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Root?

H

Haruo

Newbie
Hello all,

I figured that I would start the first thread in this section - Merry Christmas!

I've been trying to root this phone with every app I could find... I guess that because the Cymbal T is so new, it has come with a patched kernel so that obtaining root via exploits won't be as easy...

Please post here if y'all find something [emoji16]
 
lvt said:
Try the computer method.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was the first thing that came to mind, but as I'm about a thousand miles away from my desktop, I really can't try [emoji23]

This is why I should have a laptop...

But do you have some site to which you could quickly link me for ADB commands?
 
Haruo said:
Yeah, that was the first thing that came to mind, but as I'm about a thousand miles away from my desktop, I really can't try [emoji23]

This is why I should have a laptop...

But do you have some site to which you could quickly link me for ADB commands?
Click to expand...
Frankly I don't think there's anything root for this device yet. It was only released a few weeks ago. So might have to wait a while, until hopefully some dev or hack can get their hands on one, to work on it and find if a root strategy is possible, maybe with a computer
 
mikedt said:
Frankly I don't think there's anything root for this device yet. It was only released a few weeks ago. So might have to wait a while, until hopefully some dev or hack can get their hands on one, to work on it and find if a root strategy is possible, maybe with a computer
Click to expand...

I was able to gain access to the recovery mode by using the combination VolUp + Power. I've been able to get in just by holding VolUp when the boot logo appears, too.

It seems like a bit of a recovery already exists - with a function for sideloading system updates via ADB. I'm gonna look into porting TWRP. Once that is done, we may be closer, if not already there, to having the potential for root.
 
I ran into a roadblock while trying to obtain information for building the recovery - I cannot access the boot and recovery partitions without root access, and so retrieval of files like recovery.fstab cannot be achieved. ZTE has not published any update packages, so I cannot extract the partition images from them. I guess that we will need to wait for root, then...

I tried all if not every up-to-date PC/Android rooting application on the XDA forum's root guide, including a bunch not listed there, to no avail. I also attempted to sideload a superuser binary .zip, which is a working method from what I have read, but for some reason ADB will not sideload the package, instead giving me an “error:closed“ message... I honestly do not know about that one, but I noticed that the ro.adb.secure property is set to 1 (enabled) in the build.prop, and I have read that this can prevent ADB access from the recovery, so it all seems to make sense.

I obtained the kernel source from the ZTE Open Source website, and I have published it on GitHub here: https://github.com/imasaru/kernel_zte_cymbalT. I can only do that much for now...

Also, does anyone know what the persist.sys.chinese.enable build property is supposed to do? I found it while browsing the build.prop, and could not find anything applicable to this from Internet search.
 
PC version of KingoRoot gives you temporary root until you manually reboot it. Root checker shows it works, and system files are open for navigation afterwards with root explorer.

One problem after rooting though... The outside flip display stays on, even after closing, with no way to shut it off in menus anywhere. There may be another way to do it in build prop. Reboot shuts it off but you lose root with it. But being a ZTE, they don't respond well to a build prop change, so be careful.

That's all I got, haven't tried anything else (moving files, changing prop values etc)

It's a good start anyway...
 
Great news! I will try KingoRoot again soon. I've been waiting for at least something... I don't know if this is quite correct, but we can use the temporary root access to gain some necessary files for making a custom recovery...

EDIT: Oh wait, bootloader's locked, isn't it... I will look into that sometime when I have the chance. My school term ends in a week, so maybe soon!
 
Past experiences with modifying ZTE files, including build prop edits really piss the OS off somehow. It may soft brick, maybe worse lol.. I don't know. But yes now we can rake any system files needed to build something, if desired. But I don't see too much you can do with it. It's a fun little device, gonna play around some more before I smoke it flashing anything :)

I didn't even look into the bootloader yet... ZTE may allow unlocking, but since it's tracFone branded there may not be the option. It can indeed be unlocked, and ZTE itself states that it is both GSM/CDMA compatible and also supports T-Mobile's Band 12 LTE. I'll report back if I find anything.

Good luck!
 
... I had a temporary root for a while, and now it seems like all my apps are gradually being deleted on every reboot, and being replaced with the stock apps. This is devious on the part of ZTE.

EDIT: OK, phew, my SD card had not finished mounting. I was about to go crazy.
 
Haruo said:
... I had a temporary root for a while, and now it seems like all my apps are gradually being deleted on every reboot, and being replaced with the stock apps. This is devious on the part of ZTE.
EDIT: OK, phew, my SD card had not finished mounting. I was about to go crazy.
Click to expand...

Are you deleting system apps? That's brave lol... ZTE phones normally blow up if you root and do that, or modify/delete those system apps.
 
Oh my... I forgot to reply, saw this message a few months later, and forgot again! I apologize!

I did not experience any of that... It just goes away when I reboot. Only now am I actually reading about these permanently lit screens and "stuck at ZTE logo" problems... Boy, am I uncareful...

I just felt like re-rooting today, so I did, and while recalling that the system apps would refuse to be uninstalled, I stumbled upon this: disabling write protection for the system partition (AndroidForums).
The defining moment came when I tried to mount /system with root permissions, but to no avail.

I haven't experienced any symptoms like explained in the big bold red text in the OP concerning rooting alone, so I wanna give it a try.

However, I kind of want to have a proper recovery first, just in case... This is a new lesson in being careful :D I would take a stab at porting TWRP, but I don't have time...

I at least made a nandroid backup, though.
 
UGH. After I created a build environment, I just got impatient and disabled system write protection. It seems to have been successful, and now I am re-rooting. Ehehe...

Now for those system apps... (Any precautions to take here?)

EDIT: No luck. Instant reboots while Kingo tries to root (from PC). I read about this... like there being a "root checker" in ZTE phones, or something. I'll just re-enable write protection and continue with my life, then.

EDIT 2: Yep, rooting is successful again after re-enabling.
 
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