Warning! I am just a newbie noting my steps. I do not take responsibility for anyone who messes up their phones using the steps below. Be warned! Proceed at your own risk.
Still working on edits below
The story:
LS740 by Virgin Mobile stock Software version LS740ZV3 . Towelroot method works. OTA updates push to ZV4 and root was lost. Towelroot no longer works. Gave up on rooting and OTA updates Software version to ZV5. Phone is slow after using multiple apps. Always have to "Clear tasks" by holding home button to help speed things up. Needs constant use of built-in widget to "Clear Ram".
My steps to get root and boost performance on LG Volt Software version LS740ZV5 using Windows 8.1.
Requirements:
Windows 8.1 Computer
microSD card USB reader / writer
Fully charged LG Volt LS740 with Software version LS740ZV5 (
Important)
Class 10 microSD Card
USB Type A male to micro USB Type B male data cable
Install these Windows Programs first:
DP Tools v1.0 (untested:
DP Tools v2.0) (Author:
Daniel Pinto's Website)
LG Unified Drivers version 3.14.1 (Thanks to
bg4m3r:
related thread)
Partition Wizard 9 (Optional, still experimenting with it)
SD Formatter
Put these files in the microSD card first and put the microSD into the phone after:
TWRP Volt Lollipop 2.8.5.0 (Thanks to
whoshotjr2006 Developer:
related thread)
- The file name should be:
twrpvolt_lollipop.img
(Thanks to
kwknott Developer:
related thread)
-Check to make sure the Rom you downloaded is in a zip file and has a matching MD5: c7783ec02d618fb8a1db433f755d3b62
- The file name should be:
ZV5_Rooted_Deodex_Full.zip
1) Install all the Windows programs that are needed.
2) Use the LG Backup app in the phone to backup everything to the micro SD Card.
-I think this LG Backup is really optional but I did it anyway just in case.
3) On the LS740 go to:
-"Settings" > "About phone" > "Software Information"
-Repeatedly tap on "Build number" until a caption says you are now a developer
-return to "Settings" > "Developer options" > put a check next to "USB debugging"
-The following may be optional but it helped me see what the phone was doing while working on it. Also, the second thing I did so I can install the Amazon App Store but it might be important to do it anyway. You should put these options back to default when you're done. I'll remind you to.
-return to "Settings" > "Display" > tap "Screen timeout" until it is set says "After 15 min of inactivity"
-return to "Settings" > "Security" > put a check next to "Unknown sources"
4) Connect your USB cable to your computer.
-After the computer finishes recognizing the device, the following should appear on the top left of the LS740: Slow charging, USB connected (Charge only), USB debugging connected (Touch to disable USB debugging)
5) Open the DP Tools program. (This part is explained in detail and may look long but is really quick and easy to do. The backing up part is what takes a while.)
-I don't exactly remember what happened the first time but hopefully you should see the model of the phone on the white box located near the top left of the DP Tools program.
-I think on the phone a pop up occurs where you'll have to allow something as DP Tools is trying to pair with it.
-Before clicking the "Root Device (LG Only)" button you might want to hit the Backup button beside it first.
-On the computer you should see a window that asks you where to save the file and what to name it.
-Once you proceed, you'll need to confirm and tap "Backup my data" on your phone. This is where the wait takes a bit but is worth it especially if you want to revert to before your phone is rooted and stuff.
-I would appreciate some feedback as to whether this is a waste of time.
-Click the Root Device (LG Only) and a command prompt will pop up with the following
-Starting adb server..
-Waiting for device..
-Device detected!
-Pushing files..
-Yada Yada Yada
-Rebooting..
-Looking for LG serial port..
-Serial port not found, please insert the phone manually into Download mode.
-Disconnect the USB cable and turn off the phone.
-Then press and hold the Volume Up button, and while you're doing that connect the USB Cable again.
-Waiting for device..
-Follow those instructions to a T and if you mess up just let the phone power on and let it finish loading so you can start back at step 4.
-If you succeeded your phone should now be displaying a Firmware Update screen and the command prompt should instruct you to do something.
-On the computer make sure you are focused on the command prompt window so that it registers your commands when you press Ctrl+C
-Then type N and hit the ENTER/return key to reboot the phone.
-The phone should now reboot and "Android is upgrading" should show on the screen for a little while if you're paying attention.
-The command prompt on the computer should be done at this point so you can "Press any key" to close the prompt.
-DP Tools should still be open and now you can click "Check Root" to make sure the device is rooted.
-A command prompt will pop up on the computer and I think maybe this is when SuperSU comes up on the phone and asks for permission for something. Just hit the "Grant permission" button.
-The command prompt should display something like the following.
root@x5:/ #
-The # at the end should confirm that it worked and so you can close that command prompt window.
6) Install
[ROOT] Rashr - Flash Tool by
DsLNeXuS (Aschot Mkrtchyan) from the Google Play Store.
-This is a full free version but do support
DsLNeXuS (Aschot Mkrtchyan) by donating to him with the built in donate button accessible by pressing the three horizontal lines at the top left of the screen on your phone.
-On the first time using this app, allow SuperSU to grant permission for this app to have root access.
7) Open the Rashr app and tap the "Recovery from Storage" option.
-Tap on /storage/emulated/
-Tap on /storage/
-Tap on external_SD/
-Scroll down and find the twrp_lollipop.img file
-Tap Yes, please to confirm.
-Tap Yes, please to reboot to recovery.
8) We should be in the TWRP screen now and you should see Team Win Recovery Project v2.8.5.0 at the very top. It is recommended that we use the "Backup" option so that we can revert it to before we screw with it. Also, it is good to note that the screen timeout is short while on this recovery mode and you may need to hit the home button and Swipe the bar at the bottom to unlock the screen.
-Tap Backup
-Tap all of the partitions to back up and make sure they all are marked with an X.
-Tap on the tiny bar where it says Storage:
-This should be under the No Encryption and Refresh Sizes boxes and above the "Enable compression" and "Skip MD5 generation during backup."
-I left those options unchecked.
-Select external_SD by tapping on it.
-Tap OK.
-Swipe to Back Up.
(I believe this backup is called a nandroid backup which is the most complete and fastest way to backup the phone.)
-This may take a while depending on the size of what needs to be backed up and the speed of your micro SD card.
-I found that using a 32GB UH-1 Class 10 microSD card by Samsung, described to have max read/write speeds of up to 90MB/s and 70MB/s respectively, works faster than using a cheap 32GB class 10 microSD card.
-My backup size is about 3571MB and it only took me 226 seconds as reported by the TWRP script window.
-After completing the backup you do not have to hit the Reboot System. Instead hit the home button to return you to the main menu.
-In the event that you did hit the Reboot System, let your phone boot up normally and use Rashr and scroll down to tap "Reboot Recovery".
-An alternative method to access the TWRP Recovery is to shut down the phone.
-Press and hold the "Volume Down" button and then press and hold down the "Power" button. Don't let go. As soon as you see a sign that reads "Factory Reset Processing" you can let go. This should take you to the TWRP Recovery if anything bad were to happen like when you flash a bad rom.
9) Use TWRP's Factory Reset option.
(Some details after the Factory Reset may be missing because I can't exactly recall if there was anything important that happened afterwards.)
-Tap "Wipe" from the TWRP main menu.
-Swipe to Factory Reset
-This will clear your phone completely of its internal files. The microSD card will not be wiped.
-Doing this prepares the phone and makes for a smoother transition when flashing to a custom rom.
-Tap Install.
-Tap the "Storage" bar at the top and select external_SD.
-Scroll down and select the ZV5_Rooted_Deodex_Full.zip.
-Swipe to Flash.
11)
niteryder suggested to do another Factory Reset (same as step 7) after flashing to the new rom. I booted the phone once to make sure the new rom was working before I did another factory reset in TWRP. The boot process takes a while after a Factory Reset and you'll probably have to let it sit for a few minutes longer than usual. This took less than 10 minutes. I didn't really time it but I guess it was around 3 minutes tops.
12) Install/Restore your apps etc.
