Rooting the Boox Tab Mini C

This page summarizes the projects mentioned and recommended in the original post on /r/Onyx_Boox

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  • edl

    Inofficial Qualcomm Firehose / Sahara / Streaming / Diag Tools :)

  • Open up QFIL (which should have been installed as part of the QPST tool). Click "Configuration" -> "FireHose Configuration" and in the window which pops up change the "Device Type" to UFS as informed by the article here "https://www.ereaderpro.co.uk/en/blogs/news/e-ink-product-follow-up-boox-tab-mini-c-and-page-versus-previous-generation". The article indicates that the device uses UFS2.1 as it's storage protocol. It also indicates that the device uses a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 662. In order to properly program the chip we need an appropriate programmer which is `prog_firehose_life_ddr_patched.zip`. The driver to communicate with the Qualcomm chip was originally found in a git thread (https://github.com/bkerler/edl/issues/200) attached to a comment as `prog_firehose_life_ddr_patched.zip` here: https://github.com/bkerler/edl/files/7991604/prog_firehose_life_ddr_patched.zip. To use this change the "Select Build Type" to be "Flat Build" and then click "Browse" for the "Programmer Path" and point it to `prog_firehose_life_ddr_patched.zip`.

  • Magisk

    The Magic Mask for Android

  • At this point download locally the Magisk APK onto your computer found here: https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases. Reboot your Tab Mini C by holding the power button until you see the power come back on and the default power on screen begin loading. Once it has fully booted copy the Magisk APK, `boot_a.bin`, and `boot_b.bin` files via USB. Make certain to have backups of the `boot_a.bin` and `boot_b.bin` files in case something goes wrong (such as you bricking your device) and you need the old firmware. Install the Magisk APK. For the rest of this we will be following a summarized version of the instructions here: "https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/install.html". Once the Magisk app is installed open it and press the "Install" button. Then click "Select and Patch a File" and select `boot_a.bin` then `boot_b.bin` files to install Magisk on both. At this point one should rename them to be `magisk_patched-boot_a.img` and `magisk_patched-boot_b.img` based on which one Magisk patched to make it easier for you. At this point transfer `magisk_patched-boot_a.img` and `magisk_patched-boot_b.img` back to the main computer over USB. Open up QFIL and once again run `adb reboot edl`. FAIRLY QUICKLY to avoid errors click the "Select Port" button and click the USB port which the Tab Mini C is plugged into and then click OK. Still quickly click "Tools" -> "Partition Manager" and then click OK on the popup. Within the partition manager find `boot_a` and `boot_b`. For each individually right click on the partition and then click "Manage Partition Data". Then click "Load Image" and point to the corresponding `magisk_patched-boot_a.img` and `magisk_patched-boot_b.img` depending on which partition you're patching. Once both of them are patched, quit out of QFIL. Force the reboot of the device by holding down the power button. Open the Magisk app and click on "Install" at which point their should be a new option "Direct Install". Use that to install directly onto the device after which it should give you the option to reboot. Reboot it and you now have a wonderfully rooted device. Happy reading

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