HOW TO USE SP FLASH TOOL TO FLASH ROMS, UNBRICK PHONE EASILY

Knowing how to use SP Flash tool can be very handy if you own a PC or have access to one. SP Flash tool, which stands for Smartphones flash tool, is a software developed by MediaTek to help Android owners address several issues affecting Android phones. The SP Flash tool is meant specifically for Android phones using MediaTek’s chipsets. We are talking MTK devices like Gionee, Infinix, Tecno, Itel, or generally over 80% of smartphones in Nigeria.

 Here are some of the things you can fix with the SP Flash tool
-unbricking a bricked MTK Android phone
-changing ROMs of MTK android phones to custom ROMs
-upgrading the OS of MTK phones to a newer OS
-conversely, you can downgrade the OS to an older version if you so wish.
 All these operations are generally termed ‘flashing’


 So what do you need if you want to flash your MTK device with the SP flash tool
1. A computer
2. USB cable
3. SP Flash tool
4. MediaTek USB VCOM drivers.
5. Phone you want to flash
6. Files to be flashed( ROM + scatter files). You can download your phone’s stock ROM from the manufacturer’s website. Also, an internet search will reveal several sites where you can get these ROMs including custom ROMs if your intention is to swap ROMs

Step 1: Download and install the USB VCOM drivers to your system. If you have it already, just   skip to step 2

Step2: Download the latest SP flash tool from here to your computer. Go to the folder where the SP Flash tool is located and launch it as administrator

Step 3. Remove the battery from the phone. Put it back in. Don’t boot the phone. If the battery is non-removable, just switch off the device.

Step 4. On the SP flash tool interface, locate the ‘scatter loading‘ tap at the far right and click on it.

Step 5. Navigate to where your ROM is and locate the scatter file (usually a .txt file) which should be part of a .zip file. Select the scatter file and click open.

Step 6. Click the download button in the SP flashing tool interface to start the flashing process

Step 7. Connect the phone (still switched off) to the computer using the USB cord. You can press volume up or volume down button for the software to easily recognize the phone

Step 8. A progress bar would appear to show you the flashing process has started.

Step 9. The time taken to complete stage 8 would depend on the size of the ROM and the specs of the computer. A successfully completed flashing would be indicated by a green circle and a ‘Download OK’ box.

Close the SP Flash tool and detach the phone from the computer. Your smartphone has now being successfully flashed. Remove the battery from the phone; wait for about 20 seconds, insert the battery and power it on. After booting, do a factory reset to clear any more errors.

Note : make sure you only flash ROMs that are made specifically for that phone.