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Root [TOOL][ALPHA] ZTE Max Unbrick Tool [NEED TESTERS!!!]

SuperR

SuperR

Android Expert
Recognized Developer
DISCLAIMER: By using this tool, you agree that you are the only one responsible for anything good or bad that may occur. Use at your own risk.;)

For Boost Mobile ZTE Max N9520 only.

This is the ZTE Max Unbrick Tool

Download stormer_test_unbrick.iso

Use your favorite burning software to burn the iso image to cd. I like ImgBurn for windows because it is free, easy, and effective. Once the cd is burned, put it in your pc and reboot. Enter into your pc bios and change the boot order to making the cd drive the first to boot. Normally to get into pc bios, you need to press one of the following: del, f2, f10, or f12. It depends on the pc but it is normally right after the pc starts and it will say on the screen which one to press.

Once you get it booted on your pc, put your device in DFU mode (hold both volume buttons along with power). Plug in your device, click the green android icon on the desktop, press ok or enter on the password prompt, type "stormer" which is the codename for your device (you will see a chart) and press enter. Confirm with "y" then press enter, and wait.

Personally I make bootable usb flash drives instead of cd's. There is a program called Unetbootin that makes the process very easy.



Credits:
cooldudezach - figured out the partition locations
 
hmm... and you had the phone in dfu mode(black screen red light on) and after you plugged it in checked the device with the word qualcomm in it in the device menu on virtualbox?
 
might be virtualbox, may need to be run as a bootable usb drive or cd/dvd. or maybe that version of linux is just incapable, or maybe the device is incapable i really dont knowbut it should work as far as i could tell
 
stormer_test_unbrick.iso | by superr for Warp 4G
that is the original iso file i made the virtual machine from, if you want to try and make it a bootable through unetbootin, or burning to a disk you can use that, not sure what the problem is though its untested as of yet so it could be the iso or it could be the virtualbox or it could even be the phone model
 
So I tried installing stormer boot, recovery, root, and Philztouch stormer via the sd card and they all resulted in "installation aborted". However when I rebooted the message came up "Android is upgrading..." but it's been saying "starting apps" for almost two hours. Is that normal? Is there something else I should do?
 
lioness818 said:
question...my husband also has a boost max (brand new, unrooted)...is there anyway i can use his phone to unbrick mine?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately no. We should be able to get yours fixed though.
lioness818 said:
So I tried installing stormer boot, recovery, root, and Philztouch stormer via the sd card and they all resulted in "installation aborted". However when I rebooted the message came up "Android is upgrading..." but it's been saying "starting apps" for almost two hours. Is that normal? Is there something else I should do?
Click to expand...

Did you try making a bootable cd or bootable usb drive from the iso found here and booting your pc to it? That would certainly be my next step.
 
lioness818 said:
So I tried installing stormer boot, recovery, root, and Philztouch stormer via the sd card and they all resulted in "installation aborted". However when I rebooted the message came up "Android is upgrading..." but it's been saying "starting apps" for almost two hours. Is that normal? Is there something else I should do?
Click to expand...

Do you have philz recovery installed? Are you able to boot to it? If so, try wipe data/factory reset, and install a stock rom. If not, try the post above which will hopefully get philz installed for you.
 
lioness818 said:
would you mind outlining the steps for making a bootable cd and booting the pc to it please?
Click to expand...

Use your favorite burning software to burn the iso image to cd. I like ImgBurn for windows because it is free, easy, and effective. Once the cd is burned, put it in your pc and reboot. Enter into your pc bios and change the boot order to making the cd drive the first to boot. Normally to get into pc bios, you need to press one of the following: del, f2, f10, or f12. It depends on the pc but it is normally right after the pc starts and it will say on the screen which one to press.

edit: Personally I make bootable usb flash drives instead of cd's. There is a program called unetbootin that makes the process very easy. Let me know if you would like more info on this

edit2: updated the OP with full instructions on how to use the iso
 
We need some help. Can someone familiar with booting to cd or usb test the iso image out? Follow the bottom set of instructions in the OP, but instead of typing "stormer", type "tester". It will not flash anything to your device as long as you only use "tester".

We need to know if the device is recognized in the live environment, and typing "tester" as the codename will look for the device and display what block it's mounted on. Please let us know as soon as possible if it recognizes your device and what block it is on. Thank you!
 
Now I have Philz Touch 6 on the phone. I tried the stock roms I had saved on my sd card and the installations aborted. now how should i proceed?
 
lioness818 said:
Now I have Philz Touch 6 on the phone. I tried the stock roms I had saved on my sd card and the installations aborted. now how should i proceed?
Click to expand...

Did you use the unbrick tool iso to get PhilZ Touch Recovery on your device?
 
on a side note I bricked my phone prior to learning about this iso and all I did was install adb download the ZTE update from their site for the max and do an adb sideload from stock recovery to return to stock boost bloatware.

Edit: tried this out cause I had issues getting Philz every other way worked perfect except for two flaws
1) unetbootin did not make this bootable for me (might have been operator error)
2) when trying this on my main PC hooked up to my 46" lcd tv I could change the font in everything except terminal (which being the first time I tried it I needed to see) slapped it on an old xp machine with a crap moniter worked out just fine.

also I know this is a gripe but alot of users don't know DFU is a black screen with the red light on....just sayin
 
My Boost Max won't boot. I was out and had 11% power left. I tapped the battery booster button in the All in One Toolbox which redirected me to the play store to download and install Battery Booster Lite (by Imoblife Inc). I installed it and selected the smart battery option trying to maintain what was left of my power so I could take pics at my daughter's performance. However we were instructed to power off all phones. I shut my phone down and afterwards it would not boot at all. Even when I connected it to the charger once I got home, no red light, no charging indicator on the screen. It's been at least an hour and still nothing. PLEASE HELP!!
 
lioness818 said:
My Boost Max won't boot. I was out and had 11% power left. I tapped the battery booster button in the All in One Toolbox which redirected me to the play store to download and install Battery Booster Lite (by Imoblife Inc). I installed it and selected the smart battery option trying to maintain what was left of my power so I could take pics at my daughter's performance. However we were instructed to power off all phones. I shut my phone down and afterwards it would not boot at all. Even when I connected it to the charger once I got home, no red light, no charging indicator on the screen. It's been at least an hour and still nothing. PLEASE HELP!!
Click to expand...

If your device will not power on at all, there is not much you can do. If there is a removable battery, try removing it and put it back. If there is not, check to see if there is a reset pin hole or similar. If there is not, check for a way to disconnect the battery. If you can't, hope it is still under warranty.
 
So I'm assuming you've tried to start it in recovery mode "volume down and power button same time" and still nothing? or how about DFU where you hold "power + Up Volume and Down Volume" will you get a black screen and the red light stays on?

:edit: also on a really low battery you won't get any indication its charging
 
Thank you! This tool definitely worked for me! :)
EDIT: actually I noticed that if I install a ROM and I reboot it takes me back to recovery. Any ideas?
ANOTHER EDIT: So.... I just realized that I had to unplug my phone after I rebooted, which is why it would take my back to recovery... BUT ANYWAYS I confirm that it worked for me! :D Thank you SuperR!
 
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