Anyone willing to help for pay? - Asus Zenfone Max M2 Questions & Answers

I just bought a used X01AD as a backup for my usual phone. Wanted to install some custom ROM, like ArrowOS. I've been using Android phones with custom ROMs for many years. HTCs, Sonys, Samsungs etc. Never once have I had as much trouble as with this. NOTHING works. There is no proper guide on how to do anything. The scattered instructions are mostly outdated, download links don't work, apps are broken, and authors of tools or ROMs no longer respond on the threads. I can't even get TWRP to work properly. It's beyond frustrating.
Is anyone here interested in making a few bucks for walking me through it and, most importantly, providing working tools?

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[Q] Root for LG Destiny (LG l21g / aka lgl21g) Tracfone / Straight Talk

Hi Everyone,
Wanted to know if anyone has already figured out or through a different method, can help me root my phone.
It's an LG phone under GSM technology by TracFone for Walmart Straight Talk service. the Model is "LG l21g" or "lgl21g".
It is specifically running Android 5.0.1
I've learned it's better to follow a root process specifically made for the exact model of your phone. But since TracFones lack much in rooting fame, I'm hoping that there is a safe method used to provide basic root access to phones/devices that have the respective OS. For which in my case is version 5.0.1
I am new to rooting but not computers in general. I have searched for quite a while for a way to root my device by model. I've found nothing, and AndroidArea51 seemed to have a little success, but are not sharing a clear tutorial sadly. But I am skeptical about 1 click root apps and how they may tend root the device for a few months before unrooting automatically and then forcing the device owner to pay to root again. You know, the old regular malicious hijacking software you can't get rid of without a hard reset or what not.
I am also aware of locked bootloaders but am not sure of what it means for my request to root. Should i unlock mine if it is locked in order to root? Or is it unnecessary unless i want to flash a new rom onto my device? I've obviously read things online, but am still learning the relationships of all these things
I greatly appreciate all your time and help in anyway you can.
Thanks.
I used kingroot for a successful root on my LG destiny. Im hoping for recovery and roms soon but I don't know if any devs are intersted in our phone.
Failbringer60 said:
I used kingroot for a successful root on my LG destiny. Im hoping for recovery and roms soon but I don't know if any devs are intersted in our phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey Failbringer60,
Hope your holidays were great and thanks for your comment. I am very skeptical of software such as kingroot and iroot and others of the same nature that are usually one-click root types. Though i'm not against using it if it's the only way to root less popular devices such as ours, i would rather have a little tutorial/guide on how to use the app/software to root the device then get rid of that app and its bloatware (and any other malicious ware that comes from it) and sustain a more honest or reliable superuser app/access to more precisely control the permissions that apps from the app store demand before download and use.
I have seen in other forums where users find that these one-click root apps aren't so trustworthy after a few months, and the device doesn't adhere to them as it did before. It's these kinds of things that sort of scare me. but if you are aware of a way to use these apps to gain root access and then a way to get rid of them while keeping root on my device safely, I would be more than glad to learn.
I am very new to rooting android devices since i've never done it before. and am trying to use my knowlegde from some PC maintenince to understand these things. so i hope that you can excuse me for not fully understand some things. But i am open to any help that can be spared.
Thanks in advance
hi
try kingroot on playmarket it worked in my tablert, only takes some minutes if you are lucky
Thanks.
thewildnative said:
hey Failbringer60,
Hope your holidays were great and thanks for your comment. I am very skeptical of software such as kingroot and iroot and others of the same nature that are usually one-click root types. Though i'm not against using it if it's the only way to root less popular devices such as ours, i would rather have a little tutorial/guide on how to use the app/software to root the device then get rid of that app and its bloatware (and any other malicious ware that comes from it) and sustain a more honest or reliable superuser app/access to more precisely control the permissions that apps from the app store demand before download and use.
I have seen in other forums where users find that these one-click root apps aren't so trustworthy after a few months, and the device doesn't adhere to them as it did before. It's these kinds of things that sort of scare me. but if you are aware of a way to use these apps to gain root access and then a way to get rid of them while keeping root on my device safely, I would be more than glad to learn.
I am very new to rooting android devices since i've never done it before. and am trying to use my knowlegde from some PC maintenince to understand these things. so i hope that you can excuse me for not fully understand some things. But i am open to any help that can be spared.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I hope your holidays were great as well. I understand your reasoning for concern. I haven't been able to successfully use supersu to handle root operations. Busybox will not install correctly either for me. I have successfully achieved root access though through kingroot. I don't remember the version I used but it has been rooted for well over 2 months with zero issues. I have replaced my bootanimations without bootloops as well.
I am currently trying to romdump and pull device tree to see if I can get a KDZ created or ported. As I am trying to get twrp recovery installed. And I think the only way for that to happen is to get to 5.1. But to answer any doubt. My experience with kingroot has been okay. Also rootchecker apps confirm root as well.
Failbringer60 said:
Thanks, I hope your holidays were great as well. I understand your reasoning for concern. I haven't been able to successfully use supersu to handle root operations. Busybox will not install correctly either for me. I have successfully achieved root access though through kingroot. I don't remember the version I used but it has been rooted for well over 2 months with zero issues. I have replaced my bootanimations without bootloops as well.
I am currently trying to romdump and pull device tree to see if I can get a KDZ created or ported. As I am trying to get twrp recovery installed. And I think the only way for that to happen is to get to 5.1. But to answer any doubt. My experience with kingroot has been okay. Also rootchecker apps confirm root as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. I apologize for not being able to understand all the technical jargon when it comes to the android platform, but as i ask questions, i can pick up on it fairly quickly.
For now i take it that you are still figuring out a way to backup your android system, since the only offer the LG Destiny has, is to back up your data to google cloud. It seems that either tracfone devices took that ability away (since i think that any computer like device should have a recovery system - though i could be wrong) or it is a flaw in android 5.0.1 which is what our devices are running.
I take it that you are "romdump"-ing to kinda like create a clone in a storage space which you can turn into a recovery rom in case the device messes up - i think.
I'm glad to hear that Kingroot worked for you. I would like to try it too but i would first love to back up my system entirely so that if a noob like me does mess up, i haven't completely lost everything.
Can i ask you if you are able to delete/uninstall bloatware from your Destiny now that you have it rooted. But you say that you are not able to install supersu (which i assume is software that lets you control your device with admin rights)? Reading things online, i've come to see that kingroot has a supersu type of software, but that it's inferior or malicous or something, hence why people are trying to install supersu in replacement. I may be missing some facts there, but i'm always see a relationship between the two.
Would you lose your root access, or ability to remove bloatware and control other app permissions if you removed kingroot? Or is it supersu that retains the root access that kingroot achieved, but people are ridding their devices of kingroot because kingroot inevitably introduces its own bloatware at the price of a rooted device?
Sorry to sound all over the place. I've just seen a consistent connection between kingroot and supersu online everywhere i look. I've never seen how either of these apps work on a device once installed, but i do know that people are always using supersu right after using kingroot.
Exactly, for the LG leon user they got the update to 5.1 which enabled them to unlock the bootloader and flash a custom recovery for the ability to back up the rom. As for us Destiny users I think we aren't going to ever get anything but root for a while. And yes kingroot does install its own bloat ware. And I have removed all the stock bloatware that came with my phone.
Failbringer60 said:
Exactly, for the LG leon user they got the update to 5.1 which enabled them to unlock the bootloader and flash a custom recovery for the ability to back up the rom. As for us Destiny users I think we aren't going to ever get anything but root for a while. And yes kingroot does install its own bloat ware. And I have removed all the stock bloatware that came with my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Failbringer60,
Were you able to somehow successfully backup your Destiny's rom to use as a recovery source? I myself just went through a whole lot of folly and have practically lost my device. I believe my spoiled Destiny is soft-bricked. It will not boot past the LG logo screen. I don't think it's looping since it doesn't fade to black and return repetitively. It's just frozen on that screen. Now i'm diving deep and reading a whole lot more about such problems and solutions, and am learning much more. But sadly, the design Tracfone has left the Destiny (and most likely it's other android models alike) is quite handicapped. I've come to understand that there is absolutely no boot menu with particular options you'd normally find in flagship models, and recovery only works if, well, if the device still works (as far as i've tried everything i know). Part of that recovery would make sense if content was the only concern. Though any system based malfunction is merely a complete loss. I have yet to download and try a few pc applications that others use to connect to their android devices. But since needing exact phone/model firmware or system image backup to fix many android issues are what these pc applications use, and LG having completely omitted the lgl21g model from all their lists on their site (except for the product landing page of course), I have no idea how it would help my situation. For all I've said, i may stand corrected, since i have yet to attempt the revival of my device.
So i hope no one gets annoyed when i ask weird questions, but i'll do what i can and document my findings. If you or anyone else may know how to help me, I would very much appreciate it. If you need more info from me. let me know.
Thanks.

Problems understanding how to Root

Maybe the problem is that I don't know how to properly ask for what I want/need. First off, I am new, so let's pretend I know nothing about modding phones. Second, what I am trying to achieve is the following:
Marshmallow OS or newer (I have lollipop and I highly dislike it)
Complete removal of all AT&T software/bloatware from my M8
Ability to try out different ROMs (are those the same thing as operating systems?) like cyanogenmod.
Those are the highlights to my endgame.
I have found there are several steps to this, and it seems like each step has at least one prerequisite or sub-step and I get overwhelmed when reading up on how to achieve the above goals. Feels like I'm doing taxes for a poorly run business. Apparently I need TWRP on my phone. No clue why or what it does. In order to install it, I need to have root access or a previous version of TWRP already installed, or I need to install the SDK tools package, and from that, only install fastboot and adb. Then after that I need to already have some type of drivers on my PC for that to be useful. Like I said, it is overwhelming to someone who does not know all of the lingo. Especially when I know that if I mess up at certain intervals, I could very well turn my phone into a shiny paperweight or small cocaine tray. Anywhere I have read up on this, when it says download/install _______, I cannot determine whether that means download/install on my PC, or on my phone, bc it doesn't specifically say what goes where in every instance. To make matters more difficult, I do not have an internet connection other than on my phone. Anything that needs to go on my PC, I have to download it to my phone first, then transfer it over, then install it. I asked once for a step by step tutorial or a link to one, and I was given something that was just as confusing as what I have already found. These tutorials seem to be written for ppl who know a lot by ppl who know a lot. I am not one of those ppl. I am a green noob, still wet behind the ears. I apologize in advance for not knowing, but I am just not at the level where I can guess which things go where and If I temporarily render my phone unusable, I won't be able to easily go online to find the fix, nor will I be able to download anything else, if needed. Would greatly help me if I had a list of ingredients needed before I begin, and a sequence, much like a recipe for a cake. Again, I apologize for not knowing, and I'm sure all of you reading this were, at one point, uneducated on the matter. Thank you for any advice and/or reading my TL/DR post.
See my responses below, in red font:
Damagj said:
Apparently I need TWRP on my phone. No clue why or what it does. In order to install it,
TWRP is a custom recovery, and what that is, is explained in "that" thread I linked you to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2744194
Think of TWRP as a kind of small installer program and backup/recovery tool. You need it to flash custom ROMs, and you can also use it to backup the current ROM. It's not used within the Android OS, but rather you can boot into it separately. Which is obviously handy, if for whatever reason you can't boot to Android OS, and need to "recover" (restore the OS).
I need to have root access or a previous version of TWRP already installed, or I need to install the SDK tools package, and from that, only install fastboot and adb. Then after that I need to already have some type of drivers on my PC for that to be useful.
Don't go by the install instructions on the TWRP website, they are not device specific (to the M8) and may misguide you (every Android device has it's own nuances).
To install TWRP, you need to unlock the bootloader. The bootloader is "locked" by default, which by definition means you cannot install a custom recovery. The following is a good step-by-step guide to unlock the bootloader and install custom recovery. Note, that you do not need to root, in order to install TWRP, or flash a custom ROM. So stop before you get to the step of root (flash SuperSU). Also, the version of TWRP you install should be current (3.1) or alternately 2.8.7 (which is a known "old reliable) version).
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2799796
Like I said, it is overwhelming to someone who does not know all of the lingo. Especially when I know that if I mess up at certain intervals, I could very well turn my phone into a shiny paperweight or small cocaine tray.
No, you actually can't. Your fear of bricking the phone (permanent damage) is unfounded. As with s-on, this phone is nearly impossible to brick. The phone is fully recoverable even if you screw up; since for what you describe, you are only touching a limited number of partitions (system which is the OS, and recovery). As long as you don't mess with "critical" partitions like hboot and radio, you can't actually brick this phone. And those partitions are actually protected, and you can't modify them even if you wanted, unless you s-off. So all the more reason to stay s-on, as I described in the other thread you posted in here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74107487&postcount=100
To make matters more difficult, I do not have an internet connection other than on my phone. Anything that needs to go on my PC, I have to download it to my phone first, then transfer it over, then install it.
but I am just not at the level where I can guess which things go where and If I temporarily render my phone unusable, I won't be able to easily go online to find the fix, nor will I be able to download anything else, if needed.
That part is difficult. While possible, doing what you describe is somewhat risky with no other device for internet. At some point, it's almost inevitable for anyone tinkering these phones, that something will go wrong. Either you forget a step, or you can't boot for no mistake of your own, at all. Even having done this stuff for years, it still happens to be, once in a while. It just happens. So without a way to ask for help, or download files, you can get stuck in a bad jam. You'll need to have some backup plan, even if it's a friend or family, letting you use their computer as a last resort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stick with it. Keep reading up, and trying to learn the basic terms, concepts, tools, and methods. I know it seems overwhelming, but it will all start to make sense. You really can't (and shouldn't) try doing these things, until you have some basic understanding. You wouldn't ask someone to tell you how to tear the engine out of a car, without knowing how any tools work, or what any of the parts of the car are called.
I would also suggest you refer to my (AT&T M8) index thread. It has a lot of links and basic info, you may find useful: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2751432

Creating custom ROM foor root purpose

Hi,
I'm trying to root my recently bought Oukitel K5000 for testing purposes, but I cannot seem to find any custom ROM to do so. It is an inexpensive Phone that is recently released, so I'm not surprised by it, however I would like to make a start with the rooting process.
It came to my mind to create an own custom ROM. I never did anything like that before, and since I don't want to waste too much time on a wasted case I would like to know if anyone can tell me if it is a project with some chance of success without prior knowledge of the system structure of Android. I still have about a week off from work, so that is about the time I can spent on it. If something goes wrong the Phone can be easily replaced.
If this is not possible, any other ideas about rooting the device (like some custom ROM of another device that might work and/or LineageOS)?

i527 bootloader - still locked after all these years?

Is there still no way to unlock the bootloader and get a custom recovery onto an AT&T SGH-i527 Mega 6.3 over six years later? These phones are still popular despite having frequent hardware failures.
I found a site claiming to have instructions for flashing LineageOS 17.1 to the AT&T i527, but I'm pretty sure it's just a bot-written ad site with articles that appear to make sense at first glance, while nevertheless being completely useless and existing solely to harvest traffic for ad views by appearing to have real-looking content.
Note that in the URL below, I replaced ".com/" with ".c/", just to avoid having Google see this post and raise that URL's ranking because it found a link to it from here.
https://tweakdroid.c/lineage/samsung-galaxy-mega-6-3-samsung-sgh-i527-meliuslteatt/
On one hand, it seems to superficially make sense... until you you get to steps 2 and 3...
Next, you need, unlock the bootloader. You can’t do this if you have a locked bootloader. If you haven’t heard about this, you can look at the guide of unlock bootloaders.
As you have done these, next install TWRP recovery in your phone. You can use our guide for the installation of the TWRP recovery process.
... then head over to XDA, and ultimately lose several hours of your life that you'll never be able to get back before discovering that as far as anyone here can tell, unlocking the i527's bootloader is literally impossible (at least, without paying more than the phone is actually worth to have someone do it with a JTAG... and based on a 28-page thread I spent 2 hours reading, it looks like that didn't even work when someone tried paying someone to do it).
For what it's worth, I actually have two of these phones:
One has 4.2.2 (I527UCUAMH1)
One has 4.4.2 (I527UCSBNJ4)
As far as I know, the second one is doomed to be a useless paperweight forever, because nobody has ever even manged to root 4.4.2, let alone unlock its bootloader.
I haven't completely given up hope that the first one might eventually be useful for something, but as far as I can tell after plowing through old and dead threads here, 4.2.2 is rootable, but not even it can be unlocked for reflashing... and TWRP has never been successfully made to work with it. I'd love to be wrong... but I'm not feeling very hopeful right now.

Question Anyone willing to try a GSI?

I wonder if we can get a GSI working! Anyone wanna try?
I'd love that. But I'm not seeing much love for many Moto phones. Mostly because those that get Moto are happy with what they get. And most devs don't bother with budget Moto.
Even with my limited time, I was considering to see if I could learn how to build port for a ROM. But without a recovery I thought it be best to flash stock, root and try to costumize it. Replace the apps I don't want with alternative. I already use Samsungs Internet in as Chrome replacement. Tho I do have a full set of browsers depending on what I'm gonna do.
That said, I did look into a TWRP.
Okay, so, our Moto G Play (2021) has same chip as the G10, E7 Plus and Lenovo K12 although with 1GB less RAM and half the storage. E7 Plus has no TWRP or ROMs yet, nor the G10, naturally, since it just released. The K12 however, supposedly have a working unofficial TWRP. But since I've only come across it on a handful of sites I have not experience with.
IS unofficialtwrp(dot)com legit? Cause there's a guide there for the Lenovo K12 that has the files for it. I mean, I have multiple devices that run with "unofficial" TWRP, but since I got them here, I always though it was some local dev that made it and share it. Never thought there was a website that was grouping them all. If it was here, I'd had no doubts. But here, the K12 hasn't even pop up.
I have consider trying it out. But flashing has because such a hassle with some phones not in the mood for trail and error 10 times. Between verity, stabs, vbmeta and where what flashes. My previous device was a V40 that not one single method worked for fully setting up the phone without breaking something. Had to mix and match like 3 guides. I don't know, maybe my device had issues. I'm grateful for 9008 + QFIL and its partition manager.
Thinking of first trying to replace my V40 battery. (Bloated so bad 3 sides are already separated of the back cover) And if all goes well star using the G Play as guinie pig.
I could try, if you could send the link
Omizuke said:
I'd love that. But I'm not seeing much love for many Moto phones. Mostly because those that get Moto are happy with what they get. And most devs don't bother with budget Moto.
Even with my limited time, I was considering to see if I could learn how to build port for a ROM. But without a recovery I thought it be best to flash stock, root and try to costumize it. Replace the apps I don't want with alternative. I already use Samsungs Internet in as Chrome replacement. Tho I do have a full set of browsers depending on what I'm gonna do.
That said, I did look into a TWRP.
Okay, so, our Moto G Play (2021) has same chip as the G10, E7 Plus and Lenovo K12 although with 1GB less RAM and half the storage. E7 Plus has no TWRP or ROMs yet, nor the G10, naturally, since it just released. The K12 however, supposedly have a working unofficial TWRP. But since I've only come across it on a handful of sites I have not experience with.
IS unofficialtwrp(dot)com legit? Cause there's a guide there for the Lenovo K12 that has the files for it. I mean, I have multiple devices that run with "unofficial" TWRP, but since I got them here, I always though it was some local dev that made it and share it. Never thought there was a website that was grouping them all. If it was here, I'd had no doubts. But here, the K12 hasn't even pop up.
I have consider trying it out. But flashing has because such a hassle with some phones not in the mood for trail and error 10 times. Between verity, stabs, vbmeta and where what flashes. My previous device was a V40 that not one single method worked for fully setting up the phone without breaking something. Had to mix and match like 3 guides. I don't know, maybe my device had issues. I'm grateful for 9008 + QFIL and its partition manager.
Thinking of first trying to replace my V40 battery. (Bloated so bad 3 sides are already separated of the back cover) And if all goes well star using the G Play as guinie pig.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it booting wise and tried to backup booting itself worked perfectly but I wasn't able to properly test backup and restore because I didn't have enough storage...
I've been trying. I did see a thread about repacking due to storage space necessary for unlocking rw on the system partition. Whcih GSI were you able to boot?
stoag said:
I've been trying. I did see a thread about repacking due to storage space necessary for unlocking rw on the system partition. Whcih GSI were you able to boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Late and not OP, but I was able to get phhusson's ROM booted with gapps. The secure version does not work, I guess because it uses vndklite and I have not taken steps to unlock r/w.
Update: I got the secure version working! I Needed to flash vbmeta.img
I followed these instructions... https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-phh-gsi-flash-aosp-12.4328891/

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