Database Users

Custom ROMs?

I have been waiting a while to post this because posts like this always get killed, but for a phone with a factory-available bootloader unlock, I am surprised we don't have a modded stock ROM to try out yet. TruPure on the Moto x Pure was awesome, although it altered very little. I know CM is being worked on but given some of the responses in that thread, it could be quite a while.
So aside from that observation, is anyone actively working on something like that and if so, can you post here and let us know how things are coming along? I know we all would be appreciative of the effort.

They're waiting on a full image of the ROM to be released, with all the img, radio, ect.. and other files needed to make it work. Once that drops form ZTE, it's on like some 80s video game reference.

tele_jas said:
They're waiting on a full image of the ROM to be released, with all the img, radio, ect.. and other files needed to make it work. Once that drops form ZTE, it's on like some 80s video game reference.
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Noob question: Cannot these be taken from images that were extracted from the phone already? Does rom provide that much more?
This is a genuine question, isn't rom just a packed and zipped version of what is on the phone?

mhodak said:
Noob question: Cannot these be taken from images that were extracted from the phone already? Does rom provide that much more?
This is a genuine question, isn't rom just a packed and zipped version of what is on the phone?
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I was pretty sure that once we got root and bootloader access that this could be done just as you said here. No need for drivers or proprietary anything...although the camera API will be a problem, but I think it's possible right now. I was just wondering why no one has the desire to attempt it. Did the weird release and shipping debacle for the grey phones really make everyone avoid the phone and hamper dev this much? Sort of disappointing if that is the case.

xgerryx said:
I was pretty sure that once we got root and bootloader access that this could be done just as you said here. No need for drivers or proprietary anything...although the camera API will be a problem, but I think it's possible right now. I was just wondering why no one has the desire to attempt it. Did the weird release and shipping debacle for the grey phones really make everyone avoid the phone and hamper dev this much? Sort of disappointing if that is the case.
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This worries me as well. It appears that there is only one person actively working on a custom ROM. Although things can pick up later, this does not bode well for the future.

mhodak said:
This worries me as well. It appears that there is only one person actively working on a custom ROM. Although things can pick up later, this does not bode well for the future.
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My thoughts are differently, base on the many issues people are running when trying to get back to stock and the fact they there's 2 B20 versions around (B20 Stock & B20_boot) make things a Little harder to do, like for sample,
I have the B20_boot version and as you can see I uploaded a backup with Xposed debloated and Rooted (I can consider that backup/ Custom ROM) but stock B20 can't use that backup as far as I know... I can easily release a flash able zip base on my backup but (Xposed,Debloated,rooted) but I bet only 5% of the user are using b20_boot.
So till find a way or just way till ZTE release a firmware image we are going to be little stuck with just CM which is getting more stable every day/week

xgerryx said:
I have been waiting a while to post this because posts like this always get killed, but for a phone with a factory-available bootloader unlock, I am surprised we don't have a modded stock ROM to try out yet. TruPure on the Moto x Pure was awesome, although it altered very little. I know CM is being worked on but given some of the responses in that thread, it could be quite a while.
So aside from that observation, is anyone actively working on something like that and if so, can you post here and let us know how things are coming along? I know we all would be appreciative of the effort.
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Click to collapse
First, the Moto X Pure was widely available. It was not shipped out in smaller batches once a month. When it was released, it was available for everyone to purchase. For the Axon 7, the first batch and second small batches of phones sold out during pre-order, and the third batch hasn't even shipped yet. (and it hasn't received a wide release in Europe yet either, think they just had one small batch)
Also, the Moto X Pure had bootloader unlock available at launch. The Axon 7 did not get a bootloader unlock method until August 11th, less than a month ago. (and at this time, there is no bootloader unlock for the European or Chinese models, just the North American model)
And just as a reminder, the Moto X Pure launched in early September. Dev for CM12.1 started in late September. The first custom ROM, an alpha of CM12.1, was released a month later, in the beginning of October.

Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus for best ROM support?

I want to get rid of my Honor 7 which is totally dead regarding ROM support (and EMUI is awfull) and I want to choose a device with good support from developpers, especially for CyanogenMod.
I like the G4 Plus (especially because of it's fingerprint sensor) but I'm worrying that it will not have same support as the G4 version.
Are the ROM easy to port from G4?
Is it safer to choose the G4 or do you think the G4 Plus will catch up and gain the same activity ?

patriiice said:
I want to get rid of my Honor 7 which is totally dead regarding ROM support (and EMUI is awfull) and I want to choose a device with good support from developpers, especially for CyanogenMod.
I like the G4 Plus (especially because of it's fingerprint sensor) but I'm worrying that it will not have same support as the G4 version.
Are the ROM easy to port from G4?
Is it safer to choose the G4 or do you think the G4 Plus will catch up and gain the same activity ?
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This kind of post should go in the "questions and answers" of the device, I can tell you that by reading the contents in the development sections, it seems the opposite.
G4 Plus seems more supported than the regular version, although I could be wrong.

umberto1978 said:
This kind of post should go in the "questions and answers" of the device, I can tell you that by reading the contents in the development sections, it seems the opposite.
G4 Plus seems more supported than the regular version, although I could be wrong.
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It's true, wrong section, my mistake, and thanks for your answer!

Each rom here , support both g4 and g4 plus , there is no specific rom for either g4 plus or g4

A few questions about the phone

Hi,
My questions are:
1 - Does any variant of the phone have NFC?
2 - I read that some people have issues with their GPS? Is that a manufacturing defect and only present in random units?
3 - Does anybody know how to reflash stock ROM for harpia? Because somebody might want to reflash stock ROM for some reason (not restore from TWRP backup), but wouldn't know how. I don't own the phone yet, but I am planning on buying it, so a guide would be useful to be made if somebody knows how to do it and is willing to make one as a seperate thread
Thanks in advance!

if you looking to buy, please wait for g5 play.

lazydesi said:
if you looking to buy, please wait for g5 play.
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Why though? I think the G4 play is a great phone, not gonna use it for things like heavy gaming after all.

lazydesi said:
if you looking to buy, please wait for g5 play.
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Why? What differences will there be?

proudlytm said:
Why though? I think the G4 play is a great phone, not gonna use it for things like heavy gaming after all.
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screen will be 1080p
sd 430 chip
releases with nougat ( may get android O support)
will come with updated gps

I can quick whip up a guide soon on how to restore to the stock rom, I've done it several times before. Also, one perk to potentially waiting for the G5 to be released is it might drop the price of the G4 Play a small bit making it a better deal. Also most light casual gaming is very smooth, things such as Alto's Adventure, Dots, etc. I personally recommend it, mainly due to seeing how development is starting to pick up nicely (big thanks to all the debs too). Heck, the 2013 Falcon model of the Moto G is still getting a decent bit of Nougat roms, and it launched with Jellybean on it when I owned one

fireball0093 said:
I can quick whip up a guide soon on how to restore to the stock rom, I've done it several times before. Also, one perk to potentially waiting for the G5 to be released is it might drop the price of the G4 Play a small bit making it a better deal. Also most light casual gaming is very smooth, things such as Alto's Adventure, Dots, etc. I personally recommend it, mainly due to seeing how development is starting to pick up nicely (big thanks to all the debs too). Heck, the 2013 Falcon model of the Moto G is still getting a decent bit of Nougat roms, and it launched with Jellybean on it when I owned one
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That's great! :good:
About the price dropping of G4, that doesn't really bother me, because I just want to buy the phone ASAP to stop using my old replacement phone! I also like the fact that the phone has official Lineage ROM status
I've watched some videos of gaming on the phone and the frame rates look high enough! :good:
Do you have any information about the GPS problem some people are complaining about? Do you have any personal experience with it?

proudlytm said:
That's great! :good:
About the price dropping of G4, that doesn't really bother me, because I just want to buy the phone ASAP to stop using my old replacement phone! I also like the fact that the phone has official Lineage ROM status
I've watched some videos of gaming on the phone and the frame rates look high enough! :good:
Do you have any information about the GPS problem some people are complaining about? Do you have any personal experience with it?
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Click to collapse
Just got the guide completed, here's the link for anyone who wants it. Make sure you don't get the Amazon or Verizon variant because currently I don't think there are any methods of unlocking the bootloader right now. I don't have an problems with my GPS signal, it seems there must just be the occasional bad unit.

proudlytm said:
Do you have any information about the GPS problem some people are complaining about? Do you have any personal experience with it?
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Click to collapse
A lot of phones are shipping with GLONASS disabled on the GPS chip. That's why the GPS sucks outright. This is Lenovo's problem and they themselves have no idea how to fix it. So far, I've only heard of a Moto G5 and G5 Plus (no play edition), but if Lenovo makes the same mistake, they'll run the entire product line into the ground.

mkollersms said:
A lot of phones are shipping with GLONASS disabled on the GPS chip. That's why the GPS sucks outright. This is Lenovo's problem and they themselves have no idea how to fix it. So far, I've only heard of a Moto G5 and G5 Plus (no play edition), but if Lenovo makes the same mistake, they'll run the entire product line into the ground.
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I see.. Well, hope I don't happen on such unit..

fireball0093 said:
Just got the guide completed, here's the link for anyone who wants it. Make sure you don't get the Amazon or Verizon variant because currently I don't think there are any methods of unlocking the bootloader right now. I don't have an problems with my GPS signal, it seems there must just be the occasional bad unit.
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Click to collapse
Thank you so much for this. I really haven't been hesitant in the past but with this phone I'm a bit worried to dive right in.. This should definitely help out.

fireball0093 said:
Just got the guide completed, here's the link for anyone who wants it. Make sure you don't get the Amazon or Verizon variant because currently I don't think there are any methods of unlocking the bootloader right now. I don't have an problems with my GPS signal, it seems there must just be the occasional bad unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes now I think I have got a bad unit. 15 days are over and now I know Amazon will refuse to replace. Though I would go for replacement of the gps device. I am facing some serious problems with it.

G5 newbie with 2 questions...

I'm thinking of picking up a new G5 Plus to have as a backup because i'm seeing signs that my LG G2 is giving out (yes i'm still using a phone from 2013). The reason I don't want a G6 or 7 is I really like a 5.2" screen. It's the perfect size for my hands and I don't want something bigger. I have a couple of questions though.
1.) Is the G5 Plus still a good phone in 2019 in terms of performance? I don't do anything crazy with my phone. I just want something reliable.
2.) I've seen a bunch of different threads about getting root and unlocking the bootloader, but they are old and I don't know which one to follow. Is there a consenus on which is the best method\tools to use to unlock the bootloader and achieve root so I can install custom ROMs? I don't need directions because I have experience rooting phones so I understand the terminology. I just want to know who's steps to follow to do it properly because I haven't needed to root a phone for 5+ years now.
I think that's all I need for now. Probably will have more questions once I get the phone and start to use it. Thanks for any info...

flyinjoe13 said:
I'm thinking of picking up a new G5 Plus to have as a backup because i'm seeing signs that my LG G2 is giving out (yes i'm still using a phone from 2013). The reason I don't want a G6 or 7 is I really like a 5.2" screen. It's the perfect size for my hands and I don't want something bigger. I have a couple of questions though.
1.) Is the G5 Plus still a good phone in 2019 in terms of performance? I don't do anything crazy with my phone. I just want something reliable.
2.) I've seen a bunch of different threads about getting root and unlocking the bootloader, but they are old and I don't know which one to follow. Is there a consenus on which is the best method\tools to use to unlock the bootloader and achieve root so I can install custom ROMs? I don't need directions because I have experience rooting phones so I understand the terminology. I just want to know who's steps to follow to do it properly because I haven't needed to root a phone for 5+ years now.
I think that's all I need for now. Probably will have more questions once I get the phone and start to use it. Thanks for any info...
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1.) Yes. It's my daily driver and still does a great job.
No need for me to purchase another device.
2.} PM me when you have the phone, I'll guide you through the steps of unlocking/rooting/decrypting. I wanted to release an actual tutorial but had the feeling it may not be needed anymore but it's almost ready.
Sent from my Moto G5 Plus using XDA Labs

Wolfcity said:
1.) Yes. It's my daily driver and still does a great job.
No need for me to purchase another device.
2.} PM me when you have the phone, I'll guide you through the steps of unlocking/rooting/decrypting. I wanted to release an actual tutorial but had the feeling it may not be needed anymore but it's almost ready.
Sent from my Moto G5 Plus using XDA Labs
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Thank you. I will do that when it comes in. Will be a couple of weeks because I leave for a vacation in a few days and won't get a chance to play with it until then.

Significant risk of bricking

I may be spoiled because all my previous phones were various versions of Nexus phones (and tablets), all rooted and with various stock and/or other ROMs installed. But Nexus phones were originally designed for developers, easy to root and mod.
Moto G7 is my first non Nexus phone. So what I write may not be unique and perhaps apply to other non-Nexus phones. I don't know.
Despite all my modding I never bricked a phone until I got the Moto G7. And I've read of many others who have hard bricked their Moto phones too. Moto certainly does not want you to root or modify their phones and punishes you if you do.
If you wish to root the G7:
—unlocking the bootloader requires you to first contact and get a code from Moto
—you then get an annoying persistent warning at every boot that tells you this is now an untrusted phone (as if you did not know)
—rooting this phone is fraught with many problems along the way (but it is a new phone with little development)
—if you make the error of later installing an ota update from Moto (even if officially announced on the phone as available and even after unrooting the phone) it can irretrievably brick your phone without warning (as I've done)
That said, the unrooted phone is excellent value despite some problems like occasionally dropping wifi. But in my experience it is not particularly suited for rooting and modding.
Fwiw
(Does anyone know what Moto charges to repair a phone out if warranty?)

maybeme2 said:
I may be spoiled because all my previous phones were various versions of Nexus phones (and tablets), all rooted and with various stock and/or other ROMs installed. But Nexus phones were originally designed for developers, easy to root and mod.
Moto G7 is my first non Nexus phone. So what I write may not be unique and perhaps apply to other non-Nexus phones. I don't know.
Despite all my modding I never bricked a phone until I got the Moto G7. And I've read of many others who have hard bricked their Moto phones too. Moto certainly does not want you to root or modify their phones and punishes you if you do.
If you wish to root the G7:
—unlocking the bootloader requires you to first contact and get a code from Moto
—you then get an annoying persistent warning at every boot that tells you this is now an untrusted phone (as if you did not know)
—rooting this phone is fraught with many problems along the way (but it is a new phone with little development)
—if you make the error of later installing an ota update from Moto (even if officially announced on the phone as available and even after unrooting the phone) it can irretrievably brick your phone without warning (as I've done)
That said, the unrooted phone is excellent value despite some problems like occasionally dropping wifi. But in my experience it is not particularly suited for rooting and modding.
Fwiw
(Does anyone know what Moto charges to repair a phone out if warranty?)
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Click to collapse
I bought mine used but mint xt1962-1 on eBay for $110. Prob $150 for repair by Moto. Blankflash is avail on Tele$ram for qld 9008 brick

maybeme2 said:
I may be spoiled because all my previous phones were various versions of Nexus phones (and tablets), all rooted and with various stock and/or other ROMs installed. But Nexus phones were originally designed for developers, easy to root and mod.
Moto G7 is my first non Nexus phone. So what I write may not be unique and perhaps apply to other non-Nexus phones. I don't know.
Despite all my modding I never bricked a phone until I got the Moto G7. And I've read of many others who have hard bricked their Moto phones too. Moto certainly does not want you to root or modify their phones and punishes you if you do.
If you wish to root the G7:
—unlocking the bootloader requires you to first contact and get a code from Moto
—you then get an annoying persistent warning at every boot that tells you this is now an untrusted phone (as if you did not know)
—rooting this phone is fraught with many problems along the way (but it is a new phone with little development)
—if you make the error of later installing an ota update from Moto (even if officially announced on the phone as available and even after unrooting the phone) it can irretrievably brick your phone without warning (as I've done)
That said, the unrooted phone is excellent value despite some problems like occasionally dropping wifi. But in my experience it is not particularly suited for rooting and modding.
Fwiw
(Does anyone know what Moto charges to repair a phone out if warranty?)
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Click to collapse
Agreed. The reasons you cite are probably why there is so little development activity on this device.
A big THANK YOU to the TWRP and LineageOS teams for the work they have done on the G7.

I cannot agree more! A huge thank you to the few developers who have helped us, including Alberto97 who gave us the unofficial TWRP early on, the twrp team who recently provided an official version, and the few brave helpers who helped us in XDA.
But, one problem non-expert users face when seeking advice by 'searching first' (as recommended) instead of asking 'again' in the threads is the *outdated advice* found. Take for example something as common as how to root the Moto G7. Advice found by searching for rooting advice include:
If your phone channel is "US Retail", download RETUS (retail US) on pc.
Copy the image to your phone and use Magisk to patch the image. After that, copy the output image to your host computer.
(This spawned numerous queries of 'how do you use Magisk to patch the.....)
Now turn your phone off, press and hold power + volume down to enter bootloader, connect your phone to host computer, and enter
fastboot flash boot
Press space once and drag and drop the output image file to command window.
If everything goes well, restart the phone and confirm it is rooted with Magisk
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Rather complicated! Actually rooting the Moto G7 with an unlocked bootloader is as simple as:
—install Magisk Manager and use it to download Magisk zip.
—in TWRP, install Magisk zip
That will root the phone.
(besides, many versions of Magisk would patch boot.IMG in ways that don't work correctly for the G7)
I don't know that there is much that can be done about outdated or incorrect advice but it explains the frustration of non-expert users. ?

Tele$ram has much better support these days than XDA

HueyT said:
Tele$ram has much better support these days than XDA
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You are correct. XDA is were I go first but Telegram solved several of my most stubborn problems.

I had zero problems following the directions in these forums, just my two cents.

HueyT said:
Tele$ram has much better support these days than XDA
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It absolutely does. XDA is a fantastic library. I see it as a central hub where the best and the brightest Android people congregate. But if you have a question to ask or feel like helping someone who does, TG can fix you up right away.
Instant gratification - it's what's for dinner.

SmilingPerson said:
It absolutely does. XDA is a fantastic library. I see it as a central hub where the best and the brightest Android people congregate. But if you have a question to ask or feel like helping someone who does, TG can fix you up right away.
Instant gratification - it's what's for dinner.
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Click to collapse
You said it perfectly.
Rapid, knowledgeable answers on Telegram.
XDA is a fantastic library — but that means search finds old advice messages that are no longer valid and can create more problems for you.