Cannot update OTA after Gingerbreak - Xperia Play Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I don't doubt there is some info here but i just cannot find it.
I downgraded to 2.3.2 and ran Gingerbreak to get rid of some bloat. All is fine but whenever i do an OTA update it goes through the whole process of finding and downloading the update, resets phone etc. All looks well but when it reboots after the four blue dots on the boot screen thing, it says software update failed. Has happened three times now.
Is there something i need to switch off etc? I dont really mind losing root with a PC update as long as dont get fifa, sims back etc.
Any ideas?

I think that the OTA update will fail if you have removed some bloatware... have you tried to restore everything you've removed before doing the update?
If I remember correct, after you run Gingerbreak, the first thing you should do is OTA update, THEN can you start remove bloatware. That's how I did anyway, and it worked.

1. After initiating Gingerbreak, DO NOT REMOVE BLOATWARE YET.
2. OTA first before removing unnecessary apps as the update will detect any tampering within the system/app directory and fail the update process.
3. When you update via PC Companion or Update Service, you lose root and at the same time you get all the bloatware back.
4. Update using OTA ONLY if you want to keep root after using Gingerbreak.
5. Next time, browse through threads, it will save you the trouble and the forums the clutter.

Thanks for the reply but it was not obvious about 'not removing bloatware'. I found threads with plenty of descriptions of the process; hell, I even used one to do it. But in none of them could I see a warning of removing the bloatware; in a few this was the tutorial for getting rid of the bloat.
As 2.3.4 is not available OTA does this mean I am basically stuffed? I only want to Root to get rid of Fifa, Sims etc. If I do the OTA to 2.3.3 (latest offered in the UK via OTA) then remove the Bloat, I am going to be unable to OTA to 2.3.4.
Is there any way of getting rid if these rubbish Sony apps without unlocking and still be able to update OTA when 2.3.4 comes out?

You could always redo the whole process of applying .184_UK => Gingerbreak => OTA to 2.3.4 then remove bloatware again.
...or use Titanium Backup to remove the bloatware, saving a backup of everything you remove and restoring it once you'd like to OTA update the next time. I haven't tried this but I suppose that would work too.

here's my opinion on your situation buddy.. for now, use gingerbreak to root then OTA to 2.3.3 xLoud. don't remove bloatware yet while we wait for 2.3.4. i didn't remove yet any bloatware from my phone because i'm waiting too since i rooted mine through gingerbreak.. why be bothered with bloatware? there has been a test somewhere showing no/little difference between stock and bloatware-removed Xperia PLAYs in terms of performance.. besides, android manages its ram very well unlike windows. android actually performs better if its RAM is nearly full. it's called pooling.
but if you're too bothered with the bloatware, you can always use titanium backup to freeze unwanted apps so you can unfreeze them when ota becomes available, saving you the trouble of repeating the whole process again.
as i said i havent removed bloatware yet because im waiting for 2.3.4 via ota, but believe me i've seen/experienced no significant decrease in overall performance. be patient buddy, it will serve you well.
PS: i don't trust that much the backup capabilities of TB.. i recommend you have a copy of all your apps under system/app and take note of what apps you remove so you can just manually bring them back via Root Explorer or so then set the permissions to rw-r--r--. i feel more confident when i do things manually.

Cheers guys. Now on 2.3.3 with root..I guess I will have to wait for the 2.3.4 OTA and mess with backups before removing the bloatware.
Your assistance, as always, has been invaluable. Thanks so much...

I've currently got my bloatware frozen, but I've also integrated updates into the system rom for updates to Maps, YouTube, etc.. will I likely have issues for OTA updating to 2.3.4? Not sure if it checks system app versions..

Related

[Q] Consequences and benefits of rooting?

I've been researching rooting for a while now but I still don't quite get what the consequences, requirements and benefits are of rooting, flashing etc. The wiki seems to be rather out of date, and doesn't even have an arc section.
What I want is:
1.To stop all the crappy software rogers and sony have forced on there, constantly autostarting themselves(Hotshots golf, setup guide, liveware manager, mobile backup, storefront, postcard, even maps likes to run on its own)
2. Swype
What I am concerned of is:
1. Do I have to erase everything on my phone to root?
2. Would I lose any of the default functionality of the arc?
3. What would I require to do this modification?
4. Can I reverse this process and go back to factory settings?
5. Would I be able to update later on?
and most of all, 6. Would it actually allow me to do what I want as stated above?
I've got an LT15a running 2.3.3 on Rogers with no attempted modifications.
bunktacular said:
I've been researching rooting for a while now but I still don't quite get what the consequences, requirements and benefits are of rooting, flashing etc. The wiki seems to be rather out of date, and doesn't even have an arc section.
What I want is:
1.To stop all the crappy software rogers and sony have forced on there, constantly autostarting themselves(Hotshots golf, setup guide, liveware manager, mobile backup, storefront, postcard, even maps likes to run on its own)
2. Swype
What I am concerned of is:
1. Do I have to erase everything on my phone to root?
2. Would I lose any of the default functionality of the arc?
3. What would I require to do this modification?
4. Can I reverse this process and go back to factory settings?
5. Would I be able to update later on?
and most of all, 6. Would it actually allow me to do what I want as stated above?
I've got an LT15a running 2.3.3 on Rogers with no attempted modifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Nope at all, if you have unlocked bootloader and flash prerooted kernel correlate to your firmware
2. Nope, the phone still remains intact after rooting, just add superuser to your phone
3. Just need your phone rooted and do exactly as the thread owner said, ur gonna be fine.
4. Yes, all you need is flash back to your stock rom
5. Yes, absolutely possible
6. Yes again, once you have root permission (superuser), you can delete those craps and use Swype.
*just a side note,
you can root your phone without unlocking your bootloader but yeah, that would mean loosing your data completely
@Babygau
Alright, thank you very much.
On a follow up then, can you point me towards the best method of rooting an arc, bearing in mind that Rogers has disabled Sony's bootloader?
And also where I would be able to get Swype? Swype's site is pointless and google just brought up people talking about using it, not how to get it.
@cryogenix
Yeah, thats what I was afraid of :/
Rogers disabled the arcs bootloader, I'm trying to figure out what I can do and hopefully not erase my data.
So long as I can achieve the 2 objectives at the top, I'd be happy though.
You'll lose the ability for ota updates when you delete system files. That's the only bad thing at your plan.
Rooting alone won't remove any abilitys.
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App
@bunktacular
You would need to flash a 2.3.2 ROM onto your phone (Ignore this if you are on 2.3.2). Rooting is as simple as installing Gingerbreak and running it (Gingerbreak doesn't work on 2.3.3 and hence the need to downgrade to 2.3.2). Then do an OTA (Over The Air) update to 2.3.3 to retain root.
I suggest you wipe user data. Make a backup if need be.
Also, get the latest Swype 3.0 beta from here.
Once you have your rooted 2.3.3, install Titanium Backup. It will allow you to remove all the Rogers and SE bloatware. No, you won't lose the functionality of the arc. You stand to gain with rooting not vice-versa.
The only caveat is that once you remove system apps as Flo95 pointed out is that the next time you want to update your phone, you'd have to resort to SEUS instead of an OTA update.
[With the latest update from SE (i.e. the update from August 1, 2011), I'm not sure about root status.]
xtacy! said:
@bunktacular
You would need to flash a 2.3.2 ROM onto your phone (Ignore this if you are on 2.3.2). Rooting is as simple as installing Gingerbreak and running it (Gingerbreak doesn't work on 2.3.3 and hence the need to downgrade to 2.3.2). Then do an OTA (Over The Air) update to 2.3.3 to retain root.
I suggest you wipe user data. Make a backup if need be.
Also, get the latest Swype 3.0 beta from here.
Once you have your rooted 2.3.3, install Titanium Backup. It will allow you to remove all the Rogers and SE bloatware. No, you won't lose the functionality of the arc. You stand to gain with rooting not vice-versa.
The only caveat is that once you remove system apps as Flo95 pointed out is that the next time you want to update your phone, you'd have to resort to SEUS instead of an OTA update.
[With the latest update from SE (i.e. the update from August 1, 2011), I'm not sure about root status.]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the other easier way is go to this website: http://www.wotanserver.com
create a free account, download their client software, and they will do the rest for you
droidlessons.com/what-is-rooting-on-android-the-advantages-and-disadvantages
Rooting v2.3.2, posted May 15th, 2011:
Updating over-the-air to v2.3.3 and keeping root, posted June 22nd, 2011:
Swype doesn't require root. It's just a regular application install.
Alright then, it seems what I really need is to flash 2.3.2 then, at least until gingerbreak works for 2.3.3.
What's the best method for me to do this?
EDIT:
I have found a fairly detailed guide on doing so, let's see how this goes.
Flashing: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1088539
Sucess! Aside from mybackup completely messing up my contacts, everything went smoothly.
if u already have your bootloader unlocked, just flash lastest firmware including prerooted kernel
if not, using gingerbreak
bunktacular said:
Alright then, it seems what I really need is to flash 2.3.2 then, at least until gingerbreak works for 2.3.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt Gingerbreak will patch 2.3.3.
The issue is that the exploits in 2.3.2, 2.3.3 were patched in 2.3.4 by Google and because Sony's version of 2.3.3 was released after 2.3.4 was released, those security fixes from 2.3.4 were backported into Sony's version of 2.3.3.
bunktacular said:
EDIT:
I have found a fairly detailed guide on doing so, let's see how this goes.
Flashing: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1088539
Sucess! Aside from mybackup completely messing up my contacts, everything went smoothly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup & Restore from v2.1 is compatible with v2.3.x.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1196908
babygau said:
if u already have your bootloader unlocked, just flash lastest firmware including prerooted kernel
if not, using gingerbreak
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's got a Rogers branded arc branded arc. Therefore, he can't unlock the bootloader (yet).

[Q] Will the new Tmobile software update affect my rooted SGH-T989

Yesterday I received a message from Tmobile that there is a new software update for my phone. I was at work and did not want to bother with it so I tried to say not to the update and the only option is to postpone for a maximum of 1 day. To get out of the message I selected the home key. I keep getting the reminder every 4 hours and the message will not go away from notifications drop down screen.
Tmobile seems very eager to push this update out, I rooted my phone about a month ago so I could use the tethering feature when I'm on call without the extra expense, also used Titanium to freeze the bloatware apps as well. Will this software update affect or undo my root access? Does anyone know if the update is good or bad?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Yes you will lose root but it can be rooted easily using the same method. This question has been answered over and over try searching a bit.
Sent from the darkside of the galaxy
Thank you for the information I did see threads on the subject but they were on older software updates.I did not run across one that talked about this latest update, I did not know if there was something different or if the the new update made it difficult to re-root. Some updates may only be beneficial to Tmobile and not the end user. Does anyone have the specifics on the update? Pros and Cons?
I'd like to know if the update is worth it as well.
My phone is currently rooted but I was not the one who did it so I'm afraid to lose root because I wouldn't know how to re-root it.
Is there a way to update without losing root?
I went ahead and updated my phone and it did not undo root. It is a software update that will allow u to upgrade to ICS.
yepvegas said:
I went ahead and updated my phone and it did not undo root. It is a software update that will allow u to upgrade to ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sure about that? If updating to the UVLDE 2.3.6 GB via OTA, I am pretty sure you lost root. You probably still have the super user app installed, but that in and of itself does not ensure root. Try using a app that requires root access such as Titanium Backup.

To root or not to root?

So I got my phone today and rooted it directly. When I was browsing through the apps, I saw it has an update but it didn't let me install it because the phone was rooted. So, I had to go back to stock rom with a kdz file wiping everything, which seems to be the latest rom right now. I'm thinking about if i should root or not right now. Will I have to wipe everything again when the phone gets another update? Are you all in this situation or do i not know something correctly?
Some how I was able to install latest ota with root and also nothing was wiped.
Im not 100% sure but I think you can unroot with SuperSU then ota should go through but I may be wrong.
If you want to use apps like g3 tweaksbox, titanium backup etc, you will need root! I think you can do so much more when your Phone is rooted, so i would root it immediately!
homer285 said:
Some how I was able to install latest ota with root and also nothing was wiped.
Im not 100% sure but I think you can unroot with SuperSU then ota should go through but I may be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also took an OTA for my F460S while rooted and it worked. My phone also is fine (it didn't die, crash or kill itself). When I get my next OTA I'll upload a video to show that it does work for some odd reason (only for a few people that I have seen). The benefits of rooting outweigh the drawbacks. If you root your phone, than you should be comfortable flashing a KDZ to restore it.
OTA updates often modify existing pre-installed apps, otherwise known as bloatware, so they check to be sure those targets are present and unmodified. If you have rooted but not deleted or removed or frozen any such apps, your system will pass that OTA test.
Some OTA's also look for su being installed, and hiding su can fool that, depending...
Sometimes the OTA is just mean altogether, for your protection.
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

Possible to disable OTA?

I have one of the first generation phones and am lucky to have S-OFF.
I have SU via sideload through TWRP and I am on the stock tmobile ROM as it suits my needs for now.
I am quite happy with 4.4.2 at this time and plan to move to 4.4.4 later, however, the dreadful popup for OTA update is annoying the ever living you know what outta me.
How can I disable the system from checking for OTA updates - is there any service to freeze or stop, or system file to delete or rename to achieve this?
Many Thanks
Use Titanium Backup to disable "Updater" 6.0

OTA possible if bloat are removed?

Hello. I just purchased the US version of the Honor 7x, but really hate having apps like Instagram and Facebook on my phone. I don't use them. If I root my phone, is it possible to remove these apps and maybe a few unused Google apps and still receive any future OTA? Thanks in advance.
Good question phone hasn't arrived yet but definitely don't want crapbook and tweaker on it.
bloodbath said:
Hello. I just purchased the US version of the Honor 7x, but really hate having apps like Instagram and Facebook on my phone. I don't use them. If I root my phone, is it possible to remove these apps and maybe a few unused Google apps and still receive any future OTA? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, on the first OTA for Mate2, removing one of the Huawei-created bloatware caused the update to fail. Don't know what the policy is now. So I'd keep backups of removed bloatware. (I think that the OTA was trying to update one of the missing bloatware but there was no option to ignore the error and continue with simply the OS upgrade.)
bloodbath said:
Hello. I just purchased the US version of the Honor 7x, but really hate having apps like Instagram and Facebook on my phone. I don't use them. If I root my phone, is it possible to remove these apps and maybe a few unused Google apps and still receive any future OTA? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't apply OTA even if you unroot after root without even touching system apps. This is the case with 7X.
It's not the removing of bloat that causes problems with OTA's. It's what you have to do in order to remove bloat which is rooting the phone. Rooting modifies the system data which then fails the check performed when an OTA tries to install. Rooting modifies the system partition and adding twrp modifies the boot partition. So as of now doing anything other than unlocking the bootloader will give you problems whenever we get official OTA.
SVR said:
You can't apply OTA even if you unroot after root without even touching system apps. This is the case with 7X.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
str8stryk3r said:
It's not the removing of bloat that causes problems with OTA's. It's what you have to do in order to remove bloat which is rooting the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's unfortunate. It has been many years since the Mate2 but I don't recall it being as restrictive back then. If I recall correctly, I was able to leave the phone rooted as long I restored stock bootloader and stock recovery. But the OTA failed when it was trying to update one or more of the Huawei apps so I only had to restore the boatware from TB.
I guess I should keep backups of all stock images before rooting. Thanks for the info.
This is very disheartening to hear. With the new additions (e. g. Facial recognition) supposedly incorporated into the next update, I would like to keep OTA. The other items taking up space on my phone is very annoying though. Oh well, I guess the apps aren't a big issue for now. I just wish Huawei would have let us choose our own apps.
bloodbath said:
This is very disheartening to hear. With the new additions (e. g. Facial recognition) supposedly incorporated into the next update, I would like to keep OTA. The other items taking up space on my phone is very annoying though. Oh well, I guess the apps aren't a big issue for now. I just wish Huawei would have let us choose our own apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well eventually/hopefully, we'll get some devs to pick up development on the device where twrp, root, and custom roms will let us get our phones to the way we want them. I stayed away from twrp and rooting just for that reason. I just disabled all the crap they added that I don't use
str8stryk3r said:
Well eventually/hopefully, we'll get some devs to pick up development on the device where twrp, root, and custom roms will let us get our phones to the way we want them. I stayed away from twrp and rooting just for that reason. I just disabled all the crap they added that I don't use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeing that the initial popularity and price point for the quality of phone have been positive so far, I do think that will happen. I too am staying away until it occurs. I have ignored the apps I don't like for now, but truly miss apps like Adaway and Titanium Backup, which require root. Oh well, soon hopefully.
I have been able to remove a few apps
I've been rooting phones since the original (G1), but I've now arrived at the point where rooting is no longer the irresistible desire it used to be. I know heavily skinned versions of Android like EMUI & MIUI are not for everyone, but I actually enjoy them. I'm patiently waiting for the OTA. Once Oreo arrives, I might consider rooting, but I'm in no rush.
There are some apps you can uninstall without root.
You can uninstall third party apps like Facebook, that was the first thing I did
I haven't rooted or installed twrp yet until the L24 releases the stock firmware but as another user stated you can remove some of the third party apps. The ones that Huawei made system apps that can't be removed without root are the ones that would give problems with the ota like the stock launcher and the Sim toolkits and other various crap. I wish they would hurry up with the stock firmware release because there are some things I'd like to do that require root
U can remove the blotware without rooting by using adb ..
Just follow the link
sivaukxc said:
U can remove the blotware without rooting by using adb ..
Just follow the link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But again, removing system apps could cause the ota to fail if one of those apps tries to get updated and it's not there

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