Database Info

Unlocking Bootloader [Incomplete]

Note: It would be great to keep this page open while following through on your PC instead of your phone as you'll be rebooting and resetting your phone by following this procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prerequisites:
ADB (Android Debugging Bridge) tools for your OS (Windows/Linux/Mac)
Windows
Mac
Linux
Custom Recovery Image (TWRP or some other that you prefer):
(Official TWRP web hosted version) Nokia 6.1 (2018)
Download from American Mirrors
Download from EU Mirrors
USB Cable to Connect the phone to the computer
The Phone: Nokia 6.1 (2018) (preferably Fully Charged)
The device drivers (for Windows and Mac)
A good and active Internet Connection
An active Email address and client to quickly view it.
In this tutorial I'll be referring to Linux terminal, Mac Terminal & Windows Command prompt/Powershell simply as terminal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installing adb and fastboot
Google hosts zips including only adb and fastboot. You can set these up for use with the instructions below.
On Windows
Download the (Windows.zip) from Google.
Extract it somewhere - for example, %USERPROFILE%\adb-fastboot
• On Windows 7/8:
1. From the desktop, right-click My Computer and select Properties
2. In the System Properties window, click on the Advanced tab
3. In the Advanced section, click the Environment Variables button
4. In the Environment Variables window, highlight the Path variable in the Systems Variable section and click the Edit button
5. Append ";%USERPROFILE%\adb-fastboot\platform-tools" to the end of the existing Path definition (the semi-colon separates each path entry)
• On Windows 10:
1. Open the Start menu, and type “advanced system settings”
2. Select “View advanced system settings”
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Open the “Environment Variables” window
5. Select the Path variable under “System Variables” and click the “Edit” button
6. Click the “Edit Text” button
7. Append ";%USERPROFILE%\adb-fastboot\platform-tools" to the end of the existing Path definition (the semi-colon separates each path entry)
• Install the device drivers linked in prerequisites (or from Nokia support site), and reboot.
On MacOS
Download the MacOS (Darwin.zip) from Google.
Extract it somewhere - for example, ~/adb-fastboot.
Add the following to ~/.bash_profile:
Code:
if [ -d "$HOME/adb-fastboot/platform-tools" ] ; then
export PATH="$HOME/adb-fastboot/platform-tools:$PATH"
fi
Log out and back in.
On Linux
Download the (Linux.zip) from Google.
Extract it somewhere - for example, ~/adb-fastboot.
Add the following to ~/.profile:
Code:
if [ -d "$HOME/adb-fastboot/platform-tools" ] ; then
export PATH="$HOME/adb-fastboot/platform-tools:$PATH"
fi
Log out and back in.
You may also need to set up udev rules: see (this repository) for more info.
Setting up adb
To use adb with your device, you’ll need to enable developer options and USB debugging:
1. Open Settings, and select “About”.
2. Tap on “Build number” seven times.
3. Go back, and select “Developer options”.
4. Scroll down, and check the “Android debugging” entry under “Debugging”.
5. Plug your device into your computer.
6. On the computer, open up a terminal/command prompt and type adb devices.
7. A dialog should show on your device, asking you to allow usb debugging. Check “always allow”, and choose “OK”.
Congratulations! adb is now ready to use with your device.
Unlocking the bootloader
Note: The steps below only need to be run once per device.
Code:
Warning: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! Before
proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or
your Google account, or equivalent.
1. Make sure your computer has working fastboot and adb.
2. Enable USB debugging & OEM unlocking on your device under Settings->Developer Options. Incase you don't see Developer Options, then you need to unlock it by tapping Build Number 7 times in Settings->About Phone.
3. Get the current status of your bootloader:
Open a terminal on the PC and boot the device to fastboot mode by typing:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
Code:
fastboot devices
If you see "no permissions fastboot" or "<waiting for device>", try running
Code:
fastboot
as root/Administrator.
From the same terminal, type the following command to get the bootloader status:
Code:
fastboot oem device-info
4. Follow the instructions at (Nokia Support) to unlock your bootloader, you will need to register at this site with a working/active email to proceed. They'll verify your device using an app to issue a validation code.
Note: If your device is not supported by the Nokia Bootloader Unlock
website, you will need to use an alternative bootloader unlock method.
Installing a custom recovery using fastboot
1. Make sure your computer has working fastboot and adb.
2. Enable USB debugging & OEM unlocking on your device under Settings->Developer Options. In case you don't see Developer Options, then you need to unlock it by tapping Build Number 7 times in Settings->About Phone. This needs to be done again due to resetting of your phone.
3. Download recovery - visit twrp.me to obtain the latest version of Team Win
Recovery Project for your device. Nokia 6.1 (2018) does have an official TWRP recovery that you can find here: Nokia 6.1 (2018) [PL2] respectively.
4. Connect your device to your PC via USB.
5. Open a terminal on the PC and boot the device to fastboot mode by typing:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
6. Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
Code:
fastboot devices
If you see "no permissions fastboot" or "<waiting for device>" , try running
Code:
fastboot
as root/Administrator.
7. Boot into TWRP temporarily:
Code:
fastboot boot twrp.img
8. Use adb to push the zip onto your device:
Code:
adb push twrp.zip /
9. Go to `Install` option on the TWRP menu and browse to the zip (Scrolling to the bottom should have the zip) and install the zip. The zip will install TWRP to both boot slots. Installing TWRP at this time will remove root if you are currently rooted.
If you accidentally flash TWRP to your device using fastboot instead of temporarily booting the image, you will need to download the latest factory image for your device and reflash the boot image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This command assumes the recovery image is present in your current working directory (Check using `DIR` on command prompt or `ls` command on terminal)
If it isn't you can change your current directory to the directory containing the recovery image or copy/move the recovery image to your current working directory.
10. Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation:
That's all folks. You may now root your phone, or even flash a custom ROM. I suggest getting openGapps for the custom ROM if you wish to use Google play services on the custom ROM.
Popular adb commands
Code:
adb shell
Launches a shell on the device accessed through the terminal on your computer.
Code:
adb push <local> <remote>
Pushes the file <local> to <remote>
Code:
adb pull <remote> [<local>]
Pulls the file <remote> to <local>. If <local> isn’t specified, it will pull to the current folder.
Code:
adb logcat
Allows you to view the device log in real-time. You can use adb logcat -b radio to view radio logs, and adb logcat -C to view logs in colour
Code:
adb install <file>
Installs the given .apk file to your device
<local> refers to location on your computer (like c:\\Users\%USERPROFILE%\adb-fastboot on windows or ~/adb-fastboot on unix based OS), while <remote> refers to location on your android device (like "/sdcard/", without quotes)

Reserved

What do you do if oem unlocking in developer is greyed out? TA-1045

@toxicmender The official bootloader unlock was only released to the Nokia 8. So, what is the point posting it here?
Or have they silently added the 6.1?

singhnsk said:
@toxicmender The official bootloader unlock was only released to the Nokia 8. So, what is the point posting it here?
Or have they silently added the 6.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately no, they haven't, removed the [incomplete] tag prematurely after reading it somewhere.
Currently only known way to unlock Nokia 6.1 seems to be to flash signature file.bin from these guys for fee.
at Step 4:
Code:
fastboot flash signature signature_file.bin
Also it has follow up instructions for flashing TWRP for anyone who has successfully unlocked their bootloader, since flashing TWRP is a bit different from most other phones

toxicmender said:
Unfortunately no, they haven't, removed the [incomplete] tag prematurely after reading it somewhere.
Currently only known way to unlock Nokia 6.1 seems to be to flash signature file.bin from these guys for fee.
at Step 4:
Code:
fastboot flash signature signature_file.bin
Also it has follow up instructions for flashing TWRP for anyone who has successfully unlocked their bootloader, since flashing TWRP is a bit different from most other phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you make start this thread then? It is completely pointless and misleading.
It is like making a post saying that there are flying cars and marking it [Incomplete]. It is just ****ing stupid.
I hope you drop your 6.1 and break it so you make **** posts in other phone forums instead of this one.

cmaxwe said:
.
I hope you drop your 6.1 and break it so you make **** posts in other phone forums instead of this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey now, there is really no need for that level of hostility. He knew they were doing unlocks for at least one Nokia phone, and me may not have known that they didn't have it for the 6.1.
Please don't talk to peope like that if they make a simple mistake when trying to provide info and help out the community. We're all human.

toxicmender said:
Unfortunately no, they haven't, removed the [incomplete] tag prematurely after reading it somewhere.
Currently only known way to unlock Nokia 6.1 seems to be to flash signature file.bin from these guys for fee.
at Step 4:
Code:
fastboot flash signature signature_file.bin
Also it has follow up instructions for flashing TWRP for anyone who has successfully unlocked their bootloader, since flashing TWRP is a bit different from most other phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly if there was a good amount of roms available for this phone I would gladly pay the $5 to unlock bootloader, although that method leaves me with questions. does that method survive ota? Does it actually work? Can it relock and unlock without paying again?
Is there really not that many people on here willing to try unlocking and flashing the many gsi roms available?

cmaxwe said:
Unfortunately no, they haven't, removed the [incomplete] tag prematurely after reading it somewhere.
Currently only known way to unlock Nokia 6.1 seems to be to flash signature file.bin from these guys for fee.
at Step 4:
Why would you make start this thread then? It is completely pointless and misleading.
It is like making a post saying that there are flying cars and marking it [Incomplete]. It is just ****ing stupid.
I hope you drop your 6.1 and break it so you make **** posts in other phone forums instead of this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not like there isn't a way, there is, just not a transparent method. Somehow those (refer to link in reply) are able to generate and send the signature file allowing you to unlock the phone, how it works or if your bootloader be locked again after updating is unknown to me ATM

mymeatb18 said:
Unfortunately no, they haven't, removed the [incomplete] tag prematurely after reading it somewhere.
Currently only known way to unlock Nokia 6.1 seems to be to flash signature file.bin from these guys for fee.
at Step 4:
Honestly if there was a good amount of roms available for this phone I would gladly pay the $5 to unlock bootloader, although that method leaves me with questions. does that method survive ota? Does it actually work? Can it relock and unlock without paying again?
Is there really not that many people on here willing to try unlocking and flashing the many gsi roms available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the ROM development begins after an Official TWRP recovery, so the chances are there might be some. I'm not clear on the the OTA being able to relock the bootloader either since I was running Pie update when I got to know about it.

thread closed as per OP request

Alcatel PulseMix - Magisk Install Guide

This is a guide for a permanent full root with Magisk for the Alcatel PulseMix 5085C (Cricket). This guide assumes you somewhat know what your doing and are able to get yourself adb, fastboot, drivers, etc. Linux recommend but not required.
For an easy temporary root use MediaTek Easy Root - https://github.com/JunioJsv/mediatek-easy-root/releases
Enable Developer Options
Settings -> About phone -> Tap "Build number" 7 times
Enable OEM Unlocking
Settings -> Developer options -> OEM unlocking (enable)
Enable USB Debugging
Settings -> Developer options -> USB debugging (enable)
Whenever an ADB window pops up on your phone, allow it.
Open a terminal or prompt that has access to adb and fastboot.
Reboot to Fastboot
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Unlock the Bootloader
Warning: This will factory reset your phone!
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
Press Vol+ when prompted
It will take some time for this first boot.
Enable Developer Options and USB Debugging again
Get a Root Shell
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/amazing-temp-root-mediatek-armv8-t3922213
You need the arm64 version of mtk-su, copy it to the folder your terminal is open in.
Code:
adb push mtk-su /data/local/tmp/
adb shell
cd /data/local/tmp
chmod 755 mtk-su
./mtk-su
Dump your boot.img
TYPE CAREFULLY!
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p25 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0p25.bin
Install Magisk Manager
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
Patch boot.img with Magisk Manager
Magisk Manager -> INSTALL (top button) -> INSTALL -> Select and Patch a File
Select mmcblk0p25.bin in the file picker
Copy magisk_patched.img from the Download folder on your phone to the folder your terminal is open in.
Reboot to Fastboot
Code:
reboot bootloader
Boot with Magisk enabled boot.img
Code:
fastboot boot magisk_patched.img
Open Magisk Manager, and if it says installed, everything worked. The final step is to actually install Magisk
Magisk Manager -> INSTALL (top button) -> INSTALL -> Direct Install (Recommended)

This device seems to be effected by a known Magisk bug that prevents modules from being installed. Looking at the log, we see:
Code:
E Magisk : execve /sbin/.magisk/busybox/busybox failed with 26: Text file busy
To fix this, download busybox-arm64 from here https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/busybox-ndk
Place it in /sbin/.magisk/busybox/, rename it to "unzip", and set it's permissions to executable. Lastly, install the busybox module and reboot.
I also have a mostly working TWRP
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12U-H9wD9zFUfraIy5h2LrYnlJaj_bnqu
It's made by swapping files between the stock recovery and one from another device. We have the MT6738 SoC, only in two phones afaict and no development progress has been made. Seems like the stock rom is built as MT6755, so I picked a recovery from a phone with that SoC.
Backing up all partitions works. I tested it by flashing custom zips and my entire system partition. Backing up system as an image does not work, as well as wiping dalvik cache.
Universal DM-Verity/ForceEncrypt Disabler works great on this device. Just need to wipe data after flashing if you don't want it encrypted.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/universal-dm-verity-forceencrypt-t3817389
Seems like Alcatel did not post source for this device, but it looks like they might have for a similar device the REVVL, which has the same SoC. Edit: It does, and there is indeed kernel source for this device.
--------------------------------------------------
SP Flash Tool does not work with this device. I ordered another motherboard for hardware testing. I'm hoping I can locate emmc clk so it can be pulled low(effectively disabling the emmc to prevent preloader from loading) and force the phone into bootrom mode. It then should allow us to recover from bricks similar to preloader's download mode.
To recover from a brick currently, preloader and lk must be intact. Preloader has special commands that allow you to select from various boot modes as detailed here
http://www.lieberbiber.de/2015/07/04...and-preloader/
The Fire 7 version of the amonet chain has a working example of this
https://github.com/chaosmaster/amonet
Edit "FACTFACT" to "FASTBOOT" in boot-fastboot.sh and execute it in a Linux shell. You can enter download mode by powering off the device, insert the USB cable, and then hold power for several seconds.
For other potential devs, this device is part of the Helio P10 family
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/mediatek-helio-p10-development-porting-t3664416
Custom roms are very rare for this platform, but I was able to find one
https://forum.xda-developers.com/elephone-p9000
I imagine Mediatek has dropped support so we will probably be stuck on nougat for the foreseeable future.
Here is a full TWRP backup of my device, excluding data
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SmO2Zxi9KCqTPU4Q5-SEtg_HoqukWSdJ/view?usp=sharing

A-Team Digital Solutions
Exclusive Release
Alcatel PulseMix: 5085C
-Package Contents-
-Magisk Root
-TWRP 3.4.0-0 Custom Recovery
-Boot Nag Fix(Device Has Been Unlocked & Can't Be Trusted)
-CricketRom v0.01(Custom Stock)
-Instructions-
-Enable USB Debugging & OEM Unlock in Developer Options
-Unlock Bootloader(Not Covered Here)
-Run Flasher.bat from Windows
-Follow On-Screen Prompts
-Boot TWRP
-Format Data
-Factory Reset
-Reboot
-Downloads-
-5085C-Root_Recovery_Rom_Package
https://drive.google.com/file/d/148vSfofT4LO3HHspAo2g9cnCUO8VNmPI/view?usp=sharing
-Alcatel Stock Rom Flasher/Unbricker
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A3mbOB61hY8ykuSasdvY7ibCUJXcearC/view?usp=sharing
-OpenGapps
https://opengapps.org/

Recommended steps for gaining root (10.5.12 IN21AA)

I got my OnePlus 8 (IN2013) yesterday, so the first thing I did was unlock the bootloader. Now I am unsure about the "best" (most simple and foolproof way) to proceed and would like some help.
As mentioned above I am on 10.5.12 IN21AA firmware and would like to gain root access. I'm not interested in flashing a different OS or whatsoever. I'm perfectly able to follow step-by-step guides but am confused by no official TWRP seemingly being available for this device, messages about lost functionality (fingerprint sensor), etc. etc.
Would someone please be so kind to provide the correct steps?

Boot (or flash if you want to keep TWRP. I recommend just booting it) TWRP > flash Magisk from TWRP.
That's it.

i rooted with patching boot.img with magisk, was easy enough and all went smooth

I ended up doing the following (for other inexperienced users with similar questions). This approach is largely based on the steps described here, so many thanks to jacobyo7. I have added links to relevant threads to make it easy to reference all the necessary threads and get all the necessary files, programs etc.
Connect phone to computer and make sure USB Debugging is on
Retrieve the correct firmware, see this thread
Using payload dumper, extract boot.img from payload.bin
Transfer boot.img (extracted in previous step) to device
Install Magisk Manager (not in Play Store but easy to find on Google)
Open Magisk Manager > click "Install" (next to Magisk) > click "Install" > click "Select and patch a file" > select boot.img (transferred to device two steps earlier)
Transfer magisk_patched.img (created in previous step, probably located in Downloads) to computer, rename to boot.img
Open command prompt in folder with the patched boot.img (make sure you have installed this tool, so you can issue adb and fastboot commands from anywhere)
Reboot into fastboot/bootloader:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
make sure device is listed:
Code:
fastboot devices
Boot the patched image:
Code:
fastboot boot boot.img
Wait for the phone to reboot > Open Magisk Manager > click "Install" (next to Magisk) > click "Install" > click "Direct install"
Reboot
Open a terminal app (e.g. Termux) and backup the persist partition:
Code:
su
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/persist of=/sdcard/Download/persist.img
Backup persist.img to computer

Infinix zero 5g 2023 TURBO X6815C (bootloader unlock/root/system-r/w) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Edition

root infinix XOS 12 (Android 12)
Infinix Zero 5G Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Edition
Easy unlock
1. Enable developer options and turn on/allow OEM unlocking and enable USB debugging
2. Reboot to fastoot
Code:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
3. Unlock bootloader via fastboot (you will be prompted to accept yes with volume up on phone.
Code:
fastboot flashing unlock
4. Setup and install MTK client Linux (fallow guide)
[GUIDE] [MTK] How to use MTKClient and set it up!
So most of you probably don't know what mtkclient is. It is basically an exploit which is used to boot any (mtk) phone into BROM mode (basically EDL for mtk) I am writing this guide especially for the RM6785 community. This tool is very useful...
forum.xda-developers.com
4. backup all partitions with MTKClient/MTKTool GUI (launch the mtk_GUI with su/root)
in mtk_GUI
Go to,
Read Partition(s) Tab and tick all boxes to be read/backup the partitions except data partition (internal storage)
Now you should have a backup of your files/.bin
5. copy boot_a.bin to your phone internal for magisk patching manually on phone
(Time of writing latest)
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases/download/v25.2/Magisk-v25.2.apk
6. Rename (magisk renames the default .bin)
patched_boot_a.img to patched_boot_a.bin
7. Copy patched boot_a back to your computer/home folder.
8. flashing.
From fresh started Android reboot to fastboot.
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
DO THE NEXT 2 STEPS AT THE SAME TIME IN FASTBOOT.
(Fastboot commands)
Code: terminal
Code:
fastboot flash boot_a /path/to/patched_boot_a.bin
Code2: (disable verity/secure boot) use vbmeta_a.bin that you backed up from you're phone.
Code:
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta_a /path/to/vbmeta_a.bin
AFTER flashing above you should now have root
############## system r/w#############
If you want system R/W writable (full root) fallow next steps.
1. go to system r/w website and get this version tested here.
Official SYSTEM-RW v1.41 by lebigmac for Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and other devices
lebigmac's software
lebigmac
www.systemrw.com
Link to file above
11.21 MB file on MEGA
mega.nz
This must be run on the phone!
Step 1
Decompress (7zip) SYSTEM-RW_v1.41.zip to this directory on device. sysrw_1.41
Code:
/data/local/tmp
Step 2 in Android terminal type
Code:
Code:
su
cd /data/local/tmp/sysrw_1.41
chmod +x sysrw
./sysrw
This will build the new patched r/w super.bin in /data/local/tmp/sysrw_1.41/IMG
Use file explorer (fx-file explorer) to copy patched_super.bin to phones internal/storage and then copy to computer to flash with fastboot.
Step 3
Code:
On computer/PC with adb and fastboot flash super. (Should be around 8gb file)
Code:
Code:
sudo adb reboot bootloader
sudo fastboot flash super /path/to/patched_super.bin
sudo fastboot reboot
########################
Enjoy system r/w[/code]

Lposed

CPU Demensity 1080, can play most emulators (dolphin/athersx2) at 30-60 FPS,a really powerful gaming phone

Phone
Infinix Zero 5G Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania Edition

Any help please

Can elaborate this please. Im stuck at this step

Mtk-client has a user interface see photo
Step4 in mtk_GUI
Go to,
Read Partition(s) Tab and tick all boxes to be read/backup the partitions except data partition (internal storage)
Now you should have a backup of your files/.bin

Still can not change SELinux to permissive or install.... some madgisk modules..?? Assuming because the boot is reed only, wish system r/w worked on boot to as it contains the kennel..

Hi what version is your device? Is it v810? I was wondering if your device can boot into BROM mode.

Build number:
X6815C-H777A-S-GL-221010V451
Should work on
X6815
X6815B
And to get into BROM mode (to my understanding) on any mediatek CPU/phone simply power the device off with no USB connected...
Launch mtk_GUI with root, and it will ask to hold volume up or down while connecting the USB from a powered off state (try different button combinations)
Mtk _GUI is touchy!... with how it connects it usually takes me 2-3 attempts of rebooting and powering off my phone to get it connect/recognize in brom mode
(Might be worth noting)
If your Linux sysctl.conf has these security JIT settings
net.core.bpf_jit_harden=2
kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled=1
kernel.kexec_load_disabled=1
Or more...
mtk client will not recognize your devices... Simply move sysctrl.conf temporarily and reboot your Linux machine and try again

notreal456789 said:
Build number:
X6815C-H777A-S-GL-221010V451
Should work on
X6815
X6815B
And to get into BROM mode (to my understanding) on any mediatek CPU/phone simply power the device off with no USB connected...
Launch mtk_GUI with root, and it will ask to hold volume up or down while connecting the USB from a powered off state (try different button combinations)
Mtk _GUI is touchy!... with how it connects it usually takes me 2-3 attempts of rebooting and powering off my phone to get it connect/recognize in brom mode
(Might be worth noting)
If your Linux sysctl.conf has these security JIT settings
net.core.bpf_jit_harden=2
kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled=1
kernel.kexec_load_disabled=1
Or more...
mtk client will not recognize your devices... Simply move sysctrl.conf temporarily and reboot your Linux machine and try again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn sadly im on v810 now and it doesn't enter into BROM mode anymore or maybe am i doing something wrong but idk. I hope infinix will enable it again

Hnojohn said:
Damn sadly im on v810 now and it doesn't enter into BROM mode anymore or maybe am i doing something wrong but idk. I hope infinix will enable it again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why I don't update things, also it could be the setup Maby I'll post a Linux.iso with mtk client setup correctly

I still use Android apps from 2008 that still work on Android 12 fine

How To Guide How to extract boot.img from OnePlus 9 firmware packages to patch with Magisk & flash to your phone using Linux Mint 21.1

As a OnePlus 9 user who likes to root their phone mainly to allow Network Signal Guru to work (as well as a few other root things like AdAway) I had been trying to extract the boot.img the same way as I had done with a OnePlus 7T using Payload Dumper for Windows. However it looks like Payload Dumper has issues with extracting xx.img files (including boot.img) if the payload.bin file is bigger than 4.3 GB in size. So I've been looking to see if another method was possible that would work for our OnePlus 9 ROMs that are above this file size. As I use Linux Mint as my usual desktop OS & only fall back onto Windows for stuff that'll only run on that OS, I went to have a look to see if something could be done under Linux. Turns out there is an old thread elsewhere on XDA that almost nearly provides what is needed for this, and I thought I would gives details here that should work for the time of this post (March 2023).
This not only extracts the boot.img to patch in Magisk, but also extracts other xx.img files as well.
I'm using Linux Mint 21.1, but I'd assume that this will also work for similar Ubuntu builds or anything that is based on Debian.
Obligatory disclaimer: The following instructions I'm giving below have worked well for me several times in the past, however I am in no way responsible for screwing up or damaging your phone if you try and follow what I've written below. In extreme cases, a bad flash may require using the OnePlus MSM tool to completely reflash your phone. Back up anything important first before doing any of the following!​
1. You will need to ensure that you have downloaded packages to be able to do adb & fastboot from the command line. You can check by running the following commands - if it's already installed with the latest versions, the terminal interface will let you know...
Code:
sudo apt install adb
Code:
sudo apt install fastboot
2. You will need to go to your software manager in LM21.1 and install both Python 3 & the Python Protobuf compiler. Just search for "Python 3" & "Protobuf-compiler" in the software manager and the first option for each search is what you should need - if they are not installed, install them.
3. Create a read/writable directory that will hold your ROM that you've just downloaded & other files that I'll mention soon. I just use a folder calls "ROM" in my Downloads folder (e.g. /home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM ), but you can choose wherever you want that suits you.
4. If you have not done so already, make sure you have the FULL package of your OnePlus 9 ROM downloaded. As of right now (March 2023) it seems the best way is to download the package using the Oxygen Updater app which is available on Google Play - more info available at oxygenupdater.com - just download the ROM to your phone and transfer it on to your computer into the folder you've created for it.
5. Download and save the following two Python scripts/files ("Right click" & "Save Link As") into the folder you have just created for your ROM (all credit to Gregory Cyxx at github.com/cyxx )...
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/c...payload/master/extract_android_ota_payload.py
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cyxx/extract_android_ota_payload/master/update_metadata_pb2.py
6. Make sure in your file browser (Nemo in my case as it is the default for LM21.1 Cinammon, yours may differ) the window is open in the ROM folder that contains the two Python scripts above that you've just downloaded as well as a ROM package (ZIP file) you've downloaded (in my case from Oxygen Updater mentioned in step 3). Create a new folder for the extracted images to be written to - in my case I just call the folder "output" which is located at "/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/output" but again you can call it what you wish.
7. After you've created your output folder, in your ROM directory in the file manager window right-click on your mouse in a white or free space and select "Open in Terminal" - a command terminal will pop up defaulting to your directory.
8. In the command terminal, type the following command and press enter/return...
Code:
sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py <<Your ROM.zip>> <<Your Output Directory>>
...for example, in my case the command would be either...
Code:
sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py LE2113_11_F-75.zip output
...or for handiness you can type "sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py " (remember to leave a space) and simply drag the ROM zip file to the command terminal, press space and then drag the output foler to the terminal line, which will look like in my case...
Code:
sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py '/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/LE2113_11_F-75.zip' '/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/output'
...this will now run the python script you downloaded earlier that will begin extracting the ROM you've specified and will output all relevant xx.img files into your output folder, including the one we want, "boot.img" - there is no need to extract paylod.bin beforehand, the script will automatically do this for you. Once all xx.img files have been extracted the script will stop, depending on your computer this will take anything from 1-5 minutes, maybe longer on some very old or low spec'd computers - but just let it run its course. Once it is done you can then close the terminal window.
9. Now with the boot.img we've extracted, transfer this file on to your phone (the Downloads folder is usually a good choice). Now open Magisk and patch the boot.img file - once this has been completed, it'll generate a patched boot.img file named something like "magisk_patched-25200_12345.img" - copy and paste this patched boot image back on to your computer (into the folder you've been using will be fine here).
10. If your OnePlus 9 phone is connected to your computer via USB cable, disconnect it now. Then shutdown your phone into a power-off state then reboot it into fastboot mode - this can be done by holding down the volume up & down buttons, then holding down the power button and keep holding down all three buttons until you feel a vibration from your phone. Your OnePlus 9 should then boot into fastboot mode.
11. Now reconnect your OnePlus 9 to your computer via the USB cable and then open up a new display terminal (preferably by right-clicking in the file window of the directory where you saved your Magisk patched boot.img file). Enter the following...
Code:
fastboot devices
...you should then get a line featuring a block of numbers that should match the serial number that is displayed on your phone's display, followed by "fastboot", for example...
Code:
85f53405 fastboot
...if you get anything else, double check your connections at try again - if more than one device is displayed, disconnect the and try again to make sure that only one device is listed. It might also be the case that you don't have the proper drivers installed on your computer for your phone though in my case LM21.1 automatically recognises my phone, so I'm not of any direct help here I'm afraid for this, sorry.
12. Now you will be flashing your patched boot.img to your phone - this is where things can be a little nervous though as long as you do everything right nothing should really go wrong. Type the following into the command terminal, assuming you did so by opening a command terminal from the folder your Magisk Patched boot.img file is located...
Code:
fastboot flash boot <<Magisk Patched boot.img>>
...for example in my case the command line would be...
Code:
fastboot flash boot magisk_patched-25200_12345.img
...otherwise you will need to provide the location of where your patched boot.img is, so in this case...
Code:
fastboot flash boot '/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/magisk_patched-25200_12345.img'
...either way, your phone will now be in the process of getting its boot image replaced with the one patched by Magisk. This should take no more than a few seconds and that should be it done! You can then close the terminal window again.
13. Once you've patched the boot image, disconnect the phone from the USB cable to the computer and make sure that the screen on your mobile says "START" in green at the top, if it doesn't, use the volume keys to change this. Then just simply press the power button and your phone will now reboot, this can take a little bit longer than before as your phone's firmware has changed so give it time - (however if it takes longer than 10 minutes or so you might have a problem here) - once your home screen becomes available, give it a few seconds once you've entered before selecting the Magisk app. Once you've done this, Magisk should say that it is installed however to double check, use an app that requires root permissions either to work (e.g. Network Signal Guru) or to do additional things, like a simple root checker app that you can download from wherever you download your apps. If everything is good, then you've rooted your OnePlus 9!
Notes: This process will probably work for other firmware packages for various phones where the boot.img can be extracted to be patched by Magisk and then flashed via fastboot (assuming the bootloader is unlocked) which includes the OnePlus 7T's stock firmware, but I can give no guarantees for this. Once again, try at your own risk.​

I would suggest to boot the magisk patched image and then doing a direct install from the app instead of flashing it directly. This way you can use the "Restore images" feature in the Magisk app that can be useful when doing incremental update.

Thank You for thinking of Us Linux Users !
Attempted to update to LOS 20 via ADB, and now my touch screen will not work. All the remedies here require a Windows system for the MSM tool, which I do not have...

barguybrady said:
Thank You for thinking of Us Linux Users !
Attempted to update to LOS 20 via ADB, and now my touch screen will not work. All the remedies here require a Windows system for the MSM tool, which I do not have...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a computer you can install windows on another partition it's not like you don't have the ability to use msm

stez827 said:
You have a computer you can install windows on another partition it's not like you don't have the ability to use msm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no comment

barguybrady said:
Yup.
Just gonna spend another 4 or 5 hours prepping a drive to somehow install windows just to fix a phone.
Maybe - No....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does not take that long as a Linux user who has had to install for that exact reason it took maybe an hour or 2

lawhec said:
As a OnePlus 9 user who likes to root their phone mainly to allow Network Signal Guru to work (as well as a few other root things like AdAway) I had been trying to extract the boot.img the same way as I had done with a OnePlus 7T using Payload Dumper for Windows. However it looks like Payload Dumper has issues with extracting xx.img files (including boot.img) if the payload.bin file is bigger than 4.3 GB in size. So I've been looking to see if another method was possible that would work for our OnePlus 9 ROMs that are above this file size. As I use Linux Mint as my usual desktop OS & only fall back onto Windows for stuff that'll only run on that OS, I went to have a look to see if something could be done under Linux. Turns out there is an old thread elsewhere on XDA that almost nearly provides what is needed for this, and I thought I would gives details here that should work for the time of this post (March 2023).
This not only extracts the boot.img to patch in Magisk, but also extracts other xx.img files as well.
I'm using Linux Mint 21.1, but I'd assume that this will also work for similar Ubuntu builds or anything that is based on Debian.
Obligatory disclaimer: The following instructions I'm giving below have worked well for me several times in the past, however I am in no way responsible for screwing up or damaging your phone if you try and follow what I've written below. In extreme cases, a bad flash may require using the OnePlus MSM tool to completely reflash your phone. Back up anything important first before doing any of the following!​
1. You will need to ensure that you have downloaded packages to be able to do adb & fastboot from the command line. You can check by running the following commands - if it's already installed with the latest versions, the terminal interface will let you know...
Code:
sudo apt install adb
Code:
sudo apt install fastboot
2. You will need to go to your software manager in LM21.1 and install both Python 3 & the Python Protobuf compiler. Just search for "Python 3" & "Protobuf-compiler" in the software manager and the first option for each search is what you should need - if they are not installed, install them.
3. Create a read/writable directory that will hold your ROM that you've just downloaded & other files that I'll mention soon. I just use a folder calls "ROM" in my Downloads folder (e.g. /home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM ), but you can choose wherever you want that suits you.
4. If you have not done so already, make sure you have the FULL package of your OnePlus 9 ROM downloaded. As of right now (March 2023) it seems the best way is to download the package using the Oxygen Updater app which is available on Google Play - more info available at oxygenupdater.com - just download the ROM to your phone and transfer it on to your computer into the folder you've created for it.
5. Download and save the following two Python scripts/files ("Right click" & "Save Link As") into the folder you have just created for your ROM (all credit to Gregory Cyxx at github.com/cyxx )...
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/c...payload/master/extract_android_ota_payload.py
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cyxx/extract_android_ota_payload/master/update_metadata_pb2.py
6. Make sure in your file browser (Nemo in my case as it is the default for LM21.1 Cinammon, yours may differ) the window is open in the ROM folder that contains the two Python scripts above that you've just downloaded as well as a ROM package (ZIP file) you've downloaded (in my case from Oxygen Updater mentioned in step 3). Create a new folder for the extracted images to be written to - in my case I just call the folder "output" which is located at "/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/output" but again you can call it what you wish.
7. After you've created your output folder, in your ROM directory in the file manager window right-click on your mouse in a white or free space and select "Open in Terminal" - a command terminal will pop up defaulting to your directory.
8. In the command terminal, type the following command and press enter/return...
Code:
sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py <<Your ROM.zip>> <<Your Output Directory>>
...for example, in my case the command would be either...
Code:
sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py LE2113_11_F-75.zip output
...or for handiness you can type "sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py " (remember to leave a space) and simply drag the ROM zip file to the command terminal, press space and then drag the output foler to the terminal line, which will look like in my case...
Code:
sudo python3 extract_android_ota_payload.py '/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/LE2113_11_F-75.zip' '/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/output'
...this will now run the python script you downloaded earlier that will begin extracting the ROM you've specified and will output all relevant xx.img files into your output folder, including the one we want, "boot.img" - there is no need to extract paylod.bin beforehand, the script will automatically do this for you. Once all xx.img files have been extracted the script will stop, depending on your computer this will take anything from 1-5 minutes, maybe longer on some very old or low spec'd computers - but just let it run its course. Once it is done you can then close the terminal window.
9. Now with the boot.img we've extracted, transfer this file on to your phone (the Downloads folder is usually a good choice). Now open Magisk and patch the boot.img file - once this has been completed, it'll generate a patched boot.img file named something like "magisk_patched-25200_12345.img" - copy and paste this patched boot image back on to your computer (into the folder you've been using will be fine here).
10. If your OnePlus 9 phone is connected to your computer via USB cable, disconnect it now. Then shutdown your phone into a power-off state then reboot it into fastboot mode - this can be done by holding down the volume up & down buttons, then holding down the power button and keep holding down all three buttons until you feel a vibration from your phone. Your OnePlus 9 should then boot into fastboot mode.
11. Now reconnect your OnePlus 9 to your computer via the USB cable and then open up a new display terminal (preferably by right-clicking in the file window of the directory where you saved your Magisk patched boot.img file). Enter the following...
Code:
fastboot devices
...you should then get a line featuring a block of numbers that should match the serial number that is displayed on your phone's display, followed by "fastboot", for example...
Code:
85f53405 fastboot
...if you get anything else, double check your connections at try again - if more than one device is displayed, disconnect the and try again to make sure that only one device is listed. It might also be the case that you don't have the proper drivers installed on your computer for your phone though in my case LM21.1 automatically recognises my phone, so I'm not of any direct help here I'm afraid for this, sorry.
12. Now you will be flashing your patched boot.img to your phone - this is where things can be a little nervous though as long as you do everything right nothing should really go wrong. Type the following into the command terminal, assuming you did so by opening a command terminal from the folder your Magisk Patched boot.img file is located...
Code:
fastboot flash boot <<Magisk Patched boot.img>>
...for example in my case the command line would be...
Code:
fastboot flash boot magisk_patched-25200_12345.img
...otherwise you will need to provide the location of where your patched boot.img is, so in this case...
Code:
fastboot flash boot '/home/lawhec/Downloads/ROM/magisk_patched-25200_12345.img'
...either way, your phone will now be in the process of getting its boot image replaced with the one patched by Magisk. This should take no more than a few seconds and that should be it done! You can then close the terminal window again.
13. Once you've patched the boot image, disconnect the phone from the USB cable to the computer and make sure that the screen on your mobile says "START" in green at the top, if it doesn't, use the volume keys to change this. Then just simply press the power button and your phone will now reboot, this can take a little bit longer than before as your phone's firmware has changed so give it time - (however if it takes longer than 10 minutes or so you might have a problem here) - once your home screen becomes available, give it a few seconds once you've entered before selecting the Magisk app. Once you've done this, Magisk should say that it is installed however to double check, use an app that requires root permissions either to work (e.g. Network Signal Guru) or to do additional things, like a simple root checker app that you can download from wherever you download your apps. If everything is good, then you've rooted your OnePlus 9!
Notes: This process will probably work for other firmware packages for various phones where the boot.img can be extracted to be patched by Magisk and then flashed via fastboot (assuming the bootloader is unlocked) which includes the OnePlus 7T's stock firmware, but I can give no guarantees for this. Once again, try at your own risk.​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Using the t-Mobile Variant - LE2117 - we are Unable to Install any OTA Updates with OxygenUpdater, and are promptly warned of this limitation upon install. Nevertheless, I forged ahead and,
Following this Method, I downloaded a LE2115_11_F.17.zip, and proceeded to use your helpful .py scripts to extract the boot.img file, and Flash it - promptly sending me to a Qualcomm CrashDump mode.
Having a chance to MSM back to "stock" LE2117 - 11.2.2.2 LE54CB, I am wondering if I should just let the t-Mobile Update, through "Settings >> System >> System update" to Update the Stock ( bloated !? ) OS with all that are available,
Then attempt to Extract a boot.img and Magisk patch it ?
Any Advice?
TIA