[GUIDE] All Things Phab 2 Pro, Unlock Bootloader, Root, TWRP! - Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Guides, News, & Discussion

1.
I unlocked the bootloader following the Russians tutorial at http://lenovo-forums.ru/topic/22665-lenovo-phab-2-pro-razblokirovka-bootloader-by-sevenmaxs/
YOU DO NOT NEED TO DISABLE SECURE BOOT, only do the step in that tutorial about how to unlock the bootloader.
Google translate does a good enough job with that page, ask here if stuck.
See post below for English translation on how to unlock the Bootloader.
2
After unlocking bootloader you can load TWRP without actually installing it with fastboot, see https://forum.fairphone.com/t/howto-use-twrp-without-flashing-it-e-g-for-backup/23747
Get TWRP https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4WxcwjxK2VnZ0tWSl9wUTVoaTg
When you are in this temporary recovery you need to wipe data, this REMOVES ENCRYPTION! yay! :good:
(DO NOT REBOOT! Rebooting would just generate a new encryption key and you would have to repeat this step.)
Then in the same recovery you will be able to mount internal storage, put the SuperSU.zip file on your device and flash it in TWRP.
Congratulations, you are rooted!
3.
To install then TWRP permanently just usual fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
You are done! :highfive:

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Get QPST Flash tool, install the Lenovo and Qualcomm USB drives that come with it aswell.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4WxcwjxK2VnM2pvRDk0VzZLVWs
Download the PB2-690M unlock attachmet from this post and unpack it to the root of your drive, aka directly in C:\PB2-690M unlock
Connect your phone by USB, make sure USB debugging is on and your pc is authorised.
Now run the QFIL tool from step 1, in the upper left corner select flat build
In the Select Programmer line, click on the Browse button and specify the path to the unpacked file \ PB2-690M_unlock_7M \ img \ prog_emmc_firehose_8976.mbn
Click on the Load XML button and select rawprogram0.xml first, and then patch0.xml
Run Reboot_QDLoader.bat .
In Windows device manager you should see a device "Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008" under COM Ports if all is good.
In QFIL click "Download" to execute, should say Download Suceed, Finish Download if it all went well.
Now disconnect the USB cable, power on the device (might have to hold power for a bit) and re enable USB debugging and allow OEM Unlock if needed.
Connect cable again, allow your PC for USB debugging on the device, and run Unlock_Bootloader.bat
The device should reboot to bootloader, and then reboot again to a screen with the Android robot, THIS WIPES YOUR DATA!
That's it, you have unlocked your bootloader! Congratulations!

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Yes. Good job.

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Mhhh... If something goes wrong, how can we restore the stock firmware? I can't found the last version.
Lenovo often disable the server of ota (i saw that on lenovo's forum).
Maybe a guide for restore can be useful too.
Anyway thank you very much.

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vespino75 said:
how can we restore the stock firmware? I can't found the last version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment you need go to russian forum here http://lenovo-forums.ru/topic/23342-proshivka-phab-2-pro-pb2-690m_s200100_170228_row_qpst/ and here https://cloud.mail.ru/public/2B9M/3uV5oLdB1
Sorry. You must know russian or wait/ask for translate.

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Elemy said:
At the moment you need go to russian forum here http://lenovo-forums.ru/topic/23342-proshivka-phab-2-pro-pb2-690m_s200100_170228_row_qpst/ and here https://cloud.mail.ru/public/2B9M/3uV5oLdB1
Sorry. You must know russian or wait/ask for translate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, i am an idiot. This is the last firmware version.
Sorry.

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Exelios said:
RESERVED
I will translate the russian tutorial and add a more step by step guide as soon as I have time, this for now should let advanced users do their thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pardon. Is it actual?

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Can someone who didn't unlock the bootloader yet try step 2? Can you fastboot boot twrp.img with locked bootloader?
I'm really curious

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Exelios said:
Can someone who didn't unlock the bootloader yet try step 2? Can you fastboot boot twrp.img with locked bootloader?
I'm really curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Code:
C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\PB2-690M_unlock_7M\tools>fastboot getvar all
(bootloader) version:0.5
(bootloader) battery-soc-ok:yes
(bootloader) battery-voltage:4072000
(bootloader) variant:MTP eMMC
(bootloader) secure:yes
(bootloader) version-baseband:
(bootloader) version-bootloader:
(bootloader) display-panel:
(bootloader) off-mode-charge:1
(bootloader) charger-screen-enabled:1
(bootloader) max-download-size: 0x20000000
(bootloader) partition-type:cache:ext4
(bootloader) partition-size:cache: 0x10000000
(bootloader) partition-type:userdata:ext4
(bootloader) partition-size:userdata: 0xceb7fbe00
(bootloader) partition-type:system:ext4
(bootloader) partition-size:system: 0x140000000
(bootloader) serialno:c9a7e83e
(bootloader) kernel:lk
(bootloader) product:MSM8952
all:
finished. total time: 0.016s
I assume because of "(bootloader) secure:yes" that my bootloader is locked.
Tried to boot "twrp-lenovo-tango.img" from your post#1 section 2
Code:
C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads>PB2-690M_unlock_7M\tools\fastboot.exe boot twrp-lenovo-tango.img
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [ 0.563s]
booting...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.563s
So i guess bootloader unlock is inevitable.
google translate of h**p://lenovo-forums.ru/topic/22665-lenovo-phab-2-pro-razblokirovka-bootloader-by-sevenmaxs/
[russian]->[german] = horrible
[russian]->[english] = somehow understandable
but this is the result of my testing:
Code:
Programmer Path:C:\PB2-690M_unlock_7M\img\prog_emmc_firehose_8976.mbn
Image Search Path: C:\PB2-690M_unlock_7M\img
RAWPROGRAM file path: C:\PB2-690M_unlock_7M\img\rawprogram0.xml
PATCH file path:C:\PB2-690M_unlock_7M\img\patch0.xml
Start Download
Program Path:C:\PB2-690M_unlock_7M\img\prog_emmc_firehose_8976.mbn
Download Fail:Sahara Fail:QSaharaServer Fail:Der Verzeichnisname ist ungültig
Finish Download
SaharaServer Fail... at this point i have absolutely no **** clue what i'm doing
and i violate the rule set in the second sentence of the russian guide:
"You must understand what you are doing! "
i hope you find the time to write an foolproof guide, since i found only wrong and misleading information about rooting my phone...
Greetz
oRG4ZMo
----------------------------------------------------------------------
edit:
after reviewing all steps i've found the solution for my QFIL error.
In the russian thread is an older version linked:
QPST_&_Drivers.7z
contains QFIL 2.0.0.4 not 2.0.0.5 like on the provided screenshots.
Now i'm stuck at the same step like "pancx 0" from post #6 in the russian thread. :/

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i finally got my bootloader unlocked and magisk installed after hours of studying lenovo-forums.ru
this is what i did:
switch from a Windows 2016 Server Workstation to a fresh installed Win 7 x64 on another PC
driver install order:
- phone factory reset
- enable usb debugging
- LenovoUsbDriver_autorun_1.1.33_user.exe from the emulated CD-Drive of the Phab2Pro
- installed newest QPST.2.7.460.zip
EFS Backup described here:
h**p://lenovo-forums.ru/tutorials/article/989-efs-%D0%BD%D0%B0-qualcomm-%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%85-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5/
this seems to fix my error "System cannot find the file specified"
with patched boot partition works the command "fastboot oem device-info" (works now even on my other workstation without changing anything)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
after that it is possible to boot TWRP Recovery img without flashing it "fastboot boot twrp-lenovo-tango.img" like described in your link - no problems.
and so on ...
sorry it's late again.
Greetz
oRG4ZMo

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oRG4ZMo said:
i finally got my bootloader unlocked and magisk installed after hours of studying lenovo-forums.ru
this is what i did:
switch from a Windows 2016 Server Workstation to a fresh installed Win 7 x64 on another PC
driver install order:
- phone factory reset
- enable usb debugging
- LenovoUsbDriver_autorun_1.1.33_user.exe from the emulated CD-Drive of the Phab2Pro
- installed newest QPST.2.7.460.zip
EFS Backup described here:
h**p://lenovo-forums.ru/tutorials/article/989-efs-%D0%BD%D0%B0-qualcomm-%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%85-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5/
this seems to fix my error "System cannot find the file specified"
with patched boot partition works the command "fastboot oem device-info" (works now even on my other workstation without changing anything)
after that it is possible to boot TWRP Recovery img without flashing it "fastboot boot twrp-lenovo-tango.img" like described in your link - no problems.
and so on ...
sorry it's late again.
Greetz
oRG4ZMo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one on the way and hopefully what you posted will help me get it rooted.

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Do you have the 690m or the 690y?

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You who? I have the 690m
ddubz said:
Do you have the 690m or the 690y?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Making a proper translation of the russian post today, sorry for the delay, working on 6 devices atm.
PS, Translation done, feel free to suggest edits if anything can make it easier.

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Devs complaining English uncommented code is hard to understand
Me be like, hold my beer

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Exelios said:
Get QPST Flash tool, install the Lenovo and Qualcomm USB drives that come with it aswell.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4WxcwjxK2VnM2pvRDk0VzZLVWs
Download the PB2-690M unlock attachmet from this post and unpack it to the root of your drive, aka directly in C:\PB2-690M unlock
Connect your phone by USB, make sure USB debugging is on and your pc is authorised.
Now run the QFIL tool from step 1, in the upper left corner select flat build
In the Select Programmer line, click on the Browse button and specify the path to the unpacked file \ PB2-690M_unlock_7M \ img \ prog_emmc_firehose_8976.mbn
Click on the Load XML button and select rawprogram0.xml first, and then patch0.xml
Run Reboot_QDLoader.bat .
In Windows device manager you should see a device "Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008" under COM Ports if all is good.
In QFIL click "Download" to execute, should say Download Suceed, Finish Download if it all went well.
Now disconnect the USB cable, power on the device (might have to hold power for a bit) and re enable USB debugging and allow OEM Unlock if needed.
Connect cable again, allow your PC for USB debugging on the device, and run Unlock_Bootloader.bat
The device should reboot to bootloader, and then reboot again to a screen with the Android robot, THIS WIPES YOUR DATA!
That's it, you have unlocked your bootloader! Congratulations!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I am getting lost somewhere during line 10. My phone reboots and (I assume is in it's fastboot mode) I can do fastboot commands at the screen, it DOES NOT make it to the android robot screen. I let it set for a few minutes and nothing happens. It just stays on the Lenovo boot screen.
I did manage to do this and get it to say OK instead of FAILED. I did fastboot flash recovery instead of fastboot boot.
Thank you for your time.

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Is support for exfat file system in this twrp?
I tried to backup to my exfat flash drive, but flash drive is unvisible.
Is support for exfat file system in this twrp?

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finally! after 3 years with Galaxy Note 3,i got phab 2 pro and successfully rooted,i try to root it from yesterday..today i did it!

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hello guys.
1. could someone create a new topic with clear steps and software needed for the bootloader unlock and root of our device?
2. are there any custom roms available for our device? audio lag in videos and some other staff are pretty annoying!!!
@Exelios: it would be much more user friendly if bootloader unlocking, rooting and installing twrp were in seperate topics so users with specific problems could find more direct help. just a suggestion

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I finally got TWRP on the 690Y. After following the instructions in post #2, you'll need to do this. After doing the Windows-specific stuff, I rebooted back to Ubuntu, and installed the android-tools-adb and fastboot packages:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
(wait a few seconds)
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot flashing unlock
fastboot flashing unlock_critical
fastboot reboot
Note: the above commands might wipe your system and reboot again, in which case you have to go through the Lenovo setup, enable dev mode, enable USB debugging, etc all over again. I'm not sure that fastboot flashing unlock_critical is necessary.
After the reboot:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
(wait a few seconds)
fastboot flash recovery twrp-lenovo-tango.img
fastboot flash recovery twrp-lenovo-tango.img
(I don't know if doing it twice actually matters)
Hold down power until it turns off
Contrary to the above posts, the correct combo to get into TWRP is Volume Up-Power. Once the phone vibrates, you can let go of Power, but keep holding Volume Up until the TWRP screen appears. Also, the very first thing you should do is hit the Select Language button and choose English, otherwise you're going to have a bad time!

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Well, I was not smart and didn't back up first, but I got lucky. Thought I'd bricked it, but the problem was SuperSU. I got the "latest" from the internet, but that one is old. You must use this one: UPDATE-SuperSU-v2.79.zip