Database Users

[Q] I've searched but can't find an answer to these noob questions.

I'm sure this has been asked before, and I read the terms when I signed up for forum.xda-developer.com, watched the videos, etc so I've been hesitant to ask this question. The thing is, after two days of searching, I can't find an answer to these questions that I'm sure a lot of new users have. I'm testing my luck and asking it here.
When I get my Nexus 7 (it's due to be delivered in a couple of days) I want to unlock/root it right away. I know that unlocking the boot loader will wipe the user data, and that it's a "pure" Android device. I don't plan to install any custom ROMs or do anything that wouldn't be possible on that stock device right away, but I want the option to be able to customize in the future. Since unlocking wipes the device, I'd rather just do it right away rather than have to deal with reinstalling a bunch of apps a month or two down the road when I'm ready to try out some custom ROMs, etc.
These are my questions:
1) Is there anything pre-installed on a Nexus 7 that isn't easily recovered after it wipes when unlocking? Followup: Will the pre-installed apps (eg. gmail) still be there after I unlock, or will I need to download them? Should I make a list of the apps that are pre-installed on the device before I unlock the bootloader to make re-installing them easy, or will they still be there?
2) Does unlocking the boot loader really void the warranty? I mean, if my device starts to show some physical problem in a couple of months (eg. screen lift, not charging) can I just re-lock it and send it in? What if it just won't turn on one day, therefore not giving me the ability to re-lock it? If I send it in, unlocked and rooted but bricked (through no fault of my own - I'm talking about a physical problem, if it was my fault I would not even bother trying to get it replaced) will they say "You voided your warranty when you unlocked it"?
Again, sorry for posting questions I'm sure have been asked before, but I just want a precise answer.
Thanks!
EDIT: BTW, I bought it straight from Google Play, I should have mentioned that before

rm79 said:
I'm sure this has been asked before, and I read the terms when I signed up for forum.xda-developer.com, watched the videos, etc so I've been hesitant to ask this question. The thing is, after two days of searching, I can't find an answer to this question that I'm sure a lot of new users have. I'm testing my luck and asking it here.
When I get my Nexus 7 (it's due to be delivered in a couple of days) I want to unlock/root it right away. I know that unlocking the boot loader will wipe the user data, and that it's a "pure" Android device. I don't plan to install any custom ROMs or do anything that wouldn't be possible on that stock device right away, but I want the option to be able to customize in the future. Since unlocking wipes the device, I'd rather just do it right away rather than have to deal with reinstalling a bunch of apps a month or two down the road when I'm ready to try out some customer ROMs, etc.
These are my questions:
1) Is there anything pre-installed on a Nexus 7 that isn't easily recovered after it wipes when unlocking? Followup: Will the pre-installed apps (eg. gmail) still be there after I unlock, or will I need to download them? Should I make a list of the apps that are pre-installed on the device before I unlock the bootloader to make re-installing them easy, or will they still be there?
2) Does unlocking the boot loader really void the warranty? I mean, if my device starts to show some physical problem in a couple of months (eg. screen lift, not charging) can I just re-lock it and send it in? What if it just won't turn on one day, therefore not giving me the ability to re-lock it? If I send it in, unlocked and rooted but bricked (through no fault of my own - I'm talking about a physical problem, if it was my fault I would not even bother trying to get it replaced) will they say "You voided your warranty when you unlocked it"?
Again, sorry for posting questions I'm sure have been asked before, but I just want a precise answer.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. itll just wipe away any user data or anything you put into the storage. basically youll just be factory resetting the device.
2. it really depends where youre buying it and whose warranty you are using. i exchanged my original seven a bit more than a month ago, it stopped charging completely. i exchanged it with root, with an unlocked bootloader, with a custom boot animation, with a custom recovery, and with a custom rom and kernel too. there was never an issue if it was unlocked/rooted. it was an obvious hardware issue. i got mine through the google play store. literally after 3 minutes talking to the customer service rep, he had an exchange started for me. google is really good about keeping the warranty if the device unlocked/rooted, if its a hardware issue. i didnt even have to relock/unroot when i sent mine in(after receiving the replacement. that said, other vendors will have issues with warranty exchanges if the device is unlocked. but its as easy to lock the bootloader as it is to unlock it. its as easy to unlock it by typing "fastboot oem unlock" via fastboot, and as easy to lock it typing "fastboot oem lock" to lock it back up.

1. So basically it will still have the pre-installed stuff on it?
2. Awesome, I ordered mine from the play store so that's good to hear.
Thanks for the info, you rock!
simms22 said:
1. itll just wipe away any user data or anything you put into the storage. basically youll just be factory resetting the device.
2. it really depends where youre buying it and whose warranty you are using. i exchanged my original seven a bit more than a month ago, it stopped charging completely. i exchanged it with root, with an unlocked bootloader, with a custom boot animation, with a custom recovery, and with a custom rom and kernel too. there was never an issue if it was unlocked/rooted. it was an obvious hardware issue. i got mine through the google play store. literally after 3 minutes talking to the customer service rep, he had an exchange started for me. google is really good about keeping the warranty if the device unlocked/rooted, if its a hardware issue. i didnt even have to relock/unroot when i sent mine in(after receiving the replacement. that said, other vendors will have issues with warranty exchanges if the device is unlocked. but its as easy to lock the bootloader as it is to unlock it. its as easy to unlock it by typing "fastboot oem unlock" via fastboot, and as easy to lock it typing "fastboot oem lock" to lock it back up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

yes, nothing changes unless you change the rom you are using to a custom rom. then you get whatever that rom developer decided to include. but if its google apps, you can always pick them up from the play store or from flashable "gapps".

simms22 said:
yes, nothing changes unless you change the rom you are using to a custom rom. then you get whatever that rom developer decided to include. but if its google apps, you can always pick them up from the play store or from flashable "gapps".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Thanks for that. Like I said I'm not going to change the ROM right away, I just don't want to deal with restarting because of an unlock in a month .

Warranty return - how to set up my phone (stock, unroot, etc.)?

I have a strip of dead pixels across the middle of my Nexus 4. I contacted warranty service at Google Play, and they said it should be under warranty.
I bought it on the day of release.
So, since I rooted and have flashed this thing like 30 times, I'd like to know to what state I should return it before sending it back. I suppose it matters, but I'd be happy if someone told me it didn't.
Thanks for the advice.

Read this guide to flash the stock images. Once youre done you should also lock the bootloader using "fastboot oem lock". Ive seen some people that were able to rma successfully even with an unlocked bootloader, but its better to be safe.

Sigh.. Bootloop problem out of nowhere

My Nexus 6p was definitely one of the batches that should not have passed QC... soft power button, phone shutting down with plenty of battery left and today all of a sudden, while I was using the phone, phone restarts and get stuck in a bootloop...
Phone is not rooted and the bootloader locked... its out of warranty but I called google support anyway and they directed me to Huawei .. luckily, they will fix it for free..
IF you are having the same problem, call google up and hold them accountable for this bull****

Same deal here but i bought my 6p from best buy along with geek squad protection plan. Rather than send me another 64gb 6p, they've given me a gift card for the price at the time of purchase. At the moment only 32gb versions are available on best buy dot com. I'm not totally opposed to the 32gb version but I'm not excited about it. It took 3 days from the time I submitted my RMA request to get an email telling me this gift card b.s.
I haven't returned anything yet. Not sure what to do. I really liked that phone.

i had my first bootloop today. i just did a force restart and it booted normal. should i be concerned ?
ps.
phone is only 2 weeks old, and with stock ota update 7.1.1 (rooted)

puddi said:
i had my first bootloop today. i just did a force restart and it booted normal. should i be concerned ?
ps. phone is only 2 weeks old, and with stock ota update 7.1.1 (rooted)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't be. Sounds like you are unlocked and rooted. Just keep a good backup on your PC (including EFS) and enjoy your phone.

puddi said:
i had my first bootloop today. i just did a force restart and it booted normal. should i be concerned ?
ps.
phone is only 2 weeks old, and with stock ota update 7.1.1 (rooted)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooted or not and having a backup or not won't fix this unfixable bootloop. I have one in my possession I'm trying to restore and nothings working. Random reboots a week prior to it going into this bootloop. I've done a bunch of research and it's not good.

thesparky007 said:
My Nexus 6p was definitely one of the batches that should not have passed QC... soft power button, phone shutting down with plenty of battery left and today all of a sudden, while I was using the phone, phone restarts and get stuck in a bootloop...
Phone is not rooted and the bootloader locked... its out of warranty but I called google support anyway and they directed me to Huawei .. luckily, they will fix it for free..
IF you are having the same problem, call google up and hold them accountable for this bull****
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the Huawei contact info? I have tried to go through the online support but I have yet to hear anything in a number of days. Same problem here, bootloop out of no where.

galakanokis said:
Do you have the Huawei contact info? I have tried to go through the online support but I have yet to hear anything in a number of days. Same problem here, bootloop out of no where.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call them here 1-888-5HUAWEI

thesparky007 said:
Call them here 1-888-5HUAWEI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, much appreciated.

I just went through the same thing. Waiting on the RMA box to arrive so it can be sent back.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Same here...happened just this morning. I can't get into recovery and I can ONLY boot into bootloader. I am on full stock with a locked bootloader running 7.1.1. I got off the phone with a Huawei rep and she stated it could be due to a Google update and that they will try and downgrade it on their end. Strange cause I was already running the latest 7.1.1 (unless a new update was released his morning).
Here's what I tried to no avail:
-unlocked bootloader and tried to flash stock rom/recovery
-tried flashing custom recovery (twrp)
-tried booting into temp customer recovery (twrp)
-tried flashing 7.0 stock
I have re-locked the bootloader and will have to send it in. What a real bummer, I have managed to get out of a softbrick (unless this device is truly bricked ???) on many, many device since the T-Mobile G1, but I am at wits end with this device.

Going through the RMA process now, thanks again for the number.
I have heard it mentioned that flashing back to 6.0.1 might work, has anyone tried? I did flash all the way back to 7.0 with no luck.

tried flashing back to 6, 6.01 and 7.0 but it still persists. get it exchanged or repaired

It's now several phones a day... At what point does either Huawei or Google fess up to root cause? The one question I have is are all of these hard bricks on phones running nougat??
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

uzi132 said:
Same here...happened just this morning. I can't get into recovery and I can ONLY boot into bootloader. I am on full stock with a locked bootloader running 7.1.1. I got off the phone with a Huawei rep and she stated it could be due to a Google update and that they will try and downgrade it on their end. Strange cause I was already running the latest 7.1.1 (unless a new update was released his morning).
Here's what I tried to no avail:
-unlocked bootloader and tried to flash stock rom/recovery
-tried flashing custom recovery (twrp)
-tried booting into temp customer recovery (twrp)
-tried flashing 7.0 stock
I have re-locked the bootloader and will have to send it in. What a real bummer, I have managed to get out of a softbrick (unless this device is truly bricked ???) on many, many device since the T-Mobile G1, but I am at wits end with this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You aren't alone obviously. These phones seem to be little time bombs where the boot loop issue is concerned. Mine goes into bootloops every time I flash an update or new ROM or attempt to restore a backup. I expect to hardbrick this phone at some point. It just hasn't happened yet.

Completely forgot about this thread. Huawei swapped out my motherboard with a 128 Gb (I had sent a 64 Gb). I actually quite happy my phone bricked itself. Haha

My 6p started rebooting last night and no matter what I did, couldn't get it to boot. Only bl mode worked. This thing has been one problem after another, so I went and got an iPhone this morning. Maybe one day Google will finally start making products that last more than one year, but hasn't happened yet and I'm tired of it.

andrewnelson23 said:
My 6p started rebooting last night and no matter what I did, couldn't get it to boot. Only bl mode worked. This thing has been one problem after another, so I went and got an iPhone this morning. Maybe one day Google will finally start making products that last more than one year, but hasn't happened yet and I'm tired of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the same boat. Mine's stuck on bootloop, no recovery. 1 year is pretty good considering I've only had the device for 3 months...

Nexus 6p here in the UK, Got the OTA update yesterday and it caused crashes immediately. Had two crashes when it immediately rebooted and seemed ok. A third one soon followed and got stuck in a boot loop, a few minutes after it fixed it self and seemingly working fine. An hour later i was playing a game and it just locked, screenfroze and a buzzing noise from the speakers before going into a boot loop. Left it for a few hours while at the cinema and nothing.
Bought directly from Google and still under warranty. Interestingly though, i bought my 6p in March 2016, I then had to RMA it a few months later as the USB C port randomly broke I will be doing my second RMA in less than a year. When checking my IMEI the google support operative actually stated I was under warranty till August 2018. So a 30 month warranty. Got a new one coming out so if anyone develops this problem give them a ring.

New phone received, sent old one off. Checked it just before i did, still stuck in boot loop.

Narom88 said:
New phone received, sent old one off. Checked it just before i did, still stuck in boot loop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's way too common with this phone. Thinking about moving on to something else.

Phone stuck in boot loop. Was able to fix TWRP, but reinstalling image fails. Help?

Hello all,
Earlier today, I was browsing a website for a game on my phone when it rebooted. It continued into a reboot loop at which point no matter what I did, nothing worked. TWRP wasn't working, and I wound up flashing the phone several times with both stock Android as well as Pure Nexus. While I was able to fix TWRP, whenever I attempt to flash Beans G'Apps, the phone reboots again and stays in the reboot loop. I'm unfortunately unable to flash the image using that means. I feel like I've made progress on this issue, but everything else isn't working.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do in order to be able to stop the boot loop and save my device?
Thanks!

Flash stock firmware
DanPLewis said:
Hello all,
Earlier today, I was browsing a website for a game on my phone when it rebooted. It continued into a reboot loop at which point no matter what I did, nothing worked. TWRP wasn't working, and I wound up flashing the phone several times with both stock Android as well as Pure Nexus. While I was able to fix TWRP, whenever I attempt to flash Beans G'Apps, the phone reboots again and stays in the reboot loop. I'm unfortunately unable to flash the image using that means. I feel like I've made progress on this issue, but everything else isn't working.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do in order to be able to stop the boot loop and save my device?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe start from scratch flash the factory image threw fastboot and start over.

pacods61 said:
Maybe start from scratch flash the factory image threw fastboot and start over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had tried that but to no success. I will try this again. Do you have any guides or anything for that?
Edit: I have gone through and attempted to use fastboot to flash two different images... N2G47H and N2G47W. I'm still getting the same result. Since doing this, I've also attempted going back into Recovery (non-TRWP) and doing factory reset that way. Nothing.

So apparently this has been a known issue possibly. I don't know if for a fact this is the hardware issue, or the fact I had Pure Nexus installed on it... it would also explain why Google is so readily going to give me a new phone even though my warranty is expired.
I can't post the reddit links due to new XDA account, but they are there.

DanPLewis said:
So apparently this has been a known issue possibly. I don't know if for a fact this is the hardware issue, or the fact I had Pure Nexus installed on it... it would also explain why Google is so readily going to give me a new phone even though my warranty is expired.
I can't post the reddit links due to new XDA account, but they are there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get Google to replace your phone? I bought mine from Swappa and warranty just expired in April

ornwilson said:
How did you get Google to replace your phone? I bought mine from Swappa and warranty just expired in April
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is DanPLewis under my account account (Wasn't able to remember credentials initially!). So my phone was purchased from Google for Google Fi. I reached out to their support chat. First they informed me that my phone warranty expired 3 months ago in March. I asked what options I have right now for replacement, and they voluntarily told me that they will go ahead and do a one time refurbished replacement.
The reasoning I feel as though they replaced it out of warranty was because they're aware of the issue with the phone... but they could've just been nice about it.

Punkrulz24 said:
This is DanPLewis under my account account (Wasn't able to remember credentials initially!). So my phone was purchased from Google for Google Fi. I reached out to their support chat. First they informed me that my phone warranty expired 3 months ago in March. I asked what options I have right now for replacement, and they voluntarily told me that they will go ahead and do a one time refurbished replacement.
The reasoning I feel as though they replaced it out of warranty was because they're aware of the issue with the phone... but they could've just been nice about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, thanks. That does seem good of them.

Having ghost touch problems every now and then

My brother has a RETIN Athene running stock ROM with latest April patch and he's been complaining about frequent ghost touches. He'd often find his phone call, text someone at random, apps opening automatically and what not. I've suggested him to do a factory reset but I'd like to know if this can be solved without a factory reset. I had already unlocked his bootloader earlier to let him try a custom ROM as the stock was getting sluggish so if needed, a fastboot ROM can be flashed as well if it comes to that.
He recently got a QC 3.0 charger from Motorola but the problem has been going on before that (if he recalls correctly). Could this be because of the charge as I remember his G4 plus had some occasional ghost touches when his phone was new but that only happened while it was being charged.
I'm open to any advice and tips. His phone is barely usable now.
Update: I did a cache wipe from recovery a few minutes ago and noticed that his recovery was showing the the following info:
oem_locked
Software status: Official
Maybe I relocked the bootloader when flashing stock back then. Do I need to unlock bootloader again with "fastboot oem unlock"?

Ghost touch is no software issue. It is hardware. There is no solution. Just do not use your phone under sunset, and what about brightness - change to automatic, or if you wanna no automatic make less brightness 1/3-1/5 point. But again not use under sun
Edit: you can not relock bootloader if you already unlocked it. And if bootloder is unlocked, do not use ota updates (any: security and os). if you do, your phone will be bricked again

gioyocho said:
Ghost touch is no software issue. It is hardware. There is no solution. Just do not use your phone under sunset, and what about brightness - change to automatic, or if you wanna no automatic make less brightness 1/3-1/5 point. But again not use under sun
Edit: you can not relock bootloader if you already unlocked it. And if bootloder is unlocked, do not use ota updates (any: security and os). if you do, your phone will be bricked again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see... I'll tell him to change the brightness to auto. Do you think upgrading to a new phone is better and the only available solution?
Also, after I flashed the fastboot ROM a while ago, he has updated to all the following OTAs without any issues, that's how he's on the April patch. No hard brick, nothing.

gioyocho said:
Ghost touch is no software issue. It is hardware. There is no solution. Just do not use your phone under sunset, and what about brightness - change to automatic, or if you wanna no automatic make less brightness 1/3-1/5 point. But again not use under sun
Edit: you can not relock bootloader if you already unlocked it. And if bootloder is unlocked, do not use ota updates (any: security and os). if you do, your phone will be bricked again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can relock your bootloader. And the bricking kicks in only if you flash OTAs when rooted or on a custom recovery. Generally when you have system modifications.

corlatemanuel said:
You can relock your bootloader. And the bricking kicks in only if you flash OTAs when rooted or on a custom recovery. Generally when you have system modifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, no system modifications were done. That's why the OTAs were successful