Getting Root and Copy of Stock

[sd_matto]

Looks like it is now up and working. On ATT Go and ST. Yay!

Initial observations:
1. Froyo 2.2.1
2. Buttons are set up like on the Optimus V (and NOT the Optimus S). Which makes me wonder if things for V (like recovery) will work with Thrive. Thoughts?

Now, to do the basics (and open new threads as they are completed):
1. Get phone rooted - DONE
2. Pull a copy of the stock partitions (/boot, /recovery, /system, /data, /cache at least) via adb and cat (can I post these? Are they open source that can be freely posted without copyright concerns? I don't want ATT down my neck) - DONE (Still need info re where to post)
3. Send an email to LG re: release of LG Thrive source code (reminding them to not do what they did with the Optimus V, and to send an unborked source code) - DONE
4. Install test recovery (xionia's virgin mobile recovery; aosp's virgin mobile recovery) - DO NOT DO (Borks the phone)
5. Make a nandroid backup of stock ROM (/system, /data, /cache and /boot).

That's about all I can think of doing for now. Should get it done over the weekend.

Once I have these things done, and have a solid backup and working recovery, I will experiment with seeing what can be safely removed and kept.

Comments or thoughts appreciated.

 

[sd_matto]

Progress report:

Followed the following steps:

1. Temp root via Superoneclick using rageagainstthecage exploit. Tried to make root permanent, but ran into problems implementing permanent root through Superuser.apk and RootExplorer.apk due to ATT having an "Application Manager" (analogous to Motorola Blur, maybe), which may prevent things from working properly. So, before delving much more deeply, decided to try and do a nandroid backup by flashing alternate recovery (a lil mistake there, I think).

2. I copied stock images (available for upload), using following commands:
adb shell (from command prompt - should show "#")
cat /proc/mtd (should show mtd0 - mtd9)
cat /dev/mtd/mtd'n' [where 'n' varies from 0-9] > /sdcard/[whatever you want to name your images - make sure to include suffix '.img']
On my unit, I saved the following files (the number at the beginning is the 'n' of the mtd'n' above):
0-stock-boot.img
1-stock-system.img
2-stock-recovery.img
3-stock-lgdrm.img
4-stock-splash.img
5-stock-FOTABIN.img
6-stock-FOTA.img
7-stock-misc.img
8-stock-cache.img
9-stock-userdata.img
If anyone more able than me wants to convert the recovery.img into one that we can use for making nandroid backups (xionia does NOT work, as I found it), please let me know and I can send you the files you need.

3. [DO NOT DO THIS STEP WITH OPTIMUS V RECOVERY; WILL BRICK PHONE - WAITING FOR UPDATED RECOVERY] Flashed the alternate recovery (xionia goodies for virgin mobile) using following instructions:
a. copy "flash_image" binary to /sdcard root (either with adb push or with mounting usb card on computer)
b. Run following adb commands to flash alternate recovery:
adb shell
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /system /system
cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /system /system

flash_image recovery /sdcard/[alt.recovery.file.name.img]

mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /system /system
rm /system/bin/flash_image
mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /system /system

reboot recovery

xionia recovery does not work. Probably bricked my phone in flashing it (though it remains to be seen, as I am working on unbricking - stuck at LG logo right now).

Any thoughts on how to get past the white LG logo? If I can get an adb shell on this thing, I can probably reflash the recovery partition from stock image, so any help appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[sd_matto]

Tried 3-button combinations, including "Power", "Vol Up"/"Vol Down", and one of the 4 buttons on bottom (Menu, Home, Back and Search), holding each 3-button combination for a 10 second count before releasing all 3, with the following results:

Power, Vol Down, Menu - Initial LG White Logo; power down on release

Power, Vol Down, Home - Initial LG White Logo; Got screen showing two lines, but could only read second line which stated "udc_start ()" - NOTE THAT THIS SHOWS UP WHEN USE 2-BUTTON COMBO of Power, Home

Power, Vol Down, Back - Initial LG White Logo; power down on release

Power, Vol Down, Search - Initial LG White Logo; power down on release

Power, Vol Up, Menu - Initial LG White Logo; power down on release

Power, Vol Up, Home - Initial LG White Logo; power down on release

Power, Vol Up, Back - White screen, with black letters in middle saying "Emergency Mode!" - Plugged phone into USB port of computer, and both USB Serial Port and USB Modem were recognized. Device not found for adb, though. I wonder if this permits a full reflashing of the ROM, but, if so, HOW?? Is this bootloader mode? Weird thing is that it tries to connect when using the LG Mobile updater, and then tries to update (reflash??) phone, but then it disconnects and cannot identify phone (maybe because drivers have not been updated, and software has not been released, for the LG Thrive). Enough on this one for now.

Power, Vol Up, Search - Initial LG White Logo; power down on release

So, only interesting 3-button combinations are:
Power, Vol Down, Home (or Power, Home), and
Power, Vol Up, Back (Emergency Mode)

Just sharing info so others don't have to make my mistakes.

 

[joaoeduardo]

let me know when you find a way to root this phone.. i don't mind the stock android that comes with.. i just care about been able to delete att crap ware and being able to install things fromt the web. thank you.

 

[sd_matto]

Permanent root accomplished.

Used superoneclick 1.7 (google it) with rageagainstthecage exploit (NOT psneuter) to get a shell root (i.e., a temporary root).

Then, used manual method to do permanent root (with included Superuser.apk and RootExplorer.apk (best purchase [Yes, have to purchase this one] from Android Market)) with following commands (commands are from a Windows 7 command prompt, with proper adb install):

[Enable phone's /system to have files copied and deleted]
adb shell
[Make sure a "#" shows up as a prompt; if you only get a "$", your phone is NOT enabled with temporary root, so you need to re-root it with superoneclick]
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /system /system
exit

[Copy appropriate files to phone's /system]
adb push su /system/bin
adb push busybox /system/bin
adb push Superuser.apk /system/app
adb push RootExplorer.apk /system/app

[Set appropriate permissions for su and busybox]
adb shell
cd /system/bin
chmod 4755 su
chmod 555 busybox
exit

[Reboot to kick out temporary root exploit and allow permanent root to take over]
adb reboot

Now, exploring the file system to see what I can delete. So far, have gotten rid of the ATT Application Manager (no idea what that is about, other than a segregator of apps), and the LG Launcher (5MB; what a hog - Zeam makes a great replacement).

A couple of things I could use some help with:
1. What setting in build.prop do I need to edit (with Root Explorer, of course) in order to allow for "Unknown Sources" as installation methods (thereby making it unnecessary to do the cumbersome adb push to install new third party apps).
2. Any way that I can delete the APN setting for MediaNet and Broadband? Every time I install an app from the market, the APN resets to MediaNet and causes network errors.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Enjoy your rooted ATT Thrive (great name, that).

let me know when you find a way to root this phone.. i don't mind the stock android that comes with.. i just care about been able to delete att crap ware and being able to install things fromt the web. thank you.

 

[sd_matto]

... i just care about ... being able to install things fromt the web. thank you.

Until we get "Unknown Sources" checkbox enabled under Settings -> Applications, I don't know how this will be able to be accomplished (other than via download apk from web, and push to phone (/data/app or /system/app, as applicable) via computer command line and "adb push" command.

Thoughts on how to accomplish that appreciated.

 

[DroidXcon]

Until we get "Unknown Sources" checkbox enabled under Settings -> Applications, I don't know how this will be able to be accomplished (other than via download apk from web, and push to phone (/data/app or /system/app, as applicable) via computer command line and "adb push" command.

Thoughts on how to accomplish that appreciated.

have you looked into this
http://forum.androidcentral.com/hacking/74670-how-enable-sideloading-rooted-t-phones.html

and if you want i can write a script for perm root after acheiving temp with superoneclick

 

[sd_matto]

have you looked into this
http://forum.androidcentral.com/hacking/74670-how-enable-sideloading-rooted-t-phones.html

This worked. Thanks for the heads up.

and if you want i can write a script for perm root after acheiving temp with superoneclick

Feel free to provide whatever info/help/scripts that you want. I have no ego or stake in this thing; to me, it's about making our phones as functional as possible. So, the more, the merrier.

Thanks for the help.

 

[DroidXcon]

This worked. Thanks for the heads up.



Feel free to provide whatever info/help/scripts that you want. I have no ego or stake in this thing; to me, it's about making our phones as functional as possible. So, the more, the merrier.

Thanks for the help.

i dont have this phone so i will need your help or anyones help to test it , ill make up a test script now and ill hand it to you to test it or to find a tester

 

[sd_matto]

i dont have this phone so i will need your help or anyones help to test it , ill make up a test script now and ill hand it to you to test it or to find a tester

Happy to put in my support/recommendation behind your effort (that was a GREAT tip re: using the sqlite db editor - I have used it in another place (i.e., APN editing) to make my phone PERFECT), but now that I have my phone setup, I am loathe to tweak it until we have working recovery and/or released source.

Having said that, I am happy to distribute your script (with appropriate attribution to you, of course).

Any testers/volunteers for the auto script, feel free to contact me or DroidXPro.

Thanks again for helping out.

This phone just ROCKS.

 

[DroidXcon]

Happy to put in my support/recommendation behind your effort (that was a GREAT tip re: using the sqlite db editor - I have used it in another place (i.e., APN editing) to make my phone PERFECT), but now that I have my phone setup, I am loathe to tweak it until we have working recovery and/or released source.

Having said that, I am happy to distribute your script (with appropriate attribution to you, of course).

Any testers/volunteers for the auto script, feel free to contact me or DroidXPro.

Thanks again for helping out.

This phone just ROCKS.

Lol DroidXPro,,, Ok well im done with the script i just need to get the rootexplorer.apk and then ill zip it and post it here for someone to try

actually i should leave rootexplorer out since its a paid app , i wouldnt want to pirate it. They can install it from the market later.

 

[DroidXcon]

LG Phoenix_Thrive Perm Root

[warn]

THIS HAS NOT BEEN TESTED, TESTERS NEEDED​

Android Central and myself disclaim all liability for any harm that may befall your device, including, but not limited to: bricked phones, voided manufacturer warranties, exploding batteries, etc.
[/warn]

[NOTE]You will need to temp root using Superoneclick V1.9.1[/NOTE]


Auto Root Alpha

• Download Auto root
• Unzip to anywhere on computer
• On the phone Activate debugging mode and stay awake (below USB debugging)
• Gain Temp root with Superoneclick
• Open LG Phoenix_Thrive Perm Root Folder
• Double click START_ROOT pheonix thrive
• Follow prompted directions carefully

Auto root Alpha:

 

[sd_matto]

Lol DroidXPro,,,

My bad, DroidXCON!! I don't know which I like the sound of better, though.

Ok well im done with the script i just need to get the rootexplorer.apk and then ill zip it and post it here for someone to try

actually i should leave rootexplorer out since its a paid app , i wouldnt want to pirate it. They can install it from the market later.

One thing re: your script and rootexplorer: You may need to alter it a little to permit install of legitimately purchased rootexplorer to /system/app.

Before I found the manual solution that I published, I tried it the way you suggest (i.e., root first, then download from rootexplorer from market). I think I was able to get root permissions (SuperOneClick 1.7 reported that I did). But, rootexplorer was never able to get root permissions that way (I think that something installed by ATT, namely the ATT App Manager, was interfering with any program in /data/app (including rootexplorer downloaded from market) from picking up root permissions).

So, when that didn't work, I decided to adb push a legitimately purchased copy of rootexplorer from my adb folder (where I had copied a legitimately purchased copy of rootexplorer) to /system/app (as described in manual solution I published). Rootexplorer installed this way had no problem picking up root permissions on start up.

One way to get around this with your script would be to instruct the person using your script to (either before or after running temp root) run market, buy root explorer, adb into /system/app to copy /system/app/[whatever.name.is.for.installed.rootexplorer] to /sdcard, and then continue with your script (modding your script to adb push the legitimately purchased rootexplorer app from /sdcard to /system/app). I am sure that there are other ways around this issue as well.

The denouement of this issue is that, once rootexplorer is installed into /system/app, you can open it, remove the ATT crapware (includiing ATT App Manager), and from that removal on, any app (whether in /data/app or /system/app) can get root permissions.

Thanks again for preparing this.

 

[ls377]

One thing re: your script and rootexplorer: You may need to alter it a little to permit install of legitimately purchased rootexplorer to /system/app.

Before I found the manual solution that I published, I tried it the way you suggest (i.e., root first, then download from rootexplorer from market). I think I was able to get root permissions (SuperOneClick 1.7 reported that I did). But, rootexplorer was never able to get root permissions that way (I think that something installed by ATT, namely the ATT App Manager, was interfering with any program in /data/app (including rootexplorer downloaded from market) from picking up root permissions).

So, when that didn't work, I decided to adb push a legitimately purchased copy of rootexplorer from my adb folder (where I had copied a legitimately purchased copy of rootexplorer) to /system/app (as described in manual solution I published). Rootexplorer installed this way had no problem picking up root permissions on start up.

One way to get around this with your script would be to instruct the person using your script to (either before or after running temp root) run market, buy root explorer, adb into /system/app to copy /system/app/[whatever.name.is.for.installed.rootexplorer] to /sdcard, and then continue with your script (modding your script to adb push the legitimately purchased rootexplorer app from /sdcard to /system/app). I am sure that there are other ways around this issue as well.

The denouement of this issue is that, once rootexplorer is installed into /system/app, you can open it, remove the ATT crapware (includiing ATT App Manager), and from that removal on, any app (whether in /data/app or /system/app) can get root permissions.

Thanks again for preparing this.

That makes me want to go down to AT&T HQ and roundhouse everyone in the face. Good thing we have adb.

@dinlaca, do you feel up to putting the rooting method together in one rooting guide? If so, I'll make sure it gets stickied.

 

[sd_matto]

That makes me want to go down to AT&T HQ and roundhouse everyone in the face. Good thing we have adb.

Agreed

@dinlaca, do you feel up to putting the rooting method together in one rooting guide? If so, I'll make sure it gets stickied.

Do you want me to start a new thread? Or, is the info laid out in post #5 of this thread (i.e., the "manual solution" I reference) sufficient?

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[DroidXcon]

My bad, DroidXCON!! I don't know which I like the sound of better, though.



One thing re: your script and rootexplorer: You may need to alter it a little to permit install of legitimately purchased rootexplorer to /system/app.

Before I found the manual solution that I published, I tried it the way you suggest (i.e., root first, then download from rootexplorer from market). I think I was able to get root permissions (SuperOneClick 1.7 reported that I did). But, rootexplorer was never able to get root permissions that way (I think that something installed by ATT, namely the ATT App Manager, was interfering with any program in /data/app (including rootexplorer downloaded from market) from picking up root permissions).

So, when that didn't work, I decided to adb push a legitimately purchased copy of rootexplorer from my adb folder (where I had copied a legitimately purchased copy of rootexplorer) to /system/app (as described in manual solution I published). Rootexplorer installed this way had no problem picking up root permissions on start up.

One way to get around this with your script would be to instruct the person using your script to (either before or after running temp root) run market, buy root explorer, adb into /system/app to copy /system/app/[whatever.name.is.for.installed.rootexplorer] to /sdcard, and then continue with your script (modding your script to adb push the legitimately purchased rootexplorer app from /sdcard to /system/app). I am sure that there are other ways around this issue as well.

The denouement of this issue is that, once rootexplorer is installed into /system/app, you can open it, remove the ATT crapware (includiing ATT App Manager), and from that removal on, any app (whether in /data/app or /system/app) can get root permissions.

Thanks again for preparing this.

im kind of at a loss why this wouldnt work ,did you use the push command or the install command when you did this originally , i think that perhaps when you push it is doesnt sit well with permissions.... my other questions is do you need root explorer have you tried supermanager, which is free?

 

[ls377]

Do you want me to start a new thread? Or, is the info laid out in post #5 of this thread (i.e., the "manual solution" I reference) sufficient?

Thanks for letting me know.

Just start a new one so it's a little more clean. You can combine that, DroidXcon's script, and the method to move Root Explorer to /system, and whatever other relevant information you want.

 

[sd_matto]

im kind of at a loss why this wouldnt work ,did you use the push command or the install command when you did this originally , i think that perhaps when you push it is doesnt sit well with permissions

When I did it originally, I downloaded it from market to /data/app, then opened it. When I opened rootexplorer the first time, I waited about 30 seconds or so while it was stating "Asking for root permissions" (or whatever that message is before the query comes up with the "Allow" button), and nothing happened, so I closed the app. I then uninstalled it, and tried approach 2.

With approach 2, I used adb push command to push it to /system/app, as outlined in post #5.

.... my other questions is do you need root explorer have you tried supermanager, which is free?

I have not tried supermanager. When I find something that works (e.g., rootexplorer), I generally stick to it. Having said that, if you have the programmer's permission, feel free to include supermanager in your script and see if it works.

 

[sd_matto]

Just start a new one so it's a little more clean. You can combine that, DroidXcon's script, and the method to move Root Explorer to /system, and whatever other relevant information you want.

Done.

You will need to change the authorship/ownership of the second post in the new thread to be DroidXCon; the auto method is his alone (to post and edit), and he should get rightful attribution.

 

[ls377]

Done.

You will need to change the authorship/ownership of the second post in the new thread to be DroidXCon; the auto method is his alone (to post and edit), and he should get rightful attribution.

Thanks, looks good. Can you add a note at the beginning saying you have to have the sdk installed? Otherwise you'll have a thread filled with people asking what all these weird codes are

I'm not sure if that's possible, but if he posts, I think they can move his post into that spot and delete yours.