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How to root your OPPO Find 7 (X9076) & Find 7a (X9006) Stock/Custom Recovery [Updated for ColorOS 2.0]


     Let me preface this guide with a little heads up that there is actually a lot of different threads showing different ways of rooting, a lot of which did not specify which method is meant for what specification of the phone. This post will clear up a lot of things in one page so you won't have to snoop around thread pages on XDA.
Note: If you are new to this whole thing, two rules to follow at all times: Have a charged phone if you're going to do anything; Stay calm no matter what message shows up.

 tl;dr: Method 1 for pre-updated Find 7a/ Find 7, Method 2 for All Versions of Find 7a, Method 3 for All Versions of Find 7a and Find 7.

Method for ColorOS 2.0 Users 10/11/2014 (Working for X900x & X907x)
As of now, the only method to root will wipe your storage, PLEASE BACKUP BEFORE PROCEEDING. If anything is unclear, refer to Method 2
Files Needed: 
platform-tools: AndroidSDK.zip
Root: JaCh0o_KG3.4.0.zip (courtesy of Oppo forum user: JaCho0)
Recovery Flasher: Find7_Recovery_Flasher_v8.zip

1.     Extract AndroidSDK.zip on your PC, you will have a platform-tools folder.
2.     Move openrecovery-twrp-2.8.0.1-find7.img into the folder.
3.     Plug in your phone to your PC and move JaCh0o_KG3.4.0.zip and Find7_Recovery_Flasher_v8.zip into your phone.
4.     Turn off your phone. Now, hold the power button + volume up button until vibration is felt. Your screen should have the words 'fastboot' written on it.
5.     Fire up a command prompt by holding shift then right click and select "Open command window here" (NOTE: In some instances this command prompt window will not have administrator privileges so I recommend going into your System32 folder, most likely located at C:\Windows\System32 and copy cmd.exe into the SDK folder instead and run the cmd as administrator.)
6.     In the command prompt type: fastboot devices
7.     If everything goes smoothly, your device should show up in a alphanumeric string.
8.     Next, in the command line, type: fastboot oem unlock
9.     Your bootloader is now unlocked!
10.    Reboot into bootloader by typing: fastboot reboot-bootloader
11.    Next, type: fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.8.0.1-find7.img
12.    If no error messages, unplug phone and boot into recovery by holding the power button + volume down.
13.    You should be inside TWRP interface, select Install and browse for Find7_Recovery_Flasher_v8.zip and install. This is to make the recovery changes permanent.

14.    Inside the installer, select TWRP recovery> TWRP 2.8.0.1> Whatever theme and proceed. After installation complete, select reboot into new recovery.
15.    You will return to TWRP interface. Select Install and browse for JaCh0o_KG3.4.0.zip and confirm installation. After installation is done, reboot normally.
16.    Once phone is boot up, check if  'Kinguser' app is on phone. Open root explorer and see if you have root permission. If all is well, congratulations, your device is now rooted.

Method 1: The Easy but Outdated Method

     This method is pretty easy because it utilizes the existing recovery on the Find 7a but the shortcomings are obvious. It ONLY works with ColorOS version 1.2.2i and from what I've observed, most people are having difficulties flashing custom ROMs onto the phone using OPPO's recovery so I suggest that you follow method 2.
1.     Download this file: Find7_ROOT4.3_bbs.oppo.cn.zip onto your Find 7a or Find 7 (yes it works for both phones).
2.     Turn off your phone.
3.     Boot your phone into recovery mode by holding down the Volume Down button and the Power button, once it vibrates, you can let go.
4.     Select the Install from SD option and browse for the zip file you just downloaded. Follow the prompts and if everything goes as intended, you now have a rooted phone!

Method 2: The Veteran's Method
NOTE: This method is strictly for Find 7a (X9006/7)
     This method, while being slightly harder, is the most common method for rooting any other phone, so you might as well practice if you are planning to do this for any period of time. It works for any version of ColorOS and the custom recovery we are about to flash will be much more full featured compared to the stock recovery. We will be utilizing fastboot commands to flash a custom recovery so we will be needing the basic fastboot files found in Android's SDK. If you did not understand a single word in the last sentence, do not fright, download the files below and you will be fine.

  1. Transfer the Update-SuperSU-v1.94.zip onto your phone first for convenience purposes.
  2. On your PC, extract AndroidSDK.zip to anywhere, preferably on your desktop. Then browse into the folders until you come upon something that looks like what I'm showing below.
  3. Move the recovery image file of your choice (CWM or TWRP) into the folder. So you will see something similar to the screenshot below (I chose to go with CWM).
  4. Fire up a command prompt by holding shift then right click and select "Open command window here" (NOTE: In some instances this command prompt window will not have administrator privileges so I recommend going into your System32 folder, most likely located at C:\Windows\System32 and copy cmd.exe into the SDK folder instead and run the cmd as administrator.)
  5. Turn off your phone. Then hold the Volume Up button and Power button until you feel a vibration. The phone will boot up and show the word "fastboot" on screen. 
  6. Connect your phone to your PC via USB cable.
  7. Wait for a moment then in the command prompt type:
    8. fastboot devices
  8. If everything goes smoothly, your device should show up in the list as a random string of numbers
  9. Rename the X9007_CWM_Recovery or X9007_TWRP_Recovery to something simple like recovery for ease of work later.
  10. In the command prompt, type:
    11. fastboot flash recovery [imagename].img
    Replace [imagename] with actual name of image
  11. Something like this will show up if recovery is flashed successfully.
  12. Unplug your phone from your PC and hold Volume Down button and Power button to boot into recovery.
  13. Select Install zip from SD card
  14. Browse for Update-SuperSU-v1.94.zip and install it.
  15. Reboot and your phone is now rooted!
Method 3: The Simplest Method

     This method requires you to download something O-team developed so if you're not comfortable with that, use Method 2 instead. This method will work for all versions/variants of Find 7a & Find 7 and it's pretty straight forward.


  1. Transfer Update-SuperSU-v1.94.zip onto your phone.
  2. Boot phone into fastboot mode by pressing Volume Up button and Power button together until vibration is felt.
  3. Connect your phone to your PC via USB
  4. Run Recovery_Installer.exe and install the program.
  5. After installation successful, this window should pop up.
  6. Enter option number to install recovery of choice. (Find 7a users options 3 or 4; Find 7 users strictly option 5)
  7. Wait for process to complete.
  8. Boot into recovery via the program or Volume Down + Power button
  9. Select install zip from SD card then browse for Update-SuperSU-v1.94.zip and install it.
  10. Reboot and you're rooted!
I used Method 2 if you're wondering, because I am familiar with fastboot anyway. Do recommend you using Method 2 if you are looking into rooting/flashing more phones in the future as it's a common tool when it comes to rooting Android phones.
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[Updated 14/2/2015]How to root your LG G Pro2 (D838) 16/32GB

Rooting your LG G Pro2

UPDATE: GeoHot has released an APK that enables root for most devices, and fortunately enough, the APK works for the G Pro2 as well. I would recommend using that APK to root your phone instead due to the inherently complex nature to root this particular device. This method is still working as of January 2015 so yeah, pick your poison.: LINK

LOLLIPOP (5.0.1) USERS READ UPDATE 2

UPDATE2: Can't seem to root the G Pro 2 since updating to Lollipop, if you guys have any tips, drop me an e-mail or leave a comment down below. There's a stupidly complicated way of rooting Lollipop 5.0.1 G Pro 2 apparently, you need to revert to KitKat and install recovery from this XDA thread. As to where to get the Kitkat KDZ file, this website will help you. Next, you need to flash to Lollipop using the recovery you just installed, this thread on LGViet will give you everything you need to do so. To boot into recovery, you will need to install Quick Boot from the Play Store. Flash the ROM from the previously mentioned LGViet thread, then flash the latest SuperSU from chainfire's site. This should gain you root access to your G Pro 2. Credits to mobile01 poster 喵喵麥斯 for compiling all these info in Chinese. If you can read Chinese, I suggest that you refer to his post for better clarity. As of 14/2/2015, there are no easy one-click rooting methods. I will update you guys if I hear anything new.

     If you didn't already know, I recently acquired a LG G Pro2. The first thing I often do with new devices is to root said devices. So, I did the usual browse to xda-developers but there were no easy guide in sight. While there is a guide to root the G Pro2, but one has to dig pretty deep through a bunch of different threads to find a comprehensive procedure list. Today, I decided to compile everything that you need in order to root your G Pro2 here in this convenient post!

     Before I start, you are bearing all risks and I will not be responsible for you bricking your new phone. With that said, here are some things that you will need.

F350 stock firmware
D838 stock firmware
LG Flash Tool with Megalock applied
LG Mobile Drivers
iorootv24 (v25 also works)

     I have compiled everything you need and uploaded it to dropbox for your convenience: LINK HERE (NOTE: I have included the 16GB D838 SG firmware as well since maybe some of you need it, if you have the 32GB version, use the files in the 32GB folder; if you have the 16GB version, check the phone for system updates, after updating, download the stuff in the 16GB folder and use that instead.)

 DISCLAIMER: This guide was written from my experience of  rooting a 32GB D838 SG variant, some file names may differ from the screenshot if you are using the 16GB version files instead.

ORIGINAL VERSION OF GUIDE (in Chinese): G Pro2 台版Root刷机步骤教学 by z30152
PROCEDURE
  1. Download everything from my dropbox.
  2. Install the LG Mobile Drivers (LGUnitedMobile...Ver_3.8.1.zip)
  3. Install the LG Flash Tool (Setup_LGFlashTool.zip) and then copy the MegaLock.dll from MegaLock.rar to C:\LG\LGFlashTool (default install directory)
  4. Put your phone into Download Mode (turn off your phone, then while holding the volume up button, plug in your phone to your PC.
  5. On your PC, open up device manager, scroll down to "Ports (COM & LPT)", right click on "LGE AndroidNet USB Serial Port (COMXX)" and go to properties.

  6. Rooting your LG G Pro2

  8. Then go to the Port Settings Tab and click on Advanced. Set the COM Port Number to COM41.
    Rooting your LG G Pro2

  10. Now, open up the LG Flash Tool, click on the last option and you should be greeted with the screen below. Check "Select Manual Mode" and in the select the respective files as shown in the screenshot below. Remember, its the F350.tot, NOT the D838.
    Rooting your LG G Pro2

  12. Click on the yellow arrow on the top left, the first box should show "READY". Now, unplug your phone for 5 seconds, then plug it in again, the procedure should begin.
    Rooting your LG G Pro2

  14. After the procedure is complete, your phone should reboot. Now extract everything from the ioroot24.zip and run the root.bat. For more information, you can refer to this thread on XDA (NOTE: If you are facing problems rooting using the root.bat, use the manual method I've written down below)
  15. After successfully rooting (check with root checker from the Play Store), put your phone back into download mode, and repeat steps 7 & 8, but this time with the D838.tot
    Rooting your LG G Pro2
  16. After successful reflash, TADA! Your D838 is now rooted!
IOROOT Manual Method (NOTE: Remember to turn on USB debugging)
***********************************
Set USB mode to Charging only(this may vary based on model). 
Confirm device is detected in ADB using "adb devices" command. 
Be sure to accept the RSA prompt on your phone.. and check the "always" box as well. 
Run script and follow the onscreen instructions. 
If the script is stick at "waiting for device"..  turn your phone screen on and unlock it.. make sure ADB has the proper permission and that the ADB RSA prompt isn't sitting on the YES/NO screen. Check the "always remember" box when you accept it!!!
Make sure the phone is unlocked with the screen on whenever possible as well, i.e. turn off the lock screen and screen timeout set to “never”
*********************************************

1: adb devices
(make sure it sees your device; if "offline" turn on phone/unlock and accept RSA key prompt)
2: Choose next line based on model and firmware version:
F350K/L/S (4.4.2): adb push ytiruces_1a_kk /sdcard/ytiruces_1a

********************************************************
This next depends on your computer/phone model...
USB Connection Mode needs to be toggled.
Ways to do this are listed below...
a. Unplug usb cable from phone then re-plug.
b. Toggle USB mode from Charge to MTP back to Charge
c. Toggle USB mode from Ethernet to MTP back to Ethernet (VZW users)
********************************************************

3: adb shell
(you should now see a # instead of a $. # = root)
4: exit
5: adb shell "mount -o remount,rw /system"
6: adb push su /system/xbin/su
7: adb push su /system/xbin/daemonsu
8: adb push install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh
9: adb shell "chown 0.0 /system/xbin/su;chmod 06755 /system/xbin/su"
10: adb shell "chown 0.0 /system/xbin/daemonsu;chmod 06755 /system/xbin/daemonsu"
11: adb shell "chown 0.2000 /system/etc/install-recovery.sh;chmod 755 /system/etc/install-recovery.sh"
12: adb shell "sync;mount -o remount,ro /system"
13: adb install Superuser.apk
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OnePlus One: The One to rule them all?


     A few months back, I remember seeing weird pictures/tweets appearing on famous leak (more like psuedo marketing) account, @evleaks which were apparently sponsor messages. These messages made fun of campaigns created by other phone manufacturer. From 'Goodbye Moto' to 'Here's The Change', followed by the hashtag '#neversettle' and OnePlus branding. Since it was sponsored, I didn't pay much mind to it; that was the case, until specifications of a phone named OnePlus One was released. It swept all Android enthusiasts off their feet; the phone that was announced to be less than $400 (~MYR 1,300), had specifications of a flagship that would normally cost more than $600 (~MYR 2,000).


     Of course, being the ever so sceptical me, I went "Cool, now what are you not telling me? ". Since it was not the full specifications nor had the design of the phone surfaced, I naturally made the assumption that there were gimmicks used in order to reach this price point. Fortunately, over the past month, I was proven wrong.


     Yesterday, press renders came out and showed the world what the One allegedly looked like. If the leak is true, the One will easily be one of the first phones that comply to most of the wishes of the Android community, or well at least the Android community on Reddit. Beautifully designed phone (dat interchangeable back) , with specifications to walk the talk.

a photo taken by the phone
     So you might be saying, "Cool phone. So what?" Perhaps this will be a take-off point, for Android phones. Nevertheless, the OnePlus One will be officially released on April 23rd. In three more days, we will know if this is the One to rule them all.
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OPPO N1 Review - The 13MP Selfie-nator



     If you have been paying attention on my blog, you would remember that last month, OPPO has just officially entered the Malaysian market where they launched their N1 flagship alongside with the Find 5 Mini, R1 and Neo. Lucky Ken here has been given the N1 and Neo units for review purposes courtesy of OPPO Malaysia. Without further ado, let's get started with the review.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX KEN?



The smartphone, wall charger alongside with the USB to MicroUSB cable, earphones, a SIM ejector tool and some product information.

TECH SPECS


REVIEW
     Before you continue reading this review, I would like to first say that I have been using the N1 as my daily driver for more than 2 weeks now; I believe firmly that in order to find out the ins and outs of a phone, one needs to use it as how it was intended for users when they buy a phone instead of just fiddling around with the device for an hour or so and then calling it a review. So do keep this point of view in mind while reading this review. Oh and forgive me for the weird colour balancing, my camera is acting up a bit.

     The N1 comes in a pretty sleek looking box. Like the phone itself, the box has distinct clean lines on the side and a slightly round footprint. Opening up the box, we find the phone itself sitting on the left side of the box along with its accessories on the right. I would have like to have seen some sort of soft foam around the phone just for safety measures but the phone came in tip top condition so there isn't really anything to complain about.


     Looking at the phone, we see the uni-body matte white design that is very pleasing to the eye. Moving our focus to the side, we see a unique silver coloured line embodying the entire sides of the phone. Officials said that this line design makes the phone looks slimmer than it actually is; while I don't really see how that makes sense, the design makes the humongous (6.72 x 3.25 x 0.35 inches) phone much more easier to grip though. Along the right side of the phone, we find the power and volume control buttons. The power button is placed at a position where it is easy to reach when operating the phone with only one hand, but the same can't be said about the volume buttons; trying to reach for them with my thumb is a no-go. However, if you were to operate the phone with your left hand instead of your right, this problem would not be present. On the left side, we find the SIM tray.


     Moving to the bottom of the phone, we find a 3.5mm audio port, a MicroUSB port and the phone's loudspeakers. Compared to the typical loudspeaker that is placed on the back of the phone, I am unsure of which of the two I prefer. While the N1's placement will allow you to sort of control in which direction that sound will be louder a tad, it still faces the same problem like any other phone which has loudspeakers on the back of the phone; the users hand will be blocking the speakers when using the phone in landscape mode. The 5.9 inch N1 could had been the perfect media consumption device that fits in your pocket, if only the speakers weren't blocked. Rants aside, the speakers sound wonderful with adequate loudness when placed correctly.




     Unlocking the phone we are greeted with a crisp 1080p display and when calculated, a whopping 373 Pixel Per Inch count. Colour reproduction wise, the IPS display featured on the N1 is top notch without being too colour saturated. The screen also features Gorilla Glass instead of the much more stronger Gorilla Glass 2, but I guess it still does its of job preventing the phone from getting any scratches from subtle movements.


     Above of the crisp 1080p display, we find the earpiece and the light/proximity sensor. The ColorOS integrates a lot of interesting software features which I will cover later on. Now if you didn't know any better, you would notice that the line design envelops the top piece of the phone. This is due to the star of the phone, the rotatable camera! Yes, you seen right, a 13MP camera that acts as both the front and back facing camera with a very interesting rotating mechanism. One concern that I had when I first heard of this mechanism was that it might shorten the lifespan of the device as more moving parts almost always equate to higher breakdown rate. Fortunate to say the mechanism feels pretty solid and OPPO ensures that you can rotate the mechanism 40 times a day, 7 years straight, so I'm confident that my past worries were unwarranted. Camera performance wise, I will leave some pictures here and let you guys be the judges yourself. Oh, and don't forget all the high quality selfies one could take! Social media advocates around me absolutely love the unmatched quality of selfies.

N1 camera photos
     Now let us get into the heart and soul of the device, the software underneath the hood, ColorOS. The N1 runs on a skinned version of Android v4.2 Jellybean which they dub as ColorOS. One concern that I always hear from consumers is that the manufacturers modification the Android operating system makes a phone with awesome specifications on paper run like an entry-level device with sluggish operation. Fortunate to say, the ColorOS does not seem to make that big of an impact on the performance of the phone itself.


     The native launcher in ColorOS features something they call 'Exclusive Space' that currently features a gallery widget and a music player widget with more to come. While this widgets are certainly cool, there are some flaws to them. Like the gallery widget, you have to take a photo using the widget itself in order to have it be featured on the timeline-esque gallery. The music player also lacks something that a lot of users try to do seeing the widget looks like a old scratch disc player, the actual scratching movement to rewind or fast forward the track. ColorOS also has a misoperation prevention feature that does what it say and prevent users from "butt-dialing" which I find in dire need since I prefer not having a screen-lock code.




     While not impacting the performance of the N1 too much, ColorOS seems to add much needed software features to add value to the entire package if I dare say. ColorOS focuses a lot on using finger gestures to operate the phone. A lot of people I know user their smartphones in conjunction with a software home button that allows users to operate the phone without actually using the hardware buttons in fear of critical damage to the buttons. The gesture control that OPPO features on the N1 seem to fit the taste of such audience. The gesture controls range from controlling the volume to taking a screenshot which is all pretty handy. The ones I love the most is the double-tap to wake which resembles LG's knock-knock and also the fact that you can set your own gestures to launch actions that are defined by yourself using the gesture panel that is activated by swiping down on the left side of the status bar.

     After my very long three paragraph rambling of the ColorOS, if you are still not sold on it, don't fright, as the N1's bootloader is already unlocked. This means that you can flash custom ROMs onto the N1 as it is without going through a headache inducing process found on other devices. The N1 also has an official CyanogenMod port that runs on CM11, so hooray KitKat. If you dislike CM, there aren't a lot of choices other than OmniROM as it seems that the N1 has a less than stellar ROM developer community as you can see from xda-developers. If you didn't understand a single word from this paragraph, don't worry as the ColorOS is a very solid OS itself.



    At the back of the N1, we find a very interesting square that works as a touch panel which OPPO has accordingly named it the O-Touch. Users can scroll through news feeds, flip through e-books many more. OPPO has also to an extent integrated the O-Touch to a lot of the applications available natively. For an example, you could tap the back panel to take a photo in the camera app, or start a recording in instant messaging apps like WeChat, Whatsapp and alike. Personally I find the back panel a nice little addition, but sometimes it seems to register touches even though I did not intend to utilize it, so most of the time I have the O-Touch disabled in the settings.



     The N1 also comes with a neat little accessory called the O-Click, which connects to the phone via Bluetooth. OPPO markets it as an accessory that you can attach with your bunch of keys. The O-Click can function as a remote to activate your camera shutter, or as an anti-theft device where both the N1 and the O-Click will give out a warning alarm when they are too far apart. While I don't find a need for that, but hey, the more options you get the better right?


     Using the N1 as my daily driver, I normally unplug the phone from charging at 6:30 in the morning, and when I come home around 4:00 in the afternoon I usually have 60% or so left. While I am not a power user of any sorts, with the N1's 3610mAh battery capacity, one can get about 4 hours of screen on time which consist of browsing through social media networks and reddit and little amounts of video playback if one were to blaze through full capacity.

     Another thing I would like to cover before I forget is that OPPO Malaysia is only bringing in the 16GB model of N1. While I am no CEO, I think that it is a very weird decision. Even though it says 16GB on the spec sheet, actual space available to users is only about 10GB. For those who have an extensive MP3 library at their disposal, I'm afraid that the 10GB usable space is pretty unacceptable. Not forgetting that the N1's ability to take high quality photos, which in terms reflect in taking up more space in the phone; avid mobile photographers might also be disappointed with the very limited space. Sure OPPO offers 5GBs worth of cloud storage with its O-Cloud app, but I'm afraid that does not really help the situation. While I am not always shouting "rar rar give me SD card slot", the N1 is in dire need of more storage since there is no indication that OPPO Malaysia would be bringing in the 32GB model.

CONCLUSION
     After spending almost 3 weeks with the OPPO N1, I have come to love what OPPO has done to add value to their devices via ColorOS and the good battery life. The rotating camera is also a very big selling point with it being able to take high quality photos at almost any given angle.Despite having apparent problems like limited storage and questionable loudspeaker placement, I think the N1 is well worth the RM1798 price tag; which is on-par with phablets of its class.

     That marks the end of this review! What do you think of my first ever smartphone review? Where do I need to improve and what important details have I left out? Do send your feedback over to kenyeohsl@gmail.com or just leave a comment down below. Greatly appreciate it and hope to see you on the site again!
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Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ To Launch In Malaysia This Friday


     Another pleasant surprise as I am invited to attend the launch event for Alcatel One Touch Idol X+. Alongside with the Idol X+,  the Idol Alpha will also be present at the event too.

     In the invitation, the word 'true Octa-core' stands out from the rest of the text. I think everyone has heard about Samsung's Exynos processor that is also technically Octa-core but in truth only a Quad-core. For Alcatel OneTouch to use such wordings.... truly an interesting sight to behold. Well, I will only know when I get my hands on the Idol X+ so stay tuned on kenysl.com :)
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