ifelixit

Tuesday, 13 February 2018

Red Wolf TWRP, Root Support Incremental OTA - Redmi 4A

Hei Redmi 4A fans,

What have we here today? After fiddling around with your Redmi 4A and getting comfortable with it, you might want to explore more like rooting or flashing other custom ROMs or even thinking flashing incremental OTA without breaking it and not having to flash the Full Package ROM. Hence, with the help of Red Wolf or ZCX Recoveries you can attain that. So what is this Red Wolf Recovery?

Red Wolf Recovery is an alternative custom recovery based on TWRP source code with the main objective of the project to provide stable recovery with features which have not been accepted for addition to the official source code of TWRP. On top of that, it the first recovery to add protection feature with password protection and support incremental OTA.

- Password protection
- Flashlight
- MIUI Incremental OTA Support
- Built-in latest Magisk, SuperSU & AromaFM
- Support two screenshot GUI actions - Power+VolDown to save screenshot in to the internal storage & Power+VolUp to save screenshot in to the external storage (Will be automatically saved in to the internal in case that external storage doesn't exist).
- Support automatic reboot after the restore process
- Recovery can automatically modify some props in the ROM directly during the installation
- Some built-in scripts from community
- Tap to wake support
- Advanced deactivation of the stock recovery
- Automatic deactivation of the dm-verity & forced encryption directly during the installation of the ROM
- Recovery can notify you about the completed backup/restore/installation using the notification diode & vibration.
- Support "set on boot" settings.

* Changes for security reasons *
- ADB isn't starting automatically at the start of the recovery. You have to activate it in recovery
- MTP isn't starting until user enter correct password
- Deactivated TWRP theme engine

ifelixit Flasher Toolkit is a hassle-free flasher for multi-purpose tasking. To conveniently flash TWRP or alternative recoveries with a few click or other repeatitve designated task.

Essentials:

1. Bootloader Unlocked
2. USB DATA cable (the one that came with your device)
3. Before proceeding: Disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Windows 7/8/10 64-Bit
4. Enable USB Debugging - Goto Settings > Additional settings > Developer options > USB Debugging - Enable (If you have not activated Developer options, then Goto Settings > About phone > tap MIUI version 7 times > You are now a developer)
5. Battery is charged at least 50%.

Requirements:

1. ifelixit FLASHER TOOLKIT RW Rolex

2. MiFlash2017-7-20-0 - Preferably or Minimal ADB and Fastboot v1.4.3 and install it on your PC/Laptop, preferably on C\:Drive and choose system-wide installation.

Using FLASHER TOOLKIT Rolex:

1. Plug your device in an ON-STATE via USB cable to your PC/Laptop.

2. Download ifelixit Toolkit Flasher Rolex and extract, "Run as administrator" and execute "ifelixit FLASHER TOOLKIT Rolex.bat".

3. Next, you see the menu for what you want to do, as mentioned on the highlight, choose Menu #1 to FLASH Red Wolf Recovery for Redmi 4A and follow the on-screen instructions.

4. It will check whether you have followed all the Essentials mentioned above, and when all are met, it will run accordingly and flawlessly.

5. Once the flashing is done successfully, you will reach the TWRP screen asking you if you want to allow system modifications. By swiping right, you will trigger dm-verity, and if you don't follow the next step you will be unable to boot! Hence, to root your device you need to follow the rest of these steps, then it is safe to swipe right and enable modifications.

6. To go further, Red Wolf Recovery will prompt you for a password and later you will have the option to stick or even remove password, as follows:-

7. Next, goto Advanced/Special Actions, to Disable DM-verity, Disable Forced Encryption and Support MIUI Incremental OTA. It is imperative to Ticked all these options to flawlessly to avoid bootlooping and enjoy Incremental OTA.

8. Goto Advanced/Settings to install SuperSU or Magisk to Root your device, as follows:-

9. Then for the first time, you MUST FLASH a Full Pack or a Recovery zip, in order for it to backup to prepare to get, Incremental OTA the next time round, as shown below:-

10. Now, that you have successfully flash Full Pack MIUI Recovery zip, to enjoy the Incremental OTA when its pushed for the next update and rooted, as shown below:-

11. Meanwhile, for those using China Developer ROM, Google Playstore is not pre-install, hence you need to install Google Apps, you can use the following method,Google Apps - GApps for MARSHMALLOW & NOUGAT, GoogleInstaller_3.0.apk or GApps.

Enjoy!

CREDITS:

MacTavish

FEEDBACK:

All feedback and suggestion are most welcome for the betterment of the FLASHER TOOLKIT user experience.

DISCLAIMER: DO ON YOUR OWN RISK. Flashing can potentially bricked or bootloop your device.

"Solving with simplicity"

Image credit: Google

Wish Those Celebrating A Happy Prosperous Lunar New Year 2018!

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

Android 8.1 OREO Google Apps Installation

Hei MIUI-ers,

Are you ready for the release of MIUI 9 especially with Android Upgrade to Oreo 8.0/8.1 for your devices. The wait is over, here comes MIUI 9 China Stable and China Developer ROM with the awesome features, especially speedy systems, faster functions and a great experiences. Hey, for those trying out the China ROM which comes with more flavor will need the GApps which is not pre-installed to make it a more exciting experience. As a tester myself for Mi 6 for both Alpha and Beta, hence I would recommend the following GApps method, to avoid all those problematic issues, like Black screen, Apps FC (Force Close) or Rapid bug report popping up with the adaptation of different Android versions.

With the official release, Google has also pushed source code for Android 8.0 to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). This helps developers to build and test Android apps based on the latest and new APIs introduced in Android Oreo update. Meaning you won’t be able to use Google Play Store and Google Play Services unless you install/flash an Oreo supported Gapps package. Let's get to it...

Google Apps known Issues:-

Black screen
Freezes when checking app updates
Apps FC (Force close)
Rapid bug report popping
Battery Drain

Here in this guide, I will share you how to solve these problems partially, parallel to Google fixes progresses and get back all your Google services on your phone for the different adoptation of Android versions.

Download:-
Oreo-Google Apps Apks-ifelixit.zip

Installation steps:
1. Download Oreo-Google Apps Apks-ifelixit.zip and extract and move the folder Oreo-Google Apps Apks-ifelixit to your Download folder in your Explorer App.

2. Goto Security App and allow installation from unknown sources, as shown below:-

3. Next start the installation with the following sequence as in the image below, make sure for Google Services Framework APK, choose either 8.0 or 8.1, depending on your respective device Android version:-

Note: To check your Android version, goto About phone.

4. During installation of the APK it is important to only Install and not to Open the app after it is successfully installed. Install the 6 APKs provided in the folder accordingly, as shown on the images below:-

5. After you are done installing the 6 APKs, click home button and reboot your device. After seeing the Home screen launch the Google Playstore app followed by entering your login details, as shown below:-

6. Check your Google Playstore version, it will update automatically to the current version as shown below:-

7. That's it. You have install Google Playstore on your device.

That's it for the fourth series of "ifelixit". Stay tuned for the Ported MIUI ROM for MI A1. Coming soon for the MIUI-ers.

DISCLAIMER: DO ON YOUR OWN RISK. Flashing can potentially bricked or bootloop your device.

"Solving with simplicity"

[ifelixit] Redmi Note 4X: Hands-on Teardown & Test Point!

[ifelixit] What You Need to Know About 4G+/LTE-A!

[ifelixit] FLASHER TOOLKIT Mi 6 - Root & TWRP for Sagit!

[ifelixit] Flash Global/China/Stable/Developer ROM Without Unlocking Bootloader

[ifelixit] Guide to Root Your Mi A1 for Oreo Android 8.0 Version!

[ifelixit] Guide to Install TWRP 3.2.1-0 on Mi A1 Oreo Version!

[ifelixit] Test Point Method to flash Bricked Mi A1

[ifelixit] Android 8.1 OREO Google Apps Installation

Image credit: Google

Wish Those Celebrating A Happy Prosperous Lunar New Year 2018!

Saturday, 3 February 2018

Test Point Method to flash Bricked Mi A1

Hei Mi A1 fans,

What's cooking with your Android One device? This the third volume for my "ifelixit" series. Mi A1 was selected for the Android One which is Purely Android firmware and not running MIUI. As a fan of MIUI knowingly knows they will bricked their devices if they try to flash Mi 5X ROM or Ported ROM on it. Despite all the risks, they still love the MIUI experience. Given a Bricked Mi A1 or failing to boot after a disastrous flashing, leaving the user with non-functional phone, that is, fastboot or recovery cannot be attain at all.

The holidays is round the corner, and lets get a solution quick to get it PC detected to flash the Official desiganted ROM back on your partially dead Mi A1. Hence, what is the last resort before going to the service center. The ultimate solution is Test Point Method, which is to short-circuit the resistor to ground and get the PC to recognize the phone in Emergency Download (EDL) mode. I would not be recommending any Deep Flasher Cable (DFC), eventhough I was the first to use it effectively, even before there is a tutorial made on the MIUI Forum since the circuitry of the DFC is different for different Mi devices.Let's kick in the Test Point Method...

Tools:

Anti-static angle tweezer

Plastic Crowbar

Plastic Prying Tools

Plastic Antistatic Crowbar

1.5 Philips screw driver

Firstly, we start off with swtiching off your phone, then remove the Hybrid SIM tray with the ejector pin.

Next, we need to dismantle the phone by unscrewing the bottom two screws using a 1.5 Philips screw driver.

Followed by, unplugging the battery terminal connector.

Next, we deal with the Test Point for those having issue with their PC/Laptop not detecting Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 under the Ports (COM & LPT) on their Device Manager.

Assuming, the phone has been pried opened. Here is the effective points.

Step One:

Remove Battery connector.

Step Two:

Use a sharp pointed Angle Tweezer and short the Test points below.

Note: Advisable keep your PC sound level loud, which will help you to know of the activity of the connection.

Essentials:

1. USB DATA Type-C cable (the one that came with your device)

2. Before proceeding: Disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Windows 7/8/10 64-Bit

3. Battery is charged at least 50%.

4. Download Minimal ADB and Fastboot v1.4.3 and install it on your PC/Laptop, preferably on C\:Drive and choose system-wide installation.

5. Download and decompress the fastboot ROM OPR1.170623.026.8.1.10 (Android O)

6. Download MiFlash2017-7-20-0.zip and install it on your PC/Laptop.

Step One:

Immediately plug in your USD DATA Cable while keeping the Test Points short properly, and your PC/Laptop will notify you of a new device being connected and it will download the necessary driver for the Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 under the Ports (COM & LPT) on the Device Manager as shown below: