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So I am new to the whole Root and ROM Android arena. And I came up with a few questions that hopefully you guys can help me with.
1. I read people saying they lost their ROOT after an update from 4.1 to 4.2 or 4.2.1 to 4.2.2? How did this happen for them?
Do you have to Un-root and flash to stock before updating to a different build (Such as 4.1 to 4.2 or 4.2.1 to 4.2.2)?
2. Right now I am using a custom ROM on Android Version 4.2.2.... if a new Custom ROM with a new android version released (Let's say 4.2.3) can I flash from one Rom to the other with just wiping Cache/Factory wipe and Dalvik Cahce or is there something else I would need to do because of the Android version update?
Sorry those two questions above are very similar but I wanted to ask them both ways.
3. If I were to get bored of the Custom ROM I am currently on. Are there any Best Practices "rules" I should know about when switching from one custom ROM to another?
4. Last if I am on a custom ROM with a nightly build..... is it more common to update to every nightly build that releases? Or is it more common people to only pick and choose choice nightly build versions. And if people do update to every new Nightly build.... can you update too much and destroy your device?
Sorry guys I know these seem like very basic questions..... and Yes I did search the forums. However while I found some very basic answers nothing went into great depth in explanation. All the answers seemed to be very vague.
does anyone have some suggestions on where to find these answers?
1. If you are on stock, rooted, and you update versions of the OS, you are essentially UPDATING the /system partition. That is how you lose 'root' when upgrading. If you modify any system files while rooted, you have to either revert to stock or change those modified files back to the original before running the update.
2. Just run FACTORY RESET in your custom recovery and flash the new custom rom. No need to wipe any caches (/cache is wiped during a factory reset anyway). It doesnt matter what version to what version. Sometimes new versions might require new bootloaders, but you will be bombarded with that information here if that becomes the case.
3. See number 2. Its the same thing. backup your apps with Titanium Backup, do a Factory Reset in custom recovery and flash new rom....done.
4. doesnt matter. you can update as much or as little as you like. some people prefer stability over new shiny, but then others are just crack-flashers....and will literally flash ANYTHING posted to see what happens
Pirateghost said:
1. If you are on stock, rooted, and you update versions of the OS, you are essentially UPDATING the /system partition. That is how you lose 'root' when upgrading. If you modify any system files while rooted, you have to either revert to stock or change those modified files back to the original before running the update.
2. Just run FACTORY RESET in your custom recovery and flash the new custom rom. No need to wipe any caches (/cache is wiped during a factory reset anyway). It doesnt matter what version to what version. Sometimes new versions might require new bootloaders, but you will be bombarded with that information here if that becomes the case.
3. See number 2. Its the same thing. backup your apps with Titanium Backup, do a Factory Reset in custom recovery and flash new rom....done.
4. doesnt matter. you can update as much or as little as you like. some people prefer stability over new shiny, but then others are just crack-flashers....and will literally flash ANYTHING posted to see what happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I really appreciate the response. :good: You'd be surprised how many "Tiny Parts" of answers you get from searching. Very rarely the whole answer you need.
I am glade to hear that Question 2 only requires you to just factory rest. From the misinformation gathered on other forums... I was starting to think you had to flash back to stock before updating to another Custom ROM Build.
@20mmrain
You've probably looked at a number of posts by confused newbs. For better or worse, this site is nothing like a moderated wiki, so you find treasure mixed in with trash.
Rooters fall into four broad classes:
(a) Those that "root & modify" stock ROMs
(b) Those that abandon stock and use custom ROMs and kernels
For each of the above cases, there are diligent and careful users who make full (nandroid) backups... and lazy idiots who do not. It is almost always the lazy idiots you observe coming in here in a panic, independent of whether they are in class (a) or (b).
Beyond that, newbs taking approach (a) seem to perpetually labor under the false impression that their modified versions of a stock ROM should be able to be upgraded by the OTA process - when in fact that there is absolutely no reason to believe that. The OTAs carefully check hundreds of different files before they perform any changes; if even a single one of them has been altered, the OTA aborts without making any changes.
It is *possible* that if none of those hundreds of files are changed that an OTA will succeed on a "nearly stock" ROM. When this happens though, it is quite typical that:
- the "su" binary (part of a root kit) in either /system/bin or /system/xbin gets its' setuid permissions reset by a recursive permission-setting command in the OTA
- the custom recovery can possibly be overwritten by the new stock recovery.
Folks tend to refer to either of the above as "losing root". True in principle, but they are trivially fixed up - if the user actually understands how Android rooting works. (With fastboot, you simply reflash the custom recovery, boot into that and reflash the same root kit originally used).
It's too bad that folks who put together rooting guides seem to neglect putting an emphasis on making backups. They give you both security and freedom.
Bottom line: whatever you choose to do, make nandroid backups. You don't need to keep them all on the tablet - but for convenience reasons, you should have at least one known good ROM as a backup available to be restored.
good luck
Wow that is a really in-depth explanation and that is exactly what was looking for! Since I have been working in the IT world for years I will say with pride that I am an individual who believes in safety first and always back up any important project I am working on! So I am happy to hear I made the right decision there.
I guess a great deal of my questions also stem from working in a windows based world for so long ....that I am still learning Linux/android.
Right now I do keep a nandroid backup on my nexus 7 but only one. How backups do you have? And do you just keep the rest on a thumb drive?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
20mmrain said:
Right now I do keep a nandroid backup on my nexus 7 but only one. How backups do you have? And do you just keep the rest on a thumb drive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment I have 6 on the tablet - all generated in the last 60 days. Two in the last two days (one a rooted stock/jdq39, another a cm10.1 nightly). Plus recent TiBu market app & data backups. 32 GB model, so I have plenty of room.
That doesn't reflect any particular strategy or goal. I hook it up to a PC every once in a while and at that time either copy off any backups worth saving or delete them. Most of the those I have on the PC will eventually be deleted as well without ever being used. You could use a USB key if you want to. Really you only need to keep one on the tablet - mostly as a convenience in case you wedge your daily driver ROM with some random mod: you can restore a working ROM right from your tablet rather than having to find a USB key or return to your PC to get the tablet booting again.
There is one type of ROM backup that I think is very useful to keep a permanent copy of - a pure stock ROM. The reason for that is that any radio images (tilapia) or bootloader upgrades that are *sometimes* delivered by OTA can be trivially installed by:
- make a backup of the current ROM
- restore a pure stock ROM backup (including the stock recovery! ***)
- take the OTA
- ***soft-boot a custom recovery and make a backup of the NEW stock ROM (including its' recovery!)
- hard-flash the custom recovery to the tablet
- restore the backup from the first step above.
Doing things this way is the safest possible way to install either a bootloader or a radio image. Not only that, but for folks that prefer to mod stock ROMs, it gives them a backup archive of /system to recover arbitrary (stock) files from.
*** soft-booting a recovery is the most convenient way to capture a stock recovery as part of a nandroid backup. I.E.
Code:
fastboot boot recoveryimagefile.img
If you hard-flash a custom recovery before you make a nandroid backup of a stock ROM, you lose the opportunity to get a copy of the stock recovery along with the rest of the stock ROM.
good luck
It had been 20 days after I got my 5x. And it was totally disaster:
- try to flash CM13 under the unofficial guide (yeah, that guide in Chinese, not English). First time, flash successful, yet camera didn't work. reason: maybe some steps missed.
- One moment, I wipe system via twrp recovery, got a long black screen, can't get back to system, and flash factory images, worked.
- OK, someone told me CM13 vs. Stock, no advantage. So, I moved to Official images.
- And the nightmare came up: the f**king camera break down everyday.
- Try to wipe cache, and flash vendor.img, solve camera problem, for a while, and it break down again.
- and then, I finally know that when I unlocked bootloader, I got no choice but have to install 3rd ROM instead of Official stock, coz the camera or something else will break down at sometimes.
- Try flash CM13 without wiping the userdata( flash the factory images, except userdata)
- Then restore apps via titanium , worked fine.
- Almost forgot the gapps, flash it.
- Bang! The system didn't work!
- Wipe cache, data, have to install CM13, and flash gapps, root at the same time.
- Finally, got a normal phone now.
Lessons:
- Don't unlock anything.
- If you unlock bootloader, 3rd ROM is your best choice.
- Flash ROM, you should wipe something(depends).
-Flash something at the same time.
Feel tired.
Um. I don't know what you did to your device, but everything has been fine on my end, and has been since day one. Which was back in November.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
What? So your experience with the N5X has been "tiring" because you tried flashing CM13 and it didn't work flawlessly?
Protip for any Nexus device:
Purchase
Unlock Bootloader
Flash new Radio, Bootloader, Vendor, etc.
Flash ROM
Root
Enjoy
Stock is nice, but it's boring and isn't utilizing the full potential of what the device is meant for. I moved on from CyanogenMod a long time ago. Their releases always, and I mean always, had problems. I remember crack flashing nightlies on my Galaxy Nexus and having disastrous results so I decided to wait for milestone releases. My experience didn't improve.
This community is terrific and chock full of different ROMs, Kernels and Mods to choose from. Any of them is a good choice, there is no 'wrong' choice. I'm not sure what you did to your device, but mine has been working flawlessly out of the box since day one and I couldn't be happier.
Either you have a defective piece or the downloads of those roms were incomplete and hence files got corrupted.
Because the essence of using nexus phone is to mod it to your heart's content without losing out on important
functions. I have been using my nexus 5x for a month, and I have been doing exactly what @Alcolawl mentioned.
Always be on latest bootloader, vendor and radio (baseband). Flash rom and do not flash any zips that are incompatible
with that rom. Never do super wipes (system,cache,data,storage,dalvik) unless developer says so. Follow instructions
and you never usually face issues.
Alcolawl said:
What? So your experience with the N5X has been "tiring" because you tried flashing CM13 and it didn't work flawlessly?
Protip for any Nexus device:
Purchase
Unlock Bootloader
Flash new Radio, Bootloader, Vendor, etc.
Flash ROM
Root
Enjoy
Stock is nice, but it's boring and isn't utilizing the full potential of what the device is meant for. I moved on from CyanogenMod a long time ago. Their releases always, and I mean always, had problems. I remember crack flashing nightlies on my Galaxy Nexus and having disastrous results so I decided to wait for milestone releases. My experience didn't improve.
This community is terrific and chock full of different ROMs, Kernels and Mods to choose from. Any of them is a good choice, there is no 'wrong' choice. I'm not sure what you did to your device, but mine has been working flawlessly out of the box since day one and I couldn't be happier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I shouldn't hesitated on choosing ROM, that cost me lots of time and energy.
All in all, my advice is : choosing one ROM at the beginning, or your time will lost quickly on this phone.
Love XDA. Thanks
faytuu said:
Yeah, I shouldn't hesitated on choosing ROM, that cost me lots of time and energy.
All in all, my advice is : choosing one ROM at the beginning, or your time will lost quickly on this phone.
Love XDA. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't blame the phone just because you don't know how to flash ROMs.
So after blowing off the second half of my duties at work today, I managed to allocate enough time to get my SM-N910V rooted.
I have a few basic questions about what I should expect to see happen.
Allegedly, Verizon is rolling out an OTA upgrade to 6.0.1 Marshmallow sometime soon. Now that I have 'custom' boot and root achieved, will my device still receive and adhere to this OTA upgrade?
I have not applied any custom ROMs to the device. All I have done is follow the steps on this forum to unlock the bootloader and permroot.
If yes, cool!
If no, could someone please share with me a uniform resource identifier (lol) that links to a guide for installing CM13 to this device?
I will use my mind to beam eternal luck at anyone who helps me out. Thankyas.
Have you ever used Odin?
If you have twrp just load onto an sd or the phone and make sure to clear cache and wipe.
Bicknasty said:
Have you ever used Odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yessir Mr. Nasty,
I followed a guide on this part of the forum that had me use Odin. After using Odin successfully I was able to get TWRP up before normal boot!
vIgGeN7 said:
If you have twrp just load onto an sd or the phone and make sure to clear cache and wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, you're saying that if I boot into TWRP again and clear the cache/wipe, I'll go back to factory settings and get the OTA?
If you have a microSD card, use TWRP to backup all of your current data to it if you'd like to preserve it and have something to restore if anything goes awry. Download a custom ROM zip and whatever other zips you'd need for that particular ROM, and put them on the card. Use TWRP to format data and wipe everything EXCEPT FOR THE CARD, and then reboot into recovery mode again and open the TWRP install menu.
In that menu, navigate to external_sd (or whichever root level folder it is that contains the strings "ext" and "sd", referring to the microSD card), and select the zip or zips (in the proper order) that you want to flash. Then flash them, wipe cache/dalvik, and reboot.
I wouldn't stay on a stock ROM if I were you. You might avoid getting the OTA, but you're guaranteed to avoid it by running a custom ROM. JasmineROM seems to be the go-to ROM for stability, but hsbadr's CM13 builds are very functional.
Bicknasty said:
-snip-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for being so specific and clear, and for helping me out. I am new to this, used to working on computers that I can tear apart more easily and change things inside of.
I will keep this in mind and consider switching. I have a lot of free time with a 1GB/1GB
Futtermax said:
So after blowing off the second half of my duties at work today, I managed to allocate enough time to get my SM-N910V rooted.
I have a few basic questions about what I should expect to see happen.
Allegedly, Verizon is rolling out an OTA upgrade to 6.0.1 Marshmallow sometime soon. Now that I have 'custom' boot and root achieved, will my device still receive and adhere to this OTA upgrade?
I have not applied any custom ROMs to the device. All I have done is follow the steps on this forum to unlock the bootloader and permroot.
If yes, cool!
If no, could someone please share with me a uniform resource identifier (lol) that links to a guide for installing CM13 to this device?
I will use my mind to beam eternal luck at anyone who helps me out. Thankyas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know what everyone is thinking, but OTA will not work with rooted device. It will failed and in most case you will nee to flash full stock rom to fix it, then your bootloader will locked again. The best bet is to wait until Samsung released the rom and Dev here will modified it the right way so you can flash with TWRP.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Honestly, don't bother with CM13 yet. It's buggy. I was on it for a short while, tried a couple different builds but I got sold on the Note 5 port which is on 5.1.1. If you have any apps that don't allow mock locations, they won't work on any 6.0/Marshmallow ports (i.e. CM13) from my short experience. I could be wrong. I couldn't find a way to allow mock locations on CM13, so I went somewhere else.
JOSHSKORN said:
Honestly, don't bother with CM13 yet. It's buggy. I was on it for a short while, tried a couple different builds but I got sold on the Note 5 port which is on 5.1.1. If you have any apps that don't allow mock locations, they won't work on any 6.0/Marshmallow ports (i.e. CM13) from my short experience. I could be wrong. I couldn't find a way to allow mock locations on CM13, so I went somewhere else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think CM13 is worth giving a chance.
I'm about 90% sure the MM update will come with a new bootloader (a locked one). I highly advise against trying to accept it if/when it comes. Someone here will tear it apart and make odin flashable images to get us on 6.0.1 TW rom. Until then, flash TWRP and CM13. I've been using it daily and it's one of the better CM roms I've used on any device.
Also look into Dual Boot Patcher so you can crack flash roms without affecting your primary one.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Bicknasty said:
If you have a microSD card, use TWRP to backup all of your current data to it if you'd like to preserve it and have something to restore if anything goes awry. Download a custom ROM zip and whatever other zips you'd need for that particular ROM, and put them on the card. Use TWRP to format data and wipe everything EXCEPT FOR THE CARD, and then reboot into recovery mode again and open the TWRP install menu.
In that menu, navigate to external_sd (or whichever root level folder it is that contains the strings "ext" and "sd", referring to the microSD card), and select the zip or zips (in the proper order) that you want to flash. Then flash them, wipe cache/dalvik, and reboot.
I wouldn't stay on a stock ROM if I were you. You might avoid getting the OTA, but you're guaranteed to avoid it by running a custom ROM. JasmineROM seems to be the go-to ROM for stability, but hsbadr's CM13 builds are very functional.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might add to that storing a copy of that backup on another device... your desktop computer, perhaps, so that if something really goes bad and wipes your sd card, you still have a backup.
Do not, no matter how much your phone nags you to, take an OTA now that you're rooted. The odds are good that they've closed the exploit used to get root.
If you're looking for stability, Jasmine ROM is the best that I've tried. It's not being supported anymore, but it really doesn't need it. Everything works. I froze, then deleted every single Samsung and Google app that I don't use and it is just smooth.
CM 13? The last I looked, the camera doesn't work well, Bluetooth is problematic, you can't set your sd card as internal storage and a few other niggling issues. I've been doing this since my Droid Incredible and have found that ROMs ported from other devices will have issues until the developers marry the software to the hardware. I'm now waiting for the official Marshmallow to drop and let the developers take a crack at it.
joshw0000 said:
I'm about 90% sure the MM update will come with a new bootloader (a locked one). I highly advise against trying to accept it if/when it comes. Someone here will tear it apart and make odin flashable images to get us on 6.0.1 TW rom. Until then, flash TWRP and CM13. I've been using it daily and it's one of the better CM roms I've used on any device.
Also look into Dual Boot Patcher so you can crack flash roms without affecting your primary one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dual boot patcher has worked pretty reliably for me. Just be sure to thoroughly read the directions to make doubly sure that nothing goes wrong.
douger1957 said:
CM 13? The last I looked, the camera doesn't work well, Bluetooth is problematic, you can't set your sd card as internal storage and a few other niggling issues. I've been doing this since my Droid Incredible and have found that ROMs ported from other devices will have issues until the developers marry the software to the hardware. I'm now waiting for the official Marshmallow to drop and let the developers take a crack at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluetooth is flawless. I can't see why anyone would set their sd card as internal (defeats the point of being able to move info between other phones and/or computers). Camera works very well (for CM). I've had very few issues with taking pictures. Recording video doesn't work for me. I've modded every phone I've used (I've owned many that I wouldn't carry due to no root) since the Eris and this is IMO the best CM port ever.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
I am using PaulPizz 5.1.1 ROM and it's working almost flawlessly. I'm happier than ever with this phone. I want to wait for the OTA 6.0.1 to hit and the teardown of that to begin before I switch.
I'll look into dual boot.
I frequent the JasmineROM and CyanogenMod threads in this forum and have noticed (and answered) many repeat questions: questions that have already been answered maybe a page or two back. I've noticed frustration in the answers to these questions (I've felt it myself), so I decided to start a new thread that will address the questions and provide the answers. It won't stop the questions from happening, but at least we can all just paste a link instead of writing the same paragraph over and over to people who don't seem to do any research.
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Here's the format I'll be using for the questions and answers. I'd really appreciate it if suggestions could follow it, but it isn't necessary at all.
[SIZE="4"][B]Q: LE QUESTION[/B][/SIZE]
[SIZE="3"][I]A: ZE ANSWER[/I][/SIZE]
Sorry for not adding this in earlier.
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(This may be in the wrong section, but I figured General would fit it best. Please move it if it's better somewhere else.)
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I know I'm going to forget to include quite a few things. If you've seen a repeat question, I believe (I don't know for sure ) that replying to this post with at least the repeat question and then allowing me to edit it into this post will be a good way to go about this (I'll give credit with a name and link to the post).
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Without further ado, here's the "FAQ":
Q: How do I root my Note?
A: http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-verizon/general/guide-noobs-guide-to-perm-root-twrp-t3360883
Q: How do I upgrade to the MM bootloader and modem?
A: http://forum.xda-developers.com/not...t/howto-bootloader-unlock-upgrade-to-t3398144
Q: I have no WiFi after using the latest version of CyanogenMod, JasmineROM, PaulPizz or any other Marshmallow-based ROM.
A: Make sure you have upgraded the bootloader and modem to Marshmallow. Guide here.
Q: On CyanogenMod, I'm losing LTE and only getting 3G.
A: Reboot into Recovery and then back to System. It won't fix it permanently, but it will restore LTE for a while.
A2: Delete the StraightTalk APN from your APN settings. (Obviously, you shouldn't do this if you have StraightTalk.) (Not everyone has a problem with the ST APN, but I figure I'll put this here.)
Q: Screen rotation isn't working on JasmineROM 6 or 7.
A: Many people have reported that this is a result of debloating. Not everyone has the issue, but those who have say one they remove Facebook and DT Ignite (among others), screen rotation breaks.
Q: Bluetooth audio is stuttering in CyanogenMod 13.
A: The workaround for this is to enable Daydream. That will prevent the phone from going to sleep, but will display a dark background with a clock, allowing you to still get a fast charge. The problem with BT audio lies in a CyanogenMod change that caused some problems with Bluetooth discovery upon device wake. hsbadr is working on a new build with the fix incorporated.
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---- Thanks to @douger1957 || Post ----
Q: I'm already on Marshmallow with a locked bootloader. Is there hope for me?
A: Yes. You need to downgrade to Lollipop first. Flash the full firmware (thanks, @hsbadr!) on ODIN. Make sure that auto reboot is unchecked. When you get a "pass" in ODIN, boot into recovery and do a factory reset, otherwise you could get a bootloop. It takes a while for the first boot... upwards to 15 minutes... so be patient. Then you can start to unlock the bootloader. The bootloader must be unlocked before you can root.
Q: What ROMs can I flash?
A: That's a tough one. If you have a Lollipop unlocked bootloader you can only flash a ROM based on a Lollipop bootloader. Often the developer of the ROM will put the base of his ROM in the title of the thread as the bootloader firmware name (ie N910VVRU2BPA1) is a Lollipop firmware. Otherwise, you'll find the information at the lower left corner of the opening post. If you don't know, ask in that thread.
Subsequently, you must have an unlocked Marshmallow bootloader in order to flash a Marshmallow bootloader based ROM.
Confusing the issue more is the fact that it's possible to have a Marshmallow ROM use a Lollipop bootloader.
You can find all of the ROMs that are specifically for the N910V Note 4 variant (Verizon) here.
Q: I hear there are ROMs for other Note 4 variants. What's up with that?
A: True deal. Some of the other variants, the international models specifically, have been unlocked for awhile and there's a thriving development community. You can find those ROMs here. You've gotta know some stuff before you can flash one of their ROMs.
1) Stick with ROMs developed for the N910F and N910G variants. The radios are closest to ours. Flash a ROM for another variant and you're now a test pilot.
2) The same rules apply to their ROMs: Lollipop bootloader on your phone? Lollipop based ROM. Same for Marshmallow.
3) You'll need to flash a data fix to make their ROMs work on the Verizon network. Further, you may need to flash a kernel to make wifi work. I had luck with the Oscar kernel when I tried the Noble ROM last week.
(Note by Zacharee1: I've only had luck with the data fix on TouchWiz ROMs. AOSP ROMs, like CyanogenMod and Resurrection Remix, have problems with the data fix, resulting in reduced performance and still no cellular.)
Q: I've gotta, gotta, gotta have wifi calling.
A: At this time, you're pretty much stuck with a stock based ROM like Jasmine or PaulPizz. @hsbadr is working on getting it to work on CM13 but I'm waiting for other issues with that ROM to clear up and I am not current on its features. You will not find it on any of the international based ROMs.
(Note by Zacharee1: WiFi calling still does not work on CM. I have hopes for it in the future, but I may be moving to T-Mobile, where I'll probably have it anyway, so I won't be current on this either.)
Q: What are some tips about choosing and flashing custom ROMs on my Note?
A: Read these tips:
1) Find a ROM that interests you and has the features you can't live without. Most ROM developers are pretty thorough in the opening post or so regarding what you can expect.
2) Read the thread cover to cover. But Douger, some of those threads have hundreds upon hundreds of pages. Why? Because you'll know what issues others have had with the ROM and you'll find possible workarounds. You'll find out whether or not there are any showstoppers that'll keep you from using it as a daily driver.
3) Before you flash anything, do a full nandroid backup. In TWRP, check off all of the blocks. If crap blows up in your face, you can be using the phone again in about ten minutes of recovery time. Otherwise, you can spend hours setting the phone up again after flashing a ROM again.
4) Speaking of spending hours, plan on it. If you don't have the time, wait till you do because you;
5) Need to do a full wipe. That means data, system, cache and ART/Dalvik. Often when flashing ROMs, things don't get cleaned out properly, and artifacts will remain. Most ROM developers will include the instruction to wipe, which brings us to the next point;
5) Follow the directions exactly. Do not freelance unless you know what you are doing. That means flashing kernels, modems, bootloaders, etc. Follow the instructions in the order they are presented. If you don't understand any of the instructions, don't proceed until you do.
6) Perform a factory reset after flashing a new ROM but before booting.
7) Before rooting, I strongly suggest that you move anything you have stored on internal storage such as pictures or music, off the phone. Before you flash your first ROM, format the internal storage. The root process involves Chinese software and if you're not one who keeps up with the news, the Chinese are notorious hackers. Make sure you get all of the cooties off your phone.
8) It takes a long time for a phone to fully boot once you've flashed a ROM. Usually, it's over in about ten minutes but twenty minutes isn't unheard of. Be patient and resist the urge to pull the battery.
9) If you can get into recovery and download modes, you did not "brick" your phone. Contain your panic and think things out. The best advice I can give is to try to get back to the last time things worked.
Q: How do I know whether to use ODIN or flash in recovery?
The developer will usually tell you. But, if the file you're flashing has a ".tar" or ".md5" extension, it's flashed in ODIN. Often that file is zipped (extension ".7z") and needs to be unzipped. If the file has a .zip extension it's flashed in recovery.
Q: What is Odin?
A: Not the Norse god in this case. http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...08-2013-odin-3-09-odin-1-85-versions-t2189539
Q: What is TWRP?
A: TWRP is what's known as a custom recovery, which is what allows you (for the most part) to flash custom ROMs and packages to your phone. Each build of TWRP is device-specific. Make sure you downloaded the correct version for your device. http://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-install-twrp/
Q: What should I do if I'm having an issue with the ROM?
A: PLEASE don't just complain that something isn't working. See if you can fix it yourself; maybe it was something you installed or changed? If it's not unique to you or even a clean flash doesn't fix it, then you should look into providing some logs for the dev. Check out LogCat. Ask the developer how they want the log delivered.
Don't complain if you dirty flashed the ROM (meaning you didn't wipe /system and /data before flashing -- leaving internal storage and SD card alone is perfectly fine). While it's possible your issue is something wrong with the ROM, the developer will just ignore you. Also don't lie about having done a clean flash. It's pointless, and the developer can probably tell from any logs you provide that you actually dirty flashed. It's not fair to others if you take up their time by helping you try to fix a problem that can be solved by flashing the ROM the way it was meant to be flashed.
Q: Things on my screen are too small/large.
[SIZE="3"[I]A: You can actually change what's known as the DPI. Here's a method for that for the Note 4 on TouchWiz: [url]http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-verizon/development/solution-dpi-change-camera-dialer-t3422699[/url][/I][/SIZE]
[SIZE="4"]Q: I really like the ROM I'm using. Is there something I can do to help the developer out?
A: Luckily for you (and the dev), there is. Many developers will have a DONATE button in the sidebar on their posts. Remember, this is the only way most of them get anything from what they do. Developing these ROMs is usually done as a hobby, and considerable time and effort are put into producing something for you to use on your phone.
If you can't donate (or don't want to -- it's understandable), hit the THANKS button on the developer's posts. It's a nice gesture that shows you are interested in their work and that you would like to see more.
Q: What's this Xposed thingy I've heard about?
A: Xposed is a framework that allows almost unlimited customization and feature unlocking. As such, it is not something to play with lightly. This is the forum devoted to Xposed. This is where you'll find the framework, installers, and the modules.
@wanam has done much of the development for Samsung phones. Here's where you'll find his work. Since his is made especially for Samsung ROMs, I strongly recommend sticking with his base until you're more comfortable with using Xposed.
Q: There are so many downloads for Xposed. Which one do I use?
A: As always, RTFT (read the f'ing thread). However, here's a shortcut. Note 4 phones are ARM. Version 86 is current. Use that for AOSP based ROMs. Use the "alt" version for TouchWiz based ROMs. You need both the framework and the installer.
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It's not very much so far (it's hard to come up with this on the spot), but I hope you'll all help out by posting the other frequent questions you see around these forums.
Q: What's this Xposed thingy I've heard about?
Xposed is a framework that allows almost unlimited customization and feature unlocking. As such, it is not something to play with lightly. This is the forum devoted to Xposed. This is where you'll find the framework, installers, and the modules.
@waram has done much of the development for Samsung phones. Here's where you'll find his work. Since his is made especially for Samsung, I strongly recommend sticking with his base until you're more comfortable with using Xposed.
Q: There are so many downloads. Which one do I use?
As always, RTFT (read the f'ing thread). However, here's a shortcut. Note 4 phones are ARM. Version 86 is current. Use that for TouchWiz based ROMs. Use the "alt" version for ASOP based ROMs. You need both the framework and the installer.
douger1957 said:
Q: I'm already on Marshmallow with a locked bootloader. Is there hope for me?
Yes. You need to downgrade to Lollipop first. Flash the full firmware (thanks, @hsbadr!) on ODIN. Make sure that auto reboot is unchecked. When you get a "pass" in ODIN, boot into recovery and do a factory reset, otherwise you could get a bootloop. It takes a while for the first boot... upwards to 15 minutes... so be patient. Then you can start to unlock the bootloader. The bootloader must be unlocked before you can root.
Q: What ROMs can I flash?
That's a tough one. If you have a Lollipop unlocked bootloader you can only flash a ROM based on a Lollipop bootloader. Often the developer of the ROM will put the base of his ROM in the title of the thread as the bootloader firmware name (ie N910VVRU2BPA1) is a Lollipop firmware. Otherwise, you'll find the information at the lower left corner of the opening post. If you don't know, ask in that thread.
Subsequently, you must have an unlocked Marshmallow bootloader in order to flash a Marshmallow bootloader based ROM.
Confusing the issue more is the fact that it's possible to have a Marshmallow ROM use a Lollipop bootloader.
You can find all of the ROMs that are specifically for the N910V Note 4 variant (Verizon) here.
Q: I hear there are ROMs for other Note 4 variants. What's up with that?
True deal. Some of the other variants, the international models specifically, have been unlocked for awhile and there's a thriving development community. You can find those ROMs here. You've gotta know some stuff before you can flash one of their ROMs.
1) Stick with ROMs developed for the N910F and N910G variants. The radios are closest to ours. Flash a ROM for another variant and you're now a test pilot.
2) The same rules apply to their ROMs: Lollipop bootloader on your phone? Lollipop based ROM. Same for Marshmallow.
3) You'll need to flash a data fix to make their ROMs work on the Verizon network. Further, you may need to flash a kernel to make wifi work. I had luck with the Oscar kernel when I tried the Noble ROM last week.
Q: I've gotta, gotta, gotta have wifi calling.
At this time, you're pretty much stuck with a stock based ROM like Jasmine or PaulPizz. @hsbadr is working on getting it to work on CM13 but I'm waiting for other issues with that ROM to clear up and I am not current on its features. You will not find it on any of the international based ROMs.
---------- Post added at 06:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:55 PM ----------
Douger's tips for success:
1) Find a ROM that interests you and has the features you can't live without. Most ROM developers are pretty thorough in the opening post or so regarding what you can expect.
2) Read the thread cover to cover. But Douger, some of those threads have hundreds upon hundreds of pages. Why? Because you'll know what issues others have had with the ROM and you'll find possible workarounds. You'll find out whether or not there are any showstoppers that'll keep you from using it as a daily driver.
3) Before you flash anything, do a full nandroid backup. In TWRP, check off all of the blocks. If crap blows up in your face, you can be using the phone again in about ten minutes of recovery time. Otherwise, you can spend hours setting the phone up again after flashing a ROM again. Douger also creates a full nandroid backup when he's got his phone all set up with the apps loaded, just in case the ROM blows up or something.
4) Speaking of spending hours, plan on it. If you don't have the time, wait till you do because you;
5) You need to do a full wipe. That means data, system, cache and ART/Dalvik. Often when flashing ROMs, things don't get cleaned out properly, and artifacts will remain. Most ROM developers will include the instruction to wipe, which brings us to the next point;
5) Follow the directions exactly. Do not freelance unless you know what you are doing. That means flashing kernels, modems, bootloaders, etc. Follow the instructions in the order they are presented. If you don't understand any of the instructions, don't proceed until you do.
6) Perform a factory reset after flashing a new ROM but before booting.
7) Before rooting, I strongly suggest that you move anything you have stored on internal storage such as pictures or music, off the phone. Before you flash your first ROM, format the internal storage. The root process involves Chinese software and if you're not one who keeps up with the news, the Chinese are notorious hackers. Make sure you get all of the cooties off your phone.
8) It takes a long time for a phone to fully boot once you've flashed a ROM. Usually, it's over in about ten minutes but twenty minutes isn't unheard of. Be patient and resist the urge to pull the battery.
9) If you can get into recovery and download modes, you did not "brick" your phone. Contain your panic and think things out. The best advice I can give is to try to get back to the last time things worked.
10) Douger does not use Titanium Backup to restore his apps, especially if he's flashing a different ROM than the one he was on when he created that backup.
11) If you didn't do a full wipe before you flashed that ROM (dirty flash) do not complain about things not working properly on the developer's thread. Do send the developer a logcat so he can look into the issue.
---------- Post added at 06:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 PM ----------
Q: How do I know whether to use ODIN or flash in recovery?
The developer will usually tell you. But, if the file you're flashing has a .tar5 extension, it's flashed in ODIN. Often that file is zipped and needs to be unzipped. If the file has a .zip extension it's flashed in recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added. Thanks!
Zacharee1 said:
Added. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From now on, I'm just going to link all questions to this thread. If they're too thick to use it, tough cookies. It'll be all they get from me. I just reported this post to see if we can get it stickied.
And thank you for fixing my boo boos.
---------- Post added at 07:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------
What you need to know about ODIN.
Everything you wanted to know about TWRP but were afraid to ask yo mama. TWRP is phone specific. Don't try to flash any old copy of TWRP.
Giving back to the community. How to logcat.If you're having an issue with the ROM you're on and you did a clean install, generate a logcat, then PM the developer and ask him how he'd like it delivered. It's basically a system dump which shows where errors were generated. It's helpful to narrow down the bugs. Don't fib about doing a clean install. The logcat knows, and is worthless to the developer.
How to change your DPI Thanks, @charly211297!
Almost forgot the most important thing: If you enjoy using the ROM or kernel and have gotten value from it, please consider sending the developer some beer money. Most of these guys spend considerable time in development and fixing bugs. Remember that no one here gets paid for what they do and if nothing else, hit that thanks button.
douger1957 said:
From now on, I'm just going to link all questions to this thread. If they're too thick to use it, tough cookies. It'll be all they get from me. I just reported this post to see if we can get it stickied.
And thank you for fixing my boo boos.
---------- Post added at 07:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------
What you need to know about ODIN.
Everything you wanted to know about TWRP but were afraid to ask yo mama. TWRP is phone specific. Don't try to flash any old copy of TWRP.
Giving back to the community. How to logcat.If you're having an issue with the ROM you're on and you did a clean install, generate a logcat, then PM the developer and ask him how he'd like it delivered. It's basically a system dump which shows where errors were generated. It's helpful to narrow down the bugs. Don't fib about doing a clean install. The logcat knows, and is worthless to the developer.
How to change your DPI Thanks, @charly211297!
Almost forgot the most important thing: If you enjoy using the ROM or kernel and have gotten value from it, please consider sending the developer some beer money. Most of these guys spend considerable time in development and fixing bugs. Remember that no one here gets paid for what they do and if nothing else, hit that thanks button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll add these after dinner. Thanks again.
Wanna mess with your kernel? Here's a pretty good primer. As always backup first.
Hello guys,
I'm a complete novice on rooting or flashing cellphones, I'm just a regular user of a Moto X Play XT1563 (bought in Colombia / South America) that wants to upgrade to Nougat 7.1.2.
I want the 7.1.2 just for a regular usage: apps, internet, bluetooth, NFC, camera, GPS, phone calling and of course a good battery performance.
I want to kindly ask for your guidance in all steps required for the backup and upgrade, so if you can please guide me about the whole process I will appreciate it a lot.
Thanks
jramirezdev said:
Hello guys,
I'm a complete novice on rooting or flashing cellphones, I'm just a regular user of a Moto X Play XT1563 (bought in Colombia / South America) that wants to upgrade to Nougat 7.1.2.
I want the 7.1.2 just for a regular usage: apps, internet, bluetooth, NFC, camera, GPS, phone calling and of course a good battery performance.
I want to kindly ask for your guidance in all steps required for the backup and upgrade, so if you can please guide me about the whole process I will appreciate it a lot.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello!
In short, the process for our phone would be...
0. Backup data.
1. Unlock bootloader. This will void your warranty. Unlocking bootloader allows you to use fastboot mode to flash custom images to your phone from a computer.
2. Flash TWRP Recovery. This is done in fastboot mode. Once you have TWRP, you can flash on to or modify the system partition (and other partitions) of your phone on the go.
3. Format the /system partition to get rid of the existing ROM (stock in your case) and then flash whatever ROM you want. This is done using TWRP.
4. There's no fourth step.
Its pretty straightforward, detailed guides to each of the steps are available in this forum. You should use the Index Thread pinned on the General forum to get the links to the required guides at one place. Use the search if you encounter trouble. Then there's the forum to ask.
DragonClawsAreSharp said:
Hello!
In short, the process for our phone would be...
0. Backup data.
1. Unlock bootloader. This will void your warranty. Unlocking bootloader allows you to use fastboot mode to flash custom images to your phone from a computer.
2. Flash TWRP Recovery. This is done in fastboot mode. Once you have TWRP, you can flash on to or modify the system partition (and other partitions) of your phone on the go.
3. Format the /system partition to get rid of the existing ROM (stock in your case) and then flash whatever ROM you want. This is done using TWRP.
4. There's no fourth step.
Its pretty straightforward, detailed guides to each of the steps are available in this forum. You should use the Index Thread pinned on the General forum to get the links to the required guides at one place. Use the search if you encounter trouble. Then there's the forum to ask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your response,
I bought my cellphone two years ago so It already went out of warranty so no issues with that step, I already found the guide to "Unlock bootloader" but before I start with it I would like to ask if after that the phone will be unuseful? I mean, after unlocking the bootloader can I start the phone and continue using it? It's my only cell phone so I want to be aware if I will stay long time uncommunicated.
My second question is about the new ROM I will flash, I've no idea about what "versions" exists or where I can download them... so is there some kind of "most stable" version using Nougat 7.1.2? or some "ROM Reliable supplier"?
Thanks
jramirezdev said:
Thanks for your response,
I bought my cellphone two years ago so It already went out of warranty so no issues with that step, I already found the guide to "Unlock bootloader" but before I start with it I would like to ask if after that the phone will be unuseful? I mean, after unlocking the bootloader can I start the phone and continue using it? It's my only cell phone so I want to be aware if I will stay long time uncommunicated.
My second question is about the new ROM I will flash, I've no idea about what "versions" exists or where I can download them... so is there some kind of "most stable" version using Nougat 7.1.2? or some "ROM Reliable supplier"?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocking bootloader will wipe all your data (it will trigger Factory Reset on your phone). Other than that, your phone will be 100% usable.
Roms are available in Android Development and Original Android Development sections of this forum. Just check the threads that include [ROM] in their title. You have to decide for yourself which rom suits you the best - read its description and what users say in comments.
jramirezdev said:
Thanks for your response,
I bought my cellphone two years ago so It already went out of warranty so no issues with that step, I already found the guide to "Unlock bootloader" but before I start with it I would like to ask if after that the phone will be unuseful? I mean, after unlocking the bootloader can I start the phone and continue using it? It's my only cell phone so I want to be aware if I will stay long time uncommunicated.
My second question is about the new ROM I will flash, I've no idea about what "versions" exists or where I can download them... so is there some kind of "most stable" version using Nougat 7.1.2? or some "ROM Reliable supplier"?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As said, after unlocking bootloader the device will be wiped- You will have to reenter your Google account and reinstall applications etc. Not a big deal.
Custom ROMs sometimes take a few iterations until some bugs here and there are ironed out. Sometimes it happens, in others one may end up switching to a complete fresh ROM. In such instances, you will usually have to make a "clean install" (i.e. a factory reset) and then reenter the Google account and reinstall everything again... It sounds irritating, but nowadays it's pretty much straight forward, and if you don't have hundreds of apps it usually is finalized in 10-15 minutes and is semi automatic.
Updating to a newer version of the same ROM sometimes can be "dirty flashed" (i.e. without wiping all your data) so in a couple of minutes you are set up and ready to go. More convenient, but if something isn't working right and you complain in the thread, certain chances are you will be politely asked to make a clean install first amd some users may flame or grill you alive for dirty flashing and complaining at that :laugh:
Most custom ROMs are usually based on either AOSP or Lineage OS (aka LOS) with some custom modifications. The first post in a ROM thread usually mentions all the rich features (or lack of), how to install (pretty much the same: make a backup in twrp, wipe data/system/cache/dalvik, flash ROM zip file, flash Google gapps zip, flash some additional optional zips such as supersu/magisk/whatever for root etc). Then some download links, faq etc.
It's good practice to read the first post (aka OP), then at least the last page to get a feel of the ROM (e.g. see what others are praising or complaining about this or that), then search for specific stuff that may concern you. For example, some ROMs had this cellular data bug that it got disconnected and required restart. You may decide this os crucial for you and choose another ROM, others may use the device for other things and couldn care less about cellular data bug...
Enjoy, it always feels good tp flash a new ROM, a new version . F!ck LeMoto for delaying the update for so long- You may have been waiting for update to Nougat as early as last year's November or October. Well, on custom ROMs it's here for many months!
On the other hand, they usually say stock ROM is more stable, and in many cases it is also true...
Now you know more or les what you're dealing with: free choice vs. waiting forever.
jaibar said:
As said, after unlocking bootloader the device will be wiped- You will have to reenter your Google account and reinstall applications etc. Not a big deal.
Custom ROMs sometimes take a few iterations until some bugs here and there are ironed out. Sometimes it happens, in others one may end up switching to a complete fresh ROM. In such instances, you will usually have to make a "clean install" (i.e. a factory reset) and then reenter the Google account and reinstall everything again... It sounds irritating, but nowadays it's pretty much straight forward, and if you don't have hundreds of apps it usually is finalized in 10-15 minutes and is semi automatic.
Updating to a newer version of the same ROM sometimes can be "dirty flashed" (i.e. without wiping all your data) so in a couple of minutes you are set up and ready to go. More convenient, but if something isn't working right and you complain in the thread, certain chances are you will be politely asked to make a clean install first amd some users may flame or grill you alive for dirty flashing and complaining at that :laugh:
Most custom ROMs are usually based on either AOSP or Lineage OS (aka LOS) with some custom modifications. The first post in a ROM thread usually mentions all the rich features (or lack of), how to install (pretty much the same: make a backup in twrp, wipe data/system/cache/dalvik, flash ROM zip file, flash Google gapps zip, flash some additional optional zips such as supersu/magisk/whatever for root etc). Then some download links, faq etc.
It's good practice to read the first post (aka OP), then at least the last page to get a feel of the ROM (e.g. see what others are praising or complaining about this or that), then search for specific stuff that may concern you. For example, some ROMs had this cellular data bug that it got disconnected and required restart. You may decide this os crucial for you and choose another ROM, others may use the device for other things and couldn care less about cellular data bug...
Enjoy, it always feels good tp flash a new ROM, a new version . F!ck LeMoto for delaying the update for so long- You may have been waiting for update to Nougat as early as last year's November or October. Well, on custom ROMs it's here for many months!
On the other hand, they usually say stock ROM is more stable, and in many cases it is also true...
Now you know more or les what you're dealing with: free choice vs. waiting forever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your thoughts,
After reading here and there I finally was able to flash AOSP Extendend v4.4 on my cellphone, it seems to be working fine.
As I said I was not looking something specific I was just annoyed of waiting so long for the official update (it seems it will never happen) and wants to be in touch with Android Nougat, maybe now I will use my piggy bank to save for a Pixel phone
Thanks guys for your guidance
jramirezdev said:
After reading here and there I finally was able to flash AOSP Extendend v4.4 on my cellphone, it seems to be working fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
How it is working? Did you found any bugs? eg. problem with battery, with mobile data, lte, camera?