Root Completely Restore/Unroot My LG Ally?

[Paycer]

I very recently bought an LG Ally and rooted it quite easily while on V8. I now plan on returning it to try and get a Droid X, but I would like to unroot the phone before doing so. Since I'm exchanging the phone and not returning it due to defects or damage, I doubt that they will check to see if it's rooted at all. I'm not even sure if they will care since there's actually nothing wrong with the phone compared to when I bought it. However, I would prefer to be safe than sorry.

I successfully had the device rooted and working flawlessly. I've tried a method or two of removing root access, but it seems that every time I try something new, I dig myself a deeper hole. I currently have the, "Superuser Permission," icon left on my list of applications, and I can't seem to remove it. It also seems that I don't actually have root access anymore, even though the icon still exists.

I've tried re-rooting in order to gain the access back, but I can't even get that back to normal. I've restored and reset to factory defaults a couple times, and I have even tried reversing the instructions that I followed to originally root the device. I've attempted to downgrade my software to V6, then upgrade to stock V8, but the updater freaked out on me and appeared corrupted. I've tried updating through the phone's settings, but apparently the most recent version isn't available as an OTA yet and I have to download it manually? Nothing has removed the icon. The only thing that I've lost is the actual root access, and I can't seem to get that back so that I can continue my attempts at removing it all completely. Will updating to V9 unroot my phone, remove the icon, and erase all visible traces of a previous root? I'm willing to try it, but I hear that one cannot re-root once they upgrade to V9. If that's true, then I would prefer to only do that as a last resort. If I upgrade to V9, can't re-root, and the Superuser Permission icon is still there, I believe I would be royally screwed over.

Rooting Instructions that I decided to follow for original rooting, as well as once for re-rooting - I'm on Windows XP SP3.

One set of instructions that I tried for re-rooting

Un-root Attempt #1
Un-root Attempt #2

So here I am with my LG Ally, needing to return it, with the warranty technically voided right now and a Superuser Permission icon screaming to anyone who looks for it.

If anyone needs any extra information about my system, phone, things that I've tried to do, etc. please ask and I will gladly tell you. Thank you for reading and especially for helping if you decide to do so. I greatly appreciate any help that anyone has to offer.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I do not have a Nandroid backup. I never created one previous to rooting my device. My fault, I know, but there's probably nothing that I can do about that now. Just trying to do whatever other options are available to me.

 

[death2all110]

Hey v9 will unroot your phone and allow you to start from "scrach" as in nothing but stock apps. i posted a how to on doing this here: http://androidforums.com/lg-ally/124574-ally-v9-sw-update.html#post1227937

 

[Paycer]

Yes I read that thread and your post. That was what I was referring to as far as the V9 update not being available as an OTA. My only concern was the possibility of the process not fully unrooting my phone and leaving remnants of the Superuser Permissions behind or something. If you can confirm complete removal of root access via the V9 update, I will go ahead and try it. Thanks.

EDIT: Also, on a side note, is it possible to re-root my LG Ally while on V9, or do I need to somehow downgrade to a previous version in order to do so? I doubt that I will end up re-rooting, but if for whatever reason I cannot purchase a Droid X, I would like to know that I can still get as much as is possible out of this phone. Thanks again.

EDIT2: I followed the instructions here as you suggested, but they did not work for me. I ran into the same error where the LG-utils firmware updater appears corrupted and wouldn't push the software to my phone, let alone install it.

19:13:16 : [C:\LGMobileUpgrade]

 

[death2all110]

well its not a terrible error its just looking for the the lg mobile updater files since that is what it relies on. sorry in my post i assumed most everyone had lg mobile updater installed on their pc. so in order to fix the issue uninstall the drivers for your phone reboot. download this zip file http://www.multiupload.com/X7ID1Z1KO0 and install the updater and the drivers that are in it. reboot and try the process again. let me know if that doesnt fix it oh and make sure you have the phone set to stay away in the development menu where you find usb debugging

 

[Paycer]

I see what you mean now. That makes sense, since the error dialog shows that it can't find data/files for an application that I obviously don't recognize and haven't installed before. I haven't really installed any software in regards to this phone other than DivX in order to authorize the video codecs . I only bought it yesterday and started researching about all of this when I got home from the store. I sort of rushed my entire rooting experience. I guess that's probably part of why I'm in this situation right now. I've been jailbreaking my 2G iPod Touch for a little while now and a hell of a lot more customization with my old Phat PSP for even longer, but this was a slightly new experience for me. I've never had to do so much manual work as far as the commands are concerned and I guess I sort of botched things in a spot or two. When I get my Droid X I'll be sure to check in on things before moving forward.

I'll uninstall those drivers, reboot, and install the new ones right now. I'll post back once I've tried this. Thanks again for the help.

 

[death2all110]

hacked fat psp and jailbroken ipods FTW lol i miss my old fat psp it died RIP lol i have a jailbroken ipod touch 3rd gen on 3.1.3 waiting for the 4.0 JB lol. anyway back on track

no problem hope it works for you

 

[Paycer]

Alright well I couldn't find where to uninstall the old drivers that were supposedly already there, but I installed new new drivers and then the LG Mobile Updater. I restarted my computer and tried this process again. The updater was better. It had the image at the left of the two people with the phone, and I didn't run into any initial errors. However, a lot of the text still had question marks only, and it wasn't forming everything completely. It also ended up running into the same error that I had before where it can't seem to connect to the phone. LG Mobile Updater can't seem to find the phone either. Did I install the right version of the updater?

In the settings on my phone i have, "USB Debugging," and, "Stay awake," turned on. My SD card isn't in the slot. I'm definitely plugged into the computer while I do this. I'm starting to think that this is more of a problem with my actual computer than with any of the software. Although, I have an inkling that it may be an issue with the phone's settings or something.

Any ideas?

 

[death2all110]

hmm did you try a dif usb port?

 

[Paycer]

I just now tried it since it was plugged into a USB hub. Although, there wasn't/isn't anything else plugged into that hub along with the phone. I went ahead and disconnected the hub and plugged the phone in directly. I reloaded the updater and all the text and whatnot seem to be showing perfectly now. I don't really see how switching the USB hub fixed that, but whatever. I'm not even sure that it did. It may just be coincidence that it now decided to work.

Anyway, the updater looks like it's working fine, but it still can't detect the phone. I went ahead and even rebooted the phone via adb and it still isn't making a connection.

Any more ideas?

 

[death2all110]

umm how comfortable are you with letting me check things out via remote assistance?

 

[Paycer]

That's fine, just give me a moment to place everything in the same location so you don't have to go running around the HDD just to find one little thing related to this. You can work from the same folder and it can move things along faster. I'll post back with... TeamViewer?, info.

 

[death2all110]

ok. TeamViewer is installing now

Update:teamviewer is ready and i'm ready

email me with the info.

deatheatergrim(at)gmail(dot)com

 

[Paycer]

Alright. It turns out that I didn't have it installed either.

It's now installed and running. Check your PMs for connection info. I will leave the phone plugged in with USB Debugging enabled, as well as Stay Awake. Go ahead and connect now.

 

[jayfer1]

Hey death2all110, if you try the link I sent you for the other drivers for USB debugging, it will help that guy out on teamviewer... Sounds like he had the issue I did where the updater didn't see the phone. After the driver load it's cake.

 

[death2all110]

did you reboot after you installed driver before you connected phone?

@paycer download these drivers

http://rs649.rapidshare.com/files/409616438/LGAndroidDriver_WHQL_ML_Ver_1.0_All_Win7.exe

install and reboot then pm me with the new team view info

 

[Paycer]

Okay I restarted the PC like you said. The phone is plugged in. Same ID as in my last PM, but the pass is now 9906.

EDIT: Installed the drivers, as you saw. Rebooted. Phone is plugged in and the new pass is: 7334

Go ahead and connect.

EDIT2: death2all110 is the bomb. He got it working perfectly. I'll post instructions on everything that we did so that the rest of you can get a little insight in case you're having similar problems. I will, however, do it tomorrow as I have a job interview in literally about eight hours and I need to sleep. :x Thanks for all the help guys. You too jayfer1. Those drivers are what fixed one of our biggest issues with getting the LG Updater to recognize my phone.

Happy rooting/un-rooting.

 

[death2all110]

good luck with downgrading upgrading to v8 rooting and then upgrading to v9 right before you return

 

[Paycer]

Yeah lmao anorite. That should be interesting but I think it will be ok.

Actually on a side note, is it at all possible to root V9? I've heard bits and pieces here and there about some people supposedly being able to do so? Should I just try to root it normally like you do any other version?

 

[death2all110]

you can try it

 

[Paycer]

I tried rooting the V9 software, but I can't get all the way through the process. As others have said, it hangs on, "Opening: /proc/7482/fd/3." Also, the camera does not work correctly. The pictures that it takes are completely corrupted and entirely unrecognizable in comparison to what I was actually trying to take a picture of. I haven't tried recording videos, but I don't expect it to be much different.

It's kind of nice to have the slight speed boost, but overall it's probably not worth it if I can't get root access and the camera does not work. I'm going to now try the downgrade process to V6, then upgrade back to V8 and re-root. Thanks again for all the help guys.

EDIT: I am now currently on a rooted V8.

I went from V8, to rooted V8, to a broken and half-rooted(?) V8, to V9, to V6, to V8, and now I'm back with root access.

I'll write up those instructions later tonight so that anyone else can follow this process with ease. Hopefully I can post them soon.

 

[death2all110]

Lmao no problem paycer

 

[kdavidson]

If it's any consolation, I understand the Droid X has a single-click rooting method available for it. So if you go that route, things should be easier.

 

[Paycer]

I've heard about the one-click rooting solution for the Droid X, yes. I don't plan on using it though. I would rather do every step myself via ADB than trust an application that has been supposedly designed go work gloabally on all Droid Xs without error. If I **** something up while rooting, then at least I can go back and figure out what happened, instead of only being able to look blankly at a button.

Besides, I've heard that you need to register an account with the website where the program was originally posted, in order to actually download it. That doesn't really interest me. Yes, I could simply download it from a mirror that somebody created, but then the whole trust issue pops up again. The manual rooting instructions look quite simplistic as well, even compared to the Ally's.

There are ridiculous shortages with the Droid X right now. At least around here in Omaha, Nebraska there are. I'll be able to purchase my own by August 11th or so, financially speaking anyway. I'm just worried because the website says they can currently be shipped by August 19th if you buy one online at this time. I would go order one now and pay for it later, but our account was recently dropped and we had to have a new one be created. As a result, the computers won't allow us to bill to our account and pay for the phone later. Hopefully I'll get lucky and one of the stores around town will order a large enough shipment.

Sorry about those instructions for this proccess, if anyone was curious about them. I've been a bit busy lately.

 

[Desync]

Death could you help me? I'm having the same problems as Paycer

 

[pcwizdan]

I recently got the ally recovery image setup, I was wondering why when I wipe caches and factory reset the phone, I get the v8 update and it fails in the ally recovery image screen... (verification failed).

If that means that the image is incorrect for an update to use. How would I go about putting the normal image on? All I wanted to get was v8 rooted on my phone, and every time I put the v8 rooted roms on my phone, i load it up and it's still v6 (yes I cleared my caches as told). It seems that when I load into v6 (supposed to be v8 rooted) it has superuser. When I tried to just run my phone on a wiped/reset cache reboot, it loads up as v6, but has superuser on it, now that bothers me and I have no idea if I need to use another microsd card or something.

I was planning on using the LG updater tool to reset my software version to v6, then use the custom boot thing to wipe dalvik cache, cache, and the top one (i cant remember). But how can I make sure to factory reset and remove Superuser completely. I'm just going to try to update to v8 with my microsd card gone.

I need help getting my v6 rooted (with the ally recovery boot thing) to version 8 and rooted. That is all.