When I bought Virgin Mobile LG Tribute 2 a couple of months ago, I tried all the latest rooting methods for LG Android phones, out of those only Kingroot worked.
It’s a Chinese app and it installs its own superuser app called Kinguser instead of SuperSU. Rooting via Kingroot is a one-click method which can be done directly from your phone, No PC is needed.
Follow the steps below to easily root your Tribute 2 LS665 via Kingroot. This method should work with other phones as well. As of now, I have rooted LG Tribute 2, Tribute 5, LG Volt 2, LG Optimus F3, Samsung Prevail LTE & ZTE Speed with Kingroot.
The latest version of Kingroot is 4.9.6 but I have rooted with 4.5. It doesn’t matter, anyways you’ll need to replace it with SuperSu, once the phone gets rooted. I’ll tell you later why we should replace Kingroot with SuperSU.
You can download the apk file from below link –
One your download gets completed, click on the apk file for installation
To install Kingroot we need to check “Unknown Sources” in Settings<Security as shown in the screenshots above.
You’ve to be online for this app to work. When you’ll run the app for the first time, it’ll verify the root status of your phone.
Don’t worry if it says “Root access is Unavailable”. I got this message for almost all the phones I tried, but it got them rooted. So just click on “Try to root” It will do its thing and once it reaches 100%, your phone is rooted, simple isn’t it.
Now that you’re rooted you might be tempted to click on “Uninstall tool” to remove unwanted apps/bloatware at the earliest. I would advise you against this, as I’ve seen quite a few people on forums stuck with bricked LG Tribute 2 after removing bloatware with kingroot. Kingroot is also reported to act as spyware. I don’t know how true is this, but to be on the safe side, it’s better to get it replaced with SuperSU once you’re rooted. After all, Superuser is way too reliable as compared to this Chinese app.
If for some reason you want to return your phone back to factory state, just follow these steps to unroot it.
Tap on settings icon at the top right corner, select Root authorization settings and click on “Remove Root Permission”. A popup will appear asking for confirmation. Click on “Continue”, it’ll remove root, the app will close & must be gone from the app drawer.
If you were successful in rooting LG Tribute 2 by any other rooting method, do share it via comments below.
After rooting everything is working properly and I can even use the phone on other carriers now. But my issue now is that I cannot connect in MTP mode now it switches back to PTP poor charge mode whichever was selected before. I would appreciate if you can maybe share your build prop
Will ur rooting and unlocking methods work on a LG ls676??
It’s boost mobile/sprint… Nano sim.
I have att, and I like this phone but will only do it IF it will work 100%.
Thanks
I tried the same steps with LG tribute HD. But it was not working.
Please suggest, It will work with LG Tribute HD.
To clarify a piece of information above, the LG Tribute 2 (LG LS665) is not a “CDMA Only” device. It is in fact a world phone, encompassing the Qualcomm MSM8916 CDMA/GSM/LTE baseband radio which is used by thousands of CDMA and GSM specific devices. I am currently using my Virgin Mobile variant of the Tribute 2 on the T-Mobile network, having GSM unlocked the device with a similar method to that of the Tribute 5.
The apk file download went down again. Just thought i’d let you know.
I have workedfor HOURS trying to root thos tribute 2. NOTHING has worked. Ive tried every suggestion on this page, the xd forum, the android forum….nothing works for this tribute..
I want to know about the Google bloatware system apps that I can remove from my tribute 2. I’m on Virgin Mobile. I too aquired root via KINGROOT. It seems they have disguised the bloatware app titles so they aren’t easy to identify. I use TITANIUM BACKUP PRO as my tool for removal of bloatware. I can’t find a bloatware list anywhere. Please help.
Hi I followed the steps but am only seeing LTE/CDMA and CDMA to select from.
Did I miss anything?
Is there anyway you could find me on facebook and walk me through the steps, im not understanding at all. This phone is going to be the death of me… A guy traded with me saying the thing is unlocked but apparently not. I have cricket and i think this is connected to sprint.
Facebook name is Mikala Neal(the black and white photo with duck lips.)
You cannot use Tribute 2 with cricket. It’s a CDMA only phone and cannot be unlocked for GSM networks.
Can you confirm this worked on boost mobile tribute 5, LGLS 675 Rev 1.0, security patch level 2016-02-01, 5.1.1 lollipop, build LMY47V. Everything I’ve read says 5.1.1 will probably brick – just want to confirm, because the page is talking about tribute 2.
Thanks for putting up these tutorials, really appreciate it.
Bree
Just confirming these instructions worked perfectly, two tribute 5 phones rooted & tethered, got rid of the nag. Will tackle the unlocking later.
Could you do a tutorial on making a backup / recovery.
Also is there a way to block updates?
Thank you so much for this site.
Thanks for your feedback.
There is no custom recovery for Tribute 5 as of now due to locked bootloader. So Nandrdoid backup is not possible.
Check this post to block update
If you’re referring to this post https://lgtribute.com/lg-tribute-2-stock-rom-download/
it is firmware file for tribute 2, don’t flash it on tribute 5
I am unable to download the file. Please provide alternative link for download.
Naresha
Thanks for letting me know. I’ve updated the download link