Database Users

OP2 cannot upgrade from Oxygen OS 2.2.1/Cannot flash TWRP versions newer than 3.0.2-0

So.... Pokemon Go has a lot to answer for......
I have run into a really strange problem when trying to install an OTA on my *unrooted* Oneplus 2. I have been trying to fix this for days but I have completely run out of ideas.
I originally had a working stock Oxygen 3 (Marshmallow) rom with TWRP recovery on my device (not sure of the version). The device was rooted and apart from not being able to install OTAs, I was fairly happy with the setup. Then along came the Pokemon GO update that banned rooted devices. Ok, "big deal" I thought. I was quite content playing Ingress instead (a far better game by the way that doesn't rely on a "pay to win" structure). I really wasn't too worried but then I found out about "systemless root" and "Magisk". I thought that if I installed this correctly I could still play a bit of Pokemon GO when I wanted to and could toggle a root button in Magisk Manager to install OTAs when they became available.
This is where the problems started.
I followed a guide on how to unroot and install Magisk and "Phh's Superuser". The problem was that the Phh Superuser was being denied permissions for Magisk Manager, there were no pop up notifications prompting me to give it access, just toast notifications. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to give it permission so the "enable root" slider button kept sliding back, not allowing root. This is when I used SuperSU ver 2.76 (Magisk version) and it seemed to work fine. I now had a stock Marshmallow rom with TWRP and Magisk Manager all working exactly how they should be. I could toggle root and play Pokemon GO, then return to a rooted state when I needed to.
"Awesome, mission accomplished." I thought. Now I just need to toggle root off, download the latest OTA and install it through Flashfire.
First I made a complete nandroid backup (as I've done with other devices many times before) through TWRP. I even copied the backup folder to my PC in case something went wrong.
Well, this is when the nightmare started.
The first mistake I made was to use Flashfire when it clearly stated that Oneplus devices were currently untested. Not sure if it was a big issue or not, but it was a mistake none the less. The second mistake I made was to not stop the stock recovery being replaced when prompted before the reboot. I assumed (and it even states in the app) that the custom recovery should be reverted back to the stock recovery when attempting to apply OTA updates.
So I went ahead and rebooted, waiting for the OTA to install. I'm fairly sure from memory that it went into the stock recovery, flashed the OTA and restarted.
This is when the phone soft bricked.
"Oh well, that is why I made the backup." I thought.
I reflashed TWRP in fastboot mode and attempted to restore my backup. No dice, the phone was still soft bricked.
(And by "soft bricked" and "boot looping" I mean the Oneplus logo was in the middle of the screen, "Powered by Android" was at the bottom and the two blue LEDs for the buttons either side of the fingerprint scanner/home button remained on. This for me was the tell tale sign of the soft brick because these two light go off after a few seconds after rebooting usually.
So from here I have tried EVERYTHING. All I really want now is a working stock (rooted) Marshmallow rom with TWRP. I have downloaded many different full rom zips and attempted to flash them through TWRP with no success, I have returned to stock recovery and tried flashing signed roms with no success, I've even tried flashing the official CM13 rom for Oneplus 2 (with the correct GAPPs and kernel) through TWRP with no luck.
But here is where it gets interesting......
There are a few things that are really weird...
1. I have always been able to get into Fastboot mode and ADB and Fastboot commands "work".
* Operations succeed but don't stick (for example trying to flash TWRP versions 3.0.2-1 and 3.0.2-2 through Fastboot mode result in no recovery being there at all.
2. I can flash TWRP recovery though Fastboot mode but ONLY VERSIONS 3.0.2-0 and lower. I can also successfully flash the stock recovery.
3. I can flash OxygenOS 2.2.1 but NOT ANY VERSION RELEASED AFTER THAT. Doing so results in the soft brick "bootloop" I mentioned earlier.
4. Attempting to flash the official CM13 rom for Oneplus 2 doesn't work either. Originally I got the error 7 message, but after editing "Updater-script" in the rom and re-zipping, the process seemed to work fine in TWRP but the reboot gave me... you guessed it... a softbrick.
I have flashed custom roms on a few different devices before so I'm not a COMPLETE newbie when it comes to this stuff, but I am by no means a developer or even anything close to one. I have bricked this phone in the past (long story, involved getting it without an invite and it being shipped to me with spyware on it) but I used a guide very similar to this and it worked a treat.
www(dot)androidbrick(dot)com/unbrick-oneplus-one-two-3-qualcomm-hs-usb-qdloader-9008
So, thinking that this process would format all partitions and start me from scatch I tried it. It worked fine but I was still unable to upgrade from Oxygen OS 2.2.1 or install TWRP versions 3.0.2-1 or 3.0.2-2.
I have tried all sorts of things. I have wiped, flashed and wiped again. Factory resets, dirty flashes, clean flashes.... everything. All sorts of different sources for the TWRP images and Oxygen roms... nothing seems to work.
It's just so weird considering it's not a hard brick... just a soft brick.
So I really need my phone so I am sitting on this current build because it is the only one that works.
Here are some details of the current build I am using. (using CPU-Z app)
Model: Oneplus 2 (ONE A2001)
Android version: 5.1.1
Oxygen OS version: 2.2.1
Bootloader: Unknown
Build ID: ONE A2001_14_160226
Java VM: ART 2.1.0
OpenGL ES: 3.1
Kernel Architecture: aarch64
Kernel version: 3.10.49-perf+ (56)
Root access: Yes
Super user app: SuperSU Free v2.46 (Chainfire)
OEM unlocking: Enabled
USB debugging: Enabled
And these are some of the ZIPs and IMGs that refuse to be flashed to my device.
TWRP-3.0.2-1-oneplus2
TWRP-3.0.2-2-oneplus2
Grarak's TWRP recovery IMG for Oneplus2 (modified to install CM13) according to this guide:
missingtricks(dot)net/oneplus-2-official-cyanogenmod-13
cm-13.0-20160924-NIGHTLY-oneplus2
OnePlus2Oxygen_14_OTA_019_all_1606041303_bd42fc5cc5cc4ab2
And also my TWRP backup named 2016-09-16--09-44-09
I am really at a loss as to what to do next. ANY help ANYONE could give me would be greatly appreciated. I have been all over the net looking for ways around this bt have had no luck.
As I've said, I'm not a huge tech head, but I'm not a newbie either. The only thing I can think of is that somehow one of the partitions (maybe boot? ) may have been corrupted somehow when messing around with systemless root. But I don't know how considering it's "systemless". If anyone knows how to check for corrupted partitions on the Oneplus 2 please let me know and I'll try it. Maybe formatting these partitions might help (????), but I don't want to permanently brick my phone.
But I don't know how I've got this particular build working if one of the partitions has been corrupted. And the corrupted partition thing is just a guess.....
Please, anyone, someone point me in the right direction. Again, any and all feddback is welcomed and would be very much appreciated.
This is all Pikachu's fault.

Kamakiriash said:
A very long post...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The normal way too update from OOS 2 to OOS 3 is:
Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip via TWRP to update the bootloader and firmware
Flash TWRP 3.0.2-2 via your current TWRP's recovery image flashing option
Reboot recovery via TWRP so that you now have a recovery that's compatible with the new bootloader
Wipe data, cache & dalvik-cache (but not internal storage)
Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip again to update the system
Flash one of the modified SuperSU zips if you want root
Reboot system
All the files you need are in post #1 of this thread.

Thank you so much Spannaa!
I was clearly missing a vital step here and let it be a lesson to anyone else in this situation....
As Spannaa said......
1. Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip via TWRP to update the bootloader and firmware
2. Flash TWRP 3.0.2-2 via your current TWRP's recovery image flashing option
3. Reboot recovery via TWRP SO THAT YOU NOW HAVE A RECOVERY THAT'S COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW BOOTLOADER!
4. Wipe data, cache & dalvik-cache (but not internal storage)
5. Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip AGAIN to update the system.
Again, thankyou Spanna for your quick and accurate response.
The order in which you flash zips and imgs is very important it seems.
You really saved me.
I restored the TWRP backup and I am back to where I started.
Is it now possible to apply OTAs when I toggle the root off in Magisk manager and install using the stock recovery? What do you think would be the best way to do this?
And would it be worth moving to the official build of CM13 for Oneplus 2?
Thanks again, Spannaa. :victory:

Kamakiriash said:
Thank you so much Spannaa!
I was clearly missing a vital step here and let it be a lesson to anyone else in this situation....
As Spannaa said......
1. Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip via TWRP to update the bootloader and firmware
2. Flash TWRP 3.0.2-2 via your current TWRP's recovery image flashing option
3. Reboot recovery via TWRP SO THAT YOU NOW HAVE A RECOVERY THAT'S COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW BOOTLOADER!
4. Wipe data, cache & dalvik-cache (but not internal storage)
5. Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip AGAIN to update the system.
Again, thankyou Spanna for your quick and accurate response.
The order in which you flash zips and imgs is very important it seems.
You really saved me.
I restored the TWRP backup and I am back to where I started.
Is it now possible to apply OTAs when I toggle the root off in Magisk manager and install using the stock recovery? What do you think would be the best way to do this?
And would it be worth moving to the official build of CM13 for Oneplus 2?
Thanks again, Spannaa. :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you're sorted.
Not sure about Magisk as I've never used it.
CM13 is OK but whether it's worth you moving to it is your choice. Personally, I prefer TipsyOS!

Hi,
I face the exact issue with same Oxygen OS and TWRP versions mentioned, I have tried the above steps but there are some problems:
1. Flash the OOS 3 signed flashable zip via TWRP to update the bootloader and firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when I checked the option (Zip signature verification) in TWRP, the installation failed with error "Zip signature verification failed! Error installing zip file '/sdcard/oneplus.zip'", but it's successfully installed when I unchecked (Zip signature verification) option.
2. Flash TWRP 3.0.2-2 via your current TWRP's recovery image flashing option
3. Reboot recovery via TWRP SO THAT YOU NOW HAVE A RECOVERY THAT'S COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW BOOTLOADER!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
second problem is that after installing the TWRP 3.0.2-2 (or above), then reboot recovery, I can't access the recovery again and the phone stuck on bootloop.
any idea ?

Aood said:
Hi,
I face the exact issue with same Oxygen OS and TWRP versions mentioned, I have tried the above steps but there are some problems:
when I checked the option (Zip signature verification) in TWRP, the installation failed with error "Zip signature verification failed! Error installing zip file '/sdcard/oneplus.zip'", but it's successfully installed when I unchecked (Zip signature verification) option.
second problem is that after installing the TWRP 3.0.2-2 (or above), then reboot recovery, I can't access the recovery again and the phone stuck on bootloop.
any idea ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a OP2 anymore but that post was seven months ago and the instructions worked for numerous users.
Don't enable zip signature verification in TWRP - it's unnecessary.
Flash TWRP 3.0.2-2 via your current TWRP's recovery image flashing option and then reboot recovery directly from TWRP.

thanx for replay Spannaa,
Flash TWRP 3.0.2-2 via your current TWRP's recovery image flashing option and then reboot recovery directly from TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already did that, but same issue once I reboot "directly from TWRP" , the TWRP doesn't show up and bootloop start again.

Aood said:
thanx for replay Spannaa,
I have already did that, but same issue once I reboot "directly from TWRP" , the TWRP doesn't show up and bootloop start again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last chance and then I'll leave this for someone that has the OP2.
Are you rebooting recovery "directly from TWRP" or rebooting system?
Is your bootloader still unlocked?

Last chance and then I'll leave this for someone that has the OP2.
Are you rebooting recovery "directly from TWRP" or rebooting system?
Is your bootloader still unlocked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, rebooting recovery "directly from TWRP"
and bootloader loader is unlocked,..
anyway it's not important to fix the phone, it's almost one year since last time I use it, yesterday I saw it in the drawer and try to figure out the issue..,

first time root - stuck on last step of youtube guide :/

Followed this youtube guide --> How to Root Moto G4 Plus, Unlock Bootloader and Install Recovery!
(his youtube is gizmoddict, xda is restricting the link)
On last step I had to install the zip, and it would reboot into the phone, except it didn't.
xt1625 moto g4 is now stuck in a twrp bootloop and I have no idea what to do, help is appreciated.

If this is the guide in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK2uacpjGwc then are you running stock Nougat 7.0 on your device?
If so, that guide is too old to be useful - the stock Nougat kernel appears to be much stricter with being rooted on and so you must use a custom kernel (e.g. ElementalX or vegito) to root successfully on stock Nougat. If you were running Marshmallow as in the guide, then it should have worked (though depending on the version of SuperSU you flashed).
I would try to copy a custom kernel to your device and attempt to flash that via TWRP, see if you can get your device to boot.

echo92 said:
If this is the guide in question: then are you running stock Nougat 7.0 on your device?
If so, that guide is too old to be useful - the stock Nougat kernel appears to be much stricter with being rooted on and so you must use a custom kernel (e.g. ElementalX or vegito) to root successfully on stock Nougat. If you were running Marshmallow as in the guide, then it should have worked (though depending on the version of SuperSU you flashed).
I would try to copy a custom kernel to your device and attempt to flash that via TWRP, see if you can get your device to boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that would be the link to the video, and I believe it came stock as 7.0 nougat? (not 100% on that)
Currently searching XDA for the custom kernel you mentioned, sounds like it should be easy to get working thank you.

echo92 said:
If this is the guide in question: then are you running stock Nougat 7.0 on your device?
If so, that guide is too old to be useful - the stock Nougat kernel appears to be much stricter with being rooted on and so you must use a custom kernel (e.g. ElementalX or vegito) to root successfully on stock Nougat. If you were running Marshmallow as in the guide, then it should have worked (though depending on the version of SuperSU you flashed).
I would try to copy a custom kernel to your device and attempt to flash that via TWRP, see if you can get your device to boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In twrp and checked on pc to see that there is only twrp on internal storage, attempting to install ElementalX-G4-2.00.zip right now.
It worked thank you (atleast I think it is), currently selecting the MHz for the cpu frequency (obvious choice of stock). Appreciate the help.
NVM not working, now it won't boot into twrp. Not sure what in the world is going on anymore with this phone :/
NVM to that as well, 3rd time is the charm in twrp is back again.
Figured it out I think, it says "No OS Installed! Are you sure you wish to reboot?" after installing that zip file. Why does it say that?
Ok lineage OS is installed, super happy about it, thanks for suggesting that kernel thing otherwise I'd not have found this. Super easy to get rolling.

Another soft bricked Moto g4 plus XT1642

Hi all,
So I am new to the game, I had an old(ish) phone and attempted to root the device. As some of you might have read on here before, I failed, I thought I had followed all the correct steps. I used the following steps as a guide: (from the unlockr). After attempting to install supersu I was left with a black screen. I can however access my recovery mode in bootloader, the thing is that bootloader is the only thing I can access. I cannot access my moto g4 plus via USB on windows, but for some reason I can access both internal and external memory on a mac. I can see the supersu version, my TWRP etc. I was wondering if someone could help me out, I know this has probably been posted before but I have not been able to find a possible solution as of yet. Thanks in advance

Is your device running stock Nougat (7.0) firmware? If so, then attempting to root on the stock Nougat Motorola kernel may result in a black screen and failure to boot, which appears to be what you've experienced. What those guides generally fail to mention (as they're quite old) is that rooting on the G4/Plus running Nougat requires flashing a custom kernel before you root. Failure to do so appears to trip the anti-rooting measures built into the stock kernel. A more recent guide that I've used for a stable root on a G4 Plus is this https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...de-root-moto-g4-plus-supersu-android-t3587918 Bear in mind you do not need root to flash custom ROMs whatsoever, just TWRP.
If you can still access TWRP, you may have a way out. One thing to try is to flash a custom kernel onto your device - ElementalX is a good choice. https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/development/kernel-elementalx-g4-0-01-t3424836 for ElementalX v2.0.1 for stock . Download the kernel to your computer, ensure your device is connected to your computer and booted to TWRP, and copy the custom kernel to your device. Try to flash the kernel and then see if your device boots.
If your device still fails to boot, you could try flashing the stock kernel from your backup (you did make a backup before rooting?) or if you're running a more recent OS build, I've uploaded the Feb 2018 and April 2018 security patch stock kernels here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-GUyOfb8OgzcUl1NUtHYWNIR2M To flash this in general:
a)Download the kernel boot.img to your device.
b)In TWRP, tap Install.
c)Tap Install image at the bottom of the screen.
d)Navigate to where you downloaded the boot.img and select the image file.
e)Target the image to boot (not recovery).
f)Flash, and wipe cache.
g)Reboot and see if that works.
If those don't work, restore your backup if you made one or you may have to re-flash your stock firmware - you do not have to re-lock your bootloader or wipe your device with this re-flash of the stock firmware.
Does your Windows computer have the correct Motorola USB drivers installed on it? https://support.motorola.com/uk/en/drivers

Need Help Flashing Lineage 16

I really try to do stuff on my own without having to make other people repeat themselves a million times but this process is just so complicated and confusing that it's giving me a headache.
My goal: Be able to boot up LineageOS 16.
Code:
httpsforum.xda-developers.comnote-4snapdragon-devrom-lineageos-16-0-t3900807
It says it requires MM firmware and TWRP 3.2 or higher.
I have the retail 900V Note 4.
So far I have managed to downgrade to 5.1.1 and unlock the bootloader. (It says MODE: Developer)
From there I was able to install TWRP 3.0.2.
But now what?
Right now I have a phone that won't boot because there is no OS on it.
1. I can't get Odin to flash any other TWRP besides the 3.0.2 version. Odin just freezes halfway through and never completes. I'm assuming this might be because I'm not on an unlocked MM build yet. Currently still on LP.
2. I'm unsure how to get root back once I upgrade to a MM build. (I only have access to WiFi atm and this guide says it will disable it.)
Code:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-verizon/development/howto-bootloader-unlock-upgrade-to-t3398144
Any help is greatly appreciated.

I'm no expert so some of the things I'll suggest may not work.
As a first thought have you tried installing Lineage from TWRP 3.0.2
I'd suggest
1. downloading the OEM MM ROM from Sammobile and install that first so at least you have an OS to start with.
2. after setting it up install the official TWRP App update to the latest version of TWRP
3. ensure SuperSU is on the internal drive although I've not had problems installing it from a MicroSD and install it from TWRP Recovery. You should now have a rooted phone on the latest version of TWRP
4. put the Lineage ROM on the internal drive although again I've not had problems installing from a MicroSD (although it does take longer) and after 'Wiping' the system (it should tell you what steps are required from the Lineage guidance) install it.
5. After setup you will probably have to install SuperSU again or Magisk assuming there's no trace of SuperSU left on the system.
Hopefully someone will jump in and comment if I've missed something obvious or got it all wrong. Although I've rooted all 3 of my SM-N910Fs and SM-N910C at least once and installed various ROMs I don't consider myself particularly knowledgable. So far I've not bricked any of my phones or Tablets.

I really appreciate the reply.
Currently I am trying to flash 5.1.1 stock onto the phone and Odin just freezes about 25% into system.img.ext4
I have tried a dozen times.
I believe what makes my phone so difficult to flash is the stock bootloader is locked.

Just trying to figure out if my phone is recoverable - can't boot after root attempt

Feel free to scold me, I'm not too upset but would like to fix the phone if it is possible.
Background - Phone is a Moto G4 16gb, XT1625, running android 7.0 nougat. Phone resets a lot so before replacing it I thought I would try rooting and loading a different ROM to see if it helped. I followed THIS guide:
https://theunlockr.com/root-motorola-moto-g4-moto-g4-plus/
I successfully unlocked and flashed TWRP recovery. I then tried to flash supersu v2.82 as a zip through TWRP, and upon completion the phone no longer boots up.
I can access the bootloader and and access TWRP recovery, but otherwise wiping data/factory reset or re-flashing supersu does nothing. I also tried flashing supersu as a systemless root install. I just get a black screen and a flashing white led at the bottom when charging/trying to power on. I only after the fact happened to read something about an elementalx kernel for nougat so I'm thinking maybe this was the problem.
I this a hard brick or a soft brick or just in an unbootable state? Is there a way to recover? Thanks.

Update, after playing around with it all morning I was able to get it back to booting by first flashing the el;ementalx kernel, then downloading and flashing the latest beta release of SuperSU, and then wiping dalvik cache. Not sure exactly which step cured it but in case anyone searches and finds this thread.

dskater411 said:
Update, after playing around with it all morning I was able to get it back to booting by first flashing the el;ementalx kernel, then downloading and flashing the latest beta release of SuperSU, and then wiping dalvik cache. Not sure exactly which step cured it but in case anyone searches and finds this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear you got your device fixed. For future reference, it's likely the ElementalX kernel that got you out - with stock Nougat on our devices, you can't root the stock Motorola kernel. You'll soft brick your device otherwise.
The problem with those guides is that they often don't mention that step - whilst the procedure may work for our devices with Marshmallow and Oreo, it just won't work for Nougat. Also, that article is over 2 years old, before we got Nougat onto our devices. If you wanted to flash a custom ROM, root is not needed, you just need an unlocked bootloader and TWRP.
As an aside, SuperSU is obselete, and likely abandoned by its developer. You may wish to flash magisk as your root solution, which would necessitate uninstalling SuperSU, reflashing the stock Motorola kernel and then ElementalX, then magisk.