Develop Bugs

[Q] Can you unroot without using a PC?

I'm new and I hope I'm not posting this in the wrong place or re-posting an old question, but I have been searching on this and other sites for days and haven't been able to find anything pertaining to my question, so sorry in advance If I'm not posting this correctly.
I have a rooted epic touch with rogue boot loader installed and UnNamed rom installed. I really liked the way it was running until I had some kind of malfunction happened and now the battery charge light won't shut off and the battery drains within a couple hours of standby time. the phone is only a couple months old and would like to take it to the sprint store as I'm assuming this is an obvious hardware issue. My problem is that my pc doesn't recognize my phone anymore so I can't flash back to stock and get rid of root, voiding my warranty. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling kies and stand alone drivers multiple times with no avail. I've tried with the battery and sd card removed and have also tried on multiple pc's (2 win7 and and xp machine). every time it says the drivers weren't installed successfully and to replace the device being connected.
My question: Is there a way to revert to stock off of the internal memory of the phone? I know there are zip roms you can flash from the boot loader but I was wondering if there was a way to flash a rom from zip and install the original boot loader as well as get rid of root? Any help I can get would be extremely appreciated and again I apologize if I am wasting anyone's time by asking in the wrong place or re-asking a question.

Ok so I downloaded the Calkin's_Stock_Rooted_EK02_ROM_v1.0 and got it on my sd card via dropbox. Flashed and now have a stock rom on it which I think is a step in the right direction.
The only thing is now I have clockwork boot loader and still rooted. and still not recognizing on pc. anyone know of an unrooted zip with original boot loader?

I couldn't get my PC to recognize either of my 2 E4GT's, each due to a different reason, both issues were resolved by going through each step in sfhub's debugging checklist:
sfhub said:
This post is for the FAQ section:
Why is the install stuck waiting for device to be connected?
Your phone isn't being recognized by your PC as an Android device.
When the drivers are installed and the phone is properly recognized, you should see the following in start->run->devmgmt.msc
Code:
Android Phone
SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface
Modem
SAMSUNG Mobile USB Modem
Until you get the SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface to show up, neither ADB nor this script will work.
Here is a debugging checklist:
1) dial ##UPST# (##8778#) in the dialer and verify AP (or ALL) is checked (if CP is checked, phone won't be recognized as an Android device)
2) restart the ADB server (choose Option G to stop the server, it'll get started automatically by the script)
3) verify USB Debugging is ENABLED
4) verify USB drivers are installed (Win7-64bit see below)
5) try a different usb cable
If you are in Win7-64bit try changing the default install location for the drivers:
If you see an error like this:
Try running the CMD prompt (or e4gtauto-sfx.exe) as Administrator. Right-click on the CMD icon (or e4gtauto-sfx.exe) and select "Run As", then select Administrator.
If that doesn't work, try disabling windows firewall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I went down that list and everything seemed to be in order but still no recognition by pc. I kept uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers and switching usb ports and it finally installed the drivers successfully long enough for odin to recognize it and to flash back to stock. As soon as it was done the machine stopped recognizing it again. Lucky break I guess. So I can now return it to sprint and deal with the hardware issue.
I would still like to find a zip file like the tar that I flashed that installs stock recovery and non rooted ek02 rom and kernel from cwm, if that's even possible.
Thanks Godswrath, for helping me out.

You could use wifi explorer to get files on to sd card and mobile Odin to flash the tar file back to stock....
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Lol....I am a noob.
They make a mobile Odin? That would have saved my like 4 hours....

[Q] Soft bricked i9250 international

Hi and thanks for taking the time to read this
My brother tried to do the update of his nexus through the phone download (not through the sd card or connecting to a computer). Since this it will not start up and if i go to download mode it says that it is downloading constantly (have left for hours).
I can make it to the clockworkmod recovery v6.0.1.0 but unfortunately my brother didnt make a backup before trying to update to 4.2 jellybean.
The unfortunate part of this equation is that i cant access the phone via usb as the drivers wont install and the phone doesnt have an sd card slot except the sim card slot. So placing the correct files on the phone is proving too hard for me to complete.
Sorry if this situation has been covered before but i have searched for about 1.5 hours now to no avail. I would very much appreciate if someone can take me through how to get this phone working in any way possible (i dont care if he loses all data and goes back to stock).
Regards
Sam from New Zealand

samakbuchanan said:
Hi and thanks for taking the time to read this
My brother tried to do the update of his nexus through the phone download (not through the sd card or connecting to a computer). Since this it will not start up and if i go to download mode it says that it is downloading constantly (have left for hours).
I can make it to the clockworkmod recovery v6.0.1.0 but unfortunately my brother didnt make a backup before trying to update to 4.2 jellybean.
The unfortunate part of this equation is that i cant access the phone via usb as the drivers wont install and the phone doesnt have an sd card slot except the sim card slot. So placing the correct files on the phone is proving too hard for me to complete.
Sorry if this situation has been covered before but i have searched for about 1.5 hours now to no avail. I would very much appreciate if someone can take me through how to get this phone working in any way possible (i dont care if he loses all data and goes back to stock).
Regards
Sam from New Zealand
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM recovery offers the ADB interface. I would:
1. get the naked driver package (see Efrant's guide)
2. boot device into recovery and connect usb cable
3. open windows device manager, find your device and manually update the driver
4. use adb to backup the /sdcard to your computer
5. flash 4.2 stock images using fastboot
6. done

Petrovski80 said:
CWM recovery offers the ADB interface. I would:
1. get the naked driver package (see Efrant's guide)
2. boot device into recovery and connect usb cable
3. open windows device manager, find your device and manually update the driver
4. use adb to backup the /sdcard to your computer
5. flash 4.2 stock images using fastboot
6. done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
op, if you just want to get the device to working state again, and dont care about any data:
1. get the naked driver package (see Efrant's guide)
2. boot device into bootloader and connect usb cable
3. open windows device manager, find your device and manually update the driver
5. flash 4.2 stock images using fastboot
step 3 is the same, the same procedure, the same driver; windows is dumb so you have to tell it again when device is in bootloader (which, btw, is NOT the same as download mode).

Hi and thank you for the replies.
I have downloaded the naked driver but cant get it to work. I have followed the steps to make it work but i get to the device manager and there is no option for uninstalling current driver (as it has none currently). It only has update driver software (which if i use windows to search for it cant find any) and properties. The Galaxy Nexus icon in the device manager has the yellow exclamation mark sign on it. I can
When i try to manually find the naked driver it comes up with the following error
Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.
Google Galaxy Nexus ADB Interface
Access Denied.
Where to from here lads, i appreciate the input

samakbuchanan said:
Hi and thank you for the replies.
I have downloaded the naked driver but cant get it to work. I have followed the steps to make it work but i get to the device manager and there is no option for uninstalling current driver (as it has none currently). It only has update driver software (which if i use windows to search for it cant find any) and properties. The Galaxy Nexus icon in the device manager has the yellow exclamation mark sign on it. I can
When i try to manually find the naked driver it comes up with the following error
Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.
Google Galaxy Nexus ADB Interface
Access Denied.
Where to from here lads, i appreciate the input
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you're using windows 7, i read something about you need to disable windows digital driver signature check, or something in those lines.
can't help any further on that subject, since i'm a Linux user (Windows knowledge is very limited) and also that is an operating system's issue and would be better discussed in a Windows forum, IMO.

bk201doesntexist said:
if you're using windows 7, i read something about you need to disable windows digital driver signature check, or something in those lines.
can't help any further on that subject, since i'm a Linux user (Windows knowledge is very limited) and also that is an operating system's issue and would be better discussed in a Windows forum, IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for another helpful reply! Yes i am using windows 7 - i will try to perform the task now - results soon. In the meantime if anyone else knows instructions on how to do this i would love to hear

I am at work and dont have administrator settings on windows 7 so i went to an older computer and started fastboot.exe. I went to recover and there was the IP address of the computer went to that and recovered. From there i went to reboot and now i am just getting a Google in the middle of the phone (as before). I will wait some time to see if it will start up now. If not what is my plan?

So i havent got any closer to having a usable phone.
Im up to this step:
"flash 4.2 stock images using fastboot" how do i do this? i have fastboot and i have the stock image

samakbuchanan said:
So i havent got any closer to having a usable phone.
Im up to this step:
"flash 4.2 stock images using fastboot" how do i do this? i have fastboot and i have the stock image
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[HOW-TO] [GSM & CDMA] Return to stock for ALL Galaxy Nexus phones (latest JOP40C)

Thanks for that i had since found that and have printed it and will work through each step methodically. I have the stock image on download.
I have spent the best part of my working day on it now. Fingers crossed it all works out.
Thanks to all who have helped me through this far

Tab 3 SM-T210(wi-fi) flash / odin issue

Hi all,
I got given this Tab3 because the smd power socket connection guts were physically broken inside socket.
Fitted new power socket (I'm an electronics repair engineer by trade) and checked all pcb (printed circuit board) tracks leading from new fitted socket to ensure there were no hidden breaks ...... new socket refit was 100% successful .....with no solder shorts / bridges and no broken tracks leading to mainboard.
I left Tab3 on charge overnight and next day switched Tab3 on only to be greeted with dreaded .PBL and .PIT failed issue.
After extensive (days!) research I gathered together all necessary firmware and tools and decided that its an easy firmware fix if flashed to an original Samsung SM-T210 UK firmware.
(Please note I dont know past history of this Tab3 .... I dont know if it was rooted / upgraded firmware etc ..... I doubt it though as it belonged to a 7 year old)
Big issue ..... Odin flash tool won't show coms port connection on PC via USB (have tried 3 different laptops one with XP, one with Win7 32bit and another with Win7 64 bit. I've installed / uninstalled / reinstalled multiple Samsung usb drivers that were verified to work with my Tab3 SM-T210 model on each PC .... no joy. Even installed / uninstalled / reinstalled Kies from Samsung .... still wont connect when Tab3 is in download mode. Have kept PC device manager open and nothing appears in device manager. Also have tried 6 different makes of Usb A to micro Usb cables. Have disabled all antivirus, UAC, firewall and Win defender etc ... still no go!
When I go into download mode (power + Vol- +Home buttons) a warning screen does appear BUT it only shows right hand side of graphic warning ..... left hand side is totally grey from top to bottom. (LCD screen is not faulty as it displays full screen info on failed .pbl / .pit flash memory checks) When I then select Vol+ this vertical half graphic info and half grey screen disappears just leaving the backlight on .... which I assume means Tab3 is in proper download mode?
I can go to all recovery modes which allows me to factory reset and delete user cache etc .... it seems to go through the proper routines of reset but upon restart .pbl and .pit failed error in red memory check list is still there.
I can also try and flash firmware file from external sd micro card .... Tab 3 recognises firmware OK and shows Install ..../SD, but then after approx 5 minutes it restarts to failed .pbl /.pit error list again.
Apologies for long post, but from reading above issues can anyone please confirm ....
1) Is half graphic normal when going into download mode? .... or does this point to a previous incorrect or unfinished flash issue?
2) I have downloaded proper .pit flash (LT02) file and original firmware flash for my Tab3 ..... can I flash this any other way other than using Odin ....eg is there any bdm flash method (direct hard wired) flash method to motherboard from external programmer ....like they use for car ecu flash recovery?
3) As I dont know exactly whether Tab3 was rooted / flashed with wrong firmware / incomplete flash upgrade, is there a software tool that can attempt to list what firmware is on my Tab3 at present?
4) I can get into ADB recovery within recovery mode but havent a clue how to use this method .... is this a possible recovery method to use, as I can see SMT210 ADB device in PC device manager when going into recovery mode?
many thanks in advance for help, :good:
Tab3SMD
OK all, here's more info .......AND another additional issue!
I got stuck back in again tonight because not knowing anything about Tab3 ADB recovery mode was bugging me, so here's what extra I've done so far
While "poking my nose" into tonnes more Xda forum troubleshooting guides I discovered I might need PitMagic tool to try and sort my .Pit partition error via ADB recovery mode.
I tried to find Pitmagic but discovered this is now part of EFS Professional, so downloaded EFS Pro and found this got me nowhere as I needed to also install Android SDK .... which also requires Java Development kit, so I downloaded the full Android Studio and Java JDK 8u91 and installed all (about 1.2Gb and requires ~ 4.2Gb hard drive space!)
Anyway, I now ran Android Studio and then ran EFS Professional, opened my Tab3 into ADB recovery mode and connected Tab3 and PC via usb .....
All looking good EFS reported
Initialising ADB server ..... Okay.
ADB server is running!
Searching for device..... OK
Connecting to device .....OK
Checking device status .....
THEN BAMMMM ....popup from EFS
Connected device is currently UNKNOWN
Please ensure ADB server has been authorised by the connected device by confirming your PC's RSA fingerprint, then press OK to continue
like, wtf! .... one step forward and 6 back!
Can anyone please tell me what this means or better still how to proceed from here?

Anyone?
Anyone??? .....Tab3 is still soft-bricked
I did figure out how to use ADB flash recovery mode using PC.
Unfortunately this also did not allow me to flash any firmware (original or custom) due to admin permissions
(I think this is due to USB debugging not activated within Developer options).
I'm sorta banging my head off the wall with this one .... a bit like what came first? egg or chicken?, because since Odin isn't being recognised by the PC, I cannot flash rom and even though the PC fully communicates with Tab 3 in ADB mode, it won't allow me permission to sideload any flash files because I reckon I need root based permissions, and since the darn thing isn't booting fully, I cannot manually change anything!
I then started thinking about trying to sneak around this permissions issue by flashing CWM or TWRP, but again flash fails due to no permission.
All in all, for me this has been a great learning experience tackling the multiple Android recovery modes, and since I feel so close to cracking this non boot issue, I hate to give up and bin it.
Perhaps someone with much more experience can please help me here?
Is there any way of forcing superuser status on this Tab 3 SM-T210, so as to allow me to flash stock rom via ADB recovery mode?
many thanks in advance for your help,
Tab3SMD

Help usb and fastboot not reconized

I am getting a Unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed) It keep telling me usb device not recognized while being plugged it. I have tried several things
1. another windows 10 computer worked the first time then same error as a laptop.
2. unintalled the driver and rebooted.
3. also used multiple usb ports
cant find anything after searching
pixel 2 xl 8.0 September update
rooted lastest magisk 15.3
latest twrp installed
stock kernel
recently a fresh install a few days ago because i got it to work somehow but not anymore what do i do?
adb, fastboot, and storage cannot be accessed

Try these steps:
-uninstall previous version of SDK tools from PC
-download latest SDK Tools from HERE
-have a USB 2.0 cable available
-follow these steps to verify connectivity
see if these things help
Unless there is a specific reason you're still on Sept 8.0, I'd take this chance and upgrade to lasts 8.1 factory image.

evanxalmighty said:
I am getting a Unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed) It keep telling me usb device not recognized while being plugged it. I have tried several things
1. another windows 10 computer worked the first time then same error as a laptop.
2. unintalled the driver and rebooted.
3. also used multiple usb ports
cant find anything after searching
pixel 2 xl 8.0 September update
rooted lastest magisk 15.3
latest twrp installed
stock kernel
recently a fresh install a few days ago because i got it to work somehow but not anymore what do i do?
adb, fastboot, and storage cannot be accessed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just spitballing here but....
With phone plugged in, on your pc, under device manage. When you open it up do you see unknown android device? That driver may need to be updated. Also, USB debugging is on, and the option to transfer files? Is your SDK platform-tools up to date?

I forgot to mention downloaded the platform tool for both computers. I never updated because i had root and nothing new was that interested enough to start all over. I followed the steps and nothing usb debugging is on. In device manager its says Unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed). I cant transfer files or anything. I tried updating to the google driver but it said it wasnt compatible.

I haven't seen it with this phone yet, but try changing the USB mode on your phone from the notification; I've had a few phones that refuse to work in specific modes.

evanxalmighty said:
I forgot to mention downloaded the platform tool for both computers. I never updated because i had root and nothing new was that interested enough to start all over. I followed the steps and nothing usb debugging is on. In device manager its says Unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed). I cant transfer files or anything. I tried updating to the google driver but it said it wasnt compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried a different USB-C-A cable just for the heck of it. May have to factory reset and see if that solves it.

evanxalmighty said:
I forgot to mention downloaded the platform tool for both computers. I never updated because i had root and nothing new was that interested enough to start all over. I followed the steps and nothing usb debugging is on. In device manager its says Unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed). I cant transfer files or anything. I tried updating to the google driver but it said it wasnt compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your driver is messed up. Did you use the driver below?
https://dl-ssl.google.com//android/repository/latest_usb_driver_windows.zip
Sent from my taimen using XDA Labs

It won't let me install the driver I get some kind of error when selecting it. I was able to get it to work after plugging it in and out. Now that I updated to 8.1 everything was fine untill I got home. Now it's doing it again. I tried 2 different cables restarted my computer and laptop and can't figure out why it was working fine before without doing anything different.

Try this:
1. Go to C:\Windows\INF
2. Find the file "wpdmtp.inf"
3. Right click the file and click 'Install'
4. Once that is done, simply plug your phone and it should work.

JimSmith94 said:
Try this:
1. Go to C:\Windows\INF
2. Find the file "wpdmtp.inf"
3. Right click the file and click 'Install'
4. Once that is done, simply plug your phone and it should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This definitely worked for me -- Thanks for posting!

I am having sort of the same problem. I was on Android 11 on my 2xl, rooted with fast boot boot twrp.Img and installed magisk and super super, all latest. I could not get gaps so I used Android flash tool to attempt to go back stock and it downloaded and flashed it but it is now stuck in loop, I reboot to recovery and it’s stock now and it will not be recognized by adb or fast boot,!0plesase help

No ADB. No TWRP. No Magisk. Am I screwed?

Basically, I installed Havoc OS, tried flashing a couple kernels, kept getting systemui crashes, so I decided to dirty flash HavocOS again, and forgot to flash TWRP again before I exited TWRP.
Next, I boot back into my phone, opened Magisk Manager to find that Magisk is not installed, just the manager. I can't install Magisk as I have no TWRP...Which leads me to my next point, trying to boot into recovery brings me no avail as I forgot to flash TWRP. I have zero recovery right now.
Thirdly, HavocOS Suffers from the whole issue of needing SELinux set to permissive, for ADB to work...I can't do that, because I don't have Magisk/root.
Please tell me that someone has an idea here? I'd like to get TWRP back, or back to 100% stock and I can start over, or something other than a custom rom with serious SystemUI crashes and no root...
SOS!

This is not even close to a softbrick. Just boot TWRP using Fastboot and flash the zip from inside TWRP to install it. Also, there are various other solutions to fix your problem. Another one would be to simply use Deuces Recovery Script and go back to Stock.

As d-m-x stated boot twrp with fastboot boot not fastboot flash. Twrp will load into the phone then you can flash twrp and magisk.

I'd tried Fastboot already, will try again momentarily though.

D-m-x said:
This is not even close to a softbrick. Just boot TWRP using Fastboot and flash the zip from inside TWRP to install it. Also, there are various other solutions to fix your problem. Another one would be to simply use Deuces Recovery Script and go back to Stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fastboot hasn't worked either. Unless I'm doing something wrong, but I just get "waiting for any device" despite having adb on/off, being in bootloader/fastboot mode or being booted into android, etc.

For Fastboot to work you have to be in the Bootloader Menu. How did you unlock and root your Phone in the first place? That should have taken you through those steps.
Anyways, it's likely that the computer just doesn't recognize the phone. Connect it and go into your Device Manager and see if it's properly recognized. If not install the correct USB Drivers and try again. If everything is set up correctly you can type "fastboot devices" while in the bootloader and you should see your Devices address which means it is connected and ready. Then boot TWRP as stated and install the zip from within.

D-m-x said:
For Fastboot to work you have to be in the Bootloader Menu. How did you unlock and root your Phone in the first place? That should have taken you through those steps.
Anyways, it's likely that the computer just doesn't recognize the phone. Connect it and go into your Device Manager and see if it's properly recognized. If not install the correct USB Drivers and try again. If everything is set up correctly you can type "fastboot devices" while in the bootloader and you should see your Devices address which means it is connected and ready. Then boot TWRP as stated and install the zip from within.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloader is unlocked etc. I initially did everything using the P2XLToolskit 2.0
You're correct, I think its simply a case of the PC not recognizing the device. I've already checked device manager, and it's not properly installing the device. I've multiple times tried reinstalling the universal driver, and various other fixes. I think it relates to the whole issue of HavocOS being screwy about USB. Many people have reported issues with USB recognition issues when ADB is turned on. The consensus from how I understand it, is that ADB ON = Phone won't be recognized. ADB OFF = Device should be recognized for file/data transfer...However even with ADB off my PC is still not installing drivers properly / recognizing the device.
The Device Manager lists my device as "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)"
Also tried:
1. Go to C:\Windows\INF
2. Find the file "wpdmtp.inf"
3. Right click the file and click 'Install'
4. Once that is done, simply plug your phone and it should work.
^ did not work.

Dragostini said:
Bootloader is unlocked etc. I initially did everything using the P2XLToolskit 2.0
You're correct, I think its simply a case of the PC not recognizing the device. I've already checked device manager, and it's not properly installing the device. I've multiple times tried reinstalling the universal driver, and various other fixes. I think it relates to the whole issue of HavocOS being screwy about USB. Many people have reported issues with USB recognition issues when ADB is turned on. The consensus from how I understand it, is that ADB ON = Phone won't be recognized. ADB OFF = Device should be recognized for file/data transfer...However even with ADB off my PC is still not installing drivers properly / recognizing the device.
The Device Manager lists my device as "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)"
Also tried:
1. Go to C:\Windows\INF
2. Find the file "wpdmtp.inf"
3. Right click the file and click 'Install'
4. Once that is done, simply plug your phone and it should work.
^ did not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried different USB A to USB C cables and ports?

Dragostini said:
Bootloader is unlocked etc. I initially did everything using the P2XLToolskit 2.0
You're correct, I think its simply a case of the PC not recognizing the device. I've already checked device manager, and it's not properly installing the device. I've multiple times tried reinstalling the universal driver, and various other fixes. I think it relates to the whole issue of HavocOS being screwy about USB. Many people have reported issues with USB recognition issues when ADB is turned on. The consensus from how I understand it, is that ADB ON = Phone won't be recognized. ADB OFF = Device should be recognized for file/data transfer...However even with ADB off my PC is still not installing drivers properly / recognizing the device.
The Device Manager lists my device as "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)"
Also tried:
1. Go to C:\Windows\INF
2. Find the file "wpdmtp.inf"
3. Right click the file and click 'Install'
4. Once that is done, simply plug your phone and it should work.
^ did not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try these troubleshooting steps:
- make sure you're running the LATEST SDK Tools
- Try diff USB cables (switch from 2.0 to 3.0, or vice versa)
- Try a diff USB port
- Make sure you're in the proper fastboot folder with the fastboot application
- Boot into bootloader type fastboot devices see if you get a serial number
In my sig is a link for troubleshooting, and step by step that includes links to get latest SDK Tools.
If all else fails, I'd reco a fresh factory image install and get back to your cust Rom from there, rather than spend a day or two chasing ghosts.
Good luck!

Az Biker said:
Try these troubleshooting steps:
- make sure you're running the LATEST SDK Tools
- Try diff USB cables (switch from 2.0 to 3.0, or vice versa)
- Try a diff USB port
- Make sure you're in the proper fastboot folder with the fastboot application
- Boot into bootloader type fastboot devices see if you get a serial number
In my sig is a link for troubleshooting, and step by step that includes links to get latest SDK Tools.
If all else fails, I'd reco a fresh factory image install and get back to your cust Rom from there, rather than spend a day or two chasing ghosts.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spoke with Google; getting the phone RMA. Blatantly told the guy it was rooted previously, bootloader unlocked, and running a custom ROM. He said it didn't matter. I will report back on this thread once I have new phone in hand, just to confirm all went well.

Reporting back.
Brought phone to virgin mobile, obviously still heavily modified.
Was given a loaner phone. Signed a paper saying I'd pay 150 for the loaner if it broke. Broke loaner screen same day.
Just picked up a brand new pixel 2 xl they shipped (phone only) because mine was considered unrepairable. I was charged 169 for the loaner phone, to my account with virgin. No cash transaction.
All in all, they honoured googles view of not minding the modifications so long as it's an issue they don't feel is related.
Cheers.