Database Users

[GUIDE] Root & recovery WITHOUT oem unlock & wipe (2.3.2 & older, plus now 2.3)

[GUIDE] Root & recovery WITHOUT oem unlock & wipe (2.3.2 & older, plus now 2.3)
UPDATE #2 - Fitchman has reported successful root and rom flash without unlocking the bootloader by using Ginger Break. Full details in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13236136&postcount=135
UPDATE - IMPORTANT: This method does not work with Android 2.3.3. Search the forum or this post in this thread for a way to update to 2.3.3 and root without unlocking if you haven't updated yet.
Alternatively, use this method on 2.3.2 and lower, then use titanium to back up everything, store it on your laptop (along with all your sdcard's data), then do the oem unlock step first and then continue from there with the rest of the guide.
Not my original idea, but a consolidation of a discussion between inakipaz and shrivelfig and myself in another thread and being posted here for easier finding by future root-seekers.
Shrivelfig's tested the method to re-root a previously rooted pone with a re-locked bootloader, and inakipaz has done it on a phone that's never had the bootloader unlocked.
The advantage here is that those who chose not to root when they first got the phone won't lose any app data or sdcard data like the methods that have you unlock the bootloader do. The disadvantage is your bootloader remains locked, which may prevent you flashing certain things in the future.
edit: see ravidavi's posts below; he's shown you can even flash custom roms that are clockwork compatible while having a locked bootloader with this method.
Download these two files:
clockwork recovery v3.0.0.5 or clockwork recovery v3.0.0.5 mirror if above not working
su-2.3.6.1-ef-signed.zip
Koush's blog for the latest clockwork updates (find Nexus S in the list).
Also, if you don't already have the necessary android sdk and drivers on your computer, get them from here: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and install them. Some Windows users report better luck just installing pdanet. There's a decent guide for Windows users on installing the sdk here.
Place the recovery file on your laptop where you can access it while using the sdk fastboot commands.
Place the su zip one in the top level folder of your sdcard.
Put your phone in fastboot mode (power off, then hold volume up and power key at the same time until the phone boots to a white screen).
Use fastboot to boot the phone into the clockwork recovery:
Code:
fastboot boot recovery-clockwork-3.0.0.5-crespo.img
If you're not sure how to get fastboot working on your computer, follow the excellent instructions that Allgamer gives in this GUIDE, but don't do the oem unlock command!
Once in clockwork, flash the su file to the phone by following these steps below.
To navigate in the clockwork recovery, you use the volume keys to scroll up/down through the menus, and the on/off button to select what's highlighted.
(note: some report success without these first 3 steps, others don't get a succesful root without, I recommend doing them)
select mounts and storage.
select mount /system
select go back
select install ZIP from sdcard
select choose zip from sdcard
select su-version#-signed.zip file you downloaded earlier
select yes - install su-version#-signed.zip
confirm it says "Install from sdcard complete"
select go back
select reboot
After the phone reboots, you should be rooted, with a locked bootloader, and none of your data erased.
That said, never hurts to have a backup of your precious data on the sdcard that you can copy over to the computer.
This method doesn't install busybox, so go to the Market and download/install busybox directly, or get Titanium Backup and check it's "problems?" button and let it install busybox for you. There's also an app called root checker that supposedly verifies you have a working root on your phone.
Once you have a successful root installed, I'd suggest getting back into clockwork recovery and running a nandroid back up from clockwork's backs and restore menu. Then copy that file from your sdcard (in the /clockwork/backups folder) to your laptop for safe-keeping and an easy full system restore to a known working config.
Usual disclaimers about I'm not responsible for damage to your phone or loss of data apply. Use any rooting method at your own risk.
Thanks and all the real credit go to inakipaz, shrivelfig and allgamer, and of course to koush, and ChainsDD for the superuser apk.

Worked perfectly. I used fastboot from my Mac (outlined in the stickied Mac Root thread). Root checker verifies that I have root.
And by the way, my phone and I are both root/ROM cherry. First android phone, first time rooter. Will work up the guts to flash a ROM soon, but of course there's no chance of doing THAT without unlocking the bootloader.
Thanks to all involved in this!

yeah! good work!

Srsly. Awsom.
Someone sticky this....

Question: When you do the fastboot boot command, does that overwrite the stock recovery with Clockwork? Or is it just booting into the recovery img without actually flashing it?
I would think this method also gives you a way to back up before unlocking the bootloader.
1) fastboot boot into Clockwork as described here
2) Full nandroid backup from Clockwork
3) Mount "SD" from Clockwork over USB, copy everything to computer (since it wipes everything)
4) Go back and unlock the bootloader as usual, resulting in a full wipe
5) Flash Clockwork Recovery again through whichever method
6) Mount "SD" from Clockwork over USB, copy the backup back to phone
7) Restore nandroid
And now you've unlocked the bootloader without amnesia =)
ravidavi said:
And by the way, my phone and I are both root/ROM cherry. First android phone, first time rooter. Will work up the guts to flash a ROM soon, but of course there's no chance of doing THAT without unlocking the bootloader.
Thanks to all involved in this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you need to unlock the bootloader to flash a ROM? Now that you have root, try installing ROM Manager from the Market, and see if it lets you flash custom recovery with bootloader still locked. If so, then yes you can install a ROM!
Also, the fact that you're able to boot into Clockwork using "fastboot boot" - that also means you can install a ROM .zip file right from there.

cmstlist said:
Question: When you do the fastboot boot command, does that overwrite the stock recovery with Clockwork? Or is it just booting into the recovery img without actually flashing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"fastboot boot" only launches the recovery no unlock needed. "fastboot flash" flash the recovery

cmstlist said:
Are you sure you need to unlock the bootloader to flash a ROM? Now that you have root, try installing ROM Manager from the Market, and see if it lets you flash custom recovery with bootloader still locked. If so, then yes you can install a ROM!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked! Here's the process I used, starting from a completely unmodded Nexus S.
1: Use the method detailed here to gain root access without unlocking the bootloader.
2: Using a root-enabled file explorer (I used Super Manager), rename install-recovery.sh (in /etc) to install-recovery.sh.old . You'll need to remount as r/w to do this. NOTE: You don't *have* to do this step, but if you don't, then you can only use clockwork once after which it will be erased on reboot.
3: Using ROM Manager, install Clockwork Recovery.
4: Pleasure yourself, because your bootloader is still locked and nothing was erased.
I have yet to try actually flashing a custom ROM. Does this mean that it can also be done without unlocking bootloader?

Well damn, whaddaya know. I just flashed MoDaCo r10 without unlocking the bootloader, and without losing any personal data on /sdcard.
I figure someone at XDA should like this.
Pretty much followed distortedloop's advice. Starting from a fully stock Nexus S with Android 2.3.2 (GRH78C):
* Root using the method on this thread.
* Rename install-recovery.su to install-recovery-old.su. (in /bin)
* Install Clockwork Recovery from ROM Manager.
* Download whatever ROM you want (compatible with Clockwork), rename to update.zip, and copy to sdcard.
* Reboot into Clockwork.
* Wipe cache, reset to factory (IF REQUIRED BY NEW ROM). This was my first install of MoDaCo, and that requires it. This step does NOT erase your personal files on sdcard, just all android-related files.
* Install update.zip from Clockwork.
* Continue self-pleasuring ... you now have a custom rom without touching your bootloader or wiping your personal sdcard data.
Maybe it's just because I'm a noob here, but it seems to me that this is a BIG deal. All root/ROM installation methods that I've seen so far have required an unlocked bootloader. This seems to be the first time a Nexus S has been unlocked and custom-ROM'd without unlocking the bootloader and wiping the entire /sdcard.
Ravi

Yeah, it's pretty clear that the unlock the bootloader step isn't necessary for most of what we want to do. Just a habit from earlier devices, perhaps?
What's really odd is now we have to wonder what's the purpose of the oem unlock erasing your sdcard? Speculation was that it was a security feature to keep people from accessing your data if they stole your phone; they couldn't flash something on the phone to get access, but clearly they can. Fastboot into a custom recovery and you own the phone.
Perhaps this is a security hole Google will try to fix some day?
At any rate, I wish we'd discovered this sooner, it would have saved several people some grief in having to lose saved games (Angry Birds!) when they finally decided to root.

distortedloop said:
Yeah, it's pretty clear that the unlock the bootloader step isn't necessary for most of what we want to do. Just a habit from earlier devices, perhaps?
...
At any rate, I wish we'd discovered this sooner, it would have saved several people some grief in having to lose saved games (Angry Birds!) when they finally decided to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You say "for most of what we want to do." Could you think of a case where you would need to unlock it now? It's now shown to be unnecessary for rooting and installing custom recovery/ROM.
Is there any way to get the word out? This thread isn't stickied, and all the stickied threads on rooting & custom ROMs currently assert that you have to unlock the bootloader.
Ravi

ravidavi said:
You say "for most of what we want to do." Could you think of a case where you would need to unlock it now? It's now shown to be unnecessary for rooting and installing custom recovery/ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking that something like Superboot might need to have the bootloader unlocked, since it replaces the boot image, right? But I'm not sure.
ravidavi said:
Is there any way to get the word out? This thread isn't stickied, and all the stickied threads on rooting & custom ROMs currently assert that you have to unlock the bootloader.
Ravi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's only a page and a half of posts in the development section right now, so it's not likely to disappear any time soon, but you could ask a mod (theimpaler747 is ours) via PM to sticky it. I thought about asking myself, but seemed a bit tacky to ask for my own thread.
Meanwhile, I'd been linking people to various posts I'd made in other threads suggesting this might work, but once inakipaz and shrivelfig confirmed it, I'm just now pointing people here. I just hope people see this before wiping their phones unnecessarily.
Really, the other guides should just be updated to skip the oem unlock step. That's really the only different thing we're doing here.

i'm just waiting for more people "newbies" to confirm this actually works for them, before making it a sticky

In theory if you really really screw up your phone, you might need fastboot flash in order to recover it. But if fastboot also lets you boot into an img recovery... then you still have a recovery route that doesn't require unlocking.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I know it's a noob question and all since all you're doing is flashing a custom recovery but will you still be able to get OTA updates after doing this as well?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

qreffie said:
I know it's a noob question and all since all you're doing is flashing a custom recovery but will you still be able to get OTA updates after doing this as well?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes because you still have the original recovery installed

distortedloop said:
Perhaps this is a security hole Google will try to fix some day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be my guess.
But how? Is it possible to plug this with just a software update? Time will show, I guess.
This (security hole) should also make it possible to do perfect out-of-the-box OS backups. And restores. The problem is that nobody's going to do a backup without playing with their shiny new toy first.

shrivelfig said:
This would be my guess.
But how? Is it possible to plug this with just a software update? Time will show, I guess.
This (security hole) should also make it possible to do perfect out-of-the-box OS backups. And restores. The problem is that nobody's going to do a backup without playing with their shiny new toy first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that the Nexus One does not allow this "fastboot boot" on a locked bootloader. Maybe this was just an oversight?
It is entirely possible to plug this with a software update: Samsung/Google could issue a signed update that includes a bootloader upgrade. This has been done many times by HTC for example.

I can confirm that this method works, without unlocking the BL or erasing the SD part.

This is pretty cool. I wish I new about this before I unlocked the bootloader days after I received my phone. I too wonder if this was intentional or an oversite. Google did want this phone to be for developers, but like other's said, this is also a bit of a security hole. The wiping of the sd card on unlock would protect the person if the phone was stolen, like if there was confidential corporate stuff on there. Even if you password protect your phone, someone could fastboot clockwork, mount the sd card and retrieve all the information that was on there.

cmstlist said:
It is entirely possible to plug this with a software update: Samsung/Google could issue a signed update that includes a bootloader upgrade. This has been done many times by HTC for example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's also been done by Samsung with some versions of the Galaxy S line (some of the "leaked" roms, and even one official kies push (IIRC) changed the bootloader, causing people the ability to use 3 button mode for Odin access, and causing others to lose it.

[Q] stock rooted Lollipop OTA fails?

All,
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. I have a Nexus 4 that I rooted and installed CWM recovery on, but I never installed any new kernels, ROMs, or radios. I'm currently on 4.4.4 and I want to upgrade to Lollipop. The OTA upgrade failed. So I tried returning to stock recovery and doing both the OTA and adb sideloading the OTA zip. Both fail.
The error message is "Package expects build fingerprint of google/occam/mako:4.4.4/KTU84P/1227136:user/release-keys or google/occam/mako:5.0/LRX21T/1576899:user/release-keys; this device has google/occam/mako:4.4/KRT160/907817:user/release-keys." (But I definitely have 4.4.4 on my phone, not 4.4.0.)
The extra difficulty is that I really, really do not want to wipe my phone. I have a lot of apps with a lot of configuration and other user data. So is there anything I can do? I guess I should try unrooting somehow? Or is there some other zip I can download that, through some type of recovery, will install the OTA without doing this check and also without wiping me?
Thanks again!

moriarty00 said:
All,
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. I have a Nexus 4 that I rooted and installed CWM recovery on, but I never installed any new kernels, ROMs, or radios. I'm currently on 4.4.4 and I want to upgrade to Lollipop. The OTA upgrade failed. So I tried returning to stock recovery and doing both the OTA and adb sideloading the OTA zip. Both fail.
The error message is "Package expects build fingerprint of google/occam/mako:4.4.4/KTU84P/1227136:user/release-keys or google/occam/mako:5.0/LRX21T/1576899:user/release-keys; this device has google/occam/mako:4.4/KRT160/907817:user/release-keys." (But I definitely have 4.4.4 on my phone, not 4.4.0.)
The extra difficulty is that I really, really do not want to wipe my phone. I have a lot of apps with a lot of configuration and other user data. So is there anything I can do? I guess I should try unrooting somehow? Or is there some other zip I can download that, through some type of recovery, will install the OTA without doing this check and also without wiping me?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA wants complete stock and obviously it doesn't think so about your phone. One option could be to back up to the cloud or some place outside the phone with TiBu (or whatever backup app you trust), then flash lollipop and try restore from TiBu. Another option would be to unroot (Supersu has an option to completely unroot), then retry.

Actually, I figured out what works! This was on a stock rooted device with stock recovery, but I bet it would work with custom recovery too. Instructions modified from https://pay.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comments/1qny3f/howto_update_your_stock_w_lte_nexus_4_without/ .
1. Download the image you want from https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images . Extract it, extract the .zip file inside it too, and collect all of the .img files into one folder.
2. adb reboot bootloader (and wait until the bootloader comes up)
3. fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-mako-makoz30f.img (or whatever file has a similar name, if you got a different image than I did)
4. fastboot reboot-bootloader (and wait until the bootloader comes back up)
5. fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1701.04.img (or whatever file has a similar name, if you got a different image than I did)
6. fastboot reboot-bootloader (and wait until the bootloader comes back up)
7. fastboot flash boot boot.img
8. fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
9. fastboot flash system system.img
10. fastboot format cache
11. fastboot reboot
12. Don't panic unless you've seen the startup animation for at least 15 minutes without anything else happening.
I lost root, but I imagine re-custom-recoverying and re-rooting won't be any harder than the first time around.

Hi moriarty00,
I'm going to try the same procedure, thank you for posting this.
Can you confirm that your data and app are safe after the upgrade?

moriarty00 said:
Actually, I figured out what works! This was on a stock rooted device with stock recovery, but I bet it would work with custom recovery too. Instructions modified from https://pay.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comments/1qny3f/howto_update_your_stock_w_lte_nexus_4_without/ .
1. Download the image you want from https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images . Extract it, extract the .zip file inside it too, and collect all of the .img files into one folder.
2. adb reboot bootloader (and wait until the bootloader comes up)
3. fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-mako-makoz30f.img (or whatever file has a similar name, if you got a different image than I did)
4. fastboot reboot-bootloader (and wait until the bootloader comes back up)
5. fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1701.04.img (or whatever file has a similar name, if you got a different image than I did)
6. fastboot reboot-bootloader (and wait until the bootloader comes back up)
7. fastboot flash boot boot.img
8. fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
9. fastboot flash system system.img
10. fastboot format cache
11. fastboot reboot
12. Don't panic unless you've seen the startup animation for at least 15 minutes without anything else happening.
I lost root, but I imagine re-custom-recoverying and re-rooting won't be any harder than the first time around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, a 12-step program
I simply rolled back my changes, and applying the OTA was as simple as pressing the "restart and install" button Here are some steps:
I used the app Flashify from Play Store to flash stock 4.4.4 recovery. I downloaded the stock factory image from google's own site (this one), used 7zip to extract the archives (tgz and tar), found "recovery.img" and transfered that to my phone. Then chose that file in Flashify.
Uninstalled all apps that made system changes, like Xposed framework and mods, BetterBatteryStats etc.
Removed Root with SuperSU cleanup function
Rebooted for good measure and apply OTA from notification - wait an hour or two for it to complete
Profit (do we still say that on the internet? Getting old here...)
I don't know if certain ways to get root will break the OTA. I used towel-root, and apparently SuperSU was able to undo that completely.

DrDruge said:
Hi moriarty00,
I'm going to try the same procedure, thank you for posting this.
Can you confirm that your data and app are safe after the upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, perfectly safe! Just make sure not to flash other images, like userdata.img.

venu123 said:
OTA wants complete stock and obviously it doesn't think so about your phone. One option could be to back up to the cloud or some place outside the phone with TiBu (or whatever backup app you trust), then flash lollipop and try restore from TiBu. Another option would be to unroot (Supersu has an option to completely unroot), then retry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I unroot with Supersu how do I get root back?

moriarty00 said:
Yup, perfectly safe! Just make sure not to flash other images, like userdata.img.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Unfortunately the steps did not work for me, maybe I had some irreversible modifications or I had followed a different rooting procedure.
Or maybe I made a mistake in the upgrading steps.
Anyway, I had to flash the whole ROM and now everything is working fine.

Hey!
Basically I have similar problem with upgrading from 4.4.4 to 5.0 using OTA. Log from TWRP says:
Package expects build fingerprint of google/occam/mako:4.4.4/KTU84P/1227136:user/release-keys or google/occam/mako:5.0/LRX21T/1576899:user/release-keys; this device has google/occam/mako:4.3/JWR66V/737497:user/release-keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone has been rooted using Nexus Root Toolkit. And as long as there wouldn't be a problem with flashing using adb and wiping all data, there is one setback... My nexus is somehow broken. Communication via USB does not work, at all. Neither phone nor PC sees other device. Certified LG service centre nearby said that it is problem with main board, so generally repair is unprofitable.
So question is: How do I update to 5.0 and then root, without USB connection to my PC?

Lolipop OTA capture

Update 2 after some fiddling I found that after flashing Pico Capps hdxposed is needed to make the play store work on this build http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2618158
Update 1 New lolipop ota, this appears to be based on lolipop 5.1 and as such requires xposed unofficial by romracer if you want to use xposed Xposed for 5.0 would not flash for me. Same upgrade steps as before just this one instead of the bottom one and change your xposed package
https://mega.nz/#!i5RRCKQZ!NC291mcIo-2yzr23j8Vg_mLZ11ECql4lL_xen6xwXuM
update-kindle-devpreview_ariel-20.5.2.2_user_522041550.bin

siegesoldier said:
this is the developer preview, sorry if the title is a little misleading. Thanks to http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/general/how-to-upgrade-to-4-5-4-twrp-root-t3141648
Use at your own risk.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/38i2lqq5p...review_ariel-20.5.2.0_user_520033250.bin?dl=0
Hopefully someone can figure out how to make this thing boot when flashed from TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Important update, the instructions below are not to be followed !!! They are historical ...
Same drill as in here :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/general/how-to-upgrade-to-4-5-4-twrp-root-t3141648
Replace the original META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script with the one from the zip below. Remove "images" directory. This will ensure that your bootloader stays 4.5.3 and unlocked. When TWRP asks to add root, say yes.
If for some reason you lose TWRP (recovery), reflash it from within 5.0. Since you have root, no biggie. I'll play with this a bit too, but later.

I tried yours and tried my attempt. I'm getting a bootloop with both, let me know if you have any luck. TWRP protects itself from getting replaced.

siegesoldier said:
I tried yours and tried my attempt. I'm getting a bootloop with both, let me know if you have any luck. TWRP protects itself from getting replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Does it flash successfully? Does it ask to install root? If it does and bootloops, the bootloader probably needs to be updated too. You could try to flash the new bootloader (just grab my uboot_4.5.3.zip, replace both files in /images, and re-zip).
The trick is that you install Lollipop, install root, and install the new bootloader separately. It should boot OK and you should have root in 5, but you'll lose TWRP (it won't be able to boot since the bootloader will probably be signed). To get TWRP back you'll need to downgrade to 4.5.3

bibikalka said:
OK. Does it flash successfully? Does it ask to install root? If it does and bootloops, the bootloader probably needs to be updated too. You could try to flash the new bootloader (just grab my uboot_4.5.3.zip, replace both files in /images, and re-zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it flashes successfully and asks to install root. Looks like I'll be trying that tonight, thanks!
Edit we have a winner.
Flashed lolipop without bootloader
Installed su
Reboot to recovery
Installed superuser flashable zip
Flashed uboot file with lolipop images folder
Fire has booted and is currently doing the very long lolipop upgrading screen

Currently booting to home screen but then back to the fire screen, etc. Probably my fault for not clearing the cache or a factory reset. I'm not at a computer at the moment but any ideas on how to fix this?

siegesoldier said:
Currently booting to home screen but then back to the fire screen, etc. Probably my fault for not clearing the cache or a factory reset. I'm not at a computer at the moment but any ideas on how to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn it off with a long press of "power" button. Then press "power" and "vol+" together, this should get you into the Amazon recovery. It should offer you a factory reset option. Your system should be pretty much stock Lollipop, so I don't see why it should be doing what it does ...
Actually, does it now have stock Amazon recovery or TWRP ? My suspicion is that it should have flashed recovery during the first upgrade cycle.
Upon reflection, there is a chance you have a bit of a soft brick. If the factory reset option does not come up, it may end up a little tricky to fix things. I wonder if you'd be able to connect via adb before it reboots.

bibikalka said:
Turn it off with a long press of "power" button. Then press "power" and "vol+" together, this should get you into the Amazon recovery. It should offer you a factory reset option. Your system should be pretty much stock Lollipop, so I don't see why it should be doing what it does ...
Actually, does it now have stock Amazon recovery or TWRP ? My suspicion is that it should have flashed recovery during the first upgrade cycle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it appears to have TWRP but it will not boot to it with holding keys. I can get the device to appear in ADB but I can not authorize it. Appears to not actually be rebooting. just crashing to fire screen for some reason then back to launcher etc. I may be able to try again at home with a usb port that it remembers.

siegesoldier said:
it appears to have TWRP but it will not boot to it with holding keys. I can get the device to appear in ADB but I can not authorize it. Appears to not actually be rebooting. just crashing to fire screen for some reason then back to launcher etc. I may be able to try again at home with a usb port that it remembers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if Lollipop does not update recovery at all, and just uses the one from 4.5.4 You do have your old settings around, so there is a chance that prior USB authorization will help. It looks like one should have updated to stock recovery while in TWRP as the last step, after updating the bootloader, ir order to be able to do a factory reset in a situation like this.
If it comes to worst, Amazon reps never ask "did you brick the device yourself?". They only ask if you can get to the home screen, and if not, proceed with the replacement

I think TWRP just blocked it from updating. Oh well, if the ports at home don't work, I was eventually going to get it replaced anyway since I had a blue discoloration on my screen. Glad to be of some moderate use to the community instead of a leecher for once. May the next person have some luck!

bibikalka said:
I wonder if Lollipop does not update recovery at all, and just uses the one from 4.5.4 You do have your old settings around, so there is a chance that prior USB authorization will help. It looks like one should have updated to stock recovery while in TWRP as the last step, after updating the bootloader, ir order to be able to do a factory reset in a situation like this.
If it comes to worst, Amazon reps never ask "did you brick the device yourself?". They only ask if you can get to the home screen, and if not, proceed with the replacement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok I was able to get adb on a previously used port. I do not have root though. What are my options? What recovery should I flash? I also have a replacement kindle coming tomorrow so this is mostly for science now. I am also able to get into bootloader.
erased cache via fastboot. stuck on fire instead of boot to homescreen

siegesoldier said:
ok I was able to get adb on a previously used port. I do not have root though. What are my options? What recovery should I flash? I also have a replacement kindle coming tomorrow so this is mostly for science now. I am also able to get into bootloader.
erased cache via fastboot. stuck on fire instead of boot to homescreen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So no adb anymore? I am not sure how SuperSu comes in, there gotta be su program somewhere.
Anyway, the great news is that JMZ is going to be back soon. That's going to boost our tinkering capabilities by 300%

siegesoldier said:
Yes it flashes successfully and asks to install root. Looks like I'll be trying that tonight, thanks!
Edit we have a winner.
Flashed lolipop without bootloader
Installed su
Reboot to recovery
Installed superuser flashable zip
Flashed uboot file with lolipop images folder
Fire has booted and is currently doing the very long lolipop upgrading screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And then soft brick ...
So I wonder now if one could do this :
install 5.2.0 via TWRP
install supersu.zip
and here it gets very tricky:
without any reboots, replace TEE1, UBOOT, and recovery to stock versions 5.2.0
The hope is to end up in 5.2.0 with root. If things fail, then booting into 5.2.0 recovery (which must be installed!!!) should give one an option to do 1) factory reset 2) downgrade to stock 4.5.3 as in here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/general/how-to-downgrade-to-4-5-3-root-device-t3139351
The problem is that I don't see a way to boot into 5.2.0, and then flash GAPPS after (since your TWRP was replaced by stock recovery earlier). So one would have to install GAPPS those via something like Titanium backup if root does work.
Please, if you already had 1 warranty replacement, don't do this. And, if you replace TEE1 and UBOOT (5.2.0) but not recovery, then you won't have any way to recover.

bibikalka said:
And then soft brick ...
So I wonder now if one could do this :
install 5.2.0 via TWRP
install supersu.zip
and here it gets very tricky:
without any reboots, replace TEE1, UBOOT, and recovery to stock versions 5.2.0
The hope is to end up in 5.2.0 with root. If things fail, then booting into 5.2.0 recovery (which must be installed!!!) should give one an option to do 1) factory reset 2) downgrade to stock 4.5.3 as in here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/general/how-to-downgrade-to-4-5-3-root-device-t3139351
The problem is that I don't see a way to boot into 5.2.0, and then flash GAPPS after (since your TWRP was replaced by stock recovery earlier). So one would have to install GAPPS those via something like Titanium backup if root does work.
Please, if you already had 1 warranty replacement, don't do this. And, if you replace TEE1 and UBOOT (5.2.0) but not recovery, then you won't have any way to recover.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I've used my warranty replacement so I'll be waiting until the official release before breaking my kindle again . How do you stop TWRP from preventing the recovery from being flashed? I noticed it gave a message about protecting itself.

siegesoldier said:
Yes I've used my warranty replacement so I'll be waiting until the official release before breaking my kindle again . How do you stop TWRP from preventing the recovery from being flashed? I noticed it gave a message about protecting itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, at what stage of the update did this happen? 5.2.0 file system is slightly packaged and is pain in the neck to peak into, but in 4.5.3 the recovery is updated via a pretty specific command install-recovery.sh , and I cannot find any references to this in updater-script. So I wonder at what stage will this be run. Also, there is no direct image for recovery, one has to reconstruct it as the commands below do. A bit messy ...
install-recovery.sh
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
if ! applypatch -c EMMC:/dev/block/platform/mtk-msdc.0/by-name/recovery:5888256:6d9d1bbc4172c107db3228ed8d9f97111219c617; then
log -t recovery "Installing new recovery image"
applypatch -b /system/etc/recovery-resource.dat EMMC:/dev/block/platform/mtk-msdc.0/by-name/boot:5370112:c2c686ada1b194050a3c8f05e2102345df48e9ce EMMC:/dev/block/platform/mtk-msdc.0/by-name/recovery 6d9d1bbc4172c107db3228ed8d9f97111219c617 5888256 c2c686ada1b194050a3c8f05e2102345df48e9ce:/system/recovery-from-boot.p
else
log -t recovery "Recovery image already installed"
fi
Edit: It kind of looks like /system/etc/install-recovery.sh will be run at every boot. So I wonder if TWRP just renames it to something and calls it "protection". I guess one can double check the file system after 5.2.0 update while still in TWRP, and see what happened to recovery files.

Help
If someone can please help me. I downloaded the update to 5.0, unzipped it, replaced the updater script, but when I zip it back and try to flash it says that it failed. Am I doing something wrong.
Also, if someone has the zip file already and wouldn't mind uploading and sharing it, I would appreciate it.
Thanks for all the help.

hawkazn said:
If someone can please help me. I downloaded the update to 5.0, unzipped it, replaced the updater script, but when I zip it back and try to flash it says that it failed. Am I doing something wrong.
Also, if someone has the zip file already and wouldn't mind uploading and sharing it, I would appreciate it.
Thanks for all the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last time this procedure ended up with a soft brick. Are you sure you want to pursue this route?

Help
Maybe not, but if someone can help me with something else. The developer preview for the camera is extremely sharp and the 4.5.4 really isn't. Is there a way to make it crystal clear and sharp?

hawkazn said:
Maybe not, but if someone can help me with something else. The developer preview for the camera is extremely sharp and the 4.5.4 really isn't. Is there a way to make it crystal clear and sharp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meaning exactly what? It'd be possible to replace the camera app, one for another. Do you think some other system stuff is involved such as some sort of settings?
You'll have to find a way to mount the big 5.2.0 system update file as a filesystem, then you could read what's in there, including the camera stuff.

TWRP help
So I downloaded the zip file for 5.0 and it flashed and asked to install super user. I had to download the apk for supersu and then update it.
But the problem is that I lost my twrp. I push the volume + and power and it just reboots. I also lost my play store. Any thoughts how to get twrp back on?

[Q] File recovery From Bootloop'ed Nexus 4

Hi,
I Need help .
I have nexus 4 with stock ROM and stock recovery.
Two days after OTA update to Lollipop, the phone got stuck on boot-loop.
The problem is that on the phone i have a very important voice recording of a cop that says he will lie in court.
The court time is coming and i need that recording!
Everywhere i looked, no one has an idea how to recover a boot-loop'ed phone.
The 2 options that people recommended are:
1. RE-Flash the ROM.
Maybe it wont delete the files.
2. Wipe everything and hope that the file is recoverable with one of the software's.
A. What do you recommend?
B. Did someone try any of the recovering software's with any luck of actually recovering?

Your bootloader is locked, correct?

ashyossi said:
Hi,
I Need help .
I have nexus 4 with stock ROM and stock recovery.
Two days after OTA update to Lollipop, the phone got stuck on boot-loop.
The problem is that on the phone i have a very important voice recording of a cop that says he will lie in court.
The court time is coming and i need that recording!
Everywhere i looked, no one has an idea how to recover a boot-loop'ed phone.
The 2 options that people recommended are:
1. RE-Flash the ROM.
Maybe it wont delete the files.
2. Wipe everything and hope that the file is recoverable with one of the software's.
A. What do you recommend?
B. Did someone try any of the recovering software's with any luck of actually recovering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your bootloader is unlocked you can try flashing TWRP recovery which has a built in file manager and mtp function to copy files to computer. You can also try to "dirty flash" another lollipop rom which will not wipe the data, but may not work.

Yeah, this is the only option, however, this can only happen if his bootloader is unlocked

lolcakes203 said:
Yeah, this is the only option, however, this can only happen if his bootloader is unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately, the bootloader is locked.
what are the chances that "Dirty Flash" wont delete the files?
and what rom should i flash? the same build or maybe try to flash kitkat insted...?

ashyossi said:
unfortunately, the bootloader is locked.
what are the chances that "Dirty Flash" wont delete the files?
and what rom should i flash? the same build or maybe try to flash kitkat insted...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, as far as I know you can't flash any Rom's while your bootloader is locked. You need either fastboot or a custom recovery to flash a custom ROM and both need an unlocked bootloader.

theminikiller said:
Unfortunately, as far as I know you can't flash any Rom's while your bootloader is locked. You need either fastboot or a custom recovery to flash a custom ROM and both need an unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and flushing the same STOCK rom that i got as OTA should work or does it only work with custom ROM's?

i've looked again.
seems that the bootloader is unlocked!
so, should i flash a TWRP recovery?

ashyossi said:
i've looked again.
seems that the bootloader is unlocked!
so, should i flash a TWRP recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, after you've flashed twrp you should be able to access your files from a computer if you're booted in recovery.

soooooo.....
i flashed the TWRP Recovery.
very easy. no errors.
and it shows as the storage is completely empty! as if someone in all this time wiped everything...
so now, what recovery software do you know/used/heard of?

ashyossi said:
soooooo.....
i flashed the TWRP Recovery.
very easy. no errors.
and it shows as the storage is completely empty! as if someone in all this time wiped everything...
so now, what recovery software do you know/used/heard of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When the storage is completely empty, are you booted in recovery, the bootloader or just trying to boot normally? When you say it's empty, do you actually see the device on your computer? If so, is it completely empty with no folders or files or anything, or just stock stuff?

Can you check mount and make sure all the storage volumes are mounted? It's usually blank when they are all manually unmounted.

The Easy Way To Get The "Update"

I take no credit for any of this. Monkey saw, monkey did. MAKE SURE YOU FULLY READ THE ORIGINAL POSTS AS THE MONKEY MAY HAVE OMITTED SOMETHING. If you are clueless, not good at following instructions, or apprehensive you might want to pass. If you managed to already get unlocked and TWRPed, I imagine you are good to go. Still, if you break your phone, it's on you.
1. Do a TWRP backup.
2. Flash one of the choices here (READ THE ENTIRE THREAD) :
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-style/development/rom-marshmallow-6-0-september-2016-t3536120
REBOOT.
I went with the Deodexed one. Check out the Mods too. I added Viper.
3. Get Systemless Root back using using the flash-able Script in Post #8 here (READ ALL 1st):
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-style/general/systemless-root-info-t3373864
3a. Direct Link here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3809946&d=1468261256
REBOOT
I was still stock but Rooted with Xposed and I successfully Dirty Flashed. OP still recommends a CLEAN Install. After running the script, the phone came back looking the same. I did lose my custom Boot Animation and Viper so I re-flashed them. I also flashed the latest SU just to be sure i had the latest. Probably makes no difference.
Build now says MPHS24.49-18-8 and security Patch 09/01/2016.
Be sure and thank the OP's for the flash-able Update and the Systemless script.
THANK YOU OP'S,
Monkey

Except people have to understand... this puts you in a potentially precarious position. Your bootloader, radios, and partition table are all from a previous ROM version, but your system and boot/kernel are from the current release. Meaning your stuck on this or other custom ROMs and cannot go back to "pure" stock, at least until there is official full factory firmware release for the September update.
Not saying this isn't a valid way to do it, but it isn't truly getting the update... not completely, so my advice to others is proceed with caution and know the possible consequences, they may or not matter to you.

acejavelin said:
...Meaning your stuck on this or other custom ROMs and cannot go back to "pure" stock, at least until there is official full factory firmware release for the September update.
Not saying this isn't a valid way to do it, but it isn't truly getting the update... not completely, so my advice to others is proceed with caution and know the possible consequences, they may or not matter to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say "cannot go back" does something get flagged where a TWRP system wipe and restore of a backup would not work?

G_Man18 said:
When you say "cannot go back" does something get flagged where a TWRP system wipe and restore of a backup would not work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... That's fine. I mean you can't flash the full system image via fastboot.

acejavelin said:
No... That's fine. I mean you can't flash the full system image via fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick response. I am surprised how many people get in trouble when TWRP backups are easy to do and can get you going when you screw up--which does happen to all of us. I post little but do read quite a bit in these forums; most of my questions have already been answered. You say you will nudge people in the right direction, but from what I have seen, no one on here answers as many questions so meticulously as you. Thanks!

acejavelin said:
Except people have to understand... this puts you in a potentially precarious position. Your bootloader, radios, and partition table are all from a previous ROM version, but your system and boot/kernel are from the current release. Meaning your stuck on this or other custom ROMs and cannot go back to "pure" stock, at least until there is official full factory firmware release for the September update.
Not saying this isn't a valid way to do it, but it isn't truly getting the update... not completely, so my advice to others is proceed with caution and know the possible consequences, they may or not matter to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just received the notification for this update, is it okay to take it, or is it going to cause issues. I am unlocked and rooted currently running MPHS24.49-18-4. I would restore back to a non-rooted TWRP backup of the same build, then flash back the original recovery image, clear cache and dalvik, and finally flash the update.
Will this work and is It okay to update to this build? Thanks.

robn30 said:
I just received the notification for this update, is it okay to take it, or is it going to cause issues. I am unlocked and rooted currently running MPHS24.49-18-4. I would restore back to a non-rooted TWRP backup of the same build, then flash back the original recovery image, clear cache and dalvik, and finally flash the update.
Will this work and is It okay to update to this build? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you return to stock, meaning the /system and /boot partitions and recovery is stock, it should work... how you get there isn't as important. But you can't just "flash" the OTA zip file, not directly... and I am not positive if the stock recovery supports sideloading official ZIPs or not, but you should be able to accept it and let it apply itself. The lock or unlock state of the bootloader isn't relevant.
So most likely it would work fine... but backup first, just in case something goes wrong.

acejavelin said:
If you return to stock, meaning the /system and /boot partitions and recovery is stock, it should work... how you get there isn't as important. But you can't just "flash" the OTA zip file, not directly... and I am not positive if the stock recovery supports sideloading official ZIPs or not, but you should be able to accept it and let it apply itself. The lock or unlock state of the bootloader isn't relevant.
So most likely it would work fine... but backup first, just in case something goes wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup is running right now, so that will be good to go. With systemless root can I perform a full unroot using SuperSU or is it better to restore the unrooted TWRP backup? Thanks.

robn30 said:
Backup is running right now, so that will be good to go. With systemless root can I perform a full unroot using SuperSU or is it better to restore the unrooted TWRP backup? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are rooted, it means you did something with root, right? So unless you are going to undo everything root and then unroot, better to restore the pre-root backup

acejavelin said:
If you are rooted, it means you did something with root, right? So unless you are going to undo everything root and then unroot, better to restore the pre-root backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good, thanks for the advice. Good thing I made an unrooted backup when I updated to the May Security update. I knew that would come in handy eventually.

robn30 said:
Very good, thanks for the advice. Good thing I made an unrooted backup when I updated to the May Security update. I knew that would come in handy eventually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update went perfectly smooth by restoring back to an unrooted 24.221.4 TWRP backup, then flashing stock recovery, and finally taking the update to 24.221.8. I did perform a wipe off cache and dalvik at least twice during the process.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

robn30 said:
Update went perfectly smooth by restoring back to an unrooted 24.221.4 TWRP backup, then flashing stock recovery, and finally taking the update to 24.221.8. I did perform a wipe off cache and dalvik at least twice during the process.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be sure. I ran TWRP from Fastboot in ADB as soon as Unlocked and turned the phone on. So you have confirmed I can then flash Stock recovery and take the "full" Update. Mind providing the link to Stock recovery?
Thanks.

schneid said:
Just to be sure. I ran TWRP from Fastboot in ADB as soon as Unlocked and turned the phone on. So you have confirmed I can then flash Stock recovery and take the "full" Update. Mind providing the link to Stock recovery?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure there is a post in here somewhere that has a link to the 24.221.4 recovery, but I just used the one in this full firmware download. Just extracted the recovery.img file only and flash it using fastboot. Here is the link.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69103575&postcount=243