Database Users

How to Dual Boot your galaxy S2

OK so i know a lot of members are intrested in Dual booting their galaxy S2, so i have decided to complice a list of all the dual boot options i can find and have found. I have found two ways as it stands now, but my search has not been that deep yet, so here are the two ways for now and i hope to add more to the list soon.
SGS2 Dual-Boot Setup (LolBoot) - Ok so the first is an app by Hellcatdroid that you can download from Google Play. It only supports GB roms for now, but their is hope that he will put his PSvita down and continue to work on this great app.
Links
Thread
Google Play
SiyahKernel v3.1beta1 Kernel - So option 2 is a kernel from Gokhanmoral, the kernel is stable but the dual boot side is still in beta. This dual boot kernel is working with ICS roms (not GB), Gokhanmoral has tried a dual boot on stock and cm9 and this combo is working, he is pretty sure it will work with MUIU roms. The members on this thread will start to tell of other working combos they have tried, so give this one a go it is looking very good.
Links
Thread
Blog - The blog includes a changelog, and the download link for his kernel
Here is a guide thanks to Phistachio on how to dual boot using Siyah Kernel
[GUIDE] How to Dual Boot using the Siyah Kernel
Here is a fantastic guide, FAQ writen by droidphile for the use with Siyah kernel, it is a fantastic FAQ, so if you use it please go and thank him here -
Dual Booting FAQs
Here are some dual-boot faqs. Some answers may not be 100% true at present since Gokhan is still working on enhancing dual-booting and implementing all the placeholder features in touch recovery dual boot options.
1) So what's dual booting?
A. Option to boot into either two ICS roms - aosp or sammy. Immediately after boot logo is displayed, you will have a 3 seconds time-out where you can boot into secondary rom by pressing the home key. To boot into primary rom, wait for 3 seconds time-out to complete. If you don't like to wait - touch the screen, or press a volume key, or press power key during time-out.
2) What's the basic architecture behind dual booting?
A. Any rom will have /system, /data, /cache partitions and requires a kernel to boot. Primary rom has all these partitions on the same location as if you were single-booting. Secondary rom uses a hidden partition (/dev/block/mmcblk0p9) to be used as /system (it's /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 for primary rom). Second rom uses sdcard to store /data and /cache partitions. They're stored in /sdcard/.secondrom directory as mountable ext4 block device images (data.img and cache.img).
Kernel partition is shared, so same kernel boots both the roms. If you switch from Siyah to a different kernel dual booting will not be available even though you have a clone of secondary rom. Internal sdcard, ofcourse external plastic sdcard, /efs, /emmc, other kernel related virtual filesystem directories, etc are shared among roms.
3) I have just one rom now. How do i setup one more rom to dual boot?
A.
-To use current rom as primary: Assuming the other rom is downloaded and copied to phone memory
i) Flash latest Siyah that supports dual boot.
ii) Nandroid backup your existing rom.
iii) Full wipe, install the rom you need to dual boot into.
iv) Boot into that rom, perform initial setups, flash whatever zip you need to flash on that rom - gapps, themes, mods, etc. (Because after setting up dual boot you don't have an easy way to flash zips onto second rom. Remember /system and /data partitions are different for both roms)
v) Flash latest siyah on this rom.
vi) Boot into recovery, under dual-boot options, select "Clone Primary ROM to Secondary". Be patient and wait about 6-7 minutes.
vii) Within recovery, restore nandroid backup.
viii) Just to be sure, flash latest Siyah again.
-To use current rom as secondary: Assuming the other rom is downloaded and copied to phone memory
i) Flash latest Siyah that supports dual boot.
ii) Boot into recovery, under dual-boot options, select "Clone Primary ROM to Secondary".
ii) Without exiting recovery, Full wipe, install the rom you need to use as primary rom.
iii) Boot into that rom, perform initial setups.
iv) Flash latest Siyah just to be sure.
Now you have two roms. Press home key to boot into second rom when time-out is shown.
4) How much time was it to clone a rom?
A. There's /system, /data/ and /cache to clone. 2 GB data + 103mb cache + 513 mb system = 2.6 gb
Shell prompt read speed = 7mb per second.
Total Time = 2.6*(1024/7) = 380 secs = 6/7 minutes.
5) If i reboot to recovery from power-off state using 3 button method, to which rom's recovery it's booted into?
A. Unified kernel, same recovery. And remember - flashing zips to second rom is not possible.
6) Any solution to flashing zips to secondary rom?
A. Not until secondary rom is "converted" to primary rom. If you know what the updater script in the zip is doing, you can do that manually using Root Explorer (replacing/copy files, setting permissions, etc).
Else, temporarily make secondary rom the primary rom. Goto recovery, dual-boot options, "Clone Secondary Rom to Primary". Now your second rom becomes primary rom. Flash your zips. When you're done, restore nandroid backup of the other rom to make it primary as before.
7) Should i have same versions of kernels on both roms?
A. Flash kernel from any rom. Both uses the same kernel partition anyway.
8) Will i get a prompt to dual-boot if i'm not using dual boot, as in i haven't cloned any rom to use as secondary?
A. NO
9) I don't like waiting for 3 seconds to boot into primary rom.
A. Touch the screen immediately upon prompt.
10) How do i swap primary and secondary roms?
A. Goto recovery, dual-boot options, "Backup secondary rom"
Under original Backup and Restore option, "Backup" to backup your primary rom.
"Restore as secondary rom" or "Restore as secondary rom from internal sd" and select the nandroid backup of what was actually your primary rom.
Then under original Backup and Restore option, "Restore" to restore the rom you backed up as secondary.
11) USB mass storage works?
A. Only external sd is mounted for second rom atm. MTP will work for internal sd also. Both will be mounted for primary rom.
12) If i had the same /data partition shared between roms, i could use same apps on both roms.
A. Data partition can not be shared as they're incompatible between roms. (Sometimes dev asks you to perform full wipe even if you're switching between versions of the same rom right). Even if they were shared, separate dalvik caches has to be used and hence every boot will take a long time to rebuild dalvik.
13) How to undo dual booting?
A. Use "Remove secondary rom" from dual-boot options in recovery.
14) How to remove secondary rom if "remove secondary rom in recovery" fails for some reason?
A. Format /system2 directory partition, remove data.img and cache.img under /sdcard/.secondrom directory manually by booting into primary rom.
15) How to upgrade primary rom?
A. As usual, goto recovery, wipe whatever you need to wipe and install the new version.
16) How to upgrade secondary rom?
A. Temporarily convert secondary rom to primary (like explained above), install new version and revert primary back to secondary.
17) How to replace secondary rom with another?
A. Perform the steps to setup dual boot as if you had only one rom which is going to be used as primary rom.
18) How to replace primary rom with another?
A. Normal procedure - wipe, install from recovery.
19) Can i have both aosp roms/both samsung roms/first aosp, second samsung/first samsung,second aosp?
A. Yes
20) Can i have one GB rom and second ICS rom?
A. No
21) Why?
A. Kernel partition is shared between roms. Dual boot functionality is implemented in ICS kernel. ICS kernel can run only ICS roms.
22) Are init.d scripts and extweaks profiles shared across the roms so that i can make changes by booting into any rom and the other rom automatically inherits the settings?
A. NO. Roms have differet /system partitions so different init.d directories. Roms uses different /data partitions and extweaks profiles are stored under /data/.siyah. So you gotta configure both separately. Initramfs scripts are shared anyway since both rom uses the same kernel.
23) So if at all i format /sdcard, my second rom is gone?
A. Yes
24) Is the size of /system partition of secondary rom re-sizable from user space?
A. NO
25) Can i have different kernels for the two roms?
A. NO
26) What're the options under dual-booting in touch recovery?
A. i) View Status
Displays secondary rom info if found.
ii) Clone Primary ROM to secondary
First time, you will have only one rom. You may clone it as secondary rom (so that another rom can be used as primary by nandroid restoring)
iii) Clone secondary rom to primary
Whatever has been cloned as secondary rom is cloned to primary rom.
iv) Remove secondary rom
Deletes /system, /data and /cache partitions of second rom. You will have normal booting.
v) Backup secondary rom
Nandroid backup secondary rom to external sd.
vi) Restore as secondary rom
Restore any nandroid backup as secondary rom from external sd.
vii) Backup secondary rom to internal SD
Nandroid backup secondary rom to internal sd.
viii) Restore as secondary rom from internal sd
Restore any nandroid backup as secondary rom from internal sd.
ix) init second rom data
Initialize /data parition of secondary rom to resize the partition to make it bigger in case you run out of space for apps. Init also wipes all the data in /data partition. So your existing apps in secondary rom will be gone.
x) wipe second rom davik cache, xi) wipe second rom cache, xii) fix permissions in second rom - self explanatory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am now running a Dual Boot galaxy s2, using Siyah Kernel by Gokhanmoral, i am running CM9 and Resurrection Remix ics v1.2 PRO[4.0.4]
This is what i have got for now, but i am always looking for more dual booting options, if anyone knows of any please let me knowand i can add it to this thread.
If you have found this thread usfull then please hit the Thanks button

Nice work again fella
You should request this and your other thread are made into sticky's
Also, im hoping these two threads will help to stem the flow of threads and questions for previously trodden ground
Keep it up dude

Thanks man, the XDA community has give me so much, I just want to give back. It would be nice to see these as stickies, maybe the FM would be kind enough to consider placing them on the sticky thread.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

I am now running a Dual Boot galaxy s2, using Siyah Kernel by Gokhanmoral, i am running CM9 and Resurrection Remix ics v1.2 PRO[4.0.4]

I am now running a Dual Boot galaxy s2, using Siyah Kernel by Gokhanmoral, i am running SensatioN ROM 3.3 ICS by Crysis21 as Primary and CM9 as Secondary.. can anyone tell me any app so that i can automatically sync both rom 's SMS, Phone log and Phone Contact.. i know manual process..

What are the pro's/con's of dual booting? Cheers
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

shareking said:
I am now running a Dual Boot galaxy s2, using Siyah Kernel by Gokhanmoral, i am running SensatioN ROM 3.3 ICS by Crysis21 as Primary and CM9 as Secondary.. can anyone tell me any app so that i can automatically sync both rom 's SMS, Phone log and Phone Contact.. i know manual process..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Rom Manager to Extract the apps and data from your nandroid backup, or another app that does the same is Nandroid Browser, you can get both of google play. Just as a side note, you should get an automation sync of data when flashing a new rom, as google now store all you apps and setting in the cloud, if you check in your settings it should be under Backup and reset - back up my data - check the box, and you should have an auto sync for your next rom flash.

blade30p said:
What are the pro's/con's of dual booting? Cheers
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it is just the chance to have a change never getting bored of the same rom, the con is using a dual boot that is still in better and is buggy at the moment, which may cause problems with your rom mainly the 2nd rom, also the storage of data is causing some people problems, but the thread is give good solutions.

Dual booting rocks. android rules...

Thank you for this guide

So there is an option to boot two GB ROMs but no ICS and now we can boot two ICS ROMs but no GB...
The third option should be... - you know it
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

Probably get flamed - btw, I don't care one jot - but why on earth should this be stickied?
This isn't a guide, it's a post with two links to the relevant threads, where the discussion is going to be a lot more useful than anything here.
s.d. o'connor, your other guides are guides, and are very useful, for which my thanks. This one isn't.
Flame-retardant pants on - fire away.

My defence
B3311 said:
Probably get flamed - btw, I don't care one jot - but why on earth should this be stickied?
This isn't a guide, it's a post with two links to the relevant threads, where the discussion is going to be a lot more useful than anything here.
s.d. o'connor, your other guides are guides, and are very useful, for which my thanks. This one isn't.
Flame-retardant pants on - fire away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you get flamed for having an opinion, you are entiled to that, but here goes my defence. I could only but ask if it could be a sticky i didnt make it one, and the idea is to stop new threads being opened asking the question can you dual boot the galaxy s2. Also as more options of dual booting become avaiable then they can be added to this thread.
P.S I dont want people to get flamed for having a opinion, they have a right to that, as long as they put that across in a good manner.

You don't need a defence (unlike Leeds United, but that's another story).
Flaming is an occupational hazard here sometimes, especially if someone has the temerity to diagree with someone else. I'm way past worrying anyway.
On topic - I still don't think this deserves sticky status. You and others do. No problem. Each to their own. It's up to the mods anyway, not us.

No foul on you SD O'C because you've put together some really good threads, but if this is 'sticky worthy' standards have plummeted on XDA. Rapidly. As has been pointed out, there's a couple of links & pretty much no original content or anything that could remotely be considered a 'guide'.
Droidphile's excellent dualbooting post in the Siyah dev thread a few days ago, now that was a guide (and sticky worthy).

okay, i am on dual boot. using LPQ as primary and cm9 latest nightly as secondary
and i note battery drain

MistahBungle said:
No foul on you SD O'C because you've put together some really good threads, but if this is 'sticky worthy' standards have plummeted on XDA. Rapidly. As has been pointed out, there's a couple of links & pretty much no original content or anything that could remotely be considered a 'guide'.
Droidphile's excellent dualbooting post in the Siyah dev thread a few days ago, now that was a guide (and sticky worthy).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What post number is it and i can include it and give him full credit, i will of course ask first. Also i would like to point out this was never intended as a guide, more a point of ref.
P.S If LUFC would like to change his mind on this being a sticky then i would have no problem with this.

ashifr5 said:
okay, i am on dual boot. using LPQ as primary and cm9 latest nightly as secondary
and i note battery drain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery drain has been noted with the kernel, he has made a fix for most roms and combo's but he will need time as it is still in the early stages. Also when flashing a new rom this can alter the casuse battery drain, a full charge of the batter could fix this problem.

MistahBungle said:
Droidphile's excellent dualbooting post in the Siyah dev thread a few days ago, now that was a guide (and sticky worthy).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it is, for all the non-searchers.
Off-topic again - s.d.oconnor, to quote an earlier post from yourself:
s.d.oconnor said:
Thanks man, the XDA community has give me so much, I just want to give back.
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Click to collapse
If so, what's the "donate to me" banner doing in your signature? Just awaiting love and affection?
You've compiled some useful guides, but let's face it, your work has mainly been collating readily available links and other posts that any reasonable modicum of searching ability could accumulate.
Nothing in the site rules that forbids you to ask for donations, but for what you've done - especially taking into account that you've been a member here for two months - I can think of an awful lot more contributors ("recognised" or not) whom are far more worthy of donations than yourself.
The "giving back to the community" spiel is very valiant and honourable, but you want donations. Fine, sure you've got some too. But don't dress it up behind the "giving back" line - not exactly sincere, no?
Again, I'm not flaming/trolling - merely my opinion.

B3311 said:
Here it is, for all the non-searchers.
Off-topic again - s.d.oconnor, to quote an earlier post from yourself:
If so, what's the "donate to me" banner doing in your signature? Just awaiting love and affection?
You've compiled some useful guides, but let's face it, your work has mainly been collating readily available links and other posts that any reasonable modicum of searching ability could accumulate.
Nothing in the site rules that forbids you to ask for donations, but for what you've done - especially taking into account that you've been a member here for two months - I can think of an awful lot more contributors ("recognised" or not) whom are far more worthy of donations than yourself.
The "giving back to the community" spiel is very valiant and honourable, but you want donations. Fine, sure you've got some too. But don't dress it up behind the "giving back" line - not exactly sincere, no?
Again, I'm not flaming/trolling - merely my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, the banner donate to me has been their since i joined as you are giventhe option to include one, i was new (still am), i have not recived any donations, and if i did they would be used to go back to the XDA website, if it offends anyone i will remove the banner. Also if any mod belives that i am not worthy of my title and that my guides are not of the standard that is very good then they can by all means remove them from any sticky they may be on, and remove my title if they see fit.
I know you are saying that you are not flaming me, but it seems to be moving in that direction. I know i have only been here a short while but i belive that what i have done is not that bad of a standard, in the short time i have been here.

★★★★[INFO]ANDROID ROM & How they Work★★★★

★★★★[INFO]ANDROID ROM & How they Work★★★★
Parts of a ROM
i. The kernel.
Android (like many other Smartphone operating systems) runs on the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel was created in the early 1990’s by a gentleman named Linus Torvalds in Helsinki, Finland. It’s incredibly stable, incredibly friendly, and incredibly difficult for the layman to understand and modify. Thankfully it’s also very popular so it has been ported on to a multitude of hardware, including our Android devices.
Think of the kernel as an interface layer between the hardware and software on your device. The kernel decides when things happen, such as the LED indicator gets lit or when the soft button's LED gets lit. An application sends a request to the operating system to blink the LED. The operating system then sends the request to the kernel, which makes the light flash for the amount of time requested by the OS.
What sounds like a round-about way to get things done is also what makes the system so scalable and robust. Application developers only have to code in a way the operating system understands and the kernel makes it work on the hardware. This also keeps the application running in it’s own user-space and separate from the kernel. That means when you run the latest uber-cool app that wasn’t designed for your particular OS version, or is still very beta and it crashes, the kernel gives you the option to Force Close the application and the kernel can run untouched.
In a standard Android ROM (we will leave developer images and the like for another discussion) the kernel is bundled along with a set of instructions that tell the device how to load the kernel and the OS during boot. This is the boot.img that you see inside a zipped ROM that your not able to easily open. The device knows to extract this image to internal memory (the ramdisk) and follow a series of scripts (init scripts) to load the kernel and then the other portions of the OS. That’s what’s happening while you’re watching the boot animation. Interestingly enough this is done the same way for a PC, your smartphone, an Android tablet, or even a smart Linux powered toaster. If you’re feeling exceptionally geeky, plug your Android phone into the USB port on your PC and let the PC boot from the USB device. No, it doesn’t actually load, but you can watch the animation while it tries to match up the hardware support with what’s inside your PC. As I said, Linux is amazingly scalable and as a result so is Android.
What is a kernel? If you spend any time reading Android forums, blogs, how-to posts or online discussion you'll soon hear people talking about the kernel. A kernel isn't something unique to Android -- iOS and MacOS have one, Windows has one, BlackBerry's QNX has one, in fact all high level operating systems have one. The one we're interested in is Linux, as it's the one Android uses. Let's try to break down what it is and what it does.
Android devices use the Linux kernel, but it's not the exact same kernel other Linux-based operating systems use. There's a lot of Android specific code built in, and Google's Android kernel maintainers have their work cut out for them. OEMs have to contribute as well, because they need to develop hardware drivers for the parts they're using for the kernel version they're using. This is why it takes a while for independent Android developers and hackers to port new versions to older devices and get everything working. Drivers written to work with the Gingerbread kernel on a phone won't necessarily work with the Ice Cream Sandwich kernel. And that's important, because one of the kernel's main functions is to control the hardware. It's a whole lot of source code, with more options while building it than you can imagine, but in the end it's just the intermediary between the hardware and the software.
When software needs the hardware to do anything, it sends a request to the kernel. And when we say anything, we mean anything. From the brightness of the screen, to the volume level, to initiating a call through the radio, even what's drawn on the display is ultimately controlled by the kernel. For example -- when you tap the search button on your phone, you tell the software to open the search application. What happens is that you touched a certain point on the digitizer, which tells the software that you've touched the screen at those coordinates. The software knows that when that particular spot is touched, the search dialog is supposed to open. The kernel is what tells the digitizer to look (or listen, events are "listened" for) for touches, helps figure out where you touched, and tells the system you touched it. In turn, when the system receives a touch event at a specific point from the kernel (through the driver) it knows what to draw on your screen. Both the hardware and the software communicate both ways with the kernel, and that's how your phone knows when to do something. Input from one side is sent as output to the other, whether it's you playing Angry Birds, or connecting to your car's Bluetooth.
It sounds complicated, and it is. But it's also pretty standard computer logic -- there's an action of some sort generated for every event. Without the kernel to accept and send information, developers would have to write code for every single event for every single piece of hardware in your device. With the kernel, all they have to do is communicate with it through the Android system API's, and hardware developers only have to make the device hardware communicate with the kernel. The good thing is that you don't need to know exactly how or why the kernel does what it does, just understanding that it's the go-between from software to hardware gives you a pretty good grasp of what's happening under the glass. Sort of gives a whole new outlook towards those fellows who stay up all night to work on kernels for your phone, doesn't it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ii. The operating system.
Once the kernel is loaded, the init scripts tell the Operating System to load. Android is the user interface for a custom built Java virtual machine called Dalvik. Dalvik was written by Dan Bornstein, who named it after the fishing village of Dalvik in Iceland, where his family originated from. The debate of which Java VM is superior is best left for another discussion, so I’ll simply say that DalvikVM is a register-based machine versus true JavaVMs which are stack based.
The Dalvik machine creates executable files (.dex files) which can be interpreted by the OS and run by the end user. These .dex files are OS version dependant. That simply means that applications and core functions built to work with one version of Android may or may not work well with other versions. Google provides the tools through it’s Software Development Kit (SDK) for applications to communicate with the OS.
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iii. Core functions.
No smartphone would be complete without a set of functions that allow the device to be used as intended. Things like the phone and dialer interface, the calendar, the messaging system are core functions of the Operating System. In Android, these are run on top of the kernel as separate applications. The merits (or lack of) of providing these needed functions as separate applications is once again best left for another discussion, but this is what allows developers like HTC or Motorola to replace the standard functions with alternatives that provide a different look and feel from stock. HTC’s onscreen keyboard or Motorola’s MotoBlur contact list are great examples of this. The “little guy” isn’t left out of the mix either. Handcent SMS or Chomp SMS can integrate into the OS very well, as most of us already know.
An additional set of Core Functions are provided by Google. Popularly called GoogleBits, things like Gmail, sync, Gtalk and the Android Market are applications written by Google that give an extra set of useful functions to the OS. You’ll find these on all smartphones, as well as many other Android devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iv. Optional applications.
These are applications provided by the manufacturer to give the device even more usability. Things like the Amazon MP3 store, PDF readers, Corporate Calendar etc. allow you to do even more with your device. Remember - Droid Does
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Click to collapse
B. How is a ROM packaged?
In most cases a ROM will come packaged in a .zip file. The recovery image’s kernel (yes, it has one too!) has the ability to unzip and copy the contents into the correct place. Inside this zip file is a folder (META-INF\com\google\android\) that contains a script prepared by the ROM “cooker” (another of those techie terms - it means the person(s) who developed the ROM) that tells the system what to format, what to copy and where, and any file operations that need to be done. Each device does things a bit differently, but this script is where it all gets done. More on this folder later.
You’ll also see a /system folder. This is the meat of the ROM. It has the necessary OS files, the Core functions, and any optional applications the cooker decided to include. The folder is structured the same way it is on your device - /system/app, /system/framework, etc. The whole tree is usually copied over and the existing /system folder is overwritten. The cooker uses the script to tell the kernel to erase the existing system folder, copy the new folder over, and set the file permissions.
Sometimes you will also see a data folder. This usually is space set up for optional applications, including optional system tools like busybox or SuperUser white list. These applications could be placed in the /system folder, but placing them in the data folder makes it easier for the end user (you and I) to remove or update them as needed.
You’ll also notice a META-INF folder. This contains the update script we talked about earlier, as well as secure keys that need to be provided so the device knows the update can be trusted. A special note needs made here. Trusted means that the update is trusted to be in the correct form to load the device. It in no way means the ROM is safe from malicious code. Anyone is able to use a set of test keys and create a ROM that will flash and run your device - even those people with bad intentions. Flashing and running a custom 3rd party ROM is putting faith in the cooker that he or she not only knows what they are doing, but are honest as well. Also, some Motorola custom ROMs will have a small update.zip stored inside this folder to be run on first boot of the device.
Finally we are left with the boot.img file. This is the kernel and ramdisk image we discussed earlier. Your phone copies this over to be decompressed and run when the device boots.
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Click to collapse
2. How do I install a ROM?
In this section we’re discussing how to install a custom 3rd party ROM. ROMs from the manufacturer usually have a utility that runs on your PC to flash and load the new image.
A. Got Root???
Yes ?:good:!!!
Custom ROM’s simply will not load on devices that aren’t rooted. In theory, it may be possible to sign a 3rd party ROM with the keys that the stock recovery image will flash, but for the most part you need to have flashed a custom recovery image before you can change your device’s ROM. Instructions and tutorials on how to root your device are all over the internet. Some are good, some are bad. The hacking forum is a great place to go and learn more about rooting and how to successfully get it done on your device.
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Click to collapse
B. Recovery
Most Android devices have had a custom recovery image written for them. This will overwrite the stock recovery image, allowing you to flash 3rd party ROMs as well as giving extra functionality. Help with finding and flashing the custom recovery image for your device can also be found in the hacking forum. The installation of a custom recovery image also allows for a very important function. Backup and restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.C. Nandroid
Nandroid is a set of bash scripts and code written by that copies the state of your system and stores it in a folder on your SD card. You can then use the restore function of Nandroid to restore to this point at any time. This is a priceless feature and reason enough to root your phone. It’s included by default in most custom recovery images, and the code is freely available to use if you’re inclined to write your own recovery image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In most situations, using Nandroid to back everything up is easy:
1. Verify you have a memory card with enough free space (~300MB to backup, ~500MB to restore).
2. Reboot your device into recovery. It’s slightly different for each device, once again hacking forum FTW!
3. Navigate through the menu and select the Nandroid Backup function.
4. Apply your choice and wait for the device to tell you it’s finished.
It’s always good practice to copy the entire nandroid folder from your SD card to a safe place. You can then copy it back to the SD card if the card is ever damaged, lost or erased.
D. Copy and Flash
You’re rooted, have downloaded a custom ROM, have your system backed up and are now ready to flash your device. This is not nearly as scary as it sounds.
1. Mount your SD card to your PC, and copy the .zip file to the root folder of the card. Don’t unzip the file, and don’t look for a folder called root. The root folder in this case means the base folder, what you will see when you mount your card to a PC or the device.
2. Reboot your phone into recovery.
3. Navigate through the recovery menu and select the flash update option. Depending on your recovery image, the file may need to be named update.zip, or you may be able to select any zip file on your card as long as it’s the correct format. The cooker knows this as well and if the ROM needs to be named update.zip it will be.
4. Apply your choice and wait for your device to tell you it’s finished.
5. Reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s worth noting that many times a new ROM will require that you wipe and factory reset your devices data. While inconvenient, it’s often necessary to get rid of the old data as it may be incompatible. As long as you’re using the cloud for calendar and contacts, they will be re- downloaded and stored back on your device automatically.
Dirty flash and Clean flash
A dirty flash is only wiping cache and davlik then flashing your ROM....
a Clean flash is at LEAST factory reset/data wipe + wiping davlik(factory wipe takes care of /cache also)... Maybe doing a format /system also.
***Odin***
Odin is the ROM Flashing Tool for SAMSUNG smartphones. ROM files flashable with Odin come with .tar extension.
Most of the ROMs you are going to flash with Odin are the official stock Samsung ROMs (or leaked stock ROMs). Custom ROMs are rerely flashable by Odin because they come with .zip extension that Odin does not recognize (it recognizes .tar files).
Custom kernels, however, are sometimes provided in .tar format by their developers (e.g. CF-Root kernels), so that they can be flashed by Odin. When your phone is new and running official firmware you most often cannot flash a custom ROM to it because a Samsung phone often requires a custom recovery and root rights that are included in a custom kernel to be able to flash custom ROMs. That's why Odin often comes in handy in rooting and flashing a custom firmware to your phone because you (often) can flash a custom kernel with it that already includes root and custom recovery and enables you to flash custom firmware (custom ROMs). I use the word "often" very frequently in the previous sentence because every Samsung smartphone is different and requires various procedures for rooting it and flashing custom ROMs (see the section about using Odin below).
If it comes to stock ROMs, the best source of stock (official) Samsung ROM files is located at this excellent website: SamMobile.com/firmwares (link). It requires registration (it's free) and I encourage you to set up an account there because you will most likely use this site several times during your stay at XDA. You will most likely come across 1 .tar or 3 .tar file ROMs there, flashable by Odin. Refer to the Odin flashing guide below for more info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
****Heimdall****
What is Heimdall?
Heimdall is a cross-platform open-source tool suite used to flash ROMs onto Samsung Galaxy S devices.
How does it work?
Heimdall uses the same protocol as Odin to interact with a device in download mode. USB communication in Heimdall is handled by the popular open-source USB library, libusb-1.0.
Why “Heimdall”?
The flashing software Odin is named after the king of gods in Norse mythology. Loke, the software component on the Galaxy S that provides functionality to flash, may also to be named after an important character in Norse mythology, often translated as Loki. As such I have named my flashing software Heimdall, after the Norse god, and guardian of the Bifrost Bridge.
What platforms does Heimdall run on?
Linux, OS X and Windows (XP, Vista, 7 etc.)
Why use Heimdall when we can use Odin?
Odin is generally unreliable and only runs on Windows systems. Furthermore, Odin is leaked Samsung software that is not freely available or well understood by the community.
Is Heimdall safe?
No matter what method you chose, flashing firmware onto your phone has a lot of potential for disaster. We have tested Heimdall with a variety of phones flashing several different firmware versions resulting in a 100% success rate. As such we believe that Heimdall is generally reliable. However keep in mind, just like any flashing software, Heimdall has the potential to brick your phone if not used correctly.
How do Galaxy S phones get bricked when flashing?
Besides the inherent risks like power outs, accidental removal of the USB cable etc. The Galaxy S appears to be running extremely unreliable USB control software.
A failure to flash does not automatically equate to a bricked phone. However if you're extremely unlucky and the flash fails whilst transferring the primary boot-loader, secondary boot-loader or params.lfs (all quite small) than you've got yourself a paper weight that you're hoping Samsung will replace.
Please be extremely careful mixing files from different firmware releases. Don't do so unless you're certain it will work!
What Galaxy S variants has Heimdall been tested with?
We’ve tested Heimdall with a Galaxy S GT-I9000 (8 GB) from the United Kingdom and Galaxy S GT-I9000 (16 GB) from Australia. We don’t personally have access to any other devices to test with, however users have confirmed Heimdall functions correctly with the AT&T Captivate, Bell Vibrant, Telstra GT-I9000T, Epic 4G and the Galaxy Tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^

CWM Errors and Solutions
ERRORS encountered in CWM Recovery
.
What is CWM Recovery ?
ClockworkMod Recovery is a custom recovery for many Android devices. It is considered to be the most popular recovery for Android due to its easily-ported nature, and integration with ClockworkMod ROM Manager by Koush(Koushik Dutta). The easiest way to recognize it is by the printed name when it first starts, and the background logo of a gear and hat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ERROR STATUS 6
This is usually caused by CR/LF EOL(Windows style End Of Line) in updater-script. Change it to LF EOL(Unix Style EOL) using Linux command: dos2unix updater-script, then re-signing the ZIP, will usually fix this error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ERROR STATUS 7
This is usually caused by a corrupt download, or bad file signature. Re-downloading (or re-signing) the ZIP will usually fix this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have been consistently seen and heard people facing error “Status 7″ error while trying to flash or install
custom ROMs or firmware packages on their Android smart phones or tablets with ClockworkMod Recovery. Many
of the users are nowadays facing this problem with CWM Recovery while flashing .zip files of modded or custom
Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) or Jelly Bean (JB) ROMs on their devices. So, you have also downloaded a custom ROM,
placed its .zip file in your phone’s or tablet’s SD card, booted into ClockworkMod Recovery, selected – “install zip
from sdcard” and then chosen the .zip file of the ROM to get it installed on your device. But instead of getting
flashed successfully, if you are facing the issue mentioned below, then just keep reading this article to find out
what’s wrong and fix up the problem :
Finding update package…
Opening update package…
Installing update…
Error in /sdcard/custom-jelly-bean-rom.zip (Status 7)
Installation aborted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or the following error right after CWM recovery shows –
Installing update…
assert failed: getprop(“ro.product.device”) == “I9103″ || getprop(“ro.build.product”) == “I9103″ || getprop
(“ro.product.board”) == “I9103″
Error in /sdcard/android-4-1-1-ics-rom-latest.zip (status 7)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, if you are facing any of these errors while trying to install the desired custom ROM package on your Android
phone or tab, then you may try a various things or steps which may turn out to be the workaround of this
problem. Here are a few tips to get this “Status 7” error fixed in ClockworkMod Recovery and flash the ROM
successfully on your device :
(1) First of all, make sure your device’s bootloader is unlocked. If it is already unlocked but you are still
not able to flash the ROM, then just extract the .zip file of the ROM into a new folder, find the boot.img file from
that directory and flash it up on your phone or tablet via fastboot on your PC.
(2) Make sure that you are having the appropriate Radio or Baseband version installed on your device which is
supported by the custom ROM you are trying to flash. Most of the ROMs requires the latest version of Baseband, so
just update or upgrade your device to the latest Baseband version and then try to install the ROM once again.
(3) Update your device to the supported / latest build of official firmware before trying to install the ROM. You can
do it from – Settings > About Phone / Device > Software Update.
(4) Make sure you are having the supported or required kernel installed on your phone or tab. If it’s not, then flash
a new kernel right away and try to install your custom ROM once again.
(5) Is the ROM which you are trying to flash really works ? Find out whether it is working for other users or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Error Status 0
Well sometimes while flashing some ROMs especially the cooked ones we get Error status 0 in the CWM Recovery
this error is an indicator of Wrong Update Binary.This is usually caused by an incompatible update-binary in edify ZIPs. Replacing it with a compatible one, then re-signing the ZIP, will usually fix this error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Partitions
Now it's time for the partitions :good:
Let’s start with a list of standard internal memory partitions on Android phones and tablets. These are:
/boot
/system
/recovery
/data
/cache
/misc
In addition, there are the SD card partitions.
/sdcard
/sd-ext
Note that only /sdcard is found in all Android devices and the rest are present only in select devices. Let’s now take a look at the purpose and contents of each of these partitions.
/boot
This is the partition that enables the phone to boot, as the name suggests. It includes the kernel and the ramdisk. Without this partition, the device will simply not be able to boot. Wiping this partition from recovery should only be done if absolutely required and once done, the device must NOT be rebooted before installing a new one, which can be done by installing a ROM that includes a /boot partition.
/system
This partition basically contains the entire operating system, other than the kernel and the ramdisk. This includes the Android user interface as well as all the system applications that come pre-installed on the device. Wiping this partition will remove Android from the device without rendering it unbootable, and you will still be able to put the phone into recovery or bootloader mode to install a new ROM.
/recovery
The recovery partition can be considered as an alternative boot partition that lets you boot the device into a recovery console for performing advanced recovery and maintenance operations on it. To learn more about this partition and its contents, see the ‘About Android Recovery’ section of our guide to ClockworkMod recovery.
/data
Also called userdata, the data partition contains the user’s data – this is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially performs a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping.
/cache
This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and app components. Wiping the cache doesn’t effect your personal data but simply gets rid of the existing data there, which gets automatically rebuilt as you continue using the device.
/misc
This partition contains miscellaneous system settings in form of on/off switches. These settings may include CID (Carrier or Region ID), USB configuration and certain hardware settings etc. This is an important partition and if it is corrupt or missing, several of the device’s features will will not function normally.
/sdcard
This is not a partition on the internal memory of the device but rather the SD card. In terms of usage, this is your storage space to use as you see fit, to store your media, documents, ROMs etc. on it. Wiping it is perfectly safe as long as you backup all the data you require from it, to your computer first. Though several user-installed apps save their data and settings on the SD card and wiping this partition will make you lose all that data.
On devices with both an internal and an external SD card – devices like the Samsung Galaxy S and several tablets – the /sdcard partition is always used to refer to the internal SD card. For the external SD card – if present – an alternative partition is used, which differs from device to device. In case of Samsung Galaxy S series devices, it is /sdcard/sd while in many other devices, it is /sdcard2. Unlike /sdcard, no system or app data whatsoever is stored automatically on this external SD card and everything present on it has been added there by the user. You can safely wipe it after backing up any data from it that you need to save.
/sd-ext
This is not a standard Android partition, but has become popular in the custom ROM scene. It is basically an additional partition on your SD card that acts as the /data partition when used with certain ROMs that have special features called APP2SD+ or data2ext enabled. It is especially useful on devices with little internal memory allotted to the /data partition. Thus, users who want to install more programs than the internal memory allows can make this partition and use it with a custom ROM that supports this feature, to get additional storage for installing their apps. Wiping this partition is essentially the same as wiping the /data partition – you lose your contacts, SMS, market apps and settings.
With this, we conclude our tour of Android partitions. Now whenever you install a ROM or mod that requires you to wipe certain partitions before the installation, you should be in a better position to know what you’re losing and what not and thus, you’ll know what to backup and what not.

You should at least post the source of such a large copy paste post.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Source? How do you post a source for an article which is compiled from 10+ sites? Plus my own addition?
Started from the bottom

Good job man, this saves me the time to do all this researches.
Keep it up
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100

sos_sifou said:
Good job man, this saves me the time to do all this researches.
Keep it up
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO tell me if you have some suggestions for the thread.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"

I think that this is a pretty good summary of the basics. I even converted it to epub and stocked it on my e-reader for reference
You can get to the details if you want? Adding some info about flashing softwares like odin and the Linux based one (i don't remember it name)
The different recoveries available and their advantages vs désavantages
How to protect yourself from malicious applications, starting from knowing what are permissions...
Keep it up mate
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100

sos_sifou said:
I think that this is a pretty good summary of the basics. I even converted it to epub and stocked it on my e-reader for reference
You can get to the details if you want? Adding some info about flashing softwares like odin and the Linux based one (i don't remember it name)
The different recoveries available and their advantages vs désavantages
How to protect yourself from malicious applications, starting from knowing what are permissions...
Keep it up mate
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heimdall?
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"

Tha TechnoCrat said:
Source? How do you post a source for an article which is compiled from 10+ sites? Plus my own addition?
Started from the bottom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you have a point, it's just the scientist in me with source-referral-ocd.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

adytum said:
I guess you have a point, it's just the scientist in me with source-referral-ocd.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO tell me if you have any problems or if you want something to be added.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"

Thread updated with Odin and Heimdall information.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"

Tha TechnoCrat said:
Source? How do you post a source for an article which is compiled from 10+ sites? Plus my own addition?
Started from the bottom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By listing ALL the different sources? And obviously crediting yourself with bits you've added.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

You should make the title of the thread more presentable though.

Simone said:
You should make the title of the thread more presentable though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would like some suggestions.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"

Tha TechnoCrat said:
Would like some suggestions.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should think of your own. That would be the best
Make it more professional looking, though.
Everything else is good.

Guys I have got my Note 2 finally. Will compile some guides for it too.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

You bought a note 2? Congrats mate !
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100

sos_sifou said:
You bought a note 2? Congrats mate !
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks buddy. Get ready for more guides
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

[MOD] Multirom for cancro [ABANDONED]

Introduction
MultiROM for the Xiaomi Mi3 and Mi4
MultiROM is one-of-a-kind multi-boot mod for Xiaomi Mi3. It can boot any Android ROM as well as other systems like Ubuntu Touch, once they are ported to that device. Besides booting from device's internal memory, MultiROM can boot from USB drive connected to the device via OTG cable. The main part of MultiROM is a boot manager, which appears every time your device starts and lets you choose ROM to boot. You can see how it looks on the left image below and in gallery. ROMs are installed and managed via modified TWRP recovery. You can use standard ZIP files to install secondary Android ROMs and MultiROM even has its own installer system, which can be used to ship other Linux-based systems.
Features:
* Multiboot any number of Android ROMs
* Restore nandroid backup as secondary ROM
* Boot from USB drive attached via OTG cable
Warning!
It _is_ dangerous. This whole thing is basically one giant hack - none of these systems are made with multibooting in mind. It is no longer messing with data partition or boot sector, but it is possible that something goes wrong and you will have to flash factory images again. Make backups. Always.
Installation
Firstly, there are videos on youtube. If you want, just search for "MultiROM installation" on youtube and watch those, big thanks to all who made them.
MultiROM has 2 parts you need to install:
Modified recovery - download the IMG file from second post and use fastboot or Flashify app to flash it.
MultiROM - download the ZIP file from second post and flash it in recovery.
You current rom will not be erased by the installation.
Download links will be uploaded shortly in second post.
Adding ROMs
Go to recovery, select Advanced -> MultiROM -> Add ROM. Select the ROM's zip file and confirm. As for the space, clean installation of a rom after first boot (with dalvik cache generated and connected to google account) takes approx 700mb of space.
Attention : MIUI does not work with multirom, so dont flash it.
Using USB drive
During installation, recovery lets you select install location. Plug in the USB drive, wait a while and press "refresh" so that it shows partitions on the USB drive. You just select the location (extX, NTFS and FAT32 partitions are supported) and proceed with the installation.
If you wanna use other than default FAT32 partition, just format it in PC. If you don't know how/don't know where to find out how, you probably should not try installing MultiROM.
If you are installing to NTFS or FAT32 partition, recovery asks you to set image size for all the partitions - this cannot be easilly changed afterward, so choose carefully. FAT32 is limited to maximum of 4095MB per image - it is limitation of the filesystem, I can do nothing about that.
Installation to USB drives takes a bit longer, because the flash drive is (usually) slower and it needs to create the images.
Enumerating USB drive can take a while in MultiROM menu, so when you press the "USB" button in MultiROM, wait a while (max. 30-45s) until it searches the USB drive. It does it by itself, no need to press something, just wait.
Updating/changing ROMs
1. Primary ROM (Internal)
Flash ROM's ZIP file as usual, do factory reset if needed (it won't erase secondary ROMs)
Go to Advanced -> MultiROM in recovery and do Inject curr. boot sector.
2. Secondary Android ROMs
If you want to change the ROM, delete it and add new one. To update ROM, follow these steps:
Go to Advanced -> MultiROM -> List ROMs and select the ROM you want to update.
Select "Flash ZIP" and flash ROM's ZIP file.
Source code
MultiROM - https://github.com/Tasssadar/multirom/tree/master (branch master)
Modified TWRP - https://github.com/Tasssadar/Team-Win-Recovery-Project (branch master)
Thanks a lot to Tasssadar for creating this awesome utility.
Thanks to @KINGbabasula for this thread template and @Gnome for his stuxnet kernel
Thanks to @TheStrix, @KINGbabasula, @rooque for their help in porting this to our device.
Special thanks to @Shahan_mik3 without whom i wouldn't have started developing roms and stuff
ABANDONED

Reserved
Download links
Multirom zip:- https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862710486
Recovery:- https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862710485
Multirom uninstaller :- https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=673368273298938678

woww that looks cool, MultiRom :victory: :victory:

Great!

Good Job!

Reserved ...will update after I brick my phone ??

Thank you for your work. Which ROM is recommended as primary ROM? In other words: With which ROM is your kernel compatible? Its compatible with Ivan's AOSP?

Any rom that runs with stuxnet.. I have tried xenon and eos.. Both work..

Compatible with MI4？ Can't get in recovery & system. after flash it.

Only for mi3 atm.. I wrote comming soon for mi4

vasishath said:
Only for mi3 atm.. I wrote comming soon for mi4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, Expect your adapte for Mi4

Are miui roms supported ??

Hsmetric181 said:
Are miui roms supported ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No

schspa said:
Compatible with MI4？ Can't get in recovery & system. after flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read OP for once.

Not compatible with blisspop and cynide rom(tried as primary rom)
Not booting into the internal rom

I did install MIUI on my USB drive but after choosing in multiboot menu it is not booting...it just goes back to recovery...any help?

MIUI isnt compatible with multirom.. And also, some roms dont work from otg

..

Miui works ryt ? @vasishath
Plz update the thread
And continue ur great work
Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

Miui works as a primary rom, I can confirm it works well with kernel 10.05 stuxnet. I also use DU rom with this kernel as a secondary rom, so far everything works well.

[Discussion & Guide] OnePlus 5/5T now have unofficial Project Treble by MoKee

(My English isn't very practice. If you have any question reading this post, please feel free to ask. I'll try my best to express.)
## 0. Update: 2018/04/16
Some information I got today:
1. OnePlus is doing a repartition in OP5 Open Beta 8 / OP5T Open Beta 6 (or earlier, who knows). It'll split the 1.5GB "last_parti" partition into a 1.0GB "vendor" and a ~500MB "reserve3" partition while booting the system.
2. Yes, the repartition process was done in system, not during OTA in recovery.
3. The official vendor partition is still unused (not formatted). OnePlus will fill it in a future OTA, said their engineer.
4. I think it won't be conflicted with our "homemade" unofficial Treble. I just tested that the stock H2OS/OxygenOS can run on our homemade partition table.
5. It's very easy to undo the unofficial treble. I'll make an undo flashable zip later (through it's unnecessary in this time).
6. Of course, MoKee now (since 20180417) can run on the official partition table too.
==========
The MoKee ROM is now shipping unofficial Treble update for OnePlus 5/5T since 20180411. As the maintainer, I would like to share some information here.
## 1. How is this possible for OP5/5T?
Project Treble requires 2 keys: a standalone /vendor partition, and fully binderized HALs.
In fact, OnePlus have a 1.4GB unused, unformatted partition "sdf6" on OnePlus 3, 3T, 5 and 5T. This partition was possibly left by the ODM company, OPPO. OPPO R11/R11s series have a simular partition layout with OnePlus, and OPPO really did release an OTA update to enable Project Treble for their products.
The other key is binerized HALs. More specifically, the Camera HAL. The good news is, OnePlus recently released OP5 Open Beta 6 and OP5T Open Beta 4, with all fully binerized HALs, including the Camera HAL.
So as these 2 majar problems were solved. Project Treble is possible.
## 2. How did this come true?
To make Project Treble come true for OnePlus 5/5T, these should be done:
1. All vender-specific blobs should be moved to /vendor
2. Some blobs load config files from /system/etc. Just hex-edit them to load from /vendor/etc instead
3. Label and format that unused sdf6 partition as /vendor - this should be automatically done with an OTA script
4. The kernel should mount sdf6 as /vendor as well
## For users - How to enable Treble for OP5/5T?
The most easy way now is, flash the latest MoKee MK81.0 nightly build with latest TWRP (OP5: http://rom.mk/?device=cheeseburger, OP5T: http://rom.mk/?device=dumpling). The updater script will do the job automatically for you.
It's possible to make a flashable zip contains only the kernel and vendor image, without the MoKee system. But I'm busying on some other features. I'll do it later.
Tested fully works with Phh-treble system image, including:
- Audio
- Camera
- Phone & data
- Bluetooth & Wi-Fi
- Fingerprint
## For developers - How to ship Treblize update with my ROM?
(I'm organizing the patch list, I'll updte this section later)
## Can I flash non-Treble ROMs? How to "undo" this change?
You don't need to undo it, I think. For those non-Treble ROMs, including H2OS and OxygenOS, the /vendor partition is invisible. So you can flash back to any other ROMs at any time you want.

This is good news for us, thank you for your hard working!

So, once we flash the Mokee ROM, will we then be able to flash the other treble ROMs like RR and Lineage?

Skeptico said:
So, once we flash the Mokee ROM, will we then be able to flash the other treble ROMs like RR and Lineage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course.

Great job!

Any specific instructions to install this or like a normal install ???

Amanpreetsingh said:
Any specific instructions to install this or like a normal install ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, read OP message fully

you are awesome, big thank you from every OP5/5t owner

Damn, Oppo enabled Treble but 1+ didn't
What a shame...

Does this mean that the camera quality will be as good as stock on a custom room?

@chenxingyu If we flash Oxygen OS again on the treblized 5/5T, won't it again repartion the device again and create the sdf6 partition again? Just a doubt.

hemant_jeengar said:
@chenxingyu If we flash Oxygen OS again on the treblized 5/5T, won't it again repartion the device again and create the sdf6 partition again? Just a doubt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as the normal update packages don't touch that partition. On the other hand, there's no repartitioning involved - the type, filesystem and mount point of /sdf6 are changed.

hemant_jeengar said:
@chenxingyu If we flash Oxygen OS again on the treblized 5/5T, won't it again repartion the device again and create the sdf6 partition again? Just a doubt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Oxygen OS doesn't know there's a partition named sdf6.

First of all appreciate your effort for bringing treble support for op5t.. am currently running xxx ROM and decrypted..questions I have is does blu_spark or codeworkx twrp support flashing system image..also if I flash mokee latest update then will it wipe all my internal storage data..also I read no_verity zip doesn't work so when we go back to other non-treble roms then format data is mandatory..am I right..

Can someone who has already installed a treble gsi try and install oneplus camera apk and see what's happens? Or maybe even gcam? Thanks

Jamie_oppo said:
Can someone who has already installed a treble gsi try and install oneplus camera apk and see what's happens? Or maybe even gcam? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gcam is crashing..tested and confirmed by a user in the group.. thanks

Can someone post a mirror link. For some reason I cant download from the main site, the countdown disappears at 56 seconds.

This is all I see

cubandanger05 said:
Can someone post a mirror link. For some reason I cant download from the main site, the countdown disappears at 56 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had the same issue, downloading work on internet explorer on PC so maybe Safari on Mac? Give that a shot

BenisMusical said:
Had the same issue, downloading work on internet explorer on PC so maybe Safari on Mac? Give that a shot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried bunch of different browsers on my phone, desktop mode and all, but nothing, I'm going to have to try on my laptop tonight. Unless someone posts a mirror link.
Not working on the computer at work ?, getting frustrated ?.

Android S GSI (System-As-Root) on on Smart Tab M10 (TB-X605F)

Preface: After trail and error on installing Android GSI ROMs to my TB-X605F, I successfully made it after reading this thread written by @Yahoo Mike, which is also of great significance for my research. Generalizing it to the newer version Android-Installing and the other partition architectures, I finally drew a conclusion on how to install Android S GSI (System-As-Root) on on Smart Tab M10 (TB-X605F).
Credits:
　　　　@AndyYan, builder of the GSI images which was used in this project.
　　　　@erfanoabdi, developer of MakeMeSar patch.
　　　　@phhusson, developer of phh project treble ROMs.
　　　　@Yahoo Mike, illuminator of installing GSI on this device.
(Sorted alphabetically)
　　In this article, I'll introduce the way to install Android S GSI ROMs on the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 (I've only tested it on TB-X605F since I got one at hand. Theoretically, the other tablets in this series, such as TB-X605L should also work). Broadly speaking, this is a generalized method to install all System-As-Root GSI ROMs on this device, but I haven't tested it with the other kinds of ROMs. So, before we start, make a full backup of your device, which'll prevent you from lose all your important data after formatting your device. Also, you'd better to get knowledge of what you're doing and what you're going to do. This project is currently experimental, which means you may brick your device at any time, which is at your own risk.
　　Here are the steps.
1. Restoring Stock Android Pie Firmware with EDL.
　　1.1. Download the stock pie firmware from https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/lenovo/Tab_M10/TB-X605F/.
　　1.2. Assume that you've backed your device up, if not, do it now. Then, reboot it into EDL mode. There're many ways to do it, power it off and press Vol+ and Vol-, connect it with the PC at the same time. If you have TWRP installed in it, you can also get your device into TWRP and press "Reboot->EDL". Or you can reboot it into fastboot mode and use this command:
fastboot reboot edl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your device is unfortunately in "brick" status or your system cannot do such operations for certain reasons, you can open the back case, short these two test points shown in the picture. and connect it with your PC.
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　　1.3. Flash the firmware into your device via QPST or QComDLoader.
2. Installing TWRP.
　　2.1. Download the TWRP from https://twrp.me/lenovo/lenovo_X605F.html. Currently, I'm using ver 3.6.0.
　　2.2. Unlock the bootloader.
　　2.3. Reboot your device into fastboot, and
fastboot flash recovery path/to/twrp/img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
　　2.4. Reboot into TWRP by pressing Vol+, Vol- and Power.
3. Getting Files Prepared.
　　3.1. We aim to install Android S GSIs on this device, @phhusson's GSIs are a good choice, you can find them at Project Treble GSI images. Currently, I use the LineageOS 19.0 built by @AndyYan as example. I got it here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/andyyan-gsi/files/lineage-19.x/.
　　　　IMPORTANT: As we all know, this device use A-only partition architecture and no System-As-Root support, which is originally not supported by Android S. As a result, we're going to patch it to run Android S. As a consequence, when you're chose ROMs, download the ROMs which're ARM64 A/B Vndklite (arm64_bvS-vndklite) to match the patched device.
　　3.2. Download the System-As-Root patch which makes the device support System-As-Root. This patch called MakeMeSar, made by @erfanoabdi. You can find it here: https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=4349826312261728344. This patch will rewrite your boot partition to support System-As-Root, as a result, all the changes you've applied to the boot partition (such as magisk root or supersu root) will be gone.
　　3.3. Download the Disable_Dm-Verity. This is a patch to get rid of dm-verity and to disable the Verified Boot, which'll disable force encrypt of userdata partition and prevent the TWRP from being raplaced with the stock recovery. Get it here: https://zackptg5.com/android.php#disverfe.
　　3.4. Download the modify_phh_gsi.sh made by @Yahoo Mike. On conscious that it has trouble in mounting system when the device was patched to support System-As-Root, I modified the script to support (only) System-As-Root. Get it here: https://github.com/JunASAKA/modify_phh_gsi_sar.
4. Flashing
　　4.1. Boot into TWRP.
　　4.2. Format userdata partition and transfer all related files into your device.
　　4.3. Flash MakeMeSar patch.
　　4.4. Flash Dm-Verity patch.
　　4.5. Flash Android GSI ROMs. You can also do this in fastboot mode:
fastboot flash system path/to/gsi/img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
　　4.6. Reboot into TWRP again (Simply press Reboot->Recovery in TWRP).
　　4.7. Resize2fs system and run the modify_phh_gsi_sar.sh in terminal. Firstly, press "Wipe->Advanced Wipe->Select system->Repair or Change File System->Resize File System" in twrp before using the script. Tnen, in the terminal:
sh path/to/modify_phh_gsi_sar.sh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
　　4.8. Format userdata partition again to clean up (You can skip this step if you commit no change to userdata partition).
　　4.9. Reboot to system (In TWRP, press Reboot->System).
5. Your device will boot into the System you flashed if everything goes well. Enjoy !
fin. Here are the screenshots of Lineage OS 19.0 installed.
ps. Known Issues.
　　1. The system may mistake the tablet for "emulated device".
　　2. Cannot decrypt userdata even if the Dm-Verity was installed.
Further research is on going.
　　For other things regarding the GSI ROMs, such as GAPPS and Magisk root, it's strongly recommend to read this thread written by @Yahoo Mike.

浅香ジュン said:
ps. Known Issues.
　　1. /system_root cannot be mount in TWRP.
　　2. Cannot decrypt userdata even if the Dm-Verity was installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like TWRP will need to be modified for SAR devices.
My first guess is that the fstab needs to be updated to add a mount for /system_root. And the BoardConfig.mk needs some extra entries for the A12 keymaster to work (PLATFORM_VERSION and PLATFORM_VERSION_LAST_STABLE).
If you DM me the fstab from your patched boot.img, I'll build you a modified twrp on the weekend.
Hopefully, we can use the same TWRP for SAR and non-SAR tablets.

After modifing to SAR, any problems using LMSA to restore the tablet back to stock ?

Yahoo Mike said:
Sounds like TWRP will need to be modified for SAR devices.
My first guess is that the fstab needs to be updated to add a mount for /system_root. And the BoardConfig.mk needs some extra entries for the A12 keymaster to work (PLATFORM_VERSION and PLATFORM_VERSION_LAST_STABLE).
If you DM me the fstab from your patched boot.img, I'll build you a modified twrp on the weekend.
Hopefully, we can use the same TWRP for SAR and non-SAR tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I think I found the solution to system-mounting. After flashing the system.img, before executing the modify_phh.sh, Go to ”Wipe->Advanced Wipe->Select system->Repair or Change File System->Resize File System”. And then execute the modify_phh.sh. This way, the system can be successfully mount. Just press “mount” in twrp and select system, the /system_root and /system will be mount automatically. Consequently, I think the fstab of TWRP version 3.6.0 is all set and needn’t to be modified, it can automatically detect whether the device is SAR or not.
Yahoo Mike said:
After modifing to SAR, any problems using LMSA to restore the tablet back to stock ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As to restoration, I haven’t try LMSA yet, I always use EDL mode for restoration. But since the MakeMeSAR patch will only make differences to boot partition, I think LMSA should also work, but I haven’t tested it yet.
Additionally, there is another problem that there is “About Emulated Device“ shown in settings main page instead of “About Tablet”. I am wondering why the ROM mistake my tablet for a emulated device? I tried to add
ro.build.characteristics=tablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to build.prop both in vendor and system partition, but it seems to be of no avail.
I am making further researches on that and data partition decryption.
Thanks for your help, I’ll update my post later.

浅香ジュン said:
Well, I think I found the solution to system-mounting. After flashing the system.img, before executing the modify_phh.sh, Go to ”Wipe->Advanced Wipe->Select system->Repair or Change File System->Resize File System”. And then execute the modify_phh.sh. This way, the system can be successfully mount.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Resizing in TWRP just runs resize2fs. The script does that. Maybe it's the order the commands are run in? Or maybe the command needs to be run against a different partition for SAR? The script currently only checks for /system.
浅香ジュン said:
Additionally, there is another problem that there is “About Emulated Device“ shown in settings main page instead of “About Tablet”. I am wondering why the ROM mistake my tablet for a emulated device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that how MakeMeSAR works? I couldn't find any documentation about it. Unpacking the RAM cpio in MakeMeSAR might hold the answer.
You might also find a hint in the phh GSI or AOSP code. There will be a test that results in "Emulated Device". Whatever the conditions of that test are, they will point you in the right direction.

Yahoo Mike said:
Resizing in TWRP just runs resize2fs. The script does that. Maybe it's the order the commands are run in? Or maybe the command needs to be run against a different partition for SAR? The script currently only checks for /system.
Is that how MakeMeSAR works? I couldn't find any documentation about it. Unpacking the RAM cpio in MakeMeSAR might hold the answer.
You might also find a hint in the phh GSI or AOSP code. There will be a test that results in "Emulated Device". Whatever the conditions of that test are, they will point you in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that may helpful to find out more information about SAR in this device, I’ll test the Phh GSI today.

Hi really impressed by the work being done here,always wanted to try out a12 doing it now btw can i use any pixel gsi with this or maybe anyway that the new android 12L gsi works on this tab as it is optimized for large screen devices

FrontMan69 said:
Hi really impressed by the work being done here,always wanted to try out a12 doing it now btw can i use any pixel gsi with this or maybe anyway that the new android 12L gsi works on this tab as it is optimized for large screen devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think most of the phh-gsi based ROMs, Pixel Experience included, should work fine. As to Android 12L, it’s worth a try!

浅香ジュン said:
I think most of the phh-gsi based ROMs, Pixel Experience included, should work fine. As to Android 12L, it’s worth a try!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! keep up the good work

浅香ジュン said:
I think most of the phh-gsi based ROMs, Pixel Experience included, should work fine. As to Android 12L, it’s worth a try!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi tried the pixelexperience gsis they seem to not flash show not enough storage available
maybe its a device specific restriction

FrontMan69 said:
hi tried the pixelexperience gsis they seem to not flash show not enough storage available
maybe its a device specific restriction
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Click to collapse
Well, that’s because the system partition is not big enough to install pixel experience. But you could try to re-partition the tablet with the “parted”. Just delete the original system partition and create a new one bigger, I used to re-partition my Huawei mobile when installing custom GSIs.

浅香ジュン said:
Well, that’s because the system partition is not big enough to install pixel experience. But you could try to re-partition the tablet with the “parted”. Just delete the original system partition and create a new one bigger, I used to re-partition my Huawei mobile when installing custom GSIs.
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hi sorry for the ping but i cannot install gapps with los nikgapps installs but play store doesnt show up and bitgapps doesnt install

Update: So far tried Pixel Experience , Octavi,ArrowOS and phh gsis out of all only lineage works no success at install gapps on lineage so far

FrontMan69 said:
Update: So far tried Pixel Experience , Octavi,ArrowOS and phh gsis out of all only lineage works no success at install gapps on lineage so far
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Click to collapse
I'm sorry for hearing that. And according to my experience installing gapps, that's may on account that there is no enough space left in system partition. The best way to solve it is to re-partition the device, which is testing by me. Btw, is there no original gapps installed in Pixel Experience?

浅香ジュン said:
I'm sorry for hearing that. And according to my experience installing gapps, that's may on account that there is no enough space left in system partition. The best way to solve it is to re-partition the device, which is testing by me. Btw, is there no original gapps installed in Pixel Experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pixel experience doesnt flash saying that there isnt any more storage left in the partition with octavi and arrow i get error 4 in twrp aosp cannot be resized and with los as i said gapps cannot be flashed

I followed the instructions and got vanilla A12 AOSP (squeak) loading.
After boot, is anyone else getting the error message: Android System: there's an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details. ?
credstore crashes during init. So that might be causing the error message (?)
As for TWRP, keymaster is crashing. That's why there's no decryption. I'll strace it tomorrow to see if we can get around it.
And I can confirm LMSA restores stock ROM fine after using MakeMeSAR. (BTW, LMSA now uses QFil rather than QComDLoader.)

Yahoo Mike said:
I followed the instructions and got vanilla A12 AOSP (squeak) loading.
After boot, is anyone else getting the error message: Android System: there's an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details. ?
credstore crashes during init. So that might be causing the error message (?)
As for TWRP, keymaster is crashing. That's why there's no decryption. I'll strace it tomorrow to see if we can get around it.
And I can confirm LMSA restores stock ROM fine after using MakeMeSAR. (BTW, LMSA now uses QFil rather than QComDLoader.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried squeak with go gapps didnt flash also btw big fan mike any working a11 gsis ? also how can i repartition my tablet

Bad news on the TWRP front. There are two issues.
First, the Keymaster key data structure was changed in A12. I can patch TWRP to fix that. Easy!
But the second issue is massive. Keymaster is crashing with "Configure failed" after a KM_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT (-38) error. This is pointing to a version mismatch.
There have been extensive modifications to the TWRP A11 git branch to patch that error. Those modifications have not been made in the A9 branch. Probably because not many people are putting A12 on devices originally released with A8.
We are stuck with stock keymaster blobs from A9. For compatibility reasons, I need to compile TWRP from the A9 branch. It might be possible to use keymaster blobs from a similar A10 device - assuming the kernel needs no modifications. If someone wants to put in the time to get this working, I'm happy to offer you some hints to get you started. You can PR the updates to my github repo. If it works, I'll push them to TWRP gerrit.

Yahoo Mike said:
Bad news on the TWRP front. There are two issues.
First, the Keymaster key data structure was changed in A12. I can patch TWRP to fix that. Easy!
But the second issue is massive. Keymaster is crashing with "Configure failed" after a KM_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT (-38) error. This is pointing to a version mismatch.
There have been extensive modifications to the TWRP A11 git branch to patch that error. Those modifications have not been made in the A9 branch. Probably because not many people are putting A12 on devices originally released with A8.
We are stuck with stock keymaster blobs from A9. For compatibility reasons, I need to compile TWRP from the A9 branch. It might be possible to use keymaster blobs from a similar A10 device - assuming the kernel needs no modifications. If someone wants to put in the time to get this working, I'm happy to offer you some hints to get you started. You can PR the updates to my github repo. If it works, I'll push them to TWRP gerrit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I’ll check it. But I think it seems impossible for me to do that. Anyway, I’ll try my best.

Why can't I use the camera? The camera App stops running when it opens.