[GUIDE] How to unlock your bootloader, install TWRP and gain root access

[ChazzMatt]

I'll be honest I didn't read about root method before I opened it and started going at it. Idk I guess I was just exploring around it. This would be like my fourth or fifth root I've done for myself, so still kind of new to it all.

I accidently put the same build number twice, that was a typo.

But if there is no other root method, its OK, I can just send it back and get another. Thanks anyway

Getting another would be your best bet. Sorry you learned the hard way. Never accept any OTAs until you research.

I did that a while back with a friend's phone. I told her to get an AT&T Moto X, and I would root it for her. She gave it to me new in the box, and first thing I did was update to latest OS (which was Lollipop). Ooops. I could have rooted and installed custom recovery on Kitkat but the exploit didn't work on Lollipop. I had to apologize to her. She sold it and bought another phone which I could then root for her and I never made that mistake again.

 

[codmo1990]

I have 30 days to return and I just have to pay return shipping, maybe I can work an exchange with him. The speaker rattles at high volumes, a little to much for my liking. So I'll just message him and ask for an exchange.

Yeah it's OK. No big deal. Thanks everybody for the replies. Time is of the essence

 

[codmo1990]

Seller sent me the metallic black, when I was supposed to get the ballistic back anyway. SU4TL-49 build number on new phone.

Saved.

 

[iykeDROID™]

I have received my ordered Droid Turbo, VRZ XT1254 with android version 6.0.1 & security patch date is January 1, 2017.
AP fastboot is secured, Device is LOCKED(bootloader) , build number is : MCG24.251-5-5 , Sunshine app warns saying it does not support my the device.
Is there anyway i can unlock the bootloader? or
Is there any way i can downgrade to 4.4.4 or 5.1 so i can unlock the bootloader ?

Screenshot added in attachment
or
link to view screenshot : http://imgur.com/a/MKhnm

 

[ChazzMatt]

I have received my ordered Droid Turbo, VRZ XT1254 with android version 6.0.1 & security patch date is January 1, 2017.
AP fastboot is secured, Device is LOCKED(bootloader) , build number is : MCG24.251-5-5 , Sunshine app warns saying it does not support my the device.
Is there anyway i can unlock the bootloader? or
Is there any way i can downgrade to 4.4.4 or 5.1 so i can unlock the bootloader ?

Screenshot added in attachment
or
link to view screenshot : http://imgur.com/a/MKhnm

No. MCG24.251-5-5 is not currently able to be unlocked. That newest update was just released a couple of weeks ago. Wow, they messed you up. If they had left it on MCG24.251-5 (without the extra -5 on the end), you could unlock it.

 

[iykeDROID™]

No. MCG24.251-5-5 is not currently able to be unlocked. That newest update was just released a couple of weeks ago. Wow, they messed you up. If they had left it on MCG24.251-5 (without the extra -5 on the end), you could unlock it.

Okay. Thanks for the info.
But is there any way to use fastboot to flash some system images to go back?

 

[sd_shadow]

Okay. Thanks for the info.
But is there any way to use fastboot to flash some system images to go back?

no way to downgrade with a locked bootloader

Sent from my sailfish using XDA Labs

 

[iykeDROID™]

no way to downgrade with a locked bootloader

OKAY, THANKS.
I think all what I can do now is to Return it or to sell it.
Thanks to you all for your contribution.

 

[ChazzMatt]

From our official Quark TWRP maintainer @bhb27...


TWRP update
twrp-3.1.0-0_MOD_1-quark.img
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=457095661767143958

V 3.1.0-0_Mod_01
March-12-2017

• All the previously TWRP Mod
• Kernel Improves
• Latest updates and bugs Fix to the date of TWRP

 

[Einheit-101]

You should add to the FAQ "how to mount the system writable" because all bloatware returns after a reboot because system is read only, even when BL is unlocked/twrp installed/ xposed installed.

 

[ChazzMatt]

You should add to the FAQ "how to mount the system writable" because all bloatware returns after a reboot because system is read only, even when BL is unlocked/twrp installed/ xposed installed.

Your statement is unclear. How are you attempting to remove the bloatware?

1) Do you mean it's read-only when you are in your normal Android GUI?
This would be the only time xposed is used so you must mean that, as xposed is not used within TWRP. That's what SuperSu is for, to give a file manager app read-write ability. I use Root Explorer, myself. For instance, when I attempt to replace the Wi-Fi .ini file with one that makes my Wi-Fi faster, my file manager (or maybe SuperSu?) says "This folder is read only, do you wish to write to this folder?" (or something like that) I click YES, and then I can replace the file in that folder.

You don't turn the whole system to be writable all the time. That's what SuperSu is for to elevate your root privileges when you need them -- like for removing bloatware or doing other functions. Apps I give SuperSu privileges all the time, can do their functions, but even the Root Explorer needs a YES from me to turn some system folders from read-only to writable.

So, again, I'm asking HOW did you attempt to remove bloatware? Because SuperSu normally asks you to grant first time permission to some app. Either you didn't see the request and it timed out (you can go to the SuperSu log and see past requests) or you didn't grant the temporary request to change the read-only permission of a folder so you could delete bloatware. But that's very puzzling because then it would have clearly told you that you couldn't do that. NO REBOOTING WOULD BE NEEDED.

So, are you trying to do this within the TWRP GUI?

2) Do you mean within TWRP?
Not sure why you then mentioned xposed in your post -- as xposed has nothing to do with TWRP. The purpose of this guide is not to tell you how to use TWRP or the TWRP file manager. Yes you have to mount data in TWRP. If I tell you where to buy a car, I'm going to assume you know how to drive a car. There's plenty of guides on how to use TWRP.

 

[Einheit-101]

I simply use Titanium Backup with root access to uninstall bloat stuff.
It says uninstall successful, but that stuff comes back after rebooting. I will try again when Magisk is installed successfully.

I mentioned xposed because I had the case that it suddenly worked after I flashed xposed some time ago, I thought maybe xposed mounted the system writable. I guess I was wrong and something else made it work. But Idk.

 

[ChazzMatt]

I simply use Titanium Backup with root access to uninstall bloat stuff.
It says uninstall successful, but that stuff comes back after rebooting. I will try again when Magisk is installed successfully.

I mentioned xposed because I had the case that it suddenly worked after I flashed xposed some time ago, I thought maybe xposed mounted the system writable. I guess I was wrong and something else made it work. But Idk.

OK then that is a problem with Titanium Backup. I had an issue recently where I attempted to uninstall a system app (a camera) and I got the same result you did. Normally Titanium Backup is able to uninstall system apps.

But also, in Titanium Backup, you can make "system apps" into "user apps" and then attempt to do a regular uninstall?

OR you can use a file manager like Root Explorer (there are others, too, that's just my favorite), where you can go into system folders and remove those apps. Yes, you have to know where they live (which system folder), but Google is your friend. You can Google for that Verizon app and where it's located -- as I'm sure many other people have done the same thing!

 

[Einheit-101]

K thx however I am almost sure it is possible with tbkp aswell, I will find a way and report why it did not work^^

 

[ChazzMatt]

OK then that is a problem with Titanium Backup. I had an issue recently where I attempted to uninstall a system app (a camera) and I got the same result you did. Normally Titanium Backup is able to uninstall system apps.

But also, in Titanium Backup, you can make "system apps" into "user apps" and then attempt to do a regular uninstall?

K thx however I am almost sure it is possible with tbkp aswell, I will find a way and report why it did not work^^

Since Titanium Backup does have root privileges I don't know why removing the system app did not work -- for me (on the camera) or for you. But the workaround to convert the system app to a "user app", then remove it should work.

And Titanium Backup will warn you if it does not have root privileges. If the app has root privileges (and you can also check the SuperSu settings to see, as a double check) and the app still does not do what it should, it IS a problem with the app itself. It's not a problem with this guide or how you are rooted or TWRP or anything else. Just to make that clear.

Have you tried FREEZING the bloatware apps in Titanium Backup? Yes, I know that does not recover internal memory space, but it does "remove" them from working and from being seen by you. I froze that system camera app since I couldn't easily remove it, and I was afraid that for some reason that file needed to be there for any camera to work. I installed another Moto camera as a user app, and am using that. But I froze the system camera to make sure there are no conflicts and so I wouldn't see "two" cameras in my app drawer.

 

[TheSt33v]

The glory days of TiBu are over. The app sucks now. Every time I try to make a user app into a system app, the thing processes indefinitely. Try this one https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp

 

[ChazzMatt]

The glory days of TiBu are over. The app sucks now. Every time I try to make a user app into a system app, the thing processes indefinitely.

Yes, it does process indefinitely if you just let it run... but then when you reboot the phone, you see the app has now become a system app. I let it run for like 5 minutes just to make sure everything has finished (even though it will NEVER notify you it has finished), before I reboot.

I do it all the time when I flash ROM updates, because I have a few app like my volume control app and my data manager app that work better as system apps. They get removed by ROM update flashes, and when I restore them via Titanium backup they are restored first as user apps (even though they were backed up as system apps), and I re-convert them into system apps. It's not my choice they are restored as regular user apps, that's just how Titanium Backup does it. It doesn't restore them as system apps, even though they were previously converted to system apps and the backup is of a system app. Go figure.

I also find I can't restore app + data in one step with those apps. I have to restore the app, then restore data, then convert back to system app. Yes, Titanium Backup has some issues, but I've used it for years so I stuck with it.

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------

. Try this one https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp

Thanks, that does sound like a great app. Always nice to have tool choices.

 

[TheSt33v]

Yes, it does process indefinitely if you just let it run... but then when you reboot the phone, you see the app has now become a system app. I let it run for like 5 minutes just to make sure everything has finished (even though it will NEVER notify you it has finished), before I reboot.

I do it all the time when I flash ROM updates, because I have a few app like my volume control app and my data manager app that work better as system apps. They get removed by ROM update flashes, and when I restore them via Titanium backup they are restored first as user apps (even though they were backed up as system apps), and I re-convert them into system apps. It's not my choice they are restored as regular user apps, that's just how Titanium Backup does it. It doesn't restore them as system apps, even though they were previously converted to system apps and the backup is of a system app. Go figure.

I also find I can't restore app + data in one step with those apps. I have to restore the app, then restore data, then convert back to system app. Yes, Titanium Backup has some issues, but I've used it for years so I stuck with it.

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------



Thanks, that does sound like a great app. Always nice to have tool choices.

Yes, it does dump the app into the /system/app folder, but that hasn't been the correct way of doing that since kitkat. You still need to go in there with a browser, make a folder for the app and put the app in it, which is absurd considering this app has been the gold standard for this sort of thing for pretty much forever. How is such a basic, glaring flaw for such a commonly used operation still in there? Also, disclaimer, I've never used that other app. It just got good reviews and has been updated within the past year.

 

[Einheit-101]

When I convert a user app into a system app, does that free some space on the user storage partition? Or are both app types on the same partition?
I have a feeling that there is a lot of unused space on my device that cannot be accessed because the system partition is way larger than needed

 

[TheSt33v]

When I convert a user app into a system app, does that free some space on the user storage partition? Or are both app types on the same partition?
I have a feeling that there is a lot of unused space on my device that cannot be accessed because the system partition is way larger than needed

Yes it would. System apps live on /system and user apps live on /data, but there's two reasons why that doesn't matter:

1. The average android app is like, what, 10 MB? Add in a few MB for cache/app data and we'll say 15 MB for the sake of argument. Who cares?

2. The app will live in /system, but if you ever update that app, those updates live on /data. Officially speaking, the /system partition is never, ever modified except during OTA updates. So you're not really saving any space unless you never update that app.

As for the system partition size, there's not a lot you can do about that. If the system partition is 500 MB in size total, and you are somehow are only using 300 MB, that extra 200 MB still belongs to /system. So no matter how much you debloat, /data will be exactly the same size. The only way to change this would be to resize the system partition and extend the /data partition, but as far as I can tell, that's crazy difficult to do and requires editing the bootloader files.