Develop Bugs

[Q] bootloader bypass?

I am relatively new to android, but I recently purchaced an Acer a100. I probably should have done more research... but unfortunately the bootloader is locked down pretty tight so I'm on a mission now to help find a way past this evil bootloader issue. I have scoured the Google plains only to find this tablet has missed out on alot of great dev possibilities due to the bootloader. But I did come across an interesting tidbit of dev info and am not sure if it would really aid us in our search for a fix. The Motorola atrix forums here on xda has some interesting dev on a file called kexec I believe. It seems as though someone figured out how to bypass the locked bootloader and was very close to finding a kernel that would load on top of the program, though the issue was then Motorola having some sort of security to shut down the radio on the device if a custom kernel was loaded... so.. that being said, would this project be worth continuing on the a100 since mine does not have a cellular radio and as far as I know no security to disable anything if a custom kernel is loaded? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1079097

masterpker2 said:
I am relatively new to android, but I recently purchaced an Acer a100. I probably should have done more research... but unfortunately the bootloader is locked down pretty tight so I'm on a mission now to help find a way past this evil bootloader issue. I have scoured the Google plains only to find this tablet has missed out on alot of great dev possibilities due to the bootloader. But I did come across an interesting tidbit of dev info and am not sure if it would really aid us in our search for a fix. The Motorola atrix forums here on xda has some interesting dev on a file called kexec I believe. It seems as though someone figured out how to bypass the locked bootloader and was very close to finding a kernel that would load on top of the program, though the issue was then Motorola having some sort of security to shut down the radio on the device if a custom kernel was loaded... so.. that being said, would this project be worth continuing on the a100 since mine does not have a cellular radio and as far as I know no security to disable anything if a custom kernel is loaded? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1079097
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK that was one the things thrown around for the Nook Tablet which also had a locked and signed bootloader. Maybe someone with the necessary skills should take a look and see if its viable? it looks like quite the undertaking though.

how can dumb people help
I was curious if anyone knew how a person with absolutely no development skills could help this locked bootloader situation and get some rooms on this amazing machine?

RobbandJenica said:
I was curious if anyone knew how a person with absolutely no development skills could help this locked bootloader situation and get some rooms on this amazing machine?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Talk to acer and express your concern and disappointment with thier device. Tell them what you think about the locked bootloader and make them understand how its imacting how you use the device and that the limitations they have placed on your device will effect future decisions on buying additional devices from them in the future.
I doubt it'll help, but it's better than sitting on your hands doing nothing.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

crossix said:
Talk to acer and express your concern and disappointment with thier device. Tell them what you think about the locked bootloader and make them understand how its imacting how you use the device and that the limitations they have placed on your device will effect future decisions on buying additional devices from them in the future.
I doubt it'll help, but it's better than sitting on your hands doing nothing.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to ask you or any of the other devs that were giving this a try, if you could perhaps spare a few minutes to fill us in on what has been tried and is currently being tried (if anything)? I think at the very least it would stop the posting of more threads on the same subject (perhaps even sticky such post so new owners and devs alike are informed on progress), and also maybe shine a little bit of hope to the community

littleemp said:
I wanted to ask you or any of the other devs that were giving this a try, if you could perhaps spare a few minutes to fill us in on what has been tried and is currently being tried (if anything)? I think at the very least it would stop the posting of more threads on the same subject (perhaps even sticky such post so new owners and devs alike are informed on progress), and also maybe shine a little bit of hope to the community
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if there is anyone that is actually working on a solution to unlock it or find a work around such as 2nd-init or kexec. I don't know if we have any experienced devs that have done that sort of thing in the past with other devices that actually own an a100 and are working on it. If we don't I'd suggest that someone contact someone that does have experience (ie. koush or possibly sc2k) and see if they would be willing to help.
I am not a bootloader / recovery guy and have never personally developed a working solution to a problem like this. I barely know how they work in conjunction with each other. I know that recovery runs it's own kernel and in order to get cwm to work you have to compile a kernel for your device and cwm uses it. I have tried several solutions that others have created but none of them have worked so far.
sc2k from the a500 forum created itsmajic for their device and I attempted to install it along with cwm but almost borked recovery on my tab in the process.
The recovery partition does some sort of checking (I dunno if its a checksum validation or what) but its obvious that the p7 partition in our device doesn't do the same thing as it does on the a500. So the bootloader hack for the a500 will not work for our device.
I have compiled kexec and got kexec-tools to run, but I don't know enough about the kernel or memory addresses to know how to launch an alternate kernel or what memory address to launch it in (if thats even the proper terminology??)
I have looked at 2nd-init, but don't understand where / how cwm would get launched from it.
I just don't have enough knowledge about the boot process / recovery to get a working solution for this thing. I don't consider myself a dev, but just a modder that has done some kernel tweaking and device tweaking here and there. I know how to use a c compiler, write sh scripts, check logcats for issues... enough to be dangerous but thats about it

crossix said:
I have compiled kexec and got kexec-tools to run, but I don't know enough about the kernel or memory addresses to know how to launch an alternate kernel or what memory address to launch it in (if thats even the proper terminology??)
I have looked at 2nd-init, but don't understand where / how cwm would get launched from it.
I just don't have enough knowledge about the boot process / recovery to get a working solution for this thing. I don't consider myself a dev, but just a modder that has done some kernel tweaking and device tweaking here and there. I know how to use a c compiler, write sh scripts, check logcats for issues... enough to be dangerous but thats about it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2nd-Init might be possible, we just need to find a binary that starts within init/init.rc that can be hijacked. On Motorola phones it is logwrapper, at this line in init.rc is the first it executes.
Code:
exec /system/bin/logwrapper /system/bin/mount_ext3.sh userdata /data
For this to work logwrapper has to be renamed to something else (logwrapper.bin , .orig) and executed in a new executable script called, logwrapper. In the script just about anything can be done. To run cwm, / gets remounted rw new init files replace the old. busybox, other binaries and a hacked adbd are unzipped. 2nd-Init then goes to work killing process 1 (init) and starts cwm. I believe in this case cwm is 2nd-Init rather than a recovery partition.
The a100 init.rc doesn't use logwrapper. One idea, which may be too far fetched and too far into init, is hijacking the bootanimation binary, but it runs as user 'graphics' which doesn't have elevated privileges. So could an su binary, compiled without requesting SuperUser.apk, be used in the hijacked bootanimation??... If it's too far in the boot process maybe we could atleast get init.d tweaks.
Hashcode has come up with an inventive new approach to cwm bootstrap called safestrap. A different partition is used to hold the rom keeping stock intact making it almost impossible to brick. For anyone interested I recommend reading his blog to see how it works hash-of-codes.blogspot.com/p/how-to-safestrap.html?m=0/. Attached is the logwrapper script from my Droid3 to get an idea of how it starts cwm. The safestrap.apk can also be downloaded from hashcode's blog for a better understanding. DO NOT install it, it can be unzipped and analyzed.
At this point theres no reason we can't deodex then make a custom rom/theme with just replacing atleast the system apps and the framework. With the update.zips theres no reason not to.

Some interesting stuff you have there...
So, you think that update-style ROM porting would be possible right now?
I will defenitely take a look at the logwrapper.
Sent from my A100 using xda premium

Icewyng said:
Some interesting stuff you have there...
So, you think that update-style ROM porting would be possible right now?
I will defenitely take a look at the logwrapper.
Sent from my A100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using an update.zip? The only option we have now would be copying via adb or maybe dd but doubtful. So if the apks are decompiled and themed or even adjusting some code, they can be copied with a simple script from adb. If it bricks just use one of the update.zip's to recover. The first thing the updates do is format /system so no checksums or anything it should be safe.
I would think that aosp style roms can be compiled but most of acers framework would have to stay, along with all the libs. Kind of like some of Team Liberty roms.

eww245 said:
Using an update.zip? The only option we have now would be copying via adb or maybe dd but doubtful. So if the apks are decompiled and themed or even adjusting some code, they can be copied with a simple script from adb. If it bricks just use one of the update.zip's to recover. The first thing the updates do is format /system so no checksums or anything it should be safe.
I would think that aosp style roms can be compiled but most of acers framework would have to stay, along with all the libs. Kind of like some of Team Liberty roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. I used edify script before to get my updates to work w/ CWR and I was formatting cache, userdata and system before reinstalling.
Perhaps working on an Acer update with the DSIDXA kitchen could help to get something workable?
Sent from my A100 using xda premium

eww245 said:
Using an update.zip? The only option we have now would be copying via adb or maybe dd but doubtful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The update.zip method wont work through recovery. I tried to pre-root 2.007.04 and when you load any modified .zip file in recovery you get an android with an exclaimation...
I have successfully used dd to make/restore a backup of boot, recovery and system partitions. I haven't had a chance yet to deodex the system (too busy with other projects at the moment).
I mighe be able to do something with your post on that init method, just need to get some time to dig in to it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

crossix said:
The update.zip method wont work through recovery. I tried to pre-root 2.007.04 and when you load any modified .zip file in recovery you get an android with an exclaimation...
I have successfully used dd to make/restore a backup of boot, recovery and system partitions. I haven't had a chance yet to deodex the system (too busy with other projects at the moment).
I mighe be able to do something with your post on that init method, just need to get some time to dig in to it.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh good, should be able to make backups of /data, it umounts clean and dd works so that's a step forward. I was worried about partition overlap. tar might be useful too cwm uses it and Titanium and AppExtractor both can restore the data.
Hopefully this weekend I can try that along with possible init.d

If I get a chance I'll mess around with the kernel that acer posted a while back on their site and see if I can't get it to compile. If it does, I'll see if we can try to get a working cwm. Don't go getting your hopes up though, if cwm requires any code changes to get it working then we still may be sunk. I've never attempted to roll my own cwm before, this'll be a first lol.
hmm... looks complicated...
http://www.acsyndicate.net/how-to-porting-cwm-to-other-devices-windows/

Its nice to see a possibility of methods popping up. Hopefully we make some hedge-way here.

crossix said:
If I get a chance I'll mess around with the kernel that acer posted a while back on their site and see if I can't get it to compile. If it does, I'll see if we can try to get a working cwm. Don't go getting your hopes up though, if cwm requires any code changes to get it working then we still may be sunk. I've never attempted to roll my own cwm before, this'll be a first lol.
hmm... looks complicated...
http://www.acsyndicate.net/how-to-porting-cwm-to-other-devices-windows/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll look into it over the weekend as well. also, I will look into an update file and see if there are anything special in those as well.
Let us know how it goes with the kernel.

Did anyone ever experiment with NVFlash btw? or tried the Acer update decrypter?
Oh...and it seems the ICS ROM for the A200 has already leaked.

Im gonna be ballsy and try and flash it later probably in 20 minutes. Probably wont work, but why not try(other than the fact I can brick my device, meh) Ill also mess around IN the file itself to see what parameters it checks for. Maybe we can do what they did for the A500, but slightly different, heh....

mvan4310 said:
Im gonna be ballsy and try and flash it later probably in 20 minutes. Probably wont work, but why not try(other than the fact I can brick my device, meh) Ill also mess around IN the file itself to see what parameters it checks for. Maybe we can do what they did for the A500, but slightly different, heh....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GL, you'll probably get an android with an exclamation point when you try and flash it due to different signing keys used between tablets.

Lol, it got halfway, stopped for a few minutes and gave me the !. lol. It wiped my settings clean, seems as far as it got before it thought about the device, lol. Nice try though.

mvan4310 said:
Lol, it got halfway, stopped for a few minutes and gave me the !. lol. It wiped my settings clean, seems as far as it got before it thought about the device, lol. Nice try though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should post the last_log file from /cache/recovery, that'll tell you why it died.
On another note, the acer supplied kernel didnt include the config file they used to build so I'm having to roll my own Tried compiling with a minimal amount of settings, but the compile died..

[GUIDE]For Starters(Newbies)

NOTE: Noob is not a really good word. kinda discriminating. newbie better.
THIS will GUIDE how to get on foot if your just starting on Galaxy Y, most probably, ANDROID
1. First Things first. Know your Phone. before doing anything, just be on the stock for a while. Know all the things, settings, install some app and alike. This way, you'll know your way through. See apps like market, Maps and others, check bugs etc.
2. Second part is knowing a basic tweak of your phone, to be exact: BATTERY SAVINGS. Know your way from this apps. See how they handle your battery life. The purpose of this is to know the performance of your phone
3. So you feel much better knowing your phone, you can start rooting or installing some replacement apps Go, ADW, Pansi, Popups, keyboards its up to you. But i dont recommend instant rooting when your just getting on foot.
Rooting wont brick the phone, maybe but its in the least.
(I wont be giving links for many threads here are available already. Its hard just to give you everything when researching can't kill one)
WHAT IS ROOTING?
rooting gives you access to the system of your phone. thats it
Soft ROOT-stated in the above
Hard ROOT-gives you access to the commander of the system which allows you to access the device via shell extensions and ADBs
4. Same as step 1. See how does root work for you. Dont just access the system right away using an explorer. look for apps that can help you achieve your desired goal that requires root access. a good start would be RAM tweaks.
5. Removing apps that you dont need. Its the power of Rooting that grants you this. basically, it improves RAM usage and speed of the device especially when "app-example.apk" initiates on its own. ofcourse it increases the capacity of your device.
6. KITCHENS. for a start you can use the UOT kitchen which allows you to modify some parts of the device. as far as i know, mods like transparency, lockscreen and bootanimation wont work on stock dont ask why coz i dunno sorry. so using this kitchen can allow you to change statusbar appearance pull down notif bar, etc.
but, the MAIN concern of a KITCHEN is ROMS.
ROM is the thing that the device reads for it to run properly.
ROM development are for making a benefit that can help a device achieve its fullest performance. Speeding it up, etc.
You can see the Development Page for it
**EXTRAS:
FLASHING
Flashing is a way of updating or down-dating your device.
Odin is the tool used in it.
If KIES wont let u update. Flashing would be good but you just have to download the firmware you want.
PARTITIONING.
since SGY got a small memory for internal, u can use partitions in the SDcard to let it handle some memory for you.
BOOT recovery:
it is where you flash mini updates like rooting CWMod, UOT kitchen mods and others
**Clockworkmod recovery / CWM is a custom CWM it has additional features moreover see for yourself
i guess thats it ill just edit it if somethings new comes
THIS IS FOR NEWBIES, no noob persons exist: ONLY NEWBIES.
hoped this helps you can just PM me for assistance but for now please bear with this simple guide thanks
PS: im no dev but as soon as i got my laptop ill start im just using a netbook and my phone for learning. so thanks

good tutorial for newbies and i try to make a rom,but i dont if can i brick my phone from errors.I read many things before make a rom.
JuSt pReSs THANKS if i HeLLpeD yOu

Yap. Rom manager is not yet working for G-Y dont be afraid. Ive bricked my phone a dozen times alrready.
-- [email protected]

what happens if sm1 bricks his phone??

If soft, phone wouldnt boot properly though can go to download mode
Hard, cant open even boot recovery
-- [email protected]

nice post there man or rather master? hehehe ( you are now my master ) , i really think this thread should be sticky.
very informative for the newbies out there as a head start, keep on posting and helping here master
if they will be needing another moderator here i will surely vote for you

thanks you so much!

it would be nice to include how to make a hard bricked phone to soft brick

ronnieryan said:
it would be nice to include how to make a hard bricked phone to soft brick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres a thread already so i cant make one im just here for those who really want to get on their foot
-- [email protected]

[Guide Lines] HARD / SOFT BRICKS FOR GALAXY Y GT-S5360 MOBILE
musashihatred said:
Theres a thread already so i cant make one im just here for those who really want to get on their foot
-- [email protected]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ronnieryan said:
it would be nice to include how to make a hard bricked phone to soft brick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guidelines for how to solve HARD / SOFT BRICKS problems FOR GALAXY Y GT-S5360 MOBILE
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1498327

musashihatred said:
FLASHING
Flashing is a way of updating or down-dating your device.
Odin is the tool used in it.
If KIES wont let u update. Flashing would be good but you just have to download the firmware you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can u make a tutorial(step by step) on how to flash using odin? and how to turn on download mode in galaxy y?

jayem123 said:
nice post there man or rather master? hehehe ( you are now my master ) , i really think this thread should be sticky.
very informative for the newbies out there as a head start, keep on posting and helping here master
if they will be needing another moderator here i will surely vote for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aw ) my masteR!!!! long time! D hehe tnx. ^^

ronnieryan said:
can u make a tutorial(step by step) on how to flash using odin? and how to turn on download mode in galaxy y?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure thing but it would be really better if you read some threads here. a lot of those stuffs are already here
1. download the rom you needed/wanted
2. download odin v1.85 w/ totoro.pit
3. turnoff phone remove sim + sdcard
4. open odin and put the files into:
boot
pda
csc
modem
something like that. put there the files you downloaded.
check if re partition etc are checked
then now get the data cable, and put the phone into DL-mode
(HOME+VOL-DOWN+POWER) hold till it boots into DL-Mode
pressing VOL UP- continue
VOL DOWN- Cancel
press the vol up so and youll be on DL mode
connect the cable wait for it to be recognized by the Odin, if ok pray and start.
just takes around a min to do so. the phone then reboots automatically. do a hard rest and boot again.
voila
since your a filipino you can check symbianize.com for infos. reading some guides there by our masters will surely help you
*so as the rules say here read threads first before asking though its ok for me. it would be nice if i'd helped you bro

ronnieryan said:
it would be nice to include how to make a hard bricked phone to soft brick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JTAG-ging is only solution to resurrect
a hard bricked phone..

musashihatred said:
NOTE: Noob is not a really good word. kinda discriminating. newbie better.
THIS will GUIDE how to get on foot if your just starting on Galaxy Y, most probably, ANDROID
1. First Things first. Know your Phone. before doing anything, just be on the stock for a while. Know all the things, settings, install some app and alike. This way, you'll know your way through. See apps like market, Maps and others, check bugs etc.
2. Second part is knowing a basic tweak of your phone, to be exact: BATTERY SAVINGS. Know your way from this apps. See how they handle your battery life. The purpose of this is to know the performance of your phone
3. So you feel much better knowing your phone, you can start rooting or installing some replacement apps Go, ADW, Pansi, Popups, keyboards its up to you. But i dont recommend instant rooting when your just getting on foot.
Rooting wont brick the phone, maybe but its in the least.
(I wont be giving links for many threads here are available already. Its hard just to give you everything when researching can't kill one)
WHAT IS ROOTING?
rooting gives you access to the system of your phone. thats it
Soft ROOT-stated in the above
Hard ROOT-gives you access to the commander of the system which allows you to access the device via shell extensions and ADBs
4. Same as step 1. See how does root work for you. Dont just access the system right away using an explorer. look for apps that can help you achieve your desired goal that requires root access. a good start would be RAM tweaks.
5. Removing apps that you dont need. Its the power of Rooting that grants you this. basically, it improves RAM usage and speed of the device especially when "app-example.apk" initiates on its own. ofcourse it increases the capacity of your device.
6. KITCHENS. for a start you can use the UOT kitchen which allows you to modify some parts of the device. as far as i know, mods like transparency, lockscreen and bootanimation wont work on stock dont ask why coz i dunno sorry. so using this kitchen can allow you to change statusbar appearance pull down notif bar, etc.
but, the MAIN concern of a KITCHEN is ROMS.
ROM is the thing that the device reads for it to run properly.
ROM development are for making a benefit that can help a device achieve its fullest performance. Speeding it up, etc.
You can see the Development Page for it
**EXTRAS:
FLASHING
Flashing is a way of updating or down-dating your device.
Odin is the tool used in it.
If KIES wont let u update. Flashing would be good but you just have to download the firmware you want.
PARTITIONING.
since SGY got a small memory for internal, u can use partitions in the SDcard to let it handle some memory for you.
BOOT recovery:
it is where you flash mini updates like rooting CWMod, UOT kitchen mods and others
**Clockworkmod recovery / CWM is a custom CWM it has additional features moreover see for yourself
i guess thats it ill just edit it if somethings new comes
THIS IS FOR NEWBIES, no noob persons exist: ONLY NEWBIES.
hoped this helps you can just PM me for assistance but for now please bear with this simple guide thanks
PS: im no dev but as soon as i got my laptop ill start im just using a netbook and my phone for learning. so thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always like this musashihatred guy.
Very active in SGY development issues.
Keep encourage us (the NEWBIES) to learn.
Sent from my GT-S5360 using Tapatalk

bydefault said:
I always like this musashihatred guy.
Very active in SGY development issues.
Keep encourage us (the NEWBIES) to learn.
Sent from my GT-S5360 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANKS MAN
i just dont like some here that, Hey not for noobs or what. not for this.
but ill be selling my phone in the ff day but i wont leave this forum. ill still develop galaxy y ill be getting galaxy s =="

Video tutorial
ronnieryan said:
can u make a tutorial(step by step) on how to flash using odin? and how to turn on download mode in galaxy y?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://galaxyygaming.blogspot.in/2012/02/flashing-with-odin.html

Thanks.. really helpful..

I just sold my galaxy y.
i sold it earlier. but pls dont stop sending questions and some guides. ill always be free to answer. ill be getting M130k tom. but i will always be here :d

Rooting Gnex GSM/HSPDA v4.0.2 Optus Stock

Hey guys!!,
Yet another of my noob questions BUT, this time I think I'm going to take the plunge and root my Gnex!!! *scared* haha
I'm just having to many frustrating things happening on my stock Gnex, low responsiveness to the touch, slow-ish and well, isnt this what its all about!! =)
So a quick one, if anyone can point me in the most normal, simple and customizable direction, what do I do? I have searched for a while now so I have an idea where i want to go, either, Cynagon or AOKP...I'm hearing great things about AOKP...there from the same devs yeah?? (a guess)
So, I have a Samsung updated Gnex, in Aus and with optus. I'm technical so I'm getting a grasp on whats what but still not to clear on Kernels and radios....bit worried about that. Clockwork I'm guessing is like a boot manager?? Just asking that while I was here...
So Odin? Wug? CF-Root? I'm just not sure...
Thanks soooo much in advance guys.... I already appreciate your help. =)=)
*Excited!!!*
Cheers!!
P.S. I'd also very much like to return to stock form later on if I want...like locked oem and restored stock rom... =)

Helmet321 said:
Hey guys!!,
Yet another of my noob questions BUT, this time I think I'm going to take the plunge and root my Gnex!!! *scared* haha
I'm just having to many frustrating things happening on my stock Gnex, low responsiveness to the touch, slow-ish and well, isnt this what its all about!! =)
So a quick one, if anyone can point me in the most normal, simple and customizable direction, what do I do? I have searched for a while now so I have an idea where i want to go, either, Cynagon or AOKP...I'm hearing great things about AOKP...there from the same devs yeah?? (a guess)
So, I have a Samsung updated Gnex, in Aus and with optus. I'm technical so I'm getting a grasp on whats what but still not to clear on Kernels and radios....bit worried about that. Clockwork I'm guessing is like a boot manager?? Just asking that while I was here...
So Odin? Wug? CF-Root? I'm just not sure...
Thanks soooo much in advance guys.... I already appreciate your help. =)=)
*Excited!!!*
Cheers!!
P.S. I'd also very much like to return to stock form later on if I want...like locked oem and restored stock rom... =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try my ToolKit in the dev forum. Its simple, straightforward, easy to understand, there is a 1-click option which will do everything and every step is explained in detail.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392310
You can also use my ToolKit to flash a Stock Google Rom if you ever want to in the future.
With regards to Roms there are lots available to try by very experienced developers that will make your phone better and plenty of kernels to make it run ALOT faster. I use bigxie's Rom and franco's kernel.
Mark.

Hi!!,
Thanks so much for your reply!
Funny as, I was JUST reading your guide. Awesome work man, very informative.=)=) and it would of taken some time to compile!. =/
Arm, I'm just wondering what file I need to backup to got back to the rom I'm on now? I want to be able to go back, if needed.
I don’t know what kernels are all about, and what do I need to do about Radios?? If I have the wrong one or something, does that mean I wont have signal?? Or bad call/signal reliability?
I'm looking at the build 23 of AOKP...I'm hearing its the go...and if i have a wrong kernal rom radio combo, what’s that going to do??, that’s if they correlate?? haha
Is security as issue?? Since these are built "freely" is there any exposure of private info?
I'm sorry for smashing you with all this, I'm just trying to get all the info before I do anything and to have a failsafe if I need to return for warranty.... =/
Thank you in advance!!! =)
Cheers.
P.S. Is Bigxie Apex?? I hear good things about that too!! haha. Its so hard, theres so many out there... Apex, Gummy, AOKP look great. I also really want a responsive, battery lasting, fast and importantly "stable" phone. So, not sure what you recommend. =)
Thanks already!! =)=)

Helmet321 said:
Hi!!,
Thanks so much for your reply!
Funny as, I was JUST reading your guide. Awesome work man, very informative.=)=) and it would of taken some time to compile!. =/
Arm, I'm just wondering what file I need to backup to got back to the rom I'm on now? I want to be able to go back, if needed.
I don’t know what kernels are all about, and what do I need to do about Radios?? If I have the wrong one or something, does that mean I wont have signal?? Or bad call/signal reliability?
I'm looking at the build 23 of AOKP...I'm hearing its the go...and if i have a wrong kernal rom radio combo, what’s that going to do??, that’s if they correlate?? haha
Is security as issue?? Since these are built "freely" is there any exposure of private info?
I'm sorry for smashing you with all this, I'm just trying to get all the info before I do anything and to have a failsafe if I need to return for warranty.... =/
Thank you in advance!!! =)
Cheers.
P.S. Is Bigxie Apex?? I hear good things about that too!! haha. Its so hard, theres so many out there... Apex, Gummy, AOKP look great. I also really want a responsive, battery lasting, fast and importantly "stable" phone. So, not sure what you recommend. =)
Thanks already!! =)=)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you goto settings, about phone then it will tell you all about your current rom build. If its a yakju build then its a stock google rom and can easily be found and reflashed via my ToolKit. If its been put on by your operator then you wont be able to obtain it online and you are best backing it up (unless you dont mind putting the google stock rom back on).
To do that you will need to set your drivers up first. This is important as nothing else can be done without this step. If you have Windows xp or 7 then its pretty easy, you can install the drivers automatically via the GNex ToolKit, then reboot your pc. Goto settings, developer options on your phone and tick 'usb debugging' then connect the usb cable to your phone (with it booted into Android). This should install adb drivers which are needed for communication when your phone is booted into Android. Start the ToolKit and select your current build version (which can be found in settings, about phone). At the top of the Main Menu you should see a serial number under adb mode which means your device is recognised in this mode. Select reboot options (19) in the ToolKit and Reboot phone to Fastboot (3). This is a bootloader mode for the phone outside of Android where you can flash and manipulate certain parts of your phone. As this mode is at a much lower level then the operating system it can be your saviour if your phone locks or wont start and you need to flash back to stock.
Once the phone has rebooted to fastboot mode the fastboot drivers should be installed on your pc. If nothing happens try unplugging and replugging the usb cable to initiate the drivers. If the drivers have installed before the ToolKit refreshes then you should now see the serial number at the top under fastboot mode this time. You NEED both fastboot and adb drivers installed on your pc for everything to work.
After the drivers have been set up you will need to Unlock the Bootloader to be able to have access to system areas on your phone. BE AWARE that unlocking the bootloader will erase EVERYTHING all data on your phone including the Internal Storage (virtual SD Card) so copy anything you need to from your Internal Storage accross to your pc and use the Backup option in the ToolKit to save any installed apps and associated user data that you want to keep. This is done in adb mode so your phone will need to be in Android.
If you want to back up your current Rom then Unlock the Bootloader, reboot your phone into Android, go through the setup quickly (as the phone will have been wiped), then goto settings developer options and enable usb debugging. Start the ToolKit and in the Main Menu select 19, 3 to reboot back to fastboot mode. Then you can BOOT into CWM Recovery without flashing it (9) and select backup/restore to backup your Rom/user data/boot image to a datestamped folder inside a folder called Clockworkmod on your Internal Storage. The rebooting into Android step after unlocking the Bootloader is important as cwm will not work properly without doing that.
Once that is all done you are ready to reboot into Android from cwm, get back to fastboot mode as before and select 1-click option (7). You will get a message on the unlock stage saying that your device is already unlocked but then it will just skip to the next stage. Be aware that when the device boots into Android the first time this is to let the user enable usb debugging for adb operations and if you have already done this then the ToolKit will wait for about 3 minutes before carrying on. Be patient as the ToolKit hasnt frozen, its just set to pause before carrying on.
Ok now thats all over with, on to your other questions lol. I would advise trying either romanbb's AOKP (build 24 should be up today) or bigxie's Apex 1.02 to start. Personally I use Apex as it has loads of customisation and runs very well but saying that I will be trying romanbb's new build when it is out.
Kernels are like the drivers of your phone. They set up how it works and what it can do. Custom Kernels can give better battery life and more power, performance, stability so its well worth trying them once you are rooted. They will tell you what builds they are compatable with but if you are thinking about the above Roms then you will be on Android build 4.0.3 and most new kernels work with that. I use franco's kernel but there are ALOT of established kernel developers working with the Nexus so you could try fugumod by nikademus or trinity by morfic. These are all flashed via cwm (download file, copy to Internal Memory, reboot to recovery mode once you have cwm flashed). You can enter cwm by rebooting to fastboot and using the volume buttons to select recovery, then press power to select, or from the reboot phone options in the ToolKit (19,4 in adb mode).
Bootloaders and Baseband/Radio updates are something to think about but not really needed if your phone is running fine. You wont notice any change if you update the bootloader as its just like updating your bios on a pc. Just gives some extra functionality or updates some deep down settings. Radios control the communication part of your phone and updating to a new one may improve battery, signal, wifi, gps lock. You can update them by either grabbing a premade zip and flashing via cwm or download the .img file and flash that via the ToolKit.
Dont worry about malware included in custom roms as long as its by an established developer. They would never put anything dangerous to the end user in one of their roms as it would harm their reputation and if anything was found by a user the rom would be taken down imediately by us mods to keep you safe.
I think thats everything you will ever need to know lol. Sorry theres alot I wanted to make sure you had all the ammunition you needed to continue and it took soo long to write I had lunch half way through
good luck.
Mark.

Ohhh man, thank you sooo much. That’s a lot of info and I really appreciate you taking the time to explain that to me Mark. Thank you!!!!
Ok, I’ve been watching some videos, one off of GalaxyNexusRoot.com. I think its his YouTube chan… He's seems pretty cool. Shows you what to do. I sort of want to do it manually so I'm understanding it all?, if that makes sense? I like to know exactly what my device is doing, why and how? haha. I'm a bit pedantic like that.
Arm, only a couple of things....I'm draining your life here...haha
I have a Samsung updated Gnex, throwing that in FYI. =) Not sure if the warranty centre would realise, probably so I should back it up as it is...on this note quickly, I do want to have a yakju (Google) updated phone though...hehe.
When I back up, does it flash everything? the rom, kernels and radios? (Mostly for my Stock setup for reversion, and understanding...)
With roms, where can I get the G'apps from? (If needed) And or the SupUser/Root files? (Separately I mean, so I can do this manually...if I'm understanding it properly... =/ )
Also, do these apps and others update as normal? Or di i have to update the whole ROM to update them? Like Maps (Navigation more importantly), GTalk, MarketPlace etc...?
And finally....phew...haha arm, sorry....
I'm looking at doing this because currently my device just seems a little non-responsive, laggy-ish and its turned off once.. =/ Is this all normal?? I thought for a minute my screen was faulty, like touches don’t always respond...I mean 90% of the time they do...I know, I'm nuts but it just ruins it for me... I uninstalled Beautiful Widgets and it’s sort of been better…maybe some apps aren’t configured with ICS yet also…I'm thinking it just could be the build? What do you think??
It's kind of weird to think that an individual dev has made. and is making more progress than the developers of the phone/software?? hahah...Anyway, I hope I've made some sense and I really, really, really appreciate all this Mark, all your time and patience with me. =)
Thanks again!!!!
P.S.... This should be it I SWEAR!! haha....
Just wanted to put these here...these are "some" of the problems I've been having... =/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500545
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1490335
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500236
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1487946
Thank you...again!!!

I just want to thank the OP for asking the right questions and taking the time to figure out how "hack" his/her phone correctly instead of jumping in blind.
I hope other beginners follow the OP's lead.
That is all.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Helmet321 said:
Ohhh man, thank you sooo much. That’s a lot of info and I really appreciate you taking the time to explain that to me Mark. Thank you!!!!
Ok, I’ve been watching some videos, one off of GalaxyNexusRoot.com. I think its his YouTube chan… He's seems pretty cool. Shows you what to do. I sort of want to do it manually so I'm understanding it all?, if that makes sense? I like to know exactly what my device is doing, why and how? haha. I'm a bit pedantic like that.
Arm, only a couple of things....I'm draining your life here...haha
I have a Samsung updated Gnex, throwing that in FYI. =) Not sure if the warranty centre would realise, probably so I should back it up as it is...on this note quickly, I do want to have a yakju (Google) updated phone though...hehe.
When I back up, does it flash everything? the rom, kernels and radios? (Mostly for my Stock setup for reversion, and understanding...)
With roms, where can I get the G'apps from? (If needed) And or the SupUser/Root files? (Separately I mean, so I can do this manually...if I'm understanding it properly... =/ )
Also, do these apps and others update as normal? Or di i have to update the whole ROM to update them? Like Maps (Navigation more importantly), GTalk, MarketPlace etc...?
And finally....phew...haha arm, sorry....
I'm looking at doing this because currently my device just seems a little non-responsive, laggy-ish and its turned off once.. =/ Is this all normal?? I thought for a minute my screen was faulty, like touches don’t always respond...I mean 90% of the time they do...I know, I'm nuts but it just ruins it for me... I uninstalled Beautiful Widgets and it’s sort of been better…maybe some apps aren’t configured with ICS yet also…I'm thinking it just could be the build? What do you think??
It's kind of weird to think that an individual dev has made. and is making more progress than the developers of the phone/software?? hahah...Anyway, I hope I've made some sense and I really, really, really appreciate all this Mark, all your time and patience with me. =)
Thanks again!!!!
P.S.... This should be it I SWEAR!! haha....
Just wanted to put these here...these are "some" of the problems I've been having... =/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500545
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1490335
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1500236
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1487946
Thank you...again!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A cwm backup will back up system, data, boot, recovery and cache but it will not back up your radio image so check your version in the about phone screen first so you know what you need.
The latest gapps flashable zip can be found in the development forum. Did the youtube channel not give a link to the root files? If not then I have attached the 2 files you need to push. Make sure to set their permissions too after pushing.
Without knowing exactly what you have put on your phone its hard to comment about responsiveness but as stock roms dont have all the optimisations that custom roms have they are definitely slower. A custom rom and kernel will surely sort out your problems
Mark.

What does stock stand for?

udmbrian said:
What does stock stand for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means the version that the manufacturer put on the phone before it was shipped or a version that is supplied by the manufacturer. Unaltered by developers.
Mark.

mskip said:
A cwm backup will back up system, data, boot, recovery and cache but it will not back up your radio image so check your version in the about phone screen first so you know what you need.
The latest gapps flashable zip can be found in the development forum. Did the youtube channel not give a link to the root files? If not then I have attached the 2 files you need to push. Make sure to set their permissions too after pushing.
Without knowing exactly what you have put on your phone its hard to comment about responsiveness but as stock roms dont have all the optimisations that custom roms have they are definitely slower. A custom rom and kernel will surely sort out your problems
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again!!!!
Ok cool. So when new versions of the apps come out on the market, I wont be able to update them normally will I? Which is ok but just wondering how that is going to go down. Haha.
Lastly, sorry man, I'm almost there. Haha. CWM doesn't backup kernel? Like my stock one?
So it basically makes a "phone" image, ExtPartition and all? Or can you choose these options?
Right, I'm so close now I reckon, today will be the day... I can feel it!!! Haha.
Thank you again!!!!!!!!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

Helmet321 said:
Thanks again!!!!
Ok cool. So when new versions of the apps come out on the market, I wont be able to update them normally will I? Which is ok but just wondering how that is going to go down. Haha.
Lastly, sorry man, I'm almost there. Haha. CWM doesn't backup kernel? Like my stock one?
So it basically makes a "phone" image, ExtPartition and all? Or can you choose these options?
Right, I'm so close now I reckon, today will be the day... I can feel it!!! Haha.
Thank you again!!!!!!!!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes of course you can update google apps via the market as normal.
Cwm will back up your boot image which contains the kernel. So yes it does back up the kernel.
You can not choose which options to back up but you can choose which parts you want to restore via the advanced restore option in cwm.
Let me know how it all goes
Mark.

El Daddy said:
I just want to thank the OP for asking the right questions and taking the time to figure out how "hack" his/her phone correctly instead of jumping in blind.
I hope other beginners follow the OP's lead.
That is all.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey El Daddy,
Thanks man. I try to reframe from being a pain in butt.... not sure how I've gone with that but, Haha. I appreciate what your saying. I just want to be sure what I'm doing and to have, as Mark said, all the "ammo" I need.
Cheers.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

Great questions and answers from both of you. Just got this phone and trying to figure out where to start. Briefly read the toolkit instructions. Just haven't had the time to sit down and plow through it. Thanks both of you.

mskip said:
A cwm backup will back up system, data, boot, recovery and cache but it will not back up your radio image so check your version in the about phone screen first so you know what you need.
The latest gapps flashable zip can be found in the development forum. Did the youtube channel not give a link to the root files? If not then I have attached the 2 files you need to push. Make sure to set their permissions too after pushing.
Without knowing exactly what you have put on your phone its hard to comment about responsiveness but as stock roms dont have all the optimisations that custom roms have they are definitely slower. A custom rom and kernel will surely sort out your problems
Mark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much again Mark...This is Great!!
Ok, just before I do this...I'm like right here at the PC...ready! haha...
I understand all of it now, well. in theory...
Thank you for the DL link to the root.zip...
I DL'd the android SDK Kit zip also, but there’s no fastboot.exe??? Or anything like what I need?? haha, I may just be missing something here...
One of you links on you manual guide is broken...I think, that’s where you had it...I didnt want to harass you again but just some final things. =)
I'm really after all of what I need to this manually...for knowledge etc?? Hope you understand... You made this wicked awesome Kit, and I'm stupid and not using it...hahah...
So as far as I can see, I need:
- Samsung Drivers - which I have and that bits done... =)
- fasboot.exe etc (Android SDK Gear)
- Latest CWM.zip
- **Rom of my choice, which I'm going to take your advice and go with Apex. =) Latest 1.02 yeah??
- Franco Kernel, I'll try stock, but my feeling on it is that that’s probably been my major issue, or the cause of most of them... =)
Phew....I think that’s it...am I on the right track??
I cant thank you enough with all this Mark....seriously...your a very patience man. haha
Cheers. =)
**Update**
P.S. I have attached a file. Mark can you check it out and see if that what I need in regards to Android SDK stuff? I just got this now after I posted the above....
Thanks again... =)
***Update...again....haha***
Arm, just looking at these files, whats the boot.img? does that get copied over to the phone? Or is it just a command? The su & Superuser files in this zip are like a different size and modified later than your ones (newer??? =/)....I'm not sure what that would really mean...probably has nothing to do with anything but just thought I'd check with you....

Helmet321 said:
Thanks so much again Mark...This is Great!!
Ok, just before I do this...I'm like right here at the PC...ready! haha...
I understand all of it now, well. in theory...
Thank you for the DL link to the root.zip...
I DL'd the android SDK Kit zip also, but there’s no fastboot.exe??? Or anything like what I need?? haha, I may just be missing something here...
One of you links on you manual guide is broken...I think, that’s where you had it...I didnt want to harass you again but just some final things. =)
I'm really after all of what I need to this manually...for knowledge etc?? Hope you understand... You made this wicked awesome Kit, and I'm stupid and not using it...hahah...
So as far as I can see, I need:
- Samsung Drivers - which I have and that bits done... =)
- fasboot.exe etc (Android SDK Gear)
- Latest CWM.zip
- **Rom of my choice, which I'm going to take your advice and go with Apex. =) Latest 1.02 yeah??
- Franco Kernel, I'll try stock, but my feeling on it is that that’s probably been my major issue, or the cause of most of them... =)
Phew....I think that’s it...am I on the right track??
I cant thank you enough with all this Mark....seriously...your a very patience man. haha
Cheers. =)
**Update**
P.S. I have attached a file. Mark can you check it out and see if that what I need in regards to Android SDK stuff? I just got this now after I posted the above....
Thanks again... =)
***Update...again....haha***
Arm, just looking at these files, whats the boot.img? does that get copied over to the phone? Or is it just a command? The su & Superuser files in this zip are like a different size and modified later than your ones (newer??? =/)....I'm not sure what that would really mean...probably has nothing to do with anything but just thought I'd check with you....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like everything in that zip is ok for what you want to do. The superuser.apk is a different size but im sure it doesnt matter.
In order to push the 2 files across to your phone you need to have booted into Android using an insecure boot image. This is a stock boot.img that has has some simple text changes to allow temporary root access (otherwise the files wouldnt copy across) Using fastboot you boot the boot.img file and then once you are in Android you push the files across and set their permissions. When you reboot your phone your original boot image will be used and you should have permanent root via the files.
Looks like you are all set
MArk.

Oh ok. So it doesn't stay on the phone?, its temporary??
So if this file say, is corrupted or malicious, (not really possible probably byt...) I'm in trouble? haha
Sorry, I have everything I think now, I grabbed the SDK of the Android website and I'm comfortable with that cause its "legit" I suppose. It doesn't have a boot.img file though. Can I make one myself so I know where its coming from? And where does this normally come from?
Silly stuff I know but, I told you, I'm CRAZY!! haha....
One very last thing...the permissions, whats that part all about...
Other than that, I'm pretty sure I'm sweet now...I also grabbed the latest CWM zip off the website too...so I'm cool with that.
......geez.... I'm killing you aren't I....I think you deserve (need) at LEAST 1 beer after all this....haha...
Thanks x 1,000,000...seriously.... =)

Helmet321 said:
Oh ok. So it doesn't stay on the phone?, its temporary??
So if this file say, is corrupted or malicious, (not really possible probably byt...) I'm in trouble? haha
Sorry, I have everything I think now, I grabbed the SDK of the Android website and I'm comfortable with that cause its "legit" I suppose. It doesn't have a boot.img file though. Can I make one myself so I know where its coming from? And where does this normally come from?
Silly stuff I know but, I told you, I'm CRAZY!! haha....
One very last thing...the permissions, whats that part all about...
Other than that, I'm pretty sure I'm sweet now...I also grabbed the latest CWM zip off the website too...so I'm cool with that.
......geez.... I'm killing you aren't I....I think you deserve (need) at LEAST 1 beer after all this....haha...
Thanks x 1,000,000...seriously.... =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its perfectly possible to make your own boot image but to be honest you might take another day or 2 to get all the required components and research what you need to do lol
If you go to your settings, about phone screen and tell me the build version (4.0.1, 4.0.2) and whether its a gsm or lte device (im assuming gsm as lte is america/canada) then I will attach the boot image I made for that device so it will definitely be right and safe. You can also use the su and superuser.apk files I attached earlier if you are unsure about them.
I dont mind all the questions as long as you end up feeling confident enough to get your phone rooted mate I would rather people ask too many (but the right) questions than just go blindly into something have no understanding about and end up in trouble.
Mark.

Your a legend Mark, I swear!!....haha
Ok, well, its a GSM, 4.0.2 Samsung updated Nexus....I think... I can attach some images. =)
The end of the line here...haha, arm, I just watched a video that completely skipped the boot.img part...weird...anyway, with the "su" part, I have 2 files there, as you've kindly provided, but in that step doesnt it need to be a su.zip sort of configuration? Just running it by you before I do this...
P.S....again....haha, arm, if I'm thinking about this right, does the step with "fastboot boot boot.img" will that affect the stock image?? As I think, if I'm right you have to do that "before" you flash your recovery?? In my mind would it be right in assuming....
-Unlock bootloader
-Flash recovery
-Make a Back up (so to get all the rom, including the auto restore recovery??)
-Set SU perms...with su.zip or su+superuser.apk... (if I'm right also, this step only if you want root perms on stock?, not sure what you would do with it though, only if you want to remain this way I suppose... =/ )
Is this right??
I was reading your "manual" post and I'm a little confused...as in, you cant reboot into Android after flashing recovery (to back up) as it will delete it, but to do so, you need to reboot into Android to delete the auto recovery flash file?? And you need su perms yeah?? Am I right here, I'm probably going crazy-ier...haha cause I've been at this for 2 days...haha...
Seems the boot.img step is the same as if you would flash a su.zip...(which I dont have, only the su file (no extension) and the su.apk...) not sure if thats the same...just getting my head around it here.... =)
Maybe I'm thinking CWM will "back up" the su perms etc and affect the "stock rom"...if you back it up with the perms, wouldnt that be included?? Maybe thats were I'm getting it wrong...haha.
Finally...........serious.....
If and when you delete the auto recovery file (if that really does delete it completly, I'm probably wrong about that too...) how does it restore??
Thanks mate. =)=)
I think thats it...when I have my head around these final things...and the last couple of files...Its time.... =)=)

Helmet321 said:
Your a legend Mark, I swear!!....haha
Ok, well, its a GSM, 4.0.2 Samsung updated Nexus....I think... I can attach some images. =)
The end of the line here...haha, arm, I just watched a video that completely skipped the boot.img part...weird...anyway, with the "su" part, I have 2 files there, as you've kindly provided, but in that step doesnt it need to be a su.zip sort of configuration? Just running it by you before I do this...
P.S....again....haha, arm, if I'm thinking about this right, does the step with "fastboot boot boot.img" will that affect the stock image?? As I think, if I'm right you have to do that "before" you flash your recovery?? In my mind would it be right in assuming....
-Unlock bootloader
-Flash recovery
-Make a Back up
-Set SU perms...with su.zip or su+superuser.apk...
Is this right??
I was reading your "manual" post and I'm a little confused...as in, you cant reboot into Android after flashing recovery (to back up) as it will delete it, but to do so, you need to reboot into Android to delete the auto recovery flash file?? And you need su perms yeah?? Am I right here, I'm probably going crazy-ier...haha cause I've been at this for 2 days...haha...
Seems the boot.img step is the same as if you would flash a su.zip...(which I dont have, only the su file (no extension) and the su.apk...) not sure if thats the same...just getting my head around it here.... =)
Maybe I'm thinking CWM will "back up" the su perms etc and affect the "stock rom"...if you back it up with the perms, wouldnt that be included?? Maybe thats were I'm getting it wrong...haha.
Finally...........serious.....
If and when you delete the auto recovery file (if that really does delete it completly, I'm probably wrong about that too...) how does it restore??
Thanks mate. =)=)
I think thats it...when I have my head around these final things...and the last couple of files...Its time.... =)=)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 2 ways of rooting your phone. The easier (and non learning way) is to flash cwm recovery and flash the superuser.zip straight to the phone. If this is what you watched then tbh you might as well be using my ToolKit as you wont learn anything from the experience. The other way is the method my ToolKit uses which is to boot the phone with the insecure boot image to gain temporary root, then using adb to push the 2 files that I sent to your phone and set their permissions, then rebooting to complete the root procedure. The 2nd method is the one I thought you was gearing up towards and the best way if you want to actually learn something, otherwise as I said you may as well use the ToolKit.
I have attached every file you will need for the 2nd method and if yo uread below these are the instructions you will need to follow to root your phone. Extract the attached files to a folder on your pc, browse to this folder then HOLD the Shift button on your pc while right clicking on a blank area of the Windows Explorer. Select 'Open command window here' which will open a command prompt in the correct folder where your adb and fastboot files are.
These instructions are for after you have installed drivers:
fastboot-toolkit devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this will return a serial number if your drivers are installed.
fastboot-toolkit oem unlock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and follow the instructions on the phone to unlock your bootloader.
Now if you boot into Android RIGHT after unlocking the bootloader it will restart the boot half way through so you want to do this normally BEFORE using your insecure boot or the reboot half way through will lose your insecure access (if you get me)
fastboot-toolkit reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to get your first boot in. Once the phone has booted up and you have gone through the setup wizard, go to settings, developer tools and select 'usb debugging' to enable adb control.
adb-toolkit devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
should return a serial number if your adb drivers are installed.
adb-toolkit reboot bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to get back into fastboot so you can boot from the insecure boot image
fastboot-toolkit boot boot_gsm_ICL53F_insecure.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to boot your phone into Android from the insecrure boot image. Once your phone has booted into the lockscreen you can carry on with
adb-toolkit root
adb-toolkit remount
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to mount your /system folder for root access.
adb-toolkit push su /system/bin
adb-toolkit push Superuser.apk /system/app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pushes the 2 files across to the correct folders on your phone.
adb-toolkit shell chmod 06755 /system/bin/su
adb-toolkit shell chmod 06755 /system/app/Superuser.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sets their correct permissions.
Lastly if you are flashing cwm then you will need to rename the recovery restore file if you are on a samsung rom. If this file is present on your phone and cwm is flashed, then on the next reboot the stock recovery will be restored and you will lose cwm. To get back to stock recovery in the future you just flash a stock recovery image.
adb-toolkit shell mv /system/recovery-from-boot.p /system/recovery-from-boot.p-old
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will rename the file is it is present.
Thats it! Reboot your phone and you should have root You can check this by downloading root checker from the market or just download a root app such as adfree or setcpu.
Mark.

I see you are replying to my thread already as I was making some changes so re-read the instructions as I rearranged them a bit to make more sense lol.
MArk.

[RECOVERY] Clockwork-Recovery-Standard-v6.0.1.5

This is the newest version of Clockwork Recovery- 6.0.1.5 -non-touch
I claim no credit for any of this. I am only posting this because the latest version available on the official ClockworkMod page is still 6.0.1.0.
This recovery was compiled from source, along with a personal CM10 project I'm working on. Please note that this is included with the CyanogenMod source, so anyone building it will end up with the newest recovery image in their OUT folder.
So, for anyone still using Clockwork Recovery, (I do), here you are!
All credit to Koushik Dutta (Koush)--the creator of what I think is still a great recovery.
More info on his work can be found at http://www.ClockworkMod.com/rommanager

Thanks dude!

Here is the touch version of 6.0.1.5 http://d-h.st/1Kk. I built this last night using the recovery builder found here http://builder.clockworkmod.com/ with the 6.0.1.0 version as a base.
EDIT/ I FORGOT TO MENTION. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING WORKING OR NOT WORKING WITH THIS RECOVERY. I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR BROKEN DEVICES. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THANK YOU

myepicyear said:
This is the newest version of Clockwork Recovery- 6.0.1.5 -non-touch
I claim no credit for any of this. I am only posting this because the latest version available on the official ClockworkMod page is still 6.0.1.0.
This recovery was compiled from source, along with a personal CM10 project I'm working on. Please note that this is included with the CyanogenMod source, so anyone building it will end up with the newest recovery image in their OUT folder.
So, for anyone still using Clockwork Recovery, (I do), here you are!
All credit to Koushik Dutta (Koush)--the creator of what I think is still a great recovery.
More info on his work can be found at http://www.ClockworkMod.com/rommanager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is 6.0.1.5 the version that has the option for tar (non-blob) backup?

Yes it has that option
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

TransWarp said:
Is 6.0.1.5 the version that has the option for tar (non-blob) backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this version includes both tar and dup (data blob) backup formats. Tar formatting was re-added in 6.0.1.2.
So you can have either quick, large backups; or slower, slimmer backups with this version.
There's also an interesting adb sideload option as well. Not useful for most casual users, however, the more adventurous users will have a purpose for it from time to time.

10characters

FrostyF7 said:
Thanks dude!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are very welcome sir! Thank you for visiting the very first thread that I've ever posted on XDA. Never even started a question thread before. I'm working pretty freaking hard, on personal projects, as well as school stuff, so you should be seeing a lot more from me in the not-too-distant future. I've been looking forward to contributing more for a long time, and I'm excited to give back something with some more substance. I never stop learning at xda. I owe a lot to this place. :fingers-crossed:

myepicyear said:
You are very welcome sir! Thank you for visiting the very first thread that I've ever posted on XDA. Never even started a question thread before. I'm working pretty freaking hard, on personal projects, as well as school stuff, so you should be seeing a lot more from me in the not-too-distant future. I've been looking forward to contributing more for a long time, and I'm excited to give back something with some more substance. I never stop learning at xda. I owe a lot to this place. :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this CWM. The touch version is nice to have, if your device supports it. I have one question though. Is this version still buggy? Any issues so far? Why hasn't it been posted on Koush's site yet? I would give it a whirl but I'm a bit wary; I wouldn't want to mess with my working 6.0.1.0 touch unless I'm 100% positive this has no issues.
Thanks again.

ezeuba said:
Thanks for this CWM. The touch version is nice to have, if your device supports it. I have one question though. Is this version still buggy? Any issues so far? Why hasn't it been posted on Koush's site yet? I would give it a whirl but I'm a bit wary; I wouldn't want to mess with my working 6.0.1.0 touch unless I'm 100% positive this has no issues.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. I wholeheartedly appreciate you visiting my thread.
To answer your questions- no, this version is nothing to be afraid of, and definitely not buggy. In fact, the first couple releases of 6.0.x.x were extremely buggy for many people, and 6.0.1.2 was were things seemed to get evened out. If you are still on 6.0.1.0, I would personally suggest updating to at least 6.0.1.2, as it is at least as stable as 6.0.1.0, while adding in a new feature or two. Most issues at the start of v6 releases were about people's backups being extremely slow, and it turned out to mainly be a conflict between Google Play Music and the way the data blob backup folders were executed/cleaned during backup. Google Play Music has a unique way of storing it's music, and it seemed to be responsible for terrible backup times and rebooting during backup(on some devices--never happened to me).
I was using 6.0.1.2 until a few days ago, and everything was always awesome. This version has backups in data blob format going considerably faster for me. It also has an adb-sideload option incorporated ( newest TWRP includes it too). These are the biggest differences, and there is nothing experimental to be wary of. I definitely understand any hesitation, and I think that it's better to be responsible/careful than to be sorry later. As for the exact reason why Koush hasn't put it on the website yet, I couldn't tell you for sure. He's always done releases this way, and if I had to guess, I'd say he waits for more "milestone" type releases to put a new official version up; which does cut down on the questions, help-requests, and other frantic stuff that new releases bring. 6.0.1.0 isn't the most polished or full-featured, but nothing is really wrong, and he probably just doesn't wanna cause a hype.
Again though, this is 100% safe to update to, and will just polish the experience up a bit. It only gets better, regardless of how significantly.
Let me know if you have any more questions. I'd be happy to help
Nick

myepicyear said:
You're welcome. I wholeheartedly appreciate you visiting my thread.
To answer your questions- no, this version is nothing to be afraid of, and definitely not buggy. In fact, the first couple releases of 6.0.x.x were extremely buggy for many people, and 6.0.1.2 was were things seemed to get evened out. If you are still on 6.0.1.0, I would personally suggest updating to at least 6.0.1.2, as it is at least as stable as 6.0.1.0, while adding in a new feature or two. Most issues at the start of v6 releases were about people's backups being extremely slow, and it turned out to mainly be a conflict between Google Play Music and the way the data blob backup folders were executed/cleaned during backup. Google Play Music has a unique way of storing it's music, and it seemed to be responsible for terrible backup times and rebooting during backup(on some devices--never happened to me).
I was using 6.0.1.2 until a few days ago, and everything was always awesome. This version has backups in data blob format going considerably faster for me. It also has an adb-sideload option incorporated ( newest TWRP includes it too). These are the biggest differences, and there is nothing experimental to be wary of. I definitely understand any hesitation, and I think that it's better to be responsible/careful than to be sorry later. As for the exact reason why Koush hasn't put it on the website yet, I couldn't tell you for sure. He's always done releases this way, and if I had to guess, I'd say he waits for more "milestone" type releases to put a new official version up; which does cut down on the questions, help-requests, and other frantic stuff that new releases bring. 6.0.1.0 isn't the most polished or full-featured, but nothing is really wrong, and he probably just doesn't wanna cause a hype.
Again though, this is 100% safe to update to, and will just polish the experience up a bit. It only gets better, regardless of how significantly.
Let me know if you have any more questions. I'd be happy to help
Nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Top notch response. Thanks...
---------- Post added at 05:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 AM ----------
One question. How does the sideload thingy work? What's it all about?

Anytime

myepicyear said:
Anytime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Noob question: how does one go about installing this over TWRP? I understand it's a .img file but I don't know what do.

crossen0 said:
Noob question: how does one go about installing this over TWRP? I understand it's a .img file but I don't know what do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same way you installed twrp? Boot into fast boot mode and fastboot flash recovery name-of-recovery.img. Replace name of with the actual name of the image. Or you could download and install flash GUI and flash the image through the app.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

crossen0 said:
Noob question: how does one go about installing this over TWRP? I understand it's a .img file but I don't know what do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Though your question may be a bit noobish, it is an absolutely essential process to learn in the custom Android world, and for fear of looking stupid, many beginners skip asking and learning about this very amazing tool. So before I go any further, I'd like to compliment you on being confident enough to ask for help when you need it. It's an extremely important skill that many of us forget around here, as we all want to be seen as a "know-it-all" sometimes, severely inhibiting our abilities to advance. So yeah, just wanted to mention that, lol.
Now, the tool to do this is fastboot. Are you familiar with the concepts of adb and/or fastboot in any way?
Also, what computer operating system do you use?

myepicyear said:
Though your question may be a bit noobish, it is an absolutely essential process to learn in the custom Android world, and for fear of looking stupid, many beginners skip asking and learning about this very amazing tool. So before I go any further, I'd like to compliment you on being confident enough to ask for help when you need it. It's an extremely important skill that many of us forget around here, as we all want to be seen as a "know-it-all" sometimes, severely inhibiting our abilities to advance. So yeah, just wanted to mention that, lol.
Now, the tool to do this is fastboot. Are you familiar with the concepts of adb and/or fastboot in any way?
Also, what computer operating system do you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the help. I had not flashed a recovery in a while as I've been using TWRP since I bought the phone. I used the Toolkit to temporarily boot into CWM to flash the GSIII Launcher and theme since it doesn't play well with TWRP. I appreciate the quick response and willingness to help.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

crossen0 said:
I appreciate the help. I had not flashed a recovery in a while as I've been using TWRP since I bought the phone. I used the Toolkit to temporarily boot into CWM to flash the GSIII Launcher and theme since it doesn't play well with TWRP. I appreciate the quick response and willingness to help.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely try to learn fast boot man. The toolkits are cool, but a minor mistake can make using one a nightmare. If you learn fastboot, you will always be able to fix your device. Plus it is the proper and preferred method for flashing a recovery, radio, or bootloader. It is an invaluable tool for for flashing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

crossen0 said:
I appreciate the help. I had not flashed a recovery in a while as I've been using TWRP since I bought the phone. I used the Toolkit to temporarily boot into CWM to flash the GSIII Launcher and theme since it doesn't play well with TWRP. I appreciate the quick response and willingness to help.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy to be able to help man.
If you want a quick fix until I have some time to more time to explain fastboot thoroughly, I can do that for the moment.
The toolkit that mkskip has put together for everyone is very handy. It is basically like having all the essential tools, like fastboot, installed for you in their most lean form, without needing the whole android SDK installed. It also gives you a logical interface to interact with all that stuff. The toolkit installs all these tools within a folder on the root of your C drive. If you go to the root of your C drive, you'll see that folder, which is called 'Galaxy Nexus Toolkit'(or something). If go inside that directory, there's a folder called put imgs to flash here. There are several ways to do things in the toolkit folders, but basically, this is one folder you can insert imgs in to fastboot flash them.
Let me know if you're with me so far. I'm going by my memory of all this stuff because I don't use toolkits or Windows anymore. I can guide you through this, and during the process, hopefully broaden your understanding of fastboot at the same time. I'll need you to do some searching of your own during the process, or it wont make any sense at all, but I can definetly guide you through.

There's no need for the toolkit to flash a recovery.
Literally just CD to the folder the .img is in and run "fastboot flash recovery (whatever your recovery is named).img".

063_XOBX said:
There's no need for the toolkit to flash a recovery.
Literally just CD to the folder the .img is in and run "fastboot flash recovery (whatever your recovery is named).img".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, I'm not stupid. I'm trying to explain it in a way he is already familiar with.
Jesus.

Feeling a little lost here.

So i finally got my Xperia Play R800i and unlocked it. So now i have full fastboot access (which i havnt used much in the past so im a little rusty). While browsing the forums for Clockwork mod and roms and kernels i find myself having a few problems. I cant find clockwork mod (does it exist for this phone? or TWRP?) and also I have NO idea which rom to choose and there are SOOO many. I could really use a little run down and some recommendations here. Anything would be great

HaiKaiDo said:
So i finally got my Xperia Play R800i and unlocked it. So now i have full fastboot access (which i havnt used much in the past so im a little rusty). While browsing the forums for Clockwork mod and roms and kernels i find myself having a few problems. I cant find clockwork mod (does it exist for this phone? or TWRP?) and also I have NO idea which rom to choose and there are SOOO many. I could really use a little run down and some recommendations here. Anything would be great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an XDA rule you can't post asking for recommendations of ROMs/kernels (otherwise thread will be closed) u are beet trying them out for yourself. But if u want gaming you should stick with GingerBread. With XP u can't flash recoveries they are built into the kernels ramdisk. Yes there is TWRP but common problem with TWRP is not backing up of android secure.

wedgess said:
As an XDA rule you can't post asking for recommendations of ROMs/kernels (otherwise thread will be closed) u are beet trying them out for yourself. But if u want gaming you should stick with GingerBread. With XP u can't flash recoveries they are built into the kernels ramdisk. Yes there is TWRP but common problem with TWRP is not backing up of android secure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I just knew someone was going to rules me on the "dont ask about roms its bad 4 u". Theres so many threads for roms.....im not going to be able to try them all, and some of them are broken or not worth flashing. I just wanted some info because ive never owned a sony device and this one has so many caveats that one would only know from either being here from the beginning or getting advice. pardon if i seem to be rude, im just confused and trying to get a feel for how this device works. If i cant flash recoveries how do i flash things? Fastboot(can you flash roms with fasboot??) how do i know if a kernel is antiquated and will break things? Flashtool also seems confusing to me. And again as far as asking about which roms people suggest I wasnt asking for "whats the best? Flame on!" which is what that rule is there to prevent. I simple asked for a recommendation as i have no foundry or basis of where to start. I know im one of a hundred people that has asked and will ask these questions....but isnt that what were here for?

HaiKaiDo said:
Lol I just knew someone was going to rules me on the "dont ask about roms its bad 4 u". Theres so many threads for roms.....im not going to be able to try them all, and some of them are broken or not worth flashing. I just wanted some info because ive never owned a sony device and this one has so many caveats that one would only know from either being here from the beginning or getting advice. pardon if i seem to be rude, im just confused and trying to get a feel for how this device works. If i cant flash recoveries how do i flash things? Fastboot(can you flash roms with fasboot??) how do i know if a kernel is antiquated and will break things? Flashtool also seems confusing to me. And again as far as asking about which roms people suggest I wasnt asking for "whats the best? Flame on!" which is what that rule is there to prevent. I simple asked for a recommendation as i have no foundry or basis of where to start. I know im one of a hundred people that has asked and will ask these questions....but isnt that what were here for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not flaming, if you took it that way it is not the intended purpose. I'm just saying "recommendations for ROM's" can be preceived as asking for the best ROM by some users, which will then mean your thread will be closed. A good place to see which ROMs/Kernels others are using is this thread in general http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2235336. Anyway to what you are asking. Flashtool may look a bit daunting, but is one of the easiest tools to use.
RC fma has some good guides. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2054486 - will help you with flashing an FTF (flashmode)
or this one For flashing kernel and custom ROMs. -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2054512.
To get recovery on your device you must flash a kernel first via fastboot mode (refer to the guide above). Then you can flash a ROM via CWM or TWRP as you usually would.

Hey I really appreciate the info and feedback. This device feels so foreign to me for some reason but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Installed doomkernel14 with fastboot then figured out the weird tap back key to get into recovery. And now I'm on a GB ROM that is so much faster than stock. Coming into a old phone that's new to you is kinda like coming into the last 5 minutes of a class before a test hah.

HaiKaiDo said:
Hey I really appreciate the info and feedback. This device feels so foreign to me for some reason but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Installed doomkernel14 with fastboot then figured out the weird tap back key to get into recovery. And now I'm on a GB ROM that is so much faster than stock. Coming into a old phone that's new to you is kinda like coming into the last 5 minutes of a class before a test hah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries. Ye its actually easier then any other device I own (non-Sony). Ye it depends on kernel. Mine u need to press vol down for CWM and volume up for TWRP. Also a heads up, in case u ever flash one of my kernels. U will need to flash phoenix_vendor.ftf to have unlocked vendor partitions. This is to accommodate for custom partitions. Basically /system and /cache are shrunk to give 600mb+ storage in data.
U will need to flash the phoenix-vendor.ftf first then in fast boot
Code:
fastboot erase userdata && fastboot erase system
Then boot to recovery and flash ROM as usual. Sounds a bit daunting but isn't at all. I'd recommend that if u bought the device for gaming stick with GingerBread, welcome to and enjoy the XP forums.
Edit - A link to the vendor-unlocked.ftf for R800i/a/at http://www.mediafire.com/?ff4ofcwdfpq85d3

wedgess said:
No worries. Ye its actually easier then any other device I own (non-Sony). Ye it depends on kernel. Mine u need to press vol down for CWM and volume up for TWRP. Also a heads up, in case u ever flash one of my kernels. U will need to flash phoenix_vendor.ftf to have unlocked vendor partitions. This is to accommodate for custom partitions. Basically /system and /cache are shrunk to give 600mb+ storage in data.
U will need to flash the phoenix-vendor.ftf first then in fast boot
Code:
fastboot erase userdata && fastboot erase system
Then boot to recovery and flash ROM as usual. Sounds a bit daunting but isn't at all. I'd recommend that if u bought the device for gaming stick with GingerBread, welcome to and enjoy the XP forums.
Edit - A link to the vendor-unlocked.ftf for R800i/a/at http://www.mediafire.com/?ff4ofcwdfpq85d3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now im using AtoMic GB - PLAY r2 and i reallly like it (along with DooMKerneL14). One thing that i wonder if you could help me with tho. No matter what I do when im in an emulator the circle button always takes me out of the emulator. Any way to actually have it just work like normal? It didnt do that on stock from what i remember. Also what is all that Vendor ftf stuff? Is there a thread that explains any of that stuff? Thanks again!

only flash the vendor-unlocked ftf when needed. vendor is a usually locked partition. with ics it got unlocked and more space for the rom and kernel was there.
it's hard to find the right one for oneself. look in every thread and it's features, check the comments if no serious problems are accuring (well you can't really count on them) and try it.
ask yourself first: what features do you really -need-
about the circle-button issue: can be emulator related. some aren't optimized for the play (circle is in fact nearly the same as the back-button - just with an ALT modifier) try another one (hint: retroarch r16)
it also can be the rom (wrong build.prop entries or the keylayout files are not right).

In this case its the rom because other people reported the same problem. Anyways I'd recommend you use xperia nxt 2 r1. It has a similar look and no bugs that I noticed. (Emulators play fine) everything works
Sent from my Xperia Play (r800x)

Thanks guys I just used all the rest of my thanks for the day. Also thanks for telling about that issue with that ROM in particular I hadnt even seen that which is a shame because that rom is perfect otherwise hah. Ill go try that other one. Thanks!

abdel12345 said:
In this case its the rom because other people reported the same problem. Anyways I'd recommend you use xperia nxt 2 r1. It has a similar look and no bugs that I noticed. (Emulators play fine) everything works
Sent from my Xperia Play (r800x)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: Answered all my own questions hah. This rom has an odd problem with Super Gnes though. It doesnt want to search my SD card to find all my roms. It just sits there which is kinda odd. Also RetroArch still doesnt want to use the O button properly which is weird lol. Thanks again!

HaiKaiDo said:
EDIT: Answered all my own questions hah. This rom has an odd problem with Super Gnes though. It doesnt want to search my SD card to find all my roms. It just sits there which is kinda odd. Also RetroArch still doesnt want to use the O button properly which is weird lol. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
retroarch use the newest version from here: http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=235
download: http://themaister.net/retroarch-dl/android/org.retroarch.browser.RetroArch.r16.apk
play store was usually not up to date
if us get used to the menus it's awesome. plays everything (tested sega genesis, snes, fba, pcsx (!) on full speed (even on ics))

konstruktor said:
retroarch use the newest version from here: http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=235
download: http://themaister.net/retroarch-dl/android/org.retroarch.browser.RetroArch.r16.apk
play store was usually not up to date
if us get used to the menus it's awesome. plays everything (tested sega genesis, snes, fba, pcsx (!) on full speed (even on ics))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool ill grab that now. Thanks man

konstruktor said:
retroarch use the newest version from here: http://forum.themaister.net/viewtopic.php?id=235
download: http://themaister.net/retroarch-dl/android/org.retroarch.browser.RetroArch.r16.apk
play store was usually not up to date
if us get used to the menus it's awesome. plays everything (tested sega genesis, snes, fba, pcsx (!) on full speed (even on ics))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is weird. Downloaded the newest version and it STILL exits the game when I hit the O button on all the emulators. What a bummer

HaiKaiDo r newbz. dont mind him.