I just picked one of these up yesterday, the LG Tribute, the Sprint version which is model LS660P (same hardware with the Virgin Mobile version). It's a Snapdragon 400 SoC quad core powered smartphone - it's basically a mix of features between a 1st gen Moto G LTE (the SoC) and the Moto E (removable battery and microSD slot) - it's a CDMA/LTE device only so it's more akin to the Sprint/Boost/Cricket versions of the Moto G I suppose - it does have a SIM card slot but since there's no GSM radio I suppose that's a dead end. It has Sprint LTE support for LTE bands 25, 26, and 41 - it's Spark-enabled as well.
So far in using it I've been extremely pleased with the performance overall considering it's $39.99 right now at many retailers like Fry's and Best Buy (retail is $79.99).
The biggest downside is the 800x480 display resolution but honestly I could care less these days. I just owned an LG G2 and loved it but I had to sell it to cover some bills, and when I saw the Tribute specs and that low price I figured it couldn't hurt to mess around with it a bit.
But in terms of getting it up and running, the first time I powered it up I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this on the Apps screen:
Just that, and nothing else - this thing has zero Sprint bloatware on it, absolutely nothing, and nothing from LG either. Yes it just has 4GB of internal storage leaving about 1.45GB for the user but it's got the microSD slot for storage. I've done all the requisite Google stock apps updates and installed all the apps I've purchased and the free ones I regularly use and I still have 435MB left so I'm good to go. Put my 32GB microSD card in it with 6GB of Opus-encoded audio files, a couple of movies and TV shows, and so far it's been fantastic.
Current battery is showing 37% left from a 100% charge, 12 hours and 3 minutes on, 5 hours and 14 minutes of screen on time so far (and still going because I'm watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier on it and there's 1 hour and 45 mins left in the movie), Wi-Fi has been on the entire time (it's in Airplane mode, however), screen brightness using MX Player is set at 12 (of 15), volume at 15. I use Google Hangouts with Google Voice to make "phone calls" using Wi-Fi so it's in Airplane mode most of the time when I'm at home.
I expect to hit the 7 hours of SOT and this is the first full charge on the device so, consider me a very happy camper.
I know requests have been put into place for Stumproot support so a root could be possible on this device, and I know that LG has posted the 4.4.2 ROM and kernel source code (I grabbed that last night). So here's my question:
Is there anyone out there that might be interested in attempting to develop any recovery for this (assuming we get root at some point), and then perhaps developing some custom ROM for it - seems like it should be a relatively easy thing considering a) we have the full ROM and kernel source even though it's just 4.4.2 at the moment (I would guess LG has no intentions of boosting this to 5.0 so that'll most likely never happen) and b) it's so close to the architecture of the CMDA/LTE version of the Moto G LTE that some kind of port might be possible towards Lollipop if and when that happens...?
Long sentence, sorry about that, I get wordy at times.
But I just figured I'd ask if there's any interest at all. Yes, it's weak on the resolution, yes, it's not a powerhouse device, yes, it's fairly cheap but it's functional and could be an awesome little smartphone with a little "help" thrown its way like a potential for a custom kernel as well to get the quad core and the governor a bit more under control.
I fully suspect this device is easily capable of 7 hours of SOT with such "upgrades" if anyone is interested. I lack the technical know-how and skills to get buried in ROM development much less kernels, so I figured I would toss the question out considering it shares so much common with the Moto G LTE variant + the Moto E's microSD slot potential.
Just curious... any responses are welcome and appreciated, thanks.
Update:
It's even better than I'd hoped...
Almost 8 hours of screen on time - that was a full movie (2 hours 15 minutes long and I let it play the entire thing, first frame to final), 4 TV shows (about 42-45 minutes long each), music playback for almost 1 hour, a few Wi-Fi phone calls using Google Hangouts/Voice, and some web surfing using the stock browser.
$40... absolutely amazing.
I'm just concerned about the amount of CPU time the Android OS shows there - it apparently used as much battery as the screen being on for 7 hours and 38 minutes did so there's something amiss hiding inside. Will be using Wakelock Detector to see if I can detect anything I can disable on the next go considering this was the first full 100% charge and battery test. Just for the record, the Keep Awake time listed on the Android OS battery usage page is 11 hours so it's not idle, there's something going on in there that's using the battery, now I just have to find out what it is. The CPU total time was 4 hours 17 minutes for Android OS.
I'm pretty satisfied, now I wonder what this thing could really be capable of in terms of battery life with a proper custom kernel and ROM. I wonder...
I've been waiting for something to pop up for this phone. I've had it for 2 weeks now. Its great. I agree the battery life is awesome on this thing.
I have the VM version and would be willing to test if someone came up with something.
sigh
Coming from an iPhone so I'm totally new to the android platform but the storage in this thing is severely lacking. I got a micro sd for it, but barely can even get any apps to download due to lack of space. I'm assuming something like this would be helped by a root. It's driving me bananas and making me yearn for my Apple days
Tribute
I also just switched to a Tribute, with KitKat. Was incredibly pissed off to find that Android had crippled the external SD's role. I mean, WTF guys? So now I am on a mission. Every day I scour the interwebs looking for hope that someone has figured out a root exploit for this. I would even settle for being able to flash a custom ROM like Cyanogen. Just so long as I can get PodKicker to save 'casts to the friggin SD card. Is that too much to ask? Anyway, nothing i have attempted so far has worked at all.
Oh, and you got lucky with the no bloatware thing. I got mine through Boost Mobile, and they clotted this damned thing chock full of B.S. To the point that OUT OF THE BOX I couldn't install apps from Playstore without uninstalling previous updates to all the big Google apps. And without Root, I can't get rid of this BoostZone ****e.
I have my doubts as to whether or not this device will get any support here at all at this point (yes I know it's just been a day or so since I made this thread). I didn't even know about the LG L90 till earlier today and when I checked out the specs I realized that it's a better device overall than the Tribute, of course the price reflects the differences as well (larger higher resolution screen, just qHD 960x540 but still it's larger at 4.7" also), with NFC support (I actually make use of that myself), the removable battery/microSD slot, and it's got support here with its own subforum now with a lot of activity (well, a lot for it I suppose) and it even has an IR port for QuickRemote too which is pretty awesome: my Wife is deaf so anytime we go someplace like a Doctor's office or hospital with TVs on, if the captions aren't enabled I turn 'em on with the smartphone. Used to do that with my Galaxy S4 Active in the past, nice to see LG and some other companies are hopping on the "remote control" bandwagon now too.
There's root available and also a bootloader unlock apparently, source code is out and there's work being done so... I wish I had known that before yesterday basically. Fry's, where I got this Tribute, won't do a return on it because I opened the box (and obviously I've done more since I got it too) so that's a wash I suppose. It's still a damned fine little device for $40.
The L90 is "on sale" through T-Mobile's website for $100 with a coupon code right now, I would have grabbed that if I had known about it and the development in progress. Guess I'll have to keep my eyes out next time, might find one used on craigslist soon so we'll see what happens.
I'll keep the Tribute, of course, and keep hoping for a root at some point. I did ask in the Stumproot thread for someone to take a look at it and see what might be possible so, let's keep our fingers crossed.
As for the bloat, I had someone at HowardForums tell me if I activate the phone with Sprint (which I haven't done) that'll install all the Sprint bloatware so, fat chance of that happening I guess. I'll keep it as is and hope for the best.
Anyone working on this? I tried stump, and there are a ton of requests, but no one has said a word about it.
Thanks!
Still hoping but no progress has been reported. It's common knowledge these days that root on newer devices is going to continue to get more and more difficult with the potential that someday we're just not going to be able to do it on most anything. The low price of this one and lack of the high end specs makes most devs (at least in my opinion) not even give a crap about it so, if someone does and we benefit from it, that's awesome.
If nothing happens, it wasn't a complete waste, it's a fine little device with decent processing power and damned great battery life as noted so, $40 was nothing I guess.
Still looking
Still looking for root to the LG Tribute and nothing works. Has anyone heard anything new about it???
Just bumping this to revive interest.
sweetbsting said:
Coming from an iPhone so I'm totally new to the android platform but the storage in this thing is severely lacking. I got a micro sd for it, but barely can even get any apps to download due to lack of space. I'm assuming something like this would be helped by a root. It's driving me bananas and making me yearn for my Apple days
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You so realize you bought a low to mid range prepaid phone right?
I realize that but there has been quite a bit of interest in the model on the internets so unless you have something helpful to add, kindly ignore my post. Thanks.
aburn95 said:
You so realize you bought a low to mid range prepaid phone right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do understand that your comment takes away from the actual thread content, right?
Here is more information about the phone for anyone interested in development:
LG LS660 (LG Tribute) Virgin Mobile.
http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-LS660-Virgin-Mobile-tribute
Should I buy this phone and wait for a root?
Or are there other similar price and spec phones that are easier to root?
Do some phones never get rooted?
-snip-
br0adband said:
There's root available and also a bootloader unlock apparently, source code is out and there's work being done so... I wish I had known that before yesterday basically. Fry's, where I got this Tribute, won't do a return on it because I opened the box (and obviously I've done more since I got it too) so that's a wash I suppose. It's still a damned fine little device for $40.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you inform us where you found root & bootloader unlock? I've been on Android for years, but am relatively new to the root/mod side of things.
LiquidRabbit said:
Where did you download this? I am pretty curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't own the LG Tribute any longer but the source code was at LG's open source repository for the LS660P (the Sprint variant, but it should be identical to the others I would guess):
https://www.lg.com/global/support/opensource/opensourceList?types=NAME&search=ls660p
emarkp said:
Can you inform us where you found root & bootloader unlock? I've been on Android for years, but am relatively new to the root/mod side of things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I can't even remember now, I saw some post at one of the other forums (AndroidPolice maybe) that said someone had discovered a working bootloader unlock, I could be wrong in that but honestly I can't recall the specifics at the momemt. As stated, I no longer own a Tribute (nothing at the moment, my sig always reflects what I own at any given time, for the record).
Good luck... it's really a fantastic smartphone for the $40 I paid for it (and Fry's still sells it for that price). I wish there was a GSM model 'cause I'd be all over it in a second flat; can't do much of anything with the CDMA model in terms of getting service here in my area. I won't deal with Sprint for service, and Boost/Virgin Mobile/etc don't have plans that come anywhere near what the $30/month T-Mobile plan does so...
For $35 a month, you get unlimited everything on Virgin Mobile...
For $20, you get 300 minutes and unlimited everything. I stuck with the $20 plan at unlimited everything as I was grandfathered in many, many years ago.
Possible root method?
Hello! I have been using android for a while and just got this phone (LG Tribute, Virgin Mobile). I was researching rooting this, and I found this: youtube.com/watch?v=ZBdrVa_bo5o
It seems to be advertising legit software, etc, but I wonder if this successfully roots the Tribute. On their website (androidphonetransfer_DOTCOM) ,they have a free trial for the software.
I'd like to try it, but I'm not sure if it would mess up my device or not (I'm new to rooting). anyone want to give this a try?
It does not work.
I am also interested. I was looking for a android phone with at least 4.5 inch screen to act as a dedicated gps navigator. LG Tribute fit the bill perfectly. Quad core processor is fast, would be nice to get rid of Sprint activation and clean the device up with a root.
I'm surprised there is not more interest in this phone. The sale price of $40 happens pretty regularly, which IMO is a great deal for this phone.
What ZTE has done with the Axon 7 is nothing short of incredible. An SD820 processor, 4 GB of RAM, Front-Facing Stereo Speakers, a 5.5" QHD AMOLED panel, MicroSD/Dual-SIM support, and a fingerprint sensor. You will not find this combination on any other phone with an unlockable bootloader or CDMA support. After getting to know the device’s security, I was less than enthused. Some things, which I would consider basic features, are missing. Other [system level] security features have been altered to the point where they are useless - or at the very least handicapped. I sought to fix those problems. In sharing what I have found, I seek to help you secure your device.
A few things, going forward…
This article is written with B29 in mind. The Nougat update has just been released and I hope that it has addressed many of my concerns. With that having been said, whip out the tin foil and fashion yourself a hat.
As I write this, the fact that I am about to list security problems with this device gives me pause. I was able to find reference or information about most, but I have found problems that I have not read about anywhere else. In effect, an unscrupulous individual could use information in this guide to compromise an unsecured device. Also, while proofreading this, I was compelled to add that I am not your lawyer. I am not here to help you cover illegal activity or shield you from legal action. At the end of the day, I cannot be responsible for the actions of another. I provide this information, in good faith, to help – not to hurt.
A word on mobile security in 2017 - especially in our current political climate.
There is no going back. We use our devices for everything from paying our bills to submitting job applications. Information that your grandparents would have kept locked in a safety deposit box is now routinely transmitted at the speed of light from your device to a remote server. Given the nature of electronics and storage, if you lose possession of the device, there is no guarantee that a skilled individual could not forcibly extract and reconstruct it. Under our current leadership, surveillance laws will be expanded in the name of security. The requirement for a warrant to forcibly extract data from a device will become more lax than it already is. The operative thought process from those in power is that, ‘if you have nothing to hide…’
Second, law enforcement:
I do not want to get into this too much. I see no way to effectively describe the problem with less than a few paragraphs; So, here we go:
With regard to your tech, the Fourth Amendment is dead. Your best defense is a secure device. Reports of police officers cloning the internal storage of Android devices on the side of the road with nothing more than a black box and a data cable are rampant. In reality, the Police have been collecting ‘analytical’ data from devices for years. All of the information is input into databases, where it can be cross-referenced and used for other investigations. Google ‘Cellebrite’ for more information about this. They are one of the leading forensic software companies. Reading about what can they do is truly disturbing. Be advised that the information on their website about compatibility and capability is not up-to-date [or complete] - for obvious reasons. For this reason, I would recommend keeping USB Debugging disabled on your device when you’re not using it.
Last year, I read a police report/legal ruling where a judge granted a police agency complete power to collect enhanced biometric data on everyone in a residence while executing a search warrant for drugs. I cannot delve too deep, but essentially, there was a device and the prosecutor had some doubts that the owner of the device used their own fingerprint. Enhanced biometric information collection was authorized [and executed] for all individuals in the household. This is a more extensive data set than what is stored by the fingerprint enrollment on Android/iOS. Tech. exists to pass this collected information to the pad sensor on your device. This was a clear violation of the Fifth Amendment if they used the information to crack open the device after the owner refused to type in their password. Because of the adversarial nature of our legal system, no one will complain until someone does something about it. The case received no attention from the press. I was never privy to the outcome, but it was clear to me that they really wanted to unlock that device.
We all have stuff to hide. Whether it is personal, criminal, whatever… The reality of our legal system in this country, combined with its age, has resulted in such an extensive set of laws that you are almost certainly violating one as we speak. Did you know that it is illegal for a man with a moustache to kiss a woman in Eureka, Nevada? See what I mean? This is [obviously] not enforced, but piss the wrong person off and watch how quickly a dumb law can serve as a pretext for investigation and discovery. See Twitter: CrimeADay for a bizarre list of Federal crimes which remain enforceable to this day. Even the most well-intentioned person could inadvertently incriminate himself or herself when surrendering their device. This is all very fascinating, and probably will never happen to you, but no one wants their device to be subject to random searches. Legal information, trade secrets, etc. can be just as damaging as incriminating information can be. Additionally, all of the data they collect leaves your protection and is subject to their storage, security flaws, breaches, and decisions to sell it in the future. If you choose to surrender your data, that is your call, but I seek to make sure that it is never by force.
Now that I've given you a headache, let's move onto the biggest security flaws that I’ve found:
ZTE has removed the ability to encrypt the internal storage on B29. I do not know if this was fixed with the B15 update, but this alone made the phone unusable for me. Several apps that I use will not even start if there is no boot time encryption password set. While I’m inclined to blame the apps, I completely understand why they won’t work. Some information is too sensitive to be stored on unencrypted media.
ZTE has altered the default security behavior of Android to allow the fingerprint sensor to unlock the device, even if it has just been rebooted or locked by a Device Admin. Again, I do not know the latest update addressed this. This feature is a last resort stopgap against your data being stolen under duress. You can refuse to type in a password, but your fingerprint can be forcibly/unknowingly used to unlock your device. I’m sure that more than a few of you have seen the Vines where the suspicious female attempts to use her man’s finger to unlock his device while he’s sleeping. I was unable to fix this, and it ultimately led me to abandon ZTE’s iteration of Android.
The bootloader can be rolled back and unlocked by anyone, allowing low-level access. From here, it is not difficult to reconstruct data that is left over by the insecure factory reset process after unlocking. However, this would probably be more useful to a thief than to someone who was after information. While this is cool for us from a development standpoint, it is also a security and anti-theft nightmare.
The power menu is accessible from the lock screen. While I’ve never seen a stock version of Android lock this down, the airplane mode function is available from the power menu on ZTE’s flavor of Marshmallow. This has the unfortunate effect of bypassing any anti-theft protection on the device that requires connectivity. We will address this and as many of the aforementioned items as we can.
Custom ROMS, Bootloader Unlocking
After careful consideration, I concluded that the only way the completely guarantee the security of my device was to use CyanogenMod/LineageOS. CM has some undesirable attributes, but [in my opinion] the positives outweigh the negatives. Let's just say that I eagerly await a fully functional AOSP build. However, CM allows encryption and requires the device’s password to be entered after rebooting or locking with a Device Admin. In order to do this, the device’s bootloader must obviously be unlocked.
Post-Unlock Security, Root, and What about my warranty?
Most security conscious individuals will probably tell you that unlocking your bootloader or rooting your device is the worst thing you can do for your device’s security. I submit to you that your device’s security is already broken. With the help of this site and a few easily accessible resources, the security that your locked bootloader affords you is useless. By encrypting your /data partition, you will be increasing the security of your data by an infinitesimal factor -- assuming you use a strong password. With regard to root, the human element remains the weakest link in the chain. Having your bootloader unlocked and your device rooted might make it easier for a knowledgeable person to reset and use the device after relieving you of it, but if your device is set up properly, your data is just as safe – if not safer than it was before.
The biggest consideration is warranty. In my opinion, any manufacturer that denies a legitimate hardware-related claim on the grounds of your bootloader being unlocked is not a company that should be supported. However, it ‘is what it is’ and time will tell how ZTE will treat its customers. The choice remains yours.
Password Strength
Using a separate encryption password is a wise thing to do. Pay attention to what keyboard you're using when you type your password in...
Do me a favor. Go to this site and check your password strength. http://calc.opensecurityresearch.com/
Under keys per second, select 'Custom' and paste
Code:
1999999999999999999999
That is very close to where we are, without going over.
The Fixes:
Please forgive the breakdown of writing style from this point forward.
/data Encryption:
The only remedy for this is to encrypt the internal storage on CM and then to reinstall B29. Unlock your bootloader, install TWRP, flash CM13, boot the device and encrypt it. From here, [if warranted] you can reset the encryption password to whatever you want it to be by running
Code:
vdc cryptfs changepw password 'old_password_here' 'new_password_here'
Reboot to TWRP, wipe everything, but do not ‘Format Data’ or Factory Reset. Perform an ‘Advanced Wipe’ and wipe everything. Reinstall B29, and you’ll be prompted for your encryption password whenever you boot your device! This alone will protect your data from forcible extraction and reconstruction after the device is factory reset.
Fingerprint Sensor Unlock Policy:
Use a different version of Android. I tried everything. Locking the device with a Device Admin, killing the services using ADB while on the lock screen, unloading drivers, etc… For some reason, the damned sensor just works all of the time. Any insight on this is greatly appreciated….
Bootloader Rollback:
The B15 update contains a newer version of fastboot that, as I understand it, is fake and does not accept fastboot commands. I will be investigating the implementation of this. This would still be subject to replacement by the working version… So, it may only slow a determined intruder down.
Lock Screen Power Menu/Airplane Mode:
There is probably a way to kill the power menu when on the lock screen by editing some resource or another. My solution utilized Tasker. Disable Tasker’s battery optimization in the Android system settings. A more comprehensive write up might be forthcoming upon request, but essentially, you would do:
Code:
2 (3rd/4th optional/troubleshooting) profiles/tasks to maintain a variable as to whether or not the device had been unlocked.
Event (Display Unlocked) -> Clear Variable %Locked
Event (Display Off) -> Set Variable %Locked To 1
State (Display Off) + State (Variable Value %Locked Doesn’t Match 1) -> Set Variable %Locked To 1
Event (Device Shutdown) -> Set Variable %Locked To 1
1 Profile/Task to disable Airplane Mode
Event (Variable Set, Airplane Mode Status, value=’on’) + State (Variable Set, %Locked, value=’1’)
From here, you can either tell a task to wait a specified amount of time to turn off Airplane Mode, have Tasker immediately turn it off, or flag a variable that will be looked for the next time the display is turned off. I would suggest having the last profile set a variable, such as %DisableAeroplaneMode=1. Then do,
Code:
Event (Display Off) + Variable Value (%DisableAeroplaneMode, value=’1’)
|-> Wait 5 Seconds, Turn Off Airplane Mode, Clear Variable %DisableAeroplaneMode
And/Or
State (Display Off) + State (Variable Value, Airplane Mode Status = ‘on’ & %DisableAeroplaneMode = ‘1’)
|-> Wait 5 Seconds, Turn Off Airplane Mode, Clear Variable %DisableAeroplaneMode
By doing it the way I have laid out, where the device waits until the screen is off, the would-be thief is tricked into thinking that he has disabled the device’s connectivity. The task will repeat as many times as the attacker toggles Airplane Mode. This will not stop the attacker from powering down the device, but may give you the extra minute you need to send the self-destruct command or locate the device. The optional tasks assure that your wishes are respected even if the Display Off events are missed -- which happens.
In conclusion, ZTE should really take a hint. Don’t cheap out on security. If something is working, and has worked for a long time, there is no reason to change it. Alternatively, to employ the age-old aphorism, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I hope to have given everyone something with this write-up. A true 'pick and choose' philosophy way be the best way to proceed from here. There is no such thing as a truly secure piece of tech, and there is no such thing as a secure device that is also convenient to use on a daily basis. Take care, all.
This is my first thread in my 5 years of of XDA membership. Feedback is much appreciated.
Physical security of this device was gone the day that tenfar released the boot/recovery flashing tool. That sends the signed firehose over the USB connection, which can be picked up and used by anyone who knows how (eg. tennear). Your *only* security on the device is encryption. Period.
And just so you don't feel too bad about this, you can bet that law enforcement has, or can subpoena, the firehose from any manufacturer.
Moral: always encrypt and use a strong password. That at least gives you *some* chance of security.
Very interesting read. There's very little privacy in the connected society we will live in. Who needs any kind of tracking device when the cell phone does that and so much more. In the older days (pre 2012?) one could fully shutdown the phone by pulling the battery. This is no longer possible with sealed/embedded batteries. One certainly hopes the phone is truly off when powered down or transmitter is deactivated in airplane mode.
We've traded privacy for convenience. The other day a personal banker at my bank was trying to sell me on mobile banking. How easy and convenient it is to deposit a check or transfer funds. No thanks. Just don't trust android enough to install any finance related apps.
If you leave your wifi on, the phone scanning for an AP reveals enough about itself to be a tracking marker.
IMO, best security for a mobile device is not to contain any confidential information in the first place. There won't be anything to reveal should the device become compromised.
A fantastic read, very appreciated, thanks for your work.
I know that, amazing piece of hardware, with very poor software development, with all the rumors confirmed: terribles mistakes in almost any software aspect's.
Thanks again and please, write more often !
Great write up.
I'm on B15 and when you set a pattern lock or pin it asks you if you want the device to require the pin/password/pattern on startup. So there's some change there. I have a pattern set and after reboots it does ask me to unlock it before finger print will work.
Airplane mode still accessible from the lockscreen on B15.
LineageOS 14.1 for ZTE Axon 7
QuantumFluxx said:
What ZTE has done with the Axon 7 is nothing short of incredible. An SD820 processor, 4 GBs of RAM, Front-Facing Stereo Speakers, a QHD AMOLED panel, MicroSD support, and a fingerprint sensor. You will not find this combination on any other phone with an unlockable bootloader or CDMA support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Especially the 5.5" 1440p AMOLED display. We have enough 5.5" 1080p slabs from the budget Chinese companies. ZTE "gets" it.
I wish Google had bought a MILLION of these, loaded on Nougat and sold them as the Pixel XL. The specs put Google to shame, and they charge twice the price.
If only ZTE had included wireless charging I would have bought 3 of them immediately. For now, I'm sticking with my 2014 Moto XT1225 -- basically the 5.2" version of the Moto Nexus 6, but with a BIGGER battery:
5.2" 1440p, Snapdragon 805, 3GB RAM, 64GB internal memory, Qi wireless charging, Qualcomm Quickcharge 2.0, 3900 mAh battery. And yes, I have three of them.
QuantumFluxx said:
The only remedy for this is to encrypt the internal storage on CM and then to reinstall B29. Unlock your bootloader, install TWRP, flash CM13, boot the device and encrypt it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM13 is abandoned. Surely you mean CM/LOS14?
[OFFICIAL]LineageOS 14.1 for ZTE Axon 7
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/unofficial-lineageos-14-1-zte-axon-7-t3545679
You just wrote this three days ago. You don't know this?
ChazzMatt said:
CM13 is abandoned. Surely you mean CM/LOS14?
[OFFICIAL]LineageOS 14.1 for ZTE Axon 7
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/unofficial-lineageos-14-1-zte-axon-7-t3545679
You just wrote this three days ago. You don't know this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was aware. I'm even running LOS on my Axon I have personally set up an encrypted /data partition on CM13 (MM) and then reinstalled B29 (MM) without formatting /data. I haven't tried using CM14/LOS for the first step of that process. Since the recently released B15 (Nougat) update seems to have addressed the missing encryption option, this guide might mostly be deprecated -- or only useful to those who choose to remain on B29. I would not recommend using Nougat to set up a /data partition for a Marshmallow system.
This.. was very interesting. I've decided I'm not gonna buy the device until they fix this. On the other hand, my bullhead has *no* encryption as boot encryption is too much of an annoyance to me. I'm waiting for TWRP to support file-based encryption on my device (hopefully WITH f2fs) so I can contain my speed within good security. Also, on AOSP the data CAN be turned off from Quick Settings, unfortunately. I could just remove it from there I guess... (but I need to keep a watch)
I suspected that something is a miss with the device when I got it yesterday, but didn't have the time to check it out why exactly I don't see the expected encryption settings...
Saved me a lot of time and research.. Thanks for that.
Good thing that I'm actually renting the device and didn't actually bought it... I guess I won't be keeping it..
Considering ZTE has been in the frying pan by US Congress, the FBI, etc. for the past 5 years, I'm not surprised they'd make a phone our government would love everyone to get but... not use themselves. Just be glad you were able to get a fancy cheap phone to put LOS on at the moment considering Congress only recently (this past summer) gave ZTE a temporary halt on their sanctions to do business in the U.S. I read a lot before clicking "buy" but decided to pull the trigger because it is a sweet phone. Before I first used it I scanned it with practically every major antivirus and malware product, put it behind a pfSense firewall running Snort, scanned it network-side with Nessus... I'd do more if I could.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/technology/huawei-technologies-subpoena-iran-north-korea.html
http://intelligence.house.gov/sites...s/huawei-zte investigative report (final).pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/...uestions-about-huawei-and-sanctions.html?_r=0
http://techonomy.com/2013/04/huawei-zte-banned-from-selling-to-u-s-government/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/oct/08/china-huawei-zte-security-threat
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Huawei-ZTE-may-be-doing-espionage-for-China_id35269
http://www.chinausfocus.com/finance...chinese-telecom-giants-conflicts-with-the-u-s
https://www.cyberscoop.com/android-malware-china-huawei-zte-kryptowire-blu-products/
http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/...irms-be-allowed-back-into-u-s-wireless-market
... I could go on. Literally Google Huawei and ZTE in the same search and you get this stuff.
I remember reading about Huawei's involvement in this, but not ZTE's. Corporate greed, corporate greed, corporate greed.... I guess we should all be very aware of this and any developments. Please advise us of anything you come across that doesn't look right.
jawz101 said:
Considering ZTE has been in the frying pan by US Congress, the FBI, etc. for the past 5 years, I'm not surprised they'd make a phone our government would love everyone to get but... not use themselves. Just be glad you were able to get a fancy cheap phone to put LOS on at the moment considering Congress only recently (this past summer) gave ZTE a temporary halt on their sanctions to do business in the U.S. I read a lot before clicking "buy" but decided to pull the trigger because it is a sweet phone. Before I first used it I scanned it with practically every major antivirus and malware product, put it behind a pfSense firewall running Snort, scanned it network-side with Nessus... I'd do more if I could.
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I'm so sorry to have played a part, but I am very glad that you were able to find all of this out before the end of your return period. At least, I assume that you're going to return it
I wrote this piece because I couldn't find something comparable on XDA or the rest of the net. Just a one sentence reference, here or there, that says someone couldn't encrypt. You would think more people would have flipped out about this, but the average 'unlocker'/'flasher' has a very poor opinion of full device encryption.
apocalypse_bg said:
I suspected that something is a miss with the device when I got it yesterday, but didn't have the time to check it out why exactly I don't see the expected encryption settings...
Saved me a lot of time and research.. Thanks for that.
Good thing that I'm actually renting the device and didn't actually bought it... I guess I won't be keeping it..
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Good luck with your upcoming TWRP update! P.S., From TWRP.me regarding the Bullhead
NOTE: Decrypting data does not work if you fastboot boot the recovery image. Decrypt works if you flash the recovery and boot it like normal. If you do not know what this means, you can ignore this note.
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If you install the recovery image through TWRP and reboot recovery, have you had any luck? Dunno if I'm reading that wrong.
I believe that the Nougat update re-added encryption [for the Axon].
I can help you secure your quick settings while the device is locked. You need Tasker and root.
Go to a shell and do
Code:
settings get secure sysui_qs_tiles
and take notice of the output. We will call these your 'default' settings, hereafter.
In Tasker, you would set up an event that triggered whenever the display was switched off. You could create a timer, but that would be substantially more complex than just tying the functions to the screen state of the device. The next command you will need is
Code:
settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles xxx
where 'xxx' are the tiles you want to appear on the lock screen/after the command is executed (referred to as 'modified', hereafter.)
So, 1st: Event,ScreenOff->Code,RunShell 'settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles modified', Use Root
2nd: Event,DeviceUnlocked->Code,RunShell 'settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles default', Use Root
3rd: Event,DeviceShutdown->>Code,RunShell 'settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles modified', Use Root
You will end up with 3 profiles and 2 tasks. I have attached a screenshot. This is my configuration of the 'Run Shell' command that would be triggered by the 'DeviceUnlocked' event.
You could set up the two different configurations, i.e. edit the quick settings tiles to one configuration when the device is locked, and one configuration for when the device is unlocked. Retain the output of the aforementioned 'get' shell command for each configuration and use them as the 'default' and 'modified' variables for your shell commands.
I always find it extremely difficult to write about Tasker and maintain any sense of literary professionalism. My apologies for any confusion. I'm looking at what I just wrote, and....yeah.
I have the same thing set up on my device and I would be happy to provide the exported files, if you are interested.
LazerL0rd said:
This.. was very interesting. I've decided I'm not gonna buy the device until they fix this. On the other hand, my bullhead has *no* encryption as boot encryption is too much of an annoyance to me. I'm waiting for TWRP to support file-based encryption on my device (hopefully WITH f2fs) so I can contain my speed within good security. Also, on AOSP the data CAN be turned off from Quick Settings, unfortunately. I could just remove it from there I guess... (but I need to keep a watch)
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Yes!!! I wholeheartedly agree. You are getting speed, reliability, support, and updates with the Pixel.
We got the speed.
We got the reliability.
We have XDA.
We finally got the updates. -- I'm on the January security patch on 7.1.1.
In short, the Pixel can remain on the top shelf. I can see no reason it is so expensive other than the fact that Google knew people would gobble it up. That's how Apple does things. smh. The Pixel (and the iPhones) are just not worth $700-870. I would pay 400$ for the Pixel and $549.99 for the XL. That is still overpriced, but much more acceptable. In my opinion, these companies would have you believe that these phones really are VERY expensive to manufacturer. From what I've heard/read, Apple is making about 200$ on every iPhone they sell. Over the years, with that amount of money coming in, there is ABSOLUTELY no excuse to release a phone with outdated hardware and inferior display technology.
By the way, your Moto sounds sweet I miss my XT1575...
ChazzMatt said:
Agreed. Especially the 5.5" 1440p AMOLED display. We have enough 5.5" 1080p slabs from the budget Chinese companies. ZTE "gets" it.
I wish Google had bought a MILLION of these, loaded on Nougat and sold them as the Pixel XL. The specs put Google to shame, and they charge twice the price.
If only ZTE had included wireless charging I would have bought 3 of them immediately. For now, I'm sticking with my 2014 Moto XT1225 -- basically the 5.2" version of the Moto Nexus 6, but with a BIGGER battery:
5.2" 1440p, Snapdragon 805, 3GB RAM, 64GB internal memory, Qi wireless charging, Qualcomm Quickcharge 2.0, 3900 mAh battery. And yes, I have three of them.
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Thank you all for your kind words!
QuantumFluxx said:
I remember reading about Huawei's involvement in this, but not ZTE's. Corporate greed, corporate greed, corporate greed.... I guess we should all be very aware of this and any developments. Please advise us of anything you come across that doesn't look right.
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I'm so sorry to have played a part, but I am very glad that you were able to find all of this out before the end of your return period. At least, I assume that you're going to return it
I wrote this piece because I couldn't find something comparable on XDA or the rest of the net. Just a one sentence reference, here or there, that says someone couldn't encrypt. You would think more people would have flipped out about this,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I read up on all of it beforehand and then bought it anyways. Yeah, it was mainly Huawei - probably because ZTE isn't a household name in the U.S. Regardless, they never gave any proof of tampering with spying so I ultimately wrote it off as b.S. I really think the gov't just wanted to convince people to buy from our partner countries instead of China because China has been quietly buying up a bunch of U.S. businesses and property over the past decade. They're worried about our economy, really. All I know is I want quality and affordability and of China produces that I'm going to opt for it. It is true I've been screwed on some China purchases- namely Indiegogo campaigns recently.
As I have a 2017G, the latest version available is B10. I'm interested if someone from the US with Nougat can confirm the encryption situation. I highly doubt that they have very different builds for EU/US..
According to the official German(EU) support forum of ZTE, they have said that the encryption will be available in Nougat.