How To Backup MTK Android Firmware Via SP Flashtool

You actually feel a lot safer when you have the stock backup or ROM of your MTK Android device.

Since Android is so user-friendly and tweakable, there are times when you might accidentally or carelessly mess up the whole phone.

This is where the stock firmware comes in.

Having the stock firmware of your MTK Android device can save you from so many issues regarding your phone’s firmware. Issues like virus infection, boot loop, unable to power on, error 4032 and a whole lot of others.

Below is a very simple tutorial that will show you how to backup your Mediatek Android device’s stock firmware so that you can use it to fix issues that may arise on your phone as well as others(same model/specs).

• Download Mediatek SP Flashtool – Download
• Download MTK Droid Root & Tools v2.5.3 – Download
• Download and install Note++ to your PC. – Download
• Install ADB Drivers on your PC. – Check Here
• Install Mediatek USB VCOM Drivers on your PC. – Check Here.

[su_heading size=”20″ margin=”30″]Steps To Backup / Dump Mediatek Android Firmware[/su_heading]

 Dumping a particular partition from the firmware using SP FLASHTOOL

Sometimes one would like to just dump a particular partition from the firmware e.g recovery or boot. The result will be the recovery.img or the boot.img file. So let’s just dump the recovery.img as an example.
Note: You need to have the original scatter file of your device. You can get the scatter file from the later tutorials, download it online or via hardware tools like flashing boxes.

• Load the scatter file in SP Flashtool and click on the readback tab.
• Click on add and then double tap the at the right as the arrow indicates.
• In the next option, rename the ROM_0 to recovery.img and click save when done.
• Now open the scatter file with Notepad++ and scroll down or find (CTRL+F) recovery.img
• Go back to the SP Flashtool and make sure Hex is ticked.
• From the scatter file opened in Notepad++, copy the value from the scatter file to the readback address box in SP Flash as described in the image below.
• Click ok when all is done.
• Now click on readback and connect your turned off device. When readback is completed, you can find the dumped file in the folder you selected.

That’s how to backup a specific partition. You can follow the same steps for other partitions like boot etc

Steps To Backup / Dump Mediatek Android Firmware

 Dumping the Full ROM using SP FLASHTOOL

  The most needed file for the backup; Scatter file, can now be created automatically.

Step 5.  Under Block Info, click on Create scatter file.

Step 6.  Select a convenient location to save the scatter file.

Step 7.  Open SP Flashtool folder and launch flash_tool.exe
SP Flashtool should now open.
Step 8.  Click on folder icon with Choose, just after Scatter-loading file.  Now locate the scatter file you saved in Step 6 and click Open.

Step 8.  After the scatter file has been loaded, Click on the Readback tab.

Step 9.  Click on Add.

A scattter value for readback should now be loaded.

Step 10.  Double click under the File tab.

 Step 11.  Now you are to input the address of the last partition from the scatter file you saved. Note: Make sure Hex is ticked and also leave the Start Address as it is.

Step 12.  Go back to the location of the scatter file, right-click on it and select Edit with Notepad++

Step 13.  Scroll down to the last partition, mostly FAT or User Data and then, carefully copy the value after linear_start_addr: which starts with 0x……..

Step 14.  Now paste the value you copied in the box just after Lenght. It should now look like the image below. Select OK to proceed.

Step 15.  Click on Readback.

Turn off your phone and then connect it to the PC. SP Flashtool will start reading the entire firmware / ROM. It is going to take a while depending on the overall size of the firmware.

Note: Make sure you do not interrupt it or else you might end up bricking the device.

Step 16.  When you see a notification; Readback OK,

 disconnect your phone and turn it on. Now the ROM has been dumped with a format ROM_. You can change the 0 to any other number or leave it as it is (ROM_0). Select the location you wish to save the ROM_0 file and click Save.

Steps To Backup / Dump Mediatek Android Firmware

 Unpacking the ROM_0 For Use With SP FLASHTOOL

Step 17.  Launch MTKDroidtool.exe in Step 2 and connect your phone. Click on the root, backup, recovery tab.

 

Step 18.  Click on the option To process file ROM_ from flashtool

 Step 19.  Find the ROM_ file you saved, select it and click Open.

 .
Step 20.  MTKDroid Tools will start unpacking the ROM_0 file from flashtool.

Note:  If you get a prompt asking you to Make CWM recovery, click Yes for the tool to port CWM for your phone or click No if you wish to retain the stock recovery.

Its also going to take a while and you should see task is complete when all the files / partitions have been successfully unpacked from the ROM_ file.

Step 21.  The firmware would be automatically saved in the MTK Droid Tools folder. MtkDroidTools > backups. There you will find the firmware with its scatter file which you can use in future to fix your MTK phone or another of the same model.

That’s all you need to do to backup your stock MTK Android firmware. 

If you have any issue, kindly use the comment box.