It is now possible to rebrand and change the region of your Huawei Mate 9 handset thanks to a new script created by folks over at XDA that lets you flash updates from any region while bypassing authentication checks implemented in the stock recovery by default. Here is a concise step-by-step tutorial that can help you rebrand your phone with ease.
Rebranding Huawei Mate 9
1. Prerequisites
- Unlocked bootloader (you need to have the unlock code too)
- Full backup of all your important data and apps (a factory reset will be done during the procedure)
- Mate 9 Rebranding script – download the zip here and extract the HWOTA folder from it on your computer
- The full firmware of the region you want to convert to. In this procedure, we’ll be converting to the Asian MHA-L29C636B172 firmware as an example. This firmware update consists of 3 zip files – download them to your computer:
» update.zip
» update_full_hw_spcseas.zip (rename to update_all_hw.zip after downloading)
» update_data_full_public.zip (rename to update_data_public.zip after downloading)
After downloading and renaming the files, copy them to Phone/SD card/HWOTA/ (you need to create the HWOTA folder in the SD card yourself the first time).
Note for other regions: The three zip files are different for all firmware released by Huawei. For example, if you’re trying to rebrand to B182 European firmware, you can easily obtain its particular zip files other than update.zip by replacing “update.zip” in the download link with “full/hw/eu/update_full_hw_eu.zip” and “public/update_data_full_public.zip”. These file names are obtained by replacing “update.zip” in the download link with “filelist.xml”. Do remember to rename these two zip files to update_all_hw.zip & update_data_public.zip after downloading.
- Make sure the correct USB and ADB drivers are installed on your PC.
There should now be an HWOTA folder on your phone that contains the three firmware zip files (update.zip, update_all_hw.zip & update_data_public.zip) as well as an HWOTA folder on your PC that contains “update.bat” script file along with some other folders (check third prerequisite).
2. Procedure
Disclaimer: Although this procedure has been verified to work without issues, we shall take no responsibility if your device gets bricked during or after the rebranding process. Proceed entirely at your own risk!
Step 1. Turn your phone off and then reboot into fastboot mode by simultaneously holding Volume down key & plugging in the USB cable (connected to your PC).
Step 2. Once your device is in bootloader/fastboot mode, go to the HWOTA folder you extracted on your computer (see third prerequisite) and execute the “update.bat” file in it.
Step 4. A window will open up telling you to reboot your phone in fastboot mode. Since you’ve already done that in the first step, press Enter to continue. The script will now install TWRP custom recovery on your phone.
Step 5. After TWRP installation, follow the onscreen instructions and disconnect the USB cable, power off the device (by holding the Power button) and reboot into TWRP mode (Volume up + Power). Press Enter on the computer afterwards.
Step 6. Once you’re in TWRP, reconnect the phone to the computer, wait for a few seconds and then press Enter.
Step 7. Now, the script will ask you to choose update source. Since our files are in the SD card, type 1 and press Enter.
Step 8. After that, you will be asked to choose update type. As we’re rebranding the device, type 2 and hit Enter.
A list of build numbers for different regions will be printed on the screen. Type the number of the region/build you’re rebranding to and press Enter. Since we’re converting to the Asian firmware in this example, we’ll enter 12 and continue. The script will now install the oeminfo file of the new region and then automatically reboot the phone into fastboot mode.
Step 9. The program will ask you for your bootloader unlock code (the reason being that flashing an oeminfo file relocks the bootloader and it has to be unlocked again by the script using the provided code). When your phone asks for unlocking confirmation, press the Volume up key and then press the Power button. Now your phone will automatically perform a factory reset and boot into TWRP mode.
Step 10. Once you’re in TWRP again, press Enter on your PC. The script will now inject the patched recovery images. Your phone will automatically reboot and start installing the new update. You can now unplug the USB cable and close the script by pressing Enter.
And that’s all folks! In case you feel a bit overwhelmed after reading this procedure, watching this video tutorial might help you out (credits: ernest2728@xda)
Stay tuned!
Credits: mankindtw, backb0ne5p1d0r, 5[Strogino] @ XDA-Developers
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