[Walmart Onn Tablets General] Viva La Android R.I.P.:
Onn Surf 7 (1st Gen)

Model No. 100005206

7" WiFi Android Tablet​

View attachment 5896509​

Bootloader Unlocking

And Rooting Guide​

OVERVIEW:​

The 1st Gen Surf 7 is a low-end budget tablet manufactured by the Walmart-owned electronics brand Onn (stylized onn.). Under the hood is the MediaTek MT8167B, a battery efficient quad-core Cortex-A35 chipset with a max clock speed of 1.3 GHz, paired with 1 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal storage (12.2 GB useable). The tablet ships with Android 9 Pie Go Edition, compiled using the armv7l (32-bit) architecture.

This guide outlines instructions for unlocking the bootloader and rooting the 1st Gen Onn Surf 7. IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS GUIDE IS FOR MODEL NUMBER 100005206 ONLY.

The method for rooting this device is the Magisk systemless root solution. The most common procedure for rooting with Magisk involves boot image patching support. During this process, the boot-ramdisk is patched to configure the boot image for systemless root. On this model tablet, the stock boot image is devoid of a ramdisk (boot-ramdisk), so the only alternative to achieving root is to use the ramdisk from the stock recovery image and systematically install Magisk on the /recovery partition. In essence, this configuration allows Magisk to hijack the /recovery partition to attain root access to the Android OS. The caveat is, anytime you reboot your tablet, in order to have root privileges, you will need to manually boot to recovery mode by way of using the hardware key combo. But, more on that later. In the meantime, and before we begin, if you would like to read a more detailed synopsis on running Magisk in recovery, see the official Magisk installation docs at GitHub here

Official GitHub Magisk Docs
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REQUIREMENTS:​

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1. Onn Surf 7 (Model No 100005206 ONLY);​

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2. A Windows PC or laptop with the ADB & Fastboot tools installed. For purposes of this guide, keeping simplicity in mind, I would recommend using the Minimal ADB & Fastboot tools. I have provided a link in the downloads section below for this utility. If you do not already have ADB & fastboot installed on your computer, go ahead and download the program from the link below and install it. For better ease of access, once installation is complete, open your C drive, open the Program Files (x86) folder, and locate the Minimal ADB & Fastboot folder. Copy it and paste it to your desktop. NOTE: this guide can be performed using Windows, Linux or Mac. This particular guide, however, focuses on a Windows-based setup;​

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3. A quality USB to micro USB data syncing/charging cable;​

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4. An internet connection to download the files I have linked below;​

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DISCLAIMER:

Unlocking the bootloader and rooting an Android-based mobile device are tasks that both carry inherent risks. By proceeding further, you are assuming full responsibility for the integrity and operability of your device. In effect, this serves to absolve me of any liability in the event you corrupt your tablet or otherwise render it inoperable. I have thoroughly tested these instructions and have the utmost confidence that things will go smoothly as long as you follow this guide carefully. In the unfortunate event things go south, we are dealing with a MediaTek-based tablet, which are known to be quite impervious to hard bricking. Remain calm, stop everything you're doing, and write a complete summary below in comments of every step you took and precisely what went wrong. Feel free to include photos or screenshots, and don't be bashful with details. Because this is a noob-friendly thread, I will provide all support possible to get you back in running order.

Moreover, it should be emphasized here that unlocking the bootloader of your Onn Surf 7 will trigger a native security protocol which forces the device into a factory data reset during the initial boot sequence following the unlocking process. Before proceeding further, create a full backup of any saved data, apps, app data, photos, media, videos or any other files you wish to keep. Again, all userdata will be erased following the bootloader unlocking procedure. ​

INSTRUCTIONS: ​

I. UNLOCKING THE BOOTLOADER

This section assumes that you have installed the Minimal ADB & Fastboot tools on your Windows computer, and that your device is charged to a minimum of 60%.​

In the Developer Options menu, enable USB Debugging & OEM Unlocking. To enable the Developer Options menu, go to device Settings>About tablet and tap Build number 7 times. You will see a toast informing you that Developer Options have been enabled, which will be located in Settings>System;​

Boot your tablet into fastboot mode. From the Android OS, you can connect the tablet to your PC or laptop with a suitable micro USB to USB-A data sync/charging cable. Keep an eye on your tablet display for a USB Debugging authorization prompt, which needs to be granted. Open the Minimal ADB & Fastboot folder on your desktop and double click the file named cmd-here. This will open a command window, in which this command should be executed

adb devices

If properly connected, the command window will return with an alphanumeric string followed by the word device. Next, execute the command

adb reboot bootloader

Your tablet should now boot to fastboot mode, which will be indicated by a black backlit display with FASTBOOT mode displayed in white text at the bottom of the display;​

In the command window, execute the command

fastboot devices

Just as before, if you are properly connected, the command window will display your device's serial number followed by the word fastboot;​

Now execute

fastboot flashing unlock

On your table display you will be prompted to press the Volume Up key to initiate the bootloader unlock. Once you have done so, and the unlock is complete, use this command to reboot your tablet:

fastboot reboot

II. ROOTING THE DEVICE

Now that the bootloader is unlocked, we will not be using TWRP or any other custom recovery to achieve root. As mentioned previously, this root method involves running Magisk in recovery. Using this configuration, it is not even possible to install Magisk using a custom recovery. Once the recovery image has been patched using the image patching feature of the Magisk app, fastboot mode must then be used to install the patched image. I have alleviated all the leg work of Magisk image patching by creating a pre-patched recovery image configured for Magisk systemless root. To root your tablet, you need only to flash the patched recovery image I have provided below.​

Boot your tablet into fastboot mode. With the device powered off, hold the Power and Volume Up buttons for several seconds, until a boot mode menu appears on your tablet display. Use Volume Up to navigate to Fastboot Mode and then press Volume Down to select it.;​

Connect your tablet to your computer by using a good quality USB to micro USB charge/sync cable;​

Download the Magisk patched recovery image from the DOWNLOADS heading below. Save it in the ADB/Fastboot directory on your computer;​

Open a command window on your computer in the path of your ADB/Fastboot directory. Ensure proper syncing by executing the fastboot devices command.​

Once proper syncing is established, execute the following command:​

fastboot flash recovery patched_recovery.img

Your Onn Surf 7 is now configured for root access. Now the fun part -- booting a rooted Android OS via recovery mode. As referenced previously, due to there being no boot-ramdisk, Magisk must be installed to the /recovery partition. Therefore, anytime you reboot the device, in order to enable root access, it will be necessary to manually boot to recovery. Because Magisk has effectively hijacked the /recovery partition, booting to recovery actually boots the Android OS with Magisk systemless root enabled. If you select the normal boot option, Android will boot up, but without root enabled.​

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So at this time, hold the Power button until the tablet shuts down from fastboot mode and powers off. Once off, hold the Power and Volume Up keys together until the boot mode menu appears. Using Volume Up, navigate to Recovery Mode, then press Volume Down to select the option and initiate boot up. Once booted into the Android OS, if you do not see the Magisk app installed, or its

placeholder shortcut, go ahead and install the latest Magisk APK file from the official GitHub repo. I have added a link below. Open Magisk and allow any additional setup that may be pending. And that's it. Good luck and enjoy.​

DOWNLOADS:​

Magisk Patched Recovery Image

Minimal ADB & Fastboot v1.4.3

Official Magisk Release Repo

9.0-PPR1.180610.011 Firmware

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