internal memory and in the folder "data" Magisk put a backup of the original boot.img. So I installed this "boot.img" via TWRP and voila.......everything works fine again
I´m very happy now.
But unfortunately this method didn´t work with my Samsung Galaxy S7. I just couldn´t find any boot.img file on the phone.
Mohamedkam000 said:
A simple kernel flashing would fix the problem, extract the original boot.img of your current ROM, and flash it via TWRP.
Cause it is clearly a problem with your boot.img, if that didn't work (I'm sure it will), then just dirty flash your current ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I have to do this? Sorry I´m a little unexperienced so could I get a kind of an step by step guide please?
Mohamedkam000 said:
P.S. If you are encrypted, you might encounter an error doing a simple factory reset, you'll have to format the whole data partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don´t understand this. Could you please explain again?
Thank you so much already.
Kind regards,
cap.
capitarider said:
Hi @Mohamedkam000,
many thanks for your help. After hours of browsing the web and trying various methods I was able to get my 2nd device (Samsung Galaxy Tab A from 2016) back to life.
What I did: I installed the latest samsung mobile phone drivers on my PC then I connected the tablet to it. I was able to access the internal memory and in the folder "data" Magisk put a backup of the original boot.img. So I installed this "boot.img" via TWRP and voila.......everything works fine again
I´m very happy now.
But unfortunately this method didn´t work with my Samsung Galaxy S7. I just couldn´t find any boot.img file on the phone.
How do I have to do this? Sorry I´m a little unexperienced so could I get a kind of an step by step guide please?
Don´t understand this. Could you please explain again?
Thank you so much already.
Kind regards,
cap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad your tablet revived again.
Magisk creates a backup of the boot.img found just before flashing magisk, it is compressed in gzip format, so you need to pull it, extract it, and push it back to the phone, then flash it.
The file is usually in /data/stock_boot_${SHA1}.img.gz
You can extract it using the built-in terminal of TWRP, if PC is not accessible at the moment by writing and executing the following command:
gunzip {stock-boot-name}.gz
Replace {stock-boot-name} with your backed-up boot name (without the curleybrackets), or you can use the following command:
gunzip *.gz
That'll extract the gzip archive, and the boot.img will be in /data of which you can navigate to it and flash it.
There's another guaranteed method, if you have the file of the ROM you're using right now, you can just open it (it's just a zip archive) and search for the boot.img of your specific phone model and flash it.
Another guaranteed method will be by flashing a custom kernel compatible with your current ROM, like Moro AiO kernel, of which has a wide support for ROMs starting from Oreo, and up to Q, AOSP, or stock-based, just in one file.
Moro's thread: Moro Kernel
you can't access kernel backup because TWRP does not support encryption and Magisk Manager might removed encryption in boot
aIecxs said:
you can't access kernel backup because TWRP does not support encryption and Magisk Manager might removed encryption in boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't seem like he's encrypted, he found the boot backup of his tablet in /data so he has probably searched for a similar file on his S7, but since it is compressed, he won't find it solely.
Also he would've told us that his /data is empty or something.
start from scratch with older magisk, current 22 has bug
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/issues/4008
Thank you for your help.
I had a n old twrp backup on another external hard drive. I extracted the boot file and repached it with 7zip to boot.img and flashed through twrp. That also didn´t work for various times. TWRP always said "failed".
In the end I didn´t manage it to bring my phone back to live. Anyway, I decided to flash the latest LineageOS (Android 11) and now its running smooth again.
Thanks again.
Try using sp flash tools flashing the boot.img