Database Users

Any custom ROMs available yet for the H915 Canadian Version (Freedom Mobile)?

LTE band 66 service and OTA updating is disabled through the DirtySanta root exploit on the stock build when rooted. I was hoping that there would be a ROM or two for the Canadian version of this device. Need something relatively stable, with nightly updates, and with support for AWS 3/Band 66 connectivity
Any leads are are appreciated. Thanks!

Considering the 915 isn't even a supported device no. If someone has gotten the 915 please let me know.

Until FREEDOM Mobile allows the LG V20 LOCKED bootloader to be UNlocked, there will be no FREEDOM to have a custom ROM anytime soon
That is what I got the T-mobile version with the unlockable bootloader which works great on NON-freedom.
lumberguy1028 said:
LTE band 66 service and OTA updating is disabled through the DirtySanta root exploit on the stock build when rooted. I was hoping that there would be a ROM or two for the Canadian version of this device. Need something relatively stable, with nightly updates, and with support for AWS 3/Band 66 connectivity
Any leads are are appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Well i have a theory about getting root and signal on the 915 but it involves losing recovery afterwards. If anyone wants to discuss it let me know

markbencze said:
Well i have a theory about getting root and signal on the 915 but it involves losing recovery afterwards. If anyone wants to discuss it let me know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually very interested. I have the LGUP tool on Windows with Uppercut drivers installed, so I can unbrick my device even without recovery. Living without a rooted device is causing me extreme stress and trauma.

lumberguy1028 said:
Actually very interested. I have the LGUP tool on Windows with Uppercut drivers installed, so I can unbrick my device even without recovery. Living without a rooted device is causing me extreme stress and trauma.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so here's my theory.
Basically we can root and have twrp but the problem is that signal ceases to exist afterwards which we assume is caused by the bootloader. Someone posted that they fixed their signal issues using the hidden menu features. But they didn't elaborate if they were rooted at the time and that was the direct reason for losing it in the first place. Nor have they replied. So that part is unknown. It may or may not be an option. The other question I had was is it just wind users who lose signals or does it affect wind devices that are unlocked but being used on other networks like bell, etc.
Anyway those are the unknown things that I'd like some clarification on. But in the meantime here's a theory I have that may or may not work if the above signal fix doesn't work.
So if the above fixing signal doesn't work via that hidden menu then we should be able to confirm the bootloader is the issue. What that means is that we need to have stock bootloader in order for everything to work.
But you cannot have stock bootloader with twrp unless you've "bumped" your recovery which we cannot do.
So my theory was to follow the whole root method and once your phone is booted up with root and twrp you would extract the stock recovery and stock bootloader from the restore file. Then you would flash them via flashfire which I'm told can be done. I'm told that flashing the bootloader does wipe your device which would eliminate root since it's the systemless method. So in theory you'd be back to pure stock again. That's not what we want to have. So we would have to use an alternative root like phh's root method flashed instead of supersu from twrp during the initial root process here. My theory is that you would be restored to stock again but you would have root at least.
So you would at least be able to tinker just not flash stuff. But I believe you can flash a few things from flashfire and still have root for general tinkering or ad block etc.
Of course there is also the possibility that with the locked bootloader (stock) that your phone may not even boot due to new security features in 7.0
But like I said this is just a theory that may or may not work. I haven't had time to try it because I'm constantly busy working and testing themes but if I do ever get time I would consider trying it if we can confirm that we are able to 100% restore to stock. At least with that confirmation we know that if it doesn't work we can get back to how things were.
Hopefully that makes sense.

markbencze said:
Ok so here's my theory.
Basically we can root and have twrp but the problem is that signal ceases to exist afterwards which we assume is caused by the bootloader. Someone posted that they fixed their signal issues using the hidden menu features. But they didn't elaborate if they were rooted at the time and that was the direct reason for losing it in the first place. Nor have they replied. So that part is unknown. It may or may not be an option. The other question I had was is it just wind users who lose signals or does it affect wind devices that are unlocked but being used on other networks like bell, etc.
Anyway those are the unknown things that I'd like some clarification on. But in the meantime here's a theory I have that may or may not work if the above signal fix doesn't work.
So if the above fixing signal doesn't work via that hidden menu then we should be able to confirm the bootloader is the issue. What that means is that we need to have stock bootloader in order for everything to work.
But you cannot have stock bootloader with twrp unless you've "bumped" your recovery which we cannot do.
So my theory was to follow the whole root method and once your phone is booted up with root and twrp you would extract the stock recovery and stock bootloader from the restore file. Then you would flash them via flashfire which I'm told can be done. I'm told that flashing the bootloader does wipe your device which would eliminate root since it's the systemless method. So in theory you'd be back to pure stock again. That's not what we want to have. So we would have to use an alternative root like phh's root method flashed instead of supersu from twrp during the initial root process here. My theory is that you would be restored to stock again but you would have root at least.
So you would at least be able to tinker just not flash stuff. But I believe you can flash a few things from flashfire and still have root for general tinkering or ad block etc.
Of course there is also the possibility that with the locked bootloader (stock) that your phone may not even boot due to new security features in 7.0
But like I said this is just a theory that may or may not work. I haven't had time to try it because I'm constantly busy working and testing themes but if I do ever get time I would consider trying it if we can confirm that we are able to 100% restore to stock. At least with that confirmation we know that if it doesn't work we can get back to how things were.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im not sure how much you followed with me but... In my attempts to find a return to stock method i reflashed my stock aboot(bootloader). This bricked me. There is no way to use the stock bootloader once its been replaced that i have found.

me2151 said:
Im not sure how much you followed with me but... In my attempts to find a return to stock method i reflashed my stock aboot(bootloader). This bricked me. There is no way to use the stock bootloader once its been replaced that i have found.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clearing that up. So then my next question was did you attempt that signal fix method and were you using yours on wind or was it an unlocked wind used on another network?
here's the link to this signal fix https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70328080&postcount=3
and here is a post about someone saying they used it to fix their signal but they wouldn't elaborate on anything else.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70571563&postcount=12

markbencze said:
Thanks for clearing that up. So then my next question was did you attempt that signal fix method and were you using yours on wind or was it an unlocked wind used on another network?
here's the link to this signal fix https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70328080&postcount=3
and here is a post about someone saying they used it to fix their signal but they wouldn't elaborate on anything else.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70571563&postcount=12
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol Im the dirtysanta dev. I have a LS997. Not a 915.

me2151 said:
Lol Im the dirtysanta dev. I have a LS997. Not a 915.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I knew you had worked on ds. I wasn't sure however if you had a 915 or not. So then at this point it seems that if that signal fix is in fact valid that it is the only method to get things operational and I would presume it's a stretch given the user who posted about it doesn't seem to have any credibility to go by.

markbencze said:
Well I knew you had worked on ds. I wasn't sure however if you had a 915 or not. So then at this point it seems that if that signal fix is in fact valid that it is the only method to get things operational and I would presume it's a stretch given the user who posted about it doesn't seem to have any credibility to go by.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. Yeah DirtySanta may have been developed for LS997, but it seems to work on H915 minus the modem issue.

lumberguy1028 said:
Thanks for this. Yeah DirtySanta may have been developed for LS997, but it seems to work on H915 minus the modem issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct but it's useless to use since the phone doesn't function properly afterwards. If there was a confirmed way to have data and signal working then that would be great but there is nothing confirmed to work yet.

I've just moved to a V20 from a Note 4. All my Note4 ROMS were T-Mobile versions. I believe Rogers/Fido phones are basically the same as T-Mobile, which uses freq. channel 66 as well.
Has anyone tried a T-Mobile (918) ROM on the 915 yet? Might just work...

no root yet for freedom????/

whats the method
whats the method to root the lg h915

diehard2013 said:
no root yet for freedom????/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 'Freedom' name becomes a bit ironic for the LG V20 H915 variant it seems. Not a lot of freedom when one can't unlock and root it. Just got one the other day as somehow my Note 4 stopped functioning as a phone, after a couple of months of fun running through loads of Lineage and other nightlies. Loved that phone, but I'll come to love the V20 I'm sure. Already like it a lot. But root seems essential. I haven't had an unrooted phone for more than a few hours in years. Adaway and just general user control of the file system seems essential. Getting rid of bloatware and such. I mean... I disabled a lot of that nonsense, but it's still there, existing in MY phone, which makes me mad. I want to dump a few custom notification sounds into root directories but can't. It's frustrating. So yeah, commenting to subscribe, and hoping a developer with a V20 in Canada decides to get excited enough to remedy the situation, whenever that becomes possible. Otherwise it seems I'll just have to get used to the odd ad and the other limitations.

GerardSamija said:
The 'Freedom' name becomes a bit ironic for the LG V20 H915 variant it seems. Not a lot of freedom when one can't unlock and root it. Just got one the other day as somehow my Note 4 stopped functioning as a phone, after a couple of months of fun running through loads of Lineage and other nightlies. Loved that phone, but I'll come to love the V20 I'm sure. Already like it a lot. But root seems essential. I haven't had an unrooted phone for more than a few hours in years. Adaway and just general user control of the file system seems essential. Getting rid of bloatware and such. I mean... I disabled a lot of that nonsense, but it's still there, existing in MY phone, which makes me mad. I want to dump a few custom notification sounds into root directories but can't. It's frustrating. So yeah, commenting to subscribe, and hoping a developer with a V20 in Canada decides to get excited enough to remedy the situation, whenever that becomes possible. Otherwise it seems I'll just have to get used to the odd ad and the other limitations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why Wouldent you just use the secret # in the hidden menu to change bands to get signial. Also you could try searching for exsisting bands that are near by, this dont require the hidden menu.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Not understanding what you are suggesting. I tried lots of hidden menu options to get the SIM recognized in the Note 4, but it appears the slot died on that phone. It just won't be a phone any more, no matter which ROM i flash.
If you mean the LG V20 I'm even more puzzled. How would changing hands help with rooting the phone?

GerardSamija said:
Not understanding what you are suggesting. I tried lots of hidden menu options to get the SIM recognized in the Note 4, but it appears the slot died on that phone. It just won't be a phone any more, no matter which ROM i flash.
If you mean the LG V20 I'm even more puzzled. How would changing hands help with rooting the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops my bad i was sleeping while i read that. You can fix your sim card reader just use a soder tool. Also there maybe a root for this phone but i don't think it is safe enough yet.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Sprint V20 In-Store Restore Question

I have successfully rooted my Spring LG V20 using DirtySanta and it seems to be working for the most part, but I'm not really impressed with the benefits of rooting at this point. What's even more disappointing was the lack of a method for reverting to stock. My question is--can I bring this in to a Sprint store and ask them to restore it to stock? I checked fastboot for oem status and everything reads false. I don't have SuperSU or any other root apps installed on the phone. The only thing that shows up is the damn red triange every time I boot. Anyone have any experience with this? I don't really want to get in trouble for rooting, but I'd really like to get back to factory stock. Doesn't look like we'll be getting a restore method any time soon either, correct? Thanks in advance...

I don't think there is a revert method (inside or outside the store). I know it's after the fact, but on your next device, you may want to figure out exactly what you'd want to do with root before you go through with it. I typically only do it for TB backup purposes and XPOSED, but I've found that I can back up in other ways, and I dig stock enough not to risk rooting. I don't knock you for rooting (there are plenty of good reasons to), this is just my advice going forward. In the meantime, you should look around XDA, you may find your golden goose app that you can leverage root for. Good luck.

bgibson72 said:
I have successfully rooted my Spring LG V20 using DirtySanta and it seems to be working for the most part, but I'm not really impressed with the benefits of rooting at this point. What's even more disappointing was the lack of a method for reverting to stock. My question is--can I bring this in to a Sprint store and ask them to restore it to stock? I checked fastboot for oem status and everything reads false. I don't have SuperSU or any other root apps installed on the phone. The only thing that shows up is the damn red triange every time I boot. Anyone have any experience with this? I don't really want to get in trouble for rooting, but I'd really like to get back to factory stock. Doesn't look like we'll be getting a restore method any time soon either, correct? Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey sorry to hear that your having issues,
but you and the other poster are correct, sprint never released a restore file that wasn't encrypted.
And to my knowledge the repair centers would not be able to fix this issues, and sadly lg would more then likely deny a
warranty claim as this was modifications done by the end user.
A good chance in the future that we will get the files needed or a process to revert back to stock, but currently there is no SAFE method to try, and pushing the stock aboot and system.img back to the device WILL hard brick the device.. @me2151 attempted the restore process once, and failed, so please be careful as you may have issues.. The red warning triangle is due to your aboot "bootloader" being swapped for the debug version and will never go away, unless we get a dev willing to risk his device for a .png swap of the warning RED img. Other wise its there forever.
The static on boot up can be removed using a custom kernel but be aware it WILL break things in return. Typically update to prl and profile
fm radio, comfort view and a few other little things..

Hey, thanks for the reply. I can deal with the red warning screen, I just get a little anxious when I can't use the touchscreen or my cellular data gets hosed. As long as there are fixes here (which there have been--thanks to all) and I can use my phone, we're good. I figured if someone could break encryption on government files then why would an encrypted KDZ file be such a challenge? At any rate, I appreciate the help. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for a PNG swap!

Relocking bootloader

Hey guys.
Really sorry for having to post this again :/
Tried posting my issue in this thread but I think that thread's gone cold.
----
I have a Moto G5 Plus US, Model XT1687
Current ROM Info:
Software channel: retus
Build #: NPN 25.137-33
Security patch: Jan, 1 2017
Baseband: M8953_02.03.07.06R POTTER_NA_CUST
On a whim, unlocked the bootloader. Now id like to lock it back.
I haven't updated my phone / installed any OTA's, phone keeps asking to update to NPNS25.137-33-5, haven't done it.
Does this procedure work for me?
Which ROM should I use?
Id like to relock the bootloader and receive OTA updates as normal on my US variant phone!
Many thanks!

I'm pretty sure Motorola hasn't released stock firmware for the retus version.

Cats_PJs said:
I'm pretty sure Motorola hasn't released stock firmware for the retus version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, there's no way for me to relock my bootloader unless motorola releases it?
Can't I use another firmware that's available here at XDA?
What would you do?
Not update OTA and wait for motorola to release the firmware, or should just leave it unlocked?
Thanks

seed_87 said:
So, there's no way for me to relock my bootloader unless motorola releases it?
Can't I use another firmware that's available here at XDA?
What would you do?
Not update OTA and wait for motorola to release the firmware, or should just leave it unlocked?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there's a way to relock the retus version, but maybe I'm wrong.
As far as what I would do. I always run a custom ROM, so I'd flash twrp, make a backup and try a few roms..

seed_87 said:
So, there's no way for me to relock my bootloader unless motorola releases it?
Can't I use another firmware that's available here at XDA?
What would you do?
Not update OTA and wait for motorola to release the firmware, or should just leave it unlocked?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To relock the phone, you must flash a complete factory image that is the same or newer than what you have installed... Only way, not that it gains much except the ability to pass SafetyNet checks on pure stock, which you can do with some root magic anyway, but the bootloader will change to a state of 2 (Relocked), your warranty will still be void, and you will still get the bootloader unlocked warning screen (unless you flash a custom logo).

Cats_PJs said:
I don't think there's a way to relock the retus version, but maybe I'm wrong.
As far as what I would do. I always run a custom ROM, so I'd flash twrp, make a backup and try a few roms..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I originally wanted to just root the stock ROM and install a couple of things like: Adaway, some Xposed modules (Like the Youtube ad remover one), WiFi ADB (which requires root, allows one to wirelessly debug apks)
acejavelin said:
To relock the phone, you must flash a complete factory image that is the same or newer than what you have installed... Only way, not that it gains much except the ability to pass SafetyNet checks on pure stock, which you can do with some root magic anyway, but the bootloader will change to a state of 2 (Relocked), your warranty will still be void, and you will still get the bootloader unlocked warning screen (unless you flash a custom logo).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow relocking the BL sounds really useless once you realize what you're getting from it. I really don't care much for SafetyNet as (this model has no NFC). I don't use Android Pay either.
Honestly, I unlocked the BL but finally didn't root mainly because I read some issues when rooting. Please see this post
Thanks for the enlightenment!

seed_87 said:
Well, I originally wanted to just root the stock ROM and install a couple of things like: Adaway, some Xposed modules (Like the Youtube ad remover one), WiFi ADB (which requires root, allows one to wirelessly debug apks)
Wow relocking the BL sounds really useless once you realize what you're getting from it. I really don't care much for SafetyNet as (this model has no NFC). I don't use Android Pay either.
Honestly, I unlocked the BL but finally didn't root mainly because I read some issues when rooting. Please see this post
Thanks for the enlightenment!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you do decide to root, I would suggest using magisk instead of SuperSU. I switched a few months ago, and it works perfectly

Safetynet isn't just for nfc, other companies and apps have used it in their software as well ie: Snapchat, and Pokemon go are 2 I can think off the bat.
Installing and/or rooting with magisk is fairly easy and painless, and it will have superSU which will give you root.
How to:
Must have twrp recovery, or some other custom recovery, although these days I would recommend twrp, as it works and is more widely used than say cm recovery is, since cm project was taken over by lineage now. Anyways, flash a custom recovery and use it. (note: I haven't used cm recovery or any other recovery in years, so I do not know it this works with antyhing else, aside from twrp, which I know it works fine with). There are also tutorials all over xda on how to install/flash twrp, as well as youtube videos if you prefer that better.
Go grab magisk.zip, (do a google search or look on xda, it's all over the place just do a search for like magisk zip, you'll find it).
The latest as of right now I think is 14.0 and you will also (if I recall correctly) need magisk manager, (and just like the zip file you can do a quick search it's also all over the place).
Once you have that, reboot into recovery, then flash the magisk.zip file, and reboot, it should give you magisk manager app in your app drawer and you should be rooted. (Note: You may need to update magisk manager.)
To check root grab an app called root checker on the plays store. (it's free)
It's that easy.
Short summary:
1: Install custom recovery (if you haven't already)
2: Boot to recovery, flash magisk.zip
3: reboot to system, and profit from root + safetynet hide.
Quick and painless root method.
I do all my rooting now this way, in fact I recently re-flashed my nexus 5x rom and instead of flashing superSU I flashed the magisk way instead, and it cover 2 things,
1: gives you root
2: it hides root from safetynet and lets you use nfc, pokemon go, snapchat, and other apps that use safetynet as well.

Cats_PJs said:
If you do decide to root, I would suggest using magisk instead of SuperSU. I switched a few months ago, and it works perfectly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, wow, I had the (wrong) idea that the SuperSU method was the better one and superseeded magisk. If that works great then awesome I will root using magisk, thanks @Cats_PJs !
easyrider77 said:
Safetynet isn't just for nfc, other companies and apps have used it in their software as well ie: Snapchat, and Pokemon go are 2 I can think off the bat.
Installing and/or rooting with magisk is fairly easy and painless, and it will have superSU which will give you root.
How to:
Must have twrp recovery, or some other custom recovery, although these days I would recommend twrp, as it works and is more widely used than say cm recovery is, since cm project was taken over by lineage now. Anyways, flash a custom recovery and use it. (note: I haven't used cm recovery or any other recovery in years, so I do not know it this works with antyhing else, aside from twrp, which I know it works fine with). There are also tutorials all over xda on how to install/flash twrp, as well as youtube videos if you prefer that better.
Go grab magisk.zip, (do a google search or look on xda, it's all over the place just do a search for like magisk zip, you'll find it).
The latest as of right now I think is 14.0 and you will also (if I recall correctly) need magisk manager, (and just like the zip file you can do a quick search it's also all over the place).
Once you have that, reboot into recovery, then flash the magisk.zip file, and reboot, it should give you magisk manager app in your app drawer and you should be rooted. (Note: You may need to update magisk manager.)
To check root grab an app called root checker on the plays store. (it's free)
It's that easy.
Short summary:
1: Install custom recovery (if you haven't already)
2: Boot to recovery, flash magisk.zip
3: reboot to system, and profit from root + safetynet hide.
Quick and painless root method.
I do all my rooting now this way, in fact I recently re-flashed my nexus 5x rom and instead of flashing superSU I flashed the magisk way instead, and it cover 2 things,
1: gives you root
2: it hides root from safetynet and lets you use nfc, pokemon go, snapchat, and other apps that use safetynet as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome explanation @easyrider77 I will definitely try to root using magisk. Thanks for the warning, don't play Pokemon go and haven't used Snapchat in years so i'm good! I'll try flashing the latest Magisk (v14.0)
One thing tho:
I think I want to (for now anyways) stay stock-ish (stock rom + stock kernel + twrp + magisk).
If I understand it correctly, flashing a custom recovery renders the phone unable to get OTA's (Not that I'd want to apply an OTA update on a modified rooted phone and risk a brick anyways) So, how would one eventually update Android? (Keeping in mind that Motorola hasn't released any retus firmware) Can I flash other non-retus firmwares? (Which wouldn't flash over twrp I think, I would then just loose root and have to flash magisk again, right?)
Thanks a ton guys :good::good::good:
EDIT:
Short xda search pointed me to this official TWRP link, will follow fastboot method to install TWRP.

I'm not sure what exactly stops ota from coming in. I've heard unlocking the bootloader is what causes it, and I've also heard that flashing a custom recovery is what causes it, and I've also heard a custom rom is what does it.
There are options as far as ota goes though, and work the same way, but you'd jsut have to wait. People release flashable ota files all the time, and can be flashed via twrp.
If you want to keep stock, and root that's fine too, but I personally wouldn't worry much about the ota issue at all, because eventually every phone will not get ota as it will lose support, but you can still get the latest and greatest up to date rom with it's features.
Prime examples would be:
Oneplus One,
Oneplus 3
some of the samsung devices like s4
These are just a few, and although they don't receive support officially, they are sporting the brand new android 8 oreo.
Even the samsung s4 has N for it and it came out in 2013 (that's near 5 yrs ago now) and started on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) and said it was upgradable to 5.0.1 (Lollipop), and now here we are running android 7.1.x.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-tmobile/development
(not sure if there were any unlocked variants of that phone at the time as it wasn't a common thing like it is now, that's why I chose the tmobile thread but there are other variants that get it as well)
So when it comes to ota, I personally would not an do not worry about that when I root, that's the last of my worries.
I prefer functionality and customization over ota myself, because most times someone comes out with either an official link to an ota or makes an flashable ota you can flash via twrp, although my semi-educated guess would be if you decide to install the official/stock ota, then it will erase everything you have anyways which can be a pain.
DO keep in mind once you unlock the bootloader, it "officially" voids any warranty and moto does have the option to refuse service if anything goes wrong with the phone, but I have heard some people had no issues and moto took the phone back even when rooted, but that is something you would have to make a choice and live with IF you decided to unlock the bootloader, as there is no way to undo that process.
I have re-locked the bootloader on a moto phone so yes it CAN be re-locked, but........it still gets triggered and moto will know that it's been unlocked even if you re-lock it, because that part is irreversible and cannot be undone, aside from you locking and unlocking it on your side.
As for flashing firmware and all that, make DOUBLY sure you know your phones model number and/or codename, this is key in flashing most anything you do with your phone, because even though a phone may have multiple variants, ie: tmobile, sprint, at&t versions, and even European versions, and the phones are identical in EVERY way hardware wise, you can't just simply pick a rom of choice and use it, it's a matter of knowing what your phones info is.
Example: you cannot take a t-mobile phone rom and flash it's official firmware or it's roms, and updates on a at&t variant, or a metroPCS on a tmobile variant, even though they use the same network, and are the exact same phone and hardware, there are subtle differences and can most likely brick the phone, either hard or soft.
So if I had the US variant of the g5 plus that would be codenamed the same "potter" like the rest, but, the number is different which is XT1687, so I would use that number as my reference, as apposed to the potter name, because there are 3 other variants of that phone which are Amazon Edition and the consumer cellular and of corse the European variants as well, I'm not exactly sure what numbers go with what phones other than the US unlocked variant, but on a quick look the other numbers are XT1684 and XT1685, perhaps someone else with more experience than I have can tell you what those number match up with said phone.
As far as the US variant goes though, I do not want to take a rom or firmware meant for the XT1684 XT1685 and use it on the XT1687 US variant, as it will most likely have bad results, ie: brick of some sort.
That's the main thing you have to worry about, other than that, there isn't much worry. Just do some major research and goggling and read and re-read and read again the directions on the threads at xda as most generally all of them are pretty simple to follow, if you do it step by step.
I recently bought an lg k20 plus phone from metroPCS, have never rooted that phone before and came to xda and followed the rooting thread and rooted it the first time. In a matter of 30 mins I had full root with stock rom (since there are no roms for that phone as of yet) but it is a metroPCS variant, (mp260) and in the case above, this phone is also sold by tmobile, is the exact same phones specs hardware, etc....I could not use the tmobile rom or firmware on this phone.
Hope this helps clear it up some.
Update:
I just bought a 64gb storage/4gb ram US variant of the g5 plus. It brought back some older memories of when I had my other moto, X I think it was, not sure anymore, but I DO remember you can unlock the bootloader as well as re-lock it, but, do keep in mind it still triggers something internally that can't be reveresed, so if moto did decide to check into things, they can tell if it's been bootloader unlocked.
So while you can unlock and lock the bootloader on our side, moto can still tell it's been unlocked, even when re-locked. Just hope if you send it back in they just don't check it and even if they do, hope they don't bother sending it back saying your warranty is void sorry.

Thanks @easyrider77
I used to install custom ROMs on my older phones. Recently though, stock android has gotten pretty good so maybe when this phone loses support I'll try some ROMs. Out of curiosity, what ROM/hacks/kernel do you use?
So, how does this sound:
- Install the OTA my phone's been prompting me to update to (upgrading from NPN25.137-33 to NPNS25.137-33-5 and I think it will then try to update to NPN25.137-83 with an August 1 security patch)
- Install TWRP via fastboot, make a nandroid backup!
- Root with Magisk v14.0
- Looking into maybe changing the boot.img "Your device is not trustworthy" thing
- Adaway! Xposed! Other goodies yay!
- Any other recommendations?
PS: Can Magisk root every firmware released by Motorola for the Moto G5+?

I've used it on my nexus 5x, and a lg k20 plus phone to root. I'm not sure if it has any limits when it comes to phones, but to my knowledge it should work fine.
Be careful with the boot.img file, if its not the correct size it will brick the phone too.

easyrider77 said:
I've used it on my nexus 5x, and a lg k20 plus phone to root. I'm not sure if it has any limits when it comes to phones, but to my knowledge it should work fine.
Be careful with the boot.img file, if its not the correct size it will brick the phone too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WIll do, many thanks for all your help guys!
@easyrider77 @Cats_PJs @acejavelin
:good::good::good:

Every rom I've tried on this phone works well, with only minor bugs. Right now I'm using the Pixel ROM. Elemental x is my kernel of choice because it's stable and has a sound option to increase volume. I use Kernel Adiutor for settings. The viper magisk module by ahrion works great, and ad away is a must. Good luck

Cats_PJs said:
Every rom I've tried on this phone works well, with only minor bugs. Right now I'm using the Pixel ROM. Elemental x is my kernel of choice because it's stable and has a sound option to increase volume. I use Kernel Adiutor for settings. The viper magisk module by ahrion works great, and ad away is a must. Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to hear cat.
I'm holding off on rooting just yet, although the temptation is really really great and pulling at me right now ina bad way . I just want to make doubly sure the phone isn't going to have issues, and hardware glitches. Anytime you mass produce a product, inevitably there will always be a bad batch(s) so I am just watching and waiting patiently on stock non-root (yes I said non-root LOL) but it's not as bad of an experience as I thought it would be.
I have to give this phone props, this phone is simply great. I bought the 64gb storage/4gb ram US variant, and have been nothing but happy with it, even on stock.
Camera isn't exactly your top tier phone camera but it certainly stands out as one of the not bad at all cameras. I see many saying the camera sucks, well if your zooming in and expect to get a good picture, good luck with that, simply put as I read in an article, two things 1: just don't use zoom, it's a digital zoom as apposed to an optical zoom, and simply will give you fuzzy and blurry pics a alot 2: if your after a good picture taking experience, for crimeny sake, buy a dang camera, these are phones people, NOT cameras. If they were meant for that, photographers around the world would be using phones, but guess what, news flash, they are using things called "cameras" wow what a concept LOL.
Anyways, if you just use very little zoom (I'd say 1.5 - 2.0x at most) but mostly just get closer to the subject or item you are takeing pics of, you'll have a much more pleasant experience with picture taking, trust me.
Ok of my soap box and tangent, sorry .
I will eventually root this bad boy, as I cannot resist the urge. For now I am just making sure the phone has no hiccups or glitches hardware wise, so glad to know roms are working well.
I did have a question about the sound though. I see people saying low sound volume with this phone, and I personally do not see (or hear in this case) the problems. I watched a few youtube videos last night and honestly I had to turn it down some because it was plenty loud, at least from this side.
Does the sound get lower with roms? (in wich case I can use viper) but I'm just curious.

easyrider77 said:
Nice to hear cat.
I'm holding off on rooting just yet, although the temptation is really really great and pulling at me right now ina bad way . I just want to make doubly sure the phone isn't going to have issues, and hardware glitches. Anytime you mass produce a product, inevitably there will always be a bad batch(s) so I am just watching and waiting patiently on stock non-root (yes I said non-root LOL) but it's not as bad of an experience as I thought it would be.
I have to give this phone props, this phone is simply great. I bought the 64gb storage/4gb ram US variant, and have been nothing but happy with it, even on stock.
Camera isn't exactly your top tier phone camera but it certainly stands out as one of the not bad at all cameras. I see many saying the camera sucks, well if your zooming in and expect to get a good picture, good luck with that, simply put as I read in an article, two things 1: just don't use zoom, it's a digital zoom as apposed to an optical zoom, and simply will give you fuzzy and blurry pics a alot 2: if your after a good picture taking experience, for crimeny sake, buy a dang camera, these are phones people, NOT cameras. If they were meant for that, photographers around the world would be using phones, but guess what, news flash, they are using things called "cameras" wow what a concept LOL.
Anyways, if you just use very little zoom (I'd say 1.5 - 2.0x at most) but mostly just get closer to the subject or item you are takeing pics of, you'll have a much more pleasant experience with picture taking, trust me.
Ok of my soap box and tangent, sorry .
I will eventually root this bad boy, as I cannot resist the urge. For now I am just making sure the phone has no hiccups or glitches hardware wise, so glad to know roms are working well.
I did have a question about the sound though. I see people saying low sound volume with this phone, and I personally do not see (or hear in this case) the problems. I watched a few youtube videos last night and honestly I had to turn it down some because it was plenty loud, at least from this side.
Does the sound get lower with roms? (in wich case I can use viper) but I'm just curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't have a problem with the sound volume, except when I plug it into my truck. If there's a good song on, and I really want to crank it up, I run out of volume, so I usually turn up the headphone gain in the kernel settings by 3.
I haven't noticed variance between ROM volumes on this phone, but I know on my old note 3 there was definitely fairly large variance between ROMs.

OK3: any modifications at all possible?

Hello,
A few months ago, I was able to successfully root my AT&T S4 (SGH-I337, builld LRX22C.I337UCSGOK3) using KingRoot. The KNOX warranty bit was not set at the conclusion of the root process.
After wrestling with storage problems, including the "system memory" taking up 6.29 GB out of the meager 16 GB that is on this phone (preventing practically any Google Play updates from occurring, as the available space would always dip below 500 MB periodically), as well as performance problems (very long delays for some touch events and a general resentment of TouchWiz), I decided that enough was enough, and I decided to change my ROM/OS out for LineageOS.
LineageOS offers builds for jfltexx, which is reported to work for jflteatt since they are similar enough. I am not really willing to try "older" builds, as one of my goals is also to bring the security of the operating system up to date, so I am not exactly inclined to go for old CyanogenMod builds. The LineageOS install guide stipulates that I install TWRP to successfully install the OS via a supported recovery; however, the message SECURE MAGICCODE FAIL: recovery appears, as the upgrade process seems to be expecting something signed by Samsung (right?). Other guides warn that the stock recovery only allows stock OS installation and not custom operating systems, so I decided not to try that route. This effectively prevents me from installing LineageOS due to a problem that is inherent in OK3.
Why did I make the mistake to install OK3? More than a year ago, I decided to do the final update that AT&T pushed out for this phone. Thinking that it would be something significant, I went for it, only to find out months later that it was a minor update whose purpose was also to add an additional lock to the bootloader. As this phone is "fairly old" (is 2013 already considered ancient times?), I have not found many guides that cover OK3, and those that do pertain to either rooting the S4 (already done) or something about downgrading (but I can't really do that, seemingly due to the OK3 lock-in). Oops.
That said, is there any hope to bring more life out of my phone, or is it time to throw the phone out and buy a Pixel or related product like any typical consumerist would do? My goal is to move to another OS to end the storage problems and other quirks of this phone that I have grown to deplore; that is all I wish to attain.
The phone is relatively reliable: it had ~1200 hours of uptime before I had to reboot it a few days ago to fix a data connectivity problem. The battery is also very manageable and can last a day and a half in regular use, but it can last 2-3 days under maximum power-saving mode.
I have read the rules and done some research on this forum, among some others. Thank you for your assistance.

Upgrading the phone to 4.3 locked the boot loader which prevents the installation of TWRP.

audit13 said:
Upgrading the phone to 4.3 locked the boot loader which prevents the installation of TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see; so I was already screwed when I had OK2?

oldmud0 said:
I see; so I was already screwed when I had OK2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, anything past MDL has the bootloader flaw patched. MDL firmware and below have a flaw in the bootloader that allows loki doki to be installed bypassing the bootloader lock so you can install TWRP recovery and custom AOSP ROMs.
Since you're on OK3, you're forced to use safe strap recovery and can only install custom touchwiz ROMs like golden eye and albe95.
If you want to read up on the MDL bootloader, I have written a guide here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att/general/how-to-one-guide-to-mdl-bootloader-t3584122

My wish is to escape TouchWiz, so I suppose I have hit a dead end.
Thank you for your help anyway.

oldmud0 said:
My wish is to escape TouchWiz, so I suppose I have hit a dead end.
Thank you for your help anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want away from touch wiz, I think there's a Google play edition ROM for the galaxy s4 that you can use with OK3, but I am not too sure. I would just check the galaxy s4 ROM section for it. I'm on the MDL bootloader which allows me to use TWRP, so I don't know too much about safe strap recovery.

Even if one wanted to do a TouchWiz-based ROM, I don't think we on OK2/OK3 even have the option to install SafeStrap, so far as I can gather
Hold the phone, I think I've found something. Evidently we can Odin back down to NB1 and go from there! Experiments, here we come.

Yes, NB1 is as far back you can go I believe without bricking your phone.

Root SM-J337A Samsung Galaxy Express Prime 3 (2018) Via Magisk Method

EDIT 3: It appears this device has a locked bootloader, which means that twrp wont work, and that device tree was a waste of time... I guess I'll just wait until someone or Samsung releases the firmware for Magisk.
EDIT 2: I have successfully built a device tree for this device using TWRPBuilder's script on github. Although it might not be fully complete, it is still a start. Note: I built using an android 8 release. Does the boardconfig.mk file still work for android 9????
I plan on comparing it with a different device tree to make sure nothing is blatantly wrong with it, but I'm not a developer so I don't know if that will help.
(Anyone willing to help me? If I could efficiently navigate the linux CLI I would probably be much faster...)
My current plan is to build TWRP for this device to back up the ROM so that I can use Magisk.
https://github.com/TwrpBuilder/twrpbuilder_tree_generator/blob/master/README.md
Link to device tree builder for those interested. Dont even ask how long it took me to realize I had to add the commands to the end of the java executive instead of typing TWRPBuilder -r recovery.img. command.
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EDIT: To those that read, Samsung has restrictions against downgrading apparently. Currently, the only way for root is by waiting for someone to share the official stock ROM. The first half of this method about getting the firmware Does Not Work I don't know about the rest...
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Hello everyone,
I would first like to say that I think this is a working method, but I want to double check with someone who has rooted before.
I have the above mentioned phone, and after a ton of research, have determined a path to rooting it through Magisk. I'm currently running Android Pie 9, on the latest stock firmware from att.
This phone does not have A/B partitioning, but has system-as-root and it will require a copy (and Magisk patched) ROM to root.
One of the main problems I have is not having the latest firmware for my device. (Don't tell me to look it up. Its non-existent on the web) I have found that Samsung's Smart Switch will allow you to obtain the official ROM.
However, to download the ROM, I have to have an outdated phone. The most recent update for my phone was to upgrade from Android 8.0 to 9.0.
I assume such an upgrade requires the whole ROM to be downloaded.
Is it possible to use an outdated ROM for my phone (Yes, I have one for android 8) and downgrade my OS so that I can then update from Smart Switch and get a copy of the current firmware to use with Magisk?
Edit: apparently Samsung has protections against downgrading. I tried samfirm but to no avail.
Anyone know of any compatible custom ROMs?
Will keep trying to root though...
I know many people will immediately say yes, but this phone is different.
There is no OEM unlock in Developer options (read more about this further!), and there is no fastboot. There is no TWRP for this phone either (some older threads on Magisk mentioned TWRP, so I am confused if I need it for rooting via Magisk)
I have discovered, that if you were to hold HOME + POWER + UP, on powerup, you can get to a warning about installing custom OSes and an option to continue.
I pressed continue.
Someone on the web said pressing up will wipe the phone, since it unlocks the bootloader.
My phone did not get wiped.
Is my phone's bootloader/OEM unlocked?
I want to know because I Think Magisk requires an unlocked bootloader.
If Magisk doesn't, I'm all good, and I am glad I can install custom OSes (not my goal, but will do if desperate)
If it does require it, I believe my hone already has an unlocked bootloader/OEM
One last note, does downgrading trip anything? I have no warranty, but I know there are other protections (like KNOX) that could affect the outcome.
(I've heard downgrading won't change anything)
Is there anything I need to turn off?
To Recap:
Downgrade OS
Update via Smart Switch to get stock ROM
Use Magisk to root my phone.
I'm simply asking if everything will turn out OK.
(Sorry for the exceedingly long post)
Thanks.

I don't have this phone but I wanted to have one, but after I realized there is no method to unlock it, you are out of luck I also have a phone laying around (Zte Avid Plus with android lolipop), I built a ROM and recovery for it but I realized there is no method to unlock the bootloader. The only method is to get your hands on the bootloader from this device and try and modify it and pray that it works. That is just how a lot budget devices are built nowadays. And that's sad. The thing is that there was a successor to the Zte Avid with the same specs but it ran Android Oreo. Meanwhile the Avid ran Lolipop. A method from manufacturers to always force us to buy new phones.