Honor 8X is one of the best budget smartphones from Huawei. It’s not easy to unlock bootloader on Honor phones. But if you have the phone with unlocked bootloader then you can root your phone. Here you will learn how to root Honor 8X with Magisk. Also If you have the key to unlock the bootloader of Honor 8X, then follow the guide below to use it.
There are already guides to root Huawei Honor 8X with TWRP & Magisk. But if you don’t want to install custom Recovery and only want to root Honor 8X with Magisk, then this guide is for you. I will also cover the unlocking bootloader method. I hope you are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of rooting any phone. Also, check out the specifications of Huawei Honor 8X.
Huawei Honor 8X – Details
Honor 8X was launched in the last quarter of the year 2018. It features a big 6.5-inch FHD+ (1080×2340 pixels) display with split screen support. It comes with Android 8.1 Oreo OS out of the box with EMUI 8.2. The phone is powered with Octa-core based Kirin 710 Processor which comes with Mali-G51 MP4 integrated GPU. Honor 8X is coupled with 4GB/6GB RAM along with 64GB/128GB of internal storage respectively.
On the Camera department, it has dual rear camera setup of 20-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors. The back camera is able to record 1080p videos at 30fps. Talking about front camera the device has a single 16-megapixel selfie camera which can record 1080p videos at 30fps. It boasts with a 3750mAh battery.
How to Root Honor 8X
There are some notes that you should know before you begin the process like
- Rooting will affect the OTA updates
- You will be able to use all the root features
- It may also void the warranty unless you know how to remove root
- Data will be lost during unlocking bootloader
Prerequisite
- First Take full Nandroid backup of Honor 8X
- Make sure the bootloader unlocked on your phone (If you have the key follow the guide below)
- Download and Install ADB & Fastboot drivers on PC
- Install Hi Suite on PC and connect your phone to install required drivers on PC
Enable OEM Unlock on Honor 8X
To unlock the bootloader you have to enable OEM unlock on your phone. And then you need to unlock bootloader. Or you can also buy a key to unlock bootloader of your phone. Check out how to enable developer option and enable OEM Unlock on Honor 8X.
- Open Settings on your Huawei Honor 8X.
- Go to About phone and tap continuously on Build number until it says you are now a developer.
- Go back to Settings and then Tap on Developer options.
- Now scroll down and enable USB Debugging. If any prompt screen appears for confirmation then accept it.
- Also, Enable OEM Unlock in developer options.
Unlock Bootloader on Huawei Honor 8X
To unlock bootloader make sure you have a 16 digit unlock code. And also make sure ADB & Fastboot drivers are installed on PC. This process will erase all the data on phone so backup is mandatory if you care about the phone’s data. You can skip this section if you have already unlocked the bootloader on your phone.
- Go to C:\adb (it is the default location) location on your PC.
- Press Shift + Right Click (on empty area) and click on “Open Powershell window here” or “Open Command window here”.
- Connect your phone to PC via USB.
- Enter the following command in the PowerShell or Command window
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adb devices
- If any prompt screen appears on your phone for confirmation then accept it.
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- Now enter the following command to boot the phone into bootloader mode
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adb reboot bootloader
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- After rebooting the phone into bootloader mode type the following command to finally unlock the bootloader
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fastboot oem unlock <16 digit unlock code>
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- The command will unlock bootloader of Honor 8X and reboot the phone automatically into the system.
Steps to Root Honor 8X with Magisk
Once you have successfully unlocked the bootloader on Honor 8X, now you are ready to root your Huawei Honor 8X. Check out the simple procedure below to root your phone.
- Download and Install the latest Magisk Manager APK on your phone (Download Link).
- Now download the boot image file for your model. Copy the image file to phone.
- In Magisk Manager app, tap on Install > Install > Patch Boot Image file. And locate the boot image file.
- It will now patch the boot image file and save to Storage/emulated/0/Download/patched_boot.img location.
- Transfer the patched image file to PC (C:\adb).
- Connect your phone to PC via USB (Make sure USB Debugging is enabled).
- Go to location C:\adb in PC and press Shift+Right Click (on empty area) and click on “Open Command window here” or “Open PowerShell window here”.
- Enter the following command to boot into bootloader mode
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adb reboot bootloader
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- Now enter another command to install patch image
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fastboot flash patched_boot.img
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- Reboot your phone and that’s it, now your Huawei Honor 8X is rooted.
So this was a quick guide on how to root Huawei Honor 8X with unlocking bootloader method. Now you will have access to system files on your phone, it means you can do any modification you want. Below are the advantages of root that you should know.
Advantages of Root
There are numbers of advantages of root that will help you in development, testing and of course modifications.
- Access to remove pre-installed bloatware
- Installing custom ROMs without erasing all data
- Root phones have features to take full apps + data backup on one tap
- Flash custom recoveries from Apps
- Root access to your phone
- One tap installation of updates from firmware
- Overclocking and underclocking of CPU & GPU
- Install and use Rooted Apps like Xposed, flashify, titanium backup, kernel auditor etc.
- Change pre-installed boot animation
- Allows installing custom kernels for better battery backup and performance
- Easy tweaking and modification of sytem apps and third party apps
Disadvantages of Root
Along with the advantages, there are also some disadvantages of Root. Below is the list of advantages that you will have to forget if you really want to root your phone.
- No more official OTA updates from vendors
- Risk of bricking the phone in case of noobies
- Warranty may be void (not for a company like Xiaomi which allows users to unlock bootloader and root)
- Increased vulnerability of the device
- Banking Apps may stop working
So now you also have the list of benefits of the root as well as disadvantages of the root. I will suggest not to root your phone unless you are aware of its negative effects.
Credit – shashank1320 [Recognized Contributor on XDA]
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