Hey guys! So I haven't updated my device since like...November? It's running 4.1.2 with the XenonHD-11-03-12 ROM, Build number JZO54K. I honestly have NO idea why I haven't upgraded my device, I stopped using it every day and honestly the current ROM runs fine but I want to upgrade it finally! My question is that I don't know if I can just flash a new rom, or do I have to do anything else to it? Obviously the bootloader is unlocked, but idk what the steps are for flashing a new rom, idk if I need to update any of the drivers etc. If you guys could help me out here I'd appreciate it!
I'm guessing you are on bootloader v3.41, and probably an older TWRP or CWM recovery.
Highlights of things you should know:
(a) there have been TWO bootloader updates since v3.41 - v4.13 and v4.18
(b) the 4.2 Android introduction of multi-user support caused a bit of a hiccup with the way custom recoveries store & find their backups, so if you move to a 4.2.x-based ROM, for sure you will want a recent version of CWM or TWRP. Same goes for flashable SuperSU or Superuser packages - you ought to upgrade to a recent version if you flash those yourself.
(c) the latest release (4.2.2 JDQ39) has extra security features revolving around the use of ADB; most users report that they needed to update the Google SDK to the most current version to be able to use adb with the booted OS. Whether or not a given ROM dev turns this stuff off (e.g. in /default.prop) I suppose depends on the whims of the ROM developer.
Since the bootloaders are proprietary, nobody has any clue whether there are important bug-fixes involved; OTOH, some kernel devs reported that their newer kernels would not behave correctly with the older v3.41 bootloader - so that should give you some motivation to flash a replacement bootloader. (Note that flashing a bootloader is the most dangerous thing you can do - make sure that you are doing it from a setup that is not flakey, and double-check the bootloader file length before you begin).
So - in a nutshell, that's a few more things that you probably will want to do IF you decide to upgrade - in addition to making backups and flashing a new ROM. If you used a toolkit, I suppose you will need to also upgrade that either before or after flashing a 4.2.2 ROM.
I see that there is a 4.2.2-based (JDQ39) version of [ROM] XenonHD Stable-5.0 (23.02.13). Don't know anything about it though. Since you are on a 4.1.x version of that ROM, I doubt that doing a dirty-flash is an advisable plan of action. Probably safer to use TiBu for market apps & their data, and "start over" with the new ROM and use TiBu to restore your market apps.
good luck
Before you go ahead and start unlocking, flashing and rooting, there are things you should know. This thread is a general guide that will serve to explain most of those things.
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Table of Contents
A. The layers (Hardware, Firmware, Software)
B. Definitions
C. Troubleshooting Common Issues
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The Layers. How does everything come together?
Just like any other computing device there are 3 Layers to your phone. It helps to realize this prior to modifying your phone, so you are able to troubleshoot issues more effectively.
Layer 1 Hardware: The hardware layer is the physical components of your phone. That which you can touch, hold and see. This layer is the least likely to be modified unless you are a crazy super master level modder. Very few bother to mess with this layer so this layer tends to be the most stable with very little issues arising. The best way to make sure a problem is not related to the hardware layer, that is to say, a physical hardware problem where a physical component needs replacing, is to return all software and firmware to stock. This is typically done by running an RUU or manually reflashing stock firmware and software. There are instances where software or firmware modifications can affect the hardware. For example, if you overclock your CPU, the added heat could permanently damage the CPU and even other hardware components so be sure to take that into consideration.
Layer 2 Firmware: This layer is what allows the software to control the hardware in your phone, like a bridge between the two. There is firmware for just about every component of your phone, the camera, screen, radio, processor etc etc. This is the second least likely layer to be modified. S-Off is required to modify most, but not all, firmware files and rightfully so. Modifying firmware components can easily damage your phone if you do not understand what you're doing. In some cases a JTAGG repair can fix your phone from firmware modification damage, other times, only replacing physical components can repair the damage done. (Recovery and the kernel are technically part of the firmware layer but do not require S-Off to flash)
Layer 3 Software: The software layer consists of the "ROM" and applications on your phone. This is where most of the modification takes place and while modifying the software layer is the least likely to cause serious issues, it can still be dangerous. Flashing a ROM not intended for your device could easily put your phone into a bricked state. With SuperUser or Root access, software is capable of modifying the firmware layer of your device. It is up to you to decide what is safe and what's not safe. This is why rooting is not for everyone. How can you properly decide what is safe for your device without the proper knowledge?
Definitions
What is root?
Root, super user or su for short is a level of access giving you permission to read or write to folders, or partitions you could not have access to as a regular user. Think administrative access.
Consider a folder path “/sdcard/downloads/” If we break it down, “downloads” is a folder in “sdcard” and “sdcard” is one of the folders in “/” which is the “root” of the folder structure. As a regular user, one might not consider that folders other than sdcard exist in “/” as they are kind of hidden from us but rest assure they are there and this is typically where the android OS and firmware files are kept. Modifying these files can be extremely dangerous for your phone if you do not understand the modifications to the file you're making, and what steps you can take to recover from any issues you encounter.
What is an RUU?
RUU stands for ROM Update Utility. An RUU is used to reflash an existing firmware/software set or updated firmware/software set. An RUU will wipe everything and basically get your phone back to stock. Unless your phone is S-Off, you cannot run an RUU with an older firmware or software than those currently on your device. You can only run an RUU that matches your MID/CID unless you are S-Off and have SuperCID or have changed the MID/CID to match the carrier you are flashing. There may be differences in hardware/firmware between MIDs and CIDs so be mindful as this can lead to a brick. To properly run an RUU with S-On, you must also have stock recovery installed, the bootloader must be locked/relocked. BE VERY CAREFUL DOING THIS. It is not recommended to RUU or OTA after unlocking your bootloader unless you have to. If you are S-OFF you can RUU whether the bootloader is locked or not and if you are superCID, CID checks will be ignored so be sure to be mindful of the RUU you are running and that it will play nice with your phone.
What is an OTA?
OTA stands for Over The Air and implies an Over the air update distributed by your phone manufacturer, carrier or ROM developer. Unlike an RUU, an OTA will not typically wipe/factory reset your phone but can update your firmware and/or software set. To a apply a manufacturer/carrier released OTA you will need stock recovery and stock system apps installed. Your CID/MID must match that of the carrier/manufacturer your phone came from.
What is a ROM?
When the term ROM was first introduced it stood for Read Only Memory, however, most memory that claims to be Read Only nowadays is not like it was back then. Now a days it is not as complicated to write ROM as only permissions are in your way as opposed to the days when you were required to modify the hardware layer in some way to update the ROM chip. In this particular case, we are referring to the android software on your phone. Stock ROM would imply the manufacturer released ROM that came on your device when you purchased it. Custom ROMs are ROMs the are modified stock ROMs or ROMs built from android source code to. I think you get the idea. It's the device software or Operating System if you will. You should never flash a ROM that is not intended for the device you are flashing it to, this is very dangerous. Like, brick dangerous.
What is a nandroid backup?
A nandroid backup is a backup of your phone's current state. Like a snapshot or image of your phone's software. It includes the ROM currently flashed to your phone, the kernel, apps and settings. It does not include any firmware files other than the kernel and possibly the recovery. A nandroid is done with custom recovery and cannot be done with stock recovery. Taking a nandroid before you start messing with your phone is good practice. In fact, It's good practice to make nandroids before flashing a new ROM, or making any changes that may impact stability. This will ensure you always have a quick way to get back to having a usable phone. Obviously, a nandroid will not help in cases where you mess up firmware files like the radio firmware or hboot.
What is a kernel?
The kernel is the central point of an operating system. It contains the modules and settings necessary for the ROM or OS to work properly. Every Operating System has a kernel, including android. Just like ROMs there are custom kernels, with tweaks and the like that may improve or decrease performance/stability. Also, like ROMs, you should never flash a kernel not intended for your device. Very Dangerous!
What is a bootloader?
The bootloader is as the name implies, a device software/interface for handling boot operations it is contained within the hboot file. The bootloader screen has a few nifty features:
Gives you device information such as:
The bootloader state (locked, relocked or unlocked)
The Secureflag state (S-On or S-Off)
Your hboot and radio versions
Your Cid (only if you changed it)
Allows you to power down, reboot or boot your phone to android.
Allows you to factory reset your phone (Though should never really be used unless you are completely stock as you can properly factory reset in custom recovery)
Allows you access to the recovery
It gives you access to fastboot command operations you can send from your PC to your phone.
To boot to bootloader: Press and hold Power and volume up until the phone shuts off, then let go of power and volume up. Press and hold Volume down until your screen comes up in bootloader mode.
What is recovery?
Recovery is a software/User Interface that allows you to handle and make changes to your device, without having to boot the android OS. The stock M8 comes with a recovery that is quite limited but allows you to factory reset your phone and flash OTA updates which really is more than enough for the average user.
Those of us who want more from our phones, and modify them tend to flash custom recoveries with many extra features. I won't go into all the features they provide as the devs have websites, and you can visit them for more information. The two custom recoveries for the m8 include TWRP and Philz Touch. Both are very functional and choosing one is a matter of preference over anything else.
To flash a recovery image. Put the recovery image in your fastboot/adb folder and in the command prompt:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recoveryfilename.img
You can find The latest:
TWRP for the M8 HERE
Philz Touch for the M8 HERE
To manually boot to recovery, boot to bootloader (Press and hold Power and volume up until the phone shuts off, then let go of power and volume up. Press and hold Volume down until your screen comes up in bootloader mode). Then select recovery in the bootloader menu.
What is S-Off/S-On?
This stands for Securewrite-on or Securewrite-Off. The name kind of gives some hints as to what it means. Having your bootloader unlocked, affords you the ability to to flash a custom recovery and custom roms as well as a custom kernel however, some people may need more. They may want to alter other system partitions. That is where S-Off comes in. It gives you full write access to all system partitons. It also forces a bypass for all security checks, such as those made by OTAs and RUUs, for CID and MID. S-Off is persistent. No matter if you RUU, OTA, Flash a ROM, Firmware, Factory Reset, S-Off will remain so until you use fastboot to reset the flag. I should say, if you don't know what you're doing, that is to say, if you are the type to follow instructions blindly on a thread, without much idea what is ACTUALLY Happening, what files you're modifying, you should not have S-Off. It should not concern you and that is that. S-Off can be dangerous. You have been warned.
What does a Factory Reset do?
A Factory Reset Clears the Cache, Dalvik Cache and Data Partitions. All settings will reset to default. User Apps (Apps you installed that did not com preinstalled with the ROM) will be removed. This will not restore your phone to when you purchased it. This will not relock your bootloader, Reset the S-Off flag, remove root, or downgrade your hboot. It merely affects the system and user settings and user apps.
What is fastboot?
Fastboot is a command line tool that allows you to manipulate certain parts of your phone from the bootloader. Your phone must be in fastboot mode and you must have the fastboot application and HTC drivers installed if you are on Windows. If you are on linux, the HTC driver is preinstalled.
Popular fastboot commands include:
Fatsboot devices (Lists devices connected for use with fastboot)
Fastboot flash recovery recovery.img (Flashes a recovery image)
Fastboot flash boot boot.img (Flashes a boot image)
Fastboot oem readcid (Shows the CID of the phone installed)
Fastboot oem writecid (Writes a new CID to your phone. Must be 8 Characters. Requires S-Off)
Fastboot oem rebootRUU (Puts the phone in RUU mode which is used for flashing firmwares and/or entire RUUs)
Fastboot reboot (Reboots your phone)
Fastboot reboot-bootloader (Reboots to bootloader)
Fastboot erase cache (Wipes the cache partition using fastboot. Good idea after flashing things via fastboot)
Fastboot help (Will list fastboot commands)
Fastboot boot imagefilename.img (Allows you to boot a recovery image or kernel image without actually flashing to your phone
allowing you one time access to the features without the headache of reflashing stock afterwards) Thanks to @garyd9 for suggesting I include this. Very convenient command.
What is ADB?
ADB is another command line tool used to manipulate your phone. The commands for ADB are way more extensive. ADB can only communicate with your phone while in a custom recovery or while the ROM is booted up with USB debugging turned on. The reason ADB is so much more extensive is because it allows you to remotely access your phone's terminal just like a linux terminal. You can use ADB to push or pull files to and from any partition (Some partitions will require S-Off), list devices, get a logcat, troubleshoot issues etc etc. For an extensive list of commands and how to use ADB I strongly suggest visiting http://developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html
What is the CID?
CID stands for carrier ID. It's a string of letters and numbers, eight characters long that identify what carrier your phone is from. When you flash an OTA or RUU, The OTA or RUU checks for a few things, one of those things is the CID, to ensure you are flashing software intended for your device. Realistically, There's no hardware difference between the M8s (with the exception of CDMA vs GSM) so all firmwares/softwares should be compatible. With regards to radio firmware, your radio may function better with one firmware over another. There have been occasions with HTC where flashing an RUU or OTA with the wrong CID or SuperCID, while S-On would brick your phone. So try to be mindful of this and be careful.
Thanks to @garyd9 for suggesting I include this in my guide!
Some common CIDs include but are not limited to:
SuperCID: 11111111
HTC International: HTC__001
AT&T: CWS__001
ROGERS: ROGER001
VODAPHONE: VODAP001
T MOBILE: T-MOB010
TELESTRA: TELST001
Bell Canada: BM___001
What is a brick?
The term brick is sometimes thrown around a bit too casually. A brick is when your phone is no longer operable. It does not boot, there is no way to save it without resorting to Jtagg or replacing the nand chip or motherboard. If your phone powers on and something appears on your screen, your phone can almost always be saved. Be sure you know how to save your device before messing with your device.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
I flashed a ROM or Kernel and it's not booting! WHAT DO I DO!?
When this happens. There are actually a number of things to consider but first off, Hopefully you made a nandroid to restore from just in case the reason it doesn't boot is something not quickly or easily fixed.
1. Is the ROM you're flashing indeed intended for your device? ROMs you're flashing should be for the HTC One m8 International. You should not be flashing ROMs designed for the m8 Sprint or Verizon and should not be flashing ROMs designed for other models of phone. If the ROM you flashed is not for your device, best case scenario, it's not flashing properly. Worst case scenario, you have a brick. You will need to factory reset and wipe system then either flash a new ROM or restore a nandroid to get your phone up and running again.
2. Did you wipe Cache, Dalvik Cache, Data and System? (Don't wipe System for Kernel Install)
A factory reset will wipe all but system. You should wipe System manually in case the script for the ROM install does not do it or does it improperly. A factory reset is enough for a Kernel install. If you wiped system and just flashed a kernel, it's no doubt your phone is not booting.
* If you did not factory reset and wipe system, do so and then reflash your rom. It should then boot.
* If you wiped system to flash a kernel, you will need to reflash the rom, and then reflash your kernel again if you are flashing a custom kernel. (Note a GPE Kernel will not work on Sense and a Sense kernel will not work on GPE.
3. Did you matchup the Checksum? MD5 or SHA1 are usually posted on the ROM Download site/post. This allows you to check and make sure the integrity of the file you downloaded has been maintained. If The SHA1 or MD5 of the file you downloaded does not match what is posted, you have a corrupted file and should redownload. If you don't have a MD5 or SHA1 Checker, I suggest downloading one. Google MD5 or SHA1 Checker and you should find one. MD5 is most commonly used but it's up to the Dev as to which they post. Sometimes both. You only need to match one. (Linux comes with utilities for checking MD5/SHA1 called md5sum and/or sha1sum)
4. If you tried all these steps and it's still not booting, try another ROM. If no ROMs appear to be booting, you may be having an issue with your custom recovery. Redownload your recovery (Make sure it's the right one for your phone and check the checksum) Then reflash recovery, then use fastboot erase cache, boot to recovery and try flashing again.
5. If you tried all these and you're having issues, ask in the M8 Q&A!
I wiped everything and I don't have a ROM on my phone to flash! What do I do?
This is quite simple really.
Boot to recovery
Connect your phone to your PC
Make sure your ROM is on your PC and in your adb folder
Then use:
Code:
adb push romfilename.zip /sdcard/
Be patient, this could take a while, when it finishes you will get a confirmation with bytes in/bytes out.
Then flash.
Where can I go to find links to do all this cool stuff I want to do to my Phone!?!?!?!?
HERE!
Thank Yous!
Thanks to @garyd9
Thanks to @keithross39
This is a work in progress. I will be updating this as often as I can, trying to explain as much as I can for newer M8 owners who are not used to HTC or Android devices. If you have any suggestions for what I can put here, post here and let me know! Also, I'm not perfect, I make mistakes if I have/do make any, do not be shy! Let me know.
[08/18/2014] Partially updated and fixed spelling mistakes. More coming soon!
Hey fella, this is a good idea.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
I am going to be getting the M8 in the near future, so reading up about the HTC specific stuff is really useful for me as I'm currently familiar with Samsung procedures and not a lot else. Most folks reading this should be familiar with the 'cross platform basics', so what you've covered so far should be enough........
But.....
Those (like me) who are getting an HTC device for the first time would probably benefit from more of a detailed description of the HTC side of things......maybe you could concentrate on expanding that information.......
Maybe you could include links to threads for s-off, rooting and/or anything else relevant?
Just my 2 cents worth....for what it's worth.....
Sent from my rooted debloated thingy
keithross39 said:
Hey fella, this is a good idea.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
I am going to be getting the M8 in the near future, so reading up about the HTC specific stuff is really useful for me as I'm currently familiar with Samsung procedures and not a lot else. Most folks reading this should be familiar with the 'cross platform basics', so what you've covered so far should be enough........
But.....
Those (like me) who are getting an HTC device for the first time would probably benefit from more of a detailed description of the HTC side of things......maybe you could concentrate on expanding that information.......
Maybe you could include links to threads for s-off, rooting and/or anything else relevant?
Just my 2 cents worth....for what it's worth.....
Sent from my rooted debloated thingy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man! I welcome all suggestions! I will do my best to incorporate your suggestions
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
Great idea, thanks. I've been wondering what S-Off is for weeks but didn't want the flaming for asking a noob question!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Some possible additions:
What is "RUU"?
What is MID (model ID) along with a list of some common MID's
What is CID (carrier ID?) along with a list of some common CID's
How do the MID and CID relate to each other and how does the combination relate and/or interact with RUU. Related, of course, is the third part of the version number.
I was thinking of writing a guide myself, because I was so confused myself after coming from samsung, really nice.
Shebee said:
I was thinking of writing a guide myself, because I was so confused myself after coming from samsung, really nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol...ain't that the truth....
Sent from my rooted debloated thingy
Nice one
Very well done!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I'm one of those who also came from Samsung (S4).
This is really great and easy to understand. This should be sticky :victory:
While I think the OP uses the term "ROM" incorrectly (Read Only Memory), I'll admit that's just me being picky. Otherwise, a very useful post... I've requested it be made sticky.
Take care
Gary
garyd9 said:
While I think the OP uses the term "ROM" incorrectly (Read Only Memory), I'll admit that's just me being picky. Otherwise, a very useful post... I've requested it be made sticky.
Take care
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not being picky at all! Feel free to suggest any corrections. I welcome criticism and corrections.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
exad said:
That's not being picky at all! Feel free to suggest any corrections. I welcome criticism and corrections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL. I'm one of those people who goes nuts when people want to install "ROM's" on their phone. I keep reminding them that if it was really "Read Only Memory", that they wouldn't be able to overwrite it. Ever.
I do understand, however, that it's one of the misused terms these days. I guess it's kind of like saying you are "dialing a phone number." (There aren't any dials on our phones anymore. I haven't even seen a working rotary dial phone in years...)
Anyway - I'll stop with my OT bantering. Once I get more familiar with HTC devices I'll probably have some good suggestions for your posts.
Take care
Gary
garyd9 said:
LOL. I'm one of those people who goes nuts when people want to install "ROM's" on their phone. I keep reminding them that if it was really "Read Only Memory", that they wouldn't be able to overwrite it. Ever.
I do understand, however, that it's one of the misused terms these days. I guess it's kind of like saying you are "dialing a phone number." (There aren't any dials on our phones anymore. I haven't even seen a working rotary dial phone in years...)
Anyway - I'll stop with my OT bantering. Once I get more familiar with HTC devices I'll probably have some good suggestions for your posts.
Take care
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read only memory isn't a great name for it. If you've ever updated the bios on a pc, flashed a firmware update to a router, etc... you've written to read only memory. There are types that are truly read only but I can't think of a single practical example. And welcome to htc phones!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
lampel said:
Read only memory isn't a great name for it. If you've ever updated the bios on a pc, flashed a firmware update to a router, etc... you've written to read only memory. There are types that are truly read only but I can't think of a single practical example. And welcome to htc phones!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm old enough to remember (clearly) when you couldn't update the BIOS on a PC - you had to physically replace the BIOS chip. (Usually, they were socketed to make replacement a bit easier.) That was ROM. Also, early game consoles used true ROM in cartridges.
As for current practical example: a simple CDROM (not CD/RW) is, of course, read only.
I agree that it's not the best name lol but that is what it stands for....
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
Added this to my index thread
Hi guys! I am planning to buy an htc one m8 but can someone please tell me the different models out there? I don't want to end up buying the wrong one. Also is the dev one worth spending the extra money over the international? And is it the same model as the international one? Thanks in advance. I didn't know where else to post this. I didn't wanted to start a new thread.
Karan and all other users, please post questions in Q&A. Only things that should be posted here are suggested additions to this thread.
Also thread has been updated and more to come!
Part on RUUs is wrong...
An RUU can be run at any point and in any state (so long as you can get to the bootloader) as it completely replaces the entire system so doesn't matter if you don't have the stock recovery as it replaces it during the update process. Also, if you're S-OFF it means you can flash any RUU for any phone, handy to go between branded and unbranded software. OK, there's a risk of trying to flash an RUU from another device but if you do that you're a bit dumb!!
I'm trying to figure out if I can flash a different variant ROM to my G530AZ. Being that there aren't any rom's available for my phone.
There are a few factors involved in this.
First, if you consider doing this, you'll want to get the ROM for the device that matches the specifications of yours as closely as possible.
The second is, it's likely that the sizes of system partitions will differ between variants of the same device, so there would be a possibility of messing up the partitions on your device if you flashed the image. You should be aware of this risk, and should be prepared either to:
Manually resize the system image to fit your device, then flash it.
Just flash it anyways and hope for the best.
You can always try porting the device yourself to a custom OS for yourself, or put in a request for that in any appropriate forums.
I can say yes or no, because like what vince2678 said, it would mess up your partition, but even if you succeed it, you'll have more problems, such as some functions won't work due to differences between libs from the rom you just flashed and the libs that your device need for working functionalities
Does anyone know how or where I can find info on building a custom rom for this phone?
You can look at the AOSP, Omni and CM wikis. They have good documentation on how to get started on the whole process of building a custom rom.
Hi.. Im new here with this device i read almost every single post here but there are quite a few things that I don't get it..
What is bootloader? Should i unlock it before rooting the device? And recovery here is in Chinese so shall i get TWRP instead? Also about the flashing Roms issue that erase imei and SN.. why would that happen? And How can i take a backup for these in case i lose them.. Some people mentioned SN writing tools but some people says its not working so im abit confused.. And has anyone noticed that the flashlight of the mobile is actually yellow that affects camera's captures? I would be really grateful if someone helps
1. What is a Bootloader?
Hboot, or we may call it Boot-loader, is like BIOS to windows. It is the first thing that runs when you boot up your Android device. It packages the instructions to boot operating system kernel and most of them are specifically designed to run their own debugging or modification environment.
Every Android phone has a boot-loader that instructs the operating system kernel to boot normally. But you need to understand one thing here that as Android OS is an open source OS and is available on a variety of different hardware, every manufacturer has their own version of bootloader specific for the hardware present in it’s environment.
2. Should you unlock it before rooting the device?
It solely depends on you whether you want to unlock it or not. Unlocking bootloader will give you access to installing custom recoveries on your phone and also you can use custom kernels to boost up phone's performance or simply get more battery juice. Since our K4 note doesn't have any custom kernels so good luck with that.
Warning: Unlocking Boot-loader voids phone's warranty
3. Why does IMEI/SN erases while flashing ROM's
People don't read the tutorial properly. They blame the OP instead when they do something wrong and loose their IMEI/SN.
What basically happens is, when flashing ROM's through SP flash tools, They should flash it in "DOWNLOAD" mode only and not in "Format ALL" mode. People who all lost their IMEI basically did this mistake.
4. How to Backup and Restore your IMEI/SN (NVRAM)
All the device specific details such as IMEI, SN, MAC addresses are stored in a partition called as NVRAM. So backing it up will indirectly be referring to backing up your IMEI/SN. Here is how you can do it.. LINK
5. How to install Recovery?
if you are on Marshmallow then you will be able to install recovery through this thread. LINK
6. Yellow Flashilight problem?
This bug is introduced in Android V6.0 that is marshmallow. Actually this is not truly a bug. Unlike on Lollipop which had only one LED light enabled during Camera operations, Lenovo decided to enable both of the LED's (That is white and yellow) to give the images a more true LIVELY appeal.
But terming this as bug here because nobody liked it and users were pissed off straightaway. Hopefully, Lenovo will fix it soon.
Hit Thanks if i helped..
Krishnas096 said:
1. What is a Bootloader?
Hboot, or we may call it Boot-loader, is like BIOS to windows. It is the first thing that runs when you boot up your Android device. It packages the instructions to boot operating system kernel and most of them are specifically designed to run their own debugging or modification environment.
Every Android phone has a boot-loader that instructs the operating system kernel to boot normally. But you need to understand one thing here that as Android OS is an open source OS and is available on a variety of different hardware, every manufacturer has their own version of bootloader specific for the hardware present in it’s environment.
2. Should you unlock it before rooting the device?
It solely depends on you whether you want to unlock it or not. Unlocking bootloader will give you access to installing custom recoveries on your phone and also you can use custom kernels to boost up phone's performance or simply get more battery juice. Since our K4 note doesn't have any custom kernels so good luck with that.
Warning: Unlocking Boot-loader voids phone's warranty
3. Why does IMEI/SN erases while flashing ROM's
People don't read the tutorial properly. They blame the OP instead when they do something wrong and loose their IMEI/SN.
What basically happens is, when flashing ROM's through SP flash tools, They should flash it in "DOWNLOAD" mode only and not in "Format ALL" mode. People who all lost their IMEI basically did this mistake.
4. How to Backup and Restore your IMEI/SN (NVRAM)
All the device specific details such as IMEI, SN, MAC addresses are stored in a partition called as NVRAM. So backing it up will indirectly be referring to backing up your IMEI/SN. Here is how you can do it.. LINK
5. How to install Recovery?
if you are on Marshmallow then you will be able to install recovery through this thread. LINK
6. Yellow Flashilight problem?
This bug is introduced in Android V6.0 that is marshmallow. Actually this is not truly a bug. Unlike on Lollipop which had only one LED light enabled during Camera operations, Lenovo decided to enable both of the LED's (That is white and yellow) to give the images a more true LIVELY appeal.
But terming this as bug here because nobody liked it and users were pissed off straightaway. Hopefully, Lenovo will fix it soon.
Hit Thanks if i helped..
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Ahaaaaa Thanks Alot now it get it all.. Hope they fix that soon.. And i read that some devs here is willing to make a custom kernel i guess.. thanks again and sorry for wasting ur time.. Btw have u noticed that the sound on headset and Bluetooth is also abit lower than other devices?
Lenovo A7010 - CM13.0 Android 6.0 on lenovo-forums.ru
I just got an Xperia X Compact and haven't modified it yet. It has Build number 34.3.A.0.228 . I wanted to get a clean android system (ideally with root) and figured that flashing a ROM like OmniRom or ParanoidAndroid would be the best way to go. I was trying to figure out how to flash a ROM onto the X Compact. I saw this guide, but it appears to be about obtaining root on the stock ROM, including something about modifying the kernel... but it also tells me things about unlocking the bootloader, which many of these ROMs say they need.
What exactly do I need to do to get something like OmniRom or PA on my otherwise unmodified device? Do I just follow the instructions in that guide up to the point where I unlock the bootloader, then switch to the ROM instructions? Do I need TWRP? And what's all this about backing up and restoring DRM keys?
And all that said, what's the most reliable ROM out there for the Xperia X Compact? It seems to be PA, they have it on their official devices list, but I could be wrong.
The first thing you need to do is to backup your DRM key, because if you don't, it will be lost forever. For this you need to downgrade etc., so it will take some time, but if you follow the guide, you should be done in a couple hours. If you lose the key, you might be excluded from using services that utilize DRM, as well as enhanced algorithms by Sony (known is the camera app).
After you have your DRM backup, you can go back to business as usual with flashing ROMs etc. However note that for using the DRM key, you need a patched kernel. While the DRM key can be put back on the phone, it will now reside on a different location that the kernel needs to be aware of.
You can patch your own / ROM-provided kernel as to the guide but there is also pre-patched kernels floating around. You don't need to do this for testing ROMs as long as you don't need DRM functionality or use Sony's camera app (which provides better image quality with the key present!).
You will need TWRP sooner or later for the usual ROM flashing tasks, while flashing the patched kernel can be conveniently done with fastboot. However you do not have to install TWRP, instead you can boot it from PC via fastboot whenever you need it.
The most reliable ROM right now is stock rom, however you can heavily modify it and strip stuff using Magisk etc.
While the phone is officially supported by Paranoid Android, people reported crucial hardware features to be missing and random phone reboots. Have a look at the corresponding thread if these issues have been solved yet.
Thanks for the help! I looked it up and the random phone reboots in PA have been solved. But for the other things... now I'm trying to figure out how to downgrade to back up the DRM keys. What kinds of "services" other than the high quality camera need the keys? Like Google Apps? or more obscure things?
Also is the flashtool.net FlashTool necessary to get a ROM onto the device? I'm kind of sketched out about letting a closed-source program tweak my phone firmware tbh.
You can get an older firmware via XperiFirm. It is a nice tool actually. Make sure you download the version specified and not just any old version to make the TA extraction work.
There are several ways to flash .ftf (official firmware) files, but the only two that I am aware of are the official Sony tool and FlashTool. Btw. in FlashTool you need to repackage (bundle) the FTF for flashing.
Services that need the DRM key include Google's SafetyNet, AFAIK.