How to Root the MyTouch Slide
v1.0 Brandt DeLorenzo 7/19/2010
(I tried to add links, but I couldn't because I was still a newbie on the forum...oh well)
Required Hardware
Windows, Linux, or Mac Computer
USB Cable
T-Mobile MyTouch Slide with SD card
Required Computer Software
ADB Drivers for your computer
The Android SDK
Command Line editor
Required Files
Root.zip
MyTouch Slide Rom(s)
Optional Apps
Rom Manager (by ClockWorkMod)
Any backup app from the market (like MyBackUp Pro)
Step 1: Install Required Software on the Computer
I. In order for your device to communicate with the computer, you will need the proper ADB drivers. ADB Drivers should install automatically when you attach your MyTouch Slide to your computer when using a PC. If you need to manually install the drivers for a PC, locate and install the HTC Sync Update program on your computer.
II. On the device, go to Settings > Application > Development and turn on USB Debugging.
III. Download the Android SDK and unzip the directory in your C: drive somewhere where you can easily find it. I’d also suggest renaming the SDK folder from android-sdk-windows to something shorter, like “asdk”. You do not need to install anything inside that SDK folder after you unzip it. Just move it to the C: directory and rename the folder to something short and easy to type, like “asdk”.
IV. You need to add the Android SDK Tool folder to your system path if you’re using a Windows PC. Go to Control Panel > System > Advanced > Environment Variables > In System Variables, highlight "Path" and click Edit. Add C:\asdk\tools to the end of the string. Be sure there is a semi-colon between the last entry and C:\androidsdk\tools. For example, it might look like this:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0;C:\asdk\tools
Then click OK on all of the windows and you're done with this step
V. Be sure that you have a working command line editor for your computer. For example, Windows users can go to Start > Run > (type CMD) > OK.
Step 2: Download and Move Some Files
I. Download the Root.zip file from Eugene's thread about rooting the Slide, unzip the contents (update.zip, ota.zip, and loop) and place them all in the C:/asdk/tools folder. This zip file contains all of the files that will unlock your MyTouch Slide and install the Recovery software to make everything easier in the future.
II. Find the MyTouch Slide Rom that you want to install. You may download as many as you want if you plan on switching between different versions of Android. You can find many of those Roms here or on AndroidSPIN. Download them to your computer and then move them to your SD card. They should be anywhere from 50MB to 150MB each.
Step 3: Preparing for Root
I. Before we begin the process, we need to test ADB to make sure your device can be seen by the computer. Connect your MyTouch Slide (it should be on right now) to your computer via the USB cable. Open up your command line editor and get to the Android SDK tools folder. If you named your SDK folder ‘asdk’, then you would type CD C:/asdk/tools and hit enter. You should see the prompt change from C:/ to C:/asdk/tools>. Type loop and hit enter.
II. If ADB is working, you will see a continuous loop of commands running up the screen. Hold down Ctrl+C to temporarily stop the loop and look for something that says:
List of Devices Attached
HT05RPS02484 Online
If you see something like this, type Y and hit enter. (Your device number may be different than display above)
If ADB is not working, go here to troubleshoot ADB and make sure that you can get the loop to detect your device before you go any further.
III. Perform a backup of any applications or data that you would like to restore. I’d suggest backing up applications, contacts, or any data that may not sync back to your device. You can find an application in the Android Market to complete these tasks. I prefer MyBackUp Pro.
*Mac and Linux users may need to put a ./ in front of anything that is typed in the command line. Like ./loop instead of loop.
Step 4: Beginning the Root Process
I. Power off your device. Hold the Volume Down Key and Press the Power button at the same time. Hold both buttons until the screen comes up in Bootloader mode.
II. In your command line editor, be sure that you are in the C:/asdk/tools> prompt. Type loop and then hit enter. You should see:
List of Devices Attached
HT05RPS02484 Offline
III. Select Recovery from the menu. Use the volume buttons to move up and down. Use the Power button to select the option. You should now see a dark screen with a black device and a red triangle with an exclamation point inside. Hold the Volume Up button and press the Power button. You should now see the Android system recovery (2e) screen.
If you kept the loop running, it should change to say:
List of Devices Attached
HT05RPS02484 Recovery
If it doesn’t change, unplug the USB cable from the device and plug it back in.
If your device number and “Recovery” appears, you can now stop the loop with Ctrl+C. If you do not see your device number and “Recovery”, you need to power off your device and try again. This may take a few tries.
IV. On the device, scroll down to Update.zip and select it using the Power button. It will display an error message that it failed. This should be expected and is part of the process.
V. In the command line editor, you should still be in the C:/asdk/tools> prompt. Type adb push ota.zip /sdcard/update.zip and hit enter.
VI. This is the most difficult part of the process. Type adb push update.zip /sdcard into the command line editor, but do not click enter yet.
VII. On the device, scroll down to Apply sdcard:update.zip and as soon as you select it with the Power button, click enter in the command line editor on your computer. The process should be all done within a second. If you did this properly, a new window in green text should appear with the title “Clockword Mod Recovery v2.5.0.1” or another version number.
VIII. Now you are in Clockwork Mod Recovery. First, scroll down to the partitions menu and make sure it does not say ‘mount system’. If it does say ‘mount system’, highlight it and hit the Power button to mount it.
IX. Scroll down to apply sdcard:update.zip and click the Power button to select it.
X. Power down the device. Follow the steps to get back into ClockWorkMod Recovery, but you won’t need to complete step VII. Simply select Apply sdcard:update.zip and hit the Power button to get back into ClockWorkMod Recovery in the future. (If a blank screen appears when you hit the Power button, press the Trackpad as the enter button.)
XI. On the computer, you should run the loop command to determine if the device is connected again. If it is, type adb install superuser.apk and hit enter. You have full root access.
Step 5: Installing a Rom
I. If you have already performed a backup of your files, you can now wipe the device from the ClockWorkMod screen. Scroll down to wipe data/factory reset and hit the Power button. You will be prompted with another screen with a Yes – delete all user data prompt. Select Yes – delete all user data and hit the Power button.
II. After the wipe has completed, scroll to install zip from sdcard and hit the Power button. Then scroll to choose zip from sdcard and hit the Power button. Now locate the Rom you want to install. Press the Power button to select the Rom and install it.
Managing your Roms
To make your life easy, download and install the Rom Manager application by ClockWorkMod. From this application, you can backup & restore your Roms, reboot into recovery with one click, partition your drives, and find new supported Roms for your device.
we already have a root and a simple root if a noob cant get root with either one they dont need root this thread is unnecessary and ,imo, more confusing especially w/o links
i agree, we've already got this pretty much in 2 different threads, in 2 different ways, one fully automated and the other manual. and i created a video and a tut that has more detail as far as how to install roms and such.. this is an unneccessary thread
Sorry man :/
where is my blow torch...prepare to flame
There is also ....
There is also a questionable step.
I cant get into Clockwork mod using the start update from the phone then push update.zip.
But if I adb push first, wait for the server to start, then updat from the power button on the phone, it works.
good luck.
nice guide! thanks
HighRidas said:
we already have a root and a simple root if a noob cant get root with either one they dont need root this thread is unnecessary and ,imo, more confusing especially w/o links
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense, but I've tried many of the guides and they were difficult to follow when ADB was acting dumb on my laptop. The actual steps are easy, troubleshooting ADB on a Windows PC is a pain for most. Now that I have root and I'm using different roms, it's all easy and painless.
If there wasn't a no-linking rule on new user threads, it would have been much better...I agree.
between the fact that it doesn't need to be any easier, and the ROM bibke holds most of this, there is no need for this thread, i understand that you were probably trying tobe helpful but you are an idiot and made a perfectly useless thread with no links for no reason
tubaking182 said:
between the fact that it doesn't need to be any easier, and the ROM bibke holds most of this, there is no need for this thread, i understand that you were probably trying tobe helpful but you are an idiot and made a perfectly useless thread with no links for no reason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
calm down bro !!! since i came to the slide side all i see is u going hard on people .. that ****'s not cool at all !!! it makes me wonder about u !!!
everybody got their pitch forks and torches out !!! just closed the thread that simple !!!!
i am helpful when stuff i posted in the correct forum, and when it is a new thread that has not been posted in th past. when people continuously post new threads to state stuff that has already been said, especially since without links this thread is pointless, then we xda devs are going to get upset, devs do not like to see pointless threads in the dev section, and certainly don't like it when people try to belittle the work that went into root by "making it easy" first requirement for having root is to know how to use a computer, after that you can learn to do some really cool stuff
Well I thought this guide WAS Helpful to be honest! Not to mention lesstalk was just trying to help. Tubaking is always busting peoples chops everytime he says something it ends up being rude! If you dont have anything nice to say then go to a diff thread dude cause your sorry azz attitude just makes it so people dont want to post cause their scared of getting verbally bashed by folks like you! Being rude is NOT doing anyone any good and Im sure im not the only one who feels this way about you!
in my opinion they should be afraid to post, if they aren't then they make crap like this. i stated that he was trying to be helpful but without links this thread just takes up space and makes people ave to search harder to root thier phone. i am a nice person IRL, but i do not like wasted space. if someone has come up with a "easier" way to root then fine, but there is already a thread for preparing to root your slide, two threads on rooting your slide, and the slide rom bible which includes all of those threads, a stickie should be more than enough for most people and if not then they need to think before hitting that new thread button. there is no need for repetitive threads in the developement section. if there had been links in this thread(which i know he can't do as he is a new member) then it would have been fine and i would have shut up and left it alone, but right now there are two ways to root, one for computer people and one for script kiddies, either way if you can't get it to work with either method then you probably don't need root. if you can't read the simple walkthroughs then you don't need root, if you don't know what you are doing then you don't need root
EDIT: Here is the link to the thread that already covers all of this, and guess where i found it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=708522
I did find this thread helpful, especially since i'm new to android. I want to know what i'm doing and the only way i can learn what i'm doing is from reading many posts and lots of trial and error.
I have read both of the rooting guides from the rom bible, and there is still some stuff left out. I actually like this guide better than the others because there is more help in the whole ADB part of the root process.
Now, i know what i'm doing with computers, it still freaks me out how much i can do with computers. But in new areas where i want to learn, it helps to have more info than needed because people have different viewpoints on the same process.
@tubaking182 - for most of the threads you come in bashing in the dev section, i agree with you. But on this thread, i think you're way out of line. Yes there are 2 threads already and yes this thread needs links. But it's not a waste of space. I've lurked on xda since i bought and returned my HD2 (~late april). And when the slide was released, i headed to this subsection. And i've only seen it go down hill with more people posting threads that needn't be posted, but also with "wanna-be" mods flaming the person who didn't think and posted the needless thread.
But now that animosity has taken a turn for the worst and i only seen bashing in this section of the slide section of xda. And it's really making me want to leave xda.
The whole rooting process can be easy to learn if you've come from a previous android phone and have previously used ADB commands. But when you're really lost about even the whole linux folder structure (i'm not totally lost with this, but i'm more used to the desktop linux folder structure), then some of the guides out there to do certain tasks seem like another language.
3 guides for the rooting process can't hurt, especially when someone who doesn't know what's going on in the process wants to figure it out step by step and is too afraid of members like tubaking182 are always going on about searching for previous posts and flaming for simple questions (not that people shouldn't search for previous posts and threads).
EDIT: i do commend all the devs for their hard work making anything like rooting the phone remotely possible.
tething is, when you want to post an issue about something you saw in another thread, the issue should be posted there, it will be answered when people see it or when the OP has time to get on and answer. i am not trying to be a "wanna-be" MOD as i don't ned to be on XDA any more than i already am regulating posts and mergng threads when they should be merged, this thread holds ZERO new info and therefore should not be posted. if this member found a simple one-click root(which i hope to god never happens with this phone) and he wanted to tell us about it and tell us what he searched to find it and whatever else then great i ould not care, but some things do not need a new thread, if users all searched the Q&A section, the General section, and the Dev section BEFORE clicking the new thread link at the top then we would probably have half as many pages in the dev section, we have 8 pages now that i have gone through in the dev section and i have seen way too many repeat threads and questions. if you wanna see who i am take a look through my posts, i am a very helpful person when people want HELP, but when people want ANSWERS and they want stuff easier and they post in the wrong section then i get irritated and my messages are less helpful.
the number one reason n00bs post in here is because more people will see it, unfortunately this means the devs have to deal with the BS threads that push their stuff to page 3-4 and most people don't read past page two to look for a thread
yes, but you have to remember this is a very publicized and a public forum. In another forum i belong to, this happens all the time even though we have clearly marked stickies in every section.
I bet you most of the pointless threads have the OP posting only once and never even commenting on the posts made after they got the answer. That is what happens when you have a forum that's known for phone customization (or any public forum for that matter).
EDIT: and i'm not saying you're mean, i'm just saying it's going a little too far.
EDIT 2: if someone makes a thread only looking for answers that have been previously posted, just don't respond to it as that person won't ever be back. it's as simple as that.
@lesstalk - Thanks for the guide, outside of the lack of links(out of your control) this is a wonderful guide that I have started pointing new MTS users to.
@tubaking182 - Fact is, the guide on this actual covers steps that were skipped over in the other root guides because they were assumed to be common knowledge. Its that assumption which will kill future android users desire to learn about the device, especially when its accompanied by such a poor attitude from the "regulars" of the forum.
Outside of the links being missing due to being a new user account on the forum, the guide was more complete and comprehensive than any of the other guides so far. It managed to cover step(s) that are easily overlooked by someone who has rooted other android phones before, but CRITICAL to function and not mentioned in the other guides. I cant count the number of people I pointed to the pre-existing threads on rooting for MTS, who completely missed the superuser.apk setup because there were not any steps written for it.
A well educated userbase is a happy and quieter userbase, and while there are alot of useless threads in this section, this one actually served a purpose.
^^^
Here here!!
This is the first guide that has explained it all, and now I feel like I can do it too. I've done my g1, and tons of wm phones, but this one is completely different. All depends on your background.
You should be trying to expand and diversify the user base, not alienate it. or would you rather lock up the keys and argue with your self all day?
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
I agree that this guide might Hold your Hand & even ( Might have missed steps ).
It's not my Job, nor any others person job to make sure you have your driver's setup & adb working correctly. There is plenty of other threads that already cover this, easy to find by using Google..
regardless, Thank you to the OP for try to help make things a bit clearer
~Eugene
tubaking182 said:
i am helpful when stuff i posted in the correct forum, and when it is a new thread that has not been posted in th past. when people continuously post new threads to state stuff that has already been said, especially since without links this thread is pointless, then we xda devs are going to get upset, devs do not like to see pointless threads in the dev section, and certainly don't like it when people try to belittle the work that went into root by "making it easy" first requirement for having root is to know how to use a computer, after that you can learn to do some really cool stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i feel u on that u do have a point !!! some people just that "dumb" and can't help it. they should post in the right thread but at the same time just putting them down isn't always the best way !!
dcowboys2184 said:
i feel u on that u do have a point !!! some people just that "dumb" and can't help it. they should post in the right thread but at the same time just putting them down isn't always the best way !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. This is a redundant and unnecessary post. There are more than four different guides and several other posts on preparation. Yes, they aren't written for a kindergartner, but rooting your phone isn't supposed to be easy. Do some research, read a post or several, and only post after your eyes start to bleed. Cluttering the forum makes it even harder for new members to the community.
Hello everybody.
This is my first post, and while I am noob at XDA-Developers, I have spent more than 10 years writing and reading in forums, and I know what has to be done before writing on them. And I did. I have a couple of questions that I think they are not easy to answer. Indeed, I spent 8 hours yesterday searching through the interwebs and this forum to try to figure out the most thorough answer. And I think I figured out mine, but I don't know any people that can reinforce my toughts and tell me "Hey Gabriel: you are right, you did well, you are the man: go out for a beer, keep calm and carry on". I will ask the questions first, and later I will explain why I ask such questions, and finally what are the steps I did.
The questions are: How can I remove root from a custom rom, and how can I be sure that I properly did? I know that many of us think that "This is stupid / Why do you want to do such a thing / the power of your phone will... / go to stock / etc". But, any way, I have a deep concern on expanding concepts and knowledge, and I thing that root process, root means and rooted phone securing checklist are not as clear as I would like to find them. And more important: I *have* to remain in a custom rom but I *must not* be root.
So the why's are not the question but, just to add some reasonable context: I have a phone that does not fit my needs with the stock rom, because a hardware component is falling apart and I need a software workaround (YEAH, right LOL: a Nexus One with the power button falling apart and I need to be able to unlock / wake with the trackball; but this thread is Android-wide because it tries to find a deep insight into rooting itself). This software workaround does not work in stock rom when I configure the password / PIN / pattern. And the problem with custom roms is that they run into trouble with certain data-protection aware environments, which do not allow rooted terminals. And more important than all: I have no need at all to be root, at least by now.
So, I spent hours searching, and I figured out that I should remove "su" command and related APK's (ROM Manager, Superuser, ... and some others that I won't need). All by myself and with some posts (I don't remember if they were here or in "HTCMania", a good spanish smartphones board, either) that suggested it.
The exact process I did was to download CyanogenMod 7.2 RC1, check signature & md5 to make sure the zip was what it claimed to be (because later I found that I needed to shut down recovery signature check) open the .zip, remove "/system/xbin/su", install the rom, remove su-related ".apk" with adb, and try to check if it still had any sort of superuser permission scalation. It aparently does not have. I checked /data directory with Root Explorer, I downloaded and ran Root Checker Basic.
The results seem what I expected (and that's the question: they seem, and I don't know if they are): I am running on CyanogenMod, the workaround (wake on trackball) works, the PIN/password works fine with it, and it seems I am not able to gain root access.
But my question are deeper than that: is there any remaining technical mean that could be used to gain root access on my phone? Do I have to get rid of more su-companion tools to be sure and to be "non-root"-compliant? Is there any checklist we should follow to check both if our custom ROM is rooted-but-secure and if our ROM is properly un-rooted? And most important: did I miss / failed to find the correct resource in these forums?
Thanks to every body and congrats for this outrageous boards.
I am using motochopper to root but when I do, instead of the expected "Allow App to do whatever" to your phone message I am receiving the "Detection Information: To protect your device, it is recommended you reboot. <Reboot Now> < Reboot later>" message.
The solution for this appears to either Freeze or remove the System/Apps/ KNOXAgent.apk, KNOXAgent.odex, KNOXStore.apk, KNOXStore.odex files along with data/data/com.sec.knox.seandroid.
1) I don't seem to have a com.sec.knox.seandroid file.
2) all of the Knox files are read only to me.
I have followed what I am seeing to be the proper steps before hand. droidviews.com/2013/how-to-root-verizon-galaxy-s4-sch-i545-and-install-cwm-recovery-on-it/
Any help would be appreciated. Feel free to call me names if this in a dozen other threads (though I have looked!), just please provide a link
kewlguy53403 said:
I am using motochopper to root but when I do, instead of the expected "Allow App to do whatever" to your phone message I am receiving the "Detection Information: To protect your device, it is recommended you reboot. <Reboot Now> < Reboot later>" message.
The solution for this appears to either Freeze or remove the System/Apps/ KNOXAgent.apk, KNOXAgent.odex, KNOXStore.apk, KNOXStore.odex files along with data/data/com.sec.knox.seandroid.
1) I don't seem to have a com.sec.knox.seandroid file.
2) all of the Knox files are read only to me.
I have followed what I am seeing to be the proper steps before hand. droidviews.com/2013/how-to-root-verizon-galaxy-s4-sch-i545-and-install-cwm-recovery-on-it/
Any help would be appreciated. Feel free to call me names if this in a dozen other threads (though I have looked!), just please provide a link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give this one a try.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2290798
DarkMenace said:
Give this one a try.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2290798
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turns out my driver may not have been 'nice'. I downloaded it from Samsung but once I installed the Kies and followed the steps it worked! Now to find some ROMS. In the past I used CWM but they haven't updated yet for the S4 (officially) so I tried twrp to back everything up.
Thanks for your help!
Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and help issues go in Q&A and Help sections
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
I mulled over the suggested threads from 2012 (because I live under a rock), and am desperately trying to root this phone.
So, this is the about in the phone section.
Optimus Zone vs410pp
Model #: LG-VS410P
And Version: 2.3.6
Baseband version: MSM7625-0-AA
Build #: GRK39F
Software Version: VS410PP2
I feel like I've tried everything for this phone to Root. Currently going to try SuperOneClick again, but if anyone knows of a sure fire way to do this, please explain in the most simple words you can. I don't care if you drag it out to 39 steps... Pretend you are teaching a potato to use a phone... I know... I need help, but that will come later.. Right now... I need a rooted phone....
Thanks for helping this poor vegetation understand human stuff....
.:Edit:.
So, I just so wonderfully found out that I can't post links as of yet, and was told so via the forum eating all of my extra content I just added. Isn't that nice? You guys should change that to a default "Return to edit" instead of just removing the 2k words I just wrote to help communicate my issue. Thanks XDA-Forum CSS coder. You're a real pal.
Now, moving on to the issue at hand. I'm following a guide, Thread A, that led me to another step by step instructional thread. This is the thread we will call "Thread B".
This is a quote from Thread B.
5. If you have to manually update the driver, you may have to go about it the long way. I had to click "Browse my computer..." then "Let me pick from a list..." then "Have disk..." before browsing all the way to the Universal ADB folder, plus I had to click "OK" through several warnings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, my issue is that I've only had to update drivers manual three times in my life, and they were point and click issues. There was zero decision making. Now, with ADB, which I'm assuming I need as SOC is working, but not rooting the phone correctly. How do I update drivers for this? When I plug in the phone I have a few options in the device manager, and I'm unawares of which I should choose being a potato, and all. Past that, I've around 9 different doo-hickies (yes.. doo-hickies... They are not the standard .dll that I normally run into, and all have very different unknown extensions) to choose from. Do I install them all individually, or is there something I can do to expedite this process, like naving through my sys files, and d&d all these doo-hickies at once so my computer knows LGE Optimus Zone phonespeak?
Thanks to anyone whom may shed light on my plight.
.:Edit:.
To add additional content to my trails, I am currently repeating poot to see what happens here as a user suggested to repeat it after removing the battery roughly ten times to see if poot will slip past the demon. Thus far, I have generated tree-fiddy demons. I'm unsure as to where the demons are materializing, but Poot continuously suggests they are doing such. Potatoes aren't particularly afraid of demons, but this is very inconvenient for them to get in the way of my electronics.
If you've information on any method of adding the access of the phones origins I would be most generous in my thanks.
Well that was an adventure. I inadvertently ended up with an upgrade to VS9854CA over-the-air which predictably killed my root and wiped my setup. Life sucked, but livable until the screen started doing the flashy fade to back lockup. Now I've got to do something - I really don't want a new phone, I like my LG G3 even if the carrier is basically Evil Corp.
First things first: I had to fix the screen. I noted that the newer ROM was making the phone hotter. That's a side effect of what is truly an improvement in responsiveness from my old old version. I also noted that it seemed to get better if I manipulated the covers. Loose part somewhere? Quick search on the forums turned up this thread: "[GUIDE] Fix Display Flickering, Overheat and Constant Rebooting" with thanks to @IngJulian_RVLX. Reading it showed a basic problem to be sure but wasn't an entire fix. It did give me the idea what was needed though. So I disassembled the phone and re-flowed the main chips with a heat gun (NOT a hair dryer - not hot enough, focused enough, and way too much airflow, and DEFINITELY NOT a toaster oven - this will fry other components), then cleaned the board. Using silicon pad I placed one on the top of the main chip on the "front" (faces the display when assembled and has the big shield on it), then another piece over that one the length of the metal shield. Then I put another piece of silicon pad on the chip on the back side under the smaller metal shield. Reassemble the phone. Power up. Okay, we're working again without the annoying flashy fading screen.
So now the problem is getting root and TWRP back. Again the search: "Root for LG G3 VS985 Android 6.0 47A". Thanks to @annoyingduck and @roirraW "edor" ehT. I found a 10B .tot file and flashed that successfully. Only one big problem - adb would not find the phone! Turns out the identifier pulled in a G3 device and not the VS985 device for which I had a debug stack. Not to worry, stump is an apk so I should be able to upload right? Nope, it's offline. Well the suggested alternative, kingroot.net, exists try that. Yup that worked - I'm now rooted and victimized by all the bloatware kingroot brings with it.
Rather than debloat the kingroot I figured it does no harm in the moment. So let's get TWRP back so I at least have a recovery. Of course the CodeFire team has what I need and TWRP is installable as an app now. The first time I rooted it was a manual load with dd - progress! Just search the Play Store for TWRP, load and go. Nice work guys!!!
Okay so how to get up to the latest version possible and still keep root? Because, hey as long as I'm in here why not? Searching I find this: "[Guide] [VS985] Flash Back To Stock - KDZ Method". Yup, once more @annoyingduck to the rescue - a repository of .KDZ files along with more helpful experience. I managed to find this thread as well: "[TOOL] KDZ and TOT Extractor" with thanks to @bullghost. Still not quite what I need yet. I found "VS985 47A - Stock Flashable Firmware" with thanks to @xdabbeb. That's the ticket! So flashed that (and the bootstack) and now I'm at least a marshmallow 6.0 version. Lost root, but kingroot was able to root (and bloat).
Now to get rid of kingroot and put on superSU instead. Search found this: "How to Remove/Replace Kingroot (KingUser) with SuperSu". There, that's better! After a reboot I have to manually remove the last vestiges of kingroot but SuperSU is happily running and the bloatware is gone. Now I can restore the phone to it's prior level of function. Play Store restored my apps, I did have to reconfigure my home screens, but I'm now back in business. What's more I've got an upgrade that I like.
Whoops! An OTA update flashes on my screen!!! NO!!!!! Okay, calm down. This took several searches to find so basically here's what I needed to do:
1. Delete the files in the /cache/fota directory - this allowed the OTA to fail without updating my phone.
2. Find the "System updates" in the application manager - there are two of them and you have to select 'system' in the drop down to see them. One of them can be disabled the other cannot.
3. Find /system/app/FOTA and rename the LGFOTA.apk file to LGFOTA.apk.bak
No, using hiddenmenu.apk or the ##PROGRAM985 or any other method does not work. Apparently Evil Corp. doesn't pay attention to this anymore and that's why I got the original update that killed me. Thanks to this post for the tips: "[PSA] NO OTAs!! | Keep Root/Unlock | How-To: Block OTA, DL SW/FW, Update Manually" and h/t to @autoprime.
So now I've got some work to do, because there's some fun to be had. I've managed to get the VS985CA .KDZ and extracted it. I've got the .img files ready. Now I just have to add su and busybox to the system image under linux and then I can flash these files to the phone using FlashFire (again CodeFire team - what can I say, you guys rock). Time to make the chimichungas!
Moral of the story here is this:
I've been playing around with android phones and root since my HTC Incredible. Xda-Developers has always been a source of good information but it only works if you use it. I found the original hiddenmenu.apk and it was the forums that gave me the invocation command to bring it up - somewhere in the original VS985 root thread I'm there contributing that information. Do the searches and you can find the answers you need without being annoying. Also give it time - these people I've mentioned throughout this post (along with many more) are working as fast AND as carefully as they can to bring the best solutions possible to problems. But you do have to do your part, if you aren't going to put the time in to learn at least the basics by reading the forums than this isn't your rodeo. I'm no expert but I do know how to think, experiment, and I have some background in linux and have some familiarity with android application development so I could understand something of what this device is doing and how it's built. If you lack that and you're going to play here my best advice is to have a backup phone - 'cause you're going to brick yours a few times before you learn that these basics are required, even if you're not going to be a "cool ROM" developer. That's the dues you pay to play. The experienced folks will realize my mistakes made, as I do, in this post. That's because they are the experts and I am not. Did I get where I wanted to get? Yes. Was it elegant? No. But having paid the dues I never needed to ask. Just admit to myself that I needed to get smarter and dug in. Besides, it was kinda nice not to be bugged by the phone for a day.
Quick update to the above...
The task to kill is com.lge.lgdmsclient. It took ES Task manager to find it. I moved the offending apps off to quarantine on my SD card after setting them to disable in the ES Task manager and no more OTA updates.