[General Questions and Answers] Lusty Rugnuts:
I rooted my Blu Life One X3 last week, using this thread as a guide. I pushed TWRP to the bootloader, then rooted it with Magisk.

I had to change things a bit to get it to work, but I got it. Specifically, how I pushed TWRP to the phone is different.

All the files used can either be found on this thread (the updated new-twrp-blox3.img, for instance, which I renamed to twrp-blox3.img), or downloaded from the internet.

I've got the latest ROM (BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC 18-02-2019 10:02), and did a full Nandroid backup of it. If my phone's IMEI doesn't get saved in the Nandroid, I can post it for those who want it. If the IMEI does get saved in the full backup, how do I do a backup which doesn't save that data?

Here's what I did:

ROOTING PROCEDURE FOR BLU LIFE ONE X3 (Updated: April 2019)

These directions are based upon (and expanded from):

https://xdaforums.com/general/help/...bootloader-t3812910/post77796489#post77796489

and subsequent posts in that thread.

NOTE: Even if your bootloader is locked, this procedure will work.

Needed Items List:

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1) SP Flash Tools (SP_Flash_Tool_v5.1824_Win.zip)

This copies TWRP to the device (instead of using fastboot)

2) scatter.txt file

3) TWRP (twrp-blox3.img)

4) SuperSU (SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip)

5) Magisk (Magisk-v18.0.zip)

6) Mediatek_Driver_Auto_Installer_1.1352.00.zip

This installs the necessary drivers.

6a) MT65xx Preloader Auto-Driver.zip

This installs the necessary bootloader drivers.

6b) IntelAndroidDrvSetup1.10.0.exe

If all else fails, this will install the necessary drivers.

7) Blu Life One X3 Stock ROM (BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC 18-02-2019 10:02)

Just in case something goes wrong and you need to flash back to the stock ROM.

8) Writing paper

9) Inkpen

10) Blu Life One X3 phone

DO NOT TRY THIS PROCEDURE ON OTHER PHONE MODELS.

IT MAY PERMANENTLY BRICK PHONES WHICH AREN'T BLU LIFE ONE X3 MODELS.

11) Computer running Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10

12) Adb installed on the computer (platform-tools_r28.0.2-windows.zip)

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Unzip Items #1, 6, and 6a.

DO NOT unzip Items #4 and 5.

NOTE: THE PROCEDURE BELOW IS ONLY TO BE USED ON STOCK-ROM BLU LIFE ONE X3 PHONES.

NOTE: YOU MUST FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE BELOW EXACTLY.

NOTE: FAILURE TO DO SO MAY BRICK YOUR PHONE.

NOTE: YOU PERFORM THE PROCEDURE BELOW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

NOTE: NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES BUT YOU.

NOTE: IF YOU DISAGREE, DO NOT PROCEED.

STEPS:

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A) DO NOT DISABLE YOUR COMPUTER'S ANTIVIRUS.

Some A/V programs still block applications or communication when shut down. And if it's shut down, you don't get the dialog boxes to enable the application or communication.

If your A/V program blocks or sandboxes an application, whitelist the application in your A/V, shut the application down, then restart it.

B) Update your A/V program's definition files.

C) Install the necessary drivers.

On your computer, start an Administrator-privilege command prompt.

Change directory to the folder where you unzipped Item #6.

Run Mediatek-Drivers-Install.bat and allow the installation to proceed.

If you find your computer doesn't recognize the phone while it's off, install the drivers from Item #6a.

This will install a Device Manager entry titled 'Preloader USB VCOM Port (COM3).

The settings for the VCOM Preloader:

Bits per second:	9600

Data bits:	8

Parity:	None

Stop bits:	1

Flow control:	None

D) REBOOT YOUR COMPUTER. A fresh start ensures a better chance at success.

E) Boot your phone and connect it to USB. Let it charge to 100%.

F) Update the BLU Life One X3 to the latest firmware version.

In the phone, go to Settings > About Device -OR- About Phone > System Update.

G) In the phone, go to Settings > About Device -OR- About Phone.

At the bottom, you'll find 'Custom Build Version'.

It should say something like 'BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC 18-02-2019 10:02'.

NEATLY write down the Build Version (for instance: BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC).

You'll name your stock ROM backup (done later in this procedure) to this.

H) In the phone, go to Settings > About Phone -OR- About Device > Status > IMEI Information.

NEATLY write down ALL the IMEI information you see there.

I) In the phone, go to Settings, enable Developer Options.

Settings > About Phone -OR- About Device > Tap several times on Build Number until you get a small dialog box which says "You are now a developer!".

J) In the phone, go to Settings > Developer Options, turn 'Developer Options' on (slider at top).

Enable 'Stay Awake', 'OEM Unlocking' and 'USB Debugging'.

K) In the phone, go to Settings > Developer Options, disable 'Automatic System Updates'.

********** WAYPOINT 1 **********

L) On the computer, right-click SP Flash Tools (flash_tool.exe) and select 'Run As Administrator'.

The Download tab (the default tab) should already point to a file in the "Download Agent" entry - Don't touch it.

On the "Scatter-loading File" entry, choose the "scatter.txt" file listed in the Needed Items list above.

Click on the "Location" part of the row named "recovery" and choose the twrp-blox3.img file.

Make sure that ONLY the check box next to "recovery" is selected.

M) Click the SP Flash Tools Download button with the green down arrow.

The SP Flash Tools Download button will grey out as if it is working.

(It's actually waiting for the phone to shut down.)

N) From the phone, turn the phone OFF. Leave it connected to USB.

O) After the phone shuts down, you should see a RED progress bar in SP Flash Tools on the bottom (copying the download agent to the phone), then a YELLOW progress bar (copying TWRP to the phone).

Then you should see the "Download OK" confirmation box (in green) on your computer screen.

TWRP has been installed on the phone.

Close SP Flash Tools.

P) Disconnect the phone from USB.

Q) Turn on the phone in Recovery Mode by SIMULTANEOUSLY long-pressing POWER and VOLUME UP.

When it vibrates and the BLU logo appears, release the POWER button ONLY.

2-3 seconds later release the Volume UP button.

The phone should enter TWRP Recovery - Welcome Screen.

[If you mess up the buttons and the phone starts normally,

it will overwrite TWRP with the stock recovery.

You will have to go back to WAYPOINT 1 above.]

R) If TWRP asks for a password, press Cancel to proceed.

Go to the Wipe section.

Choose Format > Data, this will remove the device's encryption.

TWRP asks you to type 'yes' to continue.

After reformatting, TWRP shouldn't ask for a password anymore, and the device won't be encrypted.

To reduce annoyance, go into TWRP settings, click the third icon from the left, and uncheck "Enable screen timeout".

S) Back up the stock ROM of your phone with TWRP:

Within TWRP, press the Back button until you're back to the main menu.

Press on 'Mount' button.

Put a checkmark next to all the partitions.

Ensure "Mount system partition read-only" is unchecked.

Press "Select Storage".

Select the external SD card.

Press "OK" button.

If button says "Disable MTP", don't touch it.

If button says "Enable MTP", press it to enable USB communication with your computer.

Press the Back button.

Press "Backup" button.

Put checkmark next to all the partitions.

Press on "Select Storage" button.

Select the external SD card.

Swipe to Backup the entire phone to the external SD card.

The backup should be in:

/external_sd/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS

... although my TWRP put it in:

/external_sd/media/TWRP/BACKUPS

TO RESTORE YOUR PHONE IN THE EVENT OF PROBLEMS:

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NOTE: When doing a restore, the backup MUST be in the /external_sd/media/0/TWRP folder, (NOT the /external_sd/media/TWRP folder) for TWRP to see it.

You can verify the Nandroid backup location by booting into TWRP (Recovery Mode), selecting Advanced, then selecting File Manager.

You can transfer the backup to your computer merely by booting the phone normally, plugging the phone into USB and using Windows File Manager.

Once you've transferred the Nandroid backup to your computer, you can delete it from the phone to save space.

To push the backup back onto the phone from your computer:

Use adb push like this: adb push source destination

Example: adb push C:\TWRP\BACKUPS\{DEVICE SERIAL NUMBER}\BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC /external_sd/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS

Where "external_sd" is the name of your external SD card.

This will create a directory named "BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC" on your phone, with the Nandroid backup in subdirectories.

The transfer from computer to phone will take quite awhile.

Then do a Restore from within TWRP (Recovery Mode) by selecting the folder named "BLU_L0150WW_V7.0.04.13_GENERIC" (or whatever you've named it).

Once the Restore is finished, go back to the main TWRP screen, press Reboot > System.

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T) Connect the phone to USB. In TWRP, go back to the main menu and select Advanced, then ADB Sideload. Swipe to start Sideload.

NOTE: SideLoad in TWRP times out after a period of time if no data is being transferred. If it does so, swipe to start SideLoad again.

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NOTE: If the next step (ADB SideLoad) fails, check your computer's Device Manager.

If you see a 'Life One X3' entry that says "Device Failed To start",

right-click the 'Life One X3' entry that's failed to start,

select 'Update Driver Software',

select 'Browse my computer for driver software',

select 'Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer',

select 'Google, Inc.',

select "Android Bootloader Interface".

Let the driver install, then try ADB Sideload again.

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NOTE: For Steps U-W, the Magisk zip file hides the root status from the phone,

so you can receive OTA security updates, install and use banking apps, etc.

NOTE: Thus, the Magisk zip file is the preferred option.

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U) Copy the Magisk-v18.0.zip file to the phone:

On your computer, from an Administrator-privilege command prompt, type:

cd c:\Blu Life One Root	(THIS IS WHERE Magisk-v18.0.zip FILE IS LOCATED)

c:\adb\adb sideload Magisk-v18.0.zip

----- OR -----

U) Copy the SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip file to the phone:

On your computer, from an Administrator-privilege command prompt, type:

cd c:\Blu Life One Root	(THIS IS WHERE SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip FILE IS LOCATED)

c:\adb\adb sideload SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip

V) The Magisk install script will run on the phone

(patching the boot and system images to make the change permanent).

----- OR -----

V) The SuperSU install script will run on the phone

(patching the boot and system images to make the change permanent).

W) If the install script finishes successfully you have a rooted BLU Life One X3 phone.

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X) Once the above is completed, from within TWRP, select Reboot > System to reboot the device normally.

Y) Once the phone is booted, select 'File Transfer' or 'MTP' USB connection, and transfer the folder containing your backed-up stock ROM to your computer. This won't work if the SD card is enabled as Internal Storage (the phone will format the card after the last reboot), but you can always do another backup from within TWRP (Recovery Mode), then restart the phone, then connect the phone via File Transfer (MTP) USB mode and move the backup to your computer.

Z) In your phone, start Magisk, install any Updates that are available, then perform the SafetyNet Check.

You should see:

ctsProfile: true

basicintegrity: true

If the SafetyNet Check fails, go into Settings > Developer Options > Logger Buffer Sizes and ensure it's not set to "Off" (mine is set to "64K per log buffer"), then reboot and retry SafetyNet Check... Magisk uses the log to monitor applications which it needs to hide root status from in order to pass SafetyNet Check.

If you want to remove the multiple users feature of Android, install the 'Single User Mod' within Magisk and reboot.

There's also a handy 'Enable Doze for GMS Magisk Module' which enables Battery Optimization for Google Play Services.

Finally, there's a handy 'Magisk OpenDNS' module which changes the default DNS servers to OpenDNS.

AA) On your computer, at an Administrator-privilege command prompt type:

adb shell (you will get a non-root shell with $ prompt, then run "su" to get a root shell)

$ su

# (you will get a prompt on the phone asking you to authorize the root shell)

If you get the authorization prompt and can authorize root shell, you've verified your phone is rooted.

AB) On your phone, go into Google Play Store, select Settings, scroll down to Play Protect Certification.

It should read "Device is certified".

END OF PROCEDURE

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OPTIONAL:

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Clean out unnecessary .apk packages.

On your computer, in an Administrator-privilege command prompt, type:

adb shell pm list packages -f

Right-click, Select All (you might have to do this twice due to a bug in Command Prompt) then hit Ctrl-C to copy all the package names and paths.

Paste (Ctrl-V) the list of package names and paths into a text editor and save the list to your computer.

On your computer, in an Administrator-privilege command prompt, type the following to remove unwanted packages:

THIS UNINSTALLS THE PACKAGE FROM THE CURRENT USER BUT LEAVES THE PACKAGE ON THE PHONE:

The package will still show up in the Apps list, but it'll be disabled for the current user.

This makes it easier to reinstall the package for the current user if you later find you need it.

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 -k com.google.android.youtube

-- OR --

THIS REMOVES THE PACKAGE FROM THE PHONE COMPLETELY:

adb shell rm -rf /system/app/YouTube

Replace 'com.google.android.youtube' or '/system/app/YouTube' with the package you wish to remove or uninstall.

Be very careful not to remove packages which are needed.

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Common issues:

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- SP Flash Tools doesn't do anything when you turn off the phone.

This is a driver issue. Try installing specific MTK65xx drivers (details above).

- You managed to delete the default launcher when cleaning the phone, so you can't launch any apps.

On your computer, from an Administrator-privilege command prompt, issue the command:

adb shell monkey --pct-syskeys 0 -p com.android.vending 1

This starts the Google Play Store. Find and install a new launcher.

Lean Launcher (open source):	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hdeva.launcher

Nova Launcher:	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher

Apex Launcher:	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anddoes.launcher

Smart Launcher 5:	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ginlemon.flowerfree

Niagara Launcher:	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bitpit.launcher

After the launcher is installed, go into Settings > Apps > press the Gear Icon > press Home App > Select your launcher.

Reboot your phone.

- Your phone 'bricks':

1) Remove the SIM tray and hold the power button until your phone starts booting. Your phone should restart properly.

2) If #1 doesn't work, and if you can reboot into TWRP Recovery Mode, choose 'Restore', select the stock ROM you backed up.

2a) Alternatively, use SPTools to flash the stock ROM.

Either Step 2 or 2a sets the phone back to stock out-of-the-box condition.

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