[Xposed General] Donphillipe:
BLU Studio XL 6.0 Recovery, Root, XPosed install, XPrivacy install

OK, I spent an hour composing a quick check list of how to get the BLU Studio XL 6.0 all the way from bricked to fully functional with XPrivacy running. The OS used on this Phone is Lollipop Android 5.0 with SKD 21.

***RECOVER FROM SOFT BRICK

- If you have added and configured a SD card for your phone, remove it and insert it in PC.

Be sure to copy any data from the card to your PC for any other app you have with important stored data on SD card. Now delete everything on the SD card but perhaps playlists, music, DCIM, and Photos folders (back them up to PC also).

- Load up most recent MTKtools flash.exe (V5.13.52.200 or later; try https://plus.google.com/+StefanDanut/posts/RBSyMmjakaa) with V24 factory rom flash from NeedRom (try http://www.needrom.com/download/blu-studio-xl-6-0-free-no-fee-works-great/ )

- Do not plug in USB

- Add drivers to PC if missing (suggest "All MTK USB Driver 2014" package or some recent

ADB drivers for the PC which includes an executable module to do the Windows driver

install, because you will never get the option to load driver by the typical Windows method

when attempting to flash a powered down phone) (try https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24269982086997841) (Remember to force the unsigned driver installs when prompted with the red letter errors in Windows)

- Make sure the phone is completely powered off before you start and that the USB cable is

disconnected; If phone is in boot loop and will not shut down, hold Vol Up and power at

same time and select power down from recovery menu using the volume control to step down to "Power Off" and hitting the power off button when on this line item

- Open flash.exe and click the option to load scatter file on MKTools (latest version) from the unzipped factory image "txt" file that is within the zip file (note the zip file is the factory image you downloaded from needroot.com for this phone model)

- Don't start the rest of the process until flash.exe is open and running and the scatter "TXT" file has been read and loaded by flash.exe

- Plug in USB to the phone and click the "download" button as soon as driver loading sound heard on PC

- Immediately click the download button option on MTKtools flash.exe; now a purple line should flash

quickly and yellow progress bar should begin across the bottom of the windows app

- wait until it completes the flash process, then remove the USB cable and reboot phone

once the green check box appears on Windows PC indicated a completed flash

- Phone will boot but take 10-15 minutes to load "desktop" after reflashing

- Device will come up as if a newly purchased device, select language and get the main

"desktop" screen available in order to continue

- hold off on the SD card re-install if you have one until later

- Open the Settings option, and got now to scroll down to "About Device", open and click

"Wireless Update", then "Search for Updates"

- if Updates are found, install them, wait for the recovery menu to automatically install

the OTA updates and when finished, then you are ready for the next and final steps

*** INSTALL ROOT

- Find the SuperSU conversion zip (the one with the "mrw" folder in the zip file) (try here http://www.mediafire.com/file/mxzbt42xypvn2ts/Replace_Kinguser_with_SuperSU-v2.4.zip) and also locate the latest valid Kingrootxxxxxx.apk and download from legitimate online location (try here https://kingroot.net/ )

- Extract contents of the downloaded zip file and copy the "mrw" folder from the zip file to the root of phone storage via USB line

- copy the kingrootxxxx.apk to the "mrw" folder also

- if you haven't beforehand, you will have to enable the Settings, Security, Unknown sources, slide to "ON" or you will not be able to click on any apk file to do the install

- Open FileManager on phone, locate "mrw" folder, open it and click on Kingroot apk file

- While installing Kingroot, you will be forced to install a trial app Purify (remember and delete later)

- Kingroot may stop and disappear, if so run it again (if you can't find a Kingroot icon in your list of Apps, then use FileManger to navigate to "mrw" folder again and start it by clicking there on the apk file

- Kingroot may ask to be updated, allow it to update

- if Kingroot fails, run it again

- if Kingroot stops with an option that asks you to "Optomize now":, do NOT push optomize now but close the Kingroot App

- do Not open any Kingroot or Kinguser apps again unless you reboot and the phone is still not rooted

- download Root Checker to verify you have root (you may have to run it twice, the first time it may fail and only after failure then it may ask if you want to grant root authority, then you grant the authority and can run it again and it will then hopefully tell you that you are rooted)

- reboot to ensure you haven't soft bricked

- run Root Checker again, if it says you DO HAVE root, continue, if not, try closing Root checker and you may be asked to grant Root Checker root authority during this process, if so then accept the root authority

- re-run Root Checker, after check then you should now have root, if not, try running Kingroot again

***TO REPLACE KINGUSER WITH SUPERSU (must do if you are installing XPosed)

- (DO NOT install any of the stand-alone SuperSU-me or other apps that claim to do this automatically or you will soft brick your phone and have to start at the top of this list again)

- install Terminal Emulator from playstore, open and allow root access when you type su command

- after the su command is entered on Terminal Emulator screen, and permit the root access, then continue

- enter sh /sdcard/mrw/root.sh (assumes you have copied the

- receive a Crome window (perhaps?), if so shirink to background

- receive message "SuperSU binary needs to be updated", then allow it with an OK

- close other apps if they open, all except SuperSU.

- receive SuperSUfree message that binary needs to be updated, click Continue

- receive message "....if you have a custom recovery", click Normal

- receive message "...may cause conflict. Attempt to remove them?", say OK (uninstalling takes quite a bit of time, do not stop process)

- if SuperSU free has not installed in 30 minutes, close ap and reboot phone

- Kinguser should now be removed from available aps

- try running Root Checker and permitting the SuperSU request for granding root, if all is well then you are good to go

- at this point you are rooted

***INSTALL XPOSED

- now install FlashFire from Playstore, open and grant SuperSU to ensure you are configured for next steps

- connect USB cable and copy over de.robv.android.xposed.installer_3.1.1-39_minAPI15(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk or more recent copy of the xposed installer to the mrw folder you created druing the root process or if already rooted by another process, create a temp directory in the root of the Phone Storage and copy the apk Installer file there

- also copy over to the mrw folder on the phone the xposedXXXXXXXXXXXXX.zip file that is the update zip that the online guides point to that is normally loaded to a phone with a boot loader (for this phone it's the ARM SDK21 version, latest release)

- open FlashFire, swipe splash screen to left, click + sign, click "Flash Zip or OTA"

- click pulldown and change Internal Storage to Filesystem Root, then select mnt, sdcard, mrw, and click on the XPosedxxxxxxxx.zip file

- ensure no check box checked and click the check box on the red line at the upper right corner of app

- scroll to the bottom of the Flashfire screen and click Flash

- click on the OK for "...it can take a minute or two"

- just watch as thousands of files scroll across B&W screen and listen as USB drivers activate and deactivate (if you are still connected with USB)

- rebooting message will appear after a couple of minutes, the B&W "BLU Bold Like Us" will appear, then the 3 balloons that intersect, but the balloon menu will stay up a while, from 8 minutes onward. If it does not disappear and the "desktop" then appear after an hour, then reboot manually

- after automotically rebooting, open File Manager, Phone Storage, mrw folder and run the Xposed installer (be doubly certain you have the latest generation apk file (3.1.1 or later) downloaded from XDA Developers, NOT the version distributed by the Playstore)

- if you haven't beforehand, you will have to enable the Settings, Security, Unknown sources, slide to "ON" or you will not be able to click on the apk file to do the install

- Click OK and then on the "Be carefull" screen, click OK

- receive message that xposed version 87 is installed but not activated

- click reboot and grant the Xposed installer the SuperSU authority

- once phone reboots, open apps to find XPosed Installer

- start XPosed Installer App, and the green check box should appear showing installed

*** INSTALL XPRIVACY

- open XPosed Installer App, click the left upper 3 horiz bars and select, download, then the Search glass, then enter XPrivacy to select it to install, then swipe XPrivacy splash screen to left and click Download

- after XPrivacy downloaded, click Install, click open and reboot your device when the screen says one is required by holding in power button until reboot option appears; reboot

- open list of Apps, select XPosed Installer (NOT XPrivacy), and then select the three bar icon in the upper left of XPosed Menu, then select Modules, then click the check box next to the XPrivacy name in the list

- once the box is checked, hold in the power button and select reboot

- after reboot, open apps and open XPrivacy in the list of Apps; you should now see an About splash screen, you must get your finger around the edge of this splash screen to get rid of it by tapping outside the border of the About screen, then tap again 3 more times outside the border area to get rid of all the first usage info screens (try the app "back" button if you can't clear the splash screens)

- click OK on all the other info screens, then by default ALL will be selected, but this means only new Apps will be handled

- you must check the pink box now to create question marks in the box for any Apps that were installed prior to XPrivacy being installed, and only those you want XPrivacy to controll (Note there is no check box to select them all - how about it XPrivacy developer?)

- now close XPrivacy and it begins to function as past KitKat and older versions did with only the siple install of a couple of Apps (you have gone far and wide, so congratulate yourself)

- now continue to use XPrivacy where you will see many menus coming up each time you start an App while realising that your answers are remembered. If you don't know what any of the questions mean, for basic privacy just answer everything "allow" except "Identity", "Network", "Phone", "Contacts", that is unless the App actually needs to make Phone calls for you or alter your network settings. Just ask why would a Hiking App need your contacts or access to dial your phone? They are farming your data in return for the free app. Most of it is intuitive. There will be many "Storage" questions and you can either say Yes to them all or read the actual places in storage that if it seems logical allow it, else if they want to read the entire SD card, ask why and perhaps only allow to their named app storage directory. The "Shell" and other options pretty much have to be approved if you want to use the App.