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Phone Maker: TECNO Model: F1 OS: Android 8.1 (Go Edition) Memory: 8GB ROM 1GB RAM

I have asked a question here: Android fastboot restoration points

In summary the phone was updating then the battery died and now it is stuck in fastboot mode. It shows the text => FASTBOOT mode... in the bottom left corner of the fully black screen.

I discovered its possibly a single slot device (does NOT support seamless system updates) and obviously the update process got bad. What are the ways to recover from this (fastboot mode screen) so the phone boots up correctly. I am currently using ADB, Fastboot to interact with the phone via USB. Below is the output that I get when I run 'fastboot getvar all' on a windows 10 system.

(bootloader)    max-download-size: 0x8000000
(bootloader)    partition-size:flashinfo: 1000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:flashinfo: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:userdata: 14ff80000
(bootloader)    partition-type:userdata: f2fs
(bootloader)    partition-size:cache: 7000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:cache: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:system: 59000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:system: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:keystore: 800000
(bootloader)    partition-type:keystore: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:secro: 600000
(bootloader)    partition-type:secro: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:oemkeystore: 200000
(bootloader)    partition-type:oemkeystore: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:metadata: 2500000
(bootloader)    partition-type:metadata: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:nvdata: 2000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:nvdata: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:tee2: 500000
(bootloader)    partition-type:tee2: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:tee1: 500000
(bootloader)    partition-type:tee1: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:frp: 100000
(bootloader)    partition-type:frp: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:vendor: 12000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:vendor: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:expdb: a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:expdb: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:odmdtbo: 1000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:odmdtbo: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:logo: 800000
(bootloader)    partition-type:logo: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:para: 80000
(bootloader)    partition-type:para: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:recovery: 1000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:recovery: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:boot: 1000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:boot: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:lk2: 60000
(bootloader)    partition-type:lk2: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:lk: 60000
(bootloader)    partition-type:lk: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:seccfg: 40000
(bootloader)    partition-type:seccfg: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:persist: 3000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:persist: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:protect2: a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:protect2: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:protect1: a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:protect1: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:nvram: 500000
(bootloader)    partition-type:nvram: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:proinfo: 300000
(bootloader)    partition-type:proinfo: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:preloader: 40000
(bootloader)    partition-type:preloader: raw data
(bootloader)    off-mode-charge: 1
(bootloader)    warranty: yes
(bootloader)    unlocked: no
(bootloader)    secure: yes
(bootloader)    kernel: lk
(bootloader)    product: K80_BSP
(bootloader)    version-preloader: 0.1.00
(bootloader)    version: 0.5
all: Done!!
Finished. Total time: 0.142s

I tried the command fastboot reboot recovery but it responds ok and still displays the fastboot mode text

How can I: 1.) Recover the data by booting into the recovery partition (right now I am unable to access the recovery partition) 2.) Recover the data and boot the device via other means apart from recovery partition

Flashing the phone is a last resort. But is it possible to Flash the phone and still retain the data I had on it before this incident occured?

PS: For obvious security reasons I only intend to stick with official tools (ADB, Fastboot) to solve this problem. I am NOT willing to install any unofficial software on my computer.

Improve this question
14
  • @alecxs I intentionally removed the actual values and replaced them with xxx. It shows actual values I am able to see it in the command line output. When I use key combos I am able to get into recovery mode. But I do not want to do a factory reset, at least NOT yet.
    – thinkhjj
    Commented Aug 8, 2020 at 10:56
  • fastboot reboot recovery is a command I have seen in the xda forums while researching into this matter
    – thinkhjj
    Commented Aug 8, 2020 at 10:57
  • @alecxs I have modified the question above. been doing some research and found its possible to flash the stock rom via fastboot.
    – thinkhjj
    Commented Aug 8, 2020 at 23:58
  • fastboot is disabled (bootloader) unlocked: no therefore your only hope is SP Flash Tool. in your case most likely only system.img must be flashed, and cache partition should be cleared. in any case your personal data is on userdata + metadata partition and should be backed up with valid scatter file (just to keep it safe)
    – alecxs
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 8:24
  • scatter does not fit scatter file. you must create scatter file for your own. Do a "read back" of your phone. in SP Flash Tool select DA_SWSEC.bin as Download-Agent (source). you can follow below instructions afterwards
    – alecxs
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 9:02

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

You may be able to restore your phone using SP Flash Tool since you phone uses MediaTek CPU

1- Download SP Flash Tool

2- Download the ROM from here

3- Download the driver from here installation steps inside the zip "README" file

4- power off you phone

5- open SP Flash Tool. Go to Download tab Click Scatter and Load Scatter File from ROM Folder

imageedit-0-6226621777.png

6-Select Download Only. Click Download & Connect the Switched off Phone

imageedit-0-5557492297.png

Improve this answer
5
  • Thx for that answer. You could improve that with a warning one should always uncheck preloader android.stackexchange.com/q/227124
    – alecxs
    Commented Aug 8, 2020 at 12:14
  • Thanks for the response. I hear fastboot can flash ROM also. Stumbled on instructions here forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/… I am comfortable with the command line so running commands isn't scary to me. Any input on how to achieve this with fastboot via CLI?
    – thinkhjj
    Commented Aug 8, 2020 at 22:47
  • be aware fastboot flashing unlock will perform a factory reset which causes data loss
    – alecxs
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 8:40
  • Thanks a lot for all of the feedback. I have obtained SPFlashTool using the link from @theggputest55. Questions: 1)How do I create a scatter file for my device?(is it possible with SPFlashTool or can it be done via command line?)Now I know scatter file is basically a .txt file how do I get it from my device with SPFlashTool? 2)When I have the scatter file how do I use it to make a backup of my partitions? 3)Now when I want to flash the ROM, it is this same scatter file that I will use in SPFlashTool yes?
    – thinkhjj
    Commented Oct 23, 2020 at 15:15
  • @thinkhjj Very sorry for the late reply modern android phones has about 50 to 100 partitions the Scatter File is like a map which tells the program where to read from the phone eMMC. in order to use SP Flash Tool you need two things 1- a Scatter File which you can create by yourself by following is guide. tinyurl.com/helpyou148 or watch this vide to make yourself comfortable with tool tinyurl.com/help458 2- DA agent aka download agent is a file that allows SP Flash Tool to read and write to the phone eMMC usually these two files exist with the backups created by users,
    – theggputest55
    Commented May 30, 2021 at 18:18

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