Hi Gent's, I have some holes in my Atrix knowledge, that with all the recent developments and new members/devs I'm sure would be helpful for all to discuss and clear up.
The problem is as follows.
How can I, and others, backup their Atrix in safe secure manner that allows us to take advantage of, and remain flexible, for both future updates, either XDA member created, or OTA(which could mess with things, for example blocking our bootloader unlock for those who OTA and haven't unlocked yet, thereby denying them further future flashing freed-up fun roms).
I know we need to backup and save the PDS partition if we want security in flashing the roms regarding touchscreen and device issues, but some things need to be spelled out. First things first, my understanding is a month ago we didn't have a fully functioning CWM, we had tenfar's CWM bootstrap, which was limited in function. I heard something about borked backup/recovery with it, so I played things safe, didn't touch it. Now a couple weeks ago tenfar put out a new version that supports the Atrix post-unlocked bootloader, which allows for greater functionality in CWM. What I need to figure out guys, is what's the protocol for backing up the PDS, making a safe backup of the ENTIRE phone, and then the safe way for wiping the cache's, (IDK which one's, I don't want to trash my touchscreen lower half like some people did?), followed by the currently established procedures for switching from rom to rom.
This is all compounded by the problem that either yesterday or today a new (bootstrap?) item was given Atrix compatibility by the almighty Koush, something called ROM Manager. Should I use this instead of CWM, or should I wait. I'm fine with TiBu for apps and data, but I need to be sure I have everything necessary to restore the phone if necessary because of a bootlooping new rom for example, because I've heard too many nightmare stories about people so far, granted some members have done some stupid stuff, but I think it would be helpful if some of the recent developments in Atrix Backup/Restore could be explained by someone omnipotent in this area.
I'm thinking the correct options are, get Tenfars latest CWM, which REQUIRES bootloader bashing, followed by a Nandroid(?) backup in CWM, then wipe data cache, and dalvik cache, and any other cache's?(IDK!) After the wiping, then install new rom zip from CWM as usual, correct?
The problem with the procedure above, is I think Tenfars latest CWM requires pudding, which presents me and probably others with the following dilemma. I'm assuming, because of Motorola's past history, that when the ATT GB update OTA's, they are going to try to f**k with our current implementation of pudding bootloader unlock, for those who aren't unlocked yet, just how they closed up root with every past update for example. These guys are security nuts, read a post of mine I made last month, they definitely read our forum, at least the Nvidia Tegra guys I've confirmed to. Now I may be wrong, and they may not able to implement this, but I don't want to confuse you guys, I know that those who are unlocked will stay unlocked, but what if they refuse you guys OTA GB official because they check for unlocked BL? That's why me, and I'm sure others haven't unlocked yet. I plan on waiting for the OTA to pop up, pressing install later for 3-4 days denying the update, and checking XDA feverishly to see if those who install the OTA can use CWM, root, Unlock bootloaders, etc. If they lock up the new official GB OTA, then I'll just hit install later one last time, unlock bootloader, and pop in one of the many roms raining down from the sky.
Also this isn't so much a question, as it's a discussion, because I feel like I can't be the only one with these information gaps. If someone can add to the collective knowledge, it will help all of us
/on an unrelated closing note, since it's raining roms, has anyone tried Cherryblur 1.1a, AND Quickrom V1 (7/18), AND Kpenn's GB Beta 4 AND Ninja V 0.4.2 Alpha, AND Dorains Redpill? I'm curious if anyone has been crazy enough or has had the chance to try all of the latest and greatest, I'm sure one of those is more stable than the others, they are all based off of a hodgepodge of unofficial development builds, ha, one's a French 2.3.4 even? Not mention we were goofing around with HKTW earlier, which is MT870 not even Olympus!!! That surely cannot run with much real stablity....
Hi,
Once there is an official OTA for GB, it can be captured and saved. It's a simple edit to remove references to any bootloader. Then it can be flashed using CWM.
Cheers!
Excellent!
Spoken from NF...HIMSELF! Thank you, I was waiting to bite the unlock bullet but I forgot we always steal stuff and repackage it for flashy-goodness.
However, I guess I should just use ROM manager and do a complete NANDROID backup? Does that capture the all important PDS? And by the way, it would seem, that if you stick to legit packages and ROMs and flash with CWM and deal with data the right way, its difficult to brick it would seem?
Dalvik and Clear User Data right, or is there more....
Once again thanks NF, since your such a talented dev for atrix, are you working on cooking a rom?
Related
You guys must be tired of people asking the same over and over, and to be honest that is because information is so scattered newcomers often get confused.
But Anyways.
I've got myself a motorila Droid 2 a few days ago, poking around internet i found about rooting and roms and all that stuff, however I've got a question that's yet to be answered!
I'm currently residing in Mexico, my Droid 2 is unlocked and activated on a mexican carrier, however on the guides I've red so far it says that one of the requirements for installing custom ROM's one must wipe all data from the phone and return to factory settings, this means i will have to pay AGAIN to get it unlocked and activated?
As i said before, information is scattered, and is not always accuarate.
Somewhere on the net i also found a post that states customs ROM's come unlocked... whats with that?
And one last question.
What will happen if i only root my phone, no custom rom added? will this be harmful in any way? could i be able to overclock and get rid of the annoying verizon apps or do i forcefully need to install a custom ROM?
Thanks for all answers in advance.
Rooting itself would not harm your device, however rooting allows you to do pretty much anything on the device. So, in other words, rooting wont hurt it, however what it allows you to do CAN hurt it.
As far as the roms being unlocked, as far as I have read, all roms are unlocked. However I could be mistaken. But there is an easy way to find out for sure: give it a try. What I would do first root the device and install the Clockwork Recovery Mod and then boot into recovery and make a backup. This way you can restore the phone back exactly as it was when you backed it up (using the restore option), as if you never made any changes. Then I would go ahead and install whatever rom you wanted to try out, and see if everything works as intended. If you dont like it, or it doesnt allow you to access the network, etc then all you need to do is boot back to recovery and restore your backup and when it's done you'll phone will be back to it's old self.
Links:
Root: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=782556 (This is the process I used)
Clockwork: http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/how-to-install-clockwork-recovery-to-your-android-phone/
Not sure how experienced you are - or aren't - so if you have any deeper questions about the process or need more detailed instructions just let me know.
EDIT: Oops, I completely skipped some of your questions. With just rooting you can uninstall SOME of the preloaded crap, however there is allot of the preloaded applications and such that you cant uninstall without crippling your phones functionality. My originally plan when I first rooted my device was just to remove the bloatware. However after I saw just how much there was I couldn't remove I decided to jump to a custom ROM. Just to give you an example, I have the Fission ROM installed on my device, and it's packaged filed were about 70ish mb, while the packaged files to restore it back to stock/factory was nearly 300mb. And yes, rooting alone would allow you to overclock your phone.
I am looking into rooting my Nexus S so I can install an ICS ROM. This is my first time rooting so got a question.
How will OTA updates work for me? Will the ICS update just work or will I have to in root to get the official OTA update?
Sry if this has been asked before couldn't find a clear answer.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Don't do OTAs. Any update released by Google or your manufacturer will be released here, rooted, within hours.
If you take an OTA you will lose root and could even find your phone locked again (as unlikely as that is with the NS, better safe than sorry. Ask the EVO users who took the GB OTA )
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
Rooting requires flashing custom recovery
OTA requires stock recovery to work properly
So if your phone has custom recovery the OTA will not work.
Alright, thanks alot for the quick responses guys.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Once the ota is downloaded.....
* Put the zip on sdcard
* Reboot into custom recovery
* Manually flash it
* Directly after that, in the same recovery session, flash latest superuser zip
* Wipe cache
* Reboot
I run stock, so i'll add my two cents into this conversations. A few key points:
OTA's will NOT lock the boot loader
OTA's will work with CWM installed (The OTA will however remove CWM and needs to be manually applied)
OTA's will remove root access (the permissions on the binary get changed)
I have never seen an OTA on XDA that was pre-rooted. i have seen ROM packages that incorporate the OTA that are pre-rooted (installing these usually means a wipe of the device is needed)
if you replace the ROM on the phone, you will not get OTA updated. you must remain mostly stock to obtain them.
Custom kernels or custom google apps on stock roms will cause the OTA update to fail, however you will notified that the update is available.
I hope this answers your questions.
Good points.
What i do in order to maintain the full software (removing system apps, any system changes) is change the permissions of whatever i dont want to "000"
This will allow the verifying of OTA to flash.
snandlal said:
Good points.
What i do in order to maintain the full software (removing system apps, any system changes) is change the permissions of whatever i dont want to "000"
This will allow the verifying of OTA to flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This does not always work, such as installing the "Black" version of gmail over top the original, the world-wide version of navigation or using market enabler to change the prop.build file. any of these changes will cause the OTA signature to fail.
Though if you are simply removing a system app, then yes, that would work well.
Also to be noted and this just occurred to me, if the OTA is a full ROM version, then the signature won't matter and it will just install. For ICS, this is what i'm expecting.
I'm on the fence about rooting. I know there are advantages like custom ROMs and added features, but I'm somewhat of a newb at this. While the instructions (for the Mac) seem simple enough, I always feel like something inevitably goes wrong or there's some variable I've either overlooked or don't understand that screws things up.
I definitely don't want to brick my phone.
I don't even know what I'm asking in my post, but I guess... what are some advantages of rooting? And if I root, is it fully reversible?
I'm also confused by some of the terminology. What is clockwork recovery? Is that a sort of ROM? I keep seeing that phrase every time I read instructions. Likewise, what's a bootloader? What's fastboot? Also, what's a kernel?
And after I root (as you can see, I am really tempted to), what happens next? How do I choose which ROM works for me? Is it a matter of flashing them and trying each of them out?
I'm afraid of entering the world of root, but I want to. Advice? Does it matter what baseband, or kernel or build number I have?
I'm on Android 2.3.6
Matridom said:
I run stock, so i'll add my two cents into this conversations. A few key points:
OTA's will NOT lock the boot loader
I hope this answers your questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1145056
I know it's not likely, particularly with this phone, but it can happen. I maintain that if you're going to go through the process of unlocking your phone and putting a rooted ROM on it that you might as well wait for a modified OTA ROM to get posted by a trusted dev before just installing what the carrier hands out to you.
I guess maybe I should have said "re-lock"?
onthecouchagain said:
I'm on the fence about rooting. I know there are advantages like custom ROMs and added features, but I'm somewhat of a newb at this. While the instructions (for the Mac) seem simple enough, I always feel like something inevitably goes wrong or there's some variable I've either overlooked or don't understand that screws things up.
I definitely don't want to brick my phone.
I don't even know what I'm asking in my post, but I guess... what are some advantages of rooting? And if I root, is it fully reversible?
I'm also confused by some of the terminology. What is clockwork recovery? Is that a sort of ROM? I keep seeing that phrase every time I read instructions. Likewise, what's a bootloader? What's fastboot? Also, what's a kernel?
And after I root (as you can see, I am really tempted to), what happens next? How do I choose which ROM works for me? Is it a matter of flashing them and trying each of them out?
I'm afraid of entering the world of root, but I want to. Advice? Does it matter what baseband, or kernel or build number I have?
I'm on Android 2.3.6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, let's clear a few things up here.
CWM or ClockWorkMod is a custom recover that can be installed on the phones. This step is needed because the default recovery on the nexus does not allow for updates to be installed that are unsigned. CWM does, so it's a necessary step to installing the SU binary (aka root your phone) or installing custom ROMs
The bootloader is the basic system on your phone that reacts to the power on and hands over operations to Android. The equivalent in the PC world would be a BIOS.
fastboot is a utility that is provided by google that allows you to send commands to the bootloader and direct it's operations. It's needed to unlock the bootloader (so you can replace parts of it.. like recovery with CWM)
Interestingly enough, you can boot your phone to a custom recovery WITHOUT replacing your existing stock recovery by using fastboot.
Rooting your phone is simply installing and providing the proper rights to the SU binary to allow you to have full administrative rights to the phone, the superuser application is almost always bundled with it as it allows for a form of control as to what applications can use root access. Rooting your phone allows you to install some very interesting application, most popular are titanium backup (let's you back up app data and restore them after a reset) and removing advertising (adfree/adaway or it's like) Root can also be used by some applications that allow you to "cheat" at games.
rooting your phone is reversable, though not always the easiest to do. With the stock ROMS, it's fairly easy, you just re-apply the latest OTA and it will kill Root access on your device.
When it comes to custom ROMs the vast majority come pre-rooted to save you the hassel of doing it yourself.
On other phones where the bootloader remains locked, you have to use an exploit to gain root access, this then allows you to modify the OS and install custom roms and CWM while keeping the bootloader locked. Since the Nexus line can be unlocked, it's not needed.
Please note, root access is NOT required to install a custom ROM.
---------- Post added at 02:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------
MaxCarnage said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1145056
I know it's not likely, particularly with this phone, but it can happen. I maintain that if you're going to go through the process of unlocking your phone and putting a rooted ROM on it that you might as well wait for a modified OTA ROM to get posted by a trusted dev before just installing what the carrier hands out to you.
I guess maybe I should have said "re-lock"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a link to a non-nexus phone. The question here is in regards to the nexus device and i believe my statement stands 100% true. Since it's a self proclaimed "newby" asking questions, i don't want to confuse the post with un-needed and non-relevant information.
Matridom, wow thanks. That clarifies a few things.
So, you say root access isn't required to flash custom ROMs? Let's say for example, I want to flash an ICS ROM, or even a ROM that allows me to have Backlight Notifications?
I don't need root? If I don't need root, how do I flash those ROMs?
Matridom said:
That's a link to a non-nexus phone. The question here is in regards to the nexus device and i believe my statement stands 100% true. Since it's a self proclaimed "newby" asking questions, i don't want to confuse the post with un-needed and non-relevant information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure why it's so invalid to advise that he wait for someone to post an OTA that has been vetted for those of us who have unlocked our phones; I respect your opinion (even if you clearly don't mine), but your statement that I am providing "un-needed" and "non-relevant" information is a bit harsh.
The fact of the matter is that Sprint has had at least one OTA released (for the EVO 4G) that re-locked bootloaders and caused a lot of consternation for people who took the OTA on their unlocked phones and found themselves waiting months for a new exploit to be found. Those who waited had a rooted version of the OTA available on the forums very quickly, so if those who took the OTA had just waited they wouldn't have been stuck.
tl;dr: If you went to the trouble of unlocking your phone in the first place I don't see why you would rush to take an un-vetted update OTA.
MaxCarnage said:
I'm not sure why it's so invalid to advise that he wait for someone to post an OTA that has been vetted for those of us who have unlocked our phones; I respect your opinion (even if you clearly don't mine), but your statement that I am providing "un-needed" and "non-relevant" information is a bit harsh.
The fact of the matter is that Sprint has had at least one OTA released (for the EVO 4G) that re-locked bootloaders and caused a lot of consternation for people who took the OTA on their unlocked phones and found themselves waiting months for a new exploit to be found. Those who waited had a rooted version of the OTA available on the forums very quickly, so if those who took the OTA had just waited they wouldn't have been stuck.
tl;dr: If you went to the trouble of unlocking your phone in the first place I don't see why you would rush to take an un-vetted update OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The key here is that SPRINT released an OTA for a SPRINT branded device. This has zero relevance to updates provided by Google for Nexus devices.
MaxCarnage said:
I'm not sure why it's so invalid to advise that he wait for someone to post an OTA that has been vetted for those of us who have unlocked our phones; I respect your opinion (even if you clearly don't mine), but your statement that I am providing "un-needed" and "non-relevant" information is a bit harsh.
The fact of the matter is that Sprint has had at least OTA released (for the EVO 4G) that re-locked bootloaders and caused a lot of consternation for people who took the OTA on their unlocked phones and found themselves waiting months for a new exploit to be found. Those who waited had a rooted version of the OTA available on the forums very quickly, so if those who took the OTA had just waited they wouldn't have been stuck.
tl;dr: If you went to the trouble of unlocking your phone in the first place I don't see why you would rush to take an un-vetted update OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue at heart here is that fact that the OTA for the nexus line of phones comes straight from google and are not "tweaked" in any way by the carriers. (exception nexus 4g has additional applications required for CDMA support)
One of the selling features of the nexus phones is the fact that unlocking the bootloader is officially supported.
In regards to other phones getting their bootloader locked, I've experienced first hand the pains of that, having a galaxy S and the 2.3 installing a new bootloader and really screwing things up for me. In those cases, i agree with you whole heartily and to wait for pre-cracked roms that can be installed.
My question to you would be to please show an example of a nexus S getting it's booloader locked due to an OTA update as that is the phone we are discussing.
---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:47 PM ----------
onthecouchagain said:
Matridom, wow thanks. That clarifies a few things.
So, you say root access isn't required to flash custom ROMs? Let's say for example, I want to flash an ICS ROM, or even a ROM that allows me to have Backlight Notifications?
I don't need root? If I don't need root, how do I flash those ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All you would need to do is to unlock the bootloader, install CWM, then apply the .zip associated with the ROM you wish to install. I would however carefully read the installation instructions for the rom as in some cases, it might be a multi-step process (such as going from a 2.2 rom to a 2.3).
Many ROMS also do not come with the google apps and secondary zip file needs to be applied to get those running (cyanogenMod does this)
I wanted to add, that the process of unlocking your bootloader will erase EVERYTHING on the phone, including the SDcard partition. So make sure you back up anything of importance.
Matridom said:
My question to you would be to please show an example of a nexus S getting it's booloader locked due to an OTA update as that is the phone we are discussing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't provide an example because, as I have already stated, this was a precautionary suggestion only.
I'm not going to get into a debate with you over this; I've made my point and you've made yours. Thanks.
Matridom said:
This does not always work, such as installing the "Black" version of gmail over top the original, the world-wide version of navigation or using market enabler to change the prop.build file. any of these changes will cause the OTA signature to fail.
Though if you are simply removing a system app, then yes, that would work well.
Also to be noted and this just occurred to me, if the OTA is a full ROM version, then the signature won't matter and it will just install. For ICS, this is what i'm expecting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point again but the trick is to put your apps in /system/framework
Along with framework-res.apk.
This will add a dex file to /data/dalvik-cache, which is needed for saving upon reboot
Does flashing another radio that's different from your original radio impact the ability to apply an OTA?
suksit said:
Rooting requires flashing custom recovery
OTA requires stock recovery to work properly
So if your phone has custom recovery the OTA will not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting doesn't require flashing custom recovery.
iboj007 said:
Does flashing another radio that's different from your original radio impact the ability to apply an OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It doesnt
Or do I need FlashFire?
I believe that this is the same update as the one in this post
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-style/general/maintenance-release-dec-2016-security-t3557903
You need full unroot, stock kernel, stock recovery and no system partition modification
lukas77 said:
You need full unroot, stock kernel, stock recovery and no system partition modification
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could you tell me how I can do this? Is there a general guide?
Wow... how many times are we going to answer this question every single time an update comes out?!?!
A phone must be 100% stock to take an OTA... stock recovery, stock system partition, stock boot partition... or the update will fail.
You need to either restore your pre-root backup (you did one with TWRP, right?) or flash a factory image that is the same version or newer than you have installed. Period, those are the proper answers to how to go back to stock so you can get an OTA.
acejavelin said:
Wow... how many times are we going to answer this question every single time an update comes out?!?!
A phone must be 100% stock to take an OTA... stock recovery, stock system partition, stock boot partition... or the update will fail.
You need to either restore your pre-root backup (you did one with TWRP, right?) or flash a factory image that is the same version or newer than you have installed. Period, those are the proper answers to how to go back to stock so you can get an OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize, this was my first time rooting my phone so I don't know a lot. I was able to root my phone, thanks to your thread on rooting.
I plan on using this thread by you to go back to stock.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...de-return-to-stock-relock-bootloader-t3489110
ThanuTK said:
I apologize, this was my first time rooting my phone so I don't know a lot. I was able to root my phone, thanks to your thread on rooting.
I plan on using this thread by you to go back to stock.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...de-return-to-stock-relock-bootloader-t3489110
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope it helps... Just remember to search around the forums or Google a bit before asking a question. I apologise if I sounded a little snappy, I had just answered some very dumb PM's that frustrated me and then this was the first open thread I saw, sorry if I was a bit abrupt.
This question has been answered a whole lot so it gets a little frustrating sometimes to see a new thread pop up for this issue. That being said and you being new to rooting, I can't stress this enough: please search and read through the threads (and know the XDA rules of course). This device has been out for a while and by now, a large majority of the questions, issues, and whatever else you may have is addressed in these forums. If you do run across anything that there is no answer for, by all means ask away.
Guys there is any chance of volte update because jio expanding their services to next one year
Can it is possible that after nought update it is possible
Suri149 said:
Guys there is any chance of volte update because jio expanding their services to next one year
Can it is possible that after nought update it is possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possible? Yes, but it isn't likely and I certainly don't expect it to happen. Lenovo has shown no interest in updating the Pure/Style to support Jio, or even fixing the current VoLTE issues on supported carriers for that matter.
Hey could you also tell me how important the android security updates are? are they critical ? without it would my phone be vulnerable?
ThanuTK said:
Hey could you also tell me how important the android security updates are? are they critical ? without it would my phone be vulnerable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well on this I have a pretty strong opinion, and it isn't always well liked... I work in the IT industry with networks, so security is kind of a big deal to me... but Android security updates are essentially worthless, and are only a marketing ploy to make the company look better.
For example, lets look at some major vulnerabilities that have supposedly affected MILLIONS of Android devices... Dirty Cow is a good one, I am in a group here on XDA that is trying to use this vulnerability for something, anything really, but mainly for rooting difficult devices, and in a modern device it is almost impossible because of all the other parts of Android that help keep it secure like DM-verity and SELinux, end result is no usable exploit in almost all cases, although we have some results in cases where we are in complete control of the device with hands on adb access, but even then it is very rare and device specific, not something that you could just download a random malware app and have it affect you, I would need the device in hand. Then there are the terrible ones like Quadrooter, Stagefright, and Towelroot that affected millions, no tens of millions of devices, but have you ever heard of anyone being actually effected by a real exploit of that vulnerability? Nope, me neither, because for the most part these have only been exploited in a lab and not in real life... Because in a modern (I am talking Marshmallow or maybe even Lollipop) there are other things that protect the device, application sandboxing, DM-verity, SE Linux, and IntentFirewall, are all things that would likely protect the device even IF (and that's a big IF) one of these vulnerabilities did happen to be exploited on a device.
So are security updates important... no, not from a technical perspective in real life for the average user, but I certainly wouldn't reject them if they are easy to apply. I accept and apply every single one, even though I know the chances of something happening if I don't are probably less than that of me winning the Powerball Lottery Jackpot twice in two consecutive weeks, or about the same as being stuck by lightning while being bitten by a shark.
Now, none of what I am saying applies to other updates which are often bundled with security updates, or upgrades.
My thoughts exactly on the security updates. The only "evidence" I have heard about has been a couple of individuals who do not appear to understand why an app from some unknown source or dodgy websites along with crazy permission requirements might infect their phone. I acknowledge this as a human exploit though and not on the part of Android.
If I make current twrp backup, wipe, restore original Stock unrooted twrp backup, flash Stock recovery, take ota, reflash twrp and restore only data from the backup in first step would that essentially preserve user apps/data? Otherwise I will just freeze Moto update apk and wait for 7.0 to full wipe.
Update: Nm, I guess at that point without restoring system to preserve settings I may as well just use Titanium Backup :silly:
I'm rooted and using Xposed, but got the Dec update using a completely stock TWRP backup of system and boot posted here. Afterwards I simply had to reroot and reinstall my Xposed framework in TWRP, but all my modules which were still installed worked and maintained their settings. Couple of other minor cosmetic things I had to redo, but for me this worked very well without having to fully return to stock and reinstall everything from scratch. YMMV, and also do your own TWRP backup first just in case.
roaming4gnome said:
If I make current twrp backup, wipe, restore original Stock unrooted twrp backup, flash Stock recovery, take ota, reflash twrp and restore only data from the backup in first step would that essentially preserve user apps/data? Otherwise I will just freeze Moto update apk and wait for 7.0 to full wipe.
Update: Nm, I guess at that point without restoring system to preserve settings I may as well just use Titanium Backup :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dahenjo said:
I'm rooted and using Xposed, but got the Dec update using a completely stock TWRP backup of system and boot posted here. Afterwards I simply had to reroot and reinstall my Xposed framework in TWRP, but all my modules which were still installed worked and maintained their settings. Couple of other minor cosmetic things I had to redo, but for me this worked very well without having to fully return to stock and reinstall everything from scratch. YMMV, and also do your own TWRP backup first just in case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is actually a valid way of doing it, but with so many variables to the state of your device prior to doing this the possible outcomes vary a lot.
But @Dahenjo has pretty much the proper procedure... if I was going to try it I'd do it that way... backup, restore stock, take OTA, reroot, reflash Xposed, restore user data... 99% of everything should be intact.
acejavelin said:
Well on this I have a pretty strong opinion, and it isn't always well liked... I work in the IT industry with networks, so security is kind of a big deal to me... but Android security updates are essentially worthless, and are only a marketing ploy to make the company look better.
For example, lets look at some major vulnerabilities that have supposedly affected MILLIONS of Android devices... Dirty Cow is a good one, I am in a group here on XDA that is trying to use this vulnerability for something, anything really, but mainly for rooting difficult devices, and in a modern device it is almost impossible because of all the other parts of Android that help keep it secure like DM-verity and SELinux, end result is no usable exploit in almost all cases, although we have some results in cases where we are in complete control of the device with hands on adb access, but even then it is very rare and device specific, not something that you could just download a random malware app and have it affect you, I would need the device in hand. Then there are the terrible ones like Quadrooter, Stagefright, and Towelroot that affected millions, no tens of millions of devices, but have you ever heard of anyone being actually effected by a real exploit of that vulnerability? Nope, me neither, because for the most part these have only been exploited in a lab and not in real life... Because in a modern (I am talking Marshmallow or maybe even Lollipop) there are other things that protect the device, application sandboxing, DM-verity, SE Linux, and IntentFirewall, are all things that would likely protect the device even IF (and that's a big IF) one of these vulnerabilities did happen to be exploited on a device.
So are security updates important... no, not from a technical perspective in real life for the average user, but I certainly wouldn't reject them if they are easy to apply. I accept and apply every single one, even though I know the chances of something happening if I don't are probably less than that of me winning the Powerball Lottery Jackpot twice in two consecutive weeks, or about the same as being stuck by lightning while being bitten by a shark.
Now, none of what I am saying applies to other updates which are often bundled with security updates, or upgrades.
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Real good explanation. Good balance of technological and practical
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
acejavelin said:
Well on this I have a pretty strong opinion, and it isn't always well liked... I work in the IT industry with networks, so security is kind of a big deal to me... but Android security updates are essentially worthless, and are only a marketing ploy to make the company look better.
For example, lets look at some major vulnerabilities that have supposedly affected MILLIONS of Android devices... Dirty Cow is a good one, I am in a group here on XDA that is trying to use this vulnerability for something, anything really, but mainly for rooting difficult devices, and in a modern device it is almost impossible because of all the other parts of Android that help keep it secure like DM-verity and SELinux, end result is no usable exploit in almost all cases, although we have some results in cases where we are in complete control of the device with hands on adb access, but even then it is very rare and device specific, not something that you could just download a random malware app and have it affect you, I would need the device in hand. Then there are the terrible ones like Quadrooter, Stagefright, and Towelroot that affected millions, no tens of millions of devices, but have you ever heard of anyone being actually effected by a real exploit of that vulnerability? Nope, me neither, because for the most part these have only been exploited in a lab and not in real life... Because in a modern (I am talking Marshmallow or maybe even Lollipop) there are other things that protect the device, application sandboxing, DM-verity, SE Linux, and IntentFirewall, are all things that would likely protect the device even IF (and that's a big IF) one of these vulnerabilities did happen to be exploited on a device.
So are security updates important... no, not from a technical perspective in real life for the average user, but I certainly wouldn't reject them if they are easy to apply. I accept and apply every single one, even though I know the chances of something happening if I don't are probably less than that of me winning the Powerball Lottery Jackpot twice in two consecutive weeks, or about the same as being stuck by lightning while being bitten by a shark.
Now, none of what I am saying applies to other updates which are often bundled with security updates, or upgrades.
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So i recovered and now wifi is not working. From the other thread i see that others have this issue as well. What are my options now?
ThanuTK said:
So i recovered and now wifi is not working. From the other thread i see that others have this issue as well. What are my options now?
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Its a radio version issue... your radio firmware doesn't a match what the kernel wants. You need to flash the right ones. You will have tell me more details of how you recovered.
acejavelin said:
Its a radio version issue... your radio firmware doesn't a match what the kernel wants. You need to flash the right ones. You will have tell me more details of how you recovered.
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Click to collapse
I used XT1575 to update and then just followed the directions. Does that answer your question? if not could you please clarify your question ?
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=745425885120703327
In the other thread i see people using MPH24.49-18-4 FIRMWARE to fix this issue, but you stated that this might cause issues in the future, so i dont know what to do. Thanks again for helping me and understanding my lack of knowledge with all of this.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...bootloader-t3489110/post69432451#post69432451
ThanuTK said:
I used XT1575 to update and then just followed the directions. Does that answer your question? if not could you please clarify your question ?
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=745425885120703327
In the other thread i see people using MPH24.49-18-4 FIRMWARE to fix this issue, but you stated that this might cause issues in the future, so i dont know what to do. Thanks again for helping me and understanding my lack of knowledge with all of this.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...bootloader-t3489110/post69432451#post69432451
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The only difference in your links is one is a later build than the other one. Either one should work fine but if I had my choice, I might pick the first update and then use OTA to get to present. NOTE: I had to restore my September 1 backup with TWRP as the December 1 security patch broke my Bluetooth and I use Bluetooth all the time, it is too important to me to lose over a stupid security patch. I have since frozen the updater to avoid being nagged to death install the December 1 update again. When the next "real" OTA comes along, I will thaw the updater so I can take it and *hope* that the Bluetooth issue is solved. I will of course *always* make a TWRP backup prior to doing *any* update so I always have a way to back out of it in the event something is broken over the latest security patch OTA. HTH
Hello,
A few months ago, I was able to successfully root my AT&T S4 (SGH-I337, builld LRX22C.I337UCSGOK3) using KingRoot. The KNOX warranty bit was not set at the conclusion of the root process.
After wrestling with storage problems, including the "system memory" taking up 6.29 GB out of the meager 16 GB that is on this phone (preventing practically any Google Play updates from occurring, as the available space would always dip below 500 MB periodically), as well as performance problems (very long delays for some touch events and a general resentment of TouchWiz), I decided that enough was enough, and I decided to change my ROM/OS out for LineageOS.
LineageOS offers builds for jfltexx, which is reported to work for jflteatt since they are similar enough. I am not really willing to try "older" builds, as one of my goals is also to bring the security of the operating system up to date, so I am not exactly inclined to go for old CyanogenMod builds. The LineageOS install guide stipulates that I install TWRP to successfully install the OS via a supported recovery; however, the message SECURE MAGICCODE FAIL: recovery appears, as the upgrade process seems to be expecting something signed by Samsung (right?). Other guides warn that the stock recovery only allows stock OS installation and not custom operating systems, so I decided not to try that route. This effectively prevents me from installing LineageOS due to a problem that is inherent in OK3.
Why did I make the mistake to install OK3? More than a year ago, I decided to do the final update that AT&T pushed out for this phone. Thinking that it would be something significant, I went for it, only to find out months later that it was a minor update whose purpose was also to add an additional lock to the bootloader. As this phone is "fairly old" (is 2013 already considered ancient times?), I have not found many guides that cover OK3, and those that do pertain to either rooting the S4 (already done) or something about downgrading (but I can't really do that, seemingly due to the OK3 lock-in). Oops.
That said, is there any hope to bring more life out of my phone, or is it time to throw the phone out and buy a Pixel or related product like any typical consumerist would do? My goal is to move to another OS to end the storage problems and other quirks of this phone that I have grown to deplore; that is all I wish to attain.
The phone is relatively reliable: it had ~1200 hours of uptime before I had to reboot it a few days ago to fix a data connectivity problem. The battery is also very manageable and can last a day and a half in regular use, but it can last 2-3 days under maximum power-saving mode.
I have read the rules and done some research on this forum, among some others. Thank you for your assistance.
Upgrading the phone to 4.3 locked the boot loader which prevents the installation of TWRP.
audit13 said:
Upgrading the phone to 4.3 locked the boot loader which prevents the installation of TWRP.
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I see; so I was already screwed when I had OK2?
oldmud0 said:
I see; so I was already screwed when I had OK2?
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Click to collapse
Yes, anything past MDL has the bootloader flaw patched. MDL firmware and below have a flaw in the bootloader that allows loki doki to be installed bypassing the bootloader lock so you can install TWRP recovery and custom AOSP ROMs.
Since you're on OK3, you're forced to use safe strap recovery and can only install custom touchwiz ROMs like golden eye and albe95.
If you want to read up on the MDL bootloader, I have written a guide here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/how-to-one-guide-to-mdl-bootloader-t3584122
My wish is to escape TouchWiz, so I suppose I have hit a dead end.
Thank you for your help anyway.
oldmud0 said:
My wish is to escape TouchWiz, so I suppose I have hit a dead end.
Thank you for your help anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want away from touch wiz, I think there's a Google play edition ROM for the galaxy s4 that you can use with OK3, but I am not too sure. I would just check the galaxy s4 ROM section for it. I'm on the MDL bootloader which allows me to use TWRP, so I don't know too much about safe strap recovery.
Even if one wanted to do a TouchWiz-based ROM, I don't think we on OK2/OK3 even have the option to install SafeStrap, so far as I can gather
Hold the phone, I think I've found something. Evidently we can Odin back down to NB1 and go from there! Experiments, here we come.
Yes, NB1 is as far back you can go I believe without bricking your phone.
Hello Guys,
I'm about to buy the OnePlus 8 Pro, as I haven't had a root-able phone for a few years and greatly miss it. In choosing the phone to buy, and to save you guys time answering repeated questions, I of course have read many threads related to rooting, which versions can me rooted, issues with rooting, etc. Mind you most of my rooting was with HTC and I never once had an issue.
I'll be buying the US market unlocked variant, rooting it, and I'll likely use Magisk during the process.
1. Do we actually need to flash a bootloader, or can I just load it with the bootloader without flashing to maintain the stock bootloader?
2. What things are broken from root? I'm assuming the google pay features will break, but will I not be able to use the fingerprint scanner? Or is it a hit and miss, intermittent problem for some and not others? This is the question that seems to lack a consolidated, concise explanation.
3. Is it better to use the international version, or the US version, or does it matter?
I rarely use custom roms, but when I do, I prefer to run pure Android. I prefer speed over animations. When I don't, I remove every app I can without breaking the phone. How friendly is this phone to trial and error, and re-flashing to start over while I'm learning?
Camboozle said:
Hello Guys,
I'm about to buy the OnePlus 8 Pro, as I haven't had a root-able phone for a few years and greatly miss it. In choosing the phone to buy, and to save you guys time answering repeated questions, I of course have read many threads related to rooting, which versions can me rooted, issues with rooting, etc. Mind you most of my rooting was with HTC and I never once had an issue.
I'll be buying the US market unlocked variant, rooting it, and I'll likely use Magisk during the process.
1. Do we actually need to flash a bootloader, or can I just load it with the bootloader without flashing to maintain the stock bootloader?
2. What things are broken from root? I'm assuming the google pay features will break, but will I not be able to use the fingerprint scanner? Or is it a hit and miss, intermittent problem for some and not others? This is the question that seems to lack a consolidated, concise explanation.
3. Is it better to use the international version, or the US version, or does it matter?
I rarely use custom roms, but when I do, I prefer to run pure Android. I prefer speed over animations. When I don't, I remove every app I can without breaking the phone. How friendly is this phone to trial and error, and re-flashing to start over while I'm learning?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Previous HTC rooter here. Had the 10, then the 12+
This phone is slightly more root friendly. And no, there is no custom bootloader. You will not need to go and get a token from a website to unlock the bootloader. As far I can tell at a glance, S-OFF isn't a thing.
If you set up magisk properly, google pay will work (for now). I use it every other day. Widevine certification will default to L3, so you can't root and keep that in L1 like you could with HTC. I don't get it myself.
Do: backup persist partition (and modem1 and modem2 I guess? Someone recommended it) For sure. While rare, and particularly an issue with magisk canary, if you want any chance of the fingerprint sensor to last, backup the persist partition. Otherwise, you're technically sitting on a ticking time bomb and it can pop at any time and no longer function. Haven't heard anything too recent, but better safe than sorry. Only other solution is RMA.
HTC phones, least the ones I used, used LCD panels. I love LCD, because it seems more protection from burn in and screen retention, and less issues for screen problems. That said, this is a newer screen and amazing, just not as amazing I feel as an LCD screen (although this is a better screen, via tech upgrades and more). Keep in mind there are rampant reports of green tint or burn in right away, black crush, and other screen issues. If you do go with the phone, I recommend giving that a thorough once over.
Customer service is in par to that famous thing of kids going, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Type stuff. Do not expect anything from customer service outside what directly is stated to contact them (such as RMAs), and then be prepared to fight tooth an nail for it, and prepare for any additives that arise from it. I would have better odds of customer service with comcast (as weird it sounds) than with oneplus' customer service. They will not honor anything outside what you can do on the website yourself.
What I mean by that, is if you have a coupon for a 10 dollars off accessories, and you accidentally "place" an order and forgot something, and want to add it again? Either wait for your current order to expire to then allow for the coupon, or you're SOL. And to add: By far, the oneplus 8 launch was the worst I ever experienced from any industry, especially as it comes to ordering it. So if you stay, keep that in mind.
A lot of people recommend to just forgo the warranty and get your own via other means (my renters insurance provides it for like, 6 bucks a year) as it's literally the same boat as customer service, with reports of people being charged erroneously like, 500 dollars for some incompency from the warehouse.
If you're in the US the global model I believe is the one you want. UK, INDIA, and CHINA have their own model. While it can be possible to use these, keep that in mind that you most likely want the phone to be compatible with the bands of your country. I believe the india / chinese model is the only one who now has the photochrom filter disabled, thus if you do go with one of these, you'll want to either install a magisk rom, or fix it yourself with one of the many guides available.
You can convert the phone to different models more easily. Such as chinese to global, as compared to HTC phones. You don't need to do superCID like you did or similar I believe, and it's very tolerant of that. In fact, the first oneplus phone even shipped with CyanogenMod installed, now more or less known as lineageOS. This device is very customizable friendly. In fact, some roms will even allow you to uninstall practically anything you want.
Speed is the name of the game, and if you like fast devices, this will blow you out of the water most likely. I personally run .5 on all animation speeds myself.
And of course, if there is issues and you really messed stuff up, you can use the MSM tool or whatever it is to correct the issue. (Again, keep that persist backup in case)
The device will detect if you're rooted and installed either the small OTA package, or the full package in case. I used to always have TWRP installed, but I don't even use it anymore myself so much. The full package can flash through the system update too, btw. Only upon unlocking the bootloader will the data partition be wiped that one time.
There is the hole punch camera, and that was a significant selling feature for me for HTC, but... I figured I'd deal with it this once. Keep that in mind if this feature bugs you as it does me.
Ok, this was my tidbit of info. If you need more clarification or something, ask. Otherwise, enjoy.
Great response, thank you!!! I think it'll be fun to pay with. But really, worse customer service than COMCAST!!! Wow. I guess you get the device and nothing more. Hard to justify 800 bones and no customer service though.
Truant_Luce said:
This phone is slightly more root friendly. And no, there is no custom bootloader. You will not need to go and get a token from a website to unlock the bootloader. As far I can tell at a glance, S-OFF isn't a thing.
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Click to collapse
What do you mean by "need to go and get a token from a website"?
Can't I just simply unlock the bootloader like on my Oneplus 5t?
I am getting my 8Pro this week and plan to install the global ROM instead of the Chinese ROM it will come with, then root it and finally install TWRP.
Do I need to install TWRP to both slots? What are those "slots" anyway? My old phone was a 5t so it had no "slots" .
The instructions I have read are a bit confusing, seems like it is more difficult to install TWRP than it was on the 5t.
Thanks.
Camboozle said:
Hello Guys,
I'm about to buy the OnePlus 8 Pro, as I haven't had a root-able phone for a few years and greatly miss it. In choosing the phone to buy, and to save you guys time answering repeated questions, I of course have read many threads related to rooting, which versions can me rooted, issues with rooting, etc. Mind you most of my rooting was with HTC and I never once had an issue.
I'll be buying the US market unlocked variant, rooting it, and I'll likely use Magisk during the process.
1. Do we actually need to flash a bootloader, or can I just load it with the bootloader without flashing to maintain the stock bootloader?
2. What things are broken from root? I'm assuming the google pay features will break, but will I not be able to use the fingerprint scanner? Or is it a hit and miss, intermittent problem for some and not others? This is the question that seems to lack a consolidated, concise explanation.
3. Is it better to use the international version, or the US version, or does it matter?
I rarely use custom roms, but when I do, I prefer to run pure Android. I prefer speed over animations. When I don't, I remove every app I can without breaking the phone. How friendly is this phone to trial and error, and re-flashing to start over while I'm learning?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Docomoco said:
What do you mean by "need to go and get a token from a website"?
Can't I just simply unlock the bootloader like on my Oneplus 5t?
I am getting my 8Pro this week and plan to install the global ROM instead of the Chinese ROM it will come with, then root it and finally install TWRP.
Do I need to install TWRP to both slots? What are those "slots" anyway? My old phone was a 5t so it had no "slots" .
The instructions I have read are a bit confusing, seems like it is more difficult to install TWRP than it was on the 5t.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can. So HTC was the exact process, except you had to go to HTC dev, upload a string that was copied from bootloader, it would then create a token file that only your device could utilize and when you pushed it back to the device, that unlocked the bootloader. Oneplus, you just tell it you wanna unlock the bootloader and done. Since they are coming from HTC, why I said that.
Truant_Luce said:
Yes, you can. So HTC was the exact process, except you had to go to HTC dev, upload a string that was copied from bootloader, it would then create a token file that only your device could utilize and when you pushed it back to the device, that unlocked the bootloader. Oneplus, you just tell it you wanna unlock the bootloader and done. Since they are coming from HTC, why I said that.
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Click to collapse
Thanks.
How about installing TWRP? Would you have any suggestions as to how to go about it?
Also, I read that I better wipe /data before installing anther ROM.
However it seems TWRP still can't format partitions which means I can't wipe data.
Docomoco said:
Thanks.
How about installing TWRP? Would you have any suggestions as to how to go about it?
Also, I read that I better wipe /data before installing anther ROM.
However it seems TWRP still can't format partitions which means I can't wipe data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think mostly it's boot, but there is a way to install it if you must. I personally haven't touched twrp since moving to oneplus. If you're moving between AOSP or oxygen or hydrogen, yes, wipe data. This can be done via factory reset, without need of twrp. Now, don't quote me too closely for AOSP, but as oxygen or hydrogen builds go (Assuming magisk) you don't need to wipe data so much. I'd recommend consulting the individual device threads.
Thanks, will do.
Is there no way to retain L1? I've come from a Mi 9T where as long as your persist wasn't corrupted, L1 was fine. Do oneplus store the widevine certs in the boot partition or something strange?