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[Guide] Stock unrooted 621 (or bricked) to Full rooted 621 (With proper kernel)

56K views 77 replies 21 participants last post by  MBM262 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
All the information seems to be scattered around parts of the forums, so I thought I'd write a tut on it gathering information together to make it easier on people.

This guide can be used for unbricking, or if you're stuck on stock 621 without root.

NOTE; I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR PHONE CORRUPTS AND NEVER BOOTS AGAIN, CREATES THERMONUCLEAR WAR, OR EATS ALL OF YOUR BACON.

READ THE ENTIRE POST BEFORE ATTEMPTING. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

First off, thanks for the people that made this all possible,
Goose306; various files and putting up with me and my senseless testing.
Also the Wifi Lib fix for 602/605 Blur based roms.
ky41083; For the flashable 604 to 621 kernel fix zip.
bukolov1; For the original rootable SBF find.
bobcaruso; For his thread letting everyone know of the find.
Skelente; For his linux SBF guide.
KDS1; For the easy lazy-man's SBF discs.
daywalker04; For the 621 SBF file.
shatter; For the rooted 621 system nandroid.
All others that have contributed, tested, and everyone else I've forgotten.

FILES YOU WILL NEED
First and foremost, the SBF files.

For simplified 604, KDS1's live disc for 604; Found in his thread here.
I will not provide an SBF guide as SyNiK4L has a nice one Here.

Grab the latest RSDLite and Drivers from above guide.

The 621 Rooted System Nandroid

Thanks to shatter.

The Kernel and Wifi Lib Fix

NOTE: You do not need the Wifi Libs if you are flashing a 2nd-init rom, or 621 stock.​
Only needed for 602/605 Blur based roms (Liberty, Apex, etc)​

FIRST STEP TO ANYTHING:
MAKE A BACKUP OF EVERYTHING.

Contacts can be saved by opening contacts > backup to SD​
SMS messages can be saved with SMS Backup & Restore or Rom Toolbox (if rooted)​
Either backup to google servers, handwrite app list, or (if rooted) backup apps with Titanium Backup.​
SDCard contents ARE NOT touched in this process.​

Now that the important things are out of the way, we shall start the processes.

After you backup everything, it's best to work with a clean slate.

Perform a factory reset.

1: Turn the phone off
2: Hold the HOME button while powering on the phone.
3: Press Volume up and down at the same time when you see the triangle ! to open the menu.
4: Select Wipe user data/factory reset, using the volume buttons to navigate and power button to select.

SBF The phone to 621 to ensure proper 15P radio.
Or if you are bricked, start here.

1: Turn the phone off.
2: Hold Volume down + Camera button while booting.
3: Follow the above SBF guide using the 621 SBF File in RSDLITE

SBF the phone to 604 so it can be rooted

1: Turn the phone off (This is getting to be a standard isn't it?
)
2: Hold Volume down + Camera button while booting.
3: Boot KDS1's 604 SBF CD and follow instructions; this will also root the 604.

DO NOT SBF 604 WITH RSDLITE, IT WILL CHANGE THE RADIO AND BREAK DATA.


Boot the phone into your new, rooted 604 enviroment and prepare for magic.

1: After booting, sign into the market, let apps update (just to get that out of the way, because auto-update is selected by default)
2: Download Droid 2 Bootstrap, ROM Manager, and a beer (or in my case, a nice ice tea)
3: Open Settings > Applications > Allow non-market apps. Check the box. Then > Development > Enable USB Debugging.
4: Open Super User > Settings > Check for su binary update
5: Open Droid 2 Bootstrap > Bootstrap recovery and allow su request. It should say Bootstrap Successful.
6: Open ROM Manager > Flash ClockworkMod Recovery > Select Droid X (2nd-init) (It doesn't actually matter, but I find I get less errors with the '2nd-init' version, maybe plaecebo.) Allow su request to flash the latest CWM recovery.

UPDATE:
6a: Download a stock rooted 621 rom here; http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25017-roms-droid-x-45621-stock-rooted-clockworkmod-flashable-updates-by-ky/ thanks to ky, master of the zip flashes.

6b: Flash this as you would a rom ontop of the 604 and you can skip the rest of the guide. Feel free to continue if you want that fuzzy "I did it myself" feeling.


Setup to restore 621 Rooted nandroid.

1: Create a folder named 621 in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup (Should look like /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/621)
2: Place the system.ext3.tar in above folder. (Place the Kernel zip and Wifi Lib zip on root of SDCard)
3: Download Terminal Emulator from the market
4: Type 'su' without quotes, allow request.
5: Type 'cd /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/621'
6: Type 'md5sum *tar > nandroid.md5' to generate an md5 file for filecheck in CWM, this will prevent md5 checksum errors while restoring.

NOTE: You can also use Goose's 7zip found here: http://www.droidxfor...html#post556937
Which includes the md5 to skip steps 3~6. If you get an MD5 mismatch error in the next steps, you MUST delete the md5 file and do steps 3~6.

Reboot into CWM to restore and flash everything.

1: Open ROM Manager and tap reboot to recovery.
2: Use the Volume keys to navigate, Camera button to select, and Power as 'back'
3: Go to backup/restore > Select restore > Select the 621 folder you made earlier.
4: Let CWM restore the 621 nandroid, which will flash rooted 621 system.
5: After it finishes, back up to the main menu and select install zip from SDCard
6: Select the 604 to 621 fix zip and let it flash.
6a: IF you intend to use Liberty, Apex, or other Blur based rom, flash your rom zip now, then the wifi lib fix zip.
7: Back to main menu, select wipe and Factory reset.

Reboot the phone into 621 enviroment.

1: It's not required, but might prevent bootloops hanging at the M logo, pull battery. (Only if it sticks at the M Logo, or if you really like pulling it out)
2: Do NOT be alarmed at the custom boot animation. The rooted system nandroid has a pretty cool Star Trek inspired boot animation.
3: It may take ~5 minutes to boot, as it's rebuilding the cache and everything.
4: After it boots, dial *228 option 1 to program the phone (just incase, shouldn't have to, but can't hurt)
5: Restore your Contacts either from google or SD backup, SMS messages, apps, etc. Everything you backed up earlier.
6: Enjoy your rooted full 621 system.
6a: Feel free to flash any awesome rom out there, 2nd-init roms need no special care. Gummy, CM7/9, etc.
6b: Flash a Blur-based rom from Goose's awesomely made list that's been pre-patched to remove certain updates that would brick without them (includes instructions to patch yourself); http://rootzwiki.com...hose-on-621604/
7: Hit thanks if it helped you make your Droid X awesome again.


AGAIN, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED ALONG THIS JOURNEY WITH FILES, GUIDES, AND OTHER THINGS.
 
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#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
I updated the guide with a much easier way if you're having nandroid troubles; under the "Reboot into new 604" section, which has a rooted 621 flashable rom that does the rest for you without dealing with the nandroid.

Also, a lot of md5 mismatch, error restoring, etc comes from bad SD cards (especially if you pull them from the phone, mount them via USB and not safely remove, etc)
 
#6 ·
All the information seems to be scattered around parts of the forums, so I thought I'd write a tut on it gathering information together to make it easier on people.

This guide can be used for unbricking, or if you're stuck on stock 621 without root.

NOTE; I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR PHONE CORRUPTS...
Excellent Guide! I just had to get my Droid X replaced and this was just what I needed.
 
#9 ·
Ok I've been missing from the scene for a while.. I'm on MIUI 2012.4.5 which should be based on GB and on .605(? Idk anymore cause I've read that its milestone based and defy based). I'm also on .13P radio. I'm trying to get a better understanding of 621.

I understand you use the linux sbf to avoid flashing radio, but why do we need .604 at all? Can't you just linux sbf to .602 or .605? I read somewhere that you can't return from 621 to either of those, so why can you go to 604 when its not even the right phone??

Plus the end product here is not really a rooted 621 - its a rooted 604 with some stuff from 621 added - right? I don't mean to offend the people who have worked on this.

Also, aside from not being able to acquite root (yet) on a traditional 621 OTA version, does 621 offer anything more other than the .16P radio which there's not many reports on and may just be a placebo in terms of quality? Is there anyway the radio could throttle or report tethering or anything like that?
 
#10 ·
There was a slight change in the 621 bootloader which causes a signature error when trying to load previous SBFs (see blank mem_map errors for the CDT). The 604 SBF has the same keys/bootloader as 621, so we're able to flash it. Despite being a lower number, it's because it's not a Droid X SBF, it's for an unbranded Milestone X for nTelos (this is why you have to use linux to skip the radio, it flashes the nTelos radio for their data, etc). The same hardware, different carrier. Same thing for Droid/Milestone, Droid 2/Milestone 2, etc. (The "Droid" name is copyright Verizon). This system also includes a root exploit and later can load a rooted 621 system and kernel back to the phone to obtain a full rooted 621 system.

In general, no, you do not want to take the OTA if you want your LARGE safety net (SBF all the way back to froyo, small safety net is ability to SBF 621). Though the 15p radio IS better, you obtain about ~5dBm better signal. A separate flash has been created to update the radio without taking the OTA so you can keep SBF abilities. Reports say the 621 kernel is faster/more stable than 602/605, and the 621 system itself contains a lot of bugfixes that should have happened long ago (although all known root exploits as well).

The end product now IS a true rooted 621 system. As ky was able to make a flashable zip to write the raw data for 621 files different than 604. So do try to keep in mind, although DX numbers go 602, 605, 621.. you'd expect 604 to be older than 605, in truth, 604 is newer than 621.

Droid X system 621 is Android version 2.3.4
Milestone X system 604 is Android version 2.3.5

Technical info;

Milestone X
System version: 4.5.604.MB809.ACG-nTelos.en.US
Android version: GB 2.3.5
Kernel version: 2.6.32.9-geadffa3mcbk83@il93lnxdroid08#1
Build number: 4.5.1_57_MX2-34

Droid X
System Version: 4.5.621.MB810.Verizon.en.US
Android version: 2.3.4
Kernel Version: 2.6.32.9-g1282440mcbk83@il93lnxdroid08 #1
Build number: 4.5.1_57_DX8-51
 
#11 ·
The Milestone X firmware has the new signatures that in the CDT that is required for .621 and which is missing from any earlier versions. Signatures are checked by mbm upon bootup, if they do match it returns a MEM_MAP Blank. This is because the old CDT is missing the correct signature so it is unable flash a new one, thus resulting in no CDT, thus resulting in MEM_MAP Blank. Various work in reversion I've done I have gotten PAST the MEM_MAP Blank which means I've gotten it to overwrite to the .602/.605 CDT, but signature check still fails and kicks the e-fuse and you are unable to leave the bootloader still.

So... yeah. That's about it in a nutshell as far as how Moto b0rked the X on .621. I'm guessing due to the fallout and probably plethora of returned bricked phones either from attempting the OTA or SBFing backwards they have changed their update system. The Droid 2 Global got an OTA update recently after the X which *was* unrevertable but for different reasons and was eventually broken. The X2 also had a recent OTA which is revertable. The X was likely the test candidate, and it didn't go well for Moto. Also, as anyone who had bricked their phone, Moto/VZW employees were probably also not able to revert earlier as the standard line employee doesn't have the needed signature keys to write a new CDT to flash earlier firmware. So probably some fallout too internally when they were unable to save broken X's, although generally the .621 SBF is still able to save them, but if the CDT or mbm had gotten corrupted during an OTA it could feasibly hard-brick (maybe).
 
#12 ·
Speaking of, any further development on a possible custom SBF goose? All I can get (using various sbf_flash commands and CG testing) is different bootloader errors, most without mem_map blank. Just a change in numbers....
 
#17 ·
I'm trying to implement a method that will allow the kernels and important Froyo bits to be swapped over to allow the radio swap and then have the boot hijacked using Wiz' bootmenu so you don't have to wipe your ROM.

You can actually do it already without an SBF, I just haven't taken the time to get the other method working, as I've been trying to get this working as it would be a lot more slick. You can totally already do it though without SBFing, you just need to know what to do.

Over on goo there is a 7.1 Monster .zip for CM7 under cvpcs for the DX. Its one of the old official builds on the Froyo kernel. Monster zip includes everything to go to Froyo. YOU DO NEED to manually wipe EVERYTHING if you do this because the updater script doesn't include system wipe portions. Same with the TBH .340 AIO. So you could *feasibly* nandroid your GB, wipe everything, flash the monster, let it boot, then flash the .605 AIO @DXF to put yourself back on GB with .15p, then restore your nandroid after you let it boot once. This would probably take about 15-20 minutes, still a hell of a lot faster and easier than SBFing, as long as you know what you are doing. I haven't messed with this route much because I'd rather get it going the way I want as it'd be a whole lot better and awesome-er plus it would have other applicable uses like doing updates between Froyo/GB besides just radios - effectively negating the need for an SBF unless you weren't able to get into CWM. But, issues getting into CWM when it boots initially currently with the method I'm attempting. So don't do my attempted ones yet. BUT the 7.1 Monster .zip method should work, and I know the .605 AIO w/ 15p @ DXF when you are coming back up from Froyo.
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
#18 ·
Sounds like a fun and fancy trial by error. any progress on downgrading to eclair?
I only had one device on eclair... damn it was snappy
all my other devices had froyo or better.
 
#19 ·
Perform a factory reset.

1: Turn the phone off
2: Hold the HOME button while powering on the phone.
3: Press Volume up and down at the same time when you see the triangle ! to open the menu.
4: Select Wipe user data/factory reset, using the volume buttons to navigate and power button to select.

SBF The phone to 621 to ensure proper 15P radio.
Or if you are bricked, start here.

1: Turn the phone off.
2: Hold Volume down + Camera button while booting.
3: Follow the above SBF guide using the 621 SBF File in RSDLITE

SBF the phone to 604 so it can be rooted

1: Turn the phone off (This is getting to be a standard isn't it?
)
2: Hold Volume down + Camera button while booting.
3: Boot KDS1's 604 SBF CD and follow instructions; this will also root the 604.

If you are already on the factory .621 is it necessary to SBF into .621 or can you SBF straight to the .604?

Thanks,
GAT
 
#22 ·
To go back to full stock (unrooted) 621, it's easiest to use RSDLite to SBF 621. If you're already on 621, you can just do a factory reset, then do the root method from there.

Although, since you're just doing the jump from 621 > 604 > root > 621 rooted, you *should* only have to wipe cache. /data is compatible between 604/621. If you're on 621, try SBFing 604 with prefered linux/livedisc method, then wiping only cache, your data should remain intact just on the 604 system. Then root, install CWM as per bootstrap/rom manager update, and flash a rooted 621 zip of ky's, rewipe cache only again. Theoretically, all your data should still be there from a stock 621 to a rooted 621, long as you weren't on any custom roms.
 
#26 ·
As long as your radio is 15p, try calling verizon and asking them to reprovision your data. You did make sure to sbf in linux correct? Some users have reported having to call verizon to fix data. Just tell them your data stopped working.
 
#31 ·
Got it working. Thx Skree... I did find a bug though with the WIFI tether.... dont do it while you have your phone usb connected to your computer bc it pops up the verizon website telling you to subscribe to the service and disables your data again. You just have to reboot the phone though and it works fine
 
#32 ·
When having the USB hooked up likely initiates the 'official' tether (which uses @dun.vzw3g.com instead of @vzw3g.com) which differentiates between phone and tether data. Wifi tether for root routes traffic through your phone's data connection, instead of switching to DUN (Dial up networking) like the stock wifi tether.

You can actually use CDMAWorkshop to re-write the NVItems to change the tether login info to vzw3g.com so the official app is 'free' too, since it'd login as the phone and not a tether connection.
 
#36 ·
Ok so I'm on the Liberty from from the 4 roms that goose posted with the patch. It's a .605 baseband.

My question is, there are only 4 roms there available for users like myself to use, (according to you and goose). I'd like to know what other roms out there I can flash to my phone without effing it up?

Keep in mind I did the whole flashing and rooting from ota .621 using the kds live disc. It finally worked great and now I'm rooted and running but I'd like to know if there is a bigger selection than the 4 roms goose has patched? Does anyone have a list? Or any tricks?

Sent from my DROIDX using RootzWiki
 
#37 · (Edited by Moderator)
Any 2nd init rom, such as miui, cyanogenmod, aokp, etc that was made for the gingerbread kernel work flawless. Blur based roms, such as liberty, require the bp script removal and wifi lib fix (since wifi appears to have changed in 621). For any blur based that isnt listed in goose's thread, he wrote instructions on patching at the bottom of the same post so you can do it yourself. Basically all roms built for the gb kernel work. The main difference is if it is blur based or 2nd init, that determines any extra steps.

Also; I am glad your issue is fixed that we discussed in your other thread. When you said the 1kds wasnt sbfing your phone. Bad wire or some other small issue? Also glad my guide is of help.

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25352-contrast-questions-about-rsd-lite-and-ubuntu/ this thread.
 
#39 · (Edited by Moderator)
Flashing madman! A new laptop is awesome too. My 1 year old gaming laptop recently had a flop. The m key fell off for no reason.
and exactly one week out of warranty. Manufacturer is giving me a one time exception though and sending a tech out wednesday to replace my keyboard free of charge.
 
#40 ·
Well quit pressing the keys so damn hard, and tell your cats and dogs to stay off your desk!

Anyways, yeah that's funny if it just popped out for no reason. And it's even more odd that a technician is coming to your house to replace it?! You must not live in Florida like I do where life is much harder because we have nothing here.
 
#41 ·
Personally, I would rather change it myself. I can't stand other people working on my equipment. They likely are sending a tech because it is out of warranty and they want to verify no user caused damage.
 
#42 ·
I am new here and it has been awhile since I have rooted my X. I am coming from .621 did sbf. Did the linux boot disc. It was sucessful and I rebooted into .604 milestone. Everything is working but I can not see superuser. Am I missing something? I also have the droid x bootstrap and I was wondering if that will work instead of the droid 2 bootstrap. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
#43 ·
Did you run the zergrush root method after sbfing 604? Should be in your app drawer if you did. You have to use the droid 2 bootstrap, the droid x one wont work.
 
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