yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZenFone 2 General] YayILikePie:
Following the latest OTA, I now have access to fastboot, and the startup does have a white background, but each time I try to fastboot flash recovery, I end up with permission denied errors.

Thinking it might be a similar situation to what others have experienced, I tried booting into recovery to see if TWRP successfully flashed, but it looks like the permission issues are legit.

Ensured I ran command prompt with admin privilege.

FASTBOOT MODE

PRODUCT_NAME - Z00A

VARIANT - ASUS_Z00A

HW_VERSION -

BOOTLOADER VERSION - unknown

IFWI VERSION - 0094.0173

SERIAL NUMBER - 0123456789ABCDEF

SIGNING - ?

SECURE_BOOT - ?

Suggestions?

EDIT: Okay, no idea what happened, but I mashed the heck out of fastboot flash recovery twrp.img, and though it still said permissioned denied,

for some odd reason, it somehow now was able to take TWRP. Not going to muck about too much, since this is very strange, but if I figure out what's up, I'll let you guys know.
[ZenFone 2 General] Onyx VI:
I would like to take a moment and thank Asus_Khang for being here pretty much every step with us to getting that issue solved. Without him we probably would've had to get some kinda of unofficial fix. Thank you
[ZenFone 2 General] playingmax:
im on superzen should i still run the unlock?
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Probably not.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
This is exactly what my phone was doing. It would still flash boot and recovery images fine, but I couldn't flash anything larger, like a system.img.

I seem to have solved mine by flashing:

1.) Fastboot flash the .63 recovery image

2.) ADB Sideload the .90 FULL image zip

2a.) Boot in to OS

2b.) Reboot to recovery and wipe everything

2c.) Reboot to OS so you see the setup wizard

3.) ADB Sideload the .97 FULL image zip

4.) ADB Sideload the .97 - .139 OTA zip.

Once I did ALL of that, my fastboot was working again and wasn't giving me permission denied errors flashing stuff. I'm not sure if 2a, 2b and 2c are required, but that's what I did. I flashed a couple different versions of TWRP, the CM recovery, a stock recovery and then finally an unofficial TWRP from the CM thread and all flashed with no errors so I *think* it's solved.

Either way, the fact it lets you flash recovery even though it says permission denied is almost good enough. Most anything custom rom related can be done from TWRP anyhow, so I wasn't too concerned about it. I had just gone through the pain of updating to .139 because I wanted to play with it but I went back to CM12.1 already. Anxiously awaiting CM13 here now!
[ZenFone 2 General] Rattraps123:
Just an update, last week I read up on the growing pages of this forum post. and decided to attempt it again, And it worked !

I downloaded the latest V2.20.40.139 for WW renamed it to MOFD_SDUPDATE.zip and it worked! I went form 2.20.40.97 to 2.20.40.139.

The I flashed twrp custom recovery. and I got the error message saying it failed, But then booted into recovery and it was TWRP ! from there I downloaded CM12.1 and gapps.zip and now i'm running CM12.1 !

~T
[ZenFone 2 General] XinoGami:
Just to report: the official tool to unlock our devices is working well with the latest firmware ww_2.20.40.139. Zero errors.
[ZenFone 2 General] eoghan2t7:
Hi mate any updates on getting the beta tester white listed if they have the bootloader unlocked the official way?
[ZenFone 2 General] creepinm3:
How did you have no errors? For me it keeps giving me unlock failed. I just got my ZF2 two days ago. Updated to .139 and nothing. Splash screen is still black. But I do notice in bootloader it says "bootloaders version - unknown"

Edit: Just noticed that it updated to .97 not .139 so will sideload the update.

Edit 2: Updated to .139 and still getting "unlock failed"
[ZenFone 2 General] XinoGami:
So rare, try the unofficial unlock method instead.
[ZenFone 2 General] creepinm3:
You mean the downgrade method?
[ZenFone 2 General] XinoGami:
Yes, my friend.
[ZenFone 2 General] seby1234:
I dont get white flashing screen

I have the same problem but i dont know if my bootloader is unlocked and i dont get a white flashing screen. I tried to do the steps but it didnt work. The commands didnt work. What should i do?
[ZenFone 2 General] creepinm3:
This is horrid...http://www.asus.com/zentalk/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=12528

Attempted this all night and nothing. Everytime I attempt the sideload device cannot be find via ADB.

Somewhere in-between flashing the recovery.img to going into the physical recovery it loses connection to adb.
[ZenFone 2 General] ElmirBuljubasic:
all drivers installed? tried differnt usb ports/cables?
[ZenFone 2 General] XinoGami:
Try this: deactivate and reactive USB debug option, then, with the device on, use the "adb devices" command and tap always allow on your phone screen.

P.S.: The driver must be installed.
[ZenFone 2 General] creepinm3:
All drivers installed, all four ports used and same cable.

I'll give it another shot.
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Here's what I got from HQ:

Hi,

About below issue, both user image and userdebug image have same log operation. So there is no need to open any extract logs level.

And no matter user or beta user, we don’t provide rootish kind of image, thanks.

#2 Whitelisting Beta testers for OTAs

why can't the beta testers not get white listed for ota's that way users like me can get more details on errors for HQ so that they can fix the bugs faster? Yeah it would be good to get proper adb access on a rootish kind of level to extract logs and other useful items etc.

---------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------

Yeah, I would try to uninstall/reinstall all your drivers and then update the ADB Composite interface drivers/ASUS Android .... drivers. So key to making all of this stuff work. I had an issue for a long time, but what seemed to help was just going through the driver list and making sure everything was new.
[ZenFone 2 General] creepinm3:
I got another laptop with windows 7. I'll start over fresh from there after work. Didnt notice the intel driver before so that may have been the cause of this.
[ZenFone 2 General] XinoGami:
Of course, the intel driver creepinm3
[ZenFone 2 General] creepinm3:
Got it last night... much better now
[ZenFone 2 General] XinoGami:
Good... If you like ZenUI, but not the bloatware, you must try SuperZen.
[ZenFone 2 General] playingmax:
Or Prism barebone
[ZenFone 2 General] AestheticFC:
I'm trying to install Cyanogen Mod 13 but I keep getting an error message every time I try to get into the bootloader. Here is what happens when I restart my phone and hold up volume key. Notice the splash screen is inverted meaning my bootloader is supposed to be unlocked? But I keep getting this message in red letters that says "unlock fail...reboot after 5 seconds". How do I bypass this to get into TWRP to install a custom ROM?
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
I had the same broblem back in the days i Unlocked mine.

I have use TWRP Manager APP to flash the recovery and it also fixed this bug.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jmz.soft.twrpmanager

All you need, is to be rooted.
[ZenFone 2 General] Rattraps123:
I also got that failed to flash error , INGNORE it Flash the twrp recovery anyway and then boot right into recovery . it worked for me. ~ Travis
[ZenFone 2 General] AestheticFC:
Worked! Thanks a bunch!:good:
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Glad to know Man, Njoy :)
[ZenFone 2 General] AestheticFC:
I was able to install CM 13 but now when I go to backup my stuff with Titanium backup I can't because I'm not rooted anymore apparently. So basically I can't use SuperSU, Titanium Backup, or TWRP Manager because I'm not rooted according to Root Checker. When I go to root my phone I come across this error in the bootloader and it just reboots my phone. Any idea how to fix it? I'm stuck with CM 13 now but unable to use root access apps.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Try to flash, SuperSU.zip latest version from TWRP interface, it will fix the problem.

As far you are using a CM13 pre rooted ROM.
[ZenFone 2 General] AestheticFC:
How do I get to TWRP interface? I can't through the manager because I don't have root access to run that app and I can't through custom recovery because as I said before it tells me "unlock fail" and reboots my phone.

EDIT: [solved] I downloaded this and was able to boot straight into TWRP with a couple commands. I'm now rooted =D
[ZenFone 2 General] PowerMokii:
Worked like a charm! Thanks!
[ZenFone 2 General] dimon222:
Any update on 5 seconds rebooting issue? Device is ZE511ML, firmware is V2.20.40.97

My device is saying unlock successfull, rebooting 5 seconds, I got back to phone. I can't even flash recovery because I dont have enough time (5 seconds...) and there's no root.

I tried tons of different methods including Level99's one but still no success. After hours of googling and reading this thread I found out that even if update comes out, it will come in OTA, and I won't even receive it because unlock tool that I just used takes away OTA updates.

Is that gooddamn joke? Any other feasible way other than contacting Asus to remove my IMEI from their ban lists?

Update

: That was strange, but I finally did it. I had to manually download OTA update to .139 (yeah, first post in this thread says WRONG required firmware version as .139 actually includes fix for unlock tool), put it on sdcard beforehand renamed to UL-Z00A-WW-2.20.40.139-user.zip, boot phone normally, system will find update and suggest to update it, then it will boot to recovery automatically and update it. After everything is done u apply unlock tool again, and recovery is not rebooting after 5 seconds anymore and you're back to real life.
[ZenFone 2 General] tanpro260196:
It seem like I also have the 5-seconds fastboot issue. Is there any firmware update to fix this? If yes, can someone give the a download link?
[ZenFone 2 General] loucurazero:
It's perfect. Thx.
[ZenFone 2 General] Xipheare:
I got the broken fastboot fixed! There was a OTA file linked in another thread on here but it resulted in an error and failure when I tried to sideload it so I downloaded the complete firmware for 2.20.40.139 from ASUS, renamed it to updatefile.zip, booted into recovery, selected 'update from adb' and did 'adb sideload updatefile.zip' from my Debian machine (with android-tools-adb installed). It took some time but it installed fine and fixed the broken fastboot. So now I've rooted the phone and can flash twrp and custom ROMs. :D
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Okay - I've forwarded your issue to our team to see if there's a way to fix the issue. Are you able to reflash the stock recovery img? Not sure if the command is: fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
No way to issue any fastboot commands, it is like the fastboot command is stuck in a loop issuing the unlock command over and over again. I understand that performing the unlock voids my waranty, but if it never completely unlocks my device and puts it in a limbo lock status.....
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
Right. I didn't flash the recovery over the stock recovery, I merely tried to boot it. I've learned the hard way to boot temporarily before flashing permanently when first doing custom recovery on a device. My entire device is still stock (I stayed up way too late last night making sure the flash still works via adb sideload), running latest firmware version with stock recovery and supposed to have unlocked bootloader but falsely reports as such.

I've tried clearing out the cache to see if that fixes it but it just ends up back in the loop: first it'll say unlock successfully reboot in 5 seconds, then on next bootloader it'll have the fail: unable to mount error.

Thanks again for forwarding this along to the proper people, really appreciate it Khanger.
[ZenFone 2 General] alboz83:
Incredible, so it's better to don't use the Unlock tool of Asus?
[ZenFone 2 General] toebus:
Does the official unlock do essentially the same process as the unofficial?
[ZenFone 2 General] fenixx1:
My logic, TOILET BANANA (there's a nick name for you), is based on the fact that ASUS won't pay and have not paid the royalties demanded by Intel for the SDK, needed to develop over new FW updates, related to new versions of OS. My logic TOILET BANANA, comes from the fact that ASUS has only made cosmetics upgrades to the current version of OS and has not solved the main issues with it. As you may know, issues most of them related to a bad OS.

Any responsible manufacturer with a decent QA, would know by now that they are giving a buggy product to the final consumer and take steps in order to correct the issue at hand. If the issue at hand is resolved thru a roadmap that involves a new FW, so be it. The Zenfone 2 is not a free product, so, if you dont know the current laws or ethical implications of it, when i pay you any sum of money in order to receive a product, you are forced to deliver a good experience to me. This has not been the case with this ZF2. Many bugs, many unsatisfied customers.

You are not talking to a random rat-kid TOILET BANANA, think before you utter more words, and better, ask me if i have base to say what i say.

It's obvious that most people in these forums only write to see their own posts, but once in a while, ask yourself if this nonsense that have been most writen in this post has to do anything about the real issue: why ASUS has released a unlock more than 6 months later of the release date for the product? you act most of you like sheeps and follow the game of ASUS.

Use a more critical approach.

And always remember if you would use the same F word in front of me if we where to face each other in real life, TOILET BANANA. Remember to write as if you were in front of the person you are barking. OK?

ASUS has given me the facts to tell you this. DONT EXPECT ANY UPGRADE OF OS VESION FROM ASUS. THEY ARE ONLY MAKING COSMETICS UPGRADES
[ZenFone 2 General] ione2380:
This should be called: Official Asus fake unlock to make you lose your warranty thread...
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Pretty harsh bro.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Is there a way to check if my device is with BL unlocked from app or pc ?

Last night i have faced the same problem peaple are facing here i have try to UB with Asus app end up fails and boot to system like normal, my question is do i have my phone UB for Asus right now or it is not completed the Unlock the bootloader.

Thanks in advance any help is welcome:)

Ps. The phone is alright, but dont know if it is geting updates as im in the ww latest version 97, 102 is not avable yet for ww right?
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
Try loading into the bootloader and taking a picture of your screen. To get there, turn the phone off, press and hold both the power and the volume up button at the same time until the phone vibrates. Release the power button but keep holding volume up after the phone vibrates. Hold volume up until you see the green android on screen with his chest plate open. You should see some information about your device, including bootloader version, signing, and secure_boot. If bootloader version is unknown, you're probably in the same boat as me and DeathStolas.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
I think we are in the same boat :)

What to do now?
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
No, ours just keeps sending the unlock command over and over again....
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Mine got fail and thats it reboots after 5 seconds.

It boots normal, dont know what to do:(
[ZenFone 2 General] alose:
Your own statements have disproved the theory that the official unlock is more reliable than the unofficial unlock. With the unofficial unlock, you are not automatically voided on the warranty, just if you get caught. Personally I support this, as regardless of the legal situation, ethically ASUS should still have to support the hardware, irregardless of what software is installed. If the sim card slot fails (which happens on this device), then ASUS should be repairing that irrespective of what the user may have done to the bootloader.

And on the CM front, there is nothing I would consider a major bug. Some apps do not work because of the Intel architecture, but I have not found one personally.
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
I said it was more reliable, I didn't say it was perfect. I back up my perspective on devices with my wallet, which normally speaks louder to companies than complaints on a forum. At least in this situation, we have the ability to make a difference without our current dollars, which is far better than most other companies. I agree that software should still be supported, but I disagree that they should be held liable for faulty hardware after a person knowingly voided the warranty. Again, that's backed up with dollars if a repair is needed out of warranty.

Of course, it's a gamble either way. Do it unofficially and don't get caught, all the better for you. Go official and have a problem, we're still way better off in the current situation than we could have been. As of now, I think there are two reports of bootloader limbo, one of failure to unlock. I'm curious to hear how many people have tried it officially with success, as that might serve better to illustrate the situation. But this discussion gets us nowhere, and I do not desire to internet bicker with people in a community that has far more extensive technical knowledge than I do. :highfive:

Also thanks for the info on CM. If I get the chance to try it once the unlock is fixed, I'll definitely run it through the ringer. The app support was my biggest concern simply because I do a lot of coding on it and if my IDEs don't work, I'm a bit out of luck.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
Is your device encrypted?

I had to factory reset to get rid of encryption, then the bootloader unlock "works".

I say "works" because I'm having the same issue as others where fastboot pushes the unlock code and reboots over and over like other people have in this thread...
[ZenFone 2 General] troy5890:
Hey! You better calm down, this guy is doing is best that's all anyone can ask for. So how about you calm down or else
[ZenFone 2 General] fenixx1:
bizantine arguments. arguing about nothing

Really, you look like kids. Many of you with my age or even older, arguing about an stupid issue: the benefits and cons about a method of unlocking. And avoiding the real issues with this phone. really people, more critical thinking, dont follow the game of ASUS. both methods void the damm warranty. end of argument. period.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
At this point i just want find the way to unlock or if not possible recive the updates like it was before use the tool.
[ZenFone 2 General] fenixx1:
extending a ridiculous thread about a useless feature/app/apk.

any method you use, voids the warranty. any method you use, ASUS is telling us that they dont care if we tinker with this Z00A anymore. Any method you use or anything that you write here is pointless. it's just troubleshooting something that doesnt change the fact that, ASUS dont care about this phone, nor its user base. it's telling us: i wont support you, break it if you want. why do you still insist in this kind of threads? specially intelligent guys like lvl99?
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Hi fellas - I'm going to have a team member look at this because i was able to replicate the problem with my ZF2. Basically, I had some issues just getting to Recovery via Vol UP+Power. It would take me to a black screen. So i did it via Adb command.

- Adb reboot recovery --> leads to Error! screen

- Press Power + tap VOL up again leads to recovery

- Reboot bootlader from Recovery Menu

- Bootloader shows Unlock error ---> Auto Reboot after a few seconds

I had used a previously unreleased version of the unlock tool too, (which obviously didn't work for me) so I'm not sure if you guys have the same utility that was pushed to me. Regardless, I will look into this. I don't think the phone will register with the servers if the unlock fails though but I can ask.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Very nice man :)
[ZenFone 2 General] :
Fingers crossed because right now I can't use fastboot for anything so I can't even attempt an "unofficial" unlock. Was hoping to tinker this evening, so I'll have to keep my eyes on this thread for sure.
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Same here :/
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Shooting a quick video showing the problem and will shoot it to HQ tonight so they can see it and understand whats happening.

Best,

K
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
Thanks K!
[ZenFone 2 General] Druboo666:
I am already unlocked my bootloader using the unofficial way and hope some one will find way to relock the bootloader
[ZenFone 2 General] ione2380:
Or else, what? Like an xda moderator said: if you don't like my post, move on!

Nothing to see on this line
[ZenFone 2 General] troy5890:
Its hard to tell when people on here are joking or not
[ZenFone 2 General] creison:
Let us know about any news;)

Browsing around XDA, found many peaple with the same problem, crossing my fingers for any solution ASAP!

:D:good:
[ZenFone 2 General] Rattraps123:
SO I just did this with my NEW RMA phone, and the bootloader has been unlocked by this official method, now it won't let me flash ANY custom recovery and fastboot automatically restarts after 5 secs. WTF Asus !
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
They are aware, you are not alone. We have a memeber that has duplicated the issue, made a video of this issue, and submitted the issue to ASUS HQ.
[ZenFone 2 General] :
So here's a question: I've had fastboot do this in the past (On a Nexus 4) but after it does its thing, even if it fails, it clears out the commands that are "pending" so fastboot still works. Is there a way to clear that out via adb? I know it's a command that's getting sent with the boot up to the bootloader, so it has to be saved someplace...any ideas where that is? Really hoping ASUS provides a fix either way, otherwise a whole pile of people just voided their warranty for absolutely nothing. I'm just antsy and am wondering if there's something we can do to solve it on our own.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
I am not all that skilled in fastboot / adb, I have tried everything I know of from previous devices, including sideloading from ADB the current firmware, nothing has worked.
[ZenFone 2 General] alboz83:
Guys, so you raccomend me to wait for unlock my zenfone? I'm going to unlock this weekend, but there isn't safe and stable method!!!
[ZenFone 2 General] :
I've been Googling the crap out of things like "fastboot commands stuck" etc and it seems like this just doesn't happen. Loads of people having issued getting TO fastboot, but no one with this type of issue.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 AM ----------

Based on more that one user's experience with the official method causing issues, I'd recommend waiting.
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
I've been looking for the same thing. Usually, the pending commands wait in the cache area along with any OTA that needs to be applied (as far as I have had experience). I would have thought clearing the cache would stop the pending command, but that does not seem to be the case here. I'm not going to wipe all of my data just to see if that does it either, but if someone wants to give it a go, that might be something to try.

So from my count there are now five or six people having the same problem?
[ZenFone 2 General] DeathStolas:
The following does not work to clear our issue:

Wiping Data / Factory reset from android/recovery

Wiping Cache

ADB Sideload firmware from recovery

Trying to issue a command in that 5 seconds has proven fruitless as well

Here is hoping to a fix..

-Jason