Quite often, many owners of mobile devices running various versions of the Android OS (and not only) encounter Fastboot mode. What it is, not everyone knows. Therefore, we will now dwell on the basic concepts of this term and determine for what, in fact, it is needed. As an example, we will consider Android systems.
Fastboot: what is it?
First of all, it should be clearly understood that this process implies the fact that the functioning of the mobile gadget does not occur when it is completely turned off, but, so to speak, in sleep mode (it turns on within five seconds).
A fairly common phenomenon can be called a situation when the Fastboot mode is activated, for example, when obtaining root rights. Its inclusion makes it impossible to “kill” the gadget programmatically, no matter how you try, because its program shell is in the inaccessible area of the system partition, so even with root rights it is simply not possible to get to the system files.
And this, as already clear, eliminates any possibility of disruption of the device, which is of no small importance when installing unofficial firmware and patches.
What is this mode for?
We briefly discussed what Fastboot mode is. What this is in a broader perspective, and why its use is needed, will become clear a little later.
The fact is that one of the main functions of this mode is the ability to reset absolutely all the settings to the factory settings. That is why it is also called the Recovery function. At the same time, its use gives the user a unique tool for system recovery, even if some firmware or patches were installed in it.
It goes without saying, you can use Fastboot not only to reset the settings, but also in the reverse order - to install the firmware (for example, using the ClockworkMod Recovery client). True, here it is worth paying attention to one important point: to work with a mobile gadget in this mode, it is necessary exclusively through a USB connection to a computer. That is, Fastboot is turned on on the device, Windows determines the gadget through the installed drivers and suggests using the mobile device not as a regular removable drive, but as a device compatible with ADB mode.
A set of utilities for working with Android devices
Now a few words about how all this should work in the sense of associating a mobile device with Windows OSes. First of all, here you will need a set of special utilities that can easily be downloaded on the Internet, for example, in the form of an archive.
It is desirable to unpack it into the root directory on the “C” drive (as a rule, this will be the Tools folder). Next, you can use Fastboot. Drivers will have to be installed manually, because in most cases the system may not find them automatically. How to do this, we will now see.
Fastboot Driver (ADB Mode)
To correctly install support in the form of drivers, first you need to go to the “Device Manager”, where you can select other Android ADB Interface from the section of other devices.
Now go to the properties, and then use the driver update button. However, in this case, you will have to select the driver (fastboot) android_usb_windows located in the USB_Driver section of the Tools folder. If the device is not automatically detected when connected to the computer, you should turn off the gadget, then remove the battery for a couple of seconds, then go back into Fastboot and reconnect using the USB cable.
After choosing a driver, you just have to wait for the end of its installation. The corresponding inscription will appear on the screen, after which, for example, to return to the original firmware of the device, you will need to run the tools.cmd file and, in the command line that appears, alternately write the following: first fastboot –w, then fastboot erase boot, then fastboot erase system and, finally fastboot reboot. All. We got a completely clean gadget.
Now it will be possible to install patches and firmware through a computer on the device even in the absence of root rights. As practice shows, this technique is very popular and effective.
You can install the firmware from the same folder using the standard KDZ format (for example, for Nokia or LG smartphones) and the flasher in the same directory with the device driver pre-installation and disconnecting the external USB modem in the “Device Manager”.
How to disable Fastboot mode?
As for disabling Fastboot, in principle, for all versions of Android, this is done from the settings menu, where the checkmark is unchecked from the corresponding field.
True, in the Android 2.3 system, such a line is in the application section, and in version 4.0 - in the screen settings. In any case, this should not cause any owner of such devices.
Conclusion
Here is a brief summary of all the main aspects of Fastboot mode. What is it, probably, is already clear. True, we did not consider in detail the issue of installing the firmware completely (meaning step-by-step instructions), however, if you have the appropriate tools in the form of a special set of utilities, dealing with this problem will also be quite simple.
In addition, as follows from the foregoing, the user can easily use this fast boot mode to fully restore the system, and this is the most effective method in most cases. Well, if we talk about installing new firmware, the advantage of this mode is generally obvious, because the user does not have to use special utilities to get root rights. It is enough that he will have at hand only the gadget itself and a computer with Windows installed to synchronize the two operating systems through the most common connection via standard USB ports. That's all.