Root for Glowlight 4 Plus?

[downeaster59]

I've been looking for ways that the GL4+ could be rooted, but have not had any success thus far. I had managed to access developer options and USB debugging before the 'wise ones' at B&N decided to add a password to keep people from doing that. As a result, I still have access, but anyone who buys a GL4+ now won't have access without the password.

My main purpose for rooting is to see if I can locate said password in the system files and then let people know what it is. Even if B&N changes the password again, once you activate USB debugging, you're in (unless you choose to turn it off).

One bonus with root is that I should be able to remap the page turn buttons as desired. This isn't a big priority for me, but it's nice to have access.

Any help is appreciated!!!

[downeaster59]

Okay. Ready for Step 2. Due to someone's kindness, I was able to find the update.zip for the GL4+. I found boot.img and processed it in the Magisk app. I ran adb reboot bootloader in Terminal. But when I tried to use fastboot, Terminal gave me this - fastboot: usage: no command. When I tried again, I tried the command fastboot devices. That got nothing. I tried adb reboot recovery. I was taken to the factory reset page. Fastboot commands were still unrecognized.

I haven't used fastboot for a little while, so I could be missing something basic. Any ideas?

[downeaster59]

Next chapter...

Using a Linux system, I was able to use fastboot. I tried "fastboot boot magisk_etc.". The terminal indicated that the operation was a success, but the GL4+ would not reboot afterwards until I did so manually. But then, the device used the stock boot.img, not the magisk-altered one. So, I tried "fastboot flash boot magisk_etc." Again, the Linux terminal indicated that the operation was a success. Again, the GL4+ didn't reboot on its own. But now, I have not been able to get it to reboot at all so far. And, I can't connect through adb so far.

I'll get back to it later. This is where my root project is as of now!

[Renate]

My 2021 6" B&N was Magisk'ed long ago and has collected dust since. I kind of liked the bright yellow cover, but it's just bulky and poorly designed.

I know a lot about Qualcomm devices, I know a tiny bit about Mediatek devices and I know almost nothing about Allwinner devices (like this device). So when I consider a new device, Qualcomm is a must for me. With Qualcomm, EDL and an unrestricted Firehose loader, the device is mine, all mine.

It sounds like you are doing everything right. "fastboot flash boot magisk.img" should do the job. I forget if that had the old style reflash stock stuff in there. That was the first thing I took out in the old days.

Do a:

ls -l /system

Is there some patch file there? I forget if it's for system or recovery. I'd check mine but it's most certainly gone now.

Look for:

ls -l /system/bin/*.sh

B&N was big on stupid shell scripts.

[downeaster59]

Thanks for your comments! The problem is that I cannot get adb to work at all. Nothing comes up when I try "adb devices". The display has remained frozen and does not change when I try to turn the device on or off.

This is very odd. Once, I messed up on my GL 4 by flashing the boot.img from the wrong update. The display went completely blank after that, but I could still access adb. With the GL4+ now, I can't. It's like everything is frozen. Only the light near the USB-C port responds when I connect it to a power source.

[Renate]

You may be going to some boot mode.
Check if your PC reacts at all to being plugged in.
Use devmgmt.msc to see the "Device instance path".

[downeaster59]

I tried a Windows PC, a Mac and a Linux system. None of them react to my Nook being plugged in. The Nook doesn't show up in Device Manager on the Windows PC..

The Nook may well be stuck in a boot mode, but I haven't found a way to get it out of that mode.

[downeaster59]

This is interesting. My Nook shows up as a fastboot device, but it won't reboot into system.

[Renate]

/system/recovery-from-boot.p and /system/bin/install-recovery.sh is what overwrites recovery. I'm not sure when/how it is triggered.

If it's really, really dead you may need UART or power analysis to figure out what it's doing.

Oops! Our messages crossed. What about recovery?

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Renate

/system/recovery-from-boot.p and /system/bin/install-recovery.sh is what overwrites recovery. I'm not sure when/how it is triggered.

If it's really, really dead you may need UART or power analysis to figure out what it's doing.

Oops! Our messages crossed. What about recovery?

My Nook shows up as a fastboot device on Linux... but not on Mac or Windows. If I open a terminal window on either of the latter two and type "fastboot devices", the terminal freezes.

On Linux, I tried fastboot reboot recovery as well as fastboot reboot boot loader. What I see in terminal tells me that it happened, but I'm not so sure that anything happened.

The one good thing about this is that the Nook isn't my main ereader, so I don't feel much pressure to get it fixed quickly. If it is dead, I'd only lose the money I spent to buy it. Whether or not I get this one running again, I may not buy another Nook. B&N's decision to add password protection in the most recent firmware to keep people from accessing USB debugging did it for me.

In fact, the only reason I was trying to root this device to begin with was to see if I could discover the password the firmware is looking for, for the sake of others who might be interested.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

In fact, the only reason I was trying to root this device to begin with was to see if I could discover the password the firmware is looking for, for the sake of others who might be interested.

I posted elsewhere on this subject. I am trying to update to 4.95
There are three possibilities on the password:

• A single password
• A per-unit password where the evaluation is local
• A per-unit password where a server is required

[elteber]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Okay. Ready for Step 2. Due to someone's kindness, I was able to find the update.zip for the GL4+. I found boot.img and processed it in the Magisk app. I ran adb reboot bootloader in Terminal. But when I tried to use fastboot, Terminal gave me this - fastboot: usage: no command. When I tried again, I tried the command fastboot devices. That got nothing. I tried adb reboot recovery. I was taken to the factory reset page. Fastboot commands were still unrecognized.

I haven't used fastboot for a little while, so I could be missing something basic. Any ideas?

Please, can you send me that update zip file for gl4 plus?

[downeaster59]

Here is the link. I hope it still works!

http://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/pi....38/update.zip

[elteber]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Here is the link. I hope it still works!

http://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/pi....38/update.zip

In the next thread I found out the code to access the developer mode, here it is: “NOOK-BNRV1300” (without quotes). And recently James Scholz released a video with detailed instruction of getting root rights (here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgjMXkJ391Y). I'm thinking of root the reader using these instructions.

[elteber]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Here is the link. I hope it still works!

http://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/pi....38/update.zip

In the next thread I found out the code to access the developer mode, here it is: “NOOK-BNRV1300” (without quotes). And recently James Scholz released a video with detailed instruction of getting root rights. I'm thinking of flashing the reader using this instruction.