Root ZTE ZMAX Pro (Z981) root discussion

Elix9000 · Sep 20, 2016

anubis2048 said:
I don't understand why people are giving up. I'm sorry, since when does an Android phone not get root? Someone will root this phone eventually. Not today, not tomorrow. We just gotta wait. It's only a matter of time until someone with the right knowledge and know how will get this phone and do it for us. We just have to wait. Every single Android device I have ever owned has been rooted, and I've owned a shit ton of devices! We just have to wait.

Wisest words I've ever heard in an Android forum

anubis2048 · Sep 20, 2016

No Android OS is perfect. If we stay on 6.0.1 we will eventually be able to root when some sort of exploit is found... there is no way 6.0.1 will never have a root exploit that could work on multiple devices.

And so what if it's 2016? What does that even mean? My Nexus 4 was rooted. My Nexus 5 was rooted. My no name Asus tablet that isn't even on Asus website got rooted too.... My Samsung Galaxy Exhibit(a very rare phone because Samsung released a new phone with the same name), that was ALSO rooted.

LOL IT'S 2016 BROOO... What? This phone will be rooted within a year, I know a ton of people who already have this phone so it's safe to say that this phone is slightly popular among MetroPCS users.

svnxn · Sep 20, 2016

guys, back on topic please? i understand that what you guys are saying is talking about root, but come on now. we don't know for sure if we have any updates that may be pushed out in the near future for fastboot, new exploit for 6.0.1, or something magical that gives us fastboot access lmao. no need to get all fussy over such a simple topic like if our device will get root or not, lol. lets keep our eyes peeled for any potential exploits and hope for the best.

Krlypumaa · Sep 20, 2016

Brentwood0325 said:
Anyone please list all 2016 devices rooted compared to all devices rooted prior to 2014. On average 1000 devices per year are newly created. In 2007 root was available on about 68℅ of the phones do to volunerabilities. That number since 2015 is around 13.4% and dropping.
I get my facts from the source and I read as a hobby.
Reasearch yourself.

I understand your point... But getting root its not about how hard they want to make it to. but about how famous devices gets or if you hav a good connection that will drop his busy live and write you a code or build a .bat so for the love of saying sh•£π what do you mean that we can't. Trust me...paid n none paid its many out there willing we just need to be Patience... Different colors ones... Which Im proud of.

Krlypumaa · Sep 20, 2016

Andd im not talking about gender taste but those tinfoils...

anubis2048 · Sep 20, 2016

Most android phones that get no root are rice burners. At least in my experience. Any phone that gets the slightest popularity eventually gets rooted. I don't think root will happen over night, just look at this massive thread! Obviously it will take time, or maybe not at all. I'm still holding out hope because 1. I don't have the money for another phone, 2. I love this phone, even if it doesn't have root. If we don't have root by Christmas, I'm getting a Nexus. I need my unlimited tethering that isn't at 3G speeds. yeesh. Plus I like running Lubuntu on my phone, and this one is almost a tablet so it would be nice to have it.

jaykoerner · Sep 21, 2016

jaykoerner said:
On that note, we will likely need a hardware vulnerability to get started on a root for most devices from now on. Any chance in hell that someone has done a teardown on this phone to see if it has pads for COM ports or a JTAG header?

let me repeat this, Anyone opened this phone up? i tried but i can get it apart properly because of the finger print sensors ribbon cable, i just want to know if this phone has any form of COM or JTAG headers. Anyone?

TurtlePwr82 · Sep 21, 2016

So for everyone still following this thread, just got this response from petershih on ZTE Community page.

From this response, he makes it seem like the bootloader is locked and/or fastboot is inaccessible, but still not definitive answer.

svnxn · Sep 21, 2016

if youre not going to contribute and just bag on the device please sshhh. this is a z981 root discussion thread. not a general thread where people rate customer support and recommend other devices.

Bichofelix · Sep 21, 2016

Moderator, please remove the senseless banter. @Krlypumaa his name is Tenfar and he apparently works at ZTE and has the keys to sign zips too. This guy is/was the key but no longer responds.
Look here(http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/wip-axon-7-root-bootloader-unlokced-t3441204)

TurtlePwr82 · Sep 21, 2016

Brentwood0325 said:
this thread needs to be closed . Your all fools in lala land.
Prove us wrong then. If you can. Root it..lol

Just as an fyi, I did not post my information for it to be used in trolling posts or as bait to goad people into arguments. I posted it because if it helps someone crack this device by knowing ZTE does not plan on unlocking it, I will share it. If you don't care about this device, why post or follow it? Don't rain on everyone else's parade, just go and enjoy your Nexus. They are great phones but so is this one, even without root in my opinion.

scary alien · Sep 21, 2016

Let's keep things civil, courteous, and on-topic, please.

FYI, I'm going to go back and do a little thread cleaning here in a second.

Thanks!

Bichofelix · Sep 21, 2016

I like this phone. Some kernel mods would make this a fantastic phone. I would have paid an extra $50 for 3gb ram total. IMO that would have made this phone high-end.

Bichofelix · Sep 21, 2016

Thank you @scary alien
This thread is about the zmax pro z981 and to a lesser extent (because of the hardware and software similarities) the Grand X Max 2 z988. It appears the kernels were compiled with different tools though after looking through both. The only real difference is the fingerprint sensor and build.prop lines activating it.

anubis2048 · Sep 21, 2016

I'm guessing we're going to need an exploit for 6.0.1 to be found before anything will happen. ZTE obviously doesn't care about the people who want to root, so let's just hope some flaw in 6.0.1 can be found. If I were you guys, I wouldn't update to 7.0 unless you never want root.

TurtlePwr82 · Sep 21, 2016

Thanks @scary alien. On topic, hopefully there is an exploit found sooner rather than later for all wanting root. I'm not particularly chomping at the bit for root myself, as for my needs the software and hardware are great with stock, but options are always nice. I mainly asked ZTE and posted my result to try to get more concrete information and share it

. Also, if an exploit can be found in 6.0.1, it could potentially benefit other phones that are locked down with no access to fastboot or the bootloader, such as the LG Stylo 2. Great phone, but root would help it out a lot in my opinion.

JayBondzeWell · Sep 21, 2016

I already have the build prop and a few etc files modified and ready for testing once the root opens up for us

Bichofelix · Sep 21, 2016

Well.. unfortunately guys, the fact that dm-verity is enforcing with a locked bootloader means root is insanely unlikely. One of the few folders not protected by dm-verity's instant reboot when manipulation is detected (as shown with the z959) is sbin. The phone was released through cricket alongside the xmax 2 so assuming an exploit is found we may be able to modify it to bypass dm-verity for temporary root where su is placed there in which case we could execute adb reboot disemmcwp and get a proper system root.

Masterchief87 · Sep 21, 2016

TurtlePwr82 said:
So for everyone still following this thread, just got this response from petershih on ZTE Community page.
View attachment 109901

From this response, he makes it seem like the bootloader is locked and/or fastboot is inaccessible, but still not definitive answer.

A better idea would be to ask if the bootloader is even locked. I bet he doesn't even know. All those people do is regurgitate prescripted answers. It may or may not be locked. Also, if MetroPCS is the one deciding to lock bootloaders then why aren't all MetroPCS phone's bootloaders locked. The original Zmax had an unlocked bootloader, the avant had an unlocked bootloader, the stylo had an unlocked bootloader, and I think that the stylo 2 and galaxy j7 also have unlocked bootloaders as well. We at this point have no way of knowing for sure if it is locked.

Krlypumaa · Sep 21, 2016

I got the Qualcomm driver installed n phone was recognized by qstp but nothing we can do with that other than playvaround with data radios... I been trying to chmond 777 dev/temp to see if i can push su system/xbin temporarily but when it reboots i loose permission leaving me with a bad su installation.

Some one suggested to try boot from sd n a temp recovery through sd like way back but im not to savy on that.

Bichofelix · Sep 21, 2016

I only assume it's locked based on the Grand X 3 z959 as all three were released in unison and it was discovered to be, in fact, locked.

Bichofelix · Sep 21, 2016

Krlypumaa said:
I got the Qualcomm driver installed n phone was recognized by qstp but nothing we can do with that other than playvaround with data radios... I been trying to chmond 777 dev/temp to see if i can push su system/xbin temporarily but when it reboots i loose permission leaving me with a bad su installation.
Some one suggested to try boot from sd n a temp recovery through sd like way back but im not to savy on that.

Can you push to sbin? It's likely to not work but if we can get a script with the right permissions to execute reboot disemmcwp then we win. It also disables dm-verity.

lambo352 · Sep 22, 2016

scan2 said:
https://community.zteusa.com/polls/1399?et=watches.email.poll_comment#comment-21557
says here an update is on its way

From what I read, we might have to wait for the 1st update speculated to get to every zmax pro this week. It's said that if we don't get it this week to call ZTE and they will push it manually to our phones. So far no one's come forward to confirm getting an update. Something to look forward to is the axon7 got fastboot after 1st update unless I misread. We are definitely getting nougat, but not sure when. Let pray we get fastboot with this update so we can " fastboot OEM unlock." Credit to everyone trying to navigate around no fastboot. It's very hard but not impossible. From my dev experience, nothing is created without a backdoor. Great work on all the accumulated information guys. Please keep it up..

anubis2048 · Sep 22, 2016

I can't wait for nougat... Hopefully fastboot comes with it. I'm glad everyone has tried so hard and researched so much. I regret that I didn't do some of the testing but I don't make enough money for more phones so I couldn't risk it. Thanks to those who did risk it! Because of you, the rest of us can benefit without taking the same risks as you did! I and everyone else here really appreciates it!

anubis2048 · Sep 22, 2016

Also I think it's funny how people just gave up on this phone and started going towards other phones, and that's when our biggest chance at getting root is revealed... Karma. Being patient will pay off. Sucks to be anyone who gave up and got another phone.

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