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Hi,
I am very new to this android world so my queries might feel stupid. Actually i m here after 3 years and that is very long period in this world. I know about rooting(super Su), bootloader and recovery (stock,CM and TWRP) . Recently read about Magisk and got some queries. Hope you will help me out. These are not device specific but need to learn.
What i read/study i found these readings...
1. Magisk roots device systemlessly (does not touch system partition) so one can get OTA updates easily.
2.To install and run Magisk one needs to unlock the bootloader .
3.(Device Specific) My redmi MI Flash tool says,If you unlock the bootloader , you wont get OTA updates.
4.I have previously rooted my galaxy Y and uninstalled system apps. If i delete sys apps from magisk,still can we say that we are not touching system.
So all statements are true? or some? or none ?
Here my device is redmi 3s (6.0.1- MIUI 9.6.1.0 Global Stable).All these queries are just in relation to OTA system updates. Nothing related to warranty.
Thanking You
Yes.
Yes.
Don't know about Xiaomi, but I've never had issues with OTA on a device with an unlocked bootloader (I've mainly used different Google and Oneplus devices). Someone with a Xiaomi is gonna have to chime in on this one.
As long as you use Magisk's debloating feature of replacing files or directories with empty ones, you're good. The actual /system partition won't be touched. Use a module like the Debloater module by @veez21, or make a debloater module yourself.
Didgeridoohan said:
Don't know about Xiaomi, but I've never had issues with OTA on a device with an unlocked bootloader (I've mainly used different Google and Oneplus devices). Someone with a Xiaomi is gonna have to chime in on this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, Thank You.
You get OTA system updates for your STOCK ROM ?
inwell said:
Ahh, Thank You.
You get OTA system updates for your STOCK ROM ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. But, having both Magisk and a custom recovery (an OTA won't install with a modified boot image and a custom recovery installed) I always find it easier to download the update and flash it manually. But, like I said, I have no idea if this is true for Xiaomi.
1. Ok. i also heared that when you update your device,you lose root...not true ? Or you need to root again ?
2.In normal stock device,we get update notification and we downlaod then restart (as per convenience)device to update.
If i remove some system apps from my rooted device and unroot the device,manage to get stock recovery back ,will the OTA update system treat my device as Stock-untouched? And install updates just as stock device will do ?
3. Is boot.img and bootloader are same things? Coz i read that for re locking boot loader you need to flash boot.img from stock software. (But Some procedures just use fastboot and relock oem command-they wont use boot.img,dont know why )
I read that unrooting,restoring stock recovery and locking bootloader again is more difficult/complicated than the rooting procedure
Some one should come up with solution just like Windows Restore .If you want to go back to everything STOCK,just use that feature same as done to Restore Windows in its previous state.
Any update that also updates the boot image (which means pretty much all) will remove root. But, that's just a simple case of reflashing Magisk right after applying the update.
If you've touched /system in any way, removing system apps or even just mounting the /system partition read-write, an OTA will fail. To be able update with an OTA your /system and /vendor partitions need to be untouched and you need to have the stock boot image and stock recovery installed. If your device doesn't conform to this the OTA will fail.
Boot image and bootloader are not the same thing. That you can read up on all over the internet, so I won't go into details. If you have done any kind of modifications on your device, I suggest you leave your bootloader unlocked. It's to easy to mess things up otherwise.
Going back to full stock is usually just a matter of flashing a full factory image/firmware package/stock ROM. Quite easy... Of course, some manufacturers make it harder than others.
Didgeridoohan said:
Boot image and bootloader are not the same thing. That you can read up on all over the internet, so I won't go into details. If you have done any kind of modifications on your device, I suggest you leave your bootloader unlocked. It's to easy to mess things up otherwise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. As you say the two are different , but can you explain in simple words (terms) that how they both are related/linked/connected? Coz as i read some forums/posts i get to read
1. To relock/lock bootloader you need to flash boot.img which suggests these (terms) are linked/connected.
2. but same time some forums/post suggest no img file flashing but just a fastboot command(s) to relock bootloader. In this case it seems they are not linked/connected.
And if the above 2 statements are true and device specific then how the bootloader and boot image are linked and not linked in diff devices? what changes are made so that in some cases these are linked and in some not
Sorry for asking too much. But you were really very kind to help me out.Thank you once again
I'm not 100% accurate (and someone will hopefully come I'm and correct me if needed), but basically the bootloader checks that everything is alright and then starts up your device. After that the boot image (ramdisk and kernel) takes over. Ramdisk basically makes sure all the partitions are mounted, and the kernel is exactly what it sounds like. The core of the OS, making sure that everything is working as it should.
This is of course a huge over-simplification, so if you want more you'll have to search around (and there are tons of resources around the web).
The main reason I can think of right at the moment for wanting to flash a boot image before locking the bootloader is that it's generally a good idea to have your device fully stock and functional before doing so. After you've locked the bootloader there might not be any going back if things start acting up and you could end up with a nice paperweight.
Questions are good. That's how you learn. I do believe that you'd be much better of searching around the internet for your answers. They've been put out there many, many times.
Ok.Thank you very much.I will learn more ...
I read through quite a few post here to get everything sorted out and in order to save every one some time here is a summary of all the info I have gathered so far, and my way to thank the forum for offering me so many helpful tips. I'll try to keep this thread updated as information comes in.
All credit goes to their respective owners, I am only aggregating all the information here.
Current status on BL Unlock:
China version: OEM unlock not greyed out, direct BL unlock possible
EU/NA version (L09/L29/L0C): OEM unlock greyed out in developer options, BL unlock possible via FunkyHuawei method by upgrading to .170.
UPDATE 2019/01/02: Some users reported they have already received the .171 update from carrier (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78571337&postcount=6), if that is the case you can skip the FH Method part and go directly to unlock BL.
Note: Currently .170 is not GooglePay certified, so Google Pay won't work on this, if you must have Google pay please wait for your carrier to update to some version that support OEM unlock (tap build number 7x to get Developer Options in Settings -> System -> About Phone and then go to Settings -> System -> Developer Options and see if Enable OEM Unlock option is enabled).
Also current recovery install requires you to boot into recovery (Power and volume up with phone disconnected from USB) every single time if you want root, which is not perfect.
The only time you'd be required to wipe your phone is right after your BL is unlocked with fastboot OEM unlock, please make sure you have a backup before doing that step.
Where to get unlock code?
In order to get BL unlocked, you need both allow OEM unlock option NOT greyed out (i.e., you can enable it) AND a BL unlock code. BL unlock code can only be purchased either from FunkyHuawei (55 USD one time for BL unlock code only or if you buy an unlimited pass 132USD for unlimited flashing + BL unlock code (note that it is locked to your phone and can not be transferred)), or MinistryOfSolutions (30 Euro, https://ministryofsolutions.com/huawei-bootloader-unlock-service-all-new-models-new-firmwares, BL unlock code only).
FunkyHuawei Method (for non-China version)
1. Create an account in https://funkyhuawei.club/membersarea, buy 1 credit (if you just want to download .170 firmware, each credit cost 18USD).
2. Go to Select Firmware tab, use LYA-Global if you don't see the exact model. Then select .171 version.
3. Follow instructions here: https://pastebin.com/raw/Db5ZSyqu, you must download the specific HiSuite version (9.0.2.301）and the specific installer executable. Run the executable FHHiSuiteInstaller.exe as administrator (right-click and choose Run As Administrator) <- must run as admin since it will need to modify your host file. Make sure the script runs without error.
3.1 (Additional step for L0C): Edit the c:\users\YOURHOMEFOLDER\appdata\local\hisuite\userdata\updatedogdev\hisuiteconfig.xml file and change LYA-L29 to LYA-L0C everywhere it occurs and save the file. (Thanks to FunkyHuawei Support for pointing this one out).
4. Put the phone into fastboot mode (adb reboot-bootloader or with the phone off connect the usb cable while holding volume down, or boot the phone holding volume down with USB cable connected to PC).
5. Go to HiSuite on your PC and click on System Recovery (furthest to the right towards the bottom of the main screen), and let it do the magic. You will see some cmd windows pop up however it should get to the download progress with a percentage pretty fast, if you don't see that pop up then please check to make sure you have at least one credit in the FH Select Firmware tab and you have installed the specific versions of HiSuite and ran the installer as admin in Step 3.
6. Once everything is completed please verify to see if your firmware version is .171.
Unlock Bootloader
Again, get the BL code and go to Settings -> System -> Developer Options and make sure Enable OEM Unlock option is enabled. Also check to make sure you have everything backed up. Also enable USB Debugging in the same screen as well.
Rest is pretty standard:
Code:
adb devices (will bring up the authorization window on your phone, click on Always Trust)
adb reboot-bootloader
fastboot devices (make sure the device is in fastboot mode)
fastboot oem unlock *UNLOCK CODE*
at this point there will be a format operation performed on the phone, if it didn't complete successfully don't worry, your phone is wiped. During the boot you should see a black window with yellow text of warnings to tell you your phone is unlocked and not secured.
Go through all the steps to initialize the phone, turn on Developer options again, and enable USB Debugging again.
Root
1. Download and install Magisk Manager from this XDA post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
2. Switch channel, go to Magisk Manager -> Settings -> Update Channel , set it to Custom, and the URL is https://bit.ly/2N8UVlq (at the moment, per https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/dev-magisk-canary-channel-bleeding-edge-t3839337). Go back to main screen and down swipe to refresh, it should say Latest Version > v18.0.
3. You will need to find the stock RECOVERY_RAMDIS.img file, I used HW Firmware Finder (https://forum.xda-developers.com/tools/general/huawei-firmware-finder-team-mt-t3469146) to help me with the task, however I couldn't find the L0C update file and ended up using L09 update file instead, which appear to work. I also couldn't find the update.zip for .171 so I ended up using the latest full update version that was available to me (http://update.hicloud.com:8180/TDS/...69/g1750/v181585/f1/full/update_full_base.zip).
4. Unzip the file, drag out UPDATE.APP file in the zip package, and opened it with Huawei Firmware Extractor (I used 0.9.9.5 in this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2433454). Extract and open the UPDATE.APP in update file. If you get a checksum error make sure to uncheck both of the verify checksum in Settings -> Extract.
5. Now you should see a RECOVERY_RAMDIS.img file, right click and extract it.
6. Send the RECOVERY_RAMDIS.img file back to your phone (anywhere is fine), go back to Magisk Manager -> Install -> Patch boot, get the patched_boot.img file from the phone back to the PC.
UPDATE 2019/01/02: @pvillasuso was kind enough to post the ramdisk image (both original and Magisk modified) for Mate 20 Pro LYA-L09 (Firmware version .171):https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78575496&postcount=13, obviously use it at your own risk.
7. Go to fastboot mode again:
Code:
adb devices
adb reboot-bootloader
fastboot devices
fastboot flash recovery_ramdisk "PATH_TO_patched_boot.img"
fastboot reboot
Now your phone should be back to normal with no root yet, turn off your phone and turn it back on by booting into recovery (Power and volume up with phone disconnected from USB)
Boot up and if you go to Magisk now you should be able to see Magisk installed with Installed Version same as Latest Version.
Congrats you are now rooted!
In future you will need to boot into recovery each time to maintain root (which requires you to turn phone off and power + vol up), if you prefer not to do so @ThatsJustLogic suggested you can use the app https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78569733&postcount=2 to add a one-click reboot from your dropdown menu.
Credits:
@ThatsJustLogic - Figured out the installation steps to patch ramdisk: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78554707&postcount=125
@duraaraa - Guy behind FunkyHuawei for figuring out the .171 upgrade and make everything works smoothly https://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-20-pro/how-to/unlock-rebrand-unbrick-update-t3855065
@mutahharbashir - Guy behind MinistryOfSolutions for the unlock BL code.
And creators of Magisk, HWFirmwareFinder, HWUpdateExtractor.
zhuanyi said:
Now your phone should be back to normal with no root yet, turn off your phone and turn it back on by booting into recovery (Power and volume up with phone disconnected from USB)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To stop you needing to do this on every boot this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.superthomaslab.rootessentials allows you to add a "Reboot Recovery" button to your notification tray so its just a one tap reboot instead of holding volume up when you want to reboot after applying a change or something its something small but it saves some hassle.
Awwsome, thank you so much. Now I can finally use Google pay on global firmware 9.0.0.171. It's working perfectly
This is amazing development
Hi, can someone post his oeminfo?
On firmware versions; I have an Australian L29 running an ota update v 168. Oem unlock is available, and Google pay works.
Thank you for the guide.
Can we re-brand from Chinese to international now?
thunderpossuem said:
On firmware versions; I have an Australian L29 running an ota update v 168. Oem unlock is available, and Google pay works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How come? Can you post a screenshot with developer options on yhe screen?? Oh, you have. Can this mean that we will be able to unlock bootloader for free when v168 update arrives to other countries??
Sent from my LYA-L29 using XDA Labs
The 171 official firmware also allows OEM Unlock..
Maybe wait until you get the new update , save a few bucks
deepsrd said:
The 171 official firmware also allows OEM Unlock..
Maybe wait until you get the new update , save a few bucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just what i thought
Sent from my LYA-L29 using XDA Labs
Thanks for the guide , Im rooted now !
One question , I have the patched_boot.img file , is it the same for everyone ?
I can share it and it will save some extra steps
Let me know
pvillasuso said:
Thanks for the guide , Im rooted now !
One question , I have the patched_boot.img file , is it the same for everyone ?
I can share it and it will save some extra steps
Let me know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The patched file will work for anyone who has the mate 20 pro and the same FW version as you. Theres no extra steps it just removes the finding the FW, extracting and patching the image yourself They will still need magisk and the canary channel.
If you are going to share I would specify Firmware version and attach a non patched one incase people have issues and want to revert.
My phone model : Mate 20 Pro LYA-L09 (Firmware version 9.0.0.211)
patched_boot.img > https://www.mediafire.com/file/fp3jk281d47bh6k/patched_boot.img/file
Apply on your own risk , worked for me !
Hi, glad to hear that even L0C model has to the chance to root. Just wondering after flash the global .171 version which should solve the OEM greyed-out problem, the next step is to purchase a BL unlock code? And is there a chance that after BL and FRP unlocked. My model (LYA-L0C) can be rebrand to another one?
deepsrd said:
The 171 official firmware also allows OEM Unlock..
Maybe wait until you get the new update , save a few bucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed it is 18 USD saved, also hopefully it is more compatible with your phone.
Can you give an example of your path to "PATH_TO_patched_boot.img"
I must be getting syntax incorrect for the file in internal storage download folder, and I have tried everything with and without / leaving out folders.
is this ota proof?
Some rooting questions....
Hi.
I will try to be brief and on topic. Feel free to remove post if not according to Xda forum rules.
Long story short. I am an heavy iOS user from the apple jailbreak scene. I am no developer (only user) and now I have taken the big step from IOS to Android.
Huawei mate 20 pro broke my curiosity. I have always "jailbroken" my iPhone since 2007 and now I am considering root of my HM20PRO.
I have some questions before I try this and brick my phone.
I have Norwegian model, LYA-L29 with 9.0.0.153 (c432) software. (BL unlock greyed out here as well)
How is the partitions setup on this device?
Easy explanation of RAM disk, main disk or whatever?
Do I always have the option to revert to stock setup no matter what? With simple erase/wipe/recover?
Is hisuite the recovery software to use if I want to go back?
Is it possible to unlock the boot loader and go back to 9.0.0.153??
Is the software builds so the highest number software has the latest fixes? (108,122,153,168,171 +++)
Do i loose the safety net like google pay, and other apps that can see that my phone is rooted?
Is there an app to run to trick the apps into believing that the phone is not rooted? (like on iOS)
Hope that someone can take the time to help me with my questions.
The boot via ramdisk/fastboot or what you call it to get rooted is only nesecary on each boot up right? You stay rooted until the next shutdown?
(Semi.tethered on iOS)
sorry for the noob questions, but I am new with this so thanks...
Regards,
Kenneth - Trondheim, Norway
PS:I have to say the switch from iOS to android and Huawei mate 20 pro have been great so far (except new replacement phone on the first day with green screen on BOE screen.) Now all is good.
Main reasons to root android?
I like to have different custom gestures through out the software. And also tweaked apps and notification tweaks, icons.
fromiOS2Android said:
Hi.
How is the partitions setup on this device?
Easy explanation of RAM disk, main disk or whatever?
Do I always have the option to revert to stock setup no matter what? With simple erase/wipe/recover?
Is hisuite the recovery software to use if I want to go back?
Is it possible to unlock the boot loader and go back to 9.0.0.153??
Is the software builds so the highest number software has the latest fixes? (108,122,153,168,171 +++)
Do i loose the safety net like google pay, and other apps that can see that my phone is rooted?
Is there an app to run to trick the apps into believing that the phone is not rooted? (like on iOS)
The boot via ramdisk/fastboot or what you call it to get rooted is only nesecary on each boot up right? You stay rooted until the next shutdown?
(Semi.tethered on iOS)
Main reasons to root android? I like to have different custom gestures through out the software. And also tweaked apps and notification tweaks, icons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, first of all, welcome to Android
My advice is to NOT root until you got an answer to all your questions
I'll let some pros answer the technical questions on the partitions) but here's what I can tell you:
- Main reason to root for me is adblockers and (not a must though) custom roms.
- There is a function within magisk to hide root from apps.
- On the fixes, yes, 171 is the one that allows root and that's also the latest one with all the fixes.
- Once you root you stay rooted, you don't have to repeat the whole process at every boot.
- From what I read in several threads, right now you can't revert to older firmwares. Also, the 171 seems to be market specific, what I will do is to wait until the update gets rolled out in my market by Huawei, I read that the unlock bootloader option is then available officially.
- I would also like to know about google pay (does it brake with root?) and are there other functions that break (camera functions,etc) like it does on other phones (sony for instance)
charliebigpot said:
- I would also like to know about google pay (does it brake with root?) and are there other functions that break (camera functions,etc) like it does on other phones (sony for instance)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using Magisk Hide on Google Pay will prevent it from detecting root, however if SafetyNet fails then it probably still won't work.
There are a few Magisk modules that can (apparently) force SafetyNet to pass, however I haven't ever used any of them.
Hello XDA, I'm going to keep this short and sweet - I was able to root my device using the TWRP + Magisk method and some online guides. I believe after experimenting and flashing over the weekend, there is a bug, race condition, or something that prevents bio metrics and security from properly working on the Note 9.
If I set a pin, as it's required for me to add my fingerprints - when I later try to unlock the phone, the device will say the wrong pin. Deleting the cache, reading guides etc will only get you in a bootloop.
I'm in a state right now where I'm rooted with no device security, as adding a pin will effectively brick the device until flashing with Stock Android again.
_______
I was able to root last week Friday. I didn't bother setting a pin as I was happy to have root. Yesterday, I decided to go ahead and set my pin and soon enough, was prompted to use it to disable security.
I really thought I had mistakenly confirmed a stray character in my pin, and after toying, researching, and flashing my device over the weekend, Ive come to a crux where I could use some expert assistance.
Some guides I used had links to an RMM disabled or some ****, another guide had two zips for a different type of disabler. I'm not linking them, because apparently none of them work, but I believe this is where the problem lies. I think one of the zips is to remove the OEM Integrity Check or some **** Samsung wrote to secure the device. One of the packages I flashed took all those packages but nothing has worked.
Setting your pin during setup, or later in settings yields the same results - you will lock yourself out until you flash Stock Android to restart the process.
We're almost there guys, just need to be able to lock my device like a normal cellhpone user - thank you
dekalbcountyman said:
Hello XDA, I'm going to keep this short and sweet - I was able to root my device using the TWRP + Magisk method and some online guides. I believe after experimenting and flashing over the weekend, there is a bug, race condition, or something that prevents bio metrics and security from properly working on the Note 9.
If I set a pin, as it's required for me to add my fingerprints - when I later try to unlock the phone, the device will say the wrong pin. Deleting the cache, reading guides etc will only get you in a bootloop.
I'm in a state right now where I'm rooted with no device security, as adding a pin will effectively brick the device until flashing with Stock Android again.
_______
I was able to root last week Friday. I didn't bother setting a pin as I was happy to have root. Yesterday, I decided to go ahead and set my pin and soon enough, was prompted to use it to disable security.
I really thought I had mistakenly confirmed a stray character in my pin, and after toying, researching, and flashing my device over the weekend, Ive come to a crux where I could use some expert assistance.
Some guides I used had links to an RMM disabled or some ****, another guide had two zips for a different type of disabler. I'm not linking them, because apparently none of them work, but I believe this is where the problem lies. I think one of the zips is to remove the OEM Integrity Check or some **** Samsung wrote to secure the device. One of the packages I flashed took all those packages but nothing has worked.
Setting your pin during setup, or later in settings yields the same results - you will lock yourself out until you flash Stock Android to restart the process.
We're almost there guys, just need to be able to lock my device like a normal cellhpone user - thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you encrypt your device? when you reboot, do you see an animation of a pad lock?
bober10113 said:
did you encrypt your device? when you reboot, do you see an animation of a pad lock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bober, first of all thanks for taking YOUR TIME to respond - as a senior member I feel like we can make progress
No, my phone is not encrypted - there is no lock when booting up, just the Stock Samsung animation
I do not use any system encryption or anything like that. I’m a hardware first guy, and use a suite of my own private encrypted cloud software
I played with my Note 9 before I rotted cow TWRP + Magisk - all tutorials out there mentioned flashing various encryption/security zips which I have - I think those zoos are geared for Knox
After you root the phone, you cannot set any type of biometric security or pin or you will be stuck in a bootloop/lock loop as the device is unable to authenticate your pin
dekalbcountyman said:
Bober, first of all thanks for taking YOUR TIME to respond - as a senior member I feel like we can make progress
No, my phone is not encrypted - there is no lock when booting up, just the Stock Samsung animation
I do not use any system encryption or anything like that. I’m a hardware first guy, and use a suite of my own private encrypted cloud software
I played with my Note 9 before I rotted cow TWRP + Magisk - all tutorials out there mentioned flashing various encryption/security zips which I have - I think those zoos are geared for Knox
After you root the phone, you cannot set any type of biometric security or pin or you will be stuck in a bootloop/lock loop as the device is unable to authenticate your pin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using Snapdragon or Exynos?
mmjs14 said:
Are you using Snapdragon or Exynos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sir, I am using a
Galaxy Note 9
SM-N960F Internationals Unlocked
Alpine White
Exynos
Boot loader is TWRP and OEM Unlock is staying open permanently
I have all the hardware required, just need to overcome this software quirk so I can lock my phone when I’m not using it
dekalbcountyman said:
Bober, first of all thanks for taking YOUR TIME to respond - as a senior member I feel like we can make progress
No, my phone is not encrypted - there is no lock when booting up, just the Stock Samsung animation
I do not use any system encryption or anything like that. I’m a hardware first guy, and use a suite of my own private encrypted cloud software
I played with my Note 9 before I rotted cow TWRP + Magisk - all tutorials out there mentioned flashing various encryption/security zips which I have - I think those zoos are geared for Knox
After you root the phone, you cannot set any type of biometric security or pin or you will be stuck in a bootloop/lock loop as the device is unable to authenticate your pin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive never seen this. what firmware are you on?
have you tried to download the very latest and completely wipe your phone? use samfirm tool 0.3.6 do dl the latest.
fill up all the slots with the md5 files u dled with samfirm and flash using odin( in csc slot use csc.md5 instead of home_csc.md5.)
go dl
magisk zip:
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases/download/v19.2/Magisk-v19.2.zip
and apk:
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases/download/manager-v7.2.0/MagiskManager-v7.2.0.apk
ketan oem fix +root
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=281291
once back on latest stock firmware root again using twrp 3.2.x.x tar
flash it with odin but go to option and uncheck autoreboot
and flash twrp.tar in the AP slot.
once successful, manualy reboot phone to recovery( dont let it boot to homescreen! so hold vol up + Bixby +power
once in twrp swipe to get in recovery. go to wipe button and Format ( type yes) and go to reboot button and choose reboot to recovery
once back to recovery go again to wipe button and choose factory wipe.
once done flash dr ketan oem and root zip. ( within the aroma setup of that zip choose yes to both option for root and kernel)
once finished you can now flash the latest magisk.zip as dled earlier.
now reboot and setup your device. once done you can install magisk manger .apk that was dled earlier.
Bober, I did your steps exactly as described and used the links you provided and got it working w/ Biometric Security
I've flashed my phone like 20 times so the process took like 15 minutes max - this was also the first time I flashed all the files in the firmware download. Other guides out there tell me I only need to load the AP slot when flashing for this phone.
The "ketan oem fix +root" is the only security/system level zip I flashed using TWRP - besides looking like an early 2000s rootkit, the Terms of Use had an old version listed and said the binary was from 2015
I couldn't take screens, but everything went well when I checked the version
Thank You so much - in the future, will this root method hold for the life of the Note 9? Like when the new Android after Pie is released, will it be as simple as
1. Backing Up Phone
2. Flashing Android 10 Stock via Odin
3. Reflashing TWRP and Rooting
or is there a more streamlined approach to this? Thanks mate
dekalbcountyman said:
Bober, I did your steps exactly as described and used the links you provided and got it working w/ Biometric Security
I've flashed my phone like 20 times so the process took like 15 minutes max - this was also the first time I flashed all the files in the firmware download. Other guides out there tell me I only need to load the AP slot when flashing for this phone.
The "ketan oem fix +root" is the only security/system level zip I flashed using TWRP - besides looking like an early 2000s rootkit, the Terms of Use had an old version listed and said the binary was from 2015
I couldn't take screens, but everything went well when I checked the version
Thank You so much - in the future, will this root method hold for the life of the Note 9? Like when the new Android after Pie is released, will it be as simple as
1. Backing Up Phone
2. Flashing Android 10 Stock via Odin
3. Reflashing TWRP and Rooting
or is there a more streamlined approach to this? Thanks mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actualy the root method that dr ketan created is just a way to bypass an issue that not all phones have(rmm state aka binaries error when booting.
but technically the method should be;
flash twrp, format, reboot again to recovery and flash official magisk .zip
you can also rely on rom developpers to flash their version instead of stock android via odin. this allows you to not always have to go through the twrp/root procedure each time and also rom devs include nice additional features.
anyways glad i could help.
Hi all! So, you have a P8 lite in your pocket and you hate EMUI? Well, that was my case too, it's uncustomizable, ugly, and removes plenty of features from android stock. I do not like it one bit, and I like even less the fact that this phone is getting no more updates, ever. This sucks, it all sucks, luckily we can say "F all that" and do whatever we want with this device, provided you follow this guide.
I am making this guide because I want to condensate every single thing I know about this device in one single thread. One big guide to help all of you out installing custom ROMs. Without this, you would have to do research along multiple threads, often with conflicting information, and what's even worse, DEAD LINKS! There's nothing more frustrating than finally finding the solution to your problem, just one download away, just to be greeted by a dead link, and you would need to scout for another file that may or may not work... ugly stuff.
So, the point of this is to bring up to date info so you can make this device rock. This guide assumes you have Huawei's EMUI 4.0 installed which runs on Android 6.0. I'm also assuming you have your bootloader locked, and I will explain how to unlock it FOR FREE. No need to pay to some shady site in order to access what effectively belongs to you.
These are the requirements for this guide:
Code:
#USB cable
#A PC
#Some charge on the device to ensure nothing goes wrong
#An SD Card
#Patience
Before beggining, a quick disclaimer:
Code:
#It's not my objective to break your device, however there's always a risk when doing these kind of things.
#When you follow this guide's steps your are accepting the risks and are taking full responsiblity for whatever may happen to your device.
#Don't blame me for breaking your stuff if that happens, all I'm listing here worked for me, and should work for you.
#I won't be babysitting anybody to help solve their specific problems, don't PM me asking me why X doesn't work.
#I am unaware if this works in other versions of this device, but I'm positive this works on both ALE-L23 and ALE-L21
#If you have a "CAM-XXX" device, it's highly likely this works for you too, but as with everything, TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
#YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Ok, so let's begin. As the title says, the guide is applicable to any custom ROM. However, I will be installing Lineage OS 14.1 which runs on (almost stock) Android 7.1.2. Regardless, the final step where we install the custom ROM is interchangable, and you can use whichever you please.
This process WILL wipe all of your data (except SD card). Make sure to make a backup of everything you want to save (app configs, photos, videos and whatever else).
1. DOWNGRADING TO ANDROID 5
As you may know, Huawei has stopped providing bootloader unlock codes for very stupid reasons. This has led to many unable to unlock their bootloader and having to pay for third party apps in hopes they don't get scammed. There are some trustworthy sites where you can get these at a fee tho (mainly DC Unlocker at 4 bucks), so if you want to pay up to avoid having to downgrade to Android 5, you can do so. However, I understand that you may not want to pay at all, I didn't want to either.
To get the bootloader unlock code, we need root, and to get root, we need Android 5. Why? Because getting root in Android 6 requires us to flash some zips, and for that we need TWRP, and for that we need an unlocked bootloader, everyhing closes up very nicely. So, we have no choice but to downgrade.
An SD card is not needed for this process, but it is going to be required at a later point, so why not use it now too?
NOTE: It may be a good idea to make a factory reset at this point, to avoid issues. For that, do the following:
Turn your phone off.
Boot the phone by holding the power button and the volume up button at the same time.
Wait untill the Huawei logo appears, then let go of both buttons.
You should be in recovery mode, navigate with the volume keys to the "Wipe data/factory reset" option.
Select it with the power button and wipe everything.
Reboot the device with the option in the menu.
Once the device has booted up, follow the guide.
Alright, once that's done, connect your phone to the PC to transfer some files:
NOTE: There's two Stock Android 5s downloads ("HW_Android_5_Transition.zip" and "HW_Stock_Android_5.zip"). One is a transition package, as the name implies, and the other is Huawei's EMUI 3.1 in all of it's glory. What's the difference? The transition package is a much smaller file that is designed to downgrade the phone from EMUI 4.0 (Android 6) to EMUI 3.1 (Android 5). If you are running EMUI 4.0 (which should be the case) then you can use the transition package which will take less to download. If you have another version (i.e. EMUI 4.1) you should use "HW_Stock_Android_5.zip". However, the latter is the safe bet. If you are not sure which one to use, use "HW_Stock_Android_5.zip". The process is exactly the same for both packages.
Extract the "UPDATE.APP" file from "HW_Stock_Android_5.zip" or "HW_Android_5_Transition.zip".
Navigate to your phone's internal memory or SD card (whichever you want to use) and locate a folder called "dload". If there's not one, create it.
Put the "UPDATE.APP" file inside of the "dload" folder.
Turn your phone off.
Once it's off, press the power button and the two volume buttons until you see the Huawei logo.
That should make the phone recognize the "update" and start flashing it. Once it finishes, it will try to boot by itself, so pressing those 3 buttons was your last input until the phone boots into Android 5. It will take a long time for it to both finish and boot, don't be afraid, the phone is not bricked. If you think the phone is indeed bricked because it has been stuck at the logo screen for way to long (longer than an hour) then proceed to the "Unbricking" section of this guide. However, it's highly unlikely that this will happen, as Huawei checks the file before flashing it, so if it's incompatible with your device it should not do anything and boot again into Android 6 with everything untouched.
2. ROOTING ON ANDROID 5 AND EXTRACTING BOOTLOADER UNLOCK CODE
Once you are in Android 5, we will need to root the device. Download KingRoot (proved to work) or another one click root app of your choice. I'm aware of KingRoot's bad reputation because of the spyware accusations, but the phone will be wiped anyway and we are sure it works, so it doesn't really harm at all. If you still don't want to use it, check with other apps, I haven't done so myself so I don't know what else works.
Once your phone is rooted, we will need to use the terminal for the first time. We will need to setup ADB and Fastboot, if you already have that, skip this step.
Extract the "platform-tools" folder from the zip and place it somewhere nice.
Shift right click on a blank space INSIDE of the "platform-tools" folder.
Select "Open command window here".
This should be enough to get ADB working, but we need to make some config on the phone itself too.
Go to Settings -> About Phone
Look for a line that says "Build Number" and tap it multiple times.
When the message saying "You are now a developer" pops up, go back and enter the new "Developer Options" menu.
In there, look for an option called "USB Debugging" and turn it on.
Connect the phone to your PC via USB cable.
A message should have popped up on the phone asking for permission to use USB Debugging, tap on "Always allow from this PC" and then on "Allow".
NOTE: If the message doesn't pop up, you can try a number of things. I prefer to tap the "Revoke USB debugging authorizations" button to ensure that no PC is authorized, so the message must pop up at some point. Once you revoked authorizations, disconnect and connect the phone again, if you still don't see it, try to select MTP as the transfer protocol. If not, then PTP, if you still don't see it install Hi Suite on your PC and open it, it should pop up now.
Once you have everything working, type the following in the terminal in your PC:
Code:
adb devices
If you see a serial number there, that's your phone, and that means everything is set up correctly (make sure you don't have any other device attached to your PC, or you could confuse the two and make bad stuff happen for that other device). If you don't see it, make sure USB Debugging is enabled. You can try to use different cables if you still have problems. Now type:
Code:
adb shell
And then:
Code:
su -c "grep -m1 -aoE 'WVLOCK.{14}[0-9]{16}' /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 |grep -aoE '[0-9]{16}'"
KingRoot (or the app you used to root) should prompt you (in your phone) if you want to give ADB root access, make sure to allow it to make this work. This should give you your unlock code. SAVE IT INTO A TXT FILE AND COPY THAT FILE TO ALL OF YOUR PCS, ALL OF YOUR CLOUD ACCOUNTS AND ALL OF YOUR MOBILE DEVICES.
(Maybe the terminal gets stuck at this point, press CTRL + D (or C) to get it unstuck).
Seriusly tho, it didn't happen to me, but it is a possibility that your Bootloader can re lock after doing some of the things that follow, in which case you will need to unlock it again, and if you don't have that code... it's back to square one.
3. GOING BACK TO ANDROID 6
Now that we have done all that we wanted on Android 5, it's time to go back. The process is exactly the same.
Extract the "UPDATE.APP" file from the "HW_Stock_Android_6.zip" file and move it to the dload folder (SD card or Internal).
Turn off your phone and turn it on again with all three buttons pressed.
Wait.
???
Profit.
So, we're back on Android 6. Why did we go back you may ask? Why did we not just flash our precius custom ROM? Well, for once, this gives people the chance to stay on EMUI if all they wanted was to unlock the bootloader and maybe root on Android 6 (which I will explain how to do too, in case you want to). Another, more important reason, we need Android 6 to install the B895/B896 update, which is a requirement for any custom ROM (mainly Android 7.0+) if you don't want any problems with your SIM card (and others that may arise).
4. UNLOCKING BOOTLOADER AND FLASHING TWRP
Now, we need to turn on USB Debugging again, and to allow our PC... again. Do so, and check that everything is right with:
Code:
adb devices
If that's the case, then type the following:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Your phone will reboot, and you should see a white screen with a wasted android above a green text saying "PHONE LOCKED". If that's the case, take a moment to say goodbye to that green text, because it will soon turn very red. We will need to unlock the bootloader with the code you got from the previous steps, for that type the following:
Code:
fastboot oem unlock ****************
In place of the "****************" you must enter your code, of course. And that was it, now the green text is replaced with a red "PHONE UNLOCKED". This are good news. Now, we need to flash our custom recovery if we want to do anything fancy with the device. For that, extract the "recovery.img" file from the "TWRP_3.1.1.zip" file and paste it into the same folder where all of the ADB files are located (where "adb.exe" is). Now type:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
This will flash TWRP into your device, hooray! Now type:
Code:
fastboot reboot
And your device should turn back on, today is a bright day my son. Now you must take a decision, do you want to flash a custom ROM and get very nice and fancy features or do you want to stay with what you have? If you prefer Huawei's EMUI 4.0, then follow to the next step. If you want to flash custom ROMs, then skip the next one.
5. ROOTING ON ANDROID 6 (OPTIONAL)
I don't know why you would prefer EMUI over... anything else really, but it's your call. I'll tell you how to root it so you can at least take some advantage of it. You see that file called "HW_Android_6_Root.zip"? Extract it, inside there will be... another folder called Root... huh? Redundant. Anyway, inside of that there should be two zips. 1.zip and 2.zip. You will need to place the folder called "Root" inside of your SD card or your internal storage. Then, go back to the terminal and type:
Code:
adb reboot recovery
You should reboot into TWRP, isn't it nice? Anyway, we have to flash some zips! Go to "wipe" first and wipe the "Cache" partition and the "Dalvik" partition. Once that's done, go to install and navigate to the Root folder your placed... well, you know where. Select 1.zip and flash it, once it's finished reboot the device. If TWRP prompts you to install it's app, DO NOT DO IT. Once the phone has rebooted (it will take longer because of the cache and dalvik wipe), repeat the process but flash 2.zip this time, reboot and your phone should be rooted. This is the end of the line for you now, as you don't want to make anything else to the phone. However, you can go to the final chapter where I explain how to install Xposed framework, if you want more customization. EMUI doesn't like Xposed very much, so there's little you can do with it, but it's something I guess.
6. INSTALLING THE B895/B896 UPDATE
So, you followed the power user path, the one we all really want deep down. That's cool, I respect you. We gotta use that custom recovery we just flashed, but first we need to transfer some files into our phone's memory. We need to install an update to the phone, for which you need Android 6 (that you should already have anyway). There's two different updates, B895 and B896. As you may guess, B896 is newer. However, any of these two will (or rather should) work without issues. I personally used B896, but some people claim B895 is more stable. I can't find a difference really, but the process is the same regardless of which you choose. Once you have made that decision, move "B895_update.zip" or "B896_update.zip" to your phone's internal storage or SD card AS IS (don't extract it). Then type into the terminal:
Code:
adb reboot recovery
You should be in TWRP now. Go to wipe and select the "Cache" and "Dalvik" partitions ONLY, then wipe them. Once that's done, go to install and flash your update of choice. Once finished, reboot the device. If TWRP prompts you to install it's app, DO NOT DO IT. The boot should take longer than usual because of the "Cache" and "Dalvik" wipe... and because of the update too. Once booted, you should be in EMUI 4.1. Go to settings and into "About Phone". In there, look for a field called "IMEI". If you see a number, that means you did everything properly, if you see "unkown" or nothing at all, then that means you lost your IMEI... which means you will have connectivity issues. To fix this, you will need to do a full wipe (so, boot into recovery (we lost TWRP due to the update) and then go to wipe, in there select everything except SD card) and follow the steps again starting from 3, this time flashing the other update (so if you flashed B895, flash B896 this time and vice versa)).
Now, this last step we made has wiped our custom recovery... so sad. We have to flash it again, but we are almost finished!! Now it's time for you to move the custom ROM you want to your SD card (SD card is mandatory, as we will wipe internal storage). You should also move your custom ROM of choice. If you want root, also move the "SuperSUv82.zip" file.
OPTIONAL:
If you want Gapps, that means the Google apps, so PlayStore, Google services and such (and you really should want them, as Android without PlayStore is kinda rough), then you need to download them separately.
So, go to the Gapps website and select the pacakge you want. You NEED to choose the ARM64 platform, the android version depends on the ROM you are flashing, so check which version it runs, and the package itself is personal preference. Here you can see a comparison of each package, detailing what each one contains so you can make a decision. The aroma package is kinda bugged, I would avoid it. Choose wisely, as flashing another Gapps package once you have flashed a different one can and most likely will cause issues. If you want my opinion, I would stick to the nano package. It offers the basic Google functionality and allows you to download other Google apps you may need/use with the PlayStore once you are booted up.
Once you choose your package, move it to your phone's SD card along with the ROM and the SuperSU zip if you want it.
Check that USB Debugging is still enabled, and then type:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Once into the bootloader, flash the custom recovery once again with:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
Then:
Code:
fastboot reboot
Once booted up again, type:
Code:
adb reboot recovery
And now it's time to drop the bomb, say bye bye to EMUI, and say hello to... whatever it is you are installing.
7. FLASHING YOUR CUSTOM ROM OF CHOICE
MOST CUSTOM ROMS REQUIRE AN LTE CAPABLE SIM IN ORDER TO HAVE CELLULAR NETWROK WORKING CORRECTLY, THIS DEPENDS ON A ROM TO ROM BASIS, DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE FLASHING
Once in TWRP, go to wipe and check every box, I'm serius, check everything except the SD card. Once that's finished, the moment of glory has come. Go to install and flash your ROM. It will take a while, and when that's done reboot. The phone should boot into your ROM. If you want either Gapps or SuperSU, make a quick setup and enable USB Debugging again, then reboot to recovery with:
Code:
adb reboot recovery
Once in TWRP, go to install and flash the Gapps package and the SuperSU zip (in that order) if you want it. Reboot. That should be it! You are done!
8. UNBRICKING
I don't know why, but with all the flashing and the testing I've done you would have thinked that I should have suffered of a brick state at least once... that was, luckily, not the case. I haven't suffered a single brick. I don't know if I'm extremely lucky or if this phone is tremendously resilient, but the case is I haven't had any issues of this kind.
However, I can understand that it is a possibility, so if this happens to you my best advice is to do the following: Boot into recovery mode (either stock or TWRP depending on where in the whole process you got stuck), make a full wipe and apply the update from "HW_Stock_Android_6.zip" with the dload folder and the three buttons method. That should get it unstuck, if not... try the same with the "HW_Stock_Android_5.zip" 's "UPDATE.APP".
9. INSTALLING XPOSED FRAMEWORK (OPTIONAL)
What? A custom ROM is not enough for you? Getting freed from EMUI is not enough? Well fear not then, because there's one last step for the true power user, for that man who thinks that everything is not enough, the good old Xposed Framework *queue fireworks and trumpets.
So, you need to install the Xposed Installer apk. Get it from here, and ONLY THERE. I once installed an apk from another source... ended up being adware, not fun. The apk is at the very bottom of the thread. You will also need the framework itself, get it from here.
Get the latest (arm64) version for your ROM. This depends on what Android version it is running on:
Code:
SDK21 = Android 5.0
SDK22 = Android 5.1
SDK23 = Android 6.0
SDK24 = Android 7.0
SDK25 = Android 7.1
SDK26 = Android 8.0
SDK27 = Android 8.1
You should also get the uninstaller in case things go south.
Once you got the files, install the apk on your phone. Open the app once. Transfer the framework and the uninstaller into your SD or internal storage. Boot into TWRP recovery and install the framework, reboot the device.
NOTE: Android 6.0 takes about 20 mins to boot, wait about an hour before deciding that it's bricked. Android 7.1.2 took me about 2 mins. I'm unaware of the boot times of other versions, but be aware that it can take LONG. If you think it really got bricked, boot into TWRP again and flash the uninstaller. That should get it unstuck and you can either try again or leave it as is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well guys, that's all I got, quite a big write up huh? I don't really have nothing else to say, just remember that what you are doing here is at your own risk and I don't want anybody blaming me for the bad things that can happen. I will proceed to leave you with the download links so you can try this yourself. I'm currently running Lineage OS 14.1 which features Android Nougat 7.1.2 on my Huawei P8 lite ALE-L23, I've never been happier to be free from the manufacturer's ROM.
DOWNLOADS
(The B895 and B896 update's links are not mine)
Huawei's Stock Android 5:
Android Filehost
Mediafire
Huawei's Android 5 Transition:
Android Filehost
Mediafire
Huawei's Stock Android 6:
Android Filehost
Mediafire
Huawei's Android 6 Root:
Android Filehost
Mediafire
EMUI 4.1 (B895):
Android Filehost
EMUI 4.1 (B896):
Android Filehost
Platform-Tools:
Android Filehost
Mediafire
TWRP 3.1.1:
Android Filehost
Mediafire
Gapps:
Open Gapps
SuperSU:
Android Filehost
Google Drive
Hi,
I didn't understand what do you mean whan you write: Once booted, you should be in EMUI 4.1. If you retained your IMEI, you are in good path, if not... then do a factory reset (wipe everything) and repeat the steps starting from 3.
Could you explain it better?
Thank you
ilmatte said:
Hi,
I didn't understand what do you mean whan you write: Once booted, you should be in EMUI 4.1. If you retained your IMEI, you are in good path, if not... then do a factory reset (wipe everything) and repeat the steps starting from 3.
Could you explain it better?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's basically this: If you go into the "About Phone" section you will see that there's a field detailing your IMEI. I won't lie, I don't know exactly what it is, but it's a unique number for every phone and has something to do with your cellular network connection.
If you messed up at some point, you can lose your IMEI (i.e. you won't see it in that field or it will say "unknown" or something of the sort). If that happens, then it means you did something wrong, and proceeding in this state will make you have problems with your connection. The signal would be really unstable and it would be practically unusable.
To make a simpler check, if you have a cellular network connection, and can make calls and send/receive SMS on EMUI 4.1, then you won't have any problems.
Ah ok it wasn't so clear but I know what an imei is luckily it didn't erase it in my case. Anyway, I don't know how to thank you bro! You saved my life. I beleived to be screwed when I learned that Huawei stopped releasing the bootloader unlock code. How stupid they are. I blamed them through the customer support. I'm running lineage now! Kiss my ass Huawei!
ilmatte said:
Ah ok it wasn't so clear but I know what an imei is luckily it didn't erase it in my case. Anyway, I don't know how to thank you bro! You saved my life. I beleived to be screwed when I learned that Huawei stopped releasing the bootloader unlock code. How stupid they are. I blamed them through the customer support. I'm running lineage now! Kiss my ass Huawei!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear I helped! Mind dropping a thank on the main thread? Hope you enjoy your phone
Thanks <3 -notes
Thank you tralph3, you make my life so easy, great easy guide. I have a few suggestions for improving clarity:
Step 1. "Stock_Android_5.zip" contains "transitional" android 6.0 ALE-L21C900B500 firmware According to including Spanish documentation "3., 3.1 Download the Android5.0 update package" It must be downloaded another 5.0 firmware. I use this 5.0 firmware to make kingroot preform root.
Firmware: huaweidl.com/download/p8-lite/ale-l21/b204/
Look for a line that says "Compilation Number" and tap...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Step 2. second point 2. Change to "Build Number"
su -c "grep -m1 -aoE 'WVLOCK.{14}[0-9]{16}' /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 |grep -aoE '[0-9]{16}'"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Step 2. getting unlock code. After executing command. Add step -Kingsroot display root access prompt ALLOW it.
t
Thanks for your work.
BelisTT said:
Thank you tralph3, you make my life so easy, great easy guide. I have a few suggestions for improving clarity:
Step 1. "Stock_Android_5.zip" contains "transitional" android 6.0 ALE-L21C900B500 firmware According to including Spanish documentation "3., 3.1 Download the Android5.0 update package" It must be downloaded another 5.0 firmware. I use this 5.0 firmware to make kingroot preform root.
Firmware: huaweidl.com/download/p8-lite/ale-l21/b204/
Step 2. second point 2. Change to "Build Number"
Step 2. getting unlock code. After executing command. Add step -Kingsroot display root access prompt ALLOW it.
t
Thanks for your work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing this stuff out, I'll make those changes you suggested and try to fix some typos too. So, what I gather from what you told me about that Android 5 thing is that in order to correctly flash the update I'm providing you NEED to be in Android 6, right? Whereas with the one you are providing me it should boot into Android 5 regardless of what you currently have. If that's the case, I'll include both and tell people of the distinction between the two so they can use the one they want/need (after all, the transition package is much smaller and easier to download). I'll download the package and upload it to Android Filehost along with everything else. I think I'll keep the mediafire downloads as a mirror. I'll get to that, thanks.
tralph3 said:
.... in Android 6, right? Whereas with the one you are providing me it should boot into Android 5 regardless of what you currently have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, exactly. Thanks for curating this additional download, good idea.
Does this also work for the PRA-LX1 version?
I have Android 8.0 on it and absolutely no idea what EMUI version or eben the firmware version.
I want to put crDroid on this phone because EMUI ... you know, it's bad.
Otherwise: I am ok with paying these 4€ if this payed unlock works.
WHICH of all these DC Unlocker Apps do I need for getting the unlock code?
Badoolo said:
Does this also work for the PRA-LX1 version?
I have Android 8.0 on it and absolutely no idea what EMUI version or eben the firmware version.
I want to put crDroid on this phone because EMUI ... you know, it's bad.
Otherwise: I am ok with paying these 4€ if this payed unlock works.
WHICH of all these DC Unlocker Apps do I need for getting the unlock code?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DON'T TRY ANY OF THIS. All of what I've detailed is for the P8 lite 2015, your phone is a different 2017 version that's basically another completely different phone with the same name, because Huawei doesn't know how to namr their devices. You have a different chipset, doing anything of what's described here will most likely brick your phone. With that said, maybe the bootloader unlock method works IF YOU FIND ANOTHER WAY TO ROOT YOUR PHONE. DON'T ROLL BACK TO ANDROID 5 WITH THE FILES I'M PROVIDING PLEASE.
This forum is dedicated to P8 lite 2015, you can see there's a different forum for 2017. Good luck.
Hello, I have ALE-L21 with EMUI 4.0.3 - MM 6.0 - version B633 and i can not downgrade to android 5, phone says : update failed, or stuck on 5%. could someone help me please ?
I tried a lot of stock ROMs, 5.0 , 6.0 etc, nothing worked for me.
Thanks,
Ax1qwer said:
Hello, I have ALE-L21 with EMUI 4.0.3 - MM 6.0 - version B633 and i can not downgrade to android 5, phone says : update failed, or stuck on 5%. could someone help me please ?
I tried a lot of stock ROMs, 5.0 , 6.0 etc, nothing worked for me.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using the stock package or the transition package? If you are using the transition package, try stock.
I tried both, with no success. And many others.
I tried to update via internal storage and SDcard too, with no success.
If phone is connected to pc, updating stuck on 5%, if not connected to PC, update fails.
Ax1qwer said:
I tried both, with no success. And many others.
I tried to update via internal storage and SDcard too, with no success.
If phone is connected to pc, updating stuck on 5%, if not connected to PC, update fails.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you wipe all of your data with the stock recovery? If nothing works then I could suggest you to try to apply the downgrade with sideload. (Boot into recovery and select to apply update from adb, then you type adb sideload <filename>)
I'm clueless on why it doesn't work on your device, it should.
Also, you can try to flash the stock android 6 rom first, that's an older emui version (4.0). If you can flash that, then maybe you can flash android 5 after it.
i have tried intalling both the 5.0 stock roms but it always fails at 5%. i got ALE-L21C02B896 with emui 4.1 and android 6.0. i've been trying different guides but all lead me to dead ends. please help
thanks in advance
Wazu786 said:
i have tried intalling both the 5.0 stock roms but it always fails at 5%. i got ALE-L21C02B896 with emui 4.1 and android 6.0. i've been trying different guides but all lead me to dead ends. please help
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the exact same firmware(ALE-L21C02B896) that you have and I also cant downgrade to android 5.0 using any of the tutorials that I found in XDA Furum.
razorfancy said:
I have the exact same firmware(ALE-L21C02B896) that you have and I also cant downgrade to android 5.0 using any of the tutorials that I found in XDA Furum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it very frustrating, please let me know if you find a way and ill do the same.
Wazu786 said:
Yeah it very frustrating, please let me know if you find a way and ill do the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Told you guys, try to flash android 6 and see if that works, afterwards you can flash android 5.
tralph3 said:
Told you guys, try to flash android 6 and see if that works, afterwards you can flash android 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried your Huawei's Stock Android 5, Huawei's Android 5 Transition and Huawei's Stock Android 6 and all failed to install giving error at 5 percent.
tralph3 said:
Told you guys, try to flash android 6 and see if that works, afterwards you can flash android 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried android 6 also and it also failed at 5%, please is there anything else i can try?
For me, pwning my new phone was a 7-hour process that required incredible learning capacity. Not everyone is prepared to go through a process like that, and it can easily take multiple days or weeks. This is a guide outlining a version of the exact process that got me to this point. It should be easy for anyone to follow, even people without much technical knowledge. (although, do be careful with the resulting root access)
I started with a GM1915, which is the T-Mobile model. You'd think it would require an unlock key from T-Mobile in order to work, but actually it doesn't. That's what they don't want you to know.
A well-known method for bypassing that requirement is to install an international OS and then upgrade it to a certain developer preview, causing the phone to update the bootloader to a non-crippled version that doesn't require an unlock key. So that's what I did.
However, the process is easier said than done. For someone like me who's done it, it's not too hard, but for a beginner it's intensely confusing. I was a beginner just yesterday and struggled with dumb error messages like "packed image not exist".
The guide is below. Sections starting with "T-MOBILE ONLY" and ending with "END OF T-MOBILE ONLY" are only to be performed on T-Mobile phones with T-Mobile firmware and a locked bootloader. If you have an unlocked bootloader then you can skip those steps.
Make sure you have a Windows machine. The Qualcomm drivers are only available for Windows, the programs are only available for Windows, people on this forum only know Windows. I have a Mac, personally, because Unix is awesome, but unfortunately nobody has thought about us and all the tools are Windows-only. I am just as disappointed as you, trust me. I used a virtual machine, but YMMV, depending on how good your hypervisor's USB passthrough is. You may want to use bare metal if you only have VirtualBox; it's not worth the effort. You will be hot plugging A LOT, and your phone will show up as many different types of USB devices.
You must have fastboot installed, but ADB is not required.
--- T-MOBILE ONLY ---
Install the "L2 drivers" for the phone. You can find them here. Just install as many of them as you can by right-clicking every `.inf` file you find and clicking Install on each one of them. Some of them will have missing files. Some of them won't have a signature. It doesn't matter, as long as you try every one of them, something will work. For me it was the 64-bit driver, in the 64 folder. All the others are 32-bit.
--- END OF T-MOBILE ONLY ---
You should probably plug the phone into your computer now and install the official OnePlus drivers as well. This is so that you can easily access the phone storage, which will become very important soon. Reboot your computer to apply the driver updates.
--- T-MOBILE ONLY ---
Download the "MSM Download Tool" from here (same link as above). Place it in its own folder. This is crucial because you must now download the guacamole-whatever.7z file and extract the .ots file into the same folder as the MSM Download Tool.
MSM Download Tool always looks in its folder for the image and pops up a cryptic error message if it's not found ("packed image not exist"). This is not very widely documented because MSM Download Tool is often distributed in the same folder as the image anyway. That's not the case when you are forced to download them as separate files.
Note that this is the only time you will have to use MSM Download Tool and all other updates can be installed by the phone itself. On international variants you don't have to do this because the bootloader will already be unlockable, which is why this is T-Mobile only.
You need to start downloading three updates. This patched version of international OOS is where you will start, the developer beta will upgrade the bootloader, and the full downgrade will roll you back so you can start updating. Start the downloads now, but you do not have to wait for them to finish yet; it will be a few steps before you have to use them.
Now is about the time to back up any data you want to keep. Everything on your phone will be wiped by the next step, including bootloader unlock status, all your data, the entire operating system and so on.
Now it's time to install international OOS. Place it inside the folder with MSM Download Tool and then start it up. Uncheck the SHA-256 checkbox!
Unplug your USB cable and THEN turn off your phone completely. If the USB cable is plugged in while it's turned off, it will automatically boot into the charging mode which is not what you want. Have your USB cable, and computer mouse, on the ready. You don't want to waste any time, because this may be physically painful: Hold down both volume buttons at the same time for at least 5 seconds, and then plug the USB cable into your phone. Make sure some COM port appears in the tool, then click the "Start" button in MSM Download Tool WHILE STILL HOLDING THEM DOWN. You can only let the volume buttons go AFTER you click "Start", or else the phone will drop out of EDL mode into fastboot.
The process will take a few minutes depending on how fast your USB connection is. Leave the phone plugged in until it is complete. This also gives time to download those two updates, which are together about four gigabytes in size.
Once MSM Download Tool is done flashing, you can reboot the phone and set it up using the setup wizard. Feel free to move fast and enable nothing. You don't need internet, you don't need a correct clock, you don't need accounts or telemetry or anything like that. All data will be wiped again later.
Use your computer to copy the developer preview update to the phone. Don't copy it to the Download folder or anything, copy it into the root (just inside the internal storage). Go to settings > local updates > settings icon in the top right > local update and update to the developer preview.
Once you're in the developer preview, enable OEM unlocking in developer options, reboot into fastboot mode (I do this by also enabling advanced reboot in developer options) and use fastboot oem unlock. Your bootloader is now unlocked! But we're not nearly done yet, there's still lots to do.
After rebooting, since the unlock wiped the phone, you'll have to set it up again. Just breeze through like before, then copy the rollback zip to the phone just like you did for the developer preview.
Go to local update again and use the rollback. This is required in order to go back to a stable OS that can accept OTAs. After this your data will be wiped. This is the real setup wizard. You can set it up with real data; your data will not be wiped again for the rest of this guide.
--- END OF T-MOBILE ONLY ---
If your bootloader is not already unlocked, enable OEM unlocking in developer options and then run `fastboot oem unlock` in Fastboot mode.
Next, you will want to install Magisk. This is a slightly complex process but once it's done your phone will become fully untethered.
First download a tool called Payload Dumper. Extract the entire archive into its own folder. Get an OTA update for your version of OxygenOS (if your phone is T-Mobile, that is the rollback update you just installed; if you aren't following the T-Mobile guide, you may have to download an OTA update from Google), and use WinRAR or similar to extract the `payload.bin` inside into the payload dumper's input folder.
Run the payload dumper. You don't need to run all of it; wait for "boot" to show up in the console window, then wait until something else shows up and then close the window. Inside the output folder there should be a `boot.img`; there may be other img files but the boot is what we're interested in.
Transfer this boot.img to your device and use Magisk Manager to patch it. Transfer the magisk_patched.img to your computer, reboot the phone into fastboot mode and use `fastboot flash boot magisk_patched.img`. Reboot the phone into Android.
If you start Magisk Manager you should see that Magisk is installed. Great. Next step is to install TWRP.
In my experience, flashing TWRP or using `fastboot boot twrp.img` didn't work. You're not clever if you try installing OxygenOS 9.5.4 which adds `fastboot boot` support to the bootloader; it still won't work. In my experience the only correct way to install TWRP on the OnePlus 7 Pro is to use Magisk.
(Someone in the replies below stated that you need to upgrade all the way to OOS 10 in order to boot TWRP using fastboot. This guide details the easier method using Magisk Manager.)
On the phone, go to the TWRP downloads page for the OnePlus 7 Pro, and download the latest installer. Then flash the zip using Magisk.
Crucially, at the end of the installer log it says "you are now unrooted". DO NOT IGNORE THIS MESSAGE! If you reboot now, Magisk will be gone and the stock ROM will immediately overwrite TWRP. You must use Magisk Manager to reinstall Magisk using a "Direct Install". That way, your boot.img will be patched again and your Magisk (and TWRP) will persist across reboots.
Go ahead and try it out. Reboot a few times, sometimes into recovery, sometimes into Android to test Magisk.
We're still not done yet. Wouldn't you love to stay rooted and still be running the latest version of OxygenOS? I sure would. Next I'll describe the process of applying an OTA update while keeping your root and everything. Thanks to A/B you can stay untethered.
Please note that, if you'd like to proceed with the EU version of OxygenOS, you should go grab 9.5.4 before proceeding to the next step, for example from here (MD5 fcec14e2ec053d67c793a27bfdef17d0), and use local update to install it. (note GM21BA instead of GM21AA) The EU version is supposed to have better privacy options and less bloatware, so that's what I personally went with. Converting your OxygenOS from GM21AA to GM21BA has no harmful side effects and should work on any phone. It affects the OTA you'll receive in the next step, and this is possibly the only chance you'll get to switch (or not). So choose wisely.
You can find other versions of OOS in this XDA post.
Remember to turn off all auto-updating in the OxygenOS settings. You don't want your phone suddenly losing Magisk and TWRP after any old reboot. Then you can use the OxygenOS updater to accept an official OTA update. It will recognize you're rooted and install an entire fresh new system to your inactive slot, which is exactly what we want.
There are two steps you need to perform before rebooting. The first is TWRP persistence and the second is Magisk persistence. For TWRP persistence you need to go into Magisk Manager and flash a module called "TWRP A/B retention script". Then for Magisk persistence you need to go install Magisk again, but this time to the inactive slot. You must do TWRP persistence first.
After this you should be good to go back to the update screen and hit reboot. You should still have TWRP and Magisk, but now on the very latest version of OxygenOS. Customize your phone to your heart's content now; it's all yours.
Recommended tweaks:
- install a Magisk module called "Debloater (Terminal Emulator)". Install a terminal emulator like Termux and use `su` to enter a root shell. Then you can run `debloat` and go through the list of apps, removing things you don't want. Certain services need to be watched out for, like PlayAutoInstallConfig (lets your carrier silently install apps without your consent). You can find tidbits online explaining what certain things do, like this pastebin, or this one. Houdini is the kernel driver which is very important.
- enable MagiskHide and hide yourself from Netflix and other DRM-enabled apps. Also hide yourself from Google Play's snet service.
- there is a Magisk module called F-Droid Privileged Extension, it's quite nice.
- use MagiskHide Props Config to set `net.tethering.noprovisioning=true`. This will prevent the carrier from knowing when you are using hotspot features, so they will not immediately cut your connection
- don't install a custom ROM. OxygenOS is high quality and everything you could ever want from a phone honestly. It has all the drivers and stuff for the phone and all of that cool stuff.
Small curiosities:
- SMT download mode is a special flashing mode used by the factory and it can overwrite things like the IMEI. Don't mess with it, you do not know what you're doing.
- Now that you have the software, you can literally just install a Dual SIM tray and have dual SIMs. Your phone is essentially the same as the international OP7P
- Feel free to post if you have any issues or need help with something.
Thank you mate. This will help out a lot of people coming to one plus such as myself. Only wonder I have about it all is the dual sim. I have 2 imei now but obviously both are the same. So I'm trying to figure out how that would work.
TheMadScientist said:
Thank you mate. This will help out a lot of people coming to one plus such as myself. Only wonder I have about it all is the dual sim. I have 2 imei now but obviously both are the same. So I'm trying to figure out how that would work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, same here. Dual SIM phones are required to have two IMEI numbers since they technically have two transceivers, one for each SIM. Maybe one day someone will post a guide on how to change your IMEI numbers? You could keep one and change the other.
Today I had a little incident with SafetyNet.
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I had installed the magisk modules Riru and Riru - EdXposed. Big mistake. Uninstalling them didn't fix it. Reinstalling the OS didn't fix it. I thought I was totally ****ed. However, toggling MagiskHide off and back on again and clearing Google Play Services' data seems to have fixed it:
Phew. This SafetyNet guide really helped
EDIT: Also make sure to clear Play Store's data so it re-checks your device for certification.
LoganDark said:
Yeah, same here. Dual SIM phones are required to have two IMEI numbers since they technically have two transceivers, one for each SIM. Maybe one day someone will post a guide on how to change your IMEI numbers? You could keep one and change the other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately we can't discuss that on xda.
TheMadScientist said:
Unfortunately we can't discuss that on xda.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Software spoofing is allowed. EMS flashing is not.
Riru - EdXposed seems to pass SafetyNet if you use HiddenCore module (and DO NOT BLACKLIST GOOGLE SERVICES or else they will not get patched and they will fail you). I haven't checked to see how deep this goes. Perhaps third party apps which do their own SafetyNet check will see through it. Anyone here with experience?
Edit: BAD ADVICE DO NOT USE HIDDENCORE IT WILL BREAK SAFETYNET EVEN MORE
Well I got to say your guide it's good. But the part where you can only install twrp with magisk I got to say no there. All you have to do is use the roll back package and then update your phone with the first update it allows in system update. That should put you on Oxygen os android 10. Then fastboot will work. Did it myself so I know. Best regards
LokifiedMee said:
Well I got to say your guide it's good. But the part where you can only install twrp with magisk I got to say no there. All you have to do is use the roll back package and then update your phone with the first update it allows in system update. That should put you on Oxygen os android 10. Then fastboot will work. Did it myself so I know. Best regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People seem to have mixed luck regarding using fastboot to boot TWRP. I understand upgrading the bootloader can enable additional fastboot capabilities which is why I tried it myself. It didn't work for me so that's why this guide takes the safer/guaranteed approach.
I did only upgrade to a later version of OOS 9, though. It added `fastboot boot` but trying it softlocked the phone.
Note that in either case, the OnePlus 7 Pro's recovery is stored in the boot partition, and flashing a zip using Magisk is easier than flashing one with TWRP.
I have revised the post to acknowledge the alternative method.
(Also, it's worth mentioning that I know anyone following this guide probably knows how to flash a zip in TWRP. I'm not saying that's too complicated, but the guide details the process I followed specifically. There are many other guides online detailing alternative methods, but they did not work for me, which is why I made this one.)
LoganDark said:
People seem to have mixed luck regarding using fastboot to boot TWRP. I understand upgrading the bootloader can enable additional fastboot capabilities which is why I tried it myself. It didn't work for me so that's why this guide takes the safer/guaranteed approach.
I did only upgrade to a later version of OOS 9, though. It added `fastboot boot` but trying it softlocked the phone.
Note that in either case, the OnePlus 7 Pro's recovery is stored in the boot partition, and flashing a zip using Magisk is easier than flashing one with TWRP.
I have revised the post to acknowledge the alternative method.
(Also, it's worth mentioning that I know anyone following this guide probably knows how to flash a zip in TWRP. I'm not saying that's too complicated, but the guide details the process I followed specifically. There are many other guides online detailing alternative methods, but they did not work for me, which is why I made this one.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries mate. Just giving you the heads up. Cheers
I'm unsure how to flash twrp using magisk. I used a friend's machine to flash magisk last night but don't have access now. I'm waiting on asusurion to send mine back. I stayed on the beta and updated to the latest. Would flashing or booting into twrp be possible? Thanks for the guide, btw
Leskanic said:
I'm unsure how to flash twrp using magisk. I used a friend's machine to flash magisk last night but don't have access now. I'm waiting on asusurion to send mine back. I stayed on the beta and updated to the latest. Would flashing or booting into twrp be possible? Thanks for the guide, btw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies for the late reply.
Download the "twrp-installer" zip file and use Magisk to flash it.
After that, you have to "direct install" Magisk again.
I guess my question is which option do i use in magisk to flash the twrp installer zip file? Do I use the install module from storage option or in the section where you patch files? Could i just use terminal emulator to boot into twrp then flash twrp and magisk while I'm in twrp? Sorry for my ignorance it's been a couple years since I've had Android with an unlocked bootloader and not having my laptop doesn't help
Leskanic said:
I guess my question is which option do i use in magisk to flash the twrp installer zip file? Do I use the install module from storage option or in the section where you patch files? Could i just use terminal emulator to boot into twrp then flash twrp and magisk while I'm in twrp? Sorry for my ignorance it's been a couple years since I've had Android with an unlocked bootloader and not having my laptop doesn't help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TWRP installer zip is just a Magisk module that you can flash by going to the modules section and tapping "install from storage".
Basically, step 1: go into this section and install the twrp-installer zip this way
Step 2: go here
and direct install Magisk like this
Yes, you are installing Magisk again. That is because the TWRP installer overwrote it, and if you rebooted, you would lose root (and the stock ROM would immediately overwrite TWRP, leaving your device completely stock)
As for flashing both things via TWRP, you would probably flash TWRP first and then Magisk. If you can get the phone to boot into TWRP in the first place, yeah it's probably possible and many others have probably installed their TWRP+Magisk that way.
Thanks i didn't realize the twrp installer zip could be flashed as a module. Sorry it's been a while and I'm trying to get back up to speed
I have a few XPrivacyLua hooks that can be used to change your model number to GM1917 (at least to Java apps). It doesn't have any side effects except peace of mind.
Add these using the XPrivacyLua Pro companion app (you don't need to buy Pro to edit hooks), MAKE SURE to enter GM1917 in the model text box and save, enable them for every app including system apps in XPrivacyLua, and reboot.
Enjoy
LoganDark said:
For me, pwning my new phone was a 7-hour process that required incredible learning capacity. Not everyone is prepared to go through a process like that, and it can easily take multiple days or weeks. This is a guide outlining a version of the exact process that got me to this point. It should be easy for anyone to follow, even people without much technical knowledge. (although, do be careful with the resulting root access)
I started with a GM1915, which is the T-Mobile model. You'd think it would require an unlock key from T-Mobile in order to work, but actually it doesn't. That's what they don't want you to know.
A well-known method for bypassing that requirement is to install an international OS and then upgrade it to a certain developer preview, causing the phone to update the bootloader to a non-crippled version that doesn't require an unlock key. So that's what I did.
However, the process is easier said than done. For someone like me who's done it, it's not too hard, but for a beginner it's intensely confusing. I was a beginner just yesterday and struggled with dumb error messages like "packed image not exist".
The guide is below. Sections starting with "T-MOBILE ONLY" and ending with "END OF T-MOBILE ONLY" are only to be performed on T-Mobile phones with T-Mobile firmware and a locked bootloader. If you have an unlocked bootloader then you can skip those steps.
Make sure you have a Windows machine. The Qualcomm drivers are only available for Windows, the programs are only available for Windows, people on this forum only know Windows. I have a Mac, personally, because Unix is awesome, but unfortunately nobody has thought about us and all the tools are Windows-only. I am just as disappointed as you, trust me. I used a virtual machine, but YMMV, depending on how good your hypervisor's USB passthrough is. You may want to use bare metal if you only have VirtualBox; it's not worth the effort. You will be hot plugging A LOT, and your phone will show up as many different types of USB devices.
You must have fastboot installed, but ADB is not required.
--- T-MOBILE ONLY ---
Install the "L2 drivers" for the phone. You can find them here. Just install as many of them as you can by right-clicking every `.inf` file you find and clicking Install on each one of them. Some of them will have missing files. Some of them won't have a signature. It doesn't matter, as long as you try every one of them, something will work. For me it was the 64-bit driver, in the 64 folder. All the others are 32-bit.
--- END OF T-MOBILE ONLY ---
You should probably plug the phone into your computer now and install the official OnePlus drivers as well. This is so that you can easily access the phone storage, which will become very important soon. Reboot your computer to apply the driver updates.
--- T-MOBILE ONLY ---
Download the "MSM Download Tool" from here (same link as above). Place it in its own folder. This is crucial because you must now download the guacamole-whatever.7z file and extract the .ots file into the same folder as the MSM Download Tool.
MSM Download Tool always looks in its folder for the image and pops up a cryptic error message if it's not found ("packed image not exist"). This is not very widely documented because MSM Download Tool is often distributed in the same folder as the image anyway. That's not the case when you are forced to download them as separate files.
Note that this is the only time you will have to use MSM Download Tool and all other updates can be installed by the phone itself. On international variants you don't have to do this because the bootloader will already be unlockable, which is why this is T-Mobile only.
Start the MSM Downloader tool and make sure that it's open and ready. Uncheck the SHA-256 checkbox!
You need to start downloading two updates. The developer beta will upgrade the bootloader, and the full downgrade will give you a reference boot.img to use for Magisk. Start the downloads now, but you do not have to wait for them to finish yet; it will be a few steps before you have to use them.
Now is about the time to back up any data you want to keep. Everything on your phone will be wiped by the next step, including bootloader unlock status, all your data, the entire operating system and so on.
Unplug your USB cable and THEN turn off your phone completely. If the USB cable is plugged in while it's turned off, it will automatically boot into the charging mode which is not what you want. Have your USB cable, and computer mouse, on the ready. You don't want to waste any time, because this may be physically painful: Hold down both volume buttons at the same time for at least 5 seconds, and then plug the USB cable into your phone. Make sure some COM port appears in the tool, then click the "Start" button in MSM Download Tool WHILE STILL HOLDING THEM DOWN. You can only let the volume buttons go AFTER you click "Start", or else the phone will drop out of MSM mode.
The process will take a few minutes depending on how fast your USB connection is. Leave the phone plugged in until it is complete. This also gives time to download those two updates, which are together about four gigabytes in size.
Once MSM Download Tool is done flashing, you can reboot the phone and set it up using the setup wizard. This one will be overwritten, so feel free to move fast and enable nothing. You don't need internet, you don't need a correct clock, you don't need accounts or telemetry or anything like that. All data will be wiped again later.
Use your computer to copy both updates (developer preview & rollback) to the phone. Don't copy them to the Download folder or anything, copy them into the root. Go to settings > local updates > settings icon in the top right > local update and update to the developer preview.
Once you're in the developer preview, enable OEM unlocking in developer options, reboot into fastboot mode (I do this by also enabling advanced reboot in developer options) and use `fastboot oem unlock`. Your bootloader is now unlocked! But we're not nearly done yet, there's still lots to do.
Go to local update again and use the rollback. This is required in order to go back to a stable OS that can accept OTAs. After this your data will be wiped. This is the real setup wizard. You can set it up with real data; your data will not be wiped again for the rest of this guide.
--- END OF T-MOBILE ONLY ---
If your bootloader is not already unlocked, enable OEM unlocking in developer options and then run `fastboot oem unlock` in Fastboot mode.
Next, you will want to install Magisk. This is a slightly complex process but once it's done your phone will become fully untethered.
First download a tool called Payload Dumper. Extract the entire archive into its own folder. Get an OTA update for your version of OxygenOS (if your phone is T-Mobile, that is the rollback update you just installed; if you aren't following the T-Mobile guide, you may have to download an OTA update from Google), and use WinRAR or similar to extract the `payload.bin` inside into the payload dumper's input folder.
Run the payload dumper. You don't need to run all of it; wait for "boot" to show up in the console window, then wait until something else shows up and then close the window. Inside the output folder there should be a `boot.img`; there may be other img files but the boot is what we're interested in.
Transfer this boot.img to your device and use Magisk Manager to patch it. Transfer the magisk_patched.img to your computer, reboot the phone into fastboot mode and use `fastboot flash boot magisk_patched.img`. Reboot the phone into Android.
If you start Magisk Manager you should see that Magisk is installed. Great. Next step is to install TWRP.
In my experience, flashing TWRP or using `fastboot boot twrp.img` didn't work. You're not clever if you try installing OxygenOS 9.5.4 which adds `fastboot boot` support to the bootloader; it still won't work. In my experience the only correct way to install TWRP on the OnePlus 7 Pro is to use Magisk.
(Someone in the replies below stated that you need to upgrade all the way to OOS 10 in order to boot TWRP using fastboot. This guide details the easier method using Magisk Manager.)
On the phone, go to the TWRP downloads page for the OnePlus 7 Pro, and download the latest installer. Then flash the zip using Magisk.
Crucially, at the end of the installer log it says "you are now unrooted". DO NOT IGNORE THIS MESSAGE! If you reboot now, Magisk will be gone and the stock ROM will immediately overwrite TWRP. You must use Magisk Manager to reinstall Magisk using a "Direct Install". That way, your boot.img will be patched again and your Magisk (and TWRP) will persist across reboots.
Go ahead and try it out. Reboot a few times, sometimes into recovery, sometimes into Android to test Magisk.
We're still not done yet. Wouldn't you love to stay rooted and still be running the latest version of OxygenOS? I sure would. Next I'll describe the process of applying an OTA update while keeping your root and everything. Thanks to A/B you can stay untethered.
Please note that, if you'd like to proceed with the EU version of OxygenOS, you should go grab 9.5.4 before proceeding to the next step, for example from here, and use local update to install it. (note GM27BA instead of GM27AA) The EU version is supposed to have better privacy options and less bloatware, so that's what I personally went with. Converting your OxygenOS from GM27AA to GM27BA has no harmful side effects and should work on any phone. It affects the OTA you'll receive in the next step, and this is possibly the only chance you'll get to switch (or not). So choose wisely.
Remember to turn off all auto-updating in the OxygenOS settings. You don't want your phone suddenly losing Magisk and TWRP after any old reboot. Then you can use the OxygenOS updater to accept an official OTA update. It will recognize you're rooted and install an entire fresh new system to your inactive slot, which is exactly what we want.
There are two steps you need to perform before rebooting. The first is TWRP persistence and the second is Magisk persistence. For TWRP persistence you need to go into Magisk Manager and flash a module called "TWRP A/B retention script". Then for Magisk persistence you need to go install Magisk again, but this time to the inactive slot. You must do TWRP persistence first.
After this you should be good to go back to the update screen and hit reboot. You should still have TWRP and Magisk, but now on the very latest version of OxygenOS. Customize your phone to your heart's content now; it's all yours.
Recommended tweaks:
- install a Magisk module called "Debloater (Terminal Emulator)". Install a terminal emulator like Termux and use `su` to enter a root shell. Then you can run `debloat` and go through the list of apps, removing things you don't want. Certain services need to be watched out for, like PlayAutoInstallConfig (lets your carrier silently install apps without your consent). You can find tidbits online explaining what certain things do, like this pastebin, or this one. Houdini is the kernel driver which is very important.
- enable MagiskHide and hide yourself from Netflix and other DRM-enabled apps. Also hide yourself from Google Play's snet service.
- there is a Magisk module called F-Droid Privileged Extension, it's quite nice.
- use MagiskHide Props Config to set `net.tethering.noprovisioning=true`. This will prevent the carrier from knowing when you are using hotspot features, so they will not immediately cut your connection
- don't install a custom ROM. OxygenOS is high quality and everything you could ever want from a phone honestly. It has all the drivers and stuff for the phone and all of that cool stuff.
Small curiosities:
- SMT download mode is a special flashing mode used by the factory and it can overwrite things like the IMEI. Don't mess with it, you do not know what you're doing.
- Now that you have the software, you can literally just install a Dual SIM tray and have dual SIMs. Your phone is essentially the same as the international OP7P
- Feel free to post if you have any issues or need help with something.
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It isn't very clear what version of OOS you started on. If I'm running OOS10 on stock this should still (in theory) work right?
r4w0ne said:
It isn't very clear what version of OOS you started on. If I'm running OOS10 on stock this should still (in theory) work right?
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OOPS, fuck, I missed a step. You have to use MSM Download Tool to clean install this patched OOS before installing the developer preview. I'll update the post ASAP
Edit: Post has been updated
LoganDark said:
OOPS, ****, I missed a step. You have to use MSM Download Tool to clean install this patched OOS before installing the developer preview. I'll update the post ASAP
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Glad I asked lol.
r4w0ne said:
Glad I asked lol.
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I actually mentioned installing international OOS in the post but for some reason I didn't link it or provide instructions. Silly me...
Edit: Post has been updated
LoganDark said:
I actually mentioned installing international OOS in the post but for some reason I didn't link it or provide instructions. Silly me...
Edit: Post has been updated
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New problem, OEM unlocking is greyed out in the options on the developer preview...
EDIT: I'm a retard and didn't follow instructions. Ignore.