Root How to disable that damn system write protection

[Masterchief87]

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[Masterchief87]

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[master odysues]

I just thought of something that I haven't mentioned yet. Do not under any circumstances try to factory reset your phone from the settings menu.

Honestly. I'm not trying to be rude or anything but thats the first thing that all ppl that have root should now ! Even if you are a noob

 

[Masterchief87]

Honestly. I'm not trying to be rude or anything but thats the first thing that all ppl that have root should now ! Even if you are a noob

I didn't think of it at first because it seemed like a no brainer but there are a couple who bricked their phones because they tried to do a factory reset from the settings menu when they had deleted the stock recovery to get system rw. The same thing might happen if someone tries to factory reset with TWRP on the wrong partition since it won't be expecting the recovery to be on the boot partition when you hit the reset button.

 

[Dhlongfellow]

md5 for MPCS_ZMAX_STOCK_RECOVERY_RESTORE.zip
376d4e984c576b65c35f6118cbe6be3c

md5 for MPCS_ZMAX_STOCK_RECOVERY_RESTORE.zip
376d4e984c576b65c35f6118cbe6be3c

First, download and flash MPCS_ZMAX_TWRP_&_BOOT_RESTORE.zip (check and make sure the md5 matches the one I posted in post#2 before you flash it) just to make sure that everything is in the right place. Next, download the system and boot backup I put in post#2 of hroark13's TWRP thread, unzip it and place it in /storage/sdcard1/TWRP/backups/a27fjfdj(or whatever yours says), then download MPCS_ZMAX_STOCK_RECOVERY_RESTORE.zip and check the md5 (if the md5 doesn't match, dont flash it) then reboot into recovery and restore the backup. After you restore the backup, reboot into android to make sure everything is working right. Next, flash the MPCS_ZMAX_STOCK_RECOVERY_RESTORE.zip you just downloaded then go to the main screen in TWRP and hit reboot then recovery. If it boots you into the stock recovery then you have unrooted your ZMAX and restored the stock recovery. Then use the volume buttons to select the option that says reboot system now and press the power button to confirm. Then you're done.

md5 for MPCS_ZMAX_STOCK_RECOVERY_RESTORE.zip
376d4e984c576b65c35f6118cbe6be3c

This worked perfectly, thanks for the recovery.

 

[Masterchief87]

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[auburn2eugene]

You alternate between the two. For example, I flashed the switcher zip then I hit the option to reboot recovery so I could boot into android with the ability to write to system. Later I decided to flash butternoob v2 4.4.4 so after I downloaded it, I hit reboot which put my phone in recovery mode. Then I flashed the restore zip and then hit reboot recovery so that I could make a new backup and flash the Rom. Then after making a new backup, wiping, and flashing the Rom, I flashed the switcher zip again and hit reboot recovery in order to boot into the new Rom with system rw.

The two zips I have posted are compatible only with the metropcs stock Rom and butternoob v2.

Thank you for making these zips. So I have a question, I know these are for metropcs only so far... However I am running BNv2 and now I am running 4.4.4

Will this work on my phone now? Or would I have to flash back to stock, and wait for your T-Mobile release? I really need r/w capabilities, but don't feel comfortable using adb. I am not stupid enough to mess in there since i don't know what I'm doing there, like AT ALL

 

[EshVel]

Ok so Ive been messin with these zips for a while now and theyre doin their job flawlessly one thing I noticed right now though is that I cant access my SD card to transfer pics from device to card, what could it be? I had the twrp boot recover zip flashed last...

 

[tonylc74]

I had that problem with my music all I did was unmount then remount my SD in settings and it was normal again.

 

[EshVel]

I had that problem with my music all I did was unmount then remount my SD in settings and it was normal again.

Tried it, it didnt work for me, could it have to do with having deleted the factory file manager? Just asking...

 

[tonylc74]

Which of the zips did you most recently flash? And when you rebooted did you reboot into system or reboot recovery? I'm just asking because possibly when you hit reboot from whichever zip you flashed and what partition you booted into may have left it unmounted. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it correctly or not but in the past I've had that problem where for some reason the SD isn't read during boot.

 

[EshVel]

Which of the zips did you most recently flash? And when you rebooted did you reboot into system or reboot recovery? I'm just asking because possibly when you hit reboot from whichever zip you flashed and what partition you booted into may have left it unmounted. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it correctly or not but in the past I've had that problem where for some reason the SD isn't read during boot.

Last one I flashed was the restore and made sure I rebooted recovery first and then rebooted system, its reading the SD cause it can see all my music and pics on it, but if I try to access it from file manager it keeps showing just the internal...

 

[Masterchief87]

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[Masterchief87]

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[tonylc74]

Masterchief87, thanks for stepping in on this I'm no expert and I hope that what I had mentioned to his problem made sense I try to help when I can.

 

[auburn2eugene]

So far I have made and uploaded 2 files.
Both of these zips are for the MetroPCS stock ROM and I have also tested them on ButternoobV2 4.4.4 since posting them.
The first is MPCS_TWRP_&_BOOT_SWITCHER.zip. When you flash this zip in recovery it will flash TWRP to the boot partition and flash the stock boot.img for MetroPCS to the recovery partition. This will allow you to boot into android with the ability to mount /system rw while keeping TWRP on the boot partition in case you need it. After you flash this zip, if you "reboot normally" your phone will boot into twrp recovery, and if you "reboot recovery" your phone will boot into android with full root capabilities. Because of the locked bootloader TWRP cannot write to the system from the boot partition. You have to flash the second zip in order to be able to restore a backup, factory reset, or flash roms.

The second is MPCS_TWRP_&_BOOT_RESTORE.zip. When you flash this zip it will put the boot.img back on the boot partition and put TWRP back on the recovery partition. After you flash this zip, you need to "reboot recovery" before you are able to restore a backup, factory reset, or flash roms.



You must check the md5 sum for both zips after you download them in order to make sure that everything is good. If you skip this very important step you could mess your phone up badly. If your md5 does not match, delete the files and download them again and then check the md5 again.
You can use THIS APP to check the md5 and make sure that you did not get a bad download.
If there is anything that you are not 100% sure of, ask before you flash!!

md5 for MPCS_TWRP_&_BOOT_SWITCHER.zip
20f5bba0f73497426cfd532de6e3e08b
Download: MPCS_TWRP_&_BOOT_SWITCHER.zip

md5 for MPCS_TWRP_&_BOOT_RESTORE.zip
3dd33dd835d1031bebb407644c03f40a
Download: MPCS_TWRP_&_BOOT_RESTORE.zip

His



I can verify this works on T-Mobile Zmax running BNv2. I cannot thank you enough Masterchief. This should be the preferred method for root... This is the root I was waiting for.

 

[BigDaddyE40]

How do I use the md5 check you linked?

 

[EarlyMon]

How do I use the md5 check you linked?

Md5 checksum tool and instructions here -

http://androidforums.com/threads/adb-guide-updated-2014-11-11.443072/#post-5389081

That's the second post, don't scroll up like others have.

If the output from the md5 tool doesn't match the linked value, you have a bad download.

Delete it, redo.

If you need an md5 utility for your phone, check out "AFV File Verifier for Android™"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.afvx

Useful for when you download directly to your phone (kernels, roms, etc) - verify before going into recovery and flashing.

 

[Masterchief87]

Md5 checksum tool and instructions here -

http://androidforums.com/threads/adb-guide-updated-2014-11-11.443072/#post-5389081

That's the second post, don't scroll up like others have.

If the output from the md5 tool doesn't match the linked value, you have a bad download.

Delete it, redo.

If you need an md5 utility for your phone, check out "AFV File Verifier for Android™"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.afvx

Useful for when you download directly to your phone (kernels, roms, etc) - verify before going into recovery and flashing.

Thanks for the help EM

 

[dubtee]

Thanks for the uploads master chief... Now to get reckless

 

[EshVel]

Wait so you aren't even able to look at the stuff on your SD card?

Nvm, sorry for the headache you guys, for some reason it replicated some folders from the internal into external so whenever I looked at external it looked almost exactly the same so it confused me, I dug deeper and checked every folder to find out my external was showing all along it just looked like I was seeing the internal... thank you Masterchief and tonylc!!!

 

[CYCONUMNUM]

your zips are flawless...thanx for making it easy for simple people like me.

 

[FateZero]

Might be a silly question but what should I backup so in case of a brick or bootloop I'll be safe?

 

[auburn2eugene]

Might be a silly question but what should I backup so in case of a brick or bootloop I'll be safe?

It's always a good idea to make a backup... But I made mine before I flashed BNv2

 

[Masterchief87]

Might be a silly question but what should I backup so in case of a brick or bootloop I'll be safe?

Its always a good idea to keep a full backup of the system and boot partitions just in case you mess something up later. Its an even better idea to backup everything (system, boot, and data) because losing your data and having to reinstall all your apps and do your setup gets aggravating.

Also, as long as the md5 sums for both files match the ones in the 2nd post the zips will work perfectly.