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Huawei P8 Lite 2017 (huawei-prague)

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Huawei P8 Lite 2017
P9 Lite 2017
Honor 8
Nova Lite
GR3 2017
Manufacturer Huawei
Name P8 Lite 2017
P9 Lite 2017
Honor 8
Nova Lite
GR3 2017
Codename huawei-prague
Released 2017
Type handset
Hardware
Chipset HiSilicon Kirin 655 (Hi6250)
CPU 4x 2.1GHz Cortex-A53
4x 1.7GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Mali-T830 MP2
Display 1080x1920 IPS LCD
Storage 16/32/64 GB
Memory 3/4 GB
Architecture aarch64
Software
Original software
The software and version the device was shipped with.
Android 7.0
Extended version
The most recent supported version from the manufacturer.
Android 8.0
Mainline
Instead of a Linux kernel fork, it is possible to run (Close to) Mainline.
no


Users owning this device

  • ItsVixano (Notes: Requires battery replacement)
  • Mjack3k (Notes: hi6250, PRA-LX1. Unlocked bootloader, still on android)
  • Theonenonlyseal (Notes: PRA-LX1, 3/16 Model with a 256GB SD card. Running Lineage 18.1 (Android 11))
  • Wdxvvy (Notes: dead battery runs lineageos 18)
  • Werti (Notes: 2x Nothing done to it yet)
  • Zekiu (Notes: hi6250, PRA-LX1)


Model variants

  • PRA-TL10
  • PRA-TL20
  • PRA-LA1
  • PRA-LX1
  • PRA-LX2
  • TAG-L21
  • PRA-AL00X
  • TAG-L32
  • PRA-LX3
  • PRA-AL00


Boot modes

Fastboot - hold Volume Down + Power

Recovery - hold Volume Up + Power

Huawei eRecovery - connect a USB host or charger, then hold Volume Up + Power

DFU (Factory) mode (test point method) - disassemble your device, connect the appropriate pad to ground, then connect the device to USB - See #Bootloader unlocking. Needs more research.

DFU (Factory) mode (alternative method, assembled) - destroy the boot chain by executing # dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/FASTBOOT in a root shell on the device, or (in Fastboot, only if critical fblock is not enabled) - by executing $ fastboot erase FASTBOOT on a connected USB host, or flashing a blank image

Warning WARNING: You will need to flash the FASTBOOT partition using PotatoNV if you try this. Expect the unexpected! After a reboot, your device will display only a status LED code and boot straight to Factory mode. There is no other way to recover it from this state.
Note With Android's kernel configuration, partition labels are found under /dev/block/bootdevice/<mmc controller>/by-name/ instead.

UART mode - disassemble your device, connect the appropriate pad to ground, then connect the device to USB - Needs more research.

JTAG mode - Needs investigation.

Bootloader unlocking

The bootloader can be unlocked using PotatoNV. To unlock the bootloader, you will need to disassemble the device.

The exact process to enter Factory mode is currently undocumented for this device. See Huawei P8 Lite (huawei-alice)#Bootloader unlocking for details about a similar device.

Follow the guide in the PotatoNV README to unlock the bootloader. Select the Kirin 655 bootloader. Note that you need a Windows PC to run the PotatoNV software. Make sure you install the Factory mode (testpoint) drivers.

Warning WARNING: The firmware used by PotatoNV has fblock disabled already. The release version for ALE-L21 can fail when trying to flash some or all partitions. It returns the message remote: 'command not allowed' to fastboot. Needs more investigation. There could also be a bug involved.

See Unlocking Bootloaders#Huawei for details about critical unlocking on HiSilicon SoCs.

It could also be possible to unlock the bootloader without opening the device by following this bootloader unlock guide on XDA developers. Effectively, the process is just downgrading to Android 5 then rooting the device then getting the OEM unlock key that way. This does work on the ALE-L21. PotatoNV should work better, though.

Warning WARNING: This method has only been tested on huawei-alice, no guarantees for any Kirin 655 boards. You probably will need the appropiate firmware. It will also break the OS downgrade prevention, as it uses a fake version number that is higher than the latest official release. Use with caution.

See also

Specifications