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Root rooting for dummies

HasH_BrowN said:
Lol. :) That's same link, except your providing more info. ;).
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Well, the link (rooting guide) tells us how to root using the download mode, but we can do more than that in download mode. With most devices, one would need to root first before installing custom recovery. But for LG devices that can be rooted via download mode, it's possible to install TWRP directly. So my instructions reuse steps in the rooting guide (because it has screenshots!) to achieve a different goal.
 
WarrantyVoider said:
Well, the link (rooting guide) tells us how to root using the download mode, but we can do more than that in download mode. With most devices, one would need to root first before installing custom recovery. But for LG devices that can be rooted via download mode, it's possible to install TWRP direcTtly. So my instructions reuse steps in the rooting guide (because it has screenshots!) to achieve a different goal.
Click to expand...
:pScreenshots always do it. Great write up you did. :)
 
you have both been so very kind and understanding about my ineptness. I still cant pull up recovery its bootlooping on the LG screen. but im going slow. rereading all the links you gave to me.. but im sure i will be back to ask more uestions lol
 
Unplug the USB cable, open the back cover, disconnect the battery, reinsert the battery, and close the back cover. Now the phone is completely off. Hold volume-down and power at the same time for about 6-10 seconds. The phone should attempt to enter into recovery. If you get a screen with red, blue and yellow text, you still have the stock recovery. If you get a blue "teamwin" splash screen followed by the TWRP menu, TWRP is successfully installed. If you get something else or nothing, then your stock recovery was likely replaced but installation of TWRP failed.

Are you able to get into the download mode? Step 6 of the following tells you how. Step 7 shows you what it looks like.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/guide-root-method-lg-devices-t3049772
If you want to power off to try at another time, unplug USB and temporarily disconnect the battery to power off. The screen says not to unplug, but if you're not issuing commands on the PC side, it's okay to unplug.

Steps 8 and 9 show you how to interface your PC to the phone's download mode. When you get the prompt in download mode ("SPECIAL COMMAND : ENTER, LEAVE" and "#", see the screenshot in step 9), type "sh" and press the enter key. You should get another "#". Then issue the command "ls -l /storage/external_SD" (case sensitive) and press enter. At this point you should see the contents of your SD card if the phone is able to respond. If you get this far, it's a good sign. Issue the command to install TWRP (the "dd if=..." line as stated in the other post) and you should be on your way.
 
i have a question if i may.. what's the differnce between buyin g a unlocked phone and a rooted one? is it worth getting one or would i still have to root it? i was reading about the law change and was wondering if i could get your thoughts.
 
You can "cheat" and buy one setup.

OR

You could continue with what your doing and learn some great info. Once you figure this out, it'll get easier and much more fun. Technology is at a point where IT IS going to change. Having the knowledge of "the now" will make the transition into the future tech smoother and less of a reschooling. Plus knowing how to do this on one device will give you the tools (know how) for your next new device.


Either way its your decision. Nobody is going to look at you any different and we will still be here to help you out when you need it. :)
 
Heavenly Knyte said:
i have a question if i may.. what's the differnce between buyin g a unlocked phone and a rooted one? is it worth getting one or would i still have to root it? i was reading about the law change and was wondering if i could get your thoughts.
Click to expand...
An unlocked phone is usable on any service/carrier. Unlocked CDMA must use CDMA, unlocked GSM must use GSM. Virgin, Sprint, Boost, and a few more are CDMA (which most phones in USA are). ATT, Verizon, and few others are GSM (most of the world)(require SIM card). Unless it came rooted, you would have to root it.
A rooted phone allows you to have administrative control. You decide what runs, what gets deleted, and other bigwig decisions. You can debloated your ROM, install special mods, and other nifty things. A rooted phone doesn't mean its unlocked for other carriers.

Apples and oranges.
 
Heavenly Knyte said:
trying it now as i type.. again thanks everyone for all the help. you have no idea how much i appericate it
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If you haven't applied the bootloop fix zip yet, I'd advise holding off on that part. There's something that should be backed up first. If you're not intimidated by the commands you have to type, I can give you instructions to back up the data (and apply the fix directly) in download mode. Otherwise, I can make a zip that you can flash in TWRP once you get that installed.

If all of this is too overwhelming, give us some feedback so that we can see how to help you better.

As for buying a new phone, "unlocked" refers to being able to use a different carrier and "root" implies being able to use different software (roms, system apps, etc.). Like HasH_BrowN said, different things.
(By the way, Verizon is CDMA. T-Mobile is GSM.)
 
yeah i was just wondering. i have actually enjoyed learning how to do this. and evven with my mistakes im still learning a lot. i was just curious about the differences. cause i know a lot of people who are even more lost when it comes to cell phones than i am.
 
the one that is broke is Boost. i was just scrolling around reading and comparing prices on new phones in case i really jack this one up and saw the ad from walmart about the unlocked ones.
 
Yeah i havent done the bootloop fix yet. i was reading up on so much stuff and with work so the only thing i really got done last night was to get the 2.0 cable plugged in and fell asleep while the phone charged

And thanks for explaining that for me.. Yeah an unlocked phone really wouldnt fill my needs. i need the internal memory more than anything.
 
I added you on my follow list, you have any problems and I'll answer if I can.
Take your time, you control the schedule. We're here to help when needed.

Re: falling asleep working on phone
:)Learning Android through osmosis:)
 
WarrantyVoider said:
Unplug the USB cable, open the back cover, disconnect the battery, reinsert the battery, and close the back cover. Now the phone is completely off. Hold volume-down and power at the same time for about 6-10 seconds. The phone should attempt to enter into recovery. If you get a screen with red, blue and yellow text, you still have the stock recovery. If you get a blue "teamwin" splash screen followed by the TWRP menu, TWRP is successfully installed. If you get something else or nothing, then your stock recovery was likely replaced but installation of TWRP failed.

Are you able to get into the download mode? Step 6 of the following tells you how. Step 7 shows you what it looks like.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/guide-root-method-lg-devices-t3049772
If you want to power off to try at another time, unplug USB and temporarily disconnect the battery to power off. The screen says not to unplug, but if you're not issuing commands on the PC side, it's okay to unplug.

Steps 8 and 9 show you how to interface your PC to the phone's download mode. When you get the prompt in download mode ("SPECIAL COMMAND : ENTER, LEAVE" and "#", see the screenshot in step 9), type "sh" and press the enter key. You should get another "#". Then issue the command "ls -l /storage/external_SD" (case sensitive) and press enter. At this point you should see the contents of your SD card if the phone is able to respond. If you get this far, it's a good sign. Issue the command to install TWRP (the "dd if=..." line as stated in the other post) and you should be on your way.
Click to expand...





i just got back into the recovery menu.. red blue and yellow and it still says formatting... manual select menu
 
Heavenly Knyte said:
And thanks for explaining that for me.. Yeah an unlocked phone really wouldnt fill my needs. i need the internal memory more than anything.
Click to expand...
Technically speaking, you don't need root to expand internal memory/storage on this particular device. If you're comfortable dealing with a rooted device, you would have more options and get better support by rooting though.

Heavenly Knyte said:
i just got back into the recovery menu.. red blue and yellow and it still says formatting... manual select menu
Click to expand...
Good. That's the stock recovery that comes with the phone. Next is to see whether you can get into download mode. My previous posts have info on what to do. You need a Windows PC to interface with the phone. I hope that's not a problem.

To recap, the Windows files you need are in the prerequisites of:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/guide-root-method-lg-devices-t3049772
Then do steps 1 and 3 to get the PC ready to interface with the phone. Steps 6, 7, 8, and 9 get you into download mode.

In download mode, you control the phone from the PC side. Once at the "#" prompt, type "sh" and press enter. You can test whether the connection with the phone is okay by "ls -l /storage/external_SD" as mentioned before.

Now, to back up some device info before applying the bootloop fix. Two choices. One, back up all of the internal memory. For this, you will need to have 4GB of free space on your SD card and it will take a long time to copy 4GB of data. If you ever need to restore anything, I can tell you how to extract it manually. There's no program to automate the process though. Two, back up only the part of the internal memory that would be erased by the bootloop fix. That part is only about 16MB.
Choice One: the command to type is
Code: 
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=/storage/external_SD/backup-all.img bs=1048576
Choice Two:
Code: 
dd if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc of=/storage/external_SD/misc.img

The backup is saved to the SD, named either "backup-all.img" or "misc.img". Choice two should be fine in most cases.

As I stated in my other post, you can install TWRP with this command:
Code: 
dd if=/storage/external_SD/e2nas_twrp_2860.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery
This assumes you've already downloaded the TWRP image (e2nas_twrp_2860.img) and put it at the root of your SD card.

If it's still confusing or intimating, I can try to get access to a Windows machine to make some screenshots. That would have to wait until I have some more time though. Let me know if you need that.
 
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