[GUIDE][MAC/PC/LINUX][4.2] Unlock, Root and Flash Recovery

[sr2012]

Hang on. If youre optimus c has an unlocked bootloader, you can find recovery built for your phone and flash it in fastboot cmands. Do not flash recovery that is built for any other device.

Once in recovery, you can push a rom from CPU to the optimis with the command adb push

Ah I was jumping the gun a bit assuming he could follow Nexus 7 instructions.

But yes only use recovery for specific device. Thanks Chatter and helping us learn more.

Sent from my LT26i using Android Central Forums

 

[zero neck]

Ah I was jumping the gun a bit assuming he could follow Nexus 7 instructions.

But yes only use recovery for specific device. Thanks Chatter and helping us learn more.

Sent from my LT26i using Android Central Forums

yeah pretty much all nexus devices operate the same, but recoveries and all that are different for each device.
When it comes to other phones, there are often different methods for unlocking/rooting/flashing recovery, to varying degrees.

Best to look up the device and see what it needs specifically, so you dont end up with a brick.

 

[Gkinsella2]

Zero Neck, thanks for setting this up! Got my N7 for Xmas and am now unlocked, rooted, and TWRP'ed! I read through the thread first and thought your directions were a bit odd (eg. "fastboot-mac")...once I unzipped the superboot folder, it appears it's simply a mini-sdk of sorts? If so, thanks for putting that together! It also raises another question - if we already have the Android SDK downloaded, we could have avoided that step, yes? I'm still learning how/when to use ADB, so I stuck to your instructions, but I'm thinking I could've done all this using my own SDK files and and tweaked the commands.

 

[zero neck]

Zero Neck, thanks for setting this up! Got my N7 for Xmas and am now unlocked, rooted, and TWRP'ed! I read through the thread first and thought your directions were a bit odd (eg. "fastboot-mac")...once I unzipped the superboot folder, it appears it's simply a mini-sdk of sorts? If so, thanks for putting that together! It also raises another question - if we already have the Android SDK downloaded, we could have avoided that step, yes? I'm still learning how/when to use ADB, so I stuck to your instructions, but I'm thinking I could've done all this using my own SDK files and and tweaked the commands.

yeah for sure. if you already have adb/sdk you don't really need any of the files in the superboot folder (that's a paul o'brien creation - very simple package, easy to use). If you already have adb, you just unlock, dl and flash recovery, and install superuser/super su/or any rom that has root.

so if you already have adb/sdk, you just stick those files in the adb/sdk folder that contains fastboot (exe). so, for instance, you have a folder in your home directory called "adb", and "adb" contains a folder called "sdk tools" that has your fastboot exe in it. You stick the files you need in there (the recovery image, basically) and you put the su file in the virtual sd card on the tablet after you've unlocked the bootloader (bc the bootloader will erase the virtual sd when its unlocked).
so using that pretend set up, you would open up terminal on the mac and 'cd' to the folder that has fastboot, wherever it is.
ie:
cd home
cd adb
cd sdk tools

then you can do the commands as usual (usually, if you have a complete adb/sdk setup, "fastboot-mac.exe" is just "fastboot.exe").
so you would just:
./fastboot flash recovery xxxxxx.img
or what have you.

hope that helps. glad you got it done without any trouble.

 

[Muhammad Shakir Aziz]

Hi guys again i am here having a confusion.
Last time i unlocked and rooted my nexus 7 wifi and lost gui, restored back to stock image. and DIDN'T lock the bootloader afterwards. Now i want to root it again. Guide is simple, but i just want rooting not *custom recovery* etc. Custom Recovery (as i have searched and read) won't allow google updates to install. Please guide me in this regard.

 

[sr2012]

Follow all instructions including flash custom recovery. Then flash stock recovery to get stock recovery back without losing root. There might be an easier way but I'm not sure.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

 

[2defmouze]

Hi guys again i am here having a confusion.
Last time i unlocked and rooted my nexus 7 wifi and lost gui, restored back to stock image. and DIDN'T lock the bootloader afterwards. Now i want to root it again. Guide is simple, but i just want rooting not *custom recovery* etc. Custom Recovery (as i have searched and read) won't allow google updates to install. Please guide me in this regard.

Follow all instructions including flash custom recovery. Then flash stock recovery to get stock recovery back without losing root. There might be an easier way but I'm not sure.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

You can boot the recovery without flashing it, just use the command:
fastboot boot recovery.img

(assuming you rename the recovery you want to use to recovery.img)

After flashing the SuperSU zip you can reboot and it won't have touched your stock recovery.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[zero neck]

Hi guys again i am here having a confusion.
Last time i unlocked and rooted my nexus 7 wifi and lost gui, restored back to stock image. and DIDN'T lock the bootloader afterwards. Now i want to root it again. Guide is simple, but i just want rooting not *custom recovery* etc. Custom Recovery (as i have searched and read) won't allow google updates to install. Please guide me in this regard.

yup the easiest way, like 2def said, would be to load the supersu file on your tablet, and replace the fastboot flash recovery command with fastboot boot recovery command. once booted into the custom recovery, install the supersu file and when you reboot you will be rooted with stock.

 

[Muhammad Shakir Aziz]

Thanks a lot for help. The command worked fine except the 'recovery' part.
I connected and turned on in fast boot mood. Then used this command "fastboot-windows boot openrecovery-twrp-2.3.2.1-grouper.img" and the recovery was booted. I installed SU and then rebooted system. Just normal except now i have root access.
Thanks a lot.

 

[ColoMonster]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

thanks a ton.... CWM has an option to tun off recovery flash when you select "reboot system now" from cwm... it seems to make it perm.

 

[dlpong]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

Hi,

New to Android here. I hooked up my Nexus 7 32gb to my Macbook Pro to unlock and root but I stuck at the part where I'm supposed to load the SuperSU off an SD card. The nexus 7 doesn't have an SD card so I was wondering what people do here. My nexus is just sitting in the TWRP screen.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Dan

 

[MikeCamp91]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

I followed everything in the guide but now I'm having issues getting back to stock recovery. Or if I even need to. After flashing the custom recovery img file I rebooted my Nexus 7 and now it says I'm running Android 4.2.1 build number JOP40D so am I already at stock recovery or do I still need to do anything to make sure I get Android updates in the future?

- - - Updated - - -

I followed everything in the guide but now I'm having issues getting back to stock recovery. Or if I even need to. After flashing the custom recovery img file I rebooted my Nexus 7 and now it says I'm running Android 4.2.1 build number JOP40D so am I already at stock recovery or do I still need to do anything to make sure I get Android updates in the future?

 

[JJSwag]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

Thank you so much!!!!! I was able to wipe my Nexus 7 after the screen randomly cracked and the touch was no longer functional.... I can now sell it for parts.

 

[2defmouze]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

Hi,

New to Android here. I hooked up my Nexus 7 32gb to my Macbook Pro to unlock and root but I stuck at the part where I'm supposed to load the SuperSU off an SD card. The nexus 7 doesn't have an SD card so I was wondering what people do here. My nexus is just sitting in the TWRP screen.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Dan

You have an sd partition aka internal storage partition. When you plug into your computer and browse around files that's the area you are looking at. Just copy the SuperSU file over to there, reboot to recovery and flash it.

I followed everything in the guide but now I'm having issues getting back to stock recovery. Or if I even need to. After flashing the custom recovery img file I rebooted my Nexus 7 and now it says I'm running Android 4.2.1 build number JOP40D so am I already at stock recovery or do I still need to do anything to make sure I get Android updates in the future?

Are you rooted? I.e.. does Superuser or SuperSU show in your app drawer, and can you open and confirm they work? (or just download Root Checker and have that check for you). If you have the stock recovery you will get updates in the future so long as you don't alter anything in the system with your root access. Updates will break root and you'll need to re-root it just like you did here, or you can install OTA Rootkeeper before updating and have it backup your root access and restore it after the update.

If you flashed a custom recovery you can still get OTA updates, you'll just need to flash the stock recovery first. I believe instructions are in the guide.. but in short you'll just download the factory images from Google (check the Factory Restore Guide for a link), extract them and find the file "recovery.img", then fastboot flash it from the bootloader using:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

You sound unsure of whether you have stock or a custom recovery right now.. you can check by powering down, then hold volume down and power until you're at the bootloader screen. Use Volume down to scroll to recovery move, then hit power (you may need to be plugged into a computer for this to proceed). If you see an android with a red triangle above him you have stock recovery.. just hold power for a bit now until it reboots for you. If you see CWM or TWRP then you flashed the custom one

 

[zaphodbblx]

I get a this
brian@brian-Inspiron-530:~$ cd Desktop
brian@brian-Inspiron-530:~/Desktop$ cd r3-nexus7-superboot
brian@brian-Inspiron-530:~/Desktop/r3-nexus7-superboot$ fastboot-linux oem unlock
fastboot-linux: command not found
any pointers

 

[zaphodbblx]

DOH! thanks for the 411 I feel like such a noob! although when following a guide I try to follow it to the letter so i don't really feel so bad! Thanks for the guide but I don't think its a good idea to assume every Linux user is comfortable with bash

 

[zaphodbblx]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

I cant find the file I am supposed to rename to make the recovery permanent

 

[zero neck]

Re: [GUIDE] How to Unlock and Root the Nexus 7

DOH! thanks for the 411 I feel like such a noob! although when following a guide I try to follow it to the letter so i don't really feel so bad! Thanks for the guide but I don't think its a good idea to assume every Linux user is comfortable with bash

I hear ya - actually I don't use linux so I kinda half-@ssed that part. I can clear it up tho.

I cant find the file I am supposed to rename to make the recovery permanent

What are you using to look? You can use root explorer app, which is paid, or you can use ES file explorer (free) with root access and turn on the ability to see system files.

Then in System you need to find recovery.p and change it to recovery.p.bak or what have you.

What recovery did you flash?

 

[Sam Leighton]

What is the logic of changing the recovery image filename end from .p to .p.bak? Is this so that android cannot find the default one and reboots into cmw recovery? also why do you suggest changing the filename to .p.bak when xda guide (here [GUIDE] Make your android device True Root! - by Napalm - xda-developers) suggests changing it just to .bak. (what does this extension even mean - is it just 'backup' and makes the file not run).

In any case I now am unlocked, have root / superuser permissions, and cmw 'sticks' (the dead android with the red exclamation mark is banished!).

Also thanks a lot, I could not get the xda guide to work and you sorted me out! (on 4.2 with ubuntu 12.10)

thanks,
Sam

 

[zero neck]

What is the logic of changing the recovery image filename end from .p to .p.bak? Is this so that android cannot find the default one and reboots into cmw recovery? also why do you suggest changing the filename to .p.bak when xda guide (here [GUIDE] Make your android device True Root! - by Napalm - xda-developers) suggests changing it just to .bak. (what does this extension even mean - is it just 'backup' and makes the file not run).

In any case I now am unlocked, have root / superuser permissions, and cmw 'sticks' (the dead android with the red exclamation mark is banished!).

Also thanks a lot, I could not get the xda guide to work and you sorted me out! (on 4.2 with ubuntu 12.10)

thanks,
Sam

Yeah that's right: android won't find it when you change the name. Doesn't matter what you change it to. I only suggested .p.bak bc that way you would remember it easier if you want to switch it back.

And bak is just for backup, yup.

Glad you got it working!