How to use SP Flash tool to backup Mediatek firmware

[Tutorial] How to use SP Flash tool to backup Mediatek firmware

hovatek
Administrator

49,855

27-08-2014, 06:19 PM

#1

Update: I suggest you use Wwr tool + SP flash tool for the dump instead of SP Flash tool alone as you can proceed without first having the scatter file and using MTK Droid Tools (which is now outdated).

This guide will explain how to use SP Flash tool to extract / backup / dump / readback the stock rom / firmware of a Mediatek (MTK) Android device.

Why use SP Flash Tool to backup firmware?

While there are a number of tools / methods you could use to backup your Mediatek device's firmware, SP flash tool is free and supports all chipsets. Boxes / dongles support a lot of Mediatek chips but aren't free. Other free methods like Mtk Droid tools don't support newer chips.

Requirements

If you are coming from the wwr mtk guide or if you already have scatter file for your device then skip everything concerning mtk droid tools as you won't be needing it

Mediatek Phone (Whether rooted or not)
PC
Install Mediatek USB VCOM drivers
Download the latest version of SP Flash tool
Download MTK Droid tools

How to do an SP Flash Tool readback / ROM Dump

The steps below explain how to use SP Flash tool to backup / readback / dump a Mediatek phone''s firmware

See the video tutorial below or @ http://youtu.be/CrpHIlcc43U

Launch MTK Droid Tools
Click Blocks Map
In Blocks Map, focus on the Scatter and Size columns
Click Create Scatter file and save the scatter file to a known location on the PC
Launch SP Flash Tool
Click Scatter Loading and select the scatter file you created above in the window that pops up
Click Read Back at the top

Backing up / Dumping just one file / partiton ( e.g only boot.img )
Click Add
A new item (N/A) will be created in the white box below, ensure its ticked
Double-click the newly created item and save it as Boot.img (we'll be copying just boot.img in this example)
In the dialogue box, tick Hex. To get Start address, go back to the second step above and enter the value under the Scatter column for the file / partition you with to extract . Since we're copying Boot.img , the value under scatter for Bootimg is 0002980000 that will be 0x2980000 . To get the Length , check under the Size column for the file / partition you wish to extract . for Bootimg as shown above, size is 0000600000 that will be 0x600000 then Click Ok . The trick is to replace all 0s before the first non-zero digit with 0x
Click Read Back
Connect the phone to PC while switched off and wait for Read Back to be complete
When Read Back is complete, you'll get a Green Circle with OK

Backing up / Dumping the entire ROM
Click Add
Untick the previously created item and leave only the new one ticked
Double-click the new item and save it as ROM_1
In the box, leave Hex ticked. For start address, leave it as it is (0x000.....) . For Length, enter the value under the Scatter column (see second step above) for FAT or Usrdata ( the very last item is recommended) . eg FAT is 0097140000 ( which is 0x97140000 )
Ensure only the new item is ticked , untick the first / previous item
Click Read Back then connect the switched off phone to PC
When Read Back is complete, you'll get a Green circle with OK
Go back to MTK Droid Tools
Click To process file ROM_ from Flash Tool
Select the ROM_1 file you saved in the step above in the window that pops up
Wait for MTK Droid tools to finish copying
When prompted to make CWM Recovery automatically, click Yes or No . If you click Yes, you'll need to select the Recovery.img from the window that pops up
Open the folder where you saved the ROM_1 file to, you should see the backup folder for the phone
Open the phone's backup folder, you should see all files listed there
Note: If you get any errors in SP Flash tool then read //www.hovatek.com/forum/thread-439.html

Important Notice

Do NOT interrupt the read-back process else the phone wont power up for several hours
Its important you only use a scatter file for your phone model (and preferably variant) to avoid running into errors as a result of an incompatible scatter file or wrong partition addresses
When dumping preloader, take note of the region address and know that the raw preloader dumped using the approach still needs to be processed in order to be flashable
MTK Droid tools doesn't work on newer Mediatek chips and Android versions so you either dump one partition at a time or use Wwr_MTK tool instead

This post was last modified: 19-02-2020, 11:29 AM by X3non.

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hovatek
Administrator

49,855

15-11-2014, 07:44 AM

#2

see the new videos

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Cornel
Junior Member

31

06-01-2015, 07:55 PM

#3

I don't understand this procedure In the dialogue box, tick Hex. To get
Start address, go back to the second step
above and enter the value under the Scatter
column for the file / partition you with to
extract . Since we're copying Boot.img , the
value under scatter for Bootimg is
0002980000 that will be 0x2980000 .
To get the Length , check under the Size
column for the file / partition you wish to
extract . for Bootimg as shown above, size
is 0000600000 that will be 0x600000
then Click Ok . The trick is to replace all 0s
before the first non-zero digit with 0x

hovatek
Administrator

49,855

06-01-2015, 08:48 PM

#4

(06-01-2015, 07:55 PM)Cornel I don't understand this procedure In the dialogue box, tick Hex. To get
Start address, go back to the second step
above and enter the value under the Scatter
column for the file / partition you with to
extract . Since we're copying Boot.img , the
value under scatter for Bootimg is
0002980000 that will be 0x2980000 .
To get the Length , check under the Size
column for the file / partition you wish to
extract . for Bootimg as shown above, size
is 0000600000 that will be 0x600000
then Click Ok . The trick is to replace all 0s
before the first non-zero digit with 0x

the video explains that if you can view it. if you cant, then i'l break it down here. I'l take two examples

1. backing up just one file

you'll need two values to backup one file alone: the file's scatter value and size value. look at the fourth picture in the guide for example. lets take bootimg . in front of bootimg, you can see two columns named scatter and size. its the values under these for bootimg you need to backup bootimg

2. dumping the entire ROM

you'll need just the scatter value of the last file (FAT) since start address will be 0x000000000 while the scatter value of the last file will serve as length

to convert 00989904 to hex, convert all 0s before the first non-zero digit to 0x
so 00989904 gives 0x989904
000000989904 gives 0x989904 also

Still have questions?

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Cornel
Junior Member

31

08-01-2015, 10:36 AM

#5

In the box, leave Hex ticked. For start
address, leave it as it is (0x000.....) .
For Length, enter the value under the
Scatter column (see second step above) for
FAT or Usrdata ( the very last item is
recommended) . eg FAT is 0097140000
( which is 0x97140000 )."for the fat. under the scatter column is showing 00c3f40000 ,user data is showing 0043f40000.and on mtk tools the box is blue instead of green.

hovatek
Administrator

49,855

08-01-2015, 11:44 AM

#6

(08-01-2015, 10:36 AM)Cornel In the box, leave Hex ticked. For start
address, leave it as it is (0x000.....) .
For Length, enter the value under the
Scatter column (see second step above) for
FAT or Usrdata ( the very last item is
recommended) . eg FAT is 0097140000
( which is 0x97140000 )."for the fat. under the scatter column is showing 00c3f40000 ,user data is showing 0043f40000.and on mtk tools the box is blue instead of green.

dont worry about the color of the box. use the scatter value for FAT for Length (which will be 0xc3f40000 )

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Tejrooney
Senior Member

191

28-02-2015, 04:15 AM

#7

Seriously confusing. Can't MTKdroid simply do d trick of backing up. I no understand d procedures at all

hovatek
Administrator

49,855

28-02-2015, 09:20 AM

#8

(28-02-2015, 04:15 AM)Tejrooney Seriously confusing. Can't MTKdroid simply do d trick of backing up. I no understand d procedures at all

MTK droid tools is much easier but requires root. this method doesn't require root. see the video to better understand

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Tejrooney
Senior Member

191

01-03-2015, 12:42 AM

#9

Can this through mistake of any kind from d user destroyed d phone

Tejrooney
Senior Member

191

01-03-2015, 12:48 AM

#10

If for example tecno H5 uses MT6572 and my phone MTN smart mini uses d same MT6572 as scatter files, and i intend to copy tecno h5 scatter file for mine....it is advisable and free to uses it for mine.

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Why use SP Flash Tool to backup firmware?

Requirements

How to do an SP Flash Tool readback / ROM Dump

Backing up / Dumping the entire ROM

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