Archive for March 2016
How to unlock your Droid Turbo bootloader, install TWRP and gain root access
READ THIS FIRST
Please consider the following:
- Ask yourself these two questions: "Why do I want to unlock my bootloader? Why do I need root access?" If the answer to either one of those is "I don't know," don't do it. Both of these actions weaken the security of your phone, and there's no reason to do that if you're not sure why.
- This guide is for the Droid Turbo, model XT1254. It is not for the Droid Turbo 2, and it is not for any phone that is not named Droid Turbo.
- Standard XDA rules apply. I'm not responsible for anything you do, and neither is anyone else other than you.
- I'm assuming that you are running a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, I can't help you. If you're running Linux, you shouldn't need help.
- This method is not free. It costs $25 (USD). If that's not okay with you, don't do this.
- Once your bootloader is unlocked, you CANNOT safely re-lock and unlock it again. See this thread for what happens when you try to do that:http://forum.xda-developers.com/droi...1#post65095391
Still here? Cool.
Section 0: Installing Firmware Version SU4TL-44
1. Go to Settings -> About Phone
2. Look at your Build Number. Is it SU4TL-44? Look at your System Version. Is it 23.21.44.quark_verizon.verizon.en.US vzw? Look at your Kernel Version. Is it 3.10.40-perf-g90ddf4a? If the answer to all of these questions is yes, skip to section 1. If the answer is no, keep reading.
3. Is your Build Number higher than SU4TL-44? If so, you may be out of luck. This guide will probably not work for you. In the future, please remember that the cardinal rule of unlocking anything is never, ever take the OTA unless someone knowledgeable tells you to.
BACKUP YOUR DATA IF YOU NEED TO PERFORM THE FOLLOWING STEPS! ALL DATA ON YOUR PHONE WILL BE ERASED!
4. Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here: Link.
5. Download and install the Motorola Device Manager from here: https://motorola-global-portal.custh...ail/a_id/88481
6. Download the SU4TL-44 firmware package from here: http://rootjunkysdl.com/getdownload....44_CFC.xml.zip
7. Extract the contents of the firmware package to the installation directory of Minimal ADB and Fastboot. The default install directory on 64-bit Windows is C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot.
8. Power off your phone.
9. Hold the volume down button and press the power button to boot into bootloader mode. You should see a green android lying on his back with his chest open, and some information about your phone. It's much less gruesome than it sounds.
10. Plug your phone into your PC.
11. Navigate to the Minimal ADB and Fastboot installation directory.
12. Double click on VRZ_XT1254_SU4TL-44_44_CFC.bat.
13. You should see a command prompt pop up, and the script will use Fastboot to flash all of the SU4TL-44 firmware images. When it finishes, it will say "press any key to continue." Press the "any" key to continue. Where's the "any" key, you ask? Keep looking. You'll find it.
Section 1: Unlocking the Bootloader
1. Download Sunshine from here: http://theroot.ninja/download.html
2. Move the apk file to a convenient location on your phone. If you downloaded it with your phone, it's in your downloads folder already, so leave it there.
3. Use any file browser on your phone to navigate to the folder that contains the Sunshine apk file. Tap on it to install it.
4. If a message comes up and says that you need to enable installation of apps from unknown sources, follow the instructions on that message to enable it.
5. Enable Wi-Fi on your phone if it is disabled. Even if you aren't connected to a Wi-Fi network, it still needs to be on.
6. Open your app drawer and start Sunshine.
7. Follow the instructions.
8. If, when your phone reboots, you see a "Warning: The bootloader is unlocked" message, you have successfully unlocked your bootloader. If you do not see this message, open Sunshine again and follow the directions again.
Section 2: Installing TWRP
Team Win Recovery Project is arguably the most important tool to have on a bootloader-unlocked phone. This is how you install it:
METHOD 1: Using Fastboot
This is the method that I prefer. If you can't get TWRP working properly using this method, skip to method 2 below.
1. Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2317790. If you already did this in section 0, you don't have to do it again.
2. Download the latest TWRP .img file from here: https://dl.twrp.me/quark/
3. Download and install the Motorola Device Manager from here: https://motorola-global-portal.custh...ail/a_id/88481. If you already did this in section 0, you don't have to do it again.
3. Rename the file that you downloaded in step 2 to TWRP.img
4. Copy TWRP.img to the directory that you installed Minimal ADB and Fastboot to. The default location on an installation of 64-bit Windows is C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot.
5. Turn off your phone.
6. Hold the volume down button and press the power button to boot into bootloader mode. You should see a green android lying on his back with his chest open, and some information about your phone. Poor little guy...
7. Plug your phone into your PC.
8. Double click on the Minimal ADB and Fastboot shortcut that's on your desktop. It will open a command prompt.
9. Type "fastboot devices" without quotes and press enter. If it gives you your phone's serial number, you're good to go. If it gives you nothing, your device is not detected. This can happen for several reasons, and I won't discuss them here. However, if you followed these directions and all of your hardware is functioning properly, you should be good to go.
10. Type "fastboot flash recovery TWRP.img" without quotes and press enter. It should tell you that the flash was successful.
11. Highlight Recovery on your phone using the volume up and down buttons.
12. Press the power button to boot into TWRP.
13. TWRP will boot, and it will ask you if you want to allow write access to the system partition. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALLOW THIS. Check the box that says to never ask this question again.
14. Select Reboot, followed by System to boot the phone normally.
METHOD 2: Using Sunshine and TWRP Manager
1. Download TWRP Manager from the Google Play Store.
2. Open Sunshine.
3. Follow the instructions until Sunshine tells you that it has obtained root access.
4. Open TWRP Manager.
5. Tap Device Name and select Motorola Moto MAXX (quark).
6. Tap Install Recovery.
7. Hold the volume down button and press the power button to boot into bootloader mode.
8. Highlight Recovery with the volume buttons and press the power button to select it.
9. TWRP will boot, and it will ask you if you want to allow write access to the system partition. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALLOW THIS. Check the box that says to never ask this question again.
10. Select Reboot, followed by System to boot the phone normally.
Section 3: Gaining Root Access
If you intend to install a custom rom, these steps are not necessary. Custom roms almost always come with root access built in. Refer to the thread of your custom rom of choice for installation instructions.
If you do not want a custom rom, and you simply want root access on the stock Droid Turbo rom, continue reading.
1. Download SuperSU from here: http://download.chainfire.eu/supersu-stable
2. Transfer that file to a convenient location on your phone. If you downloaded the file with your phone, it's in your downloads folder. You can keep it there.
3. Turn off your phone.
4. Hold the volume down button and press the power button to boot into bootloader mode. You should see a green android lying on his back with his chest open, and some information about your phone. Andy, what have they done to you?
5. Use the volume up and down buttons to highlight "Recovery mode."
6. Press the power button to select Recovery mode.
7. Select Install from the TWRP main menu.
8. Navigate to the location where you saved the file that you downloaded in step 1, and select it.
9. Swipe the bar at the bottom of the screen to flash this zip file.
10. When it finishes, select Reboot System to boot your phone normally.
Section 4: Miscellaneous
Here are some links to stuff you can flash now that your bootloader is unlocked:
Official Cyanogenmod 12.1 (Android 5.1.1): https://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=quark
Official Cyanogenmod 13.0 (Android 6.0.1) Preview Build: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto...t1254-t3315912
Resurrection Remix (a great Cyanogenmod-based rom, Android 5.1.1): http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto...5-5-5-t3197643
Resurrection Remix Work in Progress (Android 6.0.1): http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto...remix-t3316232
Computerfreek274's optimized stock rom: http://forum.xda-developers.com/droi...ed1-0-t3255945
Change the splash screen (the bootloader unlocked warning message) that you see when you first start your phone: http://forum.xda-developers.com/droi...uests-t3262873
Xposed framework and installer (make sure to use the sdk22-arm version if you're running a lollipop rom, sdk23-arm if you're running marshmallow): Click Here
Pon-3 Audio Mod (modified and improved Viper4Android. It makes your phone sound better.): http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2530976
Theme your TWRP with different colors: http://forum.xda-developers.com/andr...olors-t3310235
Section 5: Troubleshooting
Issue: When you try to boot TWRP, you see a screen that says "no command." TWRP does not boot.
Solution: The screen you are seeing is the stock Droid Turbo recovery menu (the menu that you're trying to replace with TWRP). If you see this after flashing TWRP, one of two things happened:
-You did not boot into the recovery menu immediately after flashing TWRP, and it was therefore replaced by the stock recovery menu.
-When you flashed TWRP, the process did not complete successfully.
The solution to both of these problems is to repeat section 2 and follow the instructions more carefully. If you used method 1 before, try method 2.
Issue: When TWRP asked you if you wanted to allow write access to the system partition, you selected no. Now you cannot flash anything.
Solution: At the main TWRP menu, select Mount. Uncheck the box that says "Mount system partition as read-only."
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