Database Users

Soft bricked my phone, could somebody help me?

Hi everyone, sorry for a noob problem but I seemed to have soft bricked my phone and was hoping that somebody here would be able to help me out. I have an A2017U in the US.
A short history:
I had been using my phone on B20 rooted/locked with tenfar's tool for about 3 months now, and decided I would try and update it finally before the new year.
To update it, after reading it seemed I would need to unlock the bootloader to keep root on B29 so I decided first step would be to unlock the bootloader and then update to B29. I did the following steps today
1) Unlock bootloader using DrakenFX's guide here http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/guide-how-to-unlock-bootloader-stay-t3461165 The unlocked proved successful and I was able to boot back into B20 after all the data was wiped, and I followed the instruction to backup the Boot in TWRP. All good.
2) I then decided to follow another of DrakenFX's guides (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=68873482&postcount=2) to update from B20 to B29. I followed the instructions exactly again, but then the phone just hangs on the ZTE logo on boot infinitely. I wondered if I made a mistake when re-initializing TWRP after unlocking the bootloader. I did a search and found in "Mount" to uncheck "Mount system partition read-only" and unchecked it. The System partition however is unmounted, I'm not sure if that's normal now or not. Even when I check it, after rebooting it goes away. I've checked the MD5 of the ZTE_A2017U.B29_StockSystem_by_DrakenFX.zip file and it's good. I then flashed through fastboot to the new 3.0.3-0 TWRP which I'm now using, and still nothing. It appears I don't have an OS installed. I'm going to guess here the issue is with a setting in TWRP but I've tried everything I could find. Unfortunately I don't seem to have a copy of my stock recovery right now to flash either. I've tried several times to flash ZTE_A2017U.B29_StockSystem_by_DrakenFX.zip and reboot but to no avail. I even tried this tip from rczrazor to delete DATA first and others one by one (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69428659&postcount=136) but no such luck for me. Still stuck on the ZTE logo.
tl;dr - I have access to fastboot and TWRP, but apparently no ROM installed even though have flashed now multiple times.
If anybody could help me I would greatly appreciate it. I'm even willing to pay a few bucks in Paypal to help get me going again.
Thank you all in advance.

shyguy88 said:
Hi everyone, sorry for a noob problem but I seemed to have soft bricked my phone and was hoping that somebody here would be able to help me out. I have an A2017U in the US.
A short history:
I had been using my phone on B20 rooted/locked with tenfar's tool for about 3 months now, and decided I would try and update it finally before the new year.
To update it, after reading it seemed I would need to unlock the bootloader to keep root on B29 so I decided first step would be to unlock the bootloader and then update to B29. I did the following steps today
1) Unlock bootloader using DrakenFX's guide here http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/guide-how-to-unlock-bootloader-stay-t3461165 The unlocked proved successful and I was able to boot back into B20 after all the data was wiped, and I followed the instruction to backup the Boot in TWRP. All good.
2) I then decided to follow another of DrakenFX's guides (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=68873482&postcount=2) to update from B20 to B29. I followed the instructions exactly again, but then the phone just hangs on the ZTE logo on boot infinitely. I wondered if I made a mistake when re-initializing TWRP after unlocking the bootloader. I did a search and found in "Mount" to uncheck "Mount system partition read-only" and unchecked it. The System partition however is unmounted, I'm not sure if that's normal now or not. Even when I check it, after rebooting it goes away. I've checked the MD5 of the ZTE_A2017U.B29_StockSystem_by_DrakenFX.zip file and it's good. I then flashed through fastboot to the new 3.0.3-0 TWRP which I'm now using, and still nothing. It appears I don't have an OS installed. I'm going to guess here the issue is with a setting in TWRP but I've tried everything I could find. Unfortunately I don't seem to have a copy of my stock recovery right now to flash either. I've tried several times to flash ZTE_A2017U.B29_StockSystem_by_DrakenFX.zip and reboot but to no avail. I even tried this tip from rczrazor to delete DATA first and others one by one (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69428659&postcount=136) but no such luck for me. Still stuck on the ZTE logo.
tl;dr - I have access to fastboot and TWRP, but apparently no ROM installed even though have flashed now multiple times.
If anybody could help me I would greatly appreciate it. I'm even willing to pay a few bucks in Paypal to help get me going again.
Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happened to me once - boot to TWRP, format data, reboot to TWRP, advanced wipe everything but the external SD card,reboot to TWRP, flash DrakenFX B29 bootstack, reboot to TWRP, flash DrakenFX B29 system.

shyguy88 said:
Hi everyone, sorry for a noob problem but I seemed to have soft bricked my phone and was hoping that somebody here would be able to help me out. I have an A2017U in the US.
If anybody could help me I would greatly appreciate it. I'm even willing to pay a few bucks in Paypal to help get me going again.
Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have bricked my AXON 7 many times during the last week. The Zip files from DrakenFX are very good. But in case those were still failling...
First, check for corrupted downloads, just check the zip file integrity using 7zip, winRAR or any other tool.
Use TWRP 3.0.3
Try a different ROM such as ZADMix or even CM13.
If everything fails:
Flash TWRP 3.0.2 signed.
Flash the original Stock B29 Boot partition and reboot to recovery
Flash again the verified DrakenFX files.

Axon 7 A2017U B29 Root, BL unlock, and TWRP

Can someone walk me through how to Unlock the bootloader, root, and install TWRP? I'm so confused. I tried to do the newbie way, even though I'm not a newbie, and I lost my B29 Stock Recovery and can't find the download for it.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

I haven't done it yet but I've done a lot of reading and this seems to me the best guide.
Head over to this link which is the TWRP thread. https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/recovery-official-twrp-zte-axon-7-t3515715
Once you're in there go to bootloader unlock section. Download all the necessary files and on the bottom of the guide there will be instructions link which will take you here https://build.nethunter.com/misc/axon7/INSTRUCTIONS.txt
Follow that and that should do it.
When i get a weekend off ill be using this method to get the Lineage OS 14.1 on my device.

Search, Read & Follow --CAREFULLY--.
It's been a while, but this worked great for me, starting from B29.
Goodluck
Let me tell you, this is the guide that should be pinned. It gives very easy/clear instructions on what you need to do to root/flash recovery and even going back to stock. Very well written and I wish I had seen it sooner. I was going to write a clear guide on this subject only to find.. it already existed.. --nolimit78

@amphi66 I am on 2017U B29 and want to unlock bootloader, install TWRP and root. I also read newbies thread. I am confused about one thing. which TWRP recovery image should I use? a2017u B27 http://d-h.st/kRgq or TWRP recovery 3.0.2-2 : http://d-h.st/dgWW ? There is no file for B29 on newbie's thread and in FAQ, the OP said B27 should work for B29. Which one did you use?
After reading, I also see some people said tenfar's tool is too dangerous and it may brick your phone. Some people also claimed the back up of TWRP recovery 3.0.2 provided on that thread has some bugs may cause you to loose your IMEI number when you do recovering. Do you have any issues? Thanks!
amphi66 said:
Search, Read & Follow --CAREFULLY--.
It's been a while, but this worked great for me, starting from B29.
Goodluck
Let me tell you, this is the guide that should be pinned. It gives very easy/clear instructions on what you need to do to root/flash recovery and even going back to stock. Very well written and I wish I had seen it sooner. I was going to write a clear guide on this subject only to find.. it already existed.. --nolimit78
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

greatzt said:
@amphi66 I am on 2017U B29 and want to unlock bootloader, install TWRP and root. I also read newbies thread. I am confused about one thing. which TWRP recovery image should I use? a2017u B27 http://d-h.st/kRgq or TWRP recovery 3.0.2-2 : http://d-h.st/dgWW ? There is no file for B29 on newbie's thread and in FAQ, the OP said B27 should work for B29. Which one did you use?
After reading, I also see some people said tenfar's tool is too dangerous and it may brick your phone. Some people also claimed the back up of TWRP recovery 3.0.2 provided on that thread has some bugs may cause you to loose your IMEI number when you do recovering. Do you have any issues? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was back last Nov, but I followed the guide, using the recommended files (was on B29, but used the B27 OK, then reflashed B29 at the end).
The warning involved backing up and then restoring the EFS partiton with tenfar's tool. DON'T! If you stick with system, data, and boot partitions you should be fine.
Good luck. You may want to check with @nolimit78. He has done this much more recently.

Yes, I agree with you @amphi66 that there is a lot of different places to get information about how to root/flash recovery for A2017U B29. Here's what I've done with two different A7's and both have worked each time.
1. Boot the phone to EDL Mode (Both Vol+Power on boot it'll quick flash the red notification light and then act like it's off.. it's not)
2. Use tenfar's tool to flash the recovery. (I renamed the updated TWRP img and named it "recovery". This used tenfar's tool to flash the updated TWRP on your device.
3. Once in TWRP, run the command (reboot disemmcwp and relaunch TWRP) and flash the package to use modifiable bootloader from B20.
4. Once that flashes now you can send the command in Fastboot "fastboot oem unlock" which will unlock the bootloader that doesn't trip anything notifying ZTE
5. At this point you can flash a B29 rom and have a grand ol' time. However, I would recommend using the LineageOS Rom that's available. Trumps everything else out there IMHO.
6. To do that You'll need to flash the Nougat Bootstacks for that rom to boot prior to flashing the Rom itself. I would recommend flashing the nougat bootstacks, reboot to TWRP, flash LineageOS, reboot.
Like I said, I've done with this with two different devices (Thanks ZTE) and both worked out just fine. I did this method with a device with b27 and b29, both ended up updated and flashed with CM/LineageOS with ZERO issues. This post here should also be pinned as the one true guide (THE KING OF THE NORTH) for unlocking/rooting a stock Axon 7. I spent probably about 4-5 hours working, trying to figure out how to get my device unlocked/rooted. However.. at the very end I wrote out instructions trying to help those who would come after me.. I searched the threads to make sure there wasn't already a thread out there.. and then.. it turns out there was.

Someone have the 5 files to unlock the bootloader 2017u on drive

Moto G4 (XT1625 Athene): Android won't boot after flashing TWRP 3.1.0

I flashed TWRP on my Moto G4 after booting the TWRP img using fastboot, and now I can't seem to get Android to start. I can boot into TWRP just fine, but when I try to start Android the phone screen just goes black and the LED USB indicator blinks.
Does anyone know what happened and how / if I can fix it without flashing the stock rom?

try flashing everything from recovery again? Maybe you messed up something, like rooting your rom without knowing it

I managed to get it to boot again by flashing the stock system image, but now there are a few odd bugs and I can't get the Android 7 OTA. Fastboot is giving me issues when I try to follow Motorola's instructions (gyazo.com/38675380995061a98714678c796ba92b, motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/recovery-images) saying that the images aren't signed or are corrupt. I'll try just flashing the image files from TWRP like you said.
The forum won't let me link to websites.

I had the same boot problem after trying to systemless root after 7.0 updateon twrp 3.1. Had to reflash to stock recovery and stock boot image before it would boot to anything other than fastboot or a blank screen.

So it seems like the best solution for now is to not flash twrp as recovery when running Android 7 and just booting into twrp temporarily with
Code:
fastboot boot <twrp.img file>
I didn't have any problems systemless rooting my Android 7 phone with supersu doing it this way, the problem only started after I attempted to flash twrp as my recovery.
After flashing the stock firmware, my only issue now is not getting the OTA, which is very frustrating as I had it working earlier today.
EDIT; Found a possible solution for getting the OTA for XT1625 in another thread, flash XT1625-XT1644_ATHENE-RETUS_MPJ24.139-49_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip to the phone from here firmware.center/firmware/Motorola/Moto%20G4%20%28Plus%29/Stock/
* Currently testing this now, not sure if it'll work
EDIT; Worked for me, a few seconds after booting I got the OTA update. I'm on Moto G4 (XT1625 Athene) retusa
If you want to know how to flash the .49 rom, refer to this thread (forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4/development/unbrick-hard-bricked-moto-g4-amazon-t3486578) and follow the instructions as closely as you can. There are some differences between the Amazon version and the non Amazon.
IMPORTANT: do not attempt to systemless root (at least with SuperSu 2.79 SR3), it just caused Android to not boot. For now, wait for a fix. (But if you simply must attempt a root, make a backup in twrp)
Good luck!

unprofessional hacker said:
So it seems like the best solution for now is to not flash twrp as recovery when running Android 7 and just booting into twrp temporarily with
Code:
fastboot boot <twrp.img file>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this! I didn't know how to do it until now

Help with Flashing a custom ROM ( absolute first time )

Hey guys, I wanted some help on flashing LineageOS 14.1 to my Axon 7 A2017G.
I've looked at a bunch of guides but they all seem outdated or way too confusing.
I tried to follow the guide under the "Axon 7 Toolkit " thread where there were some instructions on how to flash a rom for noobs and when going to test for fastboot, it says I don't have fastboot.
Tried to get fastboot by following some guide and using miflash but ended up doing something to my device where android asked for a password when i booted up, where as I didn't have a password and had to end up factory resetting my device. LOST ALL MY DATA
If someone could please give me a simple, easy to follow guide on how to unlock bootloader, and flash custom rom, I would be immensely grateful.
Also if there is a guide on how to restore back to stock rom and factory settings in case I need to send phone back to ZTE at any point that would also be helpful.
:good:

The toolkit guide is probably the easiest one.
Read the whole thread and try again.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

runninghamster said:
Hey guys, I wanted some help on flashing LineageOS 14.1 to my Axon 7 A2017G.
I've looked at a bunch of guides but they all seem outdated or way too confusing.
I tried to follow the guide under the "Axon 7 Toolkit " thread where there were some instructions on how to flash a rom for noobs and when going to test for fastboot, it says I don't have fastboot.
Tried to get fastboot by following some guide and using miflash but ended up doing something to my device where android asked for a password when i booted up, where as I didn't have a password and had to end up factory resetting my device. LOST ALL MY DATA
If someone could please give me a simple, easy to follow guide on how to unlock bootloader, and flash custom rom, I would be immensely grateful.
Also if there is a guide on how to restore back to stock rom and factory settings in case I need to send phone back to ZTE at any point that would also be helpful.
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOSING ALL YOUR DATA will be something normal actually. If you want to go to LineageOS you will probably lose it a bunch of times...
Well it turns out the toolkit is not the easiest way. Do this:
You didn't seem to search. Use "Unlock bootloader easily" by WesTD. After that simply go to the LOS thread, and download the ROM, the Universal Bootloader, and the modem file for your phone (for the G). Get Magisk too. and GApps for arm64. ) Then enter TWRP, ensure that it's 3.2.1-0 or more, else update it (get the newer .img for ailsa_ii or axon7 and Install - Install image - Recovery partition). Format data, and make sure that it formatted with ext4 (it'll say -formatting with make-ext4fs or sth). flash the bootloader, then the modem, then ROM, then Magisk, then GApps. After that boot.

Choose an username... said:
LOSING ALL YOUR DATA will be something normal actually. If you want to go to LineageOS you will probably lose it a bunch of times...
Well it turns out the toolkit is not the easiest way. Do this:
You didn't seem to search. Use "Unlock bootloader easily" by WesTD. After that simply go to the LOS thread, and download the ROM, the Universal Bootloader, and the modem file for your phone (for the G). Get Magisk too. and GApps for arm64. ) Then enter TWRP, ensure that it's 3.2.1-0 or more, else update it (get the newer .img for ailsa_ii or axon7 and Install - Install image - Recovery partition). Format data, and make sure that it formatted with ext4 (it'll say -formatting with make-ext4fs or sth). flash the bootloader, then the modem, then ROM, then Magisk, then GApps. After that boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try this today, thank you for your time in typing this

runninghamster said:
I will try this today, thank you for your time in typing this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or try this tool to unlock your bootloader....way more advanced by the way thnx @djkuz
Just install the axon 7 drivers, this tool and....UNLOCK with ease :good:
Also all files to revert back to stock, flashing modem, recovery... etc are well discribed there. Just take a peek there...
Just another advice : do read all threads carefully, no matter what you're doing, do backup regularly and all will be OK :good:

raystef66 said:
Or try this tool to unlock your bootloader....way more advanced by the way thnx @djkuz
Just install the axon 7 drivers, this tool and....UNLOCK with ease :good:
Also all files to revert back to stock, flashing modem, recovery... etc are well discribed there. Just take a peek there...
Just another advice : do read all threads carefully, no matter what you're doing, do backup regularly and all will be OK :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much, will try today!

Choose an username... said:
LOSING ALL YOUR DATA will be something normal actually. If you want to go to LineageOS you will probably lose it a bunch of times...
Well it turns out the toolkit is not the easiest way. Do this:
You didn't seem to search. Use "Unlock bootloader easily" by WesTD. After that simply go to the LOS thread, and download the ROM, the Universal Bootloader, and the modem file for your phone (for the G). Get Magisk too. and GApps for arm64. ) Then enter TWRP, ensure that it's 3.2.1-0 or more, else update it (get the newer .img for ailsa_ii or axon7 and Install - Install image - Recovery partition). Format data, and make sure that it formatted with ext4 (it'll say -formatting with make-ext4fs or sth). flash the bootloader, then the modem, then ROM, then Magisk, then GApps. After that boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Followed your steps and managed to unlock the bootloader successfully. Afterwards I tried to flash TWRP using the Axon Toolkit and this error appears. Have 0 clue why. A little help please.
View attached >>>
EDIT: nevermind, tried to boot into recovery and twrp booted, not sure why the error appeared though. thanks for the help!

Stuck in fastboot after flashing TWRP (Mi 9T)

First of all why did this happen, presumably I wasn't doing anything wrong or uninformed. I just unlocked the bootloader successfully, afterward as many threads claimed I flashed twrp-3.3.1-2-davinci-fix, and now it simply wont boot neither to system nor twrp. Why did this happen?
Does anyone know how to fix this? Thank you!
Mi 9T (M1903F10G)

Did you try to power off and then turn back on holding power and volume up? I had this issue yesterday but doing the vol up and power got me to twrp then did format and it booted up

cmlucht said:
Did you try to power off and then turn back on holding power and volume up? I had this issue yesterday but doing the vol up and power got me to TWRP then did format and it booted up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. You can't even power off, it will simply bootloop forever into fastboot. Nonetheless I managed to fix it by flashing fastboot ROM using MIFlash, but man, didn't expect root solutions to be this complicated, unstable, and outdated for our beloved Mi 9T. I simply want to achieve root in the stock rom, and wasted 7 hours yesterday and still got nowhere. I come from a classic LG G2, when things were much simple and straight forward back then. You can stop reading here, but now I had to:
Wait 1 week for bootloader unlock.
Flash TWRP, which soft bricked my phone right away. Why on earth, a recovery image provided in many reliable tutorials from multiple sources cause soft-brick in the second step is beyond my comprehension. I am still genuinely curious why did this happen, and why such a broken image is still circulating here?
Then I had to inform myself all about Anti Rollback, in order to prevent it happening, and concluded that MiFlash is safe, so I got MiFlash and a fastboot rom.
Apparently Mi Flash is terribly buggy and kept showing .net error exceptions because a "LOG" folder was missing in root folder, so let's waste one hour scratching our heads what the hell is happening because the developer missed a simple MkDir line during development.
After creating LOG folder, and installing drivers, couldn't flash any fastboot ROM because my 9T antiroll back number is 1 while fastboot rom ARB index was 0.
Then it appears that this error has actually nothing to do with ARB, but it is because I had to a) start MiFlash from C:\, b) remove name spaces in target address and c) shorten fastboot ROM folder name. So I had to get all these 3 variables right in order to resurrect my phone. MiFlash terrible programming didn't stop at step 4) but it extends into showing entirely confusing ARB errors that have nothing to with the real problem, rather petty programming bugs such as folder naming.
Finally managed to boot up 9T, and we're back at square one.
Afterward successfully flashed mauronofrio TWRP including vbmeta and got recovery working.
I decided to try out few custom ROMs since all my data were erased anyway, but it appears my system was encrypted and TWRP showed encrypted alphanumeric characters, so I had to format data in order to flash files.
Now every-time I flash stock ROM .zip I lose TWRP, and every-time I reflash mauronofrio TWRP I end up in recovery bootloop, and so I can't manage to have both at same time in order to move with the Magisk flash.
10 steps and 7 hours later and still got nowhere, just risked bricking my phone.
Now we have to deal with
a) bootloader wait,
b) twrp encryption mess,
c) anti roll back risk,
d) buggy MiFlash
e) safety net measures
f) no custom ROMs that are pre-rooted and simple
g) dependency of stock ROM files - meaning you can't wipe everything including system and just flash custom ROM .zips, like I used to do with 5 android phones before this one. Now you are somehow dependent on original ROM files which probably means you will have to base install stock MI before you flash anything Xiaomi.EU, Evolution X, PixelExperience etc.​ When did things get so complicated? It seems every year new limitations are introduced and the sheer combination to get them all right give headaches.
Anyway, all I want is to install latest stock ROM from TWRP and keep TWRP so I can also flash Magisk. In other words, how to simply have a rooted stock?

Your mistake is to not use Official TWRP instead of an old TWRP version...

Micdu70 said:
Your mistake is to not use Official TWRP instead of an old TWRP version...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply! Yes, that must have been it. Those outdated tutorials should be removed.
Now I flashed miui_DAVINCIEEAGlobal_V11.0.4.0.QFJEUXM through latest TWRP, but it removed TWRP. When I reflash latest TWRP then it ends up in bootloop.
EDIT: Ended up reflashing all over again using MiFlash. Now the only problem remaining is which version of Magisk is compatible with miui_DAVINCIEEAGlobal_V11.0.4.0.QFJEUXM?

What are you flashing with? I am now using xiaomitools v2 and it installed twrp and magisk with no problems.
I flashed the EU custom stable, I was global but I wanted to compare the 2 and I like the EU better.
I came from a non rootable lg g7.
I have not flashed custom ROMs since my old Galaxy note days.

cmlucht said:
What are you flashing with? I am now using xiaomitools v2 and it installed twrp and magisk with no problems.
I flashed the EU custom stable, I was global but I wanted to compare the 2 and I like the EU better.
I came from a non rootable lg g7.
I have not flashed custom ROMs since my old Galaxy note days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never heard of XiaomiTools v2, it seems like a great alternative. I used buggy MiFlash to flash fastboot ROM, flashed TWRP, then got a bootloop, formatted data from TWRP and flashed Magisk. It seems everything is working fine now, but in the future I'll make sure to check XiaomiTools v2.
I never used stock ROMs in any of my past phones, first thing I did when I bought a new phone is unlock bootloader and install Lineage or Cyanogenmod back in the days. But somehow I like MIUI so all I needed was root.
It is hard to believe that there are actually phones that have no root at all.

blackmatrix64 said:
Thank you for your reply. You can't even power off, it will simply bootloop forever into fastboot. Nonetheless I managed to fix it by flashing fastboot ROM using MIFlash, but man, didn't expect root solutions to be this complicated, unstable, and outdated for our beloved Mi 9T. I simply want to achieve root in the stock rom, and wasted 7 hours yesterday and still got nowhere. I come from a classic LG G2, when things were much simple and straight forward back then. You can stop reading here, but now I had to:
Wait 1 week for bootloader unlock.
Flash TWRP, which soft bricked my phone right away. Why on earth, a recovery image provided in many reliable tutorials from multiple sources cause soft-brick in the second step is beyond my comprehension. I am still genuinely curious why did this happen, and why such a broken image is still circulating here?
Then I had to inform myself all about Anti Rollback, in order to prevent it happening, and concluded that MiFlash is safe, so I got MiFlash and a fastboot rom.
Apparently Mi Flash is terribly buggy and kept showing .net error exceptions because a "LOG" folder was missing in root folder, so let's waste one hour scratching our heads what the hell is happening because the developer missed a simple MkDir line during development.
After creating LOG folder, and installing drivers, couldn't flash any fastboot ROM because my 9T antiroll back number is 1 while fastboot rom ARB index was 0.
Then it appears that this error has actually nothing to do with ARB, but it is because I had to a) start MiFlash from C:\, b) remove name spaces in target address and c) shorten fastboot ROM folder name. So I had to get all these 3 variables right in order to resurrect my phone. MiFlash terrible programming didn't stop at step 4) but it extends into showing entirely confusing ARB errors that have nothing to with the real problem, rather petty programming bugs such as folder naming.
Finally managed to boot up 9T, and we're back at square one.
Afterward successfully flashed mauronofrio TWRP including vbmeta and got recovery working.
I decided to try out few custom ROMs since all my data were erased anyway, but it appears my system was encrypted and TWRP showed encrypted alphanumeric characters, so I had to format data in order to flash files.
Now every-time I flash stock ROM .zip I lose TWRP, and every-time I reflash mauronofrio TWRP I end up in recovery bootloop, and so I can't manage to have both at same time in order to move with the Magisk flash.
10 steps and 7 hours later and still got nowhere, just risked bricking my phone.
Now we have to deal with
a) bootloader wait,
b) twrp encryption mess,
c) anti roll back risk,
d) buggy MiFlash
e) safety net measures
f) no custom ROMs that are pre-rooted and simple
g) dependency of stock ROM files - meaning you can't wipe everything including system and just flash custom ROM .zips, like I used to do with 5 android phones before this one. Now you are somehow dependent on original ROM files which probably means you will have to base install stock MI before you flash anything Xiaomi.EU, Evolution X, PixelExperience etc.​ When did things get so complicated? It seems every year new limitations are introduced and the sheer combination to get them all right give headaches.
Anyway, all I want is to install latest stock ROM from TWRP and keep TWRP so I can also flash Magisk. In other words, how to simply have a rooted stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I'm facing the same issue you faced here. Waited 7 days to unlock bootloader, after unlocking it, flashed a twrp i found on one of the youtube tutorials. Immediate bootloop. Im fairly new to all of this, and dont understand what certain words even mean tbh. Do you mind guiding me in fixing my phone? Any help would be really appreciated. Thank you.

blackmatrix64 said:
Never heard of XiaomiTools v2, it seems like a great alternative. I used buggy MiFlash to flash fastboot ROM, flashed TWRP, then got a bootloop, formatted data from TWRP and flashed Magisk. It seems everything is working fine now, but in the future I'll make sure to check XiaomiTools v2.
I never used stock ROMs in any of my past phones, first thing I did when I bought a new phone is unlock bootloader and install Lineage or Cyanogenmod back in the days. But somehow I like MIUI so all I needed was root.
It is hard to believe that there are actually phones that have no root at all.
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i miss the Cyanogenmod days