Verizon VS986 LG G4: How to Root

Now that a root method is available for the LG G4, let’s focus on the Verizon Wireless variant with the model number VS986 and see how to gain root access to it.

It’s been months since the LG G4 was released and every day that passes we find more people looking for a way to hack into it and gain root access. We originally saw a sign of some lift when jcase uploaded a video to YouTube showing that he had gained root access to his LG G4. We later found out that the root method was rather messy as well as risky and that they weren’t ready to release it to the public just yet.

About a week ago there was a post on LGViet that showed someone who had gained root access to their Korean LG G4 and this started to get everyone excited about what was to come.

It seems that Team Codefire has swooped in and saved the day though as we now have a ‘low effort’ root method available for a lot of the different LG G4 models. Yesterday I showed everyone how to gain root access to the T-Mobile LG G4 and today we’re going to highlight the Verizon Wireless LG G4. Again, this wouldn’t be possible without Team Codefire and all of the people responsible for the root method being released. All I am doing is writing everything out in easy to follow steps so that more people can understand what to do and can follow along without having to make guesses as what to do next.

Verizon VS986 LG G4 Root

1. Download and Install the USB Drivers
2. After Installation has Completed, Reboot the PC
3. Download the ‘Send Command’ Root Tool Linked Here
4. Extract These Files Into a Folder on Your PC
5. Connect the LG G4 to the PC with a Micro USB Cable
6. Launch the Settings Application and Tap on the Storage Option
7. Tap the 3-Dot Menu at the Top Right to Make Sure MTP is Enabled
8. Download the Pre-Rooted Firmware to the PC
9. You’ll Need to Extract This File and Move the .img File to the Root of Your LG G4
10. Do Not Rename This .img File and Do Not Put it Into Any Folders Within the LG G4’s Internal Storage
11. Then You Can Disconnect the Micro USB Cable from the LG G4
12. Enable USB Debugging on the LG G4
13. Open the LG Root Folder(from step 4)
14. Hold the Shift Button on the Keyboard and Right-Click on an Empty Space Within the Folder
15. Left-Click on the ‘Open Command Window Here’ Option
16. Power Down the LG G4
17. While Powered Off, Hold the Volume Up Button and Connect the USB Cable to the LG G4(while it is still connected to the PC)
18. Wait for the Drivers to be Installed
19. This Should Bring You to the LG G4 Download Mode
20. Once There, Double Click on the ‘ports.bat’ File Within the LG Root Folder(from step 4)
21. Make Note of the COM#(COM Number) for the \Device\LGANDNETDIAG1 Option
22. Go Back to the Other Command Prompt that We Opened in the LG Root Folder(from step 15)
23. Type the Following Command. . .
24. Send_Command.exe \\.\COM#
25. Where You Replace Pound Symbol(#) With the COM Number You Took Note(from step 21)
26. . . .And Press Enter on the Keyboard
27. Then Type the Following Command. . .
28. id
29. . . .And Press Enter on the Keyboard
30. If You Do Not Get a Response Like “uid=(0)root gid=(0)root”, Then Repeat Step 24(the Send_Command step)
31. Type the Following Command. . .
32. dd if=/data/media/0/system.rooted.vs98611a.img bs=8192 seek=65536 count=548352 of=/dev/block/mmcblk0
33. . . Then Press Enter on the Keyboard
34. Please Wait While the Process Completes
35. When You See a Pound Sign Returned(#) Then the Process is Finished
36. Type the Following Command. . .
37. LEAVE
38. . . .And Press Enter on the Keyboard
39. Wait for the LG G4 to Reboot

Explanation

This really does seem hard to understand at first glance but I want to remind you that you should be looking at each step one at a time. One you have done that, the process becomes rather simple and it should be very easy to follow. We’re going to start off by downloading and installing the Verizon Wireless USB drivers for the LG G4 to your computer. Follow the link in the guide above and then I would recommend that you reboot your PC just to make sure the changes take effect. Then you’ll want to download some generic LG Root tools from the link that is in the guide as well. Unjustified Dev from XDA deserves credit for this so be sure to go into their thread and hit that Thanks button to show your appreciation.

After those generic tools have been downloaded, go ahead and extract it into a folder(I like to create a folder on the Desktop and then extract the files in there). Connect the LG G4 to the computer and then make sure MTP is enabled like I have explained in the tutorial. When done, you can then download the pre-rooted LG firmware from the tutorial as well. This is going to be a big file so make sure you are on a stable connection when you initiate the download. Then you can extract the pre-rooted LG G4 firmware and move the .img file from this download and into the root directory of the LG G4’s internal storage. You can look at the image below to get an idea of which directory it should be in, but just open up the my computer/this pc part, double-click on the LG G4 and then double-click on the Internal Storage folder.

Paste the .img file into this directory and make sure that it doesn’t go into a folder within this directory. For example, it should not be in the Downloads folder or any other folder that you see here. Just paste it at the very bottom so that it is in the root directory of the internal storage partition. Once the file has been copied/pasted, you should go ahead and unplug the micro USB cable from the LG G4. Please keep the cable plugged into the computer because we’ll need it again in a little bit. Then you can enable USB Debugging on the LG G4(follow the link in the tutorial if you need help doing this) and then open up the folder that is holding our generic LG Root tools(the ones we downloaded from step 4). We want to open up a command prompt from within this folder so follow the steps in the guide to do this(as you see in the image below).

Now turn your attention back to the LG G4(once you have the command prompt open) and power it down. While powered off, hold the Volume Up button on the LG G4 and then quickly plug in the micro USB cable again. Continue holding the Volume Up button until you are greeted with the Download Mode screen. While in Download Mode, turn your attention back to the folder that is holding all of those generic LG Root tools(from step 4) and then double-click on the ports.bat file. This will make some text appear within a new command prompt window and you’ll see a couple of COM ports listed here. In the example image shown below, we’re looking for which COM port our LG G4 is set on.

In this example, we can see that the LG G4 is set to COM4 because of the “\Device\LGANDNETDIAG1″ entry. Once we know which COM port that our LG G4 is on, let’s go back to the other command prompt and type the command listed in the guide. We’re going to need to change the # to the COM number that we got so that we can communicate directly to the LG G4. After pressing enter, then type the “id” command and press enter so that we can see what type of response we get. If you don’t get a response like “uid=(0)root gid=(0)root”, then that is okay. We’ll just need to repeat step 24 again because sometimes that command is a little flaky.

Once you get that “uid=(0)root gid=(0)root” response from the “id” command, then we can actually flash the pre-rooted firmware file. Either type or copy that big “dd if=/” command and then press enter. Assuming that you don’t get an error, please wait for the process to be completed and if you get a # returned in the command prompt then you’ve done it all correctly. Finally, just type the command LEAVE and then press enter and the LG G4 should reboot itself.

If all done correctly, you should have SuperSU installed already and now the process is complete. Team Codefire recommends that you disable the OTA updates for your LG G4 so that it doesn’t mess with what you have set up here today.