Database Users

[HOW TO] Revert to latest stock ROM (GRI40)

I personally have tried lots of ROM's but all I really want is the stock ROM with the option to root if I want. After lots of research, I couldn't find a comprehensive tutorial on how to do this. There is of course the GRI40 image available in update.zip format for custom recoveries which is helpful for most. However, if your a bit anal like me, and want the official update directly from Google servers, follow this guide. This might also be helpful for people who can't get into the custom recovery any more.
NOTE: I will not provide help for anybody. This guide assumes you have the Android SDK in order to use adb. There may be other ways of doing this, I am not an experienced programmer, this works for me, it will work for you.
[GUIDE]
Download the following files:
Stock Froyo Image (Contains stock recovery image)
Stock GRI40 Image
Instructions
You first have to revert to stock Froyo image to get the stock recovery back. This is needed to install the GRI40 update ZIP
1. Disable backup my settings under privacy settings.
2. Unzip the original Froyo shipping ROM and put it somewhere you can find
3. Plug in Nexus One with USB to computer (enable USB Debugging)
4. Open command prompt, navigate to SDK folder which contains adb. Type
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
(which will boot into the bootloader)
5. Confirm fastboot connection with
Code:
fastboot devices
6. Type
Code:
fastboot erase userdata
7. Type
Code:
fastboot erase cache
*If step 6 and 7 does not work, and if you have a custom recovery installed, you can do a factory data wipe from there. Also perform a dalvik-cache wipe.
Alternately, you can also do a factory data wipe within Android. Settings => Privacy Settings => Factory Data Reset.
8. Go to the directory that you stored your unzipped files from the official Froyo ROM, for ease of use, copy these into the directory containing adb.exe
9. Type
Code:
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
10. Type
Code:
fastboot flash boot boot.img
11. Type
Code:
fastboot flash system system.img
12. Type
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
13. Type
Code:
fastboot reboot
14. Once phone has started, skip all account setup. Copy the new GRI40 .zip from Google servers to the root of your SD card. Ensure it has been renamed to update.zip if necessary.
15. Reboot into bootloader mode (hold trackball when switching on), select recovery, you will see an exclamation mark with a little green Android.
16. Hold power button and press Vol. Up to see recovery menu. Select 'Apply: Update.zip'
17. After the system boots up and while setting up skip setting up with the google account and you can setup accounts later. This will prevent the phone from pulling down the previous settings (downloaded apps, wallpaper etc) from google.
18. You are done. Enjoy.
If you want to root:
Download the following:
Latest Clockworkmod Recovery
su.zip
Instructions
How to root the stock ROM
1. Download su.zip and copy to root of your SD card
2. Download a recovery image file and for ease of use, copy into same directory containing fastboot on your PC
3. Turn on USB debugging and connect phone to PC
4. Open command prompt, navigate to SDK folder which contains adb. Type
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
(which will boot into the bootloader)
5. Type
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
where 'recovery.img' is the name of your recovery image file (easy thing to do is rename the file to 'recovery.img'!)
6. It will upload, once complete, disconnect you phone from computer
7. On your phone, select Bootloader, then Recovery to boot into your new recovery
8. Now select ‘Apply Update.zip’ and find the su.zip file (Turn off signature verification if using Amon RA)
Note:Custom recovery will be overwritten with the stock recovery on reboot but root privelages will still be in place.

No need to do that. Flash the stock rom. Done.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

albundy2010 said:
No need to do that. Flash the stock rom. Done.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you can flash the official GRI40 zip from Google server with a custom recovery?

Iggy82 said:
You mean you can flash the official GRI40 zip from Google server with a custom recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes!
Make sure it's the full image (80+meg), and not just the update (40+ meg). Recovery should restore to stock after a reboot...
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App

Well that serves me right for assuming Google would not allow an official update zip to install from a custom recovery!
Did the official update ZIP from Google come out after dsixda made his own update zip then?
The link above is for the full update zip from Google (80MB or so)
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

usually the official updates come out and people edit them to allow root, busybox, etc.
or just a stock rom that won't over write your custom recovery, etc.

Thanks for this. I have been looking for a stock image all morning!

[Q] Can I root 4.3 without flashing customer recovery

I had rooted my Nexus 4 when on 4.2.x by putting it in bootloader mode first and typing fastboot boot <name of twrp custom recovery>.img at the command prompt to reboot it into TWRP custom recovery mode without if actually flashing the TWRP recovery on the device. Back then, this temporarily recovery mode allowed me to flash the supersu update zip file I needed to. Since 4.3, this command reboots the phone, but the screen is now blank, and I can't flash the zip file. I can reboot the phone normally into stock recovery mode using the volume keys and power button, but this does not allow me to flash the zip file to root it. Can I still use fastboot boot method like before, and how? The reason I want t stay on stock recovery for now is to keep future OTA updates from throwing an error message.

rajendra82 said:
I had rooted my Nexus 4 when on 4.2.x by putting it in bootloader mode first and typing fastboot boot <name of twrp custom recovery>.img at the command prompt to reboot it into TWRP custom recovery mode without if actually flashing the TWRP recovery on the device. Back then, this temporarily recovery mode allowed me to flash the supersu update zip file I needed to. Since 4.3, this command reboots the phone, but the screen is now blank, and I can't flash the zip file. I can reboot the phone normally into stock recovery mode using the volume keys and power button, but this does not allow me to flash the zip file to root it. Can I still use fastboot boot method like before, and how? The reason I want t stay on stock recovery for now is to keep future OTA updates from throwing an error message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is still possible but the command for booting into custom recovery changed.
This helps.

rajendra82 said:
I had rooted my Nexus 4 when on 4.2.x by putting it in bootloader mode first and typing fastboot boot <name of twrp custom recovery>.img at the command prompt to reboot it into TWRP custom recovery mode without if actually flashing the TWRP recovery on the device. Back then, this temporarily recovery mode allowed me to flash the supersu update zip file I needed to. Since 4.3, this command reboots the phone, but the screen is now blank, and I can't flash the zip file. I can reboot the phone normally into stock recovery mode using the volume keys and power button, but this does not allow me to flash the zip file to root it. Can I still use fastboot boot method like before, and how? The reason I want t stay on stock recovery for now is to keep future OTA updates from throwing an error message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The short answer is no, you need a custom recovery to install superuser. The long answer is you can flash a custom recovery and install superuser and then flash back the stock recovery. If that doesn't work then your out of luck.

kzoodroid said:
The short answer is no, you need a custom recovery to install superuser. The long answer is you can flash a custom recovery and install superuser and then flash back the stock recovery. If that doesn't work then your out of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are absolutely wrong. I just booted into TWRP without flashing it and rooted my Nexus 4, which is otherwise stock 4.3. I still have the stock recovery on the device and can access it using the volume keys. Booting into TWRP was a temporary state achieved using the command line syntax:
fastboot -c "<your_default_command_line> lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" boot <name of custom recovery>.img
The 4.2.x version of this command was simpler, as it did not require the -c "<your_default_command_line> lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" part, but you do need it on 4.3, or the device just temporarily boots into a blank screen, instead of the custom recovery. So the long answer is you do need to boot into a custom recovery, but it does not have to be flashed to the boot partition. With a Nexus 4, you are never out of luck.

rajendra82 said:
You are absolutely wrong. I just booted into TWRP without flashing it and rooted my Nexus 4, which is otherwise stock 4.3. I still have the stock recovery on the device and can access it using the volume keys. Booting into TWRP was a temporary state achieved using the command line syntax:
fastboot -c "<your_default_command_line> lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" boot <name of custom recovery>.img
The 4.2.x version of this command was simpler, as it did not require the -c "<your_default_command_line> lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" part, but you do need it on 4.3, or the device just temporarily boots into a blank screen, instead of the custom recovery. So the long answer is you do need to boot into a custom recovery, but it does not have to be flashed to the boot partition. With a Nexus 4, you are never out of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please write a Step by Step guide to root without flashing custom recovery,
I am familiar with basic commands of adb and fastboot. But a step wise guide will hep me get my N4 rooted

ajay_zalavadia said:
Can you please write a Step by Step guide to root without flashing custom recovery,
I am familiar with basic commands of adb and fastboot. But a step wise guide will hep me get my N4 rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow @efrant's guide. Section E is enough assuming you are on stock android.
That will do the trick.

rajendra82 said:
I had rooted my Nexus 4 when on 4.2.x by putting it in bootloader mode first and typing fastboot boot <name of twrp custom recovery>.img at the command prompt to reboot it into TWRP custom recovery mode without if actually flashing the TWRP recovery on the device. Back then, this temporarily recovery mode allowed me to flash the supersu update zip file I needed to. Since 4.3, this command reboots the phone, but the screen is now blank, and I can't flash the zip file. I can reboot the phone normally into stock recovery mode using the volume keys and power button, but this does not allow me to flash the zip file to root it. Can I still use fastboot boot method like before, and how? The reason I want t stay on stock recovery for now is to keep future OTA updates from throwing an error message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for asking about your reason, but if you install the TWRP (or some other) custom recovery then can't you simply manually flash the OTA yourself? That's how I upgraded to 4.3.

ajay_zalavadia said:
Can you please write a Step by Step guide to root without flashing custom recovery,
I am familiar with basic commands of adb and fastboot. But a step wise guide will hep me get my N4 rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copy your custom recovery to where fastboot.exe is.
Open a CMD window and type
adb reboot-bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then, once you're booted into Bootloader, type
fastboot -c "lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" boot customrecoveryname.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash SuperSU 1.51 zip and then reboot your device.

rajendra82 said:
You are absolutely wrong. I just booted into TWRP without flashing it and rooted my Nexus 4, which is otherwise stock 4.3. I still have the stock recovery on the device and can access it using the volume keys. Booting into TWRP was a temporary state achieved using the command line syntax:
fastboot -c "<your_default_command_line> lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" boot <name of custom recovery>.img
The 4.2.x version of this command was simpler, as it did not require the -c "<your_default_command_line> lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" part, but you do need it on 4.3, or the device just temporarily boots into a blank screen, instead of the custom recovery. So the long answer is you do need to boot into a custom recovery, but it does not have to be flashed to the boot partition. With a Nexus 4, you are never out of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your original post you said you tried using the boot into recovery method and it didn't work so how am I wrong in saying that your only other option was to flash the custom recovery, install su, then flash the stock recovery all without rebooting? It was just another way of accomplishing the same thing. I posted at the same time as the other guy did who knew the new fastboot command, which I was unaware of and obviously you were too.

Mercado_Negro said:
Copy your custom recovery to where fastboot.exe is.
Open a CMD window and type
Then, once you're booted into Bootloader, type
Flash SuperSU 1.51 zip and then reboot your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you, will try when I get chance :good:

kzoodroid said:
In your original post you said you tried using the boot into recovery method and it didn't work so how am I wrong in saying that your only other option was to flash the custom recovery, install su, then flash the stock recovery all without rebooting? It was just another way of accomplishing the same thing. I posted at the same time as the other guy did who knew the new fastboot command, which I was unaware of and obviously you were too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just prefer the command line booting instead of having to flash a recovery twice. I already knew that I could flash the custom recovery to get it done, although I didn't clearly state that in the original post.

Mercado_Negro said:
Copy your custom recovery to where fastboot.exe is.
Open a CMD window and type
Then, once you're booted into Bootloader, type
Flash SuperSU 1.51 zip and then reboot your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for you guide, but for use it, do I nerd unlocke the bootloader ?
Inviato dal mio Nexus 4 con Tapatalk 2

futuro82 said:
Thanks for you guide, but for use it, do I nerd unlocke the bootloader ?
Inviato dal mio Nexus 4 con Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes

Thanks
Inviato dal mio Nexus 4 con Tapatalk 2

kzoodroid said:
In your original post you said you tried using the boot into recovery method and it didn't work so how am I wrong in saying that your only other option was to flash the custom recovery, install su, then flash the stock recovery all without rebooting? It was just another way of accomplishing the same thing. I posted at the same time as the other guy did who knew the new fastboot command, which I was unaware of and obviously you were too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL.. You were still wrong though bro. Don't get upset about it. He didn't seem to be...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Nexus 7 2012 -- Recovery won't flash - Please help!

Good morning,
I followed the tutorial here on XDA on how to basically factory reset my Nexus 7. Unfortunately, while going through all the steps I also deleted my recovery. Now I am unable to flash any recovery back on my device. I have tried flashing Clockwork, TWRP and even Google Stock recovery, but it won't work. Neither flashing via Nexus 7 toolkit nor by hand was successful, instead it always returns the following error message:
Booting into Android using an Insecure Boot Image..
cannot load "root\boot-insecure-.img' : No error
Now my Nexus 7 is in some random state, since Android 4.2.2 is installed, but rooting via the Toolkit returns the same message when it comes to the point of flashing a recovery. Then it simply skips the remaining steps and does not install the superuser app. I also downloaded and tried using the ROM Manager, but since root-access is missing, it can't do anything either.
Do you guys have any solution to this?
Help is very much appreciated!
Thanks!

marcfeld said:
Good morning,
I followed the tutorial here on XDA on how to basically factory reset my Nexus 7. Unfortunately, while going through all the steps I also deleted my recovery. Now I am unable to flash any recovery back on my device. I have tried flashing Clockwork, TWRP and even Google Stock recovery, but it won't work. Neither flashing via Nexus 7 toolkit nor by hand was successful, instead it always returns the following error message:
Booting into Android using an Insecure Boot Image..
cannot load "root\boot-insecure-.img' : No error
Now my Nexus 7 is in some random state, since Android 4.2.2 is installed, but rooting via the Toolkit returns the same message when it comes to the point of flashing a recovery. Then it simply skips the remaining steps and does not install the superuser app. I also downloaded and tried using the ROM Manager, but since root-access is missing, it can't do anything either.
Do you guys have any solution to this?
Help is very much appreciated!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Though toolkits save a lot of time, I always prefer to do stuff the manual way and I suggest you do the same. To flash the recovery do the following steps
1) a) if you are running Windows open cmd as administrator and CD into a folder containing adb and fastboot .exes
b) copy paste a downloaded recovery image in the same folder and rename it to recovery.img for simplicity.
2) boot into boot loader by pressing power volume down and volume up all together after the device is turned off
3) in bootloader enter the fastboot mode and in cmd on PC type
Code:
fastboot devices
At this moment your device should turn up in the command prompt.if it doesn't then try installing the Asus drivers and repeat the steps above carefully.
4) once all that is over type
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
And then the recovery must be flashed . you will get an output on cmd with the time taken to flash it too .
Then reboot into recovery and enjoy.

A succinct summary, Red Devil.
I always maintain, on a my Windows laptop, a folder called FastBootAdb, that contains the following files...
fastboot.exe
adb.exe
AdbWinApi.dll (needed by Windows)
AdbWinUsbApi.dll (needed by Windows)
If I wish to flash a new recovery.img (or a new boot.img - useful for certain kernels, that consists of nothing but a boot.img, like franco for example. Most custom kernels though, consist of more than just a boot.img, and need to flashed via TWRP or CWM, and can't just be fastboot flashed).
Anyway... I just copy the new recovery into this folder, rename it to recovery.img and run the fastboot command accordingly...
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
...similarly with the boot partition...
Code:
fastboot flash boot boot.img
To be honest, I'm puzzled why people feel the need to overcomplicate this very simple procedure with toolkits.
Rgrds,
Ged.

Thanks a million guys!
I will try this as soon as I get home tonight and let you know.

nourtsW escape
This did the trick!
Thanks again guys!

marcfeld said:
This did the trick!
Thanks again guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got it sorted.
With Android, there's always 'more than one way to skin a cat!'.
Rgrds,
Ged.

GedBlake said:
Glad you got it sorted.
With Android, there's always 'more than one way to skin a cat!'.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am so relieved, because I thought I had bricked it...

GedBlake said:
A succinct summary, Red Devil.
I always maintain, on a my Windows laptop, a folder called FastBootAdb, that contains the following files...
fastboot.exe
adb.exe
AdbWinApi.dll (needed by Windows)
AdbWinUsbApi.dll (needed by Windows)
If I wish to flash a new recovery.img (or a new boot.img - useful for certain kernels, that consists of nothing but a boot.img, like franco for example. Most custom kernels though, consist of more than just a boot.img, and need to flashed via TWRP or CWM, and can't just be fastboot flashed).
Anyway... I just copy the new recovery into this folder, rename it to recovery.img and run the fastboot command accordingly...
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
...similarly with the boot partition...
Code:
fastboot flash boot boot.img
To be honest, I'm puzzled why people feel the need to overcomplicate this very simple procedure with toolkits.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive done this exactly step by step and i getthe system cannot find the specified path i made a folder inside the windows folder i named it recovery in the command prompt i did cd windows then cd recovery then i typed fastboot devicesthen it said that

Help! Nexus 7 won't accept recovery flash image
I've tried all the above. I can get to the command prompt, and fastboot devices sees my device. I input the above commands to reflash, it starts with message "sending 'recovery' <xxx.xkb>' then nothing. It just sits there until I reset or reboot my nexus 7. Can anyone help?

Nexus Player Stuck In Bootloop

Hello,
I'm hoping to get some help with my Nexus Player that has been down since N Preview 1.
To preface this, yes I've been rooting and romming for years, I would not consider myself a "newb" in the slightest but no matter what I try, I can't get this working.
I enrolled in the dev program and did the OTA for Preview 1. It got pretty laggy so I went into settings and just had it reboot. Ever since I rebooted it, it's been stuck in a boot loop.
I tried the following things in this order using stock recovery only because for some reason I can't get it to flash a custom recovery (and yes, bootloader is unlocked):
1. Wipe cache via stock recovery
2. Factory reset
3. Flash factory marshmallow image via bootloader
4. Manually flash each partition separately
5. Wipe individual partitions and then reflash their respective images
6. Nexus Root Toolkit automated "Back to stock" feature
7. Flash Google's OTA Zip file
8. Ask for help on XDA.
Regardless of what I do or how I do it, I get errors in the command prompt when flashing via fastboot and when I try to do anything via stock recovery I get the error that you see in the video.
Any help would really be appreciated.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/RVctbNjKnRE

Here's a follow up video that shows the errors that I'm getting in detail.
Thanks again for your help.

Is there really anyone that can help me?

Which method did you use to try to flash a custom recovery? Nexus Root Toolkit fails for that function but I have had success when I use the fastboot flash recovery command manually. If you manage to get TWRP 3.0.2-0 to flash and reboot in to it, you can try flashing the latest system.img file from the recovery mode's GUI (after you've saved the file on to an external storage device).

Thanks. I'm know I tried to flash twrp manually at some point but I'll give it a shot. I may also try the "Boot into Custom Recovery" that a lot of the toolkits offer. Although, I'm pretty sure I've tried that in the past too.
I'll update with results.

GabbyWC said:
Which method did you use to try to flash a custom recovery? Nexus Root Toolkit fails for that function but I have had success when I use the fastboot flash recovery command manually. If you manage to get TWRP 3.0.2-0 to flash and reboot in to it, you can try flashing the latest system.img file from the recovery mode's GUI (after you've saved the file on to an external storage device).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright,
I tried flashing via fastboot and the command prompt completes and says it's finished but when I reboot to recovery I just get the standard Android recovery.
I tried locking the bootloader so I could then unlock it and force a factory reset but it wouldn't even allow me to lock it.
Again the command prompt made it seem like it worked just fine but it didn't actually do it.

Try the fastboot boot recovery (filename) command as an alternative. I suggest not using the current version of Nexus Root Toolkit for anything recovery-related when it comes to the Nexus Player. In other words, use the AndroidSDKSlim package and try things manually with the command prompt.

Okay. I'll give it a shot.

GabbyWC said:
Try the fastboot boot recovery (filename) command as an alternative. I suggest not using the current version of Nexus Root Toolkit for anything recovery-related when it comes to the Nexus Player. In other words, use the AndroidSDKSlim package and do things with the command line utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That command won't even work for me.
Fastboot boot recovery [file path to twrp]
https://goo.gl/photos/mYKGkxEfsaJE6gXK7

According to the attached picture, the actual command may be slightly different. Based on your most recent pictures, however, it seems that you may not be going through the manual process as I would expect. What I mean, for example, is:
1) Download AndroidSDKSlim.zip and extract it to your C: drive. Copy the twrp.img file to the platform-tools folder.
2) Use the search function of Windows 10 to load cmd.exe.
3) Navigate to the platform-tools directory by using the cd (directory path) command.
4) After you've navigated in to the platform-tools folder, try the recovery flash command I suggested earlier or the one shown in the attached screenshot.

GabbyWC said:
According to the attached picture, the actual command may be slightly different. Based on your most recent pictures, however, it seems that you may not be going through the manual process as I would expect. What I mean, for example, is:
1) Download AndroidSDKSlim.zip and extract it to your C: drive. Copy the twrp.img file to the platform-tools folder.
2) Use the search function of Windows 10 to load cmd.exe.
3) Navigate to the platform-tools directory by using the cd (directory path) command.
4) After you've navigated in to the platform-tools folder, try the recovery flash command I suggested earlier or the one shown in the attached screenshot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've uploaded what I did to YouTube.

Okay, I watched your video. The picture I attached in my previous post says to type in fastboot boot twrp.img whereas you still left in the word recovery before the file name.

GabbyWC said:
Okay, I watched your video. The picture I attached in my previous post says to type in fastboot boot twrp.img whereas you still left in the word recovery before the file name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy moly, didn't even notice! I'll try now and report back!

GabbyWC said:
Okay, I watched your video. The picture I attached in my previous post says to type in fastboot boot twrp.img whereas you still left in the word recovery before the file name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright! I tried it and instead of rebooting into a recovery, it just reboots the bootloader.

Which recovery does it boot in to if you then use the bottom button to access recovery mode immediately after this step?
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 PM ----------
If that still doesn't let you in to the custom recovery, I'll quote WugFresh on something else you can try with his Nexus Root Toolkit (if you haven't already done so).
2. The toolkit can be used to flash these factory packages, but if you are experiencing "system.img" not found errors, due to a possible issue with google's package - simply enable FORCE FLASH MODE, which is in the toolkits main options menu (just make sure you have selected the correct device before flashing).
3. If you experienced any weirdness or you device is messed up, simply use "Flash Stock + Unroot' with "Softbrick mode" to restore your device back to stock (you can also use this to flash Lollipop directly - which, as I just mentioned - may be good to enable force flash mode first).

See next post.

GabbyWC said:
Which recovery does it boot in to if you then use the bottom button to access recovery mode immediately after this step?
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 PM ----------
If that still doesn't let you in to the custom recovery, I'll quote WugFresh on something else you can try with his Nexus Root Toolkit (if you haven't already done so).
2. The toolkit can be used to flash these factory packages, but if you are experiencing "system.img" not found errors, due to a possible issue with google's package - simply enable FORCE FLASH MODE, which is in the toolkits main options menu (just make sure you have selected the correct device before flashing).
3. If you experienced any weirdness or you device is messed up, simply use "Flash Stock + Unroot' with "Softbrick mode" to restore your device back to stock (you can also use this to flash Lollipop directly - which, as I just mentioned - may be good to enable force flash mode first).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get the stock Android recovery if I reboot into recovery immediately after that step using the hardware button.
Also, I've tried the force flash through NRT, I've tried manually flashing each image via NRT (and via command prompt via fastboot). It seems to be able to write every single partition EXCEPT the system partition, and clearly it's having issues getting a recovery to stick too.

It's unfortunate that none of these troubleshooting ideas has worked for you. If a preview image of Android N caused this, I'm starting to think that a factory image of a stable Android N release may be necessary to fully flash the device.

GabbyWC said:
It's unfortunate that none of these troubleshooting ideas has worked for you. If a preview image of Android N caused this, I'm starting to think that a factory image of a stable Android N release may be necessary to fully flash the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that will work. Regardless of what image I'm flashing that shouldn't change the fact that I can't write to the system partition at all or that a recovery won't stick.

GabbyWC said:
It's unfortunate that none of these troubleshooting ideas has worked for you. If a preview image of Android N caused this, I'm starting to think that a factory image of a stable Android N release may be necessary to fully flash the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I've waited all this time to flash the stable Nougat build on this Nexus Player and I'm still seeing all the same errors.
When I boot into stock recovery and "adb sideload" the update I get errors saying "unable to mount cache" and when I try to flash via fastboot I get errors saying it can't write the system partition.
I wish we could get some more attention to this thread, this is beginning to seem like it's impossible...

[GUIDE] Unlock/Flash/Root for the Pixel 2 (walleye)

Introduction
Hello everyone, this is a guide to assist you with customizing your Pixel 2! I will be going over installing fastboot and adb, unlocking your bootloader, how to flash the factory images for clean flashes and upgrades, and how to root. Please feel free to ask any questions if you need clarification. Enjoy!
This information has been distilled from Google's official factory image site and the Magisk thread.
Installing fastboot and adb
Thankfully, Google has provided just adb, fastboot, and systrace as a simple zip file, making this process super easy. You MUST be on at LEAST 26.0.2 for the commands in this guide to work. When in doubt, grab the latest copy and install them using the following instructions.
SDK Platform-Tools for Windows
SDK Platform-Tools for Mac
SDK Platform-Tools for Linux
Windows:
Unzip the folder somewhere on your hard drive.
Go to the folder containing the adb and fastboot files and type "cmd" in the path bar at the top.
A command prompt should open with the current folder showing on the prompt.
Type the following commands:
Code:
adb --version
fastboot --version
You should see some information appear. If that is the case, you were successful!
Mac/Linux:
Unzip the folder somewhere on your hard drive.
Navigate to that folder with your terminal.
Run the following commands:
Code:
sudo install adb dmtracedump e2fsdroid etc1tool fastboot hprof-conv make_f2fs mke2fs mke2fs.conf sload_f2fs sqlite3 /usr/local/bin
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib64
sudo install lib64/libc++.so /usr/local/lib64
Type the following commands:
Code:
adb --version
fastboot --version
You should see the version information, along with telling you they are installed to /usr/local/bin. If so, you were successful!
Unlocking the bootloader
WARNING: This WILL wipe your entire phone. Please make copies or backups of any important data. This can also go wrong rendering your device inoperable. Proceed with caution.
On your phone, open Settings, navigate to "System" then "About phone", and tap on the build number 7 times.
Go one menu up, click on "Developer options", and turn on USB debugging and OEM unlocking.
In your terminal, type the following command:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Run the following command:
Code:
fastboot flashing unlock
Follow the prompts on your device then reboot!
Flashing factory images
NOTE #1: You CANNOT downgrade factory images. Google has prevented users from doing so to keep them safe from vulernabilities that were patched. You should only upgrade or reinstall the current image.
NOTE #2: If you have mounted /system as rw at any point (like in TWRP), you must upgrade using the factory image method. OTAs will fail because they cannot verify the integrity of the disk since its verity data has been changed.
NOTE #3: Flashing the factory images requires an unlocked bootloader. Flashing the OTA zips does not (but if anything goes wrong, you may not be able to recover without an RMA).
Updating to a new release (factory image):
Download the latest factory image from Google's website.
Reboot into the bootloader:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Unzip the factory image.
Inside you will see a bootloader image, a radio image, an image zip file, and a couple of flash scripts.
If you are on Windows, open the "flash-all.bat" file in a text editor. If you are on Mac or Linux, open the "flash-all.sh" instead.
Remove the "-w" flag before the fastboot command towards the end of the file. This will prevent fastboot from formatting your device.
Run the flash all script! Open a command prompt, navigate to the folder with the script, and run one of the following commands:
Windows:
Code:
flash-all
Mac/Linux:
Code:
./flash-all.sh
Reboot once it is finished!
Updating to a new release (OTA zip):
Download the latest OTA zip from Google's website
Reboot into recovery:
Code:
adb reboot recovery
Hold down the power button and push volume up
Select "Apply update from ADB"
Run the following command from the folder containing the OTA zip:
Code:
adb sideload <zip_name>.zip
Reboot once it is finished!
Clean flashing a factory image (wipe everything):
Download the latest factory image from Google's website
Reboot into the bootloader:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Unzip the factory image.
Run the flash all script! Open a command prompt, navigate to the folder with the script, and run one of the following commands:
Windows:
Code:
flash-all
Mac/Linux:
Code:
./flash-all.sh
Reboot once it is finished!
Rooting with Magisk
NOTE #4: This section assumes you are not going to install TWRP. If you are, skip to the next section and just flash the latest Magisk zip after installing TWRP.
Download the Magisk zip from the official thread and install the manager from the zip.
Grab a boot image to patch (either the one from the latest factory image or a custom kernel one) and push it to your device:
Code:
adb push <path_to_file> /sdcard/Download
Open Magisk Manager and click the Install button.
Click "Install" at the first prompt then choose "Patch Boot Image File". A file manager will pop up.
Select the boot image you want to patch and let Magisk Manager patch it.
Pull it off your device:
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/MagiskManager/patched_boot.img
Reboot into the bootloader:
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
Flash the boot image and reboot.
Code:
fastboot flash boot patched_boot.img
fastboot reboot
Open Magisk Manager and you should be rooted!
Installing TWRP
NOTE #5: If you just want to temporarily boot TWRP to flash Magisk and your custom kernel, you can just skip flashing the installer zip in this process.
NOTE #6: TWRP can be unstable at times given the way that security has been set up on this device (lack of decryption, failing to boot, etc).
Download both the TWRP image and zip installer from the official site.
Temporarily boot the TWRP image.
Code:
fastboot boot <path_to_twrp_image>
Flash the TWRP installer zip.
Reinstall Magisk and your custom kernel if you had them.
Reboot and profit!
Common issues
Outdated fastboot/adb: This device requires the latest fastboot and adb binaries to work properly. A lot of common quick adb/fastboot installation guides link to installers that are old. Please manually install the latest using the information at the beginning of the thread!
Using a USB-3.0 or USB-C port: Some newer USB ports do not work with fastboot. Issues manifest as weird errors during a flash. Use a different USB cable/port.
Closing statements
If there are any procedures you would like to see added (like flashing a custom kernel or booting TWRP), I am happy to add them if requested. Also, when requesting help, please be as specific as possible where you get confused. I want this guide to be clear as possible.

Reserved

Reserved

Stuck on this step
Run the flash all script! Open a command prompt, navigate to the folder with the script, and run one of the following commands:
How do I navigate in command prompt? When I typed flash-all, it said it is not a internal command etc. When I dragged and dropped flash-all into the command prompt, it said C:\Users\W Balls\Downloads\SAMPWND_SYSTEMROOT_ADB_FILES>"C:\Users\****** Jim\Downloads\walleye-opd1.170816.025-factory-4752baae\walleye-opd1.170816.025\flash-all.bat"
error: cannot load 'bootloader-walleye-mw8998-002.0059.00.img'
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [ 0.004s]
finished. total time: 0.004s
error: cannot load 'radio-walleye-g8998-00122-1708311414.img'
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [ 0.010s]
finished. total time: 0.015s
W/ ( 6448): Unable to open 'image-walleye-opd1.170816.025.zip': No such file or directory
error: failed to open zip file 'image-walleye-opd1.170816.025.zip': I/O Error
Press any key to exit...

You are calling the flash-all.bat out of a differende directory (C:\Users\W Balls\Downloads\SAMPWND_SYSTEMROOT_ADB_FILES) therefore it can't find the system image files since they are located under C:\U sers\****** Jim\Downloads\walleye-opd1.170816.025-factory-4752baae\walleye-opd1.170816.025. Make sure you extract your image to that directory, open up a command promt and navigate to it with "cd C:\Users\W Balls\Downloads\SAMPWND_SYSTEMROOT_ADB_FILES" and call the flash-all.bat from there.
Check out this for basic command line stuff https://www.digitalcitizen.life/command-prompt-how-use-basic-commands
---------- Post added at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------
I tried this and it seems the magisk manager isn't able to download magisk on its own at least on my device:
Code:
DownloadManager: [356] Stop requested with status HTTP_DATA_ERROR: Unable to resolve host "forum.xda-developers.com": No address associated with hostname
DownloadManager: [356] Finished with status WAITING_TO_RETRY
EDIT: Seems like DNS66 was blocking the download patching was scucessfull now.
This is weird, can't I make 2 posts in a row??

Anybody figure out a solution for flashing when on MacOs High Sierra? Platform tools 26.0 1 was a fix for high Sierra, yet 26.0.2 seemed to have lost that commit, so fastboot doesn't work at all. Wondering if it's safe to use 26.0.1 on the pixel 2

nathanchance said:
Flashing factory images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, thanks for putting this together. I've rooted using your method.
Regarding OTA updates: I've read that if we've rooted, we will need to un-root before we can receive an OTA update. Is this always true, or only if we've installed a custom recovery like TWRP? It would be really handy to have a guide on how to un-root, update, then re-root.
Related - let's say that for whatever reason, we have to flash an OTA update manually, rather than actually getting it OTA. Do we lose root by doing so?
Thanks!

JayBlack_686 said:
First, thanks for putting this together. I've rooted using your method.
Regarding OTA updates: I've read that if we've rooted, we will need to un-root before we can receive an OTA update. Is this always true, or only if we've installed a custom recovery like TWRP? It would be really handy to have a guide on how to un-root, update, then re-root.
Related - let's say that for whatever reason, we have to flash an OTA update manually, rather than actually getting it OTA. Do we lose root by doing so?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Magisk's OTA section should clear up some of your doubts: https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/docs/tips.md#ota-installation-tips

nathanchance said:
Magisk's OTA section should clear up some of your doubts: https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/docs/tips.md#ota-installation-tips
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks really straightforward, thank you! Might be cool to point to it in the OP. I bet I'm not the only one who was only vaguely aware of the impact that rooting has on how we get OTAs. Then again, maybe everyone else wants to run custom ROMs.

JayBlack_686 said:
Looks really straightforward, thank you! Might be cool to point to it in the OP. I bet I'm not the only one who was only vaguely aware of the impact that rooting has on how we get OTAs. Then again, maybe everyone else wants to run custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point, I'll add it here in a bit
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

OTA vs factory image
Howdy,
really appreciate @nathanchance for putting this together. Would you mind adding a few lines about the differences between OTA and factory images. As a layman i haven't got the foggiest idea which route to go and would appreciate some wisdom. Thanks!

Thank you so much for this guide but can anybody please explain how you can tell which image to patch ?
I am unable to get this to work magisk is showing this message: stock kernel cannot be patched please use a custom kernel
i downloaded: walleye-opd1.170816.010-factory-63083164.zip
unsure as to whether this is correct for my phone as they are quite a few and its unclear how to tell
i have a pixel 2 from the UK that was factory unlocked and i unlocked the boot loader
what am i doing wrong please help

tango650 said:
Howdy,
really appreciate @nathanchance for putting this together. Would you mind adding a few lines about the differences between OTA and factory images. As a layman i haven't got the foggiest idea which route to go and would appreciate some wisdom. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The primary difference is that the OTA can be flashed on an unlocked bootloader and is designed not to wipe your phone.
UpGrad3 said:
Thank you so much for this guide but can anybody please explain how you can tell which image to patch ?
I am unable to get this to work magisk is showing this message: stock kernel cannot be patched please use a custom kernel
i downloaded: walleye-opd1.170816.010-factory-63083164.zip
unsure as to whether this is correct for my phone as they are quite a few and its unclear how to tell
i have a pixel 2 from the UK that was factory unlocked and i unlocked the boot loader
what am i doing wrong please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you supplying the boot image to Magisk? Show me a screenshot of what Magisk says when it tries to patch.

Thanks @nathanchance for this. I'm not a technical person, but can follow directions. This is the 4th phone that I've rooted following directions of some very smart and talented people here on XDA. I don't do this kind of thing everyday, and am not up on programming or coding or whatever you guys call it now days.
All I ended up doing is taking the OTA from Google to the .025. Then followed the Magisk rooting instructions to get root. I had Unlocked it the first day I turned the phone on, I haven't put my SIM in yet, but will play around with it a little more, and finish setting it up,
Again, thanks for the GUIDE to this Pixel 2 phone.

nathanchance said:
The primary difference is that the OTA can be flashed on an unlocked bootloader and is designed not to wipe your phone.
Are you supplying the boot image to Magisk? Show me a screenshot of what Magisk says when it tries to patch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what i get. I have even flashed the whole factory image to the phone and still get this

@UpGrad3 you need to extract the boot.img out of your zip (walleye-opd1.170816.010-factory-63083164.zip) file and process this one, I'll guess you tried with the whole zip?? Also you can "attach" pictures to the post and not include the full res with the image tags...

@drmason I did extract the img from the zip. I followed the instructions exactly which is why im so confused as to what is going on ? Ok sorry i will do in future.
Amended post

UpGrad3 said:
@drmason I did extract the img from the zip. I followed the instructions exactly which is why im so confused as to what is going on ? Ok sorry i will do in future.
Amended post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got the boot.img from the zip file that was inside the zip file?
from https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74429474&postcount=90
Step by step
1. Download and extract factory image. Mine was taimen-opd1.170816.010-factory-c796ddb4.zip
***2. Once extracted go into the folder and extract image-taimen-opd1.170816.010.zip.
There you will find the boot.img.
---------- Post added at 08:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:27 AM ----------
nathanchance said:
Good point, I'll add it here in a bit
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@nathanchance, one more suggestion for the OP: at one point I was looking at using the stock boot img and couldn't figure out how to get it. Later, I found the below post, where the first two steps are essentially "open the zip inside the zip for the boot.img" to extract the stock boot image. Maybe it's really obvious, but I didn't get it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74429474&postcount=90

@UpGrad3 you are using the latest Magisk Manager 5.4.1 for this?

JayBlack_686 said:
You got the boot.img from the zip file that was inside the zip file?
from https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74429474&postcount=90
Step by step
1. Download and extract factory image. Mine was taimen-opd1.170816.010-factory-c796ddb4.zip
***2. Once extracted go into the folder and extract image-taimen-opd1.170816.010.zip.
There you will find the boot.img.
---------- Post added at 08:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:27 AM ----------
this is where i was going wrong i was using a file that had bootloader in the name rather than going into the second zip and finding boot
@nathanchance, one more suggestion for the OP: at one point I was looking at using the stock boot img and couldn't figure out how to get it. Later, I found the below post, where the first two steps are essentially "open the zip inside the zip for the boot.img" to extract the stock boot image. Maybe it's really obvious, but I didn't get it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74429474&postcount=90
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
drmason said:
@UpGrad3 you are using the latest Magisk Manager 5.4.1 for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i was
although im now stuck on the bootscreen with the G any suggestions ?
Fixed.
incase it happens to anyone else. i restored the factory image again then started the root procedure. im now rooted and fully working