Smartphone Flash Tool -runtime Trace Mode- Apr 2026

Document Version: 1.0 Subject Area: Embedded Systems Debugging, Mobile Device Firmware Tooling Target Audience: Firmware Engineers, Security Researchers, Android OEM Developers 1. Abstract Traditional smartphone flash tools (e.g., SP Flash Tool, Qualcomm QFIL, Samsung Odin) operate in a black-box programming mode . They send pre-built firmware images (bootloader, kernel, system) to the device’s memory partitions with minimal runtime feedback. This paper introduces Runtime Trace Mode (RTM) — an extension to conventional flashing tools that enables real-time instruction execution tracing, memory access logging, and register state streaming from the device’s boot ROM and bootloader during the flashing process. RTM transforms the flash tool from a simple programmer into a low-level interactive debugger, crucial for diagnosing boot failures, verifying secure boot chains, and analyzing proprietary bootrom exploits. 2. Introduction Smartphone boot sequences involve multiple stages: BootROM → Preloader → Little Kernel (LK) / U-Boot → Kernel. A single corrupted partition or misconfigured security fuse often results in a dead device (hard brick). Conventional flash tools provide no insight into why the device halts. They only succeed or fail with opaque error codes (e.g., STATUS_BROM_CMD_SEND_DA_FAIL ).

class RuntimeTraceMode HANDLE hTracePipe; // separate thread void OnTracePacket(BYTE* data, DWORD len) if(data[0] == TRACE_PC_PKT) uint32_t pc = *(uint32_t*)(data+1); auto sym = symtab.Find(pc); Log("PC: 0x%08X (%s)", pc, sym.name); ; Send CMD_SET_TRACE_CONFIG(addr_range_start, addr_range_end, mode_flags) before CMD_DOWNLOAD . 6. Use Cases & Results 6.1 Diagnosing Preloader Boot Loop Symptom: Device vibrates every 3 seconds, not detected by flash tool. RTM capture (PC-Only mode): smartphone flash tool -runtime trace mode-

[PC: 0x0012F4A0] pl_check_battery() -> return 0 (battery low) [PC: 0x0012F4B8] pl_shutdown_thermal() [PC: 0x0012F2C0] reset_system() -> infinite loop. Faulty ADC reading on battery thermistor. Fix: Bypass battery check in DA script. 6.2 Secure Boot Chain Verification Using Full Execution Trace over USB (48 MB/s) while flashing a custom U-Boot: Document Version: 1