However, for low-level work—especially on and secure boot scenarios where GPT is inaccessible—the humble addr file remains irreplaceable.
You use a scatter file to write data to the device. You use an addr file to read data from the device—specifically when performing a readback operation. Why Do You Need an MTK Addr File? 1. Performing a Full Flash Dump (Read Back) When you want to back up the entire firmware of a working MediaTek phone, SP Flash Tool requires a readback operation. The readback function does not parse partition names; it only wants raw address ranges. mtk addr files
| Feature | MTK Addr File | MTK Scatter File | |--------|--------------|------------------| | | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (eg., preloader , lk , boot ) | | Used by SP Flash Tool for "Download" | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | | Used by SP Flash Tool for "Read Back" | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (unless converted) | | Human-readable partition info | ❌ Minimal | ✅ Yes | | Typical file extension | .addr | .txt or .xml | However, for low-level work—especially on and secure boot
This article dives deep into the architecture of MTK addr files, their relationship with scatter files, and how mastering them can save you from bricking a device or help you resurrect a dead one. An MTK addr file (short for MediaTek Address File ) is a plain-text configuration file that defines the physical memory addresses and partition boundaries on a MediaTek-powered device’s flash storage (eMMC or UFS). Why Do You Need an MTK Addr File
pattern = r'physical_start_addr:\s*(0x[0-9a-fA-F]+)\n.*?partition_size:\s*(0x[0-9a-fA-F]+)' matches = re.findall(pattern, content, re.DOTALL)