How to root Lava Iris X8

The other day I bought a new LAVA Iris X8 specifically for Android development and guess what, I rooted the device on the first day 😀

Here’s my rooted X8.

This is the most safest and noob-friendly method to root your X8. Yes, I have tested this method on my own device and I did not soft-brick it in the process. > Will I receive the official Lollipop update ( as promised by LAVA ) even after I root my X8 ?                                                                                                                                       Yes, you will receive the update, but you’d probably lose root access after you install the update. But don’t worry, I will post a rooting tutorial right after the update is released.

> Will I void my phone’s warranty if I root my device ?                                                          Well, of course you will void your warranty 😀

DISCLAIMER :: I have tested this rooting method on my device, but I will not be responsible if you mess something up

Here we go,

STEP 1 : ENABLE USB-DEBUGGING IN YOUR PHONE

Goto Settings > About phone and keep tapping Build number until a toast message pops-up saying ” You are now a developer  ” Now, go back to Settings and you will find a new entry Developer options, inside it check USB debugging option.

STEP 2 : INSTALL ADB DRIVERS IN YOUR COMPUTER

I recommend using XP / Vista / 7 for this, because it is cumbersome to setup the drivers in Windows 8 / 8.1 and in most cases, the drivers would not get installed properly. Download the Driver package here This contains all the VCOM,USB and ADB drivers ( all that you need ), most of which are common to all Mediatek ( Your phone’s processor ) devices. After you download the rar file, extract it. Now goto Device Manager

•  Right-click on My Computer > Properties > Device Manager

Under Other devices or Ports, you will find an entry of your device with the exclamation symbol like this.

•  Right-click > Update Driver software

Choose the Browse option and locate the extracted folder, Windows will automatically identify the driver and install it.

STEP 3 : INSTALL KINGO ROOT IN YOUR COMPUTER ( Download here )

Step 4 : CONNECT THE PHONE TO THE COMPUTER VIA USB AND ROOT

Make sure the computer has an active internet connection. Open the Kingo root application, it will automatically recognize the device and starts installing the necessary dependency drivers. Now click on ROOT, it will automatically start downloading the necessary root files and does everything for you. It takes a couple of minutes, the phone might do some reboots in the process, don’t panic ! On completion, it’ll say “Root succeeded” and you will find a new Kingo root icon in the app drawer.

Step 5 : INSTALL SUPERSU ( IF KINGO ROOT FAILS TO INSTALL IT )

Although Kingo root succeeded, it failed to install SuperSU in my X8. If you can’t find SuperSU in your app-drawer, follow this step. Download SuperSU from the playstore. SuperSU prompts you to install it. Choose Normal mode, phone reboots after the installation is complete After rebooting, SuperSU still won’t show up in the app drawer because it conflicts with the SuperSU package Kingo root tried to install, so you need to remove it.

• Goto Settings > Apps > SuperSU > Uninstall updates

Then reboot your device and you’re done. The next time an app requires root privileges, SuperSU will prompt your permission.

CUSTOM RECOVERY

Thanks to the folks at XDA, we finally have a custom recovery !

Download here ( Carliv Touch v3.3 )

You can flash the recovery by using either of these two :

• Mobileuncle MTK tools ( without PC )
• SP Flashtool

Mobileuncle MTK tools

1. Place the recovery.img file in the root of your SD card.
2. Download Mobileuncle MTK tools here
3. Place the recovery.img file in the root of your SD card
4. Open the application, grant root permissions
5. Go into Recovery update, it will automatically find the recovery.img file
6. Tap on it and choose OK for the prompt
7. It will install the recovery and reboot into recovery

SP Flashtool

1. Download the application here ( Windows )
2. Just extract the ZIP file.
3. Download Scatter-text file for the X8 here
4. Open Flashtool.exe from the extracted folder, load the scatter-text file
5. Choose the recovery.img file and click on Download
6. Power-off the phone and connect the phone to the PC
7. Wait for the magic ring to appear !
8. Doesn’t make sense ? Follow this noob guide

To boot into recovery

• Hold volume up + volume down + power button at OFF state
• Use Mobileuncle MTK tools application and tap Reboot into Recovery
• Use adb command  $ adb reboot recovery

CUSTOMIZE X8 LIKE A BOSS

Right now, there’s isn’t much development happening for the X8. I am currently working on porting a CWM recovery for this device. After a custom recovery has been ported, custom ROMs would soon be available, hopefully ! Until then, all you can do is customize the stock ROM with the Xposed Framework. Xposed framework allows you to customize the UI, system apps and provides awesome functionalities through modules that you never thought were necessary! Read here if you are interested to know how it works.

The best thing about Xposed is, it does all this without actually modifying the APKs, meaning that if you uninstall the framework, you will remove all the customizations you made. Make sure you uninstall Xposed Installer before you install the official Lollipop update from LAVA. Download Xposed here Open Xposed and tap on Install/Update in Framework ( provide root access ). Don’t panic after seeing this warning message, I’ve tested the installation on my device.

The phone will reboot after the installation is complete. Xposed installer does not add any functionality by itself, you need to install modules for that. Head over to Download in Xposed Installer and choose the modules of your choice and make sure you download the Kitkat [KK] version of each module.

To use a module, enable it in Xposed Installer and reboot your device. Since we don’t have a custom recovery setup as of now ( which I am working on ). We cannot recover from soft-bricks ( Boot-loops ), so don’t install modules that may potentially soft-brick your device ! If none of the modules work, read this post

Xposed modules I’m using on my X8

• Xui mod                          >   Awesome List animations
• Greenify                          >   Epic battery saver
• GravityBox                      >   UI customization
• Tinted Status Bar            >   Change status bar color based on the app
• Screen-off Animation      >   Well, duh !

CHANGE FONT

Download iFont from the playstore, ( provide root access ) it has a plethora of fonts lined up. Before you set a font, Goto Settings and choose the Change font mode as System mode(need ROOT)   Here’s a list of my Top 10 Root apps for Android, an article that featured in the 2015 February issue of the Open Source For You magazine. View here

STOCK ROM ( KITKAT 4.4.2 ) IS NOW AVAILABLE

Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

Leave a comment if you have any doubts, I’ll be glad to help 🙂