[ThinkTank] Obtaining Perma-Root Discussion - AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 4

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In order to keep the Root Progress thread as clean as possible, I took Kenny's advice and created a new thread. So to bring others up to speed, the Galaxy Note 4 variants from AT&T and Verizon have a root, but it's only temporary and resets after a reboot. Also system write is inconsistent.
This thread is for people to share and discuss their ideas and theories of how to make our temp root into a permanent root. Don't be afraid to share or ask any questions you may have because this is the place for them here. Now let's get brainstorming!​

Continuous "Custom padlock" on bootup
Well I'll join in...
Not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I've successfully got my phone to continuously have the "Custom" message on my bootup screen and I enabled Factory Mode which is enabled at each boot. I managed to edit the /efs/FactoryApp enabling "Factory Mode" and changing some file permissions and not have the system restore the changes to the /efs/FactoryApp folder. When I edited it earlier pressing the power button caused a complete shut down, so I was hoping this was progress, but now pressing the power button brings up the power menu like normal. Is this partition handled differently or is this any progress? Can someone with more knowledge of the system file system comment on this?

CJ74753 said:
Well I'll join in...
Not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I've successfully got my phone to continuously have the "Custom" message on my bootup screen and I enabled Factory Mode which is enabled at each boot. I managed to edit the /efs/FactoryApp enabling "Factory Mode" and not have the system restore the changes to the /efs/FactoryApp folder. When I edited it earlier pressing the power button caused a complete shut down, so I was hoping this was progress. Is this partition handled differently or is this any progress? Can someone with more knowledge of the system file system comment on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything is worth mentioning. It's interesting. I've just got my Note 4 warranty replacement yesterday so I'm timid to tinkering with it just yet. On my previous Note 4 I wiped out the EFS while playing in one of those "secret menus' LoL.
My thoughts on how-to obtain permanent root: We'll obviously make use of the temp root from KingRoot, then my idea (if feasible/logical) is to find the flag/eFuse and modify the result or expected result to keep it from reverting back. Now if it's dependent on an eFuse it may not be feasible if it's blown from the factory to lock the bootloader, but if it's like Dan Rosenbergs @djrbliss findings then the eFuse may be blown to unlock the bootloader. It's been a while since I read his findings so I may not be 100% accurate but it makes more sense the first method from a security point-of-view.
Now this was all before dmverity was introduced into KitKat 4.4.4 I believe, so things probably have changed for the worse in our case. I wonder where the weakest link is? I say this because obviously Qualcomm is great at securing their high-level chain of commands lately, but with the Droid Turbo gaining root(same SoC) then I have to believe that a kernel exploit is possible permanently and our road block is Sammy's software. Now with that being said, how tough can their software really be if their flagship S6 (Exynos) was just rooted? BTW good job @idler1984 on that! So you see where I'm going with this right? There's got to be a hole somewhere in Sammy's software after the bootloader, I just don't have a full overview of the boot process as far as where the Qualcomm bootloader hands off to kernel, then to Samsung's KNOX or activation lock etc etc...
Speaking of KNOX (Just rambling here) but has anyone who has used KingRoot ensured that they have turned KNOX and Activation Lock off? That would be funny is that's all it took to retain root

CJ74753 said:
Well I'll join in...
Not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I've successfully got my phone to continuously have the "Custom" message on my bootup screen and I enabled Factory Mode which is enabled at each boot. I managed to edit the /efs/FactoryApp enabling "Factory Mode" and changing some file permissions and not have the system restore the changes to the /efs/FactoryApp folder. When I edited it earlier pressing the power button caused a complete shut down, so I was hoping this was progress, but now pressing the power button brings up the power menu like normal. Is this partition handled differently or is this any progress? Can someone with more knowledge of the system file system comment on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't read too much into the custom message you can trip that a variety of ways even before now.

dagolith said:
Don't read too much into the custom message you can trip that a variety of ways even before now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well my main point here is that I edited the Factory Mode flag to enabled and was able to force the system to keep it set by editing the file permissions. While this don't work with all the files/folders this might be something to look at. I only wish I understood the file system more so I knew if we could possibly keep the system from restoring apps and removing root.

Here is a message I sent Droid.Ninja az I did not want to clog up the other thread with stupid ideas. But, that has been taken care of by others and their talking about off topic stuff. Any way here is a partial quote of what I sent him a few days ago. I hope that there is something useful here.
Jaytronics said:
Kingroot obtains Root. Be it temporary but Root non the less. Now, from my understanding, the device are trying to install the su binary while booted? Now, I know that and this may not matter. But after Kingroot has done its thing, SuperSU can not be utilized. But, what I have found is, that if hitting the SuperSU icon during Kingroot process. It, the SuperSU app has the ability to be activated. Now, when trying to install it's SU binary. It fails. Is this due to the system not having full R-W-E?
Separate idea. So, Root is temp partly because the RAM gets wiped at boot? That is easy to understand. Would there be a temporary way to energize that location before reboot to keep the Root state? I say this because some apps like Xposed need a reboot to work properly. Now whIle being energized could it be possible to back read the binaries that are trying to write to it from the bootloader as it gives off its authentication key or keys? I know absolutely nothing in regards to this stuff. I am guessing and thinking with pseudo logic. So, please don't think me an idiot. One last thing. I want to learn this stuff. I learn best by doing and experimenting. Could you in form me of the tools that you and other devices are using to try and achieve this? I want to dive head first into this stuff. And no, I don't care if I damage my phone. I will just purchase another one when needed. If need be. I hope in some small way I may have helped out. Last thing, would you know where to get a schematic of the board layout and possibly the pinout of components? Ok, I'm done now. By the way, I am not on the AT&T Note 4. I am a Verizon customer. Wish I was not. But, it is almost unfathomable to give up much unlimited data lines. So, I'm stuck with Evilrizon until they rip this away from me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Jaytronics said:
1. Kingroot obtains Root. Be it temporary but Root non the less. Now, from my understanding, the device are trying to install the su binary while booted? Now, I know that and this may not matter. But after Kingroot has done its thing, SuperSU can not be utilized. But, what I have found is, that if hitting the SuperSU icon during Kingroot process. It, the SuperSU app has the ability to be activated. Now, when trying to install it's SU binary. It fails. Is this due to the system not having full R-W-E?
2. Separate idea. So, Root is temp partly because the RAM gets wiped at boot? That is easy to understand. Would there be a temporary way to energize that location before reboot to keep the Root state? I say this because some apps like Xposed need a reboot to work properly. Now whIle being energized could it be possible to back read the binaries that are trying to write to it from the bootloader as it gives off its authentication key or keys? I know absolutely nothing in regards to this stuff. I am guessing and thinking with pseudo logic. So, please don't think me an idiot. One last thing
3. I want to learn this stuff. I learn best by doing and experimenting. Could you in form me of the tools that you and other devices are using to try and achieve this? I want to dive head first into this stuff. And no, I don't care if I damage my phone. I will just purchase another one when needed. If need be. I hope in some small way I may have helped out. Last thing, would you know where to get a schematic of the board layout and possibly the pinout of components? Ok, I'm done now. By the way, I am not on the AT&T Note 4. I am a Verizon customer. Wish I was not. But, it is almost unfathomable to give up much unlimited data lines. So, I'm stuck with Evilrizon until they rip this away from me..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I've not used King Root yet as I'm on Lollipop so I can't comment on that issue, maybe someone else can add their experience.
2. From what I've been reading the system reverts back to the original state, which leads me to wonder if there is a backup of the system/partition elsewhere that is uses to compare or uses if there's any modification done to it? Xposed needs a reboot because it initializes in boot up.
3. Learn ADB in and out. One of the best Tools you could use. Give up on the unlimited data, it's overrated :good:

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
2. From what I've been reading the system reverts back to the original state, which leads me to wonder if there is a backup of the system/partition elsewhere that is uses to compare or uses if there's any modification done to it? Xposed needs a reboot because it initializes in boot up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understand we never get to touch the actual file system of the system. This explains the bootup process of Android http://www.androidenea.com/2009/06/android-boot-process-from-power-on.html So upon bootup it copies the system data into RAM. Some how there must be a way to edit this and force the memory to write to the actual partition like how an update would have to do. This is why I was curious about my editing the /efs and making the changes stick by changing the file permissions.

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
1. I've not used King Root yet as I'm on Lollipop so I can't comment on that issue, maybe someone else can add their experience.
2. From what I've been reading the system reverts back to the original state, which leads me to wonder if there is a backup of the system/partition elsewhere that is uses to compare or uses if there's any modification done to it? Xposed needs a reboot because it initializes in boot up.
3. Learn ADB in and out. One of the best Tools you could use. Give up on the unlimited data, it's overrated :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in answer to #2, there is two possible explainations for this:
1. those reporting that the system reverts are actually see the "Updated" apks in the /data/app not the actual apks they deleted from /system/app or /system/priv-app. (I'm also on 5.0 so cant test this theory)
2. Samsung is using an initramfs or modified version of it, this would explain the complete revert to stock and possibly even the loss of root as the /system partition is "loaded" into ram and that is where all modifications are being written to including root so once the device reboots ram is cleared and reloaded from the mmcblk0xx firmware partition. (there have been conflicting reports of actual system files reverting).

Are there any Devs that are good at reading and writing binary? I'm thinking that if someone was to make a mock OTA update file and attempt to load it and could read the processors I/O, then it would be possible to find the signature keys. Also, use the current OTA as it allows the OS to move back to KK. I wonder how fast I could learn ADB and binary. Lol!
Sent from my SM-N900V

Jaytronics said:
Are there any Devs that are good at reading and writing binary? I'm thinking that if someone was to make a mock OTA update file and attempt to load it and could read the processors I/O, then it would be possible to find the signature keys. Also, use the current OTA as it allows the OS to move back to KK. I wonder how fast I could learn ADB and binary. Lol!
Sent from my SM-N900V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can guarentee you 100% you won't get they keys there is a reason the bootloader has not been crackdx since the note 2 these are not something that can be so easily obtained
Sent From The EDGE

Question. I am still on lolipop so i haven't tried but seeing as android is basically linux. When we obtain root even though its temp can we or has anyone tried mounting all the partitions in /dev to other location to see whats what and whats editable? I would think as root you could just mount and edit the system partition. Assuming you can find which partition is actually the system part.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

cstayton said:
in answer to #2, there is two possible explainations for this:
1. those reporting that the system reverts are actually see the "Updated" apks in the /data/app not the actual apks they deleted from /system/app or /system/priv-app. (I'm also on 5.0 so cant test this theory)
2. Samsung is using an initramfs or modified version of it, this would explain the complete revert to stock and possibly even the loss of root as the /system partition is "loaded" into ram and that is where all modifications are being written to including root so once the device reboots ram is cleared and reloaded from the mmcblk0xx firmware partition. (there have been conflicting reports of actual system files reverting).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe I am just seeing the "Updated" apks, such as Evernote. I can do anything I want, but upon reboot that bloat is back. Any idea how the /efs partition isn't restored if you change file permissions to 0644?

delete this if it does help with anything but i was listening to an podcast and they were talking about root and they used an camera app to help install su apk like i said just remember hearing something about it
keep up the good work guys!

CJ74753 said:
I don't believe I am just seeing the "Updated" apks, such as Evernote. I can do anything I want, but upon reboot that bloat is back. Any idea how the /efs partition isn't restored if you change file permissions to 0644?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my guess (just speculation at this point) is that the only partition that is :Handled" by the initramfs methods (if that truly is the case) is the system partition (I believe it is mmcblkp026 not sure tho) this would likely make sense due to the fact that if the /EFS partition was also hadled then making changes thru "Secret codes" would also be replaced on reboot meaning that if you borked your IMIE all it would take to fix it is a reboot and from experience we know this is not the case.

Jaytronics said:
Are there any Devs that are good at reading and writing binary? I'm thinking that if someone was to make a mock OTA update file and attempt to load it and could read the processors I/O, then it would be possible to find the signature keys. Also, use the current OTA as it allows the OS to move back to KK. I wonder how fast I could learn ADB and binary. Lol!
Sent from my SM-N900V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your theory is sound and does (to some extent bare a little further research):
Now to explain what i mean by further research: I have been developing ROMS since the early days of Windows mobile (long before android or iPhones) the original process of packaging and pushing a "ROM" to the mobile device involved several binary edits as you had to move your custom ROM into the exact location within the install package, part of the other issue is that your ROM had to be the EXACT same number of bytes as the OEM thus preventing you from adding to stock unless you removed the exact same number of bytes from your build.
Now as far as the theory being sound here is my explanation for that:
IF (and it's a big IF) we were to compare for instance the BL from a Tmobile note4 to that of ours and determine exactly (and I mean EXACTLY) where the binary portion was that contained the "Keys" and that portion was EXACTLY the same byte size then "In Theory" we could insert the "Keys" from our BL into the Tmobile BL and flash it on our device which since the keys would be correct would not balk at doing so.
Now for the explanation as to why this wont work:
In order to insert our keys into the Tmo BL they litteraly would have to be byte for byte identical or every single byte in the entire BL would be offset and this would in turn cause the flash to fail. And in the event it didn't fail the BL memory space would be offset by the exact same number of bytes and would likely brick your device.

cstayton said:
my guess (just speculation at this point) is that the only partition that is :Handled" by the initramfs methods (if that truly is the case) is the system partition (I believe it is mmcblkp026 not sure tho) this would likely make sense due to the fact that if the /EFS partition was also hadled then making changes thru "Secret codes" would also be replaced on reboot meaning that if you borked your IMIE all it would take to fix it is a reboot and from experience we know this is not the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The strange thing is if you edit /efs/FactoryApp with permission 0775,which is default, pressing the power button causes the phone to completely shut off, no power menu is shown. Changing it to 0644 yields a working power menu, but selecting any of the files to edit shows each file is blank. But I don't understand the fs enough to know a lot so I was just throwing that piece of information out there.

CJ74753 said:
I don't believe I am just seeing the "Updated" apks, such as Evernote. I can do anything I want, but upon reboot that bloat is back. Any idea how the /efs partition isn't restored if you change file permissions to 0644?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cstayton said:
in answer to #2, there is two possible explainations for this:
1. those reporting that the system reverts are actually see the "Updated" apks in the /data/app not the actual apks they deleted from /system/app or /system/priv-app. (I'm also on 5.0 so cant test this theory)
2. Samsung is using an initramfs or modified version of it, this would explain the complete revert to stock and possibly even the loss of root as the /system partition is "loaded" into ram and that is where all modifications are being written to including root so once the device reboots ram is cleared and reloaded from the mmcblk0xx firmware partition. (there have been conflicting reports of actual system files reverting).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on 4.4.4
I froze all the bloat after the very first boot. Later, after successfully running kingroot, i used root explorer to go in and delete the apks and their associated odex files - both in system/app and system/priv-app. After a reboot, it was all there again.
Running Adaway to put a new hosts file in system/etc also restored the original hosts file after reboot. I was hoping files in system/etc would be more modifiable, but apparently not as Dr. Ketans sound mod apks that modify mixer_paths.xml also reverts.
The only thing that has worked for me is Dr. Ketan's sdcard fix, that allows to write to sdcard in kitkat. That is the only item that has stuck for me of the things I have tried.

jeepers007 said:
I'm on 4.4.4
I froze all the bloat after the very first boot. Later, after successfully running kingroot, i used root explorer to go in and delete the apks and their associated odex files - both in system/app and system/priv-app. After a reboot, it was all there again.
Running Adaway to put a new hosts file in system/etc also restored the original hosts file after reboot. I was hoping files in system/etc would be more modifiable, but apparently not as Dr. Ketans sound mod apks that modify mixer_paths.xml also reverts.
The only thing that has worked for me is Dr. Ketan's sdcard fix, that allows to write to sdcard in kitkat. That is the only item that has stuck for me of the things I have tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this would definetly point to the initramfs scenario meaning in order for root to "Stick" we would need modifications to kingsroot or whatever perm root method is used to write directly to the mmcblkxx partition rather than the /system folder (which is nothing more than volatile RAM space.)

Same case for me, any changes made were reverted on reboot. I used King to temp root, removed all traces of knox, then actually attempted to convert and install SuperSu but it would not install. Just said that the install failed and to try again.

Related

Life after simpleroot?

Hey guys I just finished runny simple root OTA edition. Everything went well and now I'm rooted. I am running into a couple of questions now.
1. Whats happens now? I'm rooted now how do i get those nice custom roms onto my phone?
2. I purchased ROM Manager because baked snacks rom says it was necessary for install but i can't get it to install clockwork mod, it keeps saying something about error running privileged commands.
3. How do I go back to stock ROM I'm starting to feel like I might be over my head at this point.
Thanks for your help guys.
I'm in the same boat. The two main reasons for rooting was for a new ROM and to use it as a hot spot (which so far I haven't been able to do.)
ROM Manager gives me the same error message about clockwork. Also, I would like to stop paying the $30 a month for the hot spot, so any help in that area would be appreciated.
Darrell
Keep at it!
loztboy said:
Hey guys I just finished runny simple root OTA edition. Everything went well and now I'm rooted. I am running into a couple of questions now.
1. Whats happens now? I'm rooted now how do i get those nice custom roms onto my phone?
2. I purchased ROM Manager because baked snacks rom says it was necessary for install but i can't get it to install clockwork mod, it keeps saying something about error running privileged commands.
3. How do I go back to stock ROM I'm starting to feel like I might be over my head at this point.
Thanks for your help guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
0. Please read everything before doing anything. My post is a little chaotic, but you should be fine if you read everything first.
1/2. The usual disclaimer: I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm just providing information. I'm not liable for anything you do to you phone.
1. ROM Manager is definitely the easiest way, though the "real way" is to load your ROM of choice on the SD card and then flash it from Recovery (more on recovery later).
1 & 1/2. By the way, you should install Titanium backup from the market five minutes ago. Yes, it is that important. When jumping ROMs, you often have to wipe everything out. Without Titanium Backup, you could end up having to repurchase apps and redownload all of your free ones, losing progress in games and settings in apps, etc. The free version of Titanium Backup lets you back up easily enough, but you want the donate version to prevent restores from taking a few hours of user interaction (Yes, I said user interaction, meaning sitting there and pressing buttons for hours). Once you throw $4.00-$50.00 (you can pick within that range, you get the same product regardless of amount) at Titanium Backup (and wait a day or so to get the license key file), you can do a restore in 15 min without any interaction beyond hitting start (or, more accurately, begin batch process). This app has saved my life time and time again. I literally did my first backup out of curiosity for the app and then totaled my phone in the next five minuets. It even backs up your home screen layout. GET IT NOW!!! YOU WILL HATE YOURSELF IF YOU DO NOT GET IT!!! At least get the free version, because, as stated above, it does backups fine. You (like me) will be scared into paying when you realize that you just wreaked everything and really don't want to spend the next few hours restoring. However, Titanium backup will not function until you get Superuser app working, as detailed in point 2 below.
***EDIT: I forgot to mention that Titanium Backup should work after running this program. It should even fix clockwork for you***
2. There are three possibilities for that error: 1: You don't have the superuser app installed. It dishes out the privileges. If you don't have it (if you do go on to potential issue number two and be grateful), you can install it by downloading this file and putting it on the root of the SD card. Then boot into recovery (I'm sure there is a tutorial for getting into recovery floating around here somewhere, just search the EVO section) and flash the .zip Presto! Superuser app is installed. If you prefer not to go around flashing random packages recommended by strangers on the internet, you can research and download superuser app at the source 2: If you found the Superuser app in the app drawer (the screen with all the applications where you scroll down in alphabetical order and pick the one you want to use), open it. You may have bumped "never give superuser access to this app" (or words to that effect) the first time you opened ROM Manager. If so, it will be listed in the Superuser app
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as red. Just have the superuser app forget ROM Manager and then try to flash custom recovery from within the ROM Manager again, being sure to say "Yes!" when it asks for superuser privileges. 3: If you have no recovery to flash superuser from or superuser is installed and ROM Manager is green inside and it still fails, the SimpleRoot failed. If you skipped a step in the rooting process, go back and do that step. If not, just start over and run all the steps from the beginning, Also note that if you accepted the over the air update, you need the OTA version of SimpleRoot, not the original one.
3. Now, about total reversal. I'll be honest: There is probably a way to go back to stock that works without finishing the root process (probably something to do with PC36IMG.zip) files, but I don't know it. The way I would do it would be picking the OTA Stock ROM from this page and flashing it after getting recovery installed at the end of a successful root process. However, then you would have succeed in your original endeavor and would have no need to go back. There is a program here that supposedly does just enough tweaking to the phone to give you the recovery you need to flash back to the stock ROM, but I have not used it myself and therefore cannot vouch for it.
dws51 said:
I'm in the same boat. The two main reasons for rooting was for a new ROM and to use it as a hot spot (which so far I haven't been able to do.)
ROM Manager gives me the same error message about clockwork. Also, I would like to stop paying the $30 a month for the hot spot, so any help in that area would be appreciated.
Darrell
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you both succeed in the root process (and I encourage you to persevere, the reward is spectacular), I personally recommend Cyanogen Mod 6. I believe that you can get the nightly builds of CM6 from ROM manager, but the release candidate is likely more stable. I use the RC myself and have never looked back. My battery lasts forever and my phone is never unresponsive. And because the CM6 ROM is based of of Android 2.2 (Froyo), free tethering is built in to the OS and done so rather elegantly, meaning no more dirty hacks for tethering. Just know that if you go that route, though you have the best of the best, you will need to tinker a bit to get everything working. Also, 4G, the FM Radio, and HDMI output are flat out not working in the RC (I'm sure they will be fully functional in the final release, and the not-workedness is a software thing, meaning that the hardware is fine and will come online when you again install a ROM that supports it). On the other hand, with this ROM you can force the phone to roam on Verizon's network when Sprint's 3G speeds are less than desirable.
I'm not sure where to put this, so I'm sticking it here. As soon as you get custom recovery working, you want to backup with Nandroid. The easiest way is from ROM Manager. Just hit "Backup ROM". This backs up not only your setup (like Titanium Backup), but also all the crucial bits that lie underneath and keep your EVOs humming, bits very very difficult to replace. HOWEVER, this is NOT a replacement for Titanium Backup, because it can only restore to the same ROM. If you attempt to restore to a different one, it will put the one you had at the time of the backup back on.
Whichever way you go, I wish the both of you luck. You're entering into the wild and wonderful world of devices that you actually own!
that was a great post im in the same boat as those guys above and im sure we are not the only ones, when you say put the file on the root of the sd card what is the root of the sd card? if i dont know that should i just not even be rooting?
edit
I just downloaded rom manager and i get the same response " an error occurred while attempting to run priviliged commands" i went through the root process and it said i was rooted, i read earlier that to check it i was rooted and nand unlocked that if i checked my hboot and it was 0.76 i was rooted and nand unlocked if i was 0.79 the root didnt work i was .76. Is there a different way to check if my root went through
The root of the SD card is the 'directory' you're in when you plug the card into the computer & you see folders like ".Mail" "Android" "DCIM" etc.
It's up to you if you think you can handle rooting. I used SimpleRoot & it was incredibly easy, but i have been familiar with modding phones for awhile now.
jdjozwia said:
that was a great post im in the same boat as those guys above and im sure we are not the only ones, when you say put the file on the root of the sd card what is the root of the sd card? if i dont know that should i just not even be rooting?
edit
I just downloaded rom manager and i get the same response " an error occurred while attempting to run priviliged commands" i went through the root process and it said i was rooted, i read earlier that to check it i was rooted and nand unlocked that if i checked my hboot and it was 0.76 i was rooted and nand unlocked if i was 0.79 the root didnt work i was .76. Is there a different way to check if my root went through
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The root of something simply means not in a folder, e.g. on your computer it would be just G:/ (or whatever letter your SD card is mounted to). Just open the SD card and put whichever file you are referencing right there, not in any folder.
By the way, anyone can root, so long as you are willing to learn and willing to take a few risks. As long as you stay well informed, you usually don't break anything. And there is usually a way out, even if you make a train wreak, though it may be ugly. Independent developers (not me; smart people like Cyanogen and Toast who actually make these awesome ROMs and roots) have a better track record for keeping dangerous stuff out than some corporations. ***Cough***McAfee antivirus broke thousands of computers with a defective update***Cough*** Scientia est vox. Knowledge is power. Know what you're doing, and you'll be fine. You will make mistakes (I know I have), but stay sharp and know the consequences, how to go back, who to ask when things go South, and you'll do alright. The community here at XDA is one of the best and most helpful I have ever seen. If you're not totally hosed, someone will pull you out of the fire. It probably won't even be me. I'm no pro. But there is no shortage of pros here at XDA.
so what would you guys say the next step for me is, should i just do the simple root over? how can i check to see if im rooted? and what should i do about this rom manager giving me trouble with flashing the clockwork mod
See Above
jdjozwia said:
so what would you guys say the next step for me is, should i just do the simple root over? how can i check to see if im rooted? and what should i do about this rom manager giving me trouble with flashing the clockwork mod
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If titanium backup works, you have root. As for Clockwork, please see my first post, where I went over it in detail.
OK well i installed titanium back up and busy box and it looks like im rooted? Im going to try to flash that superuser app tmw i left my usb cord at work so in about 12 hours ill probly be back with more questions
thanks for the encouragement the answers and most of all your time
Cut the cord
jdjozwia said:
i left my usb cord at work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's personal preference, but there is a throughly cool free app called Awesome Drop that lets you send files without a cable. When you use it, files end up in the /drop directory on your phone. If necessary, you can move them out with a program like Astro File Manager.
By the way, Titanium backup shouldn't work without SU app, so I'm wondering if you do in fact have it. Have you looked through the S section of the App Drawer?
Techrocket9 said:
It's personal preference, but there is a throughly cool free app called Awesome Drop that lets you send files without a cable. When you use it, files end up in the /drop directory on your phone. If necessary, you can move them out with a program like Astro File Manager.
By the way, Titanium backup shouldn't work without SU app, so I'm wondering if you do in fact have it. Have you looked through the S section of the App Drawer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just went through my S' and all i have are the ones that came with the phone no super user but when u say it shouldnt work what should happen when i open the app?
jdjozwia said:
I just went through my S' and all i have are the ones that came with the phone no super user but when u say it shouldnt work what should happen when i open the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should complain about being unable to acquire root privileges.
___
An army of pacifists can be defeated by one man with the will to fight.
yeah when i open it it doesnt say that and it says my root access is ok,
I DL astro and when i open it one of the folders is clockwork mod and if i search i find super user app on my sd card when i reboot my phone by holding the down volume it goes to the hboot screen and askes me if i want to update my phone i say no and then when i go to recovery it does not give me the option to flash the super user app. it takes me to android system recovery with four options. At the very bottom it says E: cant open/cache/recovery/command
?
Is one option to flash zip from SD card?
___
An army of pacifists can be defeated by one man with the will to fight.
How to check if you are root: Assuming you have ADB installed (you used simpleroot so, possibly not) just type "adb shell" into a command prompt. If it comes up with a "#" you are root, if it comes up with "$" type "su" and hit enter, if it switches to a "#" you are rooted. Also you can get a terminal emulator app (I love Better Terminal Emulator) and open it, type "su" and see if it gives you "#".
Did you do the SimpleRoot step where you replaced the recovery with your recovery of choice? I know more than one person that didn't do that step. Though the app should at least still TRY to reboot.
As said before, check your SuperUser permissions to make sure you didn't disallow Rom Manager.
As for CM6, don't get me wrong, I LOVE CM6, but, Fresh 1.0.1 or the latest Damage Control might be a safer bet. For your first rom CM6 needs more coaxing than you might like. Also tethering is installed by default in the 2.1 roms from those guys and it's (imho) easier and more obvious to use.
Keep at it, there will be times you feel like giving up even after you get past this point, just don't take it too seriously and remember that as long as you are still getting phonecalls your phone is still doing it's primary job, the rest is just icing. Icing that gets more delicious with time, like beer, mmmmmm beer.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, good luck!
Crap, forgot, when someone says "put it on the root of the SD card" the easiest way to do that is hook it up via USB, hit the status tray that says "usb connected" and check the Hard Drive option. Then just copy your file to the new drive that will show up in windows (might pop up automatically depending on your windows settings) and boom, it's on the root of the SD card.
As for the "real" way to flash. Do the above, putting the .zip file containing whatever rom you want (for instance CM6, or Fresh 1.0.1 which you can obtain over in Development forum from their respective posts) on the root of the SD card. Safely remove the device (on windows it will be in your status bar, usually looks like a plug with a green arrow, click it, choose Mass Storage Device and then hit Stop, it will tell you when its done, make sure you have the folder closed before you do this or it will grump at you) and switch back over to Charge Only on your phone. Then power off the phone (hold the power button with the phone unlocked, choose Power Off, then Ok) and hold the volume down button. Then press power, don't let go of volume down but you don't have to hold power, just press it to turn it on. A white screen should come up, let go of the volume button, and one option will be Recovery. Use volume up and down to select it and press the power button to select. It should then boot you into recovery which should have an option to "wipe", you want to wipe dalvik cache, then cache, then factory defaults. Then go back up (in AmonRA that means hitting vol-up and vol-down at the same time), then goto "Flash .zip from sdcard" select it, hit power, select the zip file, power again, power one more time to confirm.
Once it's done you hit Reboot System Now and viola, first boot takes FOREVER so don't fret.
alcaron said:
How to check if you are root: Assuming you have ADB installed (you used simpleroot so, possibly not) just type "adb shell" into a command prompt. If it comes up with a "#" you are root, if it comes up with "$" type "su" and hit enter, if it switches to a "#" you are rooted. Also you can get a terminal emulator app (I love Better Terminal Emulator) and open it, type "su" and see if it gives you "#".
Did you do the SimpleRoot step where you replaced the recovery with your recovery of choice? I know more than one person that didn't do that step. Though the app should at least still TRY to reboot.
As said before, check your SuperUser permissions to make sure you didn't disallow Rom Manager.
QUOTE]
where exactly do i type adb shell? when i did the simple root i do not remember replacing my recovery with a recovery of my choice so thats probly where my problem is and i do not know how to check my superuser permissions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Techrocket9 said:
Is one option to flash zip from SD card?
___
An army of pacifists can be defeated by one man with the will to fight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no the option i get is update to zip and when i click that it does stuff for me and i cannot choose a file i think my problem lies to not choosing what recovery i wanted?
jdjozwia said:
no the option i get is update to zip and when i click that it does stuff for me and i cannot choose a file i think my problem lies to not choosing what recovery i wanted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible. The program I mentioned earlier (unrEVOked) should install a custom recovery for you. I can't put a link in this post because I'm on my phone, but a quick google search should find it.
An army of pacifists can be defeated by one man with the will to fight.
jdjozwia said:
alcaron said:
How to check if you are root: Assuming you have ADB installed (you used simpleroot so, possibly not) just type "adb shell" into a command prompt. If it comes up with a "#" you are root, if it comes up with "$" type "su" and hit enter, if it switches to a "#" you are rooted. Also you can get a terminal emulator app (I love Better Terminal Emulator) and open it, type "su" and see if it gives you "#".
Did you do the SimpleRoot step where you replaced the recovery with your recovery of choice? I know more than one person that didn't do that step. Though the app should at least still TRY to reboot.
As said before, check your SuperUser permissions to make sure you didn't disallow Rom Manager.
QUOTE]
where exactly do i type adb shell? when i did the simple root i do not remember replacing my recovery with a recovery of my choice so thats probly where my problem is and i do not know how to check my superuser permissions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just did SimpleRoot (i.e. didn't download the android SDK) you probably don't have ADB installed on your PC. So then you'd want to go the terminal route. Search the market for Better Terminal Emulator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Building Stock Firmwares (Verizon Specifically)

Hey guys, I've been reading for a while now, finally decided to sign up.
I'm making some modifications to the Galaxy Tab, just playing around and seeing what all is possible. Before I go start deleting potentially important system files, I wanted to get myself a little 'brick insurance'. I'm looking to get a copy of the stock firmware for the US Verizon Wireless version of the Tab (SCH-I800). It is currently running DJ11.
I don't think it is available from either Samsung or Verizon currently, although Samsung HAS provided all of the source code. If I wanted to make a backup of the firmware, something that I could load from the SDCard (ideally, just give it one of those update.zip files) how would I go about doing that?
This is my current plan, tell me if I'm not on track here. I have downloaded the Android Froyo source code available on the Android site. I downloaded the SCH-I800_OpenSource files from Samsung's open source center. If I combine these files as described in the readme from Samsung, and then build the whole project, I should get some sort of "stock" software, in basically the exact same state that it was when I got it from Verizon. Does this sound right?
I want to be able to quickly revert back to like-new set up, so I would prefer to not have to use one of the modified European/International versions if possible. Is there any other trick to getting an unmodified firmware to revert to? Any suggestions?
Thank You
I don't think it'll matter until someone creates a new recovery image. If you could get a clockwork recovery image, you'd be a hero
DavidThompson256 said:
This is my current plan, tell me if I'm not on track here. I have downloaded the Android Froyo source code available on the Android site. I downloaded the SCH-I800_OpenSource files from Samsung's open source center. If I combine these files as described in the readme from Samsung, and then build the whole project, I should get some sort of "stock" software, in basically the exact same state that it was when I got it from Verizon. Does this sound right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not even close i'm afraid!
Samsung are only required to release the Linux kernel source. The actual OS is not licensed under a "copy left" license, so Samsung are under no obligation to release their customized Android code.
So, you could create your own AOSP build, but this would be absolute stock Froyo - no Samsung launcher, or any of their custom apps.
Regards,
Dave
Yaotl said:
I don't think it'll matter until someone creates a new recovery image. If you could get a clockwork recovery image, you'd be a hero
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use odin or redbend_ua to flash firmwares, you don't necessarily need clockwork - although it would be nice!
Hey infamousjax,
Do you happen to have an update.zip for the verizon tab you can upload? I managed to ninjamorph my framework so nothing opens anymore. I must have used a file that was the wrong png format or something. Anyway I do have the backup framework-res.apk, but I am unsure on the "update-script" as I can't get programs on my tab at the moment.
ninja4hire said:
Hey infamousjax,
Do you happen to have an update.zip for the verizon tab you can upload? I managed to ninjamorph my framework so nothing opens anymore. I must have used a file that was the wrong png format or something. Anyway I do have the backup framework-res.apk, but I am unsure on the "update-script" as I can't get programs on my tab at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Sprint version... and the stock recovery can't flash update.zips unless they are signed.
infamousjax said:
I have the Sprint version... and the stock recovery can't flash update.zips unless they are signed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I just tried to make an update.zip and sign it with a test signer. Now when go into recovery and run the update.zip it freezes on an Android icon with an exclamation point.
ninja4hire said:
Yeah I just tried to make an update.zip and sign it with a test signer. Now when go into recovery and run the update.zip it freezes on an Android icon with an exclamation point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you boot up regularly?
yeah, it's just that I can't open programs or the settings menu.
edit: I have been trying to do an update.zip, but I keep getting "E: signature verification failed". I have tried to different signers already...
This one
http://www.robmcghee.com/android/creating-an-android-update-zip-package/
and this one
http://www.londatiga.net/it/how-to-create-android-update-zip-package/
Your not going to able to sign it without Samsung's signatures... and good luck finding those
yeah I pretty much gave up. I called last night and got the verizon insurance. So now I'm just gonna wait a few days then tell them I dropped it and pay $80 for a new one.
just tell them it started bootlooping for no reason... they should replace it for free if its within 30 days
So it sounds as though I'm not really on the right track here, perhaps I don't need to recompile this thing myself. From some of the replies, I've gathered that there IS at least some way to create a backup of the firmware, in case I screw it up.
Can anyone point me to specific steps on how to do a backup for the Tab? I've seen several guides for other phones before, but I believe that each device is slightly different, and may take different steps. Any suggestions?
Thanks again.
For your stock recovery
Code:
cat /dev/block/bml8 > /sdcard/recovery.bin
For your kernel
Code:
cat /dev/block/bml7 > /sdcard/zImage
Thanks a lot, that info was really helpful!
So, unrelated now, but just kind of curious... is there a reference sheet somewhere or something that explains what each of the files in /dev/block is for? I know they are different sections of the filesystem.
I have about 60 different files in that directory, and was just curious to know what each of them was for.
Thanks again for all the info.
DavidThompson256 said:
is there a reference sheet somewhere or something that explains what each of the files in /dev/block is for? I know they are different sections of the filesystem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What they represent is different devices, not different sections of filesystems. At best (without RAID or LVM) each device holds one filesystem. In unix, filesystems can be mounted at various points into the root filesystem to appear as a single namespace, but they will still be separate filesystems.
Under the block dir you will see anything that is a block device, anything that can be written to randomly, as opposed to a serial type of device. So, all the random access hardware on your device (SDCARD, NAND...) will be represented there except for your RAM. Each physical device will likely have partitions on them so, if a device is named xxx, xxx01 will likely mean partition one on device xxx. Sometimes the same device will appear with several names, one may be buffered access, the other may be raw.
Your internal NAND is likely on the same device, just different partitions of that device. Some of these partitions may not hold filesystems, they may hold other blobs such as a boot loader, or the kernel. To see which ones hold filesystems, you can type df in a terminal and you will likely see which devices are mounted where in the filesystem namespace.
As for the rest of the devices and partitions, they are very hardware device specific. And I don't own a Galaxy tab, so I can't help with that, sorry. But, I hope I didn't give you info you already knew and I hope it might have been at least somewhat helpful...

[Guide] All things Iconia A100 (guide to modding) - updated 8.13.13

Since the information for this device is so fragmented, I decided to attempt to keep it all in one (or a series of) posts. I aim to link to the original posts as well as outline what do to with your device from the time it leaves to box to running the latest and greatest modified rom or CM9 or whatever else is out there. I will not link directly to anything, rather I will link to the thread, and I very seriously recommend reading at least the post, if not the thread, before you begin ANYTHING.
This guide is a work in progress, it is not complete, and I will work on it bit by bit until it's completed!
Section 1: So its shiny and new...how can I MOD IT?
This will be assuming the new shiny toy in question is indeed an Acer Iconia Tab A100, this is not meant to cover any other devices. And, this is assuming it's coming with Honeycomb installed, in stock form. If its used, or comes with ICS, the next section will amuse you.
First thing most users that want to mod their devices do is root their device. Now, rooting is not unlocking, as carrier unlocking is not boot loader unlocking. Rooting a device allows you to access the system in a much more in depth manner, including read/write (R/W) access to the /system partition, among other things. It allows use of programs such as Titanium Backup (TB or TiBu) ROM Toolbox, overclocking or other clock setting utilities such as SetCPU or CPU Master for overclocking (if the kernel supports it) underclocking and undervolting.
So...how do I do that rooting thing? Well assuming you are running Honeycomb and are wanting to update to ICS plus root and unlock the bootloader, we will use the info from this thread Simple Root Method by ZeroNull to update you to ICS and then gain Root access on that new ICS install!
What about rooting Honeycomb? Well most users are already running ICS and prefer it, and those on Honeycomb are likely wanting to update to ICS, so I will leave this out for now. If I have the time I will come back and include the link for that as well.
Now, ICS is installed, and you're rooted, what else can I do? Well you can unlock your bootloader, and load up a custom recovery such as CWM or TWRP and using those, install Custom ROMS! For this, we visit this thread here Install unlocked bootloader by ZeroNull. Follow ALL directions in this thread for a fully unlocked bootloader!
Custom recoveries, what are they and how do I get that shiz? Custom recoveries, CWM and TWRP, allow the user to flash anything they want, provided its for their device and properly packaged. This included custom roms, some tools, and allows you to "wipe" various parts of the device's storage and backup/restore to a previous installation. Powerful, and dangerous, do not go pushing buttons to things you do NOT understand! Also, you MUST delete or rename /system/etc/install-recovery.sh prior to flashing recovery! This will restore stock recovery every time android boots, wiping out your custom recovery. The only time you want that file there is if you are using the crossix mount swap mod, which replaces that file with a modified version that leaves recovery alone.
Safe to do wipe:
Wipe cache, data, dalvik cache, system. Theonew also reports Flex and boot can be wiped as well as SD-EXT. This is not to be confused with External SD, this is a separate partition on your External SD card, wiping it will NOT wipe external SD, only what's installed on that partition, the rest is safe and requires a separate wipe.
If you wipe system you MUST install a new rom or restore from backup!
If you wipe boot please restore or install a new ROM before rebooting! Safety first.
Not safe to wipe:
Don't wipe anything else, and always install a new rom or backup after wiping system!
Never reboot system after wiping without first restoring or installing a new ROM!
Post 2 will cover custom recovery functions in more detail, for both recoveries.
Now that you have an unlocked bootloader, what can I do? Install that custom recovery! There is two flavors, CWM and TWRP, CWM available here CWM Recovery by ptesmoke. Follow the instructions in this post to the letter! Only attempt this after you have ICS, rooted, and unlocked the boot loader correctly! Next we have TWRP Recovery here TWRP Recovery by ZeroNull. Again, follow the instructions to the letter, and attempt only after ICS, root and unlocked boot loader are finished.
Ok, gots me some custom recoveries, what about custom roms? This is why we just did all that work, to prepare for this! Custom ROMs! I'll be listing some (all?) ROMs that you can use, besides stock HC and ICS.
The list in order of version, oldest to newest, updated to retired:
4.0.3
KEBBERSROM by Hardslog Stock based 4.0.3
Flex Reaper by civato ICS 4.0.3 Modified Stock
Green ICS by lgcmn & ZeroNull ICS 4.0.3 Modified Stock
4.0.4
KEBBERSROM SHELLSHOCK by Hardslog 4.0.4, based on A500 and A700 ROMs
Nightly Builds of CM9 by pio_masaki ICS 4.0.4
Aoikaze Modified CM9 by pio_masaki ICS 4.0.4
4.1.1
CM10 Preview builds by waydownsouth 4.1.1
4.1.2
Unofficial CM10 builds by pio_masaki (stock and modded, Phone UI and Tablet UI)
Jellytime Sosei by pio_masaki Jellybean 4.1.2
Cyanosaki_Flex by Hardslog
4.2.2
CarbonROM JB 4.2.2 Unofficial by pio_masaki
These are most of the ROMs. There are others that seem to no longer be in active development and are based on the old leaks that vache was kind enough to grab for us. Development is currently only active in the KEBBERSROM builds by Hardslog, and occasional updated in the CM10 builds by pio_masaki.
That ends Section 1, preparing for awesomeness, and Post 2 will continue with installing your new custom ROM!
Section 2: Recoveries and what they can do for you.
This section will cover recoveries and what they can do, and how to do it. I will be starting with TWRP, as I use that on all of my devices, and after that I will include a CWM section, as a lot, if not most, use that. They are similar in what they do, but different in where things are.
TWRP Recovery
Official TWRP for A100 by linuxsociety
This assumes you have already done everything in section 1, including installed ICS, rooted it, unlocked your bootloader, and installed TWRP custom recovery. Links for this information is provided in Section 1, in the post above.
First thing you should ALWAYS do when you enter recovery, before doing ANYTHING ELSE, is make a nandroid backup!
Getting into recovery: Depending on what ROM you use, this is done a couple ways. First is an AOSP ROM, like CM9/AOKP, which you can hold the power button, then select Reboot, then Recovery. In modified stock or rooted stock ROMs, this menu doesn't exist, you can either use an app like Quick Boot, and select recovery, or power off, then hold the Volume - key (closest to the rotation lock switch) and while holding it, hold power, once the acer screen comes up and starts saying Recovery kernel, release both and recovery will boot provided an update.zip is NOT on the root of your external SD card. This method works for any ROM.
Now I'm in recovery, what do I do? As I mentioned, make a nandroid backup before you do ANYTHING else! From the first screen (home screen) in TWRP select Mount. In mount you can leave everything alone and at the bottom will be two options with Circles. Select Using external SD Card for Backup. This will store your backup on your external SD card, never use internal SD if possible. After you select use external SD, press the Home button in the upper right corner. Now, back on the Home screen, select Backup. Double check the boxes checked are System, Data, Boot and Recovery. At the bottom is a nice little slide bar, slide that over and sit back. Takes about 4-5 minutes depending on how full your device storage is. This does NOT backup internal SD! After this is done, you have created a nandroid backup that when restored will put the system exactly how it was last time you used it. You can make multiple backups of multiple ROMs without issue, just however big your SD card is to hold them.
The restore menu, or the OOPS SAVE MEH menu is your best friend. This will restore you back to the last state your device was in for the backup that is restored. By default TWRP saves by date and time, however you can rename this with any file manager, never caused me any issues. Theonew reminded me of an MD5 issue that can happen on renaming backups, if this does happen, rename it back to the stock naming system to fix it. Generally I'll just append the ROM name to the front, so instead of 2012-6-14--18-25-01 it'll be CM9-2012-6-14--18-25-01. Make sense? That way to restore it in case of error, just drop the name. Easy. Theonew also did some testing, and confirmed that spaces in the folder name WILL cause MD5 errors and fail the restore, please use ONLY dashes and underscores (- and _ lol) in the folder name! To restore make sure you are on the Home screen, then select Restore. In the window you will see a list of your current backups, select one. Next screen has check boxes, make sure System, Data, Boot and Recovery are checked, then slide the bar to begin. This takes a bit, make sure you let it finish! Once done, your system will be at the last point it was used for that backup.
Advanced restore...I'm to lazy to reload and reset up my stuff after a ROM flash, so this is the fast and dirty way of doing it. If you flash a ROM and you don't feel like manually restoring your apps, you can uncheck System, Recovery and Boot, and leave only Data checked. This will restore your user installed apps and settings over the current ROM install. I don't recommend this for different ROMs, only for updates of the same ROM! Up to you but if you get alot of issues, you'll know why. After advanced restoring, go to the Home Screen and select Advanced, then Fix Permissions. Press Home again and select Wipe. Wipe Cache and Dalvik Cache, then reboot system.
Alright, enough already lets get our flash on! From the Home screen, select Wipe, then press on Cache, Dalvik Cache, Factory Reset, and System. Optional you can wipe Battery Stats if your battery seems off. Leave the rest alone. Once these are all wiped, go back to the Home screen, and press Install. The window on the left is your device folders, window on the right is contents of the current folder. I hope you remembered where your rom.zip is, because you select it here. Press on the zip for the ROM of your choice, then slide the bar to flash it. After that is done, select the left button Wipe Cache and Dalvik, then select Reboot system.
OK LETS ROCK THAT ROM! Woah, slow down scooter, there's a few things to do, or not do, first. After it boots, meaning it's past the boot animation and is sitting on the Welcome screen, set it down and leave it alone for 10 minutes or longer. Don't sign in, don't do anything, just leave it be for 10 minutes. If you can't think of what to do to manage the time you have to wait for awesomness of custom ROMs, read the thread of the ROM you chose. Set the thread for 50 posts and just read. After 10 minutes, hold the power key, and either choose Power off or Reboot, Reboot depending on ROM used. After it finishes rebooting (that was alot faster wasn't it?) you can go ahead and do the Welcome stuff, log in to Google, setup your device, download your apps, restore your apps etc. After restoring your apps (try not to restore app + data if possible, though I know games and stuff you'll want to) reboot one more time. After that second reboot, use the tablet as normal. From my experience this offers the BEST possible ROM usage, a vast reduction in lag, bugs, and oddness.
What else can I do with the TWRP Recovery? Well, the most useful tools are Backup, Restore (and advanced restore) and the wipe menu, plus fix permissions. Those generally can fix anything thats wrong. If you notice alot of lagging, FCs or general unruliness, wipe Cache, Dalvik Cache, and Fix Permissions. Another useful ability is ADB, which is beyond the scope of this section, but may be included generally in a later section. ADB can be used to repair otherwise bricked devices, and offers a very large amount of tools that you don't normally get to use in Recovery. Keep in mind ADB is powerful, and can quickly destroy your device, so please, be careful using it.
Placeholder for CWM Recovery section - coming soon!
CWM Recovery for A100 by ptesmoke
Section 3
Additional Recovery tools:
Blackhole Wipe/Nullifier by pio_masaki
These are tools I created to make wiping a little easier, but please read the post completely before deciding to use it! There are multiple versions, and they can and will wipe internal SD, as well as take up to 40 minutes to run (1, not all). Please ask questions if you have them there and I will help as best I can!
AROMA Recovery Touch Recovery
A touch file manger to be used in recovery, even on non touch CWM! Good for renaming backups as soon as you make them (I tend to forget afterwards and get confused by 6 backups with just dates). Also moving a downloaded zip from internal to external or whatever before running a system wipe, any number of things. Please read the post completely before using this tool! It can cause damage if not used properly and with care!
Kernels:
linuxsociety / godmachine's A100 OC Kernel
Plenty of extra balls thrown in for good measure, a good place to look if you like high benchmarks and plenty of extra goodies baked in. Available in a few flavors, with some GPU OC thrown in for good measure.
ezterry's A100 OC/UV Kernel
The only other option for a kernel that we have besides stock and CM9's included kernel. Excellent kernel, really wakes up the A100, allows up to 1.5 GHz for some extra umph and undervolting to help conserve power on our very weak batteries.
PRO TIPS:
The 10 minute rule:
The reason I mention waiting 10 minutes on first boot of a ROM install is this: Alot of things happen the first time the ROM runs, alot of scripts run, the kernel has to settle and search and move things, files are flying all over the nand. Think of a tornado in a cubicle. That's first boot for your device. Allowing it 10 minutes uninterrupted allows all of that to happen and settle down. The following reboot lets all that new info fire up from it's new home and continue settling in. After restoring and downloading apps, that reboot allows that new info to settle into it's new home and the system to catch up. This isn't device specific, rather a general rule of thumb for all devices. Does not really apply to restores unless something is changed.
Undervolting:
Undervolting on this device is only available on ezterry's excellent kernel. The following is a rough guideline of how to do it, and do it right:
Start small, don't just dump it -200 and expect it to work. For the time you're testing, make sure it is NOT set for boot. If something goes wrong you don't want it doing it everytime it boots, right? Go in small increments, -25 is usually OK. For now, don't overclock. Starting at 1 Ghz, lower every speed range down -25, and run the device for at least 10-20 minutes, normal use, hard use, benchmark, browse the web, watch a HD movie. If all is fine and its not lagging, freezing, force closing or heating up more then usual, move everything to -50, and repeat. My device freezes at -150 but runs stable at -145. Every device and chip is different, mine may do -145 yours may do -175 or only -50.
Overclocking
Overclocking is available on ezterry's bodacious (already used excellent) kernel, up to 1.5 GHz, and the CM9 kernel up to 1.4GHz. As with undervolting, this should be done in small steps and tested between to find your max. Generally 1.5 GHz is fine for every device, however all devices and chips are slightly different, and some may not be stable at it. Mixing undervolting and overclocking can be tricky, but following the steps above for undervolting you can find that sweet spot for your device.
Batteries and why they fail
This section is entirely my opinion, other's swear one way, other's another, but this is what I've concluded from multiple posts for this device.
Consider 10% to be 0%. There have been more then a couple posts that say they let their battery fall below 10% and they can NOT get the device to work properly again afterwards. I think there's a few reasons for this, and I'll explain them now. First, a lot of batteries tend to have some kind of breaker protection if the voltage drops below a certain level. This is to prevent damage to the cells, which it does, however we can't close that breaker to restore activity from the battery, IE, it's dead anyways. This threshold varies from one device to another, one battery pack to another, some can go to 0% and be ok, others can't. I say voltage level, because while draining the voltage can spike up, and it can also spike down, which can fall below this threshold even though it says you have 5% battery life remaining, and trigger the protection.
The acer does not seem to power on without a working battery. If the battery is "dead" it doesn't seem to boot. Its basically a brick until either the battery is replaced (by acer I would assume) or the motherboard is replaced due to some sort of damage causing this. Replacing the motherboard costs almost as much as a new unit, so at this point, just save up some more and buy a new one.
For this, I never go below 10% if ever possible. Even on my phones.
Another thing I try not to do is charge in bursts, or at random times. Basically, I plug in at 10%, then allow full charge to 100%, I don't charge in between those ranges, and I don't charge for periods less then 100%. So I don't plug in at 48% then unplug at 60%. I've learned this one from my Evo 4g, the battery was fantastic for months, then I started using the car charger to top off, and the battery life over the course of 2 weeks took a very noticable hit on overall life. I lost easily 4 hours a day usage on it. This on a phone and ROM combo that got me 16 hours a day.
Again this entire section is just what I've noticed and is purely my opinion, please do whatever you please with your device, it is yours after all!
ADB and Fastboot...is it really a faster boot?
No, fastboot isn't a toggle to boot at warp 9. Fastboot is a mode you can put your bootloader into for flashing the system for upgrades, repairs, mods, or general havok if you're not careful. The bootloader is what you see when you first turn on your device, that lovely Acer logo with the text up in the left corner (usually saying bootloader version and Unlocked Mode if unlocked, or nothing if it's locked). If you go into fasboot, it will say download usb protocol, so if you see that, you're in fastboot mode for whatever reason.
How do I get into fastboot mode?
Well you can do this in a couple ways, either Quickboot app (reboot bootloader), if you're on CM9, the power menu will give the option, or you can use ADB for it.
adb reboot bootloader
I'll explain some more about adb after fastboot, I know its odd, but one does have something to do with the other at times.
Once you've rebooted to the bootloader (device will turn off, vibrate, then boot to acer screen) you can then issue your fastboot commands assuming 2 things:
Acer USB drivers are installed and working correctly (if you use adb to reboot, then it is)
Your tablet is connected to your PC over USB.
Now, at this point, its up to you to do whatever you want, but BE CAREFUL USING FASTBOOT FLASH! It doesn't care or check what you're flashing, it'll just flash it. For example, I flashed CWM Touch recovery to boot once because I was distracted and mixed up the images for whatever reason. End result: Can't boot android. Why? Because boot was recovery, it only booted to CWM Touch recovery. Booting to actual recovery booted to TWRP, which was my previously installed recovery. I got it back easy enough once I figured out what I did wrong, but not all mistakes are reversible, or fixable!
General Fastboot uses and commands...
general layout goes like this:
fastboot (this is calling the command) flash (this is what fastboot will do) recovery (where it will send it to) recovery.img (the file it will send)
So, it looks like this:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
it will then flash whatever img to whatever partition you said, and let you know when it's done. You can flash any img to any partition, provided it fits, which means you do have to be careful about what you flash to where!
when you are finished with fastboot:
fastboot reboot
There are plenty of other commands, but the general basic use of fastboot is to flash a recovery or bootloader, so that is what I laid out above.
This section is hugely in need of improving, I know, but the guide in general is still rough, my apologies.
What about ADB?
ADB, or Android Debugging Bridge, can be used in System or in custom recoveries to interact with the device behind the curtain, meaning what you do isn't readily apparent on the device itself, unless you do something obvious like reboot it. ADB has a ton of commands, in particular in ADB Shell mode (you drop into the device shell itself, issuing commands from within itself, not from the PC).
Some random ADB commands:
adb reboot (where to reboot to) so:
adb reboot recovery
adb pull (what file to copy) /(where to copy file to) so for example, a recovery log to the adb working folder:
adb pull /cache/recovery/last_log recovery.txt
adb push /(file to copy to) /(file to send to device) so for example, placing that recovery file back into the device:
adb push recovery.txt /cache/recovery/last_log
Thats all the time I have for now, sorry in advance, I'm still working on all of this, I swear lol
Placeholder for additional tips and usage, some ADB stuff, and anything else I can think of.
Placeholder for Toubleshooting.
Placeholder for FAQS.
System Modding
justjackyl's Iconia A100 CM10 Setup & Use Tips/Tricks
A good guide to check out to try to get the most out of your A100 on CM10 (or any JB ROM like Sosei/black bean). A must read for those new to CM10/JB on these devices or in general. Not an outright mod, but a good source of information about some modding you should browse.
Hulu Flash Hack by NoSudo
What the Hulu Flash Hack by NoSudo does is allow you to use our android browser (setup according to the thread) to watch sites like Hulu to play on your android flash player. Its basic function is to scan for, then backup, then place a modified libflashplayer.so file. Setup with script manager and run at boot for best results. As always, read the thread for more information.
Mount Swap by crossix
What the Mount Swap by crossix does is pretty awesome, it mounts your external SD as internal, meaning your 32GB external SD card shows as internal, and is used for your apps, data, downloads, whatever, as if it was your internal SD. Internal SD is then mounted as external SD. It's operation is based on install-recovery being replaced with crossix's version. Instead of replacing recovery, it runs the mount swap. Requires Root, as the file is placed into /system/etc. Designed for stock/modified stock ROMs, it can be used with AOSP/AOKP ROMs by using script manager and setting it to run as Root at Boot. Please read the thread for the files and information on how to use it.
Adapted to ICS Build Prop Mods by patrick_spd4u adapted from crossix
What the Build Prop mods do is pretty basic, however can greatly increase the abilities of the A100, including faster boot times, more apps/games available for download in the Play Store, and tons of other stuff. Adapted from crossix's mods for HC.
Guide to 2 ways of running the crossix mount swap script, Acer based and AOSP/AOKP based
Direct paste from a post I made about this earlier...details using ES File Manager, however you can adapt it for any root file manager.
Using your tab, download the crossix mod zip file.
Unzip the file to get your epic mount swap mod by crossix, it can be unzipped anywhere.
At this point, I'm using ES File Manager but you can use Root Explorer or whatever. I'll be giving directions for ES.
Go into settings, scroll down and check the box for Up to Root.
Scroll a little futher down, same menu, and check the box for Root Explorer. Tap Yes, then allow when SU asks.
Now check the box next to Mount File System.
A little notice should pop up saying system is writable. If it fails at this point, you'll need to reroot, though it should work fine.
Press back, and go to where your crossix install-recovery.sh file is, hold your finger on it, and select Copy from the menu.
Press back and keep pressing it until you get to /. You'll see folders like acct, cache, config, d, etc.
Scroll down to system, and tap on it to go into system
Tap on etc to enter the etc directory.
You should now be in /system/etc, check up top there will be the address bar showing where you are.
You shouldn't have an install-recovery.sh file there, but if you do, long press it and select rename, then rename it install-recovery.bak.
On the upper buttons, select paste.
Now hold on the install-recovery.sh and select Properties, all the way at the bottom of that menu.
Next to where it says permissions, click Change
You will get a new window showing 3 rows of 3 colums of boxes with Xs.
Check the boxes so it looks like this:
XXX
XXX
XXO
Click on OK, then OK again, you should be back to the main ES window. Go ahead and hit home, or hit back over and over to exit.
Stock or Modified stock ONLY
Reboot the device by whatever method you prefer.
Once it finishes booting, wait a minute, then check your Settings>storage and your external SD card should show as internal. You only need to do this 1 time, it will continue to do this after.
AOSP/CM9/AOKP ONLY
Go to the Play store and download Script Manager(smanager).
After it installs, open the app then select Browse as root, Allow when SU asks, then click OK.
It will likely be listing /mnt/sdcard as your default directory, press the folder with .. to go back up until it says /
Click on system, then etc
It should now show /system/etc
Find your install-recovery.sh file, and it will open a new window.
Pay close attention here!
Right under the buttons that say Run Exit Edit Save are some icons,
Fav Su Boot Net Wick Ntfy
Press on Su and Boot, then click on Save.
Now exit smanager and reboot.
Wait a minute, then check settings>storage and your external SD should show up as Internal.
Don't disable smanager from running at boot! If you disable it, your script won't run. smanager must remain installed, or the script won't run.
Thanks to:
ZeroNull: For being one of the pioneers for getting our devices cracked open for our amusement!
ptesmoke: Also for being a pioneer in getting custom recoveries on our devices!
vache: For releasing the ICS leaks way ahead of schedule and hosting them for us to use and abuse!
civato: For releasing his Flex Reaper ROMs on our devices, his modified stock ROMs are still (IMO) the slickest available!
da-pharoah: For helping me understand how recoveries work a little better, allowing me to create Blackhole Wipe/Nullifier, and general encouragement for creating things for this device! (G2x and KF forums)
ezterry: For creating an OC/UV kernel that so far is the best EVER for any ROM on our device!
Theonew: reading ALL of that, and providing some nice info I missed and left out, and catching typos (Almost made it...)
crossix: that mount swap mod is just awesome, I never run a ROM without it!
NoSudo: creating a method to easily modify the system to watch HULU and other sites that normally won't allow it!
There's more I'm forgetting, I'll be adding more as I remember, I promise.
Even though I knew everything you posted, it was very interesting and I recommend everyone (even if you don't need it or already know) to read this guide. Its a marvellous read with some humor to keep you going. One thing though:
- You stated that its only safe to wipe "cache, dalvik cache, data, and system". Technically, this is not true. Flexrom and boot partitions are also safe to wipe (and for some roms for certain devices, the boot partition must be wiped for stable kernel performance, etc.). It's also a good idea to wipe sd-ext if you have it set up (in most cases). Once again, excellent guide (you even did a part of my job ).
Theonew said:
Even though I knew everything you posted, this is a brilliant guide and I recommend everyone (even if you don't need it or already know) to read this guide. Its a marvellous read with some humor to keep you going. One thing though:
- You stated that its only safe to wipe "cache, dalvik cache, data, and system". Technically, this is not true. Flexrom and boot partitions are also safe to wipe (and for some roms for certain devices, the boot partition must be wiped for stable kernel performance, etc.). It's also a good idea to wipe sd-ext if you have it set up (in most cases). Once again, excellent guide (you even did a part of my job ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While sd-ext is safe to wipe, using factory reset wipes that for you, and I think, could be wrong, but cwm does it on data wipes. Part of why I missed it was I confused it with my phone, where wiping sd-ext bricks the phone, and also people mix it up with external SD. I'll add it in as its a very valid point, and I shouldn't let personal things interfere with the guide.
As for boot, our devices don't need that wiped and honestly asks for problems if someone doesn't restore or install a rom to cover it. I've never wiped it on any device, however I will also add that in as it is good info. I left it out of "safe" to prevent possible issues from wiping it.
I forgot about flex and I honestly don't know what it is for lol. Again thanks for reminding me and I'll add it in.
Of course I'm open to posts like these please give some input on what I missed or need to correct, I want this to be the go to guide for the a100 for anything needed!
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II.
pio_masaki said:
I forgot about flex and I honestly don't know what it is for lol....Of course I'm open to posts like these please give some input on what I missed or need to correct, I want this to be the go to guide for the a100 for anything needed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your 4th to last sentence of the "Advanced Restore" section, you have a typo . Anyways, according to here: forum.tegraowners.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=149, Flexrom is "a partition on the nand that acer made to hold some proprietary apks and build information".
Oh damn almost made it without a typo...not bad for just running through all of that without really checking on it..other then it was english.
Corrections and additions added to the posts, thanks!
pio_masaki said:
Oh damn almost made it without a typo...not bad for just running through all of that without really checking on it..other then it was english.
Corrections and additions added to the posts, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more thing - This occurred for one of my other devices, but the problem may still exist here. I haven't tried it with TWRP, but renaming CWM backups can cause a md5 mismatch error to occur. If this happens, simply rename it back to a date (in the default format).
I've never ran into that issue on any of my devices in CWM or TWRP, however I have heard of it occuring, definatly something I should add in there. Full of good catches tonight aren't you?
Awesome write up, thanks you guys!!
What about Zeronull's .014 v1.2 rom? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574897
I'm still digging through all the threads for the ROMs, however I included the currently developed or recently released ROMs first, ZN has since released Green ICS, which is included already. I do plan to list every ROM, but it'll take some time to finish this guide up with as much info as possible, then go back and add things in.
pio_masaki said:
I've never ran into that issue on any of my devices in CWM or TWRP, however I have heard of it occuring, definatly something I should add in there. Full of good catches tonight aren't you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested it to see if it occurs, and it turns out that it does. I made a backup with CWM, renamed it then tried to restore, and it immediately gave me the "md5 mismatch" error.
Theonew said:
I tested it to see if it occurs, and it turns out that it does. I made a backup with CWM, renamed it then tried to restore, and it immediately gave me the "md5 mismatch" error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is so weird I never have that issue cwm or twrp. I use es file manager..maybe why?
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II.
pio_masaki said:
That is so weird I never have that issue cwm or twrp. I use es file manager..maybe why?
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I renamed it using Root Explorer. Have you tried renaming them to something including spaces?
Theonew said:
I renamed it using Root Explorer. Have you tried renaming them to something including spaces?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as its a Linux based environment I use dashes and underscores never spaces in directory names. That shouldn't cause md5 fails because the md5 is based per zip not the folder name. If you could try an experiment and rename with es I'd appreciate it, and maybe with and without spaces. I'll try root explorer when I get home and see if it causes issues.
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II.
pio_masaki said:
No, as its a Linux based environment I use dashes and underscores never spaces in directory names. That shouldn't cause md5 fails because the md5 is based per zip not the folder name. If you could try an experiment and rename with es I'd appreciate it, and maybe with and without spaces. I'll try root explorer when I get home and see if it causes issues.
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done. The error seems to only occur when spaces are used in the name.
Theonew said:
Done. The error seems to only occur when spaces are used in the name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking the time to figure that one out, I've been testing a new rom on my phone plus a new test T20 kernel for ezterry and getting cm9 build 5 up, just kinda managed to forget that experiment lol
I'll have some time...maybe...to append that new bit into that section tonight. The "free" time has been spent trying to get aokp for the a100 but my lack of experience, random problems with the repos and devs ignoring my PMs its been going slow. And by slow I mean nowhere.
Tapatalked from my Galaxy S II.
Great read. Sorta like flashing for dummies. Thaanks for your work.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
It's great to have all this information compiled in one location. Looking forward to your next installment. THX

Android 7.0 & /etc/hosts

/etc/hosts blacklist entries seem to be ignored with Android 7.0 (e.g. adding 127.0.0.1 amazon.com still allows me to reach amazon.com). Is anyone else experiencing something similar or familiar with any gotchas around Android 7.0 and modifying /system/etc/hosts?
I'm running official Nexus 5X Android 7.0 build number NRD90R. I have an engineering build of android that I boot from as follows to modify my /system/etc/hosts file:
adb reboot-bootloader
fastboot boot my-recovery.img
<mount from phone menu>
adb remount
adb push my-hosts system/etc/hosts
adb shell
chmod 644 system/etc/hosts
exit
<reboot from phone menu>
I've been using this process after every OTA update since Android 6.0, and it's been working. I also noticed that I'm not getting the red warning on boot any more (the one you get after you modify anything on the system partition), just the yellow warning (the one you get from having phone unlocked). Maybe I did something wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but I could sure use a sanity check.
Could be related to java cache, after a modification to hosts file you should reboot to let the cache reload. Try it.
The OS is not booted when editing hosts since it's being edited from a recovery image with the system mounted into it. The last step is to reboot. I did reboot the phone again for good measure and it's still not working. If it is a cache related thing, it lives through reboot. I suspect it's not though as I was seeing ads in news websites that I do not frequent.
Any other thoughts?
Are you using chrome? Did you disable data saver option in chrome?
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk
Seems to be related to: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nex...oid-nougat-t3445647/post68737720#post68737720 . Basically the files that one would modify by mounting /system are no longer used, afaict.
When I boot a live image, mount the system partition, and make a modification (i.e. /system/etc/hosts), that change is persisted through a reboot back to the live image and remount. However, it's not loaded by the OS when it boots. Instead both /etc/hosts and /system/etc/hosts are unmodified. Odd, and why is there even anything mounted at /system? I'm not sure if there are multiple system partitions or what's going on. I would love to find some information about Android 7.0 that explains.
crashenx said:
Seems to be related to: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nex...oid-nougat-t3445647/post68737720#post68737720 . Basically the files that one would modify by mounting /system are no longer used, afaict.
When I boot a live image, mount the system partition, and make a modification (i.e. /system/etc/hosts), that change is persisted through a reboot back to the live image and remount. However, it's not loaded by the OS when it boots. Instead both /etc/hosts and /system/etc/hosts are unmodified. Odd, and why is there even anything mounted at /system? I'm not sure if there are multiple system partitions or what's going on. I would love to find some information about Android 7.0 that explains.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I responded to your post in the other thread. This is repost.
Android 7.0 introduced redundant bits for reed solomon forward error correction into the system and vendor partitions and code in the kernel to perform the error correction.
Your changes are being written to emmc but when you boot with 7.0 kernel with dm-verity enabled your changes are being treated as data corruption and on-the-fly error corrected back to original.
You can see your changes if you boot into twrp because it has dm-verity disabled. However if you boot into android with dm-verity enabled it will look like original image again even though your changes are technically still there.
It took me a day to figure out what was really going on because i initially had no idea they added this feature to Android N.
The simple way to disable dm-verity is to install SuperSU, but you can also accomplish the same patching your own kernel, installing pre-patched kernel, installing custom kernel, etc.
sfhub said:
I responded to your post in the other thread. This is repost.
Android 7.0 introduced redundant bits for reed solomon forward error correction into the system and vendor partitions and code in the kernel to perform the error correction.
Your changes are being written to emmc but when you boot with 7.0 kernel with dm-verity enabled your changes are being treated as data corruption and on-the-fly error corrected back to original.
You can see your changes if you boot into twrp because it has dm-verity disabled. However if you boot into android with dm-verity enabled it will look like original image again even though your changes are technically still there.
It took me a day to figure out what was really going on because i initially had no idea they added this feature to Android N.
The simple way to disable dm-verity is to install SuperSU, but you can also accomplish the same patching your own kernel, installing pre-patched kernel, installing custom kernel, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good info and makes total sense. Thanks! Pretty neat actually, just a bummer for me.
Yeah so SuperSU path is not really one I want to pursue. I could learn how to update the dm-verity shas used for verification. That'd probably be the most secure, but it's gonna be a PITA I bet. I imagine I'd need to compile my own image similar to how I made my live image and update a few things. Might have to deal with encryption which is probably an even bigger headache. Also, I bet it would break OTA and have to reflash to update, though that's true now.
I'm really curious what AdAway is doing. Maybe I should pursue reverse engineering that.
I really appreciate you pointing us in the right direction.
crashenx said:
I'm really curious what AdAway is doing. Maybe I should pursue reverse engineering that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use adaway but I believe there are 2 ways to install it with Android N. First is to install SuperSU (or otherwise disable dm-verity) and have it update as it always has. 2nd way is systemless where it piggybacks on some init scripts SuperSU has created to mount "over" the existing hosts file. Basically like symlinking but using a mount point on top of the existing file.
sfhub said:
I don't use adaway but I believe there are 2 ways to install it with Android N. First is to install SuperSU (or otherwise disable dm-verity) and have it update as it always has. 2nd way is systemless where it piggybacks on some init scripts SuperSU has created to mount "over" the existing hosts file. Basically like symlinking but using a mount point on top of the existing file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll probably try to go the route of updating init scripts to mount over the existing host file but without using SuperSU or AdAway.

touching files in recovery mode results in factory reset

A week ago I flashed the current (lineage-14.1-20170504-nightly-oneplus3-signed.zip) lineage os nightly to my phone. I did not pay that much attention til I realize the impact, so no guarantee for the temporal order. I am pretty shure, that in the first place, I tried to flash the image via the update menu (is this called OTA update?). The previous update two weeks ago already results in partial data los. By this I mean some (maybe all) apps disappears after the update, but after installing them again, all of them provided the pre-update data - only exception was signal. This time the phone was like in factory state. But when I try to reinstall the telegram app - the app store refuses to install the app because of the presence of a identical named app.
Using adb shell shows me, that all apps and data where still present in the /data subdirectories. Even those I didn't had reinstalled til that time . So I took advantage of momentum and backed up some files and decided to perform a full pre factory reset formatting everything twrp let me format. After flashing the lineage update, another full format because things seems still weird, second lineage nightly flash, realizing I have to first flash OOS-x.y.z and a final third lineage flash, I thought I finally obtain a running system. After initial configuration I decided to only copy my previous wpa_supplicant.conf file back to the system. Since overwriting this file while running android didn't led to anything, I tried to replace this file in recovery mode. Instead of remembering my password, goatish oneplus 3 desides to perform factory reset.
After what seems to be a lower six digit number of flashing attemps I came to the conclusion that performing any modification to the file system while the native kernel is not running results in factory reseting the device. In the mean time I also figured out what dm-verity means - an error message I got used to and maybe a nice feature as long as you don't try to take your old config files to a new system. And I know I am the millionth person facing that problem in a dedicated thread, but I found nothing which links this annoying boot loader message to my reset problem.
I made my previous recovery attemps between the toilet and my bed, so I hadn't any strategy at all. But thank god its friday! I read: dm-verity is a feature of the device mapper which guarantees data integrity. When I alter the data using any other than the native system, the device mapper notices the integrity violation and reports to the system. I am only guessing that this makes the system to reset itself - Am I right? Even if I appreciate this concept, I think this might be a little too ambitious. Can I alter androids behaviour in this point? In the best case I want to temporary disable this feature, do some root stuff and turn it on again. Is this possible?
I could follow one of that numerous tutorials to remove that dm-verity message, but I am not confortable with flashing zip files from dubious file hosters as well as copy-pasting commands without any idea of what I am doing. So maybe someone could provide a little more information than the seven step recipe of getting rid of that error message blog posts.
I really appreciate material which explains my problem. I am quite new to android and I didn't figured out how to maneuver around all these google results which tells me to install a specific app which may will hide my problem. So thank you in advance.
hinerk0815 said:
A week ago I flashed the current (lineage-14.1-20170504-nightly-oneplus3-signed.zip) lineage os nightly to my phone. I did not pay that much attention til I realize the impact, so no guarantee for the temporal order. I am pretty shure, that in the first place, I tried to flash the image via the update menu (is this called OTA update?). The previous update two weeks ago already results in partial data los. By this I mean some (maybe all) apps disappears after the update, but after installing them again, all of them provided the pre-update data - only exception was signal. This time the phone was like in factory state. But when I try to reinstall the telegram app - the app store refuses to install the app because of the presence of a identical named app.
Using adb shell shows me, that all apps and data where still present in the /data subdirectories. Even those I didn't had reinstalled til that time . So I took advantage of momentum and backed up some files and decided to perform a full pre factory reset formatting everything twrp let me format. After flashing the lineage update, another full format because things seems still weird, second lineage nightly flash, realizing I have to first flash OOS-x.y.z and a final third lineage flash, I thought I finally obtain a running system. After initial configuration I decided to only copy my previous wpa_supplicant.conf file back to the system. Since overwriting this file while running android didn't led to anything, I tried to replace this file in recovery mode. Instead of remembering my password, goatish oneplus 3 desides to perform factory reset.
After what seems to be a lower six digit number of flashing attemps I came to the conclusion that performing any modification to the file system while the native kernel is not running results in factory reseting the device. In the mean time I also figured out what dm-verity means - an error message I got used to and maybe a nice feature as long as you don't try to take your old config files to a new system. And I know I am the millionth person facing that problem in a dedicated thread, but I found nothing which links this annoying boot loader message to my reset problem.
I made my previous recovery attemps between the toilet and my bed, so I hadn't any strategy at all. But thank god its friday! I read: dm-verity is a feature of the device mapper which guarantees data integrity. When I alter the data using any other than the native system, the device mapper notices the integrity violation and reports to the system. I am only guessing that this makes the system to reset itself - Am I right? Even if I appreciate this concept, I think this might be a little too ambitious. Can I alter androids behaviour in this point? In the best case I want to temporary disable this feature, do some root stuff and turn it on again. Is this possible?
I could follow one of that numerous tutorials to remove that dm-verity message, but I am not confortable with flashing zip files from dubious file hosters as well as copy-pasting commands without any idea of what I am doing. So maybe someone could provide a little more information than the seven step recipe of getting rid of that error message blog posts.
I really appreciate material which explains my problem. I am quite new to android and I didn't figured out how to maneuver around all these google results which tells me to install a specific app which may will hide my problem. So thank you in advance.
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Your story is too long to go through. But most likely your issue will be solved if you install blue sparks twrp. Check his thread in the unified section

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