Related
This morning I was able to update my rooted phone to OK4 from OD3 keeping root and my Knox counter at 0 using metalfan78's [ROM]OK4 Stock Rooted Zip, and stock partitions from the full tar. I was able to use Flashfire to create the stok partitions tar and flash them via Odin. I did this based on another thread I followed to update to OD3 to keep root and Knox at 0 a while back. So far everything seems to be working good for me, I dirty flashed and everything seems to have gone like taking an OTA update.
I got the ROM here and used the odexed version:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/spr...rom-ok4-stock-rooted-zips-12-16-2015-t3272692
Stock partitions file is save to my google drive here, it contains everything from the full tar except the system and cache (not sure how well sharing like this will work):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw7_CzqViQzSSGZHSE1TS3loN1E/view?usp=sharing
Followed the instructions for the update to OD3 here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/spr...w-to-update-to-g900pod3-5-0-keeproot-t3136932
Hopefully this will help someone get updated, or just provide stock partitions for other use.
If Knox is already tripped this probably isn't worth the effort
You MUST be rooted already for this to work.
Edit:
1. After a couple hours S Health stopped working about every 5 seconds, making it difficult to do anything. Clearing the data and signing back in seems to have fixed it.
2. Play store continuously fails to download app updates on WiFi or Mobil data.
3. Wiped and reinstalled the ROM with Flashfire on Jan 1. I have not had any issues since.
Thank ya for this post, it has actually been a while since I have updated my phone. I haven't had any issues with any of the apps thus far. It's been a little over 24 hours since I've updated. Also, I think my phone runs a lot smoother with the update than it use to. Also, I don't have any issues with the play store updating. I'll post issues if any occurs.
dave011182 said:
This morning I was able to update my rooted phone to OK4 from OD3 keeping root and my Knox counter at 0 using metalfan78's [ROM]OK4 Stock Rooted Zip, and stock partitions from the full tar. I was able to use Flashfire to create the stok partitions tar and flash them via Odin. I did this based on another thread I followed to update to OD3 to keep root and Knox at 0 a while back. So far everything seems to be working good for me, I dirty flashed and everything seems to have gone like taking an OTA update.
I got the ROM here and used the odexed version:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/spr...rom-ok4-stock-rooted-zips-12-16-2015-t3272692
Stock partitions file is save to my google drive here, it contains everything from the full tar except the system and cache (not sure how well sharing like this will work):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw7_CzqViQzSSGZHSE1TS3loN1E/view?usp=sharing
Followed the instructions for the update to OD3 here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/spr...w-to-update-to-g900pod3-5-0-keeproot-t3136932
Hopefully this will help someone get updated, or just provide stock partitions for other use.
If Knox is already tripped this probably isn't worth the effort
You MUST be rooted already for this to work.
Edit:
1. After a couple hours S Health stopped working about every 5 seconds, making it difficult to do anything. Clearing the data and signing back in seems to have fixed it.
2. Play store continuously fails to download app updates on WiFi or Mobil data.
3. Wiped and reinstalled the ROM with Flashfire on Jan 1. I have not had any issues since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed your instructions and everything went smoothly, but at least once a day I get a message saying: "Device must restart. Device will restart in 25 seconds.". Do you get this? Any suggestions on how to stop it from happening?
IMBigWillie said:
I followed your instructions and everything went smoothly, but at least once a day I get a message saying: "Device must restart. Device will restart in 25 seconds.". Do you get this? Any suggestions on how to stop it from happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for my delayed response.
I was having a random system reboot, and assumed it was from my bad habit of dirty flashing. I think what ultimately fixed it for me was using flashfire to flash the stock tar(as far as it recommended) and inject root. Metalfan recommend flashing via Oden and rooting before installing his rom, but that would have tripped kmix for sure. After flashing the stock tar via flashfire I had no data even on WiFi. I flashed Metalfan's rom to get me working again quickly and haven't had any random reboot issues recently. My knox counter is still at 0.
I'm sure I should recommend wiping data in this process but that's up to you. I can't say for sure that I did, then restored backed up data or not. I was pressed for time that morning, and needed my phone working.
dave011182 said:
Sorry for my delayed response.
I was having a random system reboot, and assumed it was from my bad habit of dirty flashing. I think what ultimately fixed it for me was using flashfire to flash the stock tar(as far as it recommended) and inject root. Metalfan recommend flashing via Oden and rooting before installing his rom, but that would have tripped kmix for sure. After flashing the stock tar via flashfire I had no data even on WiFi. I flashed Metalfan's rom to get me working again quickly and haven't had any random reboot issues recently. My knox counter is still at 0.
I'm sure I should recommend wiping data in this process but that's up to you. I can't say for sure that I did, then restored backed up data or not. I was pressed for time that morning, and needed my phone working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for getting back so soon! I actually did a clean flash and still am having the issue ... I will definitely try your method tonight!
IMBigWillie said:
Thanks for getting back so soon! I actually did a clean flash and still am having the issue ... I will definitely try your method tonight!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may also want to try using flashfire to create your own stock partitions tar to flash in this process to be sure my file on drive isn't somehow corrupted. If you used it in the first place. Use the flash firmware package option, wait for it to read the file partitions, then the download icon to create your partitions file. Use what's highlighted by default, create your file, and transfer it to your computer. Flash what is selected by default from the tar and reboot into download mode to flash the partitions file just created.
If all you want is stock root and your data works you shouldn't need to flash anything else at that point.
I found only one way to root the galaxy s7 edge but it includes erasing everything and thats just too much trouble for me since i don't trust backup apps with my apps data and all
my model is sm-935FD
this the method i found :
https://youtu.be/nlj76YvxGYo
thank u
You don't need to erase everything, that is complete horses**t.
First off you need to confirm you have the Exynos international version. If you're on the Snapdragon version, you're s**t out of luck as the bootloader is locked and root isn't possible at this time, nor will it likely ever be.
You then have two option, install CF Autoroot from ODIN and leave your recovery as stock. Or install TWRP over your recovery via ODIN and install SuperSU from a zip file from within TWRP. Either way you won't lose data. See the following threads.
CF Autoroot -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/sm-g935-exynos-cf-auto-root-t3337354
TWRP - http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/recovery-official-twrp-hero2lte-3-0-0-0-t3334084
You only need to erase everything if you want to flash custom roms in twrp. Otherwise you can just root with cf autoroot and you're all set
As the others said, flashing cf autoroot in odin won't erase anything, will leave your phone as is and will add supersu.
You should be aware that by rooting you will trip the knox flag, which permanently breaks samsung pay, and will break the following stuff on the stock rom: private mode, secret mode in the browser with fingerprint authentication (which can later be fixed by flashing a custom Rom).
If you want a properly working twrp recovery, you will have to erase everything, including the internal storage of the phone, there is no way around it.
If you absolutely must have root and you're into custom roms then I say do it now, if you're OK with the stock firmware I would advise not to root. This phone doesn't have too much development and you should not expect too many custom ROMs. I personally regret rooting.
I'm erase mi data because I want to do twrp backups, if you don't want to use a custom recovery for flash Roms and use a nandroid only flash supersu.
Beefheart said:
You don't need to erase everything, that is complete horses**t.
First off you need to confirm you have the Exynos international version. If you're on the Snapdragon version, you're s**t out of luck as the bootloader is locked and root isn't possible at this time, nor will it likely ever be.
You then have two option, install CF Autoroot from ODIN and leave your recovery as stock. Or install TWRP over your recovery via ODIN and install SuperSU from a zip file from within TWRP. Either way you won't lose data. See the following threads.
CF Autoroot -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/sm-g935-exynos-cf-auto-root-t3337354
TWRP - http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/recovery-official-twrp-hero2lte-3-0-0-0-t3334084
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I came across this thread, as I was having the same thoughts. How easy is it to just flash recovery back to stock? or do you need to flash the complete firmware package?
TwinCalibre said:
Glad I came across this thread, as I was having the same thoughts. How easy is it to just flash recovery back to stock? or do you need to flash the complete firmware package?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing the whole fw of course 1 of the way. Maybe if we can extract stock recovery from the fw then just odin it?.
Sent from my SM-N920C
if your on nougat and try to flash TWRP, your device wont boot....they dont have a decrypt solution to 7.0 right now.
Beefheart said:
You don't need to erase everything, that is complete horses**t.
First off you need to confirm you have the Exynos international version. If you're on the Snapdragon version, you're s**t out of luck as the bootloader is locked and root isn't possible at this time, nor will it likely ever be.
You then have two option, install CF Autoroot from ODIN and leave your recovery as stock. Or install TWRP over your recovery via ODIN and install SuperSU from a zip file from within TWRP. Either way you won't lose data. See the following threads.
CF Autoroot -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/sm-g935-exynos-cf-auto-root-t3337354
TWRP - http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/recovery-official-twrp-hero2lte-3-0-0-0-t3334084
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have anyone tried and successfully done it?
there are many ways to root
I recommend use TWRP to root with SU apk file
Beefheart said:
You don't need to erase everything, that is complete horses**t.
First off you need to confirm you have the Exynos international version. If you're on the Snapdragon version, you're s**t out of luck as the bootloader is locked and root isn't possible at this time, nor will it likely ever be.
You then have two option, install CF Autoroot from ODIN and leave your recovery as stock. Or install TWRP over your recovery via ODIN and install SuperSU from a zip file from within TWRP. Either way you won't lose data. See the following threads.
CF Autoroot -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/sm-g935-exynos-cf-auto-root-t3337354
TWRP - http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/recovery-official-twrp-hero2lte-3-0-0-0-t3334084
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In nougat it will disable access to data folder and force you to format, but if you flash stock firmware nougat the same it was in and reboot it everything was like before.
Basically backup everything using non root apps and adb then format then restore.
Today I accidentally did oem unlock to OFF then rebooted and then it said custom binary blocked by frp. I then flashed many nougat versions but they all caused force close of 2 things ims service and srbg? I ended up flashing nougat from January 2017 dqlc. I got everything back and working. Next I did twrp and supersu etc but data encryption failed. Then I flashed stock dqlc and got everything back. Use home csc or otherwise it will erase everything. Now I have to backup everything.
Beefheart said:
You don't need to erase everything, that is complete horses**t.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not horse**** at all. If your storage is encrypted (most of them are by default) then it will force you to format once you flash TWRP. I took ages of trial and error of flashing stock firmwares and bootloaders etc via Odin to get it all back as I couldn't afford wiping (even if I had backed up).
Anyone reading this thread and wanting to try it should be careful.
I also found no way to backup ALL apps and ALL their data & settings reliably without root (Helium gets only part of the job done) so I could not risk wiping and restoring. I have too many apps configured and fined tuned that I use regularly.
Sorry for necro, but I found out the hard way after being badly advised ...
mastabog said:
That's not horse**** at all. If your storage is encrypted (most of them are by default) then it will force you to format once you flash TWRP. I took ages of trial and error of flashing stock firmwares and bootloaders etc via Odin to get it all back as I couldn't afford wiping (even if I had backed up).
Anyone reading this thread and wanting to try it should be careful.
I also found no way to backup ALL apps and ALL their data & settings reliably without root (Helium gets only part of the job done) so I could not risk wiping and restoring. I have too many apps configured and fined tuned that I use regularly.
Sorry for necro, but I found out the hard way after being badly advised ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And finaly do you find a way to restore your data after installing TWRP ?
By now I would hope your important data is 100% redundantly backed up.
Of all the things that can and do go wrong with rooting, data lose shouldn't even enter into the equation unless you really goofed up bad.
Only two types of data users, those who have lost data and those that will...
I consider any data on internal memory 100% expendable. A complete reload/restore takes me about 2 hours and that's without the luxury of rooting.
At any moment I'm (and you should be too) ready to do a factory reset regardless of the cause without critical data lose.
After two forced back to back forced reloads on my 10+ I learned my lesson.
Thanks Blackhawk for your explication
I am on the second part of user which have lost his data but only the configuration not the contact, photo, etc...
But without root they are plenty of data (configuration, autorisation, widget) which take very long time to "reinstall" and those data are not saved if you are not root. And sometime with root also. They are not important but the time to restore them is very long and use a phone without his custumization is very anoying.
That's why I'm loocking for a way to save it without root or root without loosing those data.
jameslevalaisan said:
Thanks Blackhawk for your explication
I am on the second part of user which have lost his data but only the configuration not the contact, photo, etc...
But without root they are plenty of data (configuration, autorisation, widget) which take very long time to "reinstall" and those data are not saved if you are not root. And sometime with root also. They are not important but the time to restore them is very long and use a phone without his custumization is very anoying.
That's why I'm loocking for a way to save it without root or root without loosing those data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A clean wipe of all settings data means no misconfigurations or malware will survive.
Nuke em.
I'll see how well SmartSwitch does saving the home page next reload. If it screws up it will cost another reload... of course.
Only shortcuts/folders, Good Lock, One Handed Operation plus etc kill me with setup time but it's no big deal. I've gotten pretty adapt at it
Poweramp is completely, redundantly, backed up as that would take weeks to sort of recreate, a true nightmare... as it is now, it only takes a few minutes to do.
My music database has existed for over 15 years. I've lost count of the number of backup copies I have for it... plus the source CD/HDCDs.
Currently have 3 up to date copies to be expanded soon to 4.
Overkill for data backup is a good thing.
Received security update notification from Moto, and installed.
Moto G4+ XT1644 (4GB/64GB)
TWRP 3110, ElementalX kernel, Magisk rooted, custom logo
bootloader unlocked
Latest TWRP backup on 08/31/17
After install:
Phone now always reboots to TWRP
tried wiping data, cache, Dalvik but no difference
tried restore backup but still reboots to TWRP
Can only shut phone off via power button
Any advice to get my phone back to normal will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
mel2000 said:
Received security update notification from Moto, and installed.
Moto G4+ XT1644 (4GB/64GB)
TWRP 3110, ElementalX kernel, Magisk rooted, custom logo
bootloader unlocked
Latest TWRP backup on 08/31/17
After install:
Phone now always reboots to TWRP
tried wiping data, cache, Dalvik but no difference
tried restore backup but still reboots to TWRP
Can only shut phone off via power button
Any advice to get my phone back to normal will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You messed up your rom by installing official update on custom kernel. Can you boot from twrp to system? What happens if you do that? Which stock rom you have exactly? Otherwise you can flash stock rom with fastboot, but never downgrade!
strongst said:
Can you boot from twrp to system? What happens if you do that? Which stock rom you have exactly? Otherwise you can flash stock rom with fastboot, but never downgrade!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply, strongst. When I press the Reboot->System buttons in TWRP, the phone boots back to TWRP recovery.
Here are the stats I recorded before things went sideways:
Original stock firmware Build Number - NPJS25.93-14-4
Original OS version - 7.0
Original Kernel - 3.10.84-gb9596e1 [email protected] #1 Fri Mar 3 02:04:02 CST 2017
Original Baseband version - M8952_70030.25.03.62RATHENE_RETUSA_CUST
Updated Kernel - 3.10.84-ElementalX-G4-1.04 [email protected] #1 Sat Mar 11 14:16:55 EST 2017
Note: I found NPJS25.93-14-4 firmware at
https://www.getdroidtips.com/npjs25-93-14-4-march-security-moto-g4-plus
but it's titled as "March 2017 security patch" OTA update. I'm not sure if that is full replacement firmware or not.
If necessary, should I simply flash NPJS25.93-14 (full firmware) via fastboot and allow Moto to finish the updates via OTA?
mel2000 said:
Thank you for your reply, strongst. When I press the Reboot->System buttons in TWRP, the phone boots back to TWRP recovery.
Here are the stats I recorded before things went sideways:
Original stock firmware Build Number - NPJS25.93-14-4
Original OS version - 7.0
Original Kernel - 3.10.84-gb9596e1 [email protected] #1 Fri Mar 3 02:04:02 CST 2017
Original Baseband version - M8952_70030.25.03.62RATHENE_RETUSA_CUST
Updated Kernel - 3.10.84-ElementalX-G4-1.04 [email protected] #1 Sat Mar 11 14:16:55 EST 2017
Note: I found NPJS25.93-14-4 firmware at
https://www.getdroidtips.com/npjs25-93-14-4-march-security-moto-g4-plus
but it's titled as "March 2017 security patch" OTA update. I'm not sure if that is full replacement firmware or not.
If necessary, should I simply flash NPJS25.93-14 (full firmware) via fastboot and allow Moto to finish the updates via OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also flash the latest available for your device with June security patch. After that you can root again with ex kernel if you want https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/stock-rom-npjs25-93-14-4-march-1-t3608138
Make sure to mount storage within twrp first and save your internal memory before flashing stock rom!
In future, if that happens, you could try booting to the bootloader, then on the bootloader screen, press 'Start' and try to get your device to boot normally. Credit to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72114657&postcount=170
Personally, I'd go with strongst's suggestion to flash the June 2017 stock fastboot ROM - you'd have to revert to stock (completely) anyway to accept the OTA - as you've found out, OTAs will only successfully flash onto a device with stock recovery, kernel, and unmodified system including no root. You may as well update at the same time to the same patch level that the OTA would have brought you up to.
echo92 said:
In future, if that happens, you could try booting to the bootloader, then on the bootloader screen, press 'Start' and try to get your device to boot normally. Credit to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72114657&postcount=170
Personally, I'd go with strongst's suggestion to flash the June 2017 stock fastboot ROM - you'd have to revert to stock (completely) anyway to accept the OTA - as you've found out, OTAs will only successfully flash onto a device with stock recovery, kernel, and unmodified system including no root. You may as well update at the same time to the same patch level that the OTA would have brought you up to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This 100%. Boot into bootloader and choose start from there. I ran into the same issue last night whilst trying to update my XT1644 and figure this out through trial and error. Once I got it back up though, flashing many stock recoveries that I found online couldn't get the update to work either. It would error out a few seconds after booting into the stock recovery and starting the update. I finally resigned to re-flashing a stock image of marshmallow and updating it all again from there. I wanted to pull the stock recovery before I replaced it with TWRP again but I couldn't find a way to do that. Any method I found required having root access already, and of course I can't get root access without flashing a custom recovery first.
echo92 said:
In future, if that happens, you could try booting to the bootloader, then on the bootloader screen, press 'Start' and try to get your device to boot normally.[/url]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all replies. Rebooting from the bootloader screen brought my phone back to normal. Same March 2017 patch, as well as the same TWRP and ElementalX kernel and build number. Unlocked bootloader logo.bin remains intact. Magisk is still at v13.3 and it passes SafetyNet. Internal memory intact. I'm relieved.
Settings->System Updates->New version NPJ25.93-14.5
However, I'm now contemplating whether it'll be worthwhile to patch my phone to the NPJ25.93-14.5, June 2017 update.
Can I assume that the June 2017 1.1 GB "patch" contains the full NPJ25.93-14.5 firmware for XT1644?
( https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=889764386195918175 )
Is there a way to flash the June 2017 ROM via TWRP, and without having to reinstall ElementalX kernel, etc.?
mel2000 said:
Thanks for all replies. Rebooting from the bootloader screen brought my phone back to normal. Same March 2017 patch, as well as the same TWRP and ElementalX kernel and build number. Unlocked bootloader logo.bin remains intact. Magisk is still at v13.3 and it passes SafetyNet. Internal memory intact. I'm relieved.
Settings->System Updates->New version NPJ25.93-14.5
However, I'm now contemplating whether it'll be worthwhile to patch my phone to the NPJ25.93-14.5, June 2017 update.
Can I assume that the June 2017 1.1 GB "patch" contains the full NPJ25.93-14.5 firmware for XT1644?
( https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=889764386195918175 )
Is there a way to flash the June 2017 ROM via TWRP, and without having to reinstall ElementalX kernel, etc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's the full rom. And no, you need to flash kernel and magisk after every rom flash, stock twrp, fastboot or custom rom doesn't matter(otherwise it's already included).
strongst said:
Yes it's the full rom. And no, you need to flash kernel and magisk after every rom flash, stock twrp, fastboot or custom rom doesn't matter(otherwise it's already included).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again strongst. I'm still contemplating because of the complexity. However, the constant phone notification to update is weakening my resistance. Not sure I want to have to look at that for days on end.
Just to clarify, are you stating that I won't have to reinstall TWRP? That would be a relief.
Would it suffice to copy my internal SD to my PC and restore it later? Do I need to copy everything? Will my Nandroid backup save my Magisk settings?
I did make a TWRP backup of the XT1644 updated to NPJ25.93-14.5. I could share it with you if you'd like. However, you'd still need to flash ElementalX and root after.
mel2000 said:
Thanks again strongst. I'm still contemplating because of the complexity. However, the constant phone notification to update is weakening my resistance. Not sure I want to have to look at that for days on end.
Just to clarify, are you stating that I won't have to reinstall TWRP? That would be a relief.
Would it suffice to copy my internal SD to my PC and restore it later? Do I need to copy everything? Will my Nandroid backup save my Magisk settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to flash twrp after you flashed the stock rom cause the stock rom flash the stock recovery. Copy the whole internal memory, better to save everything when you don't know exactly what you need
Restore the whole internal memory isn't good, just restore what's missing if you recognize it. Your magisk settings will be saved with nandroid, that's true, but don't restore your partitions from nandroid backup from your prior rom version to the new, that cause trouble. Make backup of your apps with titanium backup instead.
Just to clarify - are you on the Amazon software channel (amz) or do you have the Amazon Prime edition of the XT1644 (with the ads on the lockscreen)? I'm just curious as whether this NPJ25.93-14.5 update is exclusive to Amazon or if it's more widespread.
EDIT - seen a couple of users reporting they've received it on the retus channel, so maybe more widespread to US users, maybe to include the Verizon emergency calling patch that the G5 Plus got too?
tmp000 said:
I did make a TWRP backup of the XT1644 updated to NPJ25.93-14.5. I could share it with you if you'd like. However, you'd still need to flash ElementalX and root after.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds great tmp000. I'd definitely like you to share it. How would I go about flashing it? Any particular precautions? Thanks.
mel2000 said:
That sounds great tmp000. I'd definitely like you to share it. How would I go about flashing it? Any particular precautions? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I'm not an expert, so I can't say much about precautions. What I will do is tell you what I did to get my phone to its current state now is:
Backup my data
After failing to apply the NPJ25.93-14.5 update many times through a bunch of different stock recoveries that I found online (including versions extracted from full stock ROMs), I found a way to downgrade back to the stock ROM of Marshmallow for the XT1644. I applied all the OTA updates, all the way to NPJ25.93-14.5.
At this point, I flashed TWRP recovery again. At the same time, right after running the command to flash TWRP with fastboot, I also flashed logo.bin to get rid of that unlocked bootloader message. I then booted into TWRP and then backed up the system and boot partition as it was (so stock kernel and no root).
In TWRP, I flashed ElementalX, and then SuperSU after that (I know you are using a different root method so flash yours).
Then I restored the data (data partition only) of the backup I made.
After that, I rebooted into system and everything booted up just fine. I had root access and all of my data was intact. Your steps 2 and 3 would be:
Put my backup with your other backups in the TWRP folder
Do an wipe in TWRP to wipe dalvik cache, cache, system, and boot. DO NOT WIPE INTERNAL STORAGE
Then continue on with step 4 from above. And of course, I can't emphasize enough to back up your data. Not just through TWRP, but any photos, etc that you can copy onto your computer first. I'll PM you a link to my backup.
strongst said:
Your magisk settings will be saved with nandroid, that's true, but don't restore your partitions from nandroid backup from your prior rom version to the new, that cause trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. However, I'm having trouble determining exactly what I need to backup before the firmware flash.
Which folders from the Root dir of internal memory need to be saved?
Do I need to save the SDCARD directory?
Can I use TWRP to restore individual apps within the Nandroid backup instead of the whole archive?
Just trying to be extra careful to preempt things from going sideways. Thanks.
echo92 said:
I'm just curious as whether this NPJ25.93-14.5 update is exclusive to Amazon or if it's more widespread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the retail version of xt1644 and hope that NPJ25.93-14.5 is intended for or compatible with that.
tmp000 said:
I'm ready to do the NPJ25.93-14..5 update. For clarity, I reordered your steps for the update:
Backup my data
Put my backup with your other backups in the TWRP folder
Do an wipe in TWRP to wipe dalvik cache, cache, system, and boot.DO NOT WIPE INTERNAL STORAGE
In TWRP, I flashed ElementalX, and then SuperSU after that (I know you are using a different root method so flash yours).
Then I restored the data (data partition only) of the backup I made.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I to assume that after step 2 or 3, the actual updating consists of doing a TWRP Restore using the NPJ25.93-14.5 folder that I downloaded? Do I do the wipes before the Restore update? Thanks again for all your help.
mel2000 said:
Am I to assume that after step 2 or 3, the actual updating consists of doing a TWRP Restore using the NPJ25.93-14.5 folder that I downloaded? Do I do the wipes before the Restore update? Thanks again for all your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, wipe then restore the backup. Sorry for the terrible instructions with missing steps.
mel2000 said:
Received security update notification from Moto, and installed.
Moto G4+ XT1644 (4GB/64GB)
TWRP 3110, ElementalX kernel, Magisk rooted, custom logo
bootloader unlocked
Latest TWRP backup on 08/31/17
After install:
Phone now always reboots to TWRP
tried wiping data, cache, Dalvik but no difference
tried restore backup but still reboots to TWRP
Can only shut phone off via power button
Any advice to get my phone back to normal will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you are booted in twrp, reboot to bootloader of system (obviously). Then press power button when it displays start. Like this the phone will boot into system and not in recovery
Or
Just reboot to bootloader and read the thread attached with it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/moto-g4-plus-xt1640-43-athene-npj25-93-t3549369
Be sure to turn on usb debugging and oem unlock mode
DgnrtnX said:
When you are booted in twrp, reboot to bootloader of system (obviously). Then press power button when it displays start. Like this the phone will boot into system and not in recovery
Or
Just reboot to bootloader and read the thread attached with it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/moto-g4-plus-xt1640-43-athene-npj25-93-t3549369
Be sure to turn on usb debugging and oem unlock mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply DgnrtnX. It matches the successful solution I received from exho92 on 09/01/17. The only issue is that I need to boot via that method each time. I no longer boot directly into my system. However I plan to update to NPJ25.93-14.5 shortly so I'm hoping the reboot issue will go away if that upgrade goes well.
USB debugging and OEM unlock were already enabled and remain so.
Like many people who have lost IMEI after flashing Oreo ROM and reverting to stock, I too have run into the same issue. I've managed to get my IMEI back and now have a working EFS backup. I've also got my VoLTE fixed using the VoLTE fix thread.
The problem I'm running into now is that the OTA updates from motorola keep breaking my IMEI. So every time I install an OTA, my IMEI becomes 0 afterwards. I then have to install TWRP and restore my EFS+persist backup to get my IMEI back. But this essentially prevents me from installing the next OTA update.
Has anyone found a way to install the OTA update without losing IMEI? Any help would be much appreciated!
I've thought of possible solution but I'm not sure if it will work. If someone could tell me if this will work, that would be great!
1. Using Partition Backup app from playstore, backup Modem, Modemst1, Modemst2 and persist on working stock ROM
2. Do a fresh install of stock ROM via fastboot and install OTA
3. Use Magisk to patch boot image and flash the image from fastboot
4. Re install Partition Backup from playstore, grant root access and restore the partition backup to get IMEI back?
This way you can restore the stock boot image and install next OTA all without installing and decrypting your storage with twrp.
PLEASE
please share the EFS folder:good::good:
Another users EFS paritition won't help you and sharing is not allowed on XDA, this has been addressed multiple times since there are over a dozen threads about the the same damn thing.
THE REAL FIX:
Accept that you made a mistake cause you didn't keep a secure backup of your original firmware, and let it be a learning experience in the future. Some users are in worst situations following some of these half-cocked fixes.
Randumb_User said:
Another users EFS paritition won't help you and sharing is not allowed on XDA, this has been addressed multiple times since there are over a dozen threads about the the same damn thing.
THE REAL FIX:
Accept that you made a mistake cause you didn't keep a secure backup of your original firmware, and let it be a learning experience in the future. Some users are in worst situations following some of these half-cocked fixes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No....we did not make mistakes actually. Many things have been borked by Oreo development, I did nothing to lose my Imei other than flash 64bit Roms, keeping a secure backup of stock firmware would not restore your imei, if so, so would flashing via fastboot your original stock firmware.
Ok so I've been analyzing the app "Partition Backup" on the play store and it seems that you can also flash your backed up partition through fastboot. So if you back up those partitions, you can restore them through fastboot even without the app (As long as you backup the partition in the .img format). I haven't tried any of this yet so I'm not sure if it will work.
smartish123 said:
Ok so I've been analyzing the app "Partition Backup" on the play store and it seems that you can also flash your backed up partition through fastboot. So if you back up those partitions, you can restore them through fastboot even without the app (As long as you backup the partition in the .img format). I haven't tried any of this yet so I'm not sure if it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best way to back up partitions is to use ADB
Code:
ls -al /dev/block/platform/soc/7824900.sdhci/by-name
which will give you a list of all partitions by name and their starting addresses. Then ADB shell and dd command, for instance for persist
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p30 of=/external_sd/persist.img
This backs up that partition to your external sd card. To restore/write it
Code:
dd if=/external_sd/persist.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p30
Of course you would do this for each partition you want to back up.
[email protected] said:
Best way to back up partitions is to use ADB
Code:
ls -al /dev/block/platform/soc/7824900.sdhci/by-name
which will give you a list of all partitions by name and their starting addresses. Then ADB shell and dd command, for instance for persist
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p30 of=/external_sd/persist.img
This backs up that partition to your external sd card. To restore/write it
Code:
dd if=/external_sd/persist.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p30
Of course you would do this for each partition you want to back up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you need to have root installed to run those commands through adb? What I'm planning on doing is to unroot my device and go to pure stock. I want to be able to restore my modem partitions when I install an OTA (which will probably break my IMEI).
UPDATE
I tried flashing the backed up image of modemst1 i got from the app through fastboot. It failed saying "flash permission denied"
Code:
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) has-slot:modemst1: not found
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'modemst1' (2048 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.076s]
writing 'modemst1'...
(bootloader) flash permission denied
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.101s
How to get back imie...??? Please help
madhu kumaraaa said:
How to get back imie...??? Please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this thread
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/help/restore-imei-0-moto-g5-xt1687-t3739808
Try this.
1-Pixel Experience workaround (Flash PE, don't turn on wifi, get to home screen, reboot to bootloader, run fastboot erase modemst1 and fastboot modemst2, let phone reboot, confirm network.)
2-Lock Bootloader (If the last OTA you got was 9x-8 you're in a tight spot til firmware is available. If it was -4, you're good.)
3-Flash Full Firmware (but not fastboot erase modemst1 and modemst1. Keep as-is)
4-Install and Flash OTA
I can make absolutely no promises it will work for you. But I was dealing with IMEI 0, and now my bootloader is locked, on Stock, OTA installed with IMEI. I've had the phone return IMEI 0 after OTA updates before this. I can't confirm LTE/voLTE connectivity, not much data in the first place cause I don't need it.
If it doesn't work. Try again but do this first. I dunno if it's redundant or not. I can't test further and I'm leaving this phone alone now.
--When I was messing with my phone while doing this. I ****ed up the first time and only did 1- and 3-. I ran the above steps after phone as on the home screen and not enabling wifi
For reference. I don't have an EFS backup and I never messed with persist.
Randumb_User said:
Try this.
1-Pixel Experience workaround (Flash PE, don't turn on wifi, get to home screen, reboot to bootloader, run fastboot erase modemst1 and fastboot modemst2, let phone reboot, confirm network.)
2-Lock Bootloader (If the last OTA you got was 9x-8 you're in a tight spot til firmware is available. If it was -4, you're good.)
3-Flash Full Firmware (but not fastboot erase modemst1 and modemst1. Keep as-is)
4-Install and Flash OTA
I can make absolutely no promises it will work for you. But I was dealing with IMEI 0, and now my bootloader is locked, on Stock, OTA installed with IMEI. I've had the phone return IMEI 0 after OTA updates before this. I can't confirm LTE/voLTE connectivity, not much data in the first place cause I don't need it.
If it doesn't work. Try again but do this first. I dunno if it's redundant or not. I can't test further and I'm leaving this phone alone now.
--When I was messing with my phone while doing this. I ****ed up the first time and only did 1- and 3-. I ran the above steps after phone as on the home screen and not enabling wifi
For reference. I don't have an EFS backup and I never messed with persist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just to clarify (I understand that this may not work for me):
After following the above steps, you were able to have a working IMEI and you were able to install an OTA update without having your IMEI go to 0 correct?
Also on step 4, when you say "Install and Flash OTA" do you mean you proceed to install the OTA normally (as in you click the install button in Stock and your phone reboots and installs it)?
smartish123 said:
So just to clarify (I understand that this may not work for me):
After following the above steps, you were able to have a working IMEI and you were able to install an OTA update without having your IMEI go to 0 correct?
Also on step 4, when you say "Install and Flash OTA" do you mean you proceed to install the OTA normally (as in you click the install button in Stock and your phone reboots and installs it)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct and correct, I'm a ****show when it comes to explaining things.
I'm still not sure what's gonna happen after a factory reset. The reluctance is overwhelming.
Did anyone else have any luck?
If anyone manages to get thier IMEI at any point I'd suggest Unlocking/TWRP to make an EFS backup. First thing I did after rooting again. Then I got stuck on the logo, had to flash 93-4 and....IMEI 0. EFS backup worked proper and restored it just fine. I could wipe data in TWRP without losing IMEI.
Gonna avoid custom ROMs. Stick with Stock+ElementalX+Magisk.
What a fun device....
Here's some probable good news: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-require-oem-regular-security-patches/
Randumb_User said:
Did anyone else have any luck?
If anyone manages to get thier IMEI at any point I'd suggest Unlocking/TWRP to make an EFS backup. First thing I did after rooting again. Then I got stuck on the logo, had to flash 93-4 and....IMEI 0. EFS backup worked proper and restored it just fine. I could wipe data in TWRP without losing IMEI.
Gonna avoid custom ROMs. Stick with Stock+ElementalX+Magisk.
What a fun device....
Here's some probable good news: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-require-oem-regular-security-patches/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea as of now, no one has been able to figure out how to apply OTA without losing imei. However someone has managed to figure out how to apply an OTA using the firmware files without losing imei.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/help/restore-imei-0-moto-g5-xt1687-t3739808/post76468866
The only drawback with this method is that you need have the firmware zip of the OTA.
smartish123 said:
Yea as of now, no one has been able to figure out how to apply OTA without losing imei. However someone has managed to figure out how to apply an OTA using the firmware files without losing imei.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/help/restore-imei-0-moto-g5-xt1687-t3739808/post76468866
The only drawback with this method is that you need have the firmware zip of the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used OTA to update to 93-8 and the other day 93-10 (For XT1687 retus) without losing IMEI, it's an anomaly to me. Prior to that I was dealing with the same OTA updates reverting back to IMEI 0. I'm not trying to gloat or anything, I've been hoping at least one person managed the same outcome. It's a really $h!t situation for a lot of people.
Randumb_User said:
I have used OTA to update to 93-8 and the other day 93-10 (For XT1687 retus) without losing IMEI, it's an anomaly to me. Prior to that I was dealing with the same OTA updates reverting back to IMEI 0. I'm not trying to gloat or anything, I've been hoping at least one person managed the same outcome. It's a really $h!t situation for a lot of people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What sucks so much is how random things are with this device. For example, a month ago I fastbooted one of the firmwares and my imei was there(was 0 before flashing). After that flashing an Oreo rom, my imei was 0. Going back and repeating the process, flashing same firmware, imei 0 still?????. So damn random. If only we had a safe way to manually insert our imei. Let's just hope the problems do not multiply when we get 32bit official Oreo .
Cupcake 1.5 said:
What sucks so much is how random things are with this device. For example, a month ago I fastbooted one of the firmwares and my imei was there(was 0 before flashing). After that flashing an Oreo rom, my imei was 0. Going back and repeating the process, flashing same firmware, imei 0 still?????. So damn random. If only we had a safe way to manually insert our imei. Let's just hope the problems do not multiply when we get 32bit official Oreo .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been doing a lot of thinking and I came up with this idea on how to install OTA safely without losing imei.
Essentially, the main goal is to be able to install the OTA and then restore a backup of your modemst1 and modemst2 partitions. You need to be able to do this without installing TWRP, since it will decrypt your data partition. The only way I can think of doing this is through backing up and restoring your modemst1 and modemst2 partitions through ADB, which unfortunately requires root. Using some logic, we can see that in order to do this you need to preserve root without installing it through TWRP. I'm proposing that if you can use magisk manager (the apk one) and use it create a patched boot.img (which can be obtained via any firmware zip) with root access , you can flash this patched boot.img in fastboot and obtain root access WITHOUT having to use TWRP. So whenever you install an OTA, you can restore the original boot.img through fastboot, install the OTA, restore patched boot.img, and use root access to restore modemst1 and modemst2 backups via ADB.
UPDATE
I came up with a better idea. It seems it is possible to boot into twrp without having to flash it on your phone via
fastboot boot twrp.img
If this works, you can restore an EFS backup everytime you install an OTA since your stock recovery remains intact.
I haven't tried any of this yet. It would be amazing if you guys could give me your opinions about this. I'd be happy to clarify any of this for you guys.
My G5 Plus was stolen and it's now someone's problem other than mine. Good luck to them. I've inherited a OnePlus X.
Farewell folks.
smartish123 said:
UPDATE
I came up with a better idea. It seems it is possible to boot into twrp without having to flash it on your phone via
fastboot boot twrp.img
If this works, you can restore an EFS backup everytime you install an OTA since your stock recovery remains intact.
I haven't tried any of this yet. It would be amazing if you guys could give me your opinions about this. I'd be happy to clarify any of this for you guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't work, I just tried it. You can of course restore EFS this way but the next OTA will not work, you get the "Error!" message.
fivefour said:
This doesn't work, I just tried it. You can of course restore EFS this way but the next OTA will not work, you get the "Error!" message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drat. This means that whatever efs we are using to recover our imei is tampered. I don't know how to fix that.
Does anyone know about this ?
The last version of the firmware that got OTA'ed to my phone is POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-8.
The only twrp backup of the firmware I have is while it was on POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-4.
When I tried to flash the phone with v 93-4 using fastboot, I got denied because of the version being older than that of the bootloader. But the problem is that I was able to erase prior to attempting writing ...
I need to re-install a stock rom in the phone, but POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-8 cannbot be found anywhere yet.
I though about twrp-flashing the phone with my 93-4 backup, but I am hesitant, I fear bricking the phone.
Is there any alternative to patience while waiting for POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-8_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip eventually appearing somewhere ?
Or, in other words, knowing that the last OTA to my phone installed v 93-8, is there any way to flash POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-35-5_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip for instance ?
CanadianGixxerman said:
I though about twrp-flashing the phone with my 93-4 backup, but I am hesitant, I fear bricking the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An older version (your twrp backup) will work with a newer bootloader, however you can't do any OTAs. An OTA will try to apply the same changes to the bootloader that were already made, resulting in a hard brick - though the OTA would fail anyway since you don't have an intact /oem partition. You will have a functional phone, and you can get back on track after 93-8 images or Oreo are released.
I know because I'm in a similar situation. I wanted to update from 93-4 to 93-8, and I had an intact /system image backup, but /oem was mounted before so I had to flash it via fastboot. Little did I know it was from the wrong channel (retus instead of reteu), resulting in the OTA updating everything except for oem and messing stuff up, so I just flashed a 93-4 twrp backup. Everything works, patiently waiting for Oreo.
bazinga137 said:
I just flashed a 93-4 twrp backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious. Did you have a full system image backup through twrp or just the system partition? I have a twrp backup of 93-8 stock boot, logo, oem, recovery, and system PARTITIONS which I thought would allow me to restore and take ota. However, since doing that I've read that system needs to be the full IMAGE backup through twrp. Confused so I haven't restored to take the 93-10 update which I got notification of yesterday.
craigl14 said:
Just curious. Did you have a full system image backup through twrp or just the system partition? I have a twrp backup of 93-8 stock boot, logo, oem, recovery, and system PARTITIONS which I thought would allow me to restore and take ota. However, since doing that I've read that system needs to be the full IMAGE backup through twrp. Confused so I haven't restored to take the 93-10 update which I got notification of yesterday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I am not sure. I did a twrp back up with the default selected partitions. But it turned out that this backup is not reliable. The phone does boot up on it, but suffers from applications crashes all over. Last I discovered is that the phone itself was not working for a phone, meaning making receiving calls is not possible.
craigl14 said:
Just curious. Did you have a full system image backup through twrp or just the system partition? I have a twrp backup of 93-8 stock boot, logo, oem, recovery, and system PARTITIONS which I thought would allow me to restore and take ota. However, since doing that I've read that system needs to be the full IMAGE backup through twrp. Confused so I haven't restored to take the 93-10 update which I got notification of yesterday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It needs to be an image backup for OTAs. Unlike a regular backup, image backups are block-by block pristine copies, and restoring them preserves dm-verity and all /system checks. On the other hand the /oem partition cannot be backed up as an image (I asked GtrCraft, the official maintainer of twrp for some moto devices), and since OTAs also check if /oem has been tampered with, the update fails.
Updates will only pass if /oem has never been mounted, and you have a system image backup.
bazinga137 said:
It needs to be an image backup for OTAs. Unlike a regular backup, image backups are block-by block pristine copies, and restoring them preserves dm-verity and all /system checks. On the other hand the /oem partition cannot be backed up as an image (I asked GtrCraft, the official maintainer of twrp for some moto devices), and since OTAs also check if /oem has been tampered with, the update fails.
Updates will only pass if /oem has never been mounted, and you have a system image backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dumb question...How do I know if the oem partition is tampered with or has never been mounted? I am rooted with elementalx kernel and supersu. TWRP partition stock backup made immediately after taking 93-8 update and before flashing twrp, rooting, etc. I know I am hosed without the system IMAGE as far as ota's go, but I'm just trying to learn.
I'm in the same boat. Pretty much stuck on 93-8 forever until a new full image is released somewhere. I might just move onto a custom Oreo rom.
dunderball said:
I'm in the same boat. Pretty much stuck on 93-8 forever until a new full image is released somewhere. I might just move onto a custom Oreo rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I did that. I have tried a few cutom roms : Pixel Exprerience, Resurection Remix, AOSP extended, AOSiP and Dirty Unicorns. The latter and AOSiP are those I find the most reliable. Avoid PE and RR, too buggy, AOSP-E has issues with SIM/SDcard here.
But I will want to go back to stock moto rom when I can (ie : full 93-8 load fastboot flashable is released).
If moto had been quicker to release Oreo AND fix the wifi bug, I would not have given up on retus.
I guess I have an even more fundamental dumb question than my twrp restore issue and maybe it belongs in another thread. Aside from advanced excel formulas, I have no programming experience of any kind, let alone android. However, it seems to me that if I have a full firmware package for 93-4 (which I do) and a "blur" ota update file that takes it to 93-8 (which I do), I should be able to create a full 93-8 firmware package file myself from those two files without waiting on the file hosting sites. Maybe this is way too advanced a process but it seems to me this is 1+2=3 variety.
craigl14 said:
I guess I have an even more fundamental dumb question than my twrp restore issue and maybe it belongs in another thread. Aside from advanced excel formulas, I have no programming experience of any kind, let alone android. However, it seems to me that if I have a full firmware package for 93-4 (which I do) and a "blur" ota update file that takes it to 93-8 (which I do), I should be able to create a full 93-8 firmware package file myself from those two files without waiting on the file hosting sites. Maybe this is way too advanced a process but it seems to me this is 1+2=3 variety.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your device now being at 93-8 is what's in the way. It seems like you can restore your twrp 93-4 on it, but you won't be able to relock the BL, hence OTA will not work.
CanadianGixxerman said:
Your device now being at 93-8 is what's in the way. It seems like you can restore your twrp 93-4 on it, but you won't be able to relock the BL, hence OTA will not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the confusion. My restore issue is with the fact that I did not make a full system image twrp backup of stock 93-8. If I had, I would be able to restore and take ota's (assuming the oem issue doesn't interfere which I don't know about).
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
I'm on a slightly same boat as OP, but I don't have my backup since I thought it was on my SD and wiped my phone, with the backup only there. I was on 93-8 when I wiped. Would getting a 93-4 backup work?
This question might of been answered but I did not see it when I read through this thread.
craigl14 said:
Sorry for the confusion. My restore issue is with the fact that I did not make a full system image twrp backup of stock 93-8. If I had, I would be able to restore and take ota's (assuming the oem issue doesn't interfere which I don't know about).
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took a full backup of my system image through twrp, and I was on 93-8. I'll upload it when I have time and you can give it a try.
CanadianGixxerman said:
[...] but you won't be able to relock the BL, hence OTA will not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you need to relock the BL to take an OTA?
craigl14 said:
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly you can't apply an OTA to the firmware images, if that's what you're thinking. They need to be signed by moto to be flashable through fastboot. And if you'd want to provide someone with a twrp backup of a firmware higher than theirs, their bootloader would need to be updated too, via an OTA.
bazinga137 said:
if that's what you're thinking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That's exactly my question. So the answer is that Motorola controls the process. Makes sense. Any thoughts on my oem mounting question?
craigl14 said:
Thanks. That's exactly my question. So the answer is that Motorola controls the process. Makes sense. Any thoughts on my oem mounting question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really can't think of a way of checking the mount count of Android partitions, and I haven't found anything online.
I discovered the mount counter thingy when sweeping through logs of a failed OTA. I'm really not sure where the OTA script reads it from.
craigl14 said:
Sorry for the confusion. My restore issue is with the fact that I did not make a full system image twrp backup of stock 93-8. If I had, I would be able to restore and take ota's (assuming the oem issue doesn't interfere which I don't know about).
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a full backup of 93-8, but still i can't lock bootloader. We need complete firmware, until then, Lineage OS is the answer.
---------- Post added at 11:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 PM ----------
bazinga137 said:
Why would you need to relock the BL to take an OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea, i saw this first time now on Motorola. On any other manufacturers i could lock bootloader, and even get OTA updates just by flashing stock recovery and having unlocked bootloader was not a problem.
If your device was formally updated to NPNS25.137-93-8 (March 2018 security patch), then you could try to flash the NPNS25.137-93-4 (Jan 2018 security patch) update again as you previously tried (link to the Jan 2018 stock firmware for EU/US and Asia devices: https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/potter/official/RETAIL/ ). You may wish to ignore the security downgrade errors (you cannot downgrade bootloaders anyway, presumably to prevent you opening security vulnerabilities) when you flash, which should just be for GPT and bootloader. You may also see 'image signed with bad key' for recovery and boot as well, but verify those partitions, and the other partitions report [OKAY] after flashing. That way, you should have a NPNS25.137-93-4 system, with a NPNS25.137-93-8 bootloader, and when you boot you should have a device reporting with fully stock NPNS25.137-93-4. The next OTA you should receive is the NPNS25.137-93-8 OTA and then the NPNS25.137-93-10 April 2018 security patch OTA, which should bring you up to the latest stock firmware.
By reflashing the NPNS25.137-93-4 firmware, this should also restore your OEM partition to being untampered (read only status?), as should your system partition (which should be read only, I recall that swiping to allow modifications in TWRP sets your system partition to read-write, which causes the OTA to fail).
Normally, I would advise against downgrading and using OTA updates, as this is a prime way of hard bricking. However, in this case you are downgrading your device firmware to the firmware directly preceding the newest firmware you had (i.e. downgrading to NPNS25.137-93-4 from NPNS25.137-93-8), with the next OTA being NPNS25.137-93-8, which brings you back up to the build you had, this may be safe. To your device, you are flashing the same bootloader from the NPNS25.137-93-8 OTA as currently on your device, which should not hard brick.
If you previously had stock NPNS25.137-93-10, then I cannot recommend this procedure as you'll be downgrading two firmware versions (and you'll have to wait for newer stock firmware to be leaked), else if you try flashing NPNS25.137-93-4 onto the April 2018 firmware and try using OTA updates, you may hard brick and have a pricey paperweight. I also do not know if this will work by cross-flashing from the NPN25.137-92 series of updates either.
Of course, as the NPNS25.137-93-4 firmware is older than your bootloader, you will not be able to re-lock your bootloader (you'll need a newer firmware, probably the April 2018 or newer security patch stock firmware), but being back on full stock, you should be eligible for OTAs provided you only downgraded from NPNS25.137-93-8 (and that March 2018 security patch was the latest stock firmware on your device).
If you are truly concerned about hard bricking, then I would follow other member's suggestions in this thread and stay with TWRP flashables of the stock ROM, as they do not usually affect the bootloader.
Any questions or comments before you perform this procedure, please ask.
bazinga137 said:
I really can't think of a way of checking the mount count of Android partitions, and I haven't found anything online.
I discovered the mount counter thingy when sweeping through logs of a failed OTA. I'm really not sure where the OTA script reads it from.
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Thanks. Weird. Sorry for hijacking this thread. But if my process were to take OTA after which it reboots, then IMMEDIATELY reboot into bootloader, fastboot BOOT into twrp (not flash it) and take a backup of boot, logo, oem, recovery and system (FULL IMAGE), how would that change oem?
CanadianGixxerman said:
Well, I did that. I have tried a few cutom roms : Pixel Exprerience, Resurection Remix, AOSP extended, AOSiP and Dirty Unicorns. The latter and AOSiP are those I find the most reliable. Avoid PE and RR, too buggy, AOSP-E has issues with SIM/SDcard here.
But I will want to go back to stock moto rom when I can (ie : full 93-8 load fastboot flashable is released).
If moto had been quicker to release Oreo AND fix the wifi bug, I would not have given up on retus.
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What's buggy about PE? I was just about to try it...