As I mentioned in the review, although the Play Store come preinstalled in the ThL W3+ it was not working at all. So, as my first attempt to fix it I scoured online for an updated firmware. It wasn't easy as I do not speak/read Chinese but nonetheless I managed to find it. The main site appears to be thl.cc where you can check for latest firmware and support but everything is in Chinese. However the new firmware does not help as the Play store still wasn't working. So, the next step I tried was rooting the ThL and replaced/install the required Google apps. Guess what, it worked :).
The following steps show how to root the ThL W3+.
1) Download the USB drivers for MTK6577 here.
2) Download the UnlockRoot software here.
3) On your phone, go to Setting, Developer options and tick the USB debugging option.
4) Extract both the USB drivers and install UnlockRoot.
5) Connect the phone to your USB port. By now, windows will try to find the driver for the phone and will fail. So, open up your Device Manager (Click on Start button, type Run and then type devmgmt.msc and then enter).
6) There will be one item with a yellow tick on it named MTK65XX.... device. Right click on this and click Update Driver Software.
7) Point the wizard to the driver's folder you just downloaded. Make sure to tick the Always trust... option.
8) Open the UnlockRoot, click on Root and then select the ThL W3+ device.
9) If it asks you if you want to re-root just click Yes.
10) Now you device should be fully rooted! To check just look for a Superuser app on your menu. If there is one then you have successfully rooted your phone. Otherwise, comment on below for more help.
Fixing Play Store
Without rooting, you cannot get Play store or any other Google apps to work on the phone. This 'may' be due to all the other relevant services not being installed on the device. Follow the following steps to fix this.
1) Download Google Apps archive from here courtesy of CyanogenMod team.
2) Extract it and inside it go to system folder and copy the whole app folder to your phone.
3) Download ES File Explorer from here. Click on the first selection.
4) Install the ES File Explorer, open it, click on the options button on the phone (next to the home button) and click Settings.
5) Tick on Up to Root, Root Explorer and Mount File System.
6) Copy the app folder from step 2 and paste it to the system folder (overwrite the app folder).
7) Once done copying, open up the /system/app/ folder and install GoogleLoginService.apk, GoogleServicesFramework.apk and finally Vending.apk.
8) Reboot your device and voila, the Play store should be working now! If not, again do comment below.
Regards,
YS.
Hi.
ReplyDeleteI was following your guide to root the Thl w3+ but when I am on step 5) of "Fixing Play Store" i cant select the Root Explorer (a warning appear saying : "When SU Request dialog popu, please select 'always allow' or 'allow' choice Do you want to try this feature anyway?" when i press yes a message saying: Sorry, test failed. This feature cannont run on your phone.
The Mount File System option is in gray, making it unselectable.
Also i dont have any Superuser icon on the phone after i do the root process using the Unlockroot. However i do exactly as u say here in your blog...
Any help?Ideas?
If its unselectable that means ur phone is still not rooted. Did you get to the picture in step 8 where you can see the thl w3 on the selection? You might want to try to root it again. Until you get the Superuser installed ( and is on your menu) I am afraid that you cannot fix the Play store.
ReplyDeleteDo update me with your progress. I will be on holiday for two days starting today so I might reply late. Sorry for that.
I'm on 4.0.4 and tried various times and got nothing. The phone was detected as THL W3 4.0.4 and after it's finished it says ready but still no superuser apk.
ReplyDeleteOh thats interesting.. I did not try rooting it with the default firmware. I updated it first and then rooted it. Either its the new firmware thats making it easier to root or I linked the wrong version of UnlockRoot. Im thinking its the firmware. Can you update the firmare first? You can find it at www.thl.cc but its quite hard to find since its in chinese. Will try to help more tomorrow when I get home.
ReplyDeleteSo i finally got it rooted. But now i have a problem. I can not get data connection to work. Can you help me?
ReplyDeleteSorry, that is beyond the scope of this post and data connection configuration is specific to your network. Perhaps try contacting your network provider to send you the configuration?
Deletei man even i tried to install the superuser.apk...but got stuck on the last step...btw..the phone is gr8... and the only problem is that it doesnt have google play and apps preinstalled..otherwise its great! i would ask you to help us..on how to install the firmwares.m new to these steps and i dont want to brick my phone :)..plzz help..
ReplyDeletei am following this site...
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.china-iphone.ru/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=21441&start=640
do i need to flsh the recovery also after i have updated the firmware?? or is it fine if i just update the firmware and then root it your way..will that work?
Nope, you do not need to flash recovery (CWM?) as it is included in the firmware. And yes, you can still root it using the same way :)
DeleteHello YS,
ReplyDeleteGoogleServiceFramework is not installing for me.
Any ideas?
Pat
No idea why, maybe it is already installed in your phone? Anyway, if Play Store works then you do not need to install it.
DeleteHi from Spain, thanks for you support, today I've received my w3+ but it hasn't playstore, it has a market called "appcloud" in chinese, awful. I've the default firmware, could you post a tutorial with these steps? Thanks a lot. Teresa.
ReplyDeleteThe latest firmware is https://token.vips100.com/checkAccessCode.php?code=3dd312a8e9b21171867c443218bd8a225964c12e23cdc507&sec=yes
DeleteDownload that and there will be an instruction inside on how to install (although it is in chinese but the pictures are in English so it should be fine).
Wrote a tutorial in English here http://randomness0110.blogspot.com/2012/08/updating-firmware-on-thl-w3.html
DeleteHope that helps.
thlphone.com, the English ThL site, offers a pre-rooted THL W3+.
ReplyDeleteI have emailed them and asked, this is the answer I got:
"Hello Adam,
Thank you for your inquiry.
FYI:
1. By default, we not root it, but if you need us to do so, we can root it for you before the shipping."
Hi Adam,
DeleteThanks for the tip. I am not familiar with the site so if you bought one from them do share your feedback.
Regards,
YS.
hey hi..was able to root the device...but i having a big problem.the device sometimes shows a error " restricted access changed-Voice service disabled" i dont know why is this error coming.and then this signal goes off for some time..and then comes back...this happens very frequently..if u have any knowledge about it...help me..or if u can find a solution plzz help!
ReplyDeleteI have not experienced that so I cannot offer you any advice on that, sorry.
DeleteMy guess would be either its the sim card slot that is faulty or its your sim card. Have you tried the sim card on other phones? And also try inserting it on the other slot since this phone have 2 slots.
Hi, thank you for the great imformation. Everything is working for me except for google calendar. Do you know how to get google calendar installed and working?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I have not figured this out yet as I was busy preparing for my exam but now that its over I shall see if there is anything I can do to fix this.
DeleteI am planning to try this custom firmware found on this Russian forum and see if it fix the Calendar. My internet is really slow right now so if you are feeling adventurous you can try it out yourself and report you findings :) There are 3 custom firmwares available here http://forum.china-iphone.ru/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=22015 just use Google Translate to help you find the links.
Hello, where can I find the firmware ROM or Czech? I want the Czech language in the phone.
ReplyDeleteThanks
I have a THL w3 a week ago, I put a load yesterday and suddenly I was left with a black screen and can not see anything, I remove the battery and nothing seems to work on and always with the black screen
ReplyDeleteNot what you do to reset it, I tried everything.
I can not connect the USB cable because I do not recognize it and tried to find the drivers and will not work.
Is there any solution by charging you a file microSD I do a reset so mobile to stay with the factory settings and maybe you fix the problem?.
Here is what problem I have. I installed drivers and everything seems to be OK ( WINDOPWS XP). But when I plug in the phone, and it is turned off, in ports show MediaTek Preloader USB VCOM Port in a second and suddenly the port is removerd, and the phone is starting to get charged. I cant isntall any new ROM on my phone/ Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteHello,
DeleteJust give this a try then. http://randomness0110.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/fixing-incompatible-apps-on-thl-w3.html
Should be easier and will root the phone too!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to root my phone for 2 days. The driver seems to be good, UnlockRoot finds my phone, but sais "Failed to get shell root!".
Could it work if I refresh the firmware? Just downloading the new firmware from thl.cc (hopefully it is, becouse I don't speak Chinese as well :) ), I cannot download the firmware from your link, it was removed. Is the latest firmware 0816?
Waiting for Your reply, thanks,
M
Hi, My phone is Thl.W3.120831.6577.COM.CN. Do you know if it is good to use your way to root it?. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI tried already. The software you recommended doesn't work. My phone cannot be rooted. Any idea?
Deleteowe you a debt of gratitude for these instructions.. all worked fine for me, but didnt even need to update play store. Actually it was working good.. If someone need to change imei, just use "Mobiluncle tools" (can be found on google play store)
ReplyDeleteThanks a million dude! Great job! Wasn't easy as it didn't work on my Win7 x64, had to use an old Vista x86.
ReplyDeletewhen i click on root explorer, its saying this feature not available in my device ... any help ? using s3
ReplyDelete