I can't get this to work. I'm updated to the latest OTA, the July security patch. As soon as I flash twrp.zip in TWRP and then reboot to check if WiFi is still working (which it was still working), my phone rolls back to the May security patch. Why is this happening? After several attempts at rooting my phone, I gave up and flashed the factory img to return to stock. Any ideas?
I wouldn't use the guide in the OP since it's NOT the way to keep WIFI working even though the method does keep WIFI intact. + The method used is now outdated and unnecessary.
For those who want to root on the latest update, I've written down a quick guide below how to do it. It's very easy and straightforward.
Razer provides a guide on how to flash factory images and how to install drivers+ADB/FASTBOOT here: LINK.
I'm assuming you got ADB/Fastboot working if you followed Razers instructions in the link above, now let's get into it.
Preparation/Optional Steps:
1. Flash the Factory Image from May 2018 by following Razers instructions.
2. Let your device boot and skip through setup. (I recommend not even signing in to Google Play Store yet, just skip everything you can)
3. Go to "Settings > System > System Update" and update your phone to the latest version, this will make your phone use "Slot B" as the updated Android OS.
4. Once the update is installed, reboot.
5. When your phone has booted up again, go into "Settings > System > About Phone" and tap Build Number until Developer Options are unlocked.
6. Go to Developer Options and enable OEM Unlocking (if it's not enabled) and USB Debugging.
How to flash TWRP + Magisk on latest update:
1. Connect the phone to your computer.
2. Open a Command Prompt where you got your ADB installed. Double check that ADB is working by typing "adb devices". (without the quotes " ", this applies to all commands below aswell)
3. Download latest Magisk and twrp.img/twrp-Installer.zip. Save them in the same folder where your ADB is installed.
4. Push the following files to your device via ADB by typing "adb push Magisk-v17.1.zip /sdcard" and "adb push twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip /sdcard".
5. Verify that the files got pushed to your device properly by locating them on your phone.
6. Boot your phone into Download Mode by typing "adb reboot bootloader"
7. Once your phone boots to Download mode, type "fastboot boot twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img", your phone should now reboot into twrp-recovery WITHOUT flashing over your stock boot.img. (Step 7 can be buggy sometimes and your phone doesnt boot, if that's the case just force shut it down and reboot your phone to download mode again and repeat step 7.)
8a. Once you're in TWRP, swipe to allow modifications and then check that your active slot is B by going to the Reboot menu in TWRP, if it is: GOOD. Now go back to twrp main menu and click the install button.
8b. *Recommended*: Backup your updated ota boot.img in twrp before doing the steps below, since there are no factory images for latest OTA.
9. Flash twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip and then flash Magisk-v17.1.zip and reboot.
10. Done and WIFI should still be working and you got Magisk with root access on latest update.
@MeguminBOT...My problem is that I want to be on the latest OTA, which is the July security patch. The factory image is not available yet on Razer's website. Have you tried to root the phone with the July security patch?
@MeguminBOT...My problem is that I want to be on the latest OTA, which is the July security patch. The factory image is not available yet on Razer's website. Have you tried to root the phone with the July security patch?
Huh, when did they fix fastboot boot? It wasn't working a couple months ago when I tried it. That significantly simplifies things, glad they fixed it.
I can confirm that applying the OTA and booting TWRP works. I just flashed the stock boot.img from the factory image, applied the OTA and booted TWRP to flash Magisk. Now that boot works directly, I don't really need to install TWRP permanently. I also made a backup before doing anything, just so I have one given that there's no factory image right now.
@MeguminBOT...Okay, I just rooted my device and WiFi is still working. It looks like the only thing I was doing wrong was "fastboot flash boot twrp..." instead of "fastboot boot twrp...". At least that is the only thing I was doing different the other day. Every time I would go through the OP's instructions, my device would downgrade to the May update.
I've been on the July security patch for a few days, so I decided to try rooting without flashing the May update first, just to save some time. I did everything you said in your instructions, except for flashing the May update first, and everything went fine. Thanks:good:
Huh, when did they fix fastboot boot? It wasn't working a couple months ago when I tried it. That significantly simplifies things, glad they fixed it.
I can confirm that applying the OTA and booting TWRP works. I just flashed the stock boot.img from the factory image, applied the OTA and booted TWRP to flash Magisk. Now that boot works directly, I don't really need to install TWRP permanently. I also made a backup before doing anything, just so I have one given that there's no factory image right now.
I've always been able to "fastboot boot" my device like 7 out of 10 times on May update aswell, but I know that most people had problems with it. However it does seem like it's fixed for sure now and that's fantastic!
@MeguminBOT...Okay, I just rooted my device and WiFi is still working. It looks like the only thing I was doing wrong was "fastboot flash boot twrp..." instead of "fastboot boot twrp...". At least that is the only thing I was doing different the other day. Every time I would go through the OP's instructions, my device would downgrade to the May update.
I've been on the July security patch for a few days, so I decided to try rooting without flashing the May update first, just to save some time. I did everything you said in your instructions, except for flashing the May update first, and everything went fine. Thanks:good:
I wouldn't use the guide in the OP since it's NOT the way to keep WIFI working even though the method does keep WIFI intact. + The method used is now outdated and unnecessary.
For those who want to root on the latest update, I've written down a quick guide below how to do it. It's very easy and straightforward.
Razer provides a guide on how to flash factory images and how to install drivers+ADB/FASTBOOT here: LINK.
I'm assuming you got ADB/Fastboot working if you followed Razers instructions in the link above, now let's get into it.
Preparation/Optional Steps:
1. Flash the Factory Image from May 2018 by following Razers instructions.
2. Let your device boot and skip through setup. (I recommend not even signing in to Google Play Store yet, just skip everything you can)
3. Go to "Settings > System > System Update" and update your phone to the latest version, this will make your phone use "Slot B" as the updated Android OS.
4. Once the update is installed, reboot.
5. When your phone has booted up again, go into "Settings > System > About Phone" and tap Build Number until Developer Options are unlocked.
6. Go to Developer Options and enable OEM Unlocking (if it's not enabled) and USB Debugging.
How to flash TWRP + Magisk on latest update:
1. Connect the phone to your computer.
2. Open a Command Prompt where you got your ADB installed. Double check that ADB is working by typing "adb devices". (without the quotes " ", this applies to all commands below aswell)
3. Download latest Magisk and twrp.img/twrp-Installer.zip. Save them in the same folder where your ADB is installed.
4. Push the following files to your device via ADB by typing "adb push Magisk-v17.1.zip /sdcard" and "adb push twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip /sdcard".
5. Verify that the files got pushed to your device properly by locating them on your phone.
6. Boot your phone into Download Mode by typing "adb reboot bootloader"
7. Once your phone boots to Download mode, type "fastboot boot twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img", your phone should now reboot into twrp-recovery WITHOUT flashing over your stock boot.img. (Step 7 can be buggy sometimes and your phone doesnt boot, if that's the case just force shut it down and reboot your phone to download mode again and repeat step 7.)
8a. Once you're in TWRP, swipe to allow modifications and then check that your active slot is B by going to the Reboot menu in TWRP, if it is: GOOD. Now go back to twrp main menu and click the install button.
8b. *Recommended*: Backup your updated ota boot.img in twrp before doing the steps below, since there are no factory images for latest OTA.
9. Flash twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip and then flash Magisk-v17.1.zip and reboot.
10. Done and WIFI should still be working and you got Magisk with root access on latest update.
Hey, MeguminBOT -- Thank you so much for this! I originally had trouble rooting*, and I tried other guides, but it was ultimately your guide that helped me out. I'm now on the July 5, 2018 update with Magisk root.
*Fresh out of the box, I updated my phone to the July 5, 2018 update, but when I got to step 8a in your post, it was showing slot A. I switched it to slot B and tried to continue on anyway, but root wasn't working. I then tried to flash stock and start fresh; I must have done something wrong, because it would not install the July 5, 2018 update anymore ("Couldn't update. Installation problem.").
I would like to post the steps I used, which are mostly the steps you detailed, MeguminBOT, but with some additional/modified steps for first-time-noobs like me. I performed these steps a few days ago, so I'm writing this mostly from memory, and may even miss some steps.
Again, these are MeguminBOT's steps. I can't take credit. I'm just filling in some steps that I personally had to perform.
Razer provides a guide on how to flash factory images and how to install drivers+ADB/FASTBOOT here: LINK.
I'm assuming you got ADB/Fastboot working if you followed Razers instructions in the link above, now let's get into it.
*Not sure if it was the bad drivers that I had installed, but I followed Razer's instructions for fastboot drivers, and plugged into a USB 2.0 port. My laptop has USB 3.0 ports too, but the USB 2.0 ports worked best.
*I also did this with no micro SD card installed into the phone.
Preparation:
1. Connect the phone to your computer and flash the Factory Image from May 2018 by following Razers instructions (https://developer.razer.com/razer-phone-dev-tools/general-instructions/). (*Personally, I would consider this step required. You would think this would not be needed on a brand-new-in-box sealed phone, but I tried everything below without performing this step, and root failed. I personally used OPM1.171019.011-RZR-180509.5038 from https://developer.razer.com/razer-phone-dev-tools/factory-images/ ; I'm personally not on Three CKH.)
1a. Enable OEM Unlocking (and USB debugging; you should get the prompt to allow USB debugging, click OK).
1b. Enter Download Mode
1c. Unlock the Bootloader. After performing this, I'm not sure if you can actually just boot directly back into Download Mode and go to step 1d, but I personally let it boot normally all the way through (skipping through everything), and performed 1a and 1b again, then went to 1d.
1d. Unlock the Bootloader Critical Partitions. After performing this, I'm not sure if you can actually just boot directly back into Download Mode and go to step 1e, but I personally let it boot normally all the way through (skipping through everything), and performed 1a and 1b again, then went to 1e.
1e. Flash System Image
2. Let your device boot and skip through setup. (I recommend not even signing in to Google Play Store yet, just skip everything you can)
3. If you want the July 5, 2018 update, then...
3a. Enable OEM Unlocking (and USB debugging; you should get the prompt to allow USB debugging, click OK).
3b. Enter Download Mode
3c. fastboot flashing lock_critical. After performing this, I'm not sure if you can actually just boot directly back into Download Mode and go to step 3c, but I personally let it boot normally all the way through (skipping through everything), and performed 1a and 1b again, then went to 3c.
3d. fastboot flashing lock
3e. Let your device boot and skip through setup. (I recommend not even signing in to Google Play Store yet, just skip everything you can)
3f. Connect to Wi-Fi only.
3g. Go to "Settings > System > System Update" and update your phone to the latest version, this will make your phone use "Slot B" as the updated Android OS.
3h. Once the update is installed, reboot.
4. Your phone is now on the July 5, 2018 update, with a locked bootloader. Continue to step 5 if you wish to root.
How to flash TWRP + Magisk:
5. Connect the phone to your computer.
6. Enable OEM Unlocking (and USB debugging; you should get the prompt to allow USB debugging, click OK).
7. Enter Download Mode
8. Unlock the Bootloader 8a. *Read Me* From this point forward, do NOT Unlock the Bootloader Critical Partitions. By this point, only the bootloader should be unlocked. You must not unlock the critical partition. Doing so causes TWRP to ask for a password. I'm not sure what this password is. Booting normally also causes Android to ask for a password, even though, by this point, I've never set any password or pattern or PIN, etc. I'm not sure why and I'm sure there's a good reason for this, and I'm also sure there is some sort of default password out there (I've searched for and tried a few, but none worked), but it's not necessary to unlock the critical partitions at this point anyway, and thus, no reason to figure out what password to put in.
9. Let your device boot and skip through setup. (I recommend not even signing in to Google Play Store yet, just skip everything you can). It should still be on the July 5, 2018 update.
10. Enable OEM Unlocking (and USB debugging; you should get the prompt to allow USB debugging, click OK).
11. Open a Command Prompt where you got your ADB installed. Double check that ADB is working by typing "adb devices". (without the quotes " ", this applies to all commands below as well)
12. Download everything you want to flash. Save them in the same folder where your ADB is installed.
12a. Magisk-v17.1.zip - https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
12b. twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img - https://twrp.me/razer/razerphone.html
12c. twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip - https://twrp.me/razer/razerphone.html . As freemini mentioned previously, "booting TWRP works" and "now that boot works directly, [you] don't really need to install TWRP permanently." It's up to you, but I've confirmed freemini's statement.
13. Push the following files to your device via ADB by typing...
13a. "adb push Magisk-v17.1.zip /sdcard/" (don't forget the last slash).
13b. "adb push twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img /sdcard/" (don't forget the last slash).
13c. "adb push twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip /sdcard/" (don't forget the last slash). Again, this is not needed, unless you want to flash it.
14. Verify that the files got pushed to your device properly by locating them on your phone. You can use the Files app. Press the 3 dots on the top-right corner, to "Show internal storage". Then press the three lines on the top-left corner, and press "Phone". This should put you right into the /sdcard/ folder where you should see the files you've just pushed.
15. Enter Download Mode
16. Once your phone boots to Download mode, type "fastboot boot twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img", your phone should now reboot into twrp-recovery WITHOUT flashing over your stock boot.img. (This step can be buggy sometimes and your phone doesn't boot, if that's the case just force shut it down and reboot your phone to download mode again and repeat this step.)
17. Once you're in TWRP, swipe to allow modifications and then check that your active slot is B by going to the Reboot menu in TWRP, if it is: GOOD.
18. *Recommended*: Now go back to twrp main menu and click the Backup button. Backup your updated ota boot.img in twrp before doing the steps below, since there are no factory images for latest OTA. (I personally selected all partitions for my backup.)
19. Now go back to twrp main menu and click the install button. Flash twrp-installer-3.2.2-0-cheryl.zip (if you want to; I personally did not) and then flash Magisk-v17.1.zip and reboot.
20. The bootloader will need to be kept unlocked. Do NOT re-lock the bootloader.
21. Install MagiskManager-v6.0.0.apk (https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445) and confirm root.
22. Your backup from step 18 (if you performed it) can be found in /sdcard/TWRP/.
23. Done and WIFI should still be working and you got Magisk with root access on latest update. Configure/personalize, as needed.
24. I noticed 4G on AT&T (nxtgenphone APN) does not work for me. A couple threads confirm this ( https://forums.att.com/t5/Android/Razer-Phone-on-AT-amp-T/td-p/5312586 , https://insider.razer.com/index.php?threads/setting-up-at-t-4g-lte-on-razer-phone.28203/ ). I, unfortunately, had to stick with 3G (wap.cingular APN).
My Thundersnake phone, after the OEM unlock, unlocked it using two-party commands, wrote it into the lineage OS system, and then, cheap, used "fast boot flashing lock_critical" FastBoot flashing lock " After locking the mobile phone, it was found that the "Developer Options" had changed to not allow OEM to unlock. Now the mobile phone is restarted indefinitely, using the "fast boot flash unlock" FastBoot flashing unlock_critical " It can't be unlocked. Unable to write to the official firmware, nor can it start properly! Help, gods! Help me!
Would someone mind helping me out? I unlocked the flashing and copied over twrp and magisk to the root folder of the phone, it just refuses to work when I try to boot twrp though.
I run the exact command fastboot flash boot twrp-3.2.1-0-cheryl.img && fastboot reboot
And it says fastboot: error: cannot load "twrp-3.2.1-0-cheryl.img" No such file or directory
I tried renaming it as well, it just cannot find it for some reason. Any help on this would be great google has given me 0 answers in the past 3 hours and its driving me nuts. Trying to flash to a custom OS cause the wi-fi just cuts out/slows down on stock razer OS.
https://$$i.imgur.com$$/2VPHieM.png (Remove the $$ had to add them cause of this forums weird rule)
*Edit* Fixed it, for anyone else with this issue, I HAD to do it in powershell, cmd refused to find the file.
It is the latest firmware and security patch from July 5, the bootloader is unlocked, critical partition are locked, the adb push command is used to transfer to the Magisk phone, TWRP.img and TWRP.zip, but it’s impossible to install TWRP.
It is the latest firmware and security patch from July 5, the bootloader is unlocked, critical partition are locked, the adb push command is used to transfer to the Magisk phone, TWRP.img and TWRP.zip, but it’s impossible to install TWRP.
Hello,
I've got a Razer Phone 8.1 Oreo and I tried following this guide to unlock the phone.
- I unlocked the bootloader (oem bootloader disabled in developer settings)
Then I followed exactly the last procedure on the first post (the one for those who are going to root the device for the first time
After following the guide, I rebooted my device, the reboot was ok but TOGGLES WERE ALL DISABLED, also wifi, which couldn't be reactivated (they just stay disabled)
Ok so I decided to follow again the guide for the broken wifi.
I booted TWRP and saw that my current slot was B. in B I flashed boot.img in boot partition.
Then as the guide requested, I changed active slot to A. I then rebooted the phone to go bootloader again.
From this moment I was not able to boot the phone normally again.
The phone was stuck in a boot loop when I was trying to boot it normally, so I went to bootloader again and swapped the active slot using:
fastboot --set-active=a (it was a)
then rebooted bootloader.
From this moment the phone does not go anymore to normal boot cycle, it just enters the 'Download mode' bootloader mode.
If I try to get the current slot:
fastboot getvar current-slot
it says:
current-slot: (empty)
If I try to change the slot back to A:
fastboot --set-active=a -> I get -> Setting current slot to 'a' FAILED (remote: set_active failed)
or if I try to flash TWRP to any
fastboot*flash*boot_a TWRP.img
fastboot*flash*boot_b TWRP.img
it just fails as above.
I don't know what to do anymore, it is stuck on 'download mode' forever.
Please help
At this point I want just to have a working phone
This is a longshot and I'm sorry to necro this post, but did you ever get this fixed? I am currently in the same exact situation. I followed Razer's instructions and it soft-bricked me, basically. So I tried using TWRP since flash_all.sh from Razer was worthless, and that didn't work. Now the phone acts like there is no recovery partition at all. It goes into an endless reboot cycle, OR endless rebooting into Download Mode if I have it plugged into USB.
This is a longshot and I'm sorry to necro this post, but did you ever get this fixed? I am currently in the same exact situation. I followed Razer's instructions and it soft-bricked me, basically. So I tried using TWRP since flash_all.sh from Razer was worthless, and that didn't work. Now the phone acts like there is no recovery partition at all. It goes into an endless reboot cycle, OR endless rebooting into Download Mode if I have it plugged into USB.
Can you at lease get TWRP to flash? I had the same issue at first. I unplugged the phone, held down power+down volume to shut the phone completely off. Then restated it in download mode. It stayed there until I got twrp flashed.
Can you at lease get TWRP to flash? I had the same issue at first. I unplugged the phone, held down power+down volume to shut the phone completely off. Then restated it in download mode. It stayed there until I got twrp flashed.
Well, I can get to the recovery partition now, but no further. I think the backup image is completely missing. From Recovery, is it possible to flash what I need using the Razer images?
