I think I just might have discovered a (relatively) painless and (relatively) quick method of rooting a stock Sony ROM. The following process was executed on an Xperia Mini with bootloader unlocked via testpoint method.
1. Flash stock .431 Sony ROM (downloadable from here)
2. Reboot and let the initial setup steps complete
3. Hotboot using FlashTool with EXtended Stock Kernel available here
4. You are now partially but not completely rooted as TB will inform you
4. Connect to Google Play and update installed apps.
5 This will also update Superuser (remember, we're hotbooted using the EXtended Stock Kernel so Superuser is installed by default.
6. When you update Superuser, most probably what it does is push the appropriate files and set the correct permissions into the operating system.
7. Reboot normally now (with the standard/regular Sony included kernel) and you'll find yourself rooted as can be verified by TB and rootchecker
Please hit the thanks button if this was at all useful. It would be awesome if somebody could corroborate this by independent testing as well.
everyone knows flashing custom kernel with autoroot will automatically root your phone :/
an0nym0us_ said:
everyone knows flashing custom kernel with autoroot will automatically root your phone :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this wasn't a permanent flash of custom kernel. i temporarily hotbooted the custom kernel, updated superuser then rebooted back into stock kernel and the root was still there
rahimali said:
this wasn't a permanent flash of custom kernel. i temporarily hotbooted the custom kernel, updated superuser then rebooted back into stock kernel and the root was still there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyway this method is for unlocked bootloaders and why do such long procedure when you can have a rooted device with one simple step?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
well, if you want to have a completely stock ROM including stock kernel without flashing a custom stock kernel which you would otherwise have to do if you wanted root
so basically you're retaining everything stock plus you have root as well
naw, if you reflash kernel.sin without wiping data you retain stock kernel without loosing root..
Rudjgaard said:
naw, if you reflash kernel.sin without wiping data you retain stock kernel without loosing root..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats my point, isn't it, you only have to permanently flash the stock ROM including stock kernel just once, that's it.
after that, you just hotboot once with extended stock kernel, update superuser, reboot normally and you're good to go
Every one can root stock ICS with unlocked bootloader! So I found nothing new in your method except pain in the ass process! Isn't easily to flash autorooted kernel and switch back to stock if you want to use it
Sent from my ST15i using xda app-developers app
Actually the extend stock kernel is still stock kernel. The kernel binary is still the same as sony stock kernel, difference is just in ramdisk, added cwm and autoroot. If u already flash it, doesn't make sense to reflash stock kernel again. U got built in cwm without need to reinstall cwm after every rom flash, with the same exact kernel as stock kernel.
One little thought : Many people might want root without unlocking the bootloader, because once you unlock it, there is no turning back. So, that does not sound as "everything stock" And moreover, unlocking bootloader is really a scary process for many. I myself got root first, and unlocked the boot loader months later.
tintin100 said:
One little thought : Many people might want root without unlocking the bootloader, because once you unlock it, there is no turning back. So, that does not sound as "everything stock" And moreover, unlocking bootloader is really a scary process for many. I myself got root first, and unlocked the boot loader months later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here. other than that, sorry about this thread, maybe the mods could delete it please?
Related
Greetings,
I rooted my note using Da_G's process which worked great. I then tried to "unroot" it using the kernel pda-odin-att-stock-kernel.tar and it appears to be still rooted (Titanum Backup still gets root privs). Do I need to flash the 400MB .rar to remove root?
Thanks,
Bugly
I believe you need to follow the instructions here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506330
Don't forget the factory reset at the end.
Thanks for the reply...
I did use that particular process but since I only flashed the kernel to root it shouldn't I only have to flash the stock kernel to unroot?
Bugly
bugly said:
Thanks for the reply...
I did use that particular process but since I only flashed the kernel to root it shouldn't I only have to flash the stock kernel to unroot?
Bugly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No because a kernal by itself doesn't provide root. If you read Da_G's original post it says that the kernal runs an auto-root script on /system. That is where the root takes place. That is why when you flash only the kernal your system is still rooted. You must flash stock system as well.
Okay... that explains it...
Thanks for the help...
One more question if I might... If I just flash the kernel does this set things up for a successful OTA upgrade?
Thanks...
It's only guaranteed you will get OTA updates if the phone is completely stock. Sometimes rooting alone will still allow you to get OTA updates, but from what I've heard, it's very hit or miss.
However, if the trend continues from what was done with the Samsung Captivate, then any serious update for the phone will be via Kies and not OTA anyway.
Hello there,
To start off, I am new to Android system but now, I am comfortable at using it.
My Device: Sony Ericsson WT19i
Firmware Version: 4.0.2.A.0.58
Root Status: Rooted
Did some googling on how to root phone, and successfully rooted my phone and same time found out that .62 version of my phone's firmware is not rootable so stayed positively there for a month.
Now seeing other users CM7, CM9, CWM(ClockWorkMod) and other stuff which I don't even know made me crazy to test them out too. Besides, sony's stock rom is getting on my nerves.
So, what do I do now? Could anyone direct me on
1. Updating to .62 and still be able to root.
2. Custom Mods? How?
A big thank you for going through this.
Regards,
GaNi
first unlock your bootloader and flash custom kernel..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1560613
Doing OTA update on your phone will keep root. It means, if you have .58 firmware and root, and you do update via 3G or Wifi on your phone to .62, root stays the same.
For custom mods, you should first get familiar, what is ROM, kernel, what these do. Then it will be easier for you.
As for custom ROM, you will need custom kernel, which will require unlocked bootloader, which can be done via official method on Sony website, or via test point method(S1Tool). Either way you lose your warranty.
Regarding bootloader, look at screenshot please.
Do I still unlock it?
@someguy
The country which I reside costs a freaking lot for an MB, OTA updates could be my last alternative.
PS: Could we able to set the status back to normal so it doesn't look like it got it's warranty voided?
GxGaNi said:
Regarding bootloader, look at screenshot please.
Do I still unlock it?
@someguy
The country which I reside costs a freaking lot for an MB, OTA updates could be my last alternative.
PS: Could we able to set the status back to normal so it doesn't look like it got it's warranty voided?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can unlock it
GxGaNi said:
Regarding bootloader, look at screenshot please.
Do I still unlock it?
@someguy
The country which I reside costs a freaking lot for an MB, OTA updates could be my last alternative.
PS: Could we able to set the status back to normal so it doesn't look like it got it's warranty voided?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can unlock the bootloader, both ways.
You can later on relock bootloader, then it will appear like this again.
OTA update can be done over WiFi also on your mobile.
Tried to do an OTA. Now it shows my phone is already on the latest software. No idea.
I decided to flash it with STOCK .62 ROM.
Is this ROM good to by flashed with? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1560660
Author say's it rooted already. I'll just use a flash tool.
try to unlock bootloader first
Unlock bootloader on .58?
You say if I have .58 rooted phone and make OTA with Wi Fi, my phone will still be rooted. I try that, download update, mobile restart itself, but and the end of process show message "Error, cannot update"
I dont wont to unlock bootloader because I dont need custom kernel, I only need update stock kernel .62.
Thanks for reply.
my wt19i stuck at sony ericsson logo after install 062 with custom rom with root
anyone can help?
solved with flashing
sathreeyo said:
my wt19i stuck at sony ericsson logo after install 062 with custom rom with root
anyone can help?
solved with flashing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Custom ROM also requires custom kernel.
Sent from my WT19i using xda premium
is kernel changing with changing rom or it stays until you change it?
manilu001 said:
is kernel changing with changing rom or it stays until you change it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you need Flashtools to flash a custom kernel (assuming the bootloader is previously unlocked) with ClockWork Mod (CWM) bundled.
After flashing the custom kernel, you reboot into CWM mode (depends on your phone model), erase system memory and install the new ROM (which should be in a .zip file in your SD Card).
Was anyone able to get "Ad Hoc" wpa_suplicant working for Live?
I have recently rooted my gs2 and am running the latest Siyah kernel on the stock ics rom. After installing Rom Manager and installing the oneclickuser recovery (or something like that) in Rom Manager, I began a backup of my current (stock ICS) rom via Rom Manager. It began to restart the phone and then....blank. Now all I can get to appear is the gs2 logo/orange triangle screen for several seconds before going blank again. I would really appreciate some immediate assistance. Thank you.
Should have read first, why are you using Rom Manager? How many threads does there have to be about this?
I'm going to jump in here before you start getting all sorts of "don't use rom manager" and "search first" and similar answers.
You can't use rom manager successfully as you just learned, but you are not bricked. Your phone is recoverable.
I'm not certain exactly what became damaged in the firmware, but most likely the only option you have is to use Odin to flash the stock firmware and start over. Please follow one of my guides which will give you all the information you need, and assuming you want to root and install ClockworkMod Recovery, then use the guide for installing custom binaries without incrementing the flash counter.
The only way to get ClockworkMod Recovery on the SGSII is to install a custom kernel containing it, and you need to be rooted to do that. That is the only way you will get a nandroid backup of your phone.
creepyncrawly said:
I'm going to jump in here before you start getting all sorts of "don't use rom manager" and "search first" and similar answers.
You can't use rom manager successfully as you just learned, but you are not bricked. Your phone is recoverable.
I'm not certain exactly what became damaged in the firmware, but most likely the only option you have is to use Odin to flash the stock firmware and start over. Please follow one of my guides which will give you all the information you need, and assuming you want to root and install ClockworkMod Recovery, then use the guide for installing custom binaries without incrementing the flash counter.
The only way to get ClockworkMod Recovery on the SGSII is to install a custom kernel containing it, and you need to be rooted to do that. That is the only way you will get a nandroid backup of your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help. I have been trying to locate the stock ICS ROM package on the forums but have had no luck thus far. Can you possibly point me to the stock ICS ROM?
Using Odin, I will essentially be flashing a new (stock) ROM over the existing stock ROM and Siyah kernel? I am just trying to figure out what parts of your "How to Flash Custom Binaries Without Ever Incrementing the Flash Counter" guide are applicable to my situation...seeing how I am technically already rooted.
DeltaA87 said:
Thanks for your help. I have been trying to locate the stock ICS ROM package on the forums but have had no luck thus far. Can you possibly point me to the stock ICS ROM?
Using Odin, I will essentially be flashing a new (stock) ROM over the existing stock ROM and Siyah kernel? I am just trying to figure out what parts of your "How to Flash Custom Binaries Without Ever Incrementing the Flash Counter" guide are applicable to my situation...seeing how I am technically already rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you need to use Odin then you need to download a stock firmware from the download repository.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
Phalanx7621 said:
If you need to use Odin then you need to download a stock firmware from the download repository.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I have located "I777UCLE5 Stock Binaries (Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich)" from the Download Repository. Is it ideal for me to flash the firmware version containing OR excluding the boot.bin primitive bootloader? Both options are available.
DeltaA87 said:
Thanks for your help. I have been trying to locate the stock ICS ROM package on the forums but have had no luck thus far. Can you possibly point me to the stock ICS ROM?
Using Odin, I will essentially be flashing a new (stock) ROM over the existing stock ROM and Siyah kernel? I am just trying to figure out what parts of your "How to Flash Custom Binaries Without Ever Incrementing the Flash Counter" guide are applicable to my situation...seeing how I am technically already rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you can find what you need in creepy's sig
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
DeltaA87 said:
Okay, I have located "I777UCLE5 Stock Binaries (Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich)" from the Download Repository. Is it ideal for me to flash the firmware version containing OR excluding the boot.bin primitive bootloader? Both options are available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without the bootloader. You shouldn't flash the bootloader unless you need it.
However, if you want to flash UCLE5 plus root, that is here. And read the thread. You should flash a custom kernel right away, so I would recommend this instead of straight stock.
GT-I9300 International No carrier
Current FW v 4.1.2
hxxp://i.imgur.com/DxDXONZ.png
Update Details
hxxp://i.imgur.com/18JE68Z.jpg
Phone Rooted using CF-Auto-Root
SuperSU and Busybox installed
CWM not installed
Using Stock ROM
Using Stock Kernel
As you can see Kies has prompted me an update and the update seems to have already downloaded OTA using WiFi.
It is prompting me to install the update again and again.
My question is, if I do select to install this update,
1.) Will it remove root?
2.) Will it completely wipe my phone? (previous incremental updates haven't wiped my data, but the phone wasn't rooted then.)
3.) Can I root again using CF-Auto-Root?
Thank you.
Jaxx89 said:
GT-I9300 International No carrier
Current FW v 4.1.2
hxxp://i.imgur.com/DxDXONZ.png
Update Details
hxxp://i.imgur.com/18JE68Z.jpg
Phone Rooted using CF-Auto-Root
SuperSU and Busybox installed
CWM not installed
Using Stock ROM
Using Stock Kernel
As you can see Kies has prompted me an update and the update seems to have already downloaded OTA using WiFi.
It is prompting me to install the update again and again.
My question is, if I do select to install this update,
1.) Will it remove root?
AS per thousands of posts YES.
2.) Will it completely wipe my phone? (previous incremental updates haven't wiped my data, but the phone wasn't rooted then.)
NO
3.) Can I root again using CF-Auto-Root?
YES
All this is posted multiple times .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JJEgan said:
Jaxx89 said:
GT-I9300 International No carrier
Current FW v 4.1.2
hxxp://i.imgur.com/DxDXONZ.png
Update Details
hxxp://i.imgur.com/18JE68Z.jpg
Phone Rooted using CF-Auto-Root
SuperSU and Busybox installed
CWM not installed
Using Stock ROM
Using Stock Kernel
As you can see Kies has prompted me an update and the update seems to have already downloaded OTA using WiFi.
It is prompting me to install the update again and again.
My question is, if I do select to install this update,
1.) Will it remove root?
AS per thousands of posts YES.
2.) Will it completely wipe my phone? (previous incremental updates haven't wiped my data, but the phone wasn't rooted then.)
NO
3.) Can I root again using CF-Auto-Root?
YES
All this is posted multiple times .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that. Maybe my searching skills aren't good enough or maybe I don't know how to use this forum coz I found only one thread that too with a Gingerbread FW, which is why I posted this Q
Really sorry.
Thanks for the quick reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Device status modified and cannot update
tried using triangle away and did not reset the flash counter
Because triangle away can reset your flash counter only if you're running stock recovery, stock kernel, stock rom etc.
CF-AutoRoot should not make your status "modified" but probably like you see it did. Maybe some other apps did that, maybe not, nobody knows anyway. If you really need these updates then you should flash newest firmware from samsung through odin and then root it + reset flash counter, it should work also for further updates (but I'm not sure).
JustArchi said:
Because triangle away can reset your flash counter only if you're running stock recovery, stock kernel, stock rom etc.
CF-AutoRoot should not make your status "modified" but probably like you see it did. Maybe some other apps did that, maybe not, nobody knows anyway. If you really need these updates then you should flash newest firmware from samsung through odin and then root it + reset flash counter, it should work also for further updates (but I'm not sure).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot.
I know where to get the FW updates to flash via Odin but don't really understand how to reset the flash counter if not by using TriangleAway.
Could you please be kind enough to guide me?
And these are the apps I used after root
SuperSU
Busybox
Root checker
Titanium Backup
Lucky patcher
Market enabler
Greenify
Could any of these apps modify the stock kernel, rom or recovery? Coz I never flashed any custom ones just rooted using CF-Auto-Root and installed the root apps
P.S: I was able to do the FW update via Kies and now the status is back to normal, but I'm afraid to root coz the status might go back to modified.
It's more like, you know. If we're talking about warranty then they'll find that your rooted your phone anyway. If we're talking about updates then probably it's still better to keep an eye on some stock-based custom roms, mostly because of frequent updates (nearly instantly after new baseband), while you still need to wait some time for OTA to arrive. Of course it's much easier to apply OTA than whole custom rom but hey, how often are you doing that?
About your question - busybox is my choice because it modifies /system apps, many of them.
And lastly - in odin you have a checkbox to reset flash counter, so you don't need to worry about anything using this tool. At least in general.
Overall I'd stick with pure stock non-rooted firmware if you don't need it in general or rooted custom rom (f.e. mine ) for much better experience. I couldn't go back to stock after getting used to much better performance, less battery drain etc.
Choice is yours.
Lucky patcher
Warez is totally banned on XDA you are stealing from developers .
As its a warez app who knows what sort of malware it could add to your phone .
I would wipe the phone install original firmware .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1978840
Then update it and to stick with unrooted stock .
jje
JustArchi said:
It's more like, you know. If we're talking about warranty then they'll find that your rooted your phone anyway. If we're talking about updates then probably it's still better to keep an eye on some stock-based custom roms, mostly because of frequent updates (nearly instantly after new baseband), while you still need to wait some time for OTA to arrive. Of course it's much easier to apply OTA than whole custom rom but hey, how often are you doing that?
About your question - busybox is my choice because it modifies /system apps, many of them.
And lastly - in odin you have a checkbox to reset flash counter, so you don't need to worry about anything using this tool. At least in general.
Overall I'd stick with pure stock non-rooted firmware if you don't need it in general or rooted custom rom (f.e. mine ) for much better experience. I couldn't go back to stock after getting used to much better performance, less battery drain etc.
Choice is yours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick response
I rooted mainly coz I needed to use market enabler
In Odin are you referring to the option F. Reset time??
I am using the Odin version provided by Chainfire in his S3 rooting thread in which all options are disabled except for Auto reboot.
@JJEgan I don't even know how to use half of the apps I mentioned, I only installed them as my friend suggested it as must have root apps.
As you might see, I am still a N00b at this and am in the learning process.
BTW Thanks for the link to the guide.
Jaxx89 said:
Thanks for the quick response
I rooted mainly coz I needed to use market enabler
In Odin are you referring to the option F. Reset time??
I am using the Odin version provided by Chainfire in his S3 rooting thread in which all options are disabled except for Auto reboot.
@JJEgan I don't even know how to use half of the apps I mentioned, I only installed them as my friend suggested it as must have root apps.
As you might see, I am still a N00b at this and am in the learning process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest going through my flashing guide located in ArchiDroid thread, with newest odin and newest methods for flashing/rooting.
JustArchi said:
I suggest going through my flashing guide located in ArchiDroid thread, with newest odin and newest methods for flashing/rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot.
If I'm not mistaken, ArchiDroid is a Custom ROM(pre-rooted) which requires a Custom Recovery.
I will be learning a bit more first before I install a Custom ROM.
A question though. Will I have to take a backup of my app data if I decide to install a custom ROM?
Also if I want to install the stock FW via Odin, will I have to take a backup first?
Thanks and I'm really sorry about asking such questions.
Jaxx89 said:
Thanks a lot.
If I'm not mistaken, ArchiDroid is a Custom ROM(pre-rooted) which requires a Custom Recovery.
I will be learning a bit more first before I install a Custom ROM.
A question though. Will I have to take a backup of my app data if I decide to install a custom ROM?
Also if I want to install the stock FW via Odin, will I have to take a backup first?
Thanks and I'm really sorry about asking such questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it requires custom recovery for installing .zip package.
There is nothing to learn if you ask me, you have complete guide for installing everything you need in step-by-step howto. If you want to keep your data then you need to use some nice app for that f.e. Titanium Backup but for that you need root and... yeah. It's easier to start from scratch on new pre-rooted rom.
I'd suggest flashing custom recovery (tutorial in my topic) and then you can create a backup directly from that, with everything you want to, including actual system, efs folder, recovery, kernel etc. So you can easily get back to original rom whenever you want to. Keep in mind that you still need custom recovery for that.
JustArchi said:
Yes it requires custom recovery for installing .zip package.
There is nothing to learn if you ask me, you have complete guide for installing everything you need in step-by-step howto. If you want to keep your data then you need to use some nice app for that f.e. Titanium Backup but for that you need root and... yeah. It's easier to start from scratch on new pre-rooted rom.
I'd suggest flashing custom recovery (tutorial in my topic) and then you can create a backup directly from that, with everything you want to, including actual system, efs folder, recovery, kernel etc. So you can easily get back to original rom whenever you want to. Keep in mind that you still need custom recovery for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok Now I'm really confused
I still haven't learnt how to use Titanium Backup to backup, or how to do a nandroid backup. I have read it's better to do a backup b4 installing a custom ROM. And if I'm not mistaken, I need ROOT to do a nandroid backup too.
As I said before that I used CF-Auto-Root, I just followed the instructions to the word.
I had tried doing a ADB backup before root, but for some reason it kept exiting(I guess coz I have just about 1GB memory left on my Internal memory SD card)
Thanks for the quick reply. Man ur really fast in answering questions. :good:
EDIT: Just did the CF-Auto_Root again and didn't install any other apps like busybox(uninstalled all root apps) and used triangleaway to reset the flash counter. But the counter still stuck on 1
The device status shows normal though.
Jaxx89 said:
Ok Now I'm really confused
I still haven't learnt how to use Titanium Backup to backup, or how to do a nandroid backup. I have read it's better to do a backup b4 installing a custom ROM. And if I'm not mistaken, I need ROOT to do a nandroid backup too.
As I said before that I used CF-Auto-Root, I just followed the instructions to the word.
I had tried doing a ADB backup before root, but for some reason it kept exiting(I guess coz I have just about 1GB memory left on my Internal memory SD card)
Thanks for the quick reply. Man ur really fast in answering questions. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all you need custom recovery to perform nandroid backups. So you can stick with my first 10 steps in my howto. After that enter recovery, enter backup section and make a custom backup (or default, doesn't matter) of everything you have, especially /efs folder as it's really important. When you finish doing backup then boot to your normal system and copy these backups to your PC. Now you're sure that they won't disappear and if you want to backup your phone from that then simply put them back on your phone and restore them from the recovery.
But overall I'd suggest clean start without these backups. Of course it's always recommended and I recommend it as well but as long as you won't want to go back to original rom, there is no real point for backing it up. You can always download latest official firmware and flash it through odin.
I've never had any issues flashing ROMs until I tried flashing one of the beta builds of the 4.4.4 Google edition ROM. The creator of the ROM has been having issues with WiFi and data not locking correctly and released an APN zip to possibly resolve the issue. Flashing that zip though, which I'm pretty sure changed the radio, resulted in the phone having connection issues on any ROM. I also noticed that the baseband version was changed from MDK to NC5, so long story short, I used ODIN to revert back to MDK bone stock, reverted back to to MD2 (I believe) to root, then back to MDK.
Here's where I'm a little stumped. I tried to use the ROM manager app to install CWM touch recovery and every time it would say it's successful, but booting into recovery would give me the stock android version, which we all know is pretty useless other than for stock updates and erasing data/cache. So the only way to get CWM recovery installed was to use terminal on the phone to do the Loki flash method. I'm a little out of touch, so can someone explain to me what exactly Loki is other than a "workaround" for the bootloader, how it applies to MDK for running AOSP ROMs without the "unauthorized software" message, and what, if any was the unlocking method for the MDK bootloader? It's been so long that I can't remember how I set everything up initially, and doing a search didn't yield any kind of guide for newbies or those out of touch like myself.
Thanks for taking the time to read and help!
Saint Isaiah said:
I've never had any issues flashing ROMs until I tried flashing one of the beta builds of the 4.4.4 Google edition ROM. The creator of the ROM has been having issues with WiFi and data not locking correctly and released an APN zip to possibly resolve the issue. Flashing that zip though, which I'm pretty sure changed the radio, resulted in the phone having connection issues on any ROM. I also noticed that the baseband version was changed from MDK to NC5, so long story short, I used ODIN to revert back to MDK bone stock, reverted back to to MD2 (I believe) to root, then back to MDK.
Here's where I'm a little stumped. I tried to use the ROM manager app to install CWM touch recovery and every time it would say it's successful, but booting into recovery would give me the stock android version, which we all know is pretty useless other than for stock updates and erasing data/cache. So the only way to get CWM recovery installed was to use terminal on the phone to do the Loki flash method. I'm a little out of touch, so can someone explain to me what exactly Loki is other than a "workaround" for the bootloader, how it applies to MDK for running AOSP ROMs without the "unauthorized software" message, and what, if any was the unlocking method for the MDK bootloader? It's been so long that I can't remember how I set everything up initially, and doing a search didn't yield any kind of guide for newbies or those out of touch like myself.
Thanks for taking the time to read and help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Loki is an exploit that allows the system to bypass bootloader checks and load custom software. If this happens again, restoring an EFS backup should fix your issue.
If you ever need to go back to stock MDK, you no longer need to do the downgrade to the prerelease MDL kernel. Just go to towelroot.com, install the towelroot apk, then hit the make it ra1n button. It's a new root method that came out a few months ago and works for a ton of devices. The easiest way to flash a compatible custom recovery for our device is to download Flashify from the play store and from there you can get the latest TWRP.
joshm.1219 said:
Loki is an exploit that allows the system to bypass bootloader checks and load custom software. If this happens again, restoring an EFS backup should fix your issue.
If you ever need to go back to stock MDK, you no longer need to do the downgrade to the prerelease MDL kernel. Just go to towelroot.com, install the towelroot apk, then hit the make it ra1n button. It's a new root method that came out a few months ago and works for a ton of devices. The easiest way to flash a compatible custom recovery for our device is to download Flashify from the play store and from there you can get the latest TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha, seems pretty straightforward. Wasn't there an actual unlock method for the bootloader though? I remember getting my download mode to read as custom as well as the boot logo, I just can't remember how and it seems like all traces of how to do it vanished.
Thanks for the help!
Also, what in the world does it mean to "Loki" a ROM after installing it? Kinda confused there
Saint Isaiah said:
Gotcha, seems pretty straightforward. Wasn't there an actual unlock method for the bootloader though? I remember getting my download mode to read as custom as well as the boot logo, I just can't remember how and it seems like all traces of how to do it vanished.
Thanks for the help!
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No, never an actual bootloader unlock, besides Dev editions that came unlocked. My download mode still says "install custom ROM" or whatever. There's no discernable difference to the end user between an unlocked bootloader and an exploit like the Loki bypass.
joshm.1219 said:
No, never an actual bootloader unlock, besides Dev editions that came unlocked. My download mode still says "install custom ROM" or whatever. There's no discernable difference to the end user between an unlocked bootloader and an exploit like the Loki bypass.
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OK, and I'm assuming the reason why being on MDK is so important is because upgrading to ME7 patches the vulnerability that can allow the boot loader to be bypassed, forcing you to use safestrap, which results in no custom kernal being able to be used?
And my question above: what does it mean to install, then "Loki" a ROM in the install steps?
Thanks again, you're awesome!
Saint Isaiah said:
OK, and I'm assuming the reason why being on MDK is so important is because upgrading to ME7 patches the vulnerability that can allow the boot loader to be bypassed, forcing you to use safestrap, which results in no custom kernal being able to be used?
And my question above: what does it mean to install, then "Loki" a ROM in the install steps?
Thanks again, you're awesome!
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Yes exactly, ME7 patched it.
If you flash a TW ROM not built specifically for our device, The ROM (depending on kernel you flashed or if the ROM includes a kernel) may not have the files included to boot on a device with the Loki specific bypass. So you need to flash the " Loki doki zip " after the ROM and before initial boot. You can find the file on Google.
joshm.1219 said:
Yes exactly, ME7 patched it.
If you flash a TW ROM not built specifically for our device, The ROM (depending on kernel you flashed or if the ROM includes a kernel) may not have the files included to boot on a device with the Loki specific bypass. So you need to flash the " Loki doki zip " after the ROM and before initial boot. You can find the file on Google.
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Awesome, thanks Josh! This might make a great sticky for the "what is Loki?" newvies and explaining the importance of MDK for those still on it and not sure why.