Develop Bugs

[TUTORIAL]Howto backup whole phone and restore back in case hardbricked

Code:
#include <std_disclaimer.h>
/*
* Your warranty is now void.
*
* I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards,
* thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please
* do some research if you have any concerns about features included in this TUTORIAL
* before doing anything! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if
* you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.
*/
In this tutorial i'll guide howto create full phone backup and restoring back in case got hardbricked. Tested and confirmed working myself (yes i've hardbricked my phone two days ago and managed to restore back to fully working state). My phone is nokia x, so this is confirmed to be working for the nokia x. For x+ and xl should be working too because basically theres not many different between the three. The backup created using this tutorial is low level whole disk backup, different from cwm or twrp backup because those recoveries will only backup certain partitions only, can be useful to restore back from the recoveries itself but became useless if got hardbricked. This backup can be used to restore back from hardbrick state. Attempting to do this backup alone is also dangerous on its own, i've warned u :angel:
Also special thanks to nikozzzzzz and AngSanley for chatting with me, giving idea and helping me in two days my phone got bricked :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PART 1 - TO BACKUP
THINGS THAT U NEED
Many spare times to read and follow this tutorial.
Your phone with battery not below 50%.
Busybox installed already.
Custom recovery installed already. I recommend cwm 6.0.2.8.
A reliable pc with adb installed.
A reliable usb cable.
Sdcard with more than 6GB free space. Later we will backup with custom recovery first and the backup could be 1GB, then came the whole disk backup that would be 4GB, and 1GB more for safe read/write io operation. So 1GB+4GB+1GB=6GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THE STEPS
Connect phone to pc via usb cable.
Mount usb storage and copy whole data from INTERNAL SD safely somewhere in the pc.
Boot into cwm recovery. At this time u should already have the requirement from above, the sdcard with at least 6GB free space inserted into the phone.
Do the usual whole rom backup using cwm. Backup to EXTERNAL SD not INTERNAL SD because we will format internal sd in next step.
Wipe internal sd, system, data, cache and dalvik cache from cwm.
Still in cwm and your usb cable should be connected between phone and pc, open windows cmd and do
Code:
adb shell
Still in cwm, and still connected between pc and phone using usb cable and still in windows cmd, do
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0.img
The backup process could take few minutes. The process is done when cmd showed something like
Code:
7634944+0 records in
7634944+0 records out
3909091328 bytes (3.9 GB) copied, 3367.93 s, 1.2 MB/s
The backup result is mmcblk0.img single file in root of your sdcard, around 3.9GB in size. U can transfer it to your pc and compress it if u want, after compress the size should be smaller, around 1.3GB. Make as many copy of it as u can and store it safely, in dropbox, in your sisters pc, in your grandma pc etc.
Now u can restore back your rom using previous cwm backup in step 4.
Backup process done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Restore process continued to PART 2 below.

part 2 - to restore
things that u need
many spare times to read and follow this tutorial. The restore process can be long upto an hour.
obviously a hardbrick phone. The phone can be turn on by pressing power button but just vibrate, no nokia logo, no recovery mode, no fastboot mode, just blackscreen. Probably the bootloader is gone missing or corrupted. The phone is not hardbricked per se, its still alive if it vibrate after pressing power button. If the phone doesn't show any sign of life, doesn't even vibrate when pressing power button then probably battery depleted. Try to charge the battery using external charger, or find the same phone and charge the battery in it. If still doesn't work even after battery charge then probably thats total lost, only nokia aka microsoft mobile can repair, or until we find another way ourselves.
a reliable pc with a linux os installed. The pc need to have stable power source too because the restoring process could be long upto an hour or so. We dont want the pc to turn off or restart halfway of the process or risking totally messed up the phone disk. So what is linux? Where could u get it? Howto install it? Google for it yourself. I recommend linuxmint. The linux should also be installed, not in live mode because live mode usually unstable, again same as previous reason, we dont want unstable linux in live mode to make pc turn off or restart halfway of the restore process.
a reliable usb cable.
the backup file from previous part 1, the mmcblk0.img file. If u compress it earlier then decompress it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the steps
remove from phone the back panel, battery, simcard and sdcard. Leave it for few seconds.
boot pc into linux.
copy backup file from previous part 1, the mmcblk0.img file into root of your home folder of your pc. Dont put it into any folder, just in root of your home folder.
reinsert phone battery and back panel but not the simcard and sdcard. Leave the simcard and sdcard out of the phone when doing restore process.
connect usb cable to pc and phone.
after connect pc and phone via usb cable, the phone should vibrate and linux probably would detect many new partitions mounted and it open many window in filemanager. Close all filemanager window that opens.
open linux terminal and do
Code:
sudo fdisk -l | grep 3909091328
and the terminal will ask for password
Code:
[sudo] password for user:
type your password (which will not be displayed for security reason) and press enter and it should give output like this
Code:
disk /dev/xxx: 3909 mb, 3909091328 bytes
thats what we want, especially the xxx. Remember the xxx, usually its only three letter long eg sdb, sdc, sde, sdf etc.. It may depends on your linux configuration so it may not be the same for everyone.
for this step we need internet connection for installing a package that not installed by default. Again still in linux terminal do
Code:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y install pv
if the terminal ask for your password then just type it and press enter. The terminal will continue to give output and finally stop, the last line should be something like
Code:
setting up pv (1.2.0-1) ...
now close all filemanager window if u got any.
still in terminal do
Code:
sudo umount /dev/xxx
the xxx will be the one from step 7 above. If it asked again for password then type again your password and press enter. It'll give just one or two line of output after that, or nothing at all.
this is the crucial step here, to restore the disk. Still in terminal and phone still connected to pc via usb cable do
Code:
sudo pv -tpreb ~/mmcblk0.img | sudo dd of=/dev/xxx
again, the xxx will be the one from step 7 above. If the terminal asked for password again just type your password and press enter. It'll give output something like
Code:
859mb 0:12:50 [1.48mb/s] [======>....................................................................] 23% eta 0:42:30
and wait for it to finish. This will take long, probably an hour. In this time dont use the pc, don't watch movie, dont surf the net, dont do anything with it. Also dont touch the phone and the usb cable. Just leave it be, go out, take your girlfriend out, feed your cats or anything in the meantime. It'll finish when the percent goes 100% and give another output, something like
Code:
3.64GB 0:56:02 [1.11MB/s] [========================================>] 100%
7634944+0 records in
7634944+0 records out
3909091328 bytes (3.9 gb) copied, 3367.93 s, 1.2 mb/s
now just remove usb cable from pc and phone, remove the phone back panel and battery. Leave it for few seconds.
now reinsert the simcard, sdcard, battery and back panel.
turn on the phone by pressing power button and volume up to boot into recovery.
wipe internal sd, system, data, cache and dalvik cache from recovery.
i strongly suggest u got b-rom flashable zip file already in sdcard. Then just flash the b-rom zip. The b-rom i think doesn't provide kernel in it so u can flash my kernel. Why did i recommend b-rom? Because its pure stock based rom. We want to be on stock rom in first boot after the restore process.
restore process done. Now u just need to boot into rom, check all, ril, wifi, bt, wifi mac, bt mac, imei, serial etc if all in correct order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Reserved #2

Sent from my Nokia_X using Tapatalk

Removed System Apps and cant reinstall them.
Can u please give me a twrp or cwm backed up file which i can use to restore my phone as i can easily boot into these recoveries.
:crying:

mdfzhi said:
Code:
#include <std_disclaimer.h>
/*
* Your warranty is now void.
*
* I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards,
* thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please
* do some research if you have any concerns about features included in this TUTORIAL
* before doing anything! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if
* you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.
*/
PART 1 - TO BACKUP
THINGS THAT U NEED
THE STEPS
Restore process continued to PART 2 below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually, I didn't understand many of your thread, in addition I'm tired reading by the way what I'm tryin to say is backing up doesn't need these whole steps. well, I backed up my stock Rom with few steps via CWM and the backup is only 1.73GB.please tell me the deference between mine and yours, I'm sure there's a different, but I can't notice it, and I appreciate your work.

Fikri adli supriatna
AngSanley said:
Sent from my Nokia_X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:
how to cope with nokia x which hardbrick

hello
usuing cwm i formatted all partitions(boot,emmc..etc) and phone didn't boot or enter flash mod but vibrated with blank screen.
it detected as Qualcomm CDMA Technologies MSM but also as storage device,i cleaned partitions and created 1 partition with FAT file system.
now there is no any sign of life except Nokia emergency connectivity.
with or without battery only detects as below:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
in my case which all partitions are deleted and overwritten, how to restore?
any hope with repair boxes?

Hi
and thank you for your awesome Idea and everyone helped
10 sec after step 7 this command
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone reboot to the System and no file on sd card
BTW Fresh system just repair it using atf box ...

never ever format partitions using windows(after phone bricked) because will cause the hard-brick and only can be fixed using atf box.
unbrick using atf box result in null imei,the only way is using another phones backup.
also using back up from another phone result in cloned imei.
if you format boot partition using CWM and reboot without installing kernel,your phone will brick.
best regard.

xsony.plus said:
never ever format partitions using windows(if bricked) because will cause hard-brick and can be fixed only using atf box.
unbrick using atf box result in null imei,the only way is using another phones backup.
also using back up from another phone result in cloned imei.
best regard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not Really i unbrick my phone using atf box and i have my original imei's :good:

murders10 said:
Not Really i unbrick my phone using atf box and i have my original imei's :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks but for me did:

Originally posted by mdfzhi
The backup created using this tutorial is low level whole disk backup, different from cwm or twrp backup because those recoveries will only backup certain partitions only, can be useful to restore back from the recoveries itself but became useless if got hardbricked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what is the difference between your type of backup and the CWM or TWRP type?
If your bootloader got stuck, why not reflash it (e.g. using Nokia X Flasher)?

no backup
guys what will i do if i didn't have backup as you suggested, i have a CWM backup and i have the RM-980 product images.
my ubuntu detects the partitions i just don't know which image belongs to which partition?
however all i need is the bootloader partition to be able to use fastboot which one is it and how can i write the bootloader .img to it
thank you very much

bootloader img
xWaLeEdOoOx said:
guys what will i do if i didn't have backup as you suggested, i have a CWM backup and i have the RM-980 product images.
my ubuntu detects the partitions i just don't know which image belongs to which partition?
however all i need is the bootloader partition to be able to use fastboot which one is it and how can i write the bootloader .img to it
thank you very much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also do not have a backup, can anyone post an image of partitions NOKIA X derived from this statement?
Thanks in advance

kobzdik said:
I also do not have a backup, can anyone post an image of partitions NOKIA X derived from this statement?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You want to restore the phone to the original state?
Just flash it using this procedure: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2747262
Next, root the phone and install TWRP recovery.

Ano11 said:
You want to restore the phone to the original state?
Just flash it using this procedure: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2747262
Next, root the phone and install TWRP recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately the nokia x flasher does not detect the phone
The phone is defined as Qualcomm CDMA Technologies MSM

Maybe it helps to install "Nokia_Connectivity_Cable_Driver.msi" or the "nokia_x_usb_driver.zip"?
Otherwise, try the official Nokia software to do the flashing: NokiaCareSuite.

Ano11 said:
Maybe it helps to install "Nokia_Connectivity_Cable_Driver.msi" or the "nokia_x_usb_driver.zip"?
Otherwise, try the official Nokia software to do the flashing: NokiaCareSuite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you still dont understand our issue my friend. nothing of that will work THERE IS NO FASTBOOT. NOKIA CARE flashes you device using FASTBOOT, if no FASTBOOT it cant detect your phone. Fastboot is located on partition mmcblk0p3 "/sys_boot" if you are willing to help and you own a NOKIA X RM-980 please head to my thread it has complete details about the issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nokia-x/general/fix-blank-screen-boot-format-sysboot-t3126617

xWaLeEdOoOx said:
you still dont understand our issue my friend. nothing of that will work THERE IS NO FASTBOOT. NOKIA CARE flashes you device using FASTBOOT, if no FASTBOOT it cant detect your phone. Fastboot is located on partition mmcblk0p3 "/sys_boot" if you are willing to help and you own a NOKIA X RM-980 please head to my thread it has complete details about the issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nokia-x/general/fix-blank-screen-boot-format-sysboot-t3126617
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, now I read the whole thread
I have two working Nokia X's here, so I gave this command:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=/sdcard/mmcblk0.img
But then I recieve this message: /dev/block/mmcblk0: cannot open for read: Permission denied
Enable USB debugging is enabled, phone is rooted...
EDIT:
Ok, I first gave the command in normal operation mode, now in recovery mode: that seems to work.
I guess I am backupping the whole phone now (mmcblk0) which will took about 15 minutes (4.1 MB/s). A backup of the boot partition only (mmcblk0p3) just a few seconds.
Please see the attachment for the boot partition. Product code of my phone: RM-980 NDT IMEA KE - 059T9F4.
Please let me know if it helps you guys!!

[MOD] Proof of Concept: Unbrick/Debrick hard-bricked i927 ? (untested)

Some? Samsung devices support a special kind of unbricking hard-bricked* phones.
This thread tries to provide that to the i927/glide..
Who wants this?
If you have hard-bricked* your device (please see the next post about difference between hard- and soft-bricked)
there is no other reason to use this!
Current state:
Totally untested and absolutely without any warranty.
I have no idea if the image itself is good or not - neither if the whole process would work for the i927!
As I do not own a hard-bricked device and I do not want to damage mine I cannot test this by myself.
The reason creating this is because a user had requested it: click here for the origin user request
Please give me feedback if you have tested it!!!
Known issues:
who knows..
Instructions
Requirements
First of all you need a micro SD card. If you have none you cannot continue (man.. buy one!).
Then you need a PC which is able to read this SD card or an external SD card reader.
Basic
Here in short the basic steps you need to take (detailed in the next section):
Download
Extract
Flash unbrick image to SD card
Insert SD card into the Glide
boot
wait
soft-unbrick
Detailed (Linux)
Some parts taken from here
Download i927_unbrick.zip
unzip -d /tmp/unbrick i927_unbrick.zip
Insert SD card into your PC
dmesg | grep dev | tail
--> you should see something like "/dev/sdc1" or "/dev/mmcfoo1" or similar which is your SD card you inserted just before. In the next parts we refer to it as "/dev/FROM-DMESG-OUTPUT"
The next commands will make your SD card UNUSABLE until you reformat it! Ensure that you do not have any data you need on it!
sudo umount /dev/FROM-DMESG-OUTPUT (do not use any GUI clickable eject action instead)
sudo dd if=/tmp/unbrick/unbrick.img of=/dev/FROM-DMESG-OUTPUT
pull out the SD card from the PC
remove the battery, sim and any external SD card from your device
insert your unbrick SD into your phone
insert the battery and down your power button (at this point your phone might actually boot completely and you can recovery any software/data you want)
reboot into Download mode either via adb or Volume Up while powering on
Once the device is booted into bootloader remove the SD card and start ODIN or heimdall to flash a STOCK firmware or use the OneClick Soft-unbrick tool
Detailed (Windows)
Some parts taken from here
Download win32diskimager
Download i927_unbrick.zip
Extract i927_unbrick.zip and win32diskimager
Insert your SD card into your PC and wait until it gets detected
Run win32diskimager
browse for your extracted unbrick image
Select your SD in the dropdown box
The next step will make your SD card UNUSABLE until you reformat it! Ensure that you do not have any data you need on it!
Click write
pull out the SD card from the PC
remove the battery, sim and any external SD card from your device
insert your unbrick SD into your phone
insert the battery and down your power button (at this point your phone might actually boot completely and you can recovery any software/data you want)
reboot into Download mode either via adb or Volume Up while powering on
Once the device is booted into bootloader remove the SD card and start ODIN or heimdall to flash a STOCK firmware or use the OneClick Soft-unbrick tool
Download
Please go to the Download page
Background of the unbrick.img
todo
Sources
First, Second, Third
Thanks
Please report back if it has or has not worked for you!
Thanks
xdajog
.
XDA:DevDB Information
Unbrick/Debrick hard-bricked i927, Tool/Utility for the Samsung Captivate Glide
Contributors
xdajog, alvcross
Version Information
Status: Alpha
Created 2016-01-04
Last Updated 2016-01-12

FAQ
hard-bricked?
When do we speak about hard-bricked? If one or more of the following matches your situation you have hard-bricked your device
powering on leaves the device black like it is still powered off
you cannot get into the download mode anymore
soft-bricked?
When do we speak about soft-bricked? If one or more of the following matches your situation you have soft-bricked your device and you should not use the instructions made in this thread:
you can go into the download mode
you can start recovery mode
you see the samsung logo
you see the boot animation
If you have soft-bricked your device: There is an easy one available for our device (untested by me but many tell it works fine) --> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1153310

Reserved

does it actually work?
If you brick your bootloader, you wouldnt boot from SD card IMHO.
Our phone could recovery from APX mode. More info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1528256

bubor said:
does it actually work?
If you brick your bootloader, you wouldnt boot from SD card IMHO.
Our phone could recovery from APX mode. More info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1528256
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the big question. e.g the T999 will boot from the SD card even when the bootloader is blown. So as stated above I have no idea if the same process will work for this phone so I need testers who tries it actually...
The unbrick image was made the way it should work IF yes IF the i927 will boot from the SD card in case of corrupted bootloader. so without any test I cannot tell you if it would work..
.

xdajog said:
Thats the big question. e.g the T999 will boot from the SD card even when the bootloader is blown. So as stated above I have no idea if the same process will work for this phone so I need testers who tries it actually...
The unbrick image was made the way it should work IF yes IF the i927 will boot from the SD card in case of corrupted bootloader. so without any test I cannot tell you if it would work..
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is always a preloader, what loads bootloader, I think that loads sd card. Preloader does APX mode on tegra 2.
I doubt it would work, but who knows?

Verizon Htc Desire 526 Boot-Loader and Root is Now HERE !!!! { New WORKING Method}

I am excited to announce that I NOW have a Working Method to UNLOCK THE BOOTLOADER.
BigCountry907 Proudly brings you the FIRST official unlock method for VERIZON devices. :highfive:
After many months of working at this I have figured it out.
It is a combination of Booting From My Custom SD Card Combined With the newly released FisH.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...-fish-hack-to-boot-want-device-t3578373/page6
This mighty COMBINATION allowed me to boot my TWRP Build from my SD CARD.
After booting into TWRP I install SuperSU successfully and gain permanent root.
Next I boot into the normal system.
Now with Supersu I have root access. ( THE BOOTLOADER IS STILL LOCKED )
With root access I am able to write to the partitions needed to allow a normal { Well Almost } unlock with HTC-DEV website.
By temporarily changing the CID to super CID 11111111 I am able to generate a good working UNLOCK TOKEN.
Input the unlock token to HTC-DEV and get good working unlock_code.bin
Now sdcard can be removed and the device will boot and be BootLoader Unlocked + Rooted.
I NEED TO PACKAGE THIS ALL TOGETHER TO SIMPLIFY THIS PROCESS FOR YOU.
I ANTICIPATE THE PACKAGE RELEASE TO BE TOMORROW.
PLEASH HIT THE THANKS BUTTON { I WORKED THIS FOR MONTHS}

BigCountry907 said:
I am excited to announce that I NOW have a Working Method to UNLOCK THE BOOTLOADER.
BigCountry907 Proudly brings you the FIRST official unlock method for VERIZON devices. :highfive:
After many months of working at this I have figured it out.
It is a combination of Booting From My Custom SD Card Combined With the newly released FisH.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...-fish-hack-to-boot-want-device-t3578373/page6
This mighty COMBINATION allowed me to boot my TWRP Build from my SD CARD.
After booting into TWRP I install SuperSU successfully and gain permanent root.
Next I boot into the normal system.
Now with Supersu I have root access. ( THE BOOTLOADER IS STILL LOCKED )
With root access I am able to write to the partitions needed to allow a normal { Well Almost } unlock with HTC-DEV website.
By temporarily changing the CID to super CID 11111111 I am able to generate a good working UNLOCK TOKEN.
Input the unlock token to HTC-DEV and get good working unlock_code.bin
Now sdcard can be removed and the device will boot and be BootLoader Unlocked + Rooted.
I NEED TO PACKAGE THIS ALL TOGETHER TO SIMPLIFY THIS PROCESS FOR YOU.
I ANTICIPATE THE PACKAGE RELEASE TO BE TOMORROW.
PLEASH HIT THE THANKS BUTTON { I WORKED THIS FOR MONTHS}
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Waiting , will it take a longer time to publish this method ? good luck btw

Just polishing up a few things. Gonna start posting the tutorial now.

Desire 526 Unlock STAGE 1
THE THINGS YOU NEED
First off you need a HIGH SPEED 16gb or 32gb sd card. Two cards would be even better. These need to be high quality cards that run 80mbs read or higher.
My recommendation is one of these that are available at wal-mart.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/SanDisk-Extreme-microSDHC-32GB-UHS-U3-Memory-Card/46700587#about-item
https://www.walmart.com/ip/SanDisk-Extreme-microSDHC-16GB-UHS-U3-Memory-Card/46700586#about-item
The UHS-U3-Memory is what you want.
Slower cards will work. You need at least 80mbs read / write.
If it is not rated 80mbs or above do not use it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Download this RUU.
Just download the file and copy it exactly like it is to a sd card.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bd2u6419pkwoby4/0PM3IMG.zip
Power off your device and put the sd card in it.
Hold volume down and power to boot into download mode.
You should see something about hitting VOLUME UP to flash the RUU.
Hit volume up and watch the screen. The device may reboot and you may have to hit VOLUME Up again to flash the RUU. You will see on the screen all the files it is flashing. When you see it flash everything 100%.
Reboot the phone.
It will take a wile. Activate the device and connect it to the wi-fi ect. ect. ect.
If you have trouble getting past the activation screen take out your sim card and reboot and activate the device. Then put the sim card back in.
Go to settings.
Pick about phone.
Pick Software information
Pick More
Keep picking Build Number till Developer Options is turned on.
Hit back 3 times and go to developer options
Check HIGH PERFORMANCE MODE
Check USB DEBUGGING
Check ALLOW MOCK Locations
Uncheck Verify Apps over USB.
Exit out of settings.
Plug phone into computer and authorize.
Select always allow this computer
Use the shell and type adb devices
You should see your device.
Well maybe not. Activation seems to be problematic in this RUU.
If you get stuck at activation just move on to the next step anyway.
You need Win32DiskImager.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/files/latest/download
http://www.mediafire.com/file/8dj7x8shx5221qq/win32diskimager-1.0.0-install.exe
And you need SDFormatter
https://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/...l-to-restore-full-capacity-on-sdhc/sdxc-cards
http://www.mediafire.com/file/f6wfli7yshb883z/SDFormatterv4.zip
Get those 2 programs installed and flash the ruu to your device.
Next I will show you how to make my bootable SD Card.
We need the SD-Card to Continue

The magic sd card
Ok so here's the magick you all been waiting for.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ykd9k4cd51rrwkg/HTC.zip
That is the image of the Boot Able SDCARD.
Download it and unzip the file.
It is over a gb zipped and unzipped it is 4.3 GB.
Unzip that file.
It will take some time.

Now put your sdcard in the reader and plug it in the computer.
Open SDFormatter
Run as administrator.
Select your sd card.
Pick option / Format Type FULL (ERASE)
Size adjustment on
Click ok and hit format.
Exit sd formatter
Open win32diskimager
Pick your sdcard
Pick the HTC.img file you downloaded. Click the folder to pick the file.
Click Write and burn the sdcard with the image.
Eject the card from the computer. Dont put it back in.
Turn off your device and insert the sdcard we just made in it.
Turn the phone on and let it boot fully.
Apps may initialize.
Now if you hit the home button and look you will see superSU is already installed.
On the sdcard anyway. We actually booted the SYSTEM from the System.img on the SD-Card.
SWEEEEEEETTTTTTT. !!!!!!!
Ok so get a adb shell going.
adb devices
should show your device
Next type.
Code:
adb shell
su
Grant permissions when it comes up.
Now we need to fix one partition then we can unlock the bootloader.
FRP
So type this command.
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk1p10 of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p49
Then type
Code:
exit
exit
Now power off phone.
Then hold volume down key and power to boot into download mode with the sdcard still in the phone.
Now Type
Code:
fastboot getvar all
It should output this to your terminal.
C:\Windows\system32>fastboot getvar all
(bootloader) kernel: lk
(bootloader) product: htc_a13wlpp
(bootloader) version: 1.0
(bootloader) imei: 990005708119384
(bootloader) version-main: 1.07.603.5
(bootloader) boot-mode: download
(bootloader) version-baseband: [email protected]
(bootloader) version-bootloader: 1.0.0.0000
(bootloader) mid: 0PM310000
(bootloader) cid: 11111111
all:
finished. total time: 0.018s
C:\Windows\system32>
Go to HTC-DEV and register and begin BOOTLOADER UNLOCK>
http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader/

HTC-DEV
When you get to htc-dev website select desire as the device.
Read the directions on that site just dont flash any ruu.
When you get here then enter this command in the shell.
Code:
fastboot oem get_identifier_token
You should have your unlock code now.
I have mine.
If you followed the instructions above right you should get this message when you submit the token to the HTC-DEV site.
Token Submitted Successfully!
You've been sent an email with your unlock key as a file attachment. Please review this email for further instructions and a link to complete the Bootloader process.

Open your email and download your unlock_code.bin.
And click continue unlocking process in the email.
Send the unlock_code.bin to the device.
You should see
Code:
[email protected]:~$ sudo fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin
[sudo] password for bigcountry907:
target reported max download size of 723000000 bytes
sending 'unlocktoken' (0 KB)...
OKAY [ 1.026s]
writing 'unlocktoken'...
(bootloader) flash unlocktoken
(bootloader) [KillSwitch] : /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/frp
(bootloader) [KillSwitch] Last Byte is 0X01, enable unlock
(bootloader) unlock token check successfully
OKAY [ 0.268s]
finished. total time: 1.294s
[email protected]:~$
select yes to unlock the phone and let it reboot.
now power down the device.
Take out the sdcard
Hold volume down and power to boot into download mode.
And there you have it. BOOTLOADER UNLOCKED.
Now flash TWRP and superSU and your all done.
I still need to patch the Touch in the TWRP recovery but the shell and commands work.
I'll show you another sdcard trick tommorow. FisH ---<<<<<<
Follow the instructions here to flash twrp and supersu.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/desire-526/general/root-100-vzw-desire-526-perm-root-t3498197
Enjoy
And hit the THanks BUttoN :good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good::good:

If you have any other verizon HTC Device then this SDcard Method will work to unlock it.
The htc-desire 530 for sure.
That will be coming soon.
GENERALY THIS SDCARD SHOUL OPERATE CORRECTLY ON ANY MSM8909 DEVICE.

So whats happening guys??
You all wanted unlock and root!!!
Any feedback. Iv'e tested the crap out of this.
It woks 100%
IF YOU GET STUCK OR NEED HELP LET ME KNOW.

BigCountry907 said:
So whats happening guys??
You all wanted unlock and root!!!
Any feedback. Iv'e tested the crap out of this.
It woks 100%
IF YOU GET STUCK OR NEED HELP LET ME KNOW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a small problem ,my sdcard is not that good so i will have to wait till i buy new one and probably other people saw your thread before you add the method in the posts of this thread so you'd better create a new thread.
Sent from my D2502 using XDA Labs

@Cursed
You can give this a shot with the sdcard you have.
It may or may not boot.
But certainly will not damage the phone either way.
For best results I recommend the fastest card you can get.
With a really fast card like a V90 we can run android and the device software strictly from the sdcard.
Probably faster than the emmc. The cards I previously recommended are V30. about 90 mbs R/W.
A V90 Card is super fast but super expensive.
A V60 Card is probably a good investment.
Like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Delkin-micro...rd_wg=aueOb&psc=1&refRID=K744VKN1ACP14NF1P9MP
When running off the sdcard we can control everything. Partition sizes you name it. So the power of that little card booted in any Qualcomm Device is limitless.
Thats the real significance of my find.
We can run anything we want on the sdcard and never have to modify the device emmc at all.
The sdcard we can modify in linux and never have any limited access.
This is going to go BIG......Real Big once people figure out what I really accomplished here.

BigCountry907 said:
@Cursed
You can give this a shot with the sdcard you have.
It may or may not boot.
But certainly will not damage the phone either way.
For best results I recommend the fastest card you can get.
With a really fast card like a V90 we can run android and the device software strictly from the sdcard.
Probably faster than the emmc. The cards I previously recommended are V30. about 90 mbs R/W.
A V90 Card is super fast but super expensive.
A V60 Card is probably a good investment.
Like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Delkin-micro...rd_wg=aueOb&psc=1&refRID=K744VKN1ACP14NF1P9MP
When running off the sdcard we can control everything. Partition sizes you name it. So the power of that little card booted in any Qualcomm Device is limitless.
Thats the real significance of my find.
We can run anything we want on the sdcard and never have to modify the device emmc at all.
The sdcard we can modify in linux and never have any limited access.
This is going to go BIG......Real Big once people figure out what I really accomplished here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1-to be honest , I gave up on this device long time ago but my friend have this phone now and he is kinda annoying and wants me to flash a custom rom for him.
i will meet him soon and will try this method with the sd card i have and i hope it success.
2-Also i intened to buy a new sd card if the operation failed so can this one do the job ? ::"" SANDISK SDSDUNC-016G-GN6IN SD 16GB Ultra SD 80MB/SC10U
""::
3-is there is any good custom rom for this device anyway ?
4- yeah you did awesome work , and like i said before you'd better create a new Thread so that people can see your method better.

There is no custom rom yet.
But you can do so much when you boot the system from the sdcard.
Unlocking the bootloader is just the start.
With this sdcard we have full control of the device.
This sdcard method will work on all Qualcomm Devices.
Im just getting started so UNLOCK YOUR BOOTLOADERS.
GET ROOT GOING.
Its worth it to invest in the fastest SD Card you can get.
The UHS II / V90 cards probably will run faster than the normal emmc.
We can resize partitions so we can increase the size of system and data as much as we want.
I'm thinking that we might even be able to run Linux on the Phone from the SDCARD.
The best thing about the sdcard is you can change whatever you want on it. Delete system apps ect. Directly to the card even when its not in the phone.
You don't need to modify the EMMC for testing so doing the testing on the sdcard means there is no risk of BRICKING at all.
THIS IS HUGE PEOPLE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS HERE
S-OFF WILL BE COMING SOON. IM WORKING ON THAT.

CID 11111111 is on the HTCDEV blacklist, blame @beaups and his facepalm exploit.
*EDIT* Looks like HTC has recently re-enabled tokens for CID 11111111, my bad on that.

BigCountry907 said:
There is no custom rom yet.
But you can do so much when you boot the system from the sdcard.
Unlocking the bootloader is just the start.
With this sdcard we have full control of the device.
This sdcard method will work on all Qualcomm Devices.
Im just getting started so UNLOCK YOUR BOOTLOADERS.
GET ROOT GOING.
Its worth it to invest in the fastest SD Card you can get.
The UHS II / V90 cards probably will run faster than the normal emmc.
We can resize partitions so we can increase the size of system and data as much as we want.
I'm thinking that we might even be able to run Linux on the Phone from the SDCARD.
The best thing about the sdcard is you can change whatever you want on it. Delete system apps ect. Directly to the card even when its not in the phone.
You don't need to modify the EMMC for testing so doing the testing on the sdcard means there is no risk of BRICKING at all.
THIS IS HUGE PEOPLE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS HERE
S-OFF WILL BE COMING SOON. IM WORKING ON THAT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you actually bother to test this on an S-ON device?
--beaups

OK Community.
So serious testing is going on now. This is good.
Working together we can take this to an even higher level.
After testing is fully completed I will RE-Post more detailed instructions.
In the mean time feel free to test this.
Make sure you use this sd card.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

This is confirmed working now.
Have fun and go unlock your device

BigCountry907 said:
There is no custom rom yet.
But you can do so much when you boot the system from the sdcard.
Unlocking the bootloader is just the start.
With this sdcard we have full control of the device.
This sdcard method will work on all Qualcomm Devices.
Im just getting started so UNLOCK YOUR BOOTLOADERS.
GET ROOT GOING.
Its worth it to invest in the fastest SD Card you can get.
The UHS II / V90 cards probably will run faster than the normal emmc.
We can resize partitions so we can increase the size of system and data as much as we want.
I'm thinking that we might even be able to run Linux on the Phone from the SDCARD.
The best thing about the sdcard is you can change whatever you want on it. Delete system apps ect. Directly to the card even when its not in the phone.
You don't need to modify the EMMC for testing so doing the testing on the sdcard means there is no risk of BRICKING at all.
THIS IS HUGE PEOPLE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS HERE
S-OFF WILL BE COMING SOON. IM WORKING ON THAT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait wait there is different models of desire 526 with different CPUs ? my friend's desire 526 with a mdeiatek CPU.
Sent from my D2502 using XDA Labs

Ya that's totally different. Not Verizon

Installing Custom ROM on Cubot KingKong Mini

UPDATE 2021
The original post was for the first King Kong Mini, for instructions for the King Kong Mini 2 go to page 9 in this thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-on-cubot-kingkong-mini.4050815/post-84445303
======================
The Cubot King Kong Mini was released in Q4 2019. It is one of the smallest Android phones on the market with a 4" screen. Like many cheap Mediatek devices, one cannot be sure of how "safe" or "secure" these devices are, so the security/privacy conscious may want to consider installing a custom ROM. Here are the instructions for installing Android AOSP on the Cubot King Kong Mini. Note: I am not responsible for any bricked devices.
Download the Stock Rom from here and SP Flash Tool just in case you need to reinstall Stock. Download a system image, note you need to use an A/B arm32 image with 64 bindings. For example AOSP 9 is here.
This process probably can be done with SP Flash Tool but I wasn't able to manage it due to the disable-verification flag required.
Unzip the stock ROM and reboot the device to bootloader, connect via USB and unlock via:
Code:
sudo fastboot flashing unlock
Note this will erase all data. Then on your computer navigate to the folder with the unzipped ROM (for me was NA_mt6761p_d936p_9101cmp_chuanqi_cc_256gbitp24d3_p_lte_3m-fdd-cs_mul_20191121-210020_songlixin_PC) and type
Code:
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta vbmeta.img
If you do not do this it seems to work without it but then it will bootloop when you try to switch it on. From here on it's standard.
Code:
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
Unzip the .xz image file you wish to use and type:
Code:
fastboot flash system SYSTEM.img
where SYSTEM is the name of whatever image downloaded.
Root
For root install magisk manager and you have to patch the recovery to get root (not just boot as flashing boot alone doesn't give you root). So in magisk get it to patch you boot and recovery images and then put those on your computer, go to bootloader and use:
Code:
fastboot flash boot magisk_patched_boot.img
fastboot flash recovery magisk_patched_recovery.img
You can read more about magisk from recovery here.
To get root then you need to reboot to recovery, hold power button + volume up and select Recovery. This will appear to boot as normal but you will have root when you do it this way and not when you boot normally. Unfortunately I do not have reception when I do this but do have root, other users have this problem but I have not found a solution.
Note that I thought I bricked my phone a few times before getting this as nothing would happen after a failed boot and I couldn't switch it on, however what happens is you can't do anything until the battery has almost completely discharged, then when you hit the power button you'll get the no battery sign and when you plug in you can get to Recovery again. This is quite annoying if you've charged it quite high as you'll have to wait a long time to discharge and be tapping on the power button a lot!!
What doesn't work
Battery usage doesn't work, this can probably be fixed following this guide. If I get time I will attempt this.
Other things to note, there is no TWRP yet so I don't have decent recovery options, this also makes it harder to use certain ROMS as you can't flash things like gapps if you install a ROM without it.
The battery life is definitely worse using AOSP GSI than stock, maybe that vendor overlay would help with that though.
I hope that helps others.

TWRP+Encryption Disabling+Magisk Root
Actually there is TWRP for this model ported from alcatel by NickyNS. You can pick up it from here.
You can flash it with fastboot along with the patched lk which is to disable the "Orange state" message. After flashing it you should enter TWRP right with the next step (without booting to OS). On this stage you might want to disable encryption in order to have full-fledged backup-recovery option in TWRP next time you use it. To do so you will have to format data partition. After that step you will loose all you applications and user data for them, so you should backup it previously. After you format the data, flash Magisk first, then flash encryption disabling script from this post. Now you can boot to OS.
Note, that attached TWRP is only valid for firmware CUBOT_KINGKONG_MINI_9101C_V06_20191121. Cubot has released a new one and you can try to use the TWRP with it, but there is no guarantee it will work correctly.

well well, finally and serranoltexx successor?
i ordered one yesterday and am looking forward to get an suiteable replacement for my S4 MiNi [serranoltexx]

moctir said:
Other things to note, there is no TWRP yet so I don't have decent recovery options, this also makes it harder to use certain ROMS as you can't flash things like gapps if you install a ROM without it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw 2 places talking about TWRP in King Kong Mini but I don't know if is safe:
- https://unofficialtwrp.com/unofficial-twrp-3-3-1-root-cubot-king-kong-mini/
- https://www.getdroidtips.com/twrp-recovery-cubot-kingkong-mini/

robrazil said:
I saw 2 places talking about TWRP in King Kong Mini but I don't know if is safe:
- https://unofficialtwrp.com/unofficial-twrp-3-3-1-root-cubot-king-kong-mini/
- https://www.getdroidtips.com/twrp-recovery-cubot-kingkong-mini/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on the second poster here and someone else who sent me a pm, I believe the TWRP is safe, I haven't tested it myself yet but I plan to at some point and will post here when I do. When I'm using it as my primary device and everything is working okay it's hard to justify messing with it more at the moment!

Tom Mix said:
i ordered one yesterday and am looking forward to get an suiteable replacement for my S4 MiNi [serranoltexx]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did it to replacement my old Samsung J1 ace, very similar of S4 Mini, and I'm not regretful for that.
---------- Post added at 01:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:08 PM ----------
moctir said:
Based on the second poster here and someone else who sent me a pm, I believe the TWRP is safe, I haven't tested it myself yet but I plan to at some point and will post here when I do. When I'm using it as my primary device and everything is working okay it's hard to justify messing with it more at the moment!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understood but the point is if the TWRP source is confiable. I asked the official TWRP Team about the unofficials TWRP on websites in my last post, and they answer: "Hello, we do not run that site, so I cannot confirm the validity of their images."
So, I wonder how safe the unofficial TWRP images are.

moctir said:
Note that I thought I bricked my phone a few times before getting this as nothing would happen after a failed boot and I couldn't switch it on, however what happens is you can't do anything until the battery has almost completely discharged, then when you hit the power button you'll get the no battery sign and when you plug in you can get to Recovery again. This is quite annoying if you've charged it quite high as you'll have to wait a long time to discharge and be tapping on the power button a lot!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a very important information. When I did a update firmware the usb cable disconnected and the mobile died. Black screen. The side buttons died too. Only blue led turn on when the usb cable is connected on PC. The windows 10 only recognized the mobile as "unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed)". I thought that had lose the mobile. A few days later when I connect the mobile in the PC, the battery image was showed on screen with 18% of charge and I saw in that moment that I could flash the firmware again.
I flashed official firmware and the mobile worked again but now it died again... because I did a wrong recovery boot. I will wait discharge the battery again. :crying:

robrazil said:
This is a very important information. When I did a update firmware the usb cable disconnected and the mobile died. Black screen. The side buttons died too. Only blue led turn on when the usb cable is connected on PC. The windows 10 only recognized the mobile as "unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed)". I thought that had lose the mobile. A few days later when I connect the mobile in the PC, the battery image was showed on screen with 18% of charge and I saw in that moment that I could flash the firmware again.
I flashed official firmware and the mobile worked again but now it died again... because I did a wrong recovery boot. I will wait discharge the battery again. :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, indeed there were three times I thought I had totally bricked and each time I was so annoyed with myself! The key is to not charge it much until you are happy with the ROM you put on.
The amount of drivers I tried to use for different OS' when I got that "unknown USB device" on Windows and Linux didn't detect it was all a waste of time!

Well... the battery image appeared again and I uploaded firmware again. I installed the Magisk in the boot recovery, because this only way to install the Magisk on devices that are using system-as-root, but the Magisk disable my 2 SIM cards. When I boot without Magisk, all back to normal.
I serched for any solution for that but I didn't find.
So, my conclusion is that the Magisk not works to Cubot King Kong Mini. How can I stay with a phone with no SIM card?
I give up.

For me I can only get root when I patched Magisk to Recovery and then boot to Recovery and it doesn't see my SIM card but I have root, so I reboot every time I need root which is a bit annoying...

It is very complicated everytime when need "root", to have power off and on the mobile in recovery boot mode. Besides that, run out of SIM card working is not an option.
I will try to get support of this issue with Magisk Team.
Thank you for share your experience.

Ce3apyc said:
Actually there is TWRP for this model ported from alcatel by NickyNS. You can pick up it from here.
You can flash it with fastboot along with the patched lk which is to disable the "Orange state" message. After flashing it you should enter TWRP right with the next step (without booting to OS). On this stage you might want to disable encryption in order to have full-fledged backup-recovery option in TWRP next time you use it. To do so you will have to format data partition. After that step you will loose all you applications and user data for them, so you should backup it previously. After you format the data, flash Magisk first, then flash encryption disabling script from this post. Now you can boot to OS.
Note, that attached TWRP is only valid for firmware CUBOT_KINGKONG_MINI_9101C_V06_20191121. Cubot has released a new one and you can try to use the TWRP with it, but there is no guarantee it will work correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Does anybody can confirm, that this is working with the new firmware?

I tried the TWRP a few days ago and was able to boot to it but I couldn't mount it to see my files, it asked for a password and I tried "default_password" and creating a password for the phone but that also didn't work. A possibility is to change the file format to ext2 and then to ext4 but I didn't want to try it when I couldn't back it up.

moctir said:
I tried the TWRP a few days ago and was able to boot to it but I couldn't mount it to see my files, it asked for a password and I tried "default_password" and creating a password for the phone but that also didn't work. A possibility is to change the file format to ext2 and then to ext4 but I didn't want to try it when I couldn't back it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will not be able to mount and/or use the backup feature of the TWRP until you disable an encryption by formating the data partition and running the script (just press "Cancel" in the TWRP to be able to do that when it asks for the password). Read my original post very carefully. There is a complete sequence of steps in it. Have you tried the TWRP with the last firmware? How did the rest of the system work?

Ce3apyc said:
You will not be able to mount and/or use the backup feature of the TWRP until you disable an encryption by formating the data partition and running the script (just press "Cancel" in the TWRP to be able to do that when it asks for the password). Read my original post very carefully. There is a complete sequence of steps in it. Have you tried the TWRP with the last firmware? How did the rest of the system work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using treble AOSP Android 9 so not the latest firmware. I thought disabling the verification when installing that would be enough but maybe I do need to do those other steps. I can see the /system directory through TWRP so that's probably because that's the one I flashed, but I can't see the internal storage otherwise.

moctir said:
I tried the TWRP a few days ago and was able to boot to it but I couldn't mount it to see my files, it asked for a password and I tried "default_password" and creating a password for the phone but that also didn't work. A possibility is to change the file format to ext2 and then to ext4 but I didn't want to try it when I couldn't back it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to put the "Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt_02.04.2019.zip" file into SD card or internal memory to install by TWRP. This file disable the asking of password. Worked for me.
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robrazil said:
You need to put the "Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt_02.04.2019.zip" file into SD card or internal memory to install by TWRP. This file disable the asking of password. Worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll check it out!

Anyone else having problems with sensors on this phone? Rotating and compass do not work for me. That's what you get for buying a cheap Chinese phone, I guess.
EDIT: Downgrading firmware back to CUBOT_KINGKONG_MINI_9101C_V06_20191121 seems to fix some problems, rotation works, but compass is still buggy.

Never tried compass but haven't had any problems with rotation.

Tried to install root on a friends kkm but I can't get it working in the os. Is there any chance to get it working there? I am only able to get root access in twrp. Maybe an gsi with root is that possible?

[SOLVED] Help Flashing Lineage OS

EDIT:SOLVED -- READ BELOW:
I finally got it flashed by following a few guides here which I will link, and try to break it down easier for someone else to come across and follow. I thought I bricked my phone (flashed LineageOS then rebooted, phone did not show anything on screen, full black screen) but after following a few guides I got it solved.
If you get bricked, or just want to follow a clean perfect install, please start below (Skip to step 2 if you are starting fresh, if you have soft-bricked your device start from step 1)
1. Bricked it and had to execute QDLoader 9008 fix again.
Tutorial is easier than it looks, do not fear, if you have soft-bricked your device and see a black screen, go ahead and go through the qdloader brick solution.
2. From factory recovery updated to Version WW-16.1220.1909.193.
If you have started fresh, I would highly recommend updating to the more updated firmware first. For me this worked, and I suggest updating to get a more current kernel, which may play better with Lineage OS install. To install a newer stock firmware linked above, download the ~2GB Firmware above, and save it to your Minimal ADB / Fastboot folder. Power off your device, after it has been successfully restored (if you bricked it) or you want to start off fresh and get the install right the first time. With your device powered off, Hold Volume UP and then Hold Power Button until the Fastboot menu appears. Use your volume keys to select Recovery, then press Power button to enter the STOCK Recovery (we are still on stock firmware with stock recovery). When in stock recovery select install from ADB. We are going to push the install via ADB (I tried dragging the firmware to the internal and selecting install ZIP and that didnt work).
Go into your Minimal ADB / Fastboot folder on your computer and open command prompt by holding Shift+Control and Right clicking and then selecting open command prompt here.
Now, enter the following command in the command prompt and hit enter:
adb devices
This command will show if any fastboot device is connected. If it doesn’t show, then please check the drivers are installed properly and try again.
If your device is listed, then type the command given below and press enter:
adb sideload File_name.zip
^^This will be the ~2GB Firmware file downloaded above
Wait until the installation process completes.
Once the installation process is complete, restart your device.
Done. You have successfully upgraded the Asus ZenFone 6 to the newer firmware, please continue.
3. Downloaded OTA 16.1220.1909.193 to 16.1220.1909.194, renamed it to UL-ASUS_I01WD-ASUS-16.1220.1909.194-1.1.1-user.zip and placed into root of internal memory.
When I disconnected USB cable (or rebooted, not sure), I was prompted with update notification. I have updated it. Either way, reboot your device if you don't see the notification, and look in your notifications to see something saying: System Update Detected Proceed with Update - and select it and update.
4. Now that your phone is 100% Updated with the newest firmware, let's follow another guide I found here:
I assume you're on a fresh Android 9 stock ROM, or just finished restoring your phone with the Flashall_AFT.cmd from this tutorial.
You should at least boot once on the system, and disable any PIN or password to unlock your phone (hence putting a default password for the FBE).
Download the latest OFFICIAL TWRP.x.x.img (which we'll use to boot on it), and it's installer to install it later (TWRP.x.x.zip) if you want to use it.
LineageOS installation steps :
Reboot to bootloader (=fastboot mode), connect to your PC and boot on TWRP :
Command:
fastboot boot TWRP.x.x.img
Once on TWRP, you can see that we're on slot A (Menu > Reboot). Now go to wipe > factory reset and then wipe system (technically I suspect this only wipes slot A, but do it anyway, don't worry about the errors!)
Now go to Install > flash the newest official LOS_latest.zip. What happens here is that the LOS installer will flash LOS on the inactive slot (slot B in our case). And will also install the LOS recovery (on both slots it seems).
Reboot to recovery : your phone automatically switches slots and will boot the LineageOS recovery (Don't fear, we don't need TWRP right now, just go along with this step) on slot B.
On the LineageOS recovery, do factory reset (which seems to be a full /data format in fact, thus removing any previous encryption AND all your data on internal storage). If you want to use Magisk, go to the recovery's install menu and sideload it now
Use code:
adb sideload Magisk-v20.3.zip
Now reboot to system. It might take a while (one or 2 loops in my case), but your phone should boot, or in some cases will end up on LOS recovery asking for a 'factory data reset' (then do it and reboot again).
Once booted on your LOS rom, you can define a pin or password to lock your phone (that'll be the FBE decryption password).
Now if you want to use TWRP, reboot to bootloader and boot again on TWRP.img (step 1)
From TWRP > Install > flash TWRP.x.x.zip (that is, the TWRP installer). It installs on both slots by default. If you had installed Magisk, you have to flash it again (because anything modifying the boot.img - like the TWRP installer in our case - will erase it).
You can now reboot to system and enjoy LOS

Thanks for the nice documentation. I've recently also struggling with installing a custom ROM and this clears some things up.
Wanted to ask, if you also have the audio issue that 1) callers hear an echo of themselves, and 2) the bottom speaker is active when receiving a call?
Thanks.

abprie said:
Thanks for the nice documentation. I've recently also struggling with installing a custom ROM and this clears some things up.
Wanted to ask, if you also have the audio issue that 1) callers hear an echo of themselves, and 2) the bottom speaker is active when receiving a call?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't actually put my sim in yet to make calls, will let you know later today, sorry about the delay!

I had previously attempted this a number of months ago, and managed to soft brick my Zenfone 6 several times, eventually kind of giving up and just using the stock firmware.
I tried again back on Memorial Day in the US. This time around, I bricked it hard. Could not get device to power on in any fashion. PC would not "see" USB connection at all.
I returned it to ASUS for service, and they've charged me a little over $200 to repair it. The only problem they noted was, "Device is rooted/unlock". So I have no way of knowing if their diagnosis is based on actual inspection of the device, or if they're just replacing the SOC on the basis that I used their official bootloader unlock tool, thus registering my phone's S/N.
Just a little caveat emptor for anyone attempting to use this guide. I was able to get TWRP to load, and succesfully updated the stock firmware, but any and all attempts to load the Lineage image failed.
Eventually one of them soft bricked my phone as before, and I think my mistake was interrupting the soft brick rewrite procedure by prematurely unplugging my phone from the PC.

I had a similar issue: Bricked and totally unresponsive phone (or so I thought until I realised the screen was flashing very faintly when I switched off the lights - I could only tell in the dark due to how dim the flashing on the display was) where de "Powered by Android" logo kept flashing for a millisecond and in a loop. None of the button combinations worked so I couldn't switch completely off, access recovery/fastboot, and my computer wouldn't recognise the phone when I connected it via USB. I ended up buying an EDL cable for deep flashing Qualcomm phones (€9) and within minutes I was back up and running. All solved.

~SilverLad~ said:
I had a similar issue: Bricked and totally unresponsive phone (or so I thought until I realized the screen was flashing very faintly when I switched off the lights - I could only tell in the dark due to how dim the flashing on the display was) where de "Powered by Android" logo kept flashing for a millisecond and in a loop. None of the button combinations worked so I could switch completely off, access recovery/fastboot, and my computer wouldn't recognize the phone when I connected it via USB. I ended up buying an EDL cable for deep flashing Qualcomm phones (€9) and within minutes I was back up and running. All solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you post a link to where you purchased the cable?

abprie said:
Can you post a link to where you purchased the cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it from Amazon. The one I bought is out of stock now, but there are a lot of them available (from other brands/sellers). This one for example - is the one that most resembles the one I actually bought: https://www.amazon.es/ASHATA-tel%C3%A9fono-reparaci%C3%B3n-Adaptador-Engineering/dp/B086WZMFKW/ref=sr_1_18?__mk_es_ES=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&dchild=1&keywords=cable+edl&qid=1597417614&sr=8-18

Since the thread is already on topic, could I flash lineage os while being on a custom rom? I have Bliss ROM on partition A and stock on B. Is it possible to have both Bliss and Lineage in dual boot?
Also, maybe a little off topic, the partition A/B scheme was intended to be used as a dual OS boot like normal PCs? Because right now I can select A and boot Bliss, select B and boot stock, I don't get why the procedure for flashing Lineage OS is so convoluted(requires having stock both on B and A?!) since both partition seems to be standalone and separated from each other.

~SilverLad~ said:
I bought it from Amazon. The one I bought is out of stock now, but there are a lot of them available (from other brands/sellers). This one for example - is the one that most resembles the one I actually bought: https://www.amazon.es/ASHATA-tel%C3%A9fono-reparaci%C3%B3n-Adaptador-Engineering/dp/B086WZMFKW/ref=sr_1_18?__mk_es_ES=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&dchild=1&keywords=cable+edl&qid=1597417614&sr=8-18
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there, what's the process around using this cable?

vikashhero said:
Hey there, what's the process around using this cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cable itself (on its own), doesn't seem to "do" anything, but is paramount in reaching the right area, in order to fix the problem by means of the appropriate instructions and files. I can't recall where I ended up getting the right instructions from - as I researched quite a bit, and did a lot of "trial an error" before getting it right - so I'm sorry but I can't refer you directly to them via link (so that whoever posted them originally gets the credit they deserve), but this is what I ended up doing (on a WINDOWS machine) based on said instructions:
DOWNLOADS:
- Qualcomm drivers: https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=11410963190603857508
- Firmware with scripts: https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397969054
- Latest official ASUS firmware from the ASUS webpage (download and place it in a memory card)
- (If you don't already have it on your WINDOWS machine): download and install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package
PROCEDURE:
1- Install the Qualcomm drivers
2- Unpack the downloaded firmware containing the scripts
3- Place the memory card in the phone's slot (with the latest official ASUS firmware already in it)
4- Power off the phone by VolumeDown + Power buttons (keep them pressed for about <25 seconds)
5- Connect the phone to the computer via the EDL cable and press the button on the EDL cable (there was an extra bit on what to do with a archive from the drivers file if your computer doesn't recognise the port straight away, but it wasn't necessary in my case so I didn't keep that step/archive name in my notes... I'm afraid you will have to search for it like I did if you come across that issue).
6- Start update_image_EDL.bat script from the unpacked firmware
7- After the script in step 6 finishes, start script flashall_AFT.cmd
8- Start bootloader
9- Go to stock recovery mode and install the ASUS firmware from the memory card
X- (Instructions also suggested to repeat steps 8 & 9 again at this point - for a second time - but in my case it wasn't needed)
I hope this helps.

~SilverLad~ said:
The cable itself (on its own), doesn't seem to "do" anything, but is paramount in reaching the right area, in order to fix the problem by means of the appropriate instructions and files. I can't recall where I ended up getting the right instructions from - as I researched quite a bit, and did a lot of "trial an error" before getting it right - so I'm sorry but I can't refer you directly to them via link (so that whoever posted them originally gets the credit they deserve), but this is what I ended up doing (on a WINDOWS machine) based on said instructions:
DOWNLOADS:
- Qualcomm drivers: https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=11410963190603857508
- Firmware with scripts: https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397969054
- Latest official ASUS firmware from the ASUS webpage (download and place it in a memory card)
- (If you don't already have it on your WINDOWS machine): download and install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package
PROCEDURE:
1- Install the Qualcomm drivers
2- Unpack the downloaded firmware containing the scripts
3- Place the memory card in the phone's slot (with the latest official ASUS firmware already in it)
4- Power off the phone by VolumeDown + Power buttons (keep them pressed for about <25 seconds)
5- Connect the phone to the computer via the EDL cable and press the button on the EDL cable (there was an extra bit on what to do with a archive from the drivers file if your computer doesn't recognise the port straight away, but it wasn't necessary in my case so I didn't keep that step/archive name in my notes... I'm afraid you will have to search for it like I did if you come across that issue).
6- Start update_image_EDL.bat script from the unpacked firmware
7- After the script in step 6 finishes, start script flashall_AFT.cmd
8- Start bootloader
9- Go to stock recovery mode and install the ASUS firmware from the memory card
X- (Instructions also suggested to repeat steps 8 & 9 again at this point - for a second time - but in my case it wasn't needed)
I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey buddy, I appreciate your reply. The cable is on its way but I got a bit fiesty and opened up the phone to short the two contacts. This did the trick for me, got me back into EDL mode, and I was able to flash the latest firmware. On that topic, I'm trying to find the most suitable firmware version to run LineageOS 17 on the phone. I grabbed Mauro's TWRP to temporarily boot into which allowed me to flash the latest Asus image from their site. I guell I'll just carry on from there.

vikashhero said:
Hey buddy, I appreciate your reply. The cable is on its way but I got a bit fiesty and opened up the phone to short the two contacts. This did the trick for me, got me back into EDL mode, and I was able to flash the latest firmware. On that topic, I'm trying to find the most suitable firmware version to run LineageOS 17 on the phone. I grabbed Mauro's TWRP to temporarily boot into which allowed me to flash the latest Asus image from their site. I guell I'll just carry on from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I understand, that's pretty much what the cable does actually... I also came across that method along my research, but I didn't want to risk opening the phone up. Since you are in the "flashing state": be careful with some of the instructions out there - I flashed through TWRP as I have been doing all these years with other phones, following specific instructions for each ROM I've tried, and I had nothing but issues until I flashed through ADB. I still don't know why I was getting the "No OS" warning all the time despite flashing correctly from TWRP (contemplating the A/B partitions matter), but none worked...

~SilverLad~ said:
As far as I understand, that's pretty much what the cable does actually... I also came across that method along my research, but I didn't want to risk opening the phone up. Since you are in the "flashing state": be careful with some of the instructions out there - I flashed through TWRP as I have been doing all these years with other phones, following specific instructions for each ROM I've tried, and I had nothing but issues until I flashed through ADB. I still don't know why I was getting the "No OS" warning all the time despite flashing correctly from TWRP (contemplating the A/B partitions matter), but none worked...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciated but I'm all sorted. I believe my pitfall was not using the copy-partitions .zip file detailed in the instructions. I had no idea that was a thing. Was extra careful this time and now I'm on the ROM I need.
I ****ing hate A/B partitioned phones, makes custom ROMs such a chore. Sort of getting fed up with phones in general but at least this is working well for now.

vikashhero said:
Appreciated but I'm all sorted. I believe my pitfall was not using the copy-partitions .zip file detailed in the instructions. I had no idea that was a thing. Was extra careful this time and now I'm on the ROM I need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happy to hear that Indeed be careful - this is a tricky phone...
vikashhero said:
I ****ing hate A/B partitioned phones, makes custom ROMs such a chore. Sort of getting fed up with phones in general but at least this is working well for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. It was so easy to do the Samsungs "back in the day", and you always had ODIN as a fallback if things went south. But this "A/B" partition nonsense (as well as other useless changes they introduce every time they "upgrade" Android, or certain structure modifications every so often when a new phone comes out) are a pain in the butt! Changes clearly aimed at making things more annoying/difficult for us people who don't want standard/corporate/unnecessarily bloated phones... Actually (as a former Blackberry user) I was tempted to get one of these Android based Blackberrys (the KEY2), but I didn't in the end precisely due to the fact that the bootloader can't be touched, and it can be rooted...

vikashhero said:
Appreciated but I'm all sorted. I believe my pitfall was not using the copy-partitions .zip file detailed in the instructions. I had no idea that was a thing. Was extra careful this time and now I'm on the ROM I need.
I ****ing hate A/B partitioned phones, makes custom ROMs such a chore. Sort of getting fed up with phones in general but at least this is working well for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to switch to because the latest security update (August 2020) by Asus is soft bricking the phone for many users,
but I am seeing a few reports about some bugs (like the phone is stuck in the lineage boot symbol and cellular errors) in lineage os and also seeing few post with a lot of installation errors (like soft and total bricking) etc. and for me in developers options I'm not seeing the OEM and advanced boot options.(in my asus stock os) I just found out that I have to download the Unlock Boot loader apk separately from asus and install it using command prompt so I don't know how to proceed.
Can you please elaborate on how you actually did it with your Asus Zenfone 6(2019), I am a total noob in this and I also couldn't understand the partition a and b parts too.