[Q] Downgrade to MM from official N - Moto G4 Questions & Answers

Hi!
I have got two G4, one with Marshmallow and one with Nougat.
The one on N (offical N, updated by OTA and did a full wipe) has lots of problems with BT, and I want to downgrade it to MM.
I have read lots of posts, here and everywhere else, and saw some vids about the procedure. But I still have some doubts about the proccess:
* Most of the procedures I have read relate to downgrade from N leak to MM in order to upgrade to official N. I have seen someone ask if the same procedure could be used to downgrade from offical N, but no answer. Can I use the same procedure to downgrade from official N?
* Some say you have to unlock the bootloader, others make no mention of it. Some say you should not write gpt.bin and bootloader from the MM ROM as N udated them and it is not possible to downgrade them. Do I have to unlock the bootloader before using fastboot to write the MM ROM? Should I avoid writing gpt.bin and bootloader?
I don't mind voiding the phone warranty, and I don't mind not being able to OTA update future versions.
Thank you very much.
Regards.

If you have bootloader locked, you can't overwritte nothing including system, boot, bootloader and gpt. I tried with my Moto G4 and i can't go back from official N to official MM through fastboot

Thank you.
So I understand I have to unlock the bootloader.
Now I just need to make sure if I should overwrite gpt and bootloader with MM versions (coming from stock N) or not.
Regards.

CalvinH said:
Thank you.
So I understand I have to unlock the bootloader.
Now I just need to make sure if I should overwrite gpt and bootloader with MM versions (coming from stock N) or not.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A couple of weeks ago, I read something about it. I think you should not overwrite the bootloader and recovery but I do not remember very well.
But if you have your bootloader unlocked just flash (or boot into) a custom recovery and make a backup of everything and after play along a while

lerg96 said:
A couple of weeks ago, I read something about it. I think you should not overwrite the bootloader and recovery but I do not remember very well.
But if you have your bootloader unlocked just flash (or boot into) a custom recovery and make a backup of everything and after play along a while
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.

Based on the overwhelming popularity of this thread (thanks lerg96!) I have decided to come back and tell how it went.
I had a Moto G4 with official Nougat. I wanted to downgrade it to MM.
The first problem is that I didn't find the .63 ROM (last MM one) for my device (XT1622). I found the 23.5 version (previous one), and the .63 version for the XT1624. Since 22 and 24 differ on LTE bands and so, I decided to use the older but right ROM.
First attempt: downgrade without unlocking bootloader... NO WAY.
Second attempt: unlock bootloader + downgrade without overwriting bootloader and gpt.bin. :good::good:
I got the boot warning message, but everything went ok and my BT problems are gone. I got the .63 OTA notification, but didn't installed it as I read scary histories about doing it.
Regards!

now that your bootloader is unlocked, install TWRP and make a backup of your system. I used TWRP to restore my OS. I went from Nougat back to MM, I am sure you can go the other way around too.
also, the fastboot method for reload the os seems to work well on phones with unlocked bootloaders.

Related

Ok.... I'm very confused:ZE551KL with 6.0.1 (MM)

Please forgive my stupidity - I'm a longtime Samsung Android user and this Fastboot/adb process is all new to me. Last time I used that was with Original TMOBILE Mototola G1!!
So, this is what I have: I had my device ( ZE551KL ) on LP, Bootloader unlocked with TWRP and rooted. 'Cause I first unlocked the Bootloader with the official ASUS app.
Then I installed the OTA ASUS MM version, but according to everyone, once one install the OTA upgrade, it relocks the Bootloader, correct? How can I test this??
This afternoon I put device in Fastboot mode and did a "fastboot boot twrp-3.0.4.img" and it worked!!!
It boot into TWRP and am busy making a backup now.
My Question: if my bootloader is still locked, how could I boot TWRP?
Can I try and 'Fastboot flash recovery twrp....' and will this work or am I going to brick the device?
Ideas? ( well, rather experienced advice, please)- as I would hate to brick my device.
The TWRP backup I am currently making - is that any good/helpful to anyone that can help us getting this device properly unlocked and rooted?
Thanks
I did try the official ASUS unlock tool on MM....
I forgot to mention that.
I did try the official unlock tool on MM, but the app just failed.
I opened an issue with ASUS regarding this, as their website specify version 1.16 'and later'
Does this mean I am good to flash TWRP??
Am I good to flash TWRP if I get this message??
You are good. I had unlocked the bootloader long time ago, and I have installed MM, they don't relock it back. It would be strange to do that, since once unlocked you lost the warranty... it would be like they will gave you back the warranty!
Dude, your bootloader is unlocked. You're good to go. Fastboot flash that recovery and go to town.
From your description it is clear that you have successfully unlocked your device. Once it is unlocked, you wont be able to lock it back. So there is no way to revert the process and it affects warranty. Now anytime you can flash TWRP with fastboot and install custom ROM. If you want to install Stock rom install stock recovery and use ADB sideload to install Stock ROM. if you have any other doubts visit my youtube channel [TheMobileShots] where i have provided the tutorial to do these things. Have a great day!

What does OTA package checks for ?

Hi guys,
It may be a silly Question for this Device , let me tell you my device specs :
Device : G4 Plus XT1643(India)
Rom : Stock (Soak NPJ75.25.2)
NON-Root and Locked Bootloader
What does the OTA.zip checks for ?
Boot image version (may b bootloader version) or recovery version ?
If its all about bootloader, then it needs to b unlocked voiding warranty.
But If its about Recovery..........Changing the Recovery to older version might help updating from Old Soak to New Official Build.
So, Did any one try flashing an older recovery thru fastboot on locked bootloader ? or Can we if its possible ?
ex: Replacing 7.0 recovery with last 6.0 build recovery. I do this for my ZenFone 5 just to avoid updating from very old builds.
Is this possible on G4 Plus ? without warranty Void issues....if possible.
p.s: NPJ93-11 gives Status 7 error on NPJ.75-2.
I tried to flash old recovery but it fails due to higher bootloader version.
Same question. Experts please advise and find a solution to get official update without unlocking the bootloader.
praveenbda said:
Same question. Experts please advise and find a solution to get official update without unlocking the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to unlock your bootloader to get an OTA. Its only to let you mess with your recovery and enable flashing henceforth.
However, you'll need to unlock your bootloader to flash/boot a custom recovery and subsequently flash a ROM.
But if you want an OTA, your system (including bootloader, recovery, system, etc) needs to be untouched.
If you've already upgraded to a soak test, remember - you would've overwritten your MM bootloader and recovery with an N version one (from the Soak you sideloaded)
Again, all major official updates (except small incremental one like patches maybe) look for a previous version of the OS (in our case - Stock MM)
And yes, as long you're on MM and not upgraded to N soak ever, once you unlock your BL, you can relock it using methods stated in the guide thread. Just that it voids your warranty (as the request code is generated by Lenovo/Moto, essentially letting you unlock) But if you've flashed the N Soak - you can't downgrade your bootloader just yet ( you'll get a Preflash Validation error)
Because a system update looks the stock, untouched firmware (Stock MM)
That's why you won't be able to sideload the Official N update if you're already on a soak test update - because it doesn't have the MM bootloader and recovery etc files it's looking for.
Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

XT-1644 Official Nougat Update?

My Phone Info:
Single sim 2gb ram + 16gb rom
Hello folks I've been searching for a nougat update for XT-1644, but unable to find over the xda if anyone of you havs upgraded your xt-1644 then kindly tell the procedure here, Thanks.
Here is my About Phone Info.
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/589c8f61b2eab/Screenshot_20170209-203359.png
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/589c8f48b01b2/Screenshot_20170209-203401.png
You mean a method like this? https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/xt1644-stock-marshmallow-to-nougat-t3540022
If you download the 93-14 Nougat firmware, that's the latest version. Nougat OTAs currently only exist for the 93-11 firmware.
echo92 said:
You mean a method like this? https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/xt1644-stock-marshmallow-to-nougat-t3540022
If you download the 93-14 Nougat firmware, that's the latest version. Nougat OTAs currently only exist for the 93-11 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry didn't find that,
One more question i have unlocked my bootloader will it work? I mean will i be able to flash this 7.0?
waseemmayaa said:
Sorry didn't find that,
One more question i have unlocked my bootloader will it work? I mean will i be able to flash this 7.0?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, your bootloader status won't matter - as long as that's all you've done. As I understand it, the update via stock recovery only cares if the rest of your phone has been modified - if you've still got a stock bootloader, stock recovery and stock kernel (from MM, provided it's up to date), it should work and you should be eligible for future OTAs.
The only hurdle I could see happening is that the build of Marshmallow expected by the OTA and your phone's current OS build do not match, in which case it won't install. Thus, you may have to consult one of the fastboot Nougat 93-11 or 93-14 threads to install, which you'll have to do if your system is modified past the bootloader.
Here are a couple for your perusal:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/moto-g4-plus-xt1640-43-athene-npj25-93-t3549369
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/android-7-0-install-nougat-official-t3531612
echo92 said:
Yes, your bootloader status won't matter - as long as that's all you've done. As I understand it, the update via stock recovery only cares if the rest of your phone has been modified - if you've still got a stock bootloader, stock recovery and stock kernel (from MM, provided it's up to date), it should work and you should be eligible for future OTAs.
The only hurdle I could see happening is that the build of Marshmallow expected by the OTA and your phone's current OS build do not match, in which case it won't install. Thus, you may have to consult one of the fastboot Nougat 93-11 or 93-14 threads to install, which you'll have to do if your system is modified past the bootloader.
Here are a couple for your perusal:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/moto-g4-plus-xt1640-43-athene-npj25-93-t3549369
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/android-7-0-install-nougat-official-t3531612
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the brief info, it means i have to flash it via fastboot and if that works fine then I'll be able to get OTA, but for your info, I've unlocked bootloader and installed Official TWRP but if i flash any of the firmware (given above) will i face bootloop kinda stuffs? I am scared if something goes wrong then i will even not able to restore nandroid backup. Hope you gotta help me.
Thanks.
waseemmayaa said:
Thanks for the brief info, it means i have to flash it via fastboot and if that works fine then I'll be able to get OTA, but for your info, I've unlocked bootloader and installed Official TWRP but if i flash any of the firmware (given above) will i face bootloop kinda stuffs? I am scared if something goes wrong then i will even not able to restore nandroid backup. Hope you gotta help me.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you've received a response in the other thread regarding if XT1644 will accept the update; given you've flashed TWRP, if you wish to be very safe, I would suggest re-installing your Marshmallow ROM so you have a stock install before proceeding to Nougat. There's nothing stopping you from directly flashing Nougat, and the fastboot method for either Nougat build may correctly overwrite the relevant files, the only way is to try the procedure. Don't use the TWRP backup images of Nougat - they don't contain updates to your baseband modem and other core parts of your device - they are only meant to be used once your entire phone is updated to Nougat.
If you wish to restore back to stock MM before flashing Nougat, here's links to stock firmware for XT1644: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/xt1644-firmware-t3454980
But either way, read all the instructions first, ensure you've got all the firmware and tools you need installed/downloaded, your phone has at least 50 % battery and plenty of time, and you should be okay.

Bootloader and other questions.

Hello all.
Im a little bit confused about the bootloaders and their marriage with their standard ROMS.
I am in MM B13 in a 2017 unlocked using bkores toolkit and would like to check Nougat ROMS.
What happens if, from this MM unlocked state I flash an official Nougat for 2017? Is safe? Could I eventually flash a TWR to return to my "original and safe" state? Could I flash back an "official" MM B13 for example?
I am guessing that maintaining the phone in the unclocked area is safer than recover the lock. Is this true?
There is a "Universal bootloader" for Nougat ROMS. How "Universal" is this bootloader? Does this bootloader runs in MM?.
If I apply a SD "complete" update (being MM B13 or Nougat), do I relock the phone's bootloader?
If I upgrade fro MM to N, do I lost the possibility of flashing a custom recovery? (TWRP). This is a non go for me, as you cannot go back...
Hope you can answer these questions
Regards
jrotaetxe said:
Hello all.
Im a little bit confused about the bootloaders and their marriage with their standard ROMS.
I am in MM B13 in a 2017 unlocked using bkores toolkit and would like to check Nougat ROMS.
What happens if, from this MM unlocked state I flash an official Nougat for 2017? Is safe? Could I eventually flash a TWR to return to my "original and safe" state? Could I flash back an "official" MM B13 for example?
I am guessing that maintaining the phone in the unclocked area is safer than recover the lock. Is this true?
There is a "Universal bootloader" for Nougat ROMS. How "Universal" is this bootloader? Does this bootloader runs in MM?.
If I apply a SD "complete" update (being MM B13 or Nougat), do I relock the phone's bootloader?
If I upgrade fro MM to N, do I lost the possibility of flashing a custom recovery? (TWRP). This is a non go for me, as you cannot go back...
Hope you can answer these questions
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forget about the bootloader thing for now - it should be universal for MM and N. Not gonna relock itself.
-If you want to go back from a custom ROM (you'd have the A2017X_Universal_Bootloader, the ROM and the modem that goes with your device, plus a version of TWRP installed) what you would do, at least in A2017Gs and Us, is to flash a stock recovery zip to get the stock recovery. After that you reboot to the recovery, and you'll get to MiFavor's recovery. from there you would flash an official zip and every partition would be overwritten with what's on the zip. I suspect that ZTE packs every update with everything in it so that you can roll back, say, from Nougat to Marshmallow officialy, without messing everything up.
OR you can use MiFlash to reflash everything with a computer. Just download the full EDL file from 4PDA and flash, you'll get full stock (but still unlocked BL anyways)
So yeah, you CAN get back to full stock anytime.
-Don't just try to relock the bootloader. AFAIK if you relock it and you have root or TWRP or somesuch you can brick your device. I'd advise against trying to do that, but if you must, look at a guide or two at least.
-Yeah, pretty universal. I wonder why you'd want a custom MM ROM though. if you want to go back to stock MM it will get replaced by another one anyways.
-Already addressed, no
-I don't know the exact case with A2017 phones, but you said you cannot go back? You can. If you're on official N and want to roll back all you have to do is put an official MM zip on your SD or internal storage and go to Updates.
That being said, you still can use axon7tool on Nougat if it supports A2017 phones, which it should. You use EDL mode to flash the recovery. it is what I always do on my A2017G.
Choose an username... said:
Forget about the bootloader thing for now - it should be universal for MM and N. Not gonna relock itself.
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So...
i) Bootloader unlocked is safer than locked and problems can arise if i try to relock.
ii) I can flash from SD every official thing published by ZTE if I flash previously ZTE recovery. (bootloader still unlocked). From that startpoint, I could reflash TWRP using fastboot or EDL. Once in TWRP, every ROM is flashable if partition compatible...
iii) I can stay with my unlocked bootloader with every MM or N. Important things are the modem and other stuff. N is not much different from MM and I like Xposed....
Big, big THANK YOU!!!!
jrotaetxe said:
So...
i) Bootloader unlocked is safer than locked and problems can arise if i try to relock.
ii) I can flash from SD every official thing published by ZTE if I flash previously ZTE recovery. (bootloader still unlocked). From that startpoint, I could reflash TWRP using fastboot or EDL. Once in TWRP, every ROM is flashable if partition compatible...
iii) I can stay with my unlocked bootloader with every MM or N. Important things are the modem and other stuff. N is not much different from MM and I like Xposed....
Big, big THANK YOU!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i)Yeah
ii)Every LOS-based ROM is flashable if you flash the Universal Bootloader and the corresponding modem for your device, except stock roms and maybe stock-based roms (not sure)
iii)Yeah
Thank you again, my annonimous friend.

Questions about returning to stock

If some of the more experienced people here could check my steps for returning to stock, I'd really appreciate it. I have some questions and also want to confirm that I correctly understand how to do some of the others. Thanks.
My XT-1575 is running 6.0 build number MPHS24-49-18-16. I would like to change ROMs (probably to Lineage OS 14.1) but be able to return to the same build at a later time. I do not want to update the Moto firmware to 7.0.
Steps:
1) Use the instructions in the thread: [GUIDE] [XT1575] Return to stock and relock bootloader by @acejavelin
2) Download the latest 6.0 factory image available (MPHS24.49-18-8) with the link in the thread and place it in the adb platform-tools directory
3) Open a command prompt in the platform-tools directory and issue the commands listed in the thread to flash the firmware. This will not lock the bootloader because this is an earlier build.
4) As shown in the thread, go to @annoyingduck's post (post #366) to get the OTA .zip to go from 18-8 to 18-16
5) This needs to be sideloaded.Is TWRP used for this? Will TWRP still be in recovery after running the commands in step 3? Do I need to flash TWRP to recovery? When I flash the OTA, will this replace TWRP with the stock recovery?
6) Is there an additional step(s) to lock the bootloader? The instructions say flashing an older build will fail at locking the bootloader. Instead, the OTA is flashed manually, but how does the bootloader get relocked?
7) Are there any additional steps to return to official status to pass safetynet and get OTAs?
xdafan15 said:
If some of the more experienced people here could check my steps for returning to stock, I'd really appreciate it. I have some questions and also want to confirm that I correctly understand how to do some of the others. Thanks.
My XT-1575 is running 6.0 build number MPHS24-49-18-16. I would like to change ROMs (probably to Lineage OS 14.1) but be able to return to the same build at a later time. I do not want to update the Moto firmware to 7.0.
Steps:
1) Use the instructions in the thread: [GUIDE] [XT1575] Return to stock and relock bootloader by @acejavelin
2) Download the latest 6.0 factory image available (MPHS24.49-18-8) with the link in the thread and place it in the adb platform-tools directory
3) Open a command prompt in the platform-tools directory and issue the commands listed in the thread to flash the firmware. This will not lock the bootloader because this is an earlier build.
4) As shown in the thread, go to @annoyingduck's post (post #366) to get the OTA .zip to go from 18-8 to 18-16
5) This needs to be sideloaded.Is TWRP used for this? Will TWRP still be in recovery after running the commands in step 3? Do I need to flash TWRP to recovery? When I flash the OTA, will this replace TWRP with the stock recovery?
6) Is there an additional step(s) to lock the bootloader? The instructions say flashing an older build will fail at locking the bootloader. Instead, the OTA is flashed manually, but how does the bootloader get relocked?
7) Are there any additional steps to return to official status to pass safetynet and get OTAs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of these questions are answered in the threads you referenced...
1) Yup, that's fine.
2) Same, remember to extract it... Although I would recommend extracting it to a unique directory and add platform-tools to your path
3) Correct, sort of... You cannot use an older firmware to lock, but there are specific commands to attempt a lock and to just flash. When downgrading be aware gpt.bin (partition table) and bootloader.img may fail and that is normal.
4) Yup, good there
5) Sideload in this regard is accomplished through stock recovery, start stock recovery and select "Apply update from ADB" then execute "adb sideload update.zip"
6) Your only option at this time to lock the bootloader is to flash a Nougat firmware image... We do not have a Marshmallow 18-16 image and without one you cannot lock the bootloader, no matter how much you downgrade.
7) "Official" status is not required to pass SafetyNet API check on Marshmallow or Nougat, but you must have a purely stock /boot, /recovery, and /system partition. On Nougat you must also have a locked bootloader. The only way to get back to "Official" status is to flash an official firmware image and then take an official OTA successfully.
Thanks for your help, @acejavelin! Some further clarifying questions-
acejavelin said:
3) Correct, sort of... You cannot use an older firmware to lock, but there are specific commands to attempt a lock and to just flash. When downgrading be aware gpt.bin (partition table) and bootloader.img may fail and that is normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assumed I would just copy and paste the commands you provided exactly as listed. Is that OK? Or do I need to substitute the commands you showed at the bottom:
fastboot oem fb_mode_set instead of fastboot oem lock begin
fastboot oem fb_mode_clear instead of fastboot oem lock
Or it doesn't matter?
acejavelin said:
6) Your only option at this time to lock the bootloader is to flash a Nougat firmware image... We do not have a Marshmallow 18-16 image and without one you cannot lock the bootloader, no matter how much you downgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And the way to do this is to flash NPH25.200-22 from adb fastboot as shown in your other thread, correct? Can I also take the Moto OTA from 18-16 (the one I am currently being offered)?
acejavelin said:
7) "Official" status is not required to pass SafetyNet API check on Marshmallow or Nougat, but you must have a purely stock /boot, /recovery, and /system partition. On Nougat you must also have a locked bootloader. The only way to get back to "Official" status is to flash an official firmware image and then take an official OTA successfully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you are saying that if I follow the instructions to return to 18-16 I will be able to recieve OTAs and will pass safetynet. Only downside is that my bootloader will remain unlocked?
By flashing the Nougat image, my bootloader can be locked (part of the sequence of commands)
but only by doing this plus accepting a future OTA will the status return to "official"?
[/QUOTE]
xdafan15 said:
Thanks for your help, @acejavelin! Some further clarifying questions-
I assumed I would just copy and paste the commands you provided exactly as listed. Is that OK? Or do I need to substitute the commands you showed at the bottom:
fastboot oem fb_mode_set instead of fastboot oem lock begin
fastboot oem fb_mode_clear instead of fastboot oem lock
Or it doesn't matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the 'oem lock' commands will fail, and it will get stuck in fb_mode that you have to clear. Better to just use the fb_mode commands up front.
xdafan15 said:
And the way to do this is to flash NPH25.200-22 from adb fastboot as shown in your other thread, correct? Can I also take the Moto OTA from 18-16 (the one I am currently being offered)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess I am confused... if you flash NPH25.200-22 you won't be offered 18-16 OTA, but will likely be offered the NPHS25-201.1 update. If you are on 18-8 and are pure stock you can accept the 18-16 update, and within 24 hours after that is successfully applied you should be offered the Nougat update(s).
xdafan15 said:
So you are saying that if I follow the instructions to return to 18-16 I will be able to recieve OTAs and will pass safetynet. Only downside is that my bootloader will remain unlocked?
By flashing the Nougat image, my bootloader can be locked (part of the sequence of commands)
but only by doing this plus accepting a future OTA will the status return to "official"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can chose whether to lock the bootloader or not by flashing the Nougat image, the question is which do you want? Just flashing an image won't make your software status "official" in most cases. We have seen some cases where it does, but we don't know why and in most cases it will stay unofficial until you accept an OTA update, then somehow it miraculously becomes official. The key to remember here is once you accept an OTA that is a higher version than the stock images we have, you have no way to lock the bootloader, so if you want to lock your bootloader in your current state the only possible way is to flash the NPH25.200-22 image using the locking commands, because if you don't lock at this point and accept an OTA update you cannot relock the bootloader until (or if) we get a newer factory image.
One more thing to keep in mind, if you accept an OTA to Nougat or manually upgrade, and decide to downgrade to Marshmallow, it is possible, but once this is done do NOT accept any OTA updates back to Nougat, it will hard brick... and I mean perma-brick such that a mainboard replacement is necessary to fix it, which Moto won't do because you unlocked the bootloader, so basically the phone is trash.
@acejavelin, thanks again and sorry for asking so many questions. For those of us who only play around at this stuff, it is hard to keep this all in our heads. Especially since a wrong move can hard brick the phone as you mentioned.
acejavelin said:
Guess I am confused... if you flash NPH25.200-22 you won't be offered 18-16 OTA, but will likely be offered the NPHS25-201.1 update. If you are on 18-8 and are pure stock you can accept the 18-16 update, and within 24 hours after that is successfully applied you should be offered the Nougat update(s).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting- You say if I return to stock 18-8, Moto will offer me the 18-16 OTA first, I won't be offered Nougat directly?
Since I would want to relock the bootloader, is there any reason not to just go directly from Lineage OS to NPH25.200-22?
The string of commands to issue (shown in the "return to stock" thread) is the same whether it is a MM or Nougat image that is being flashed, correct?
acejavelin said:
One more thing to keep in mind, if you accept an OTA to Nougat or manually upgrade, and decide to downgrade to Marshmallow, it is possible, but once this is done do NOT accept any OTA updates back to Nougat, it will hard brick... and I mean perma-brick....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I downgrade to MM and then flash the NPH25.200-22 image, at that point is it again OK to take an OTA to NPHS25-201.1 with causing problems?
Does it matter if the Nougat version I was originally on before downgrading was 200-22 vs 201.1?
Thanks again!
xdafan15 said:
@acejavelin, thanks again and sorry for asking so many questions. For those of us who only play around at this stuff, it is hard to keep this all in our heads. Especially since a wrong move can hard brick the phone as you mentioned.
Interesting- You say if I return to stock 18-8, Moto will offer me the 18-16 OTA first, I won't be offered Nougat directly?
Since I would want to relock the bootloader, is there any reason not to just go directly from Lineage OS to NPH25.200-22?
The string of commands to issue (shown in the "return to stock" thread) is the same whether it is a MM or Nougat image that is being flashed, correct?
If I downgrade to MM and then flash the NPH25.200-22 image, at that point is it again OK to take an OTA to NPHS25-201.1 with causing problems?
Does it matter if the Nougat version I was originally on before downgrading was 200-22 vs 201.1?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
No
Yes, except watch the number of sparse chunks
Yes, as long as you flash the full image and not as an OTA.
No
I guess this conversation is going all over the place... are you wanting to return to stock and lock the bootloader or run a custom ROM? You can't really do both. If you want to return to stock, that depends on your current version, if you want to run custom there are less constraints. This is a 2 year old device, just pick one and go with it.
Thanks for your patience with me, @acejavelin.
My intent is to switch to Lineage OS now, but make sure I understand the correct steps to return to stock in the future if I want to. I wanted to confirm that info before everyone is gone from the Moto X Pure forum. I tend to keep my phones for a long time.
I think I've got it now, but I do want to ask 1 more clarifying question:
I asked "If I downgrade to MM and then flash the NPH25.200-22 image, at that point is it again OK to take an OTA to NPHS25-201.1 with causing problems?"
and you answered
"Yes, as long as you flash the full image and not as an OTA."
Do you mean
(A) as long as I flash the full 25.200-22 image and then take the OTA (which motorola will offer to me at that point to get to 25-201.1),
OR
(B) did you mean after flashing the image to get to 25.200-22, I cannot take the OTA to 25-201.1, but must wait until (if) someone posts the image file for 25-201.1 and flash that?
Sorry for asking so many questions. I really appreciate it
xdafan15 said:
Thanks for your patience with me, @acejavelin.
My intent is to switch to Lineage OS now, but make sure I understand the correct steps to return to stock in the future if I want to. I wanted to confirm that info before everyone is gone from the Moto X Pure forum. I tend to keep my phones for a long time.
I think I've got it now, but I do want to ask 1 more clarifying question:
I asked "If I downgrade to MM and then flash the NPH25.200-22 image, at that point is it again OK to take an OTA to NPHS25-201.1 with causing problems?"
and you answered
"Yes, as long as you flash the full image and not as an OTA."
Do you mean
(A) as long as I flash the full 25.200-22 image and then take the OTA (which motorola will offer to me at that point to get to 25-201.1),
OR
(B) did you mean after flashing the image to get to 25.200-22, I cannot take the OTA to 25-201.1, but must wait until (if) someone posts the image file for 25-201.1 and flash that?
Sorry for asking so many questions. I really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, the smart bet would be to flash the NPH25.200-22 image, then do NOT take any OTA. Then go ahead and flash TWRP and LineageOS. You can always go back to the full image without issues of "downgrading".
At this time the 25.200-22 image is the newest we have and downgrading can never be perfect. If there is no reason to take the OTA (like you are going to just flash Lineage anyway), then don't take it... At least you have an easy out.
The main reason for this is we don't have an image for 25-201.2 and we don't know when, or even if, we ever will. For example, we never did get an image of Marshmallow 18-16 and at this point I doubt we ever will.
Thanks for the excellent support, @acejavelin! That's why I love XDA.
@acejavelin I was on official (stock) 7.0, build NPH25.200-23. I installed unofficial LOS 14.1 (by Hashbang) because I have the N modem, and official LOS 14.1 only supports the M modem. I later decided to go back to stock. As we all know the NPH25.200-23 factory images have not yet been (or ever will be) released, so I followed your guide on how to revert to stock, except I flashed the available NPH25.200-22 partitions (the ones that flashed, anyway, minus the ones that gave Preflash Validation Error) without relocking the bootloader, and now I am back to NPH25.200-22. I also immediately received the notification for the -23 OTA but I did not install it. My question is this: Can I accept the -23 OTA or will I risk bricking? I never downgraded to M, I only had unofficial LOS 14.1 builds, and now the stock -22 build.
My battery is acting all weird, shutting down at about 70%, plugging it again and showing 50%. When I boot, if I unplug it will immediately shut down. Basically it's plugged in the whole time. I have no idea what's causing this, the fact that I flashed unofficial LOS, or because of a faulty battery since I had changed it before flashing LOS), or because of partitions mismatch. So I'm trying to narrow it down and pinpoint the cause. But it seems that every time I try something, it makes the battery worse.
The battery is probably reaching the end of it's life...
You can accept the -23 OTA, the risks are minimal if everything you told me is correct.
acejavelin said:
The battery is probably reaching the end of it's life...
You can accept the -23 OTA, the risks are minimal if everything you told me is correct.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Are you sure that taking the OTA on mismatched partitions (bootloader and gpt from -22 and everything else from -23) would not brick? There have been cases like that in the past (https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-2014/general/warning-hard-bricking-downgrading-t3116379) on the Moto X 2nd Gen because the updater script did not have the correct checks to prevent a brick. Maybe it was the case when downgrading to a previous full version i.e. from 5.1 to 4.4.4, or just on older phones/older versions. Do we know if the updater script from -22 to -23 has to correct checks to prevent a brick?
discovery94 said:
Thanks for the reply. Are you sure that taking the OTA on mismatched partitions (bootloader and gpt from -22 and everything else from -23) would not brick? There have been cases like that in the past (https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-2014/general/warning-hard-bricking-downgrading-t3116379) on the Moto X 2nd Gen because the updater script did not have the correct checks to prevent a brick. Maybe it was the case when downgrading to a previous full version i.e. from 5.1 to 4.4.4, or just on older phones/older versions. Do we know if the updater script from -22 to -23 has to correct checks to prevent a brick?
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Click to collapse
Your not downgrading... Either it will work or the checks will fail. The chances of bricking are minimal.
The issue of the MM vs. N modems is part of the reason I started this thread. My understanding was that official Lineage OS 14.1 would only work properly if the phone was still running MM firmware because LOS 14.1 was not configured to handle the N modem as written above by @discovery94. It seems like the unofficial LOS 14 by @Hashbang173 has some problems, so it seemed safer to stay on MM. But @acejavelin's advice to me was to upgrade to N before switching ROMS which would seem to severely limit choices of ROMs
I guess the options are stay on MM and have a large selection of ROMS (including official LOS 14.1)
or upgrade to N and only select form Hashbang's LOS, RR by LuisG, and AOSP EX by Obsolete1,
or maybe upgrade to N, then extract the modem from MM stock firmware and flash it to avoid the modem mismatch problem.
Have I summed this up properly?
acejavelin said:
Your not downgrading... Either it will work or the checks will fail. The chances of bricking are minimal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the OTA was unsuccessful. The recovery first showed installing update, then displayed "Error", and then the phone rebooted and displayed an update not successful screen (Images attached). I guess the only way is to use the factory images, but I won't even get my hopes up for that.

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