Rooting the Astro Slide

[ZimbiX]

Almost exactly what's on the mtkclient github page:

Code: [Select]

mtk r boot_a,vbmeta_a boot.img,vbmeta.img
The only difference there is using boot_a and vbmeta_a in place of boot and vbmeta.  Although as it turns out, the vbmeta partition didn't need to be touched, so saving a backup was less important (although it never hurts).

Once the boot.img was extracted, I put it back onto the device with adb and then patched it with Magisk.  Ignore the stuff on github about the mtk-specific Magisk.  The official Magisk works fine.

Sweet; thanks! It should be super easy to do that for any OTAs then. It'll be nice not to have to use SP Flash Tool - that thing is kinda dodgy, haha.

I didn't know at the time that mtktool existed.  It's definitely the better approach here.

For sure!

It's pretty easy to find the header of the boot.img by searching for the right magic string indicating an Android boot image.  Then the length of the partition I determined based on some output from SP Flash Tool, which I've long since forgotten.  But I'm guessing that I got the length wrong, hence the initial failure.

Ah, fair enough. I thought you might have found out how the partitions are delimited in whatever partition table is used 😛

[cam1965]

I am in doubt about flash or not  the device with a root image. Problem is bank apps . Some bank apps need to be renamed the app to work. Maybe only because I have a gemini keyboard app with accents ( That I have modified ) to use here in Brazil.  I think it only install if rooted . And if I unlock the bootloader, I will lose everything.... ( too work to do later ).

[gidds]

Greetings, all! (I was a regular user of this forum a few years ago after getting my Gemini, but I dropped out once that was all set up. My Astro Slide arrived an hour ago — hurrah! — and so I'm back…)

What's the latest on installing rooted Android on the Astro?

I haven't found anything on any of the Planet sites (in fact, the obvious one doesn't even mention the Astro), and this thread is all I can find elsewhere.

I'd like to set up my Astro the same way as my Gemini: running rooted Android only. (I run Termux and sshd, edit /etc/hosts, and a few other things needing root. The down-side is that my bank's app won't work, but for me that's a price worth paying. On the Gemini it was a huge hassle, needing to reboot my Mac into Debian 9 to run Planet's Flash Tool — but I gather it's all different now…)

Is this possible? Is there an officially-approved way (or is there likely to be one soon)? Or is there a single, foolproof set of instructions?

[Noppe]

There is no officially approved way (or, really, any sign of any support whatsoever from PC, but I digress...), but the images and procedures in this thread should work fine, as long as you are comfortable with what you're doing.  I've been running mine rooted for several months now, with no problems.

Regarding your bank app, have you tested it with the newest Magisk, using the new DenyList feature?  That should be generally much better about allowing picky apps to run, since they are put into a context where the phone actually is not rooted.  While I haven't tried a broad range of apps, and almost certainly not your bank, I've yet to find an app that complains about root with DenyList.

[cam1965]

Greetings, all! (I was a regular user of this forum a few years ago after getting my Gemini, but I dropped out once that was all set up. My Astro Slide arrived an hour ago — hurrah! — and so I'm back…)

What's the latest on installing rooted Android on the Astro?

I haven't found anything on any of the Planet sites (in fact, the obvious one doesn't even mention the Astro), and this thread is all I can find elsewhere.

I'd like to set up my Astro the same way as my Gemini: running rooted Android only. (I run Termux and sshd, edit /etc/hosts, and a few other things needing root. The down-side is that my bank's app won't work, but for me that's a price worth paying. On the Gemini it was a huge hassle, needing to reboot my Mac into Debian 9 to run Planet's Flash Tool — but I gather it's all different now…)

Is this possible? Is there an officially-approved way (or is there likely to be one soon)? Or is there a single, foolproof set of instructions?

No Planet Computer support. From here is the only way. You can root it using the images and the procedures mentioned here. Banks will not work ( I am from Brazil ). And with the bootloader unlocked you will  be in the orange state . The Astro will boot with this message and you will have to wait 5 seconds to boot. Please see the messages here.

[cam1965]

There is no officially approved way (or, really, any sign of any support whatsoever from PC, but I digress...), but the images and procedures in this thread should work fine, as long as you are comfortable with what you're doing.  I've been running mine rooted for several months now, with no problems.

Regarding your bank app, have you tested it with the newest Magisk, using the new DenyList feature?  That should be generally much better about allowing picky apps to run, since they are put into a context where the phone actually is not rooted.  While I haven't tried a broad range of apps, and almost certainly not your bank, I've yet to find an app that complains about root with DenyList.

some apps here in Brazil don' t work if you install Magisk, even if the phone is not rooted. For example : Bank apps, flying companies apps, insurance companies ( auto, life, etc )

[Noppe]

some apps here in Brazil don' t work if you install Magisk, even if the phone is not rooted. For example : Bank apps, flying companies apps, insurance companies ( auto, life, etc )

Have you used the "Hide the Magisk app" feature in Magisk settings?  I've seen some apps that look for the app by name, and if you just let Magisk rename itself, problem solved.   

[gidds]

Thanks for the replies — I'm relieved to see that this board is so active!

You can root it using the images and the procedures mentioned here.

If I'm understanding this thread, the relevant info is split across several posts (with some outdated info). Does anyone fancy putting together a definitive summary of what to do? (I'm sure I won't be the only one to benefit!)

And with the bootloader unlocked you will  be in the orange state . The Astro will boot with this message and you will have to wait 5 seconds to boot.

That doesn't bother me — I reboot very rarely. As long as everything's fine _after_ it's finished booting, I'll be happy!

[Neophy]

See
  https://www.droidwin.com/how-to-pass-safetynet-on-rooted-android-12/
for hiding rooting from banking apps. Works for me on the Astro Slide.

[mrpeenut24]

Not sure if all phones using the same chipset have the same scatter file, but the Ulefone GQ5000 Armor 10 has the MT6873 and its scatter file is available online.  This loads in SP Flash Tool v5.2020, but I haven't done a backup with it yet.

https://romprovider.com/ulefone-armor-10-5g-firmware-support/

See attached, hope this helps someone else.

[Dom (shymega)]

Do NOT use any other scatter file other than what Planet will provide, or that you can generate based on the Astro.

@mrpeenut24- this is advice that could brick an Astro, please don't suggest using scatterfiles for other phones. It's dangerous.

[Neophy]

Use mtkclient instead of SP Flash Tool. No scatter file needed.

https://github.com/bkerler/mtkclient

[gidds]

How should mtkclient find the Astro?

I think I've installed it on my Mac, based on the instructions on the its web site. (I already had python installed, and used HomeBrew to install libusb. I had to use the --user flag for mtk — as my user doesn't have write permission to the python install dirs etc. — and then add the relevant folder to my path. I ignored the ‘Install rules’ section, as that doesn't seem to have Mac equivalents.)

It runs — but doesn't seem to connect to my Astro:

> mtk r boot_a boot.img
MTK Flash/Exploit Client V1.6.0 (c) B.Kerler 2018-2022

Preloader - Status: Waiting for PreLoader VCOM, please connect mobile

Port - Hint:

Power off the phone before connecting.
For brom mode, press and hold vol up, vol dwn, or all hw buttons and connect usb.
For preloader mode, don't press any hw button and connect usb.
If it is already connected and on, hold power for 10 seconds to reset.

Then it prints dots for ten seconds, before repeating indefinitely from Port - Hint:.

(I've tried it directly connected to each of the Astro's USB-C ports — in each case with the Astro powered off and then on. I know the cable works for data, because I can see the Astro with it in adb after enabling USB debugging.)

Should mtk find the Astro automatically, or do I need to tell it somehow? (I can't see any relevant options to the command, nor anything relevant on the mtk site. I'm assuming it needs to be connected by USB, and that this isn't possible over wifi…?) Have I missed some vital bit of installation/setup?

As you can probably tell, I'm very far from an expert on all this…  (Which is of course why I wanted some clear, simple instructions  )

[Noppe]

I was unable to get mtkclient to work on Mac.  I don't know if it was a problem with my mtkclient install or with the Astro, but I gave up and installed it on a Linux machine and it worked perfectly there.

[cam1965]

some apps here in Brazil don' t work if you install Magisk, even if the phone is not rooted. For example : Bank apps, flying companies apps, insurance companies ( auto, life, etc )

Have you used the "Hide the Magisk app" feature in Magisk settings?  I've seen some apps that look for the app by name, and if you just let Magisk rename itself, problem solved. 

Thanks.
This not worked  for me.