Hi,
I recently purchased a used Galaxy Nexus which came with root, CWM, and the stock 4.2.2 ROM. I tried searching and couldn't find a direct answer so I'm hoping someone can help me with the following question.
Can I flash the next available Verizon Stock Image using the custom CWM recovery? I would be getting the factory image from the Google Developers Site.
I'm used to flashing custom ROMs where I would wipe and flash, but I'm not sure if this works for factory images. I would like to keep root and CWM, but just want to flash images from Google rather than wait for Verizon's OTA push.
Sorry for the noob question.
Peter
factory images dont work like that. you flash them from fastboot/bootloader
but lets think for a moment.
what is root?
essentially it is comprised of superuser.apk and an su binary
that su binary is installed to /system
when you install ANY rom, that rom will wipe and take over /SYSTEM
how exactly would you retain root access that way unless that su binary is included in the /system image?
you can flash the system image from the stock factory image files (extract it out and in fastboot/bootloader mode, run 'fastboot flash system nameofsystemimg.img', that wont touch your recovery partition
then you can just re-root it by flashing the superuser.zip from CWM
in case of a bootloop after rebooting, just boot back into recovery and do 'factory reset' ( you will lose all your installed apps/settings/sms/call log/etc)
Thanks for the detailed explanation, it was very helpful. Just to make sure I'm clear, ROMs which are flashed that don't make you lose root access are the ones with the SU Binaries built in? e.g. Cyanogenmod.
I believe there was a version of Android 4.2.2 which was released which was geared towards rooted users. I'm assuming this is a modified version of the factory image. Is that also correct?
There are quite a bit of 4.2.2 roms, and all the roms on here are rooted, unless you were to just install the factory image.
I recommend just flashing the google factory image, then flash a recovery.img that is TWRP or ClockworkRecoveryMod (Do this in command line or if you wanna risk it, a toolkit) and flash a supersu.zip from chainfire.
peterwong26 said:
Thanks for the detailed explanation, it was very helpful. Just to make sure I'm clear, ROMs which are flashed that don't make you lose root access are the ones with the SU Binaries built in? e.g. Cyanogenmod.
I believe there was a version of Android 4.2.2 which was released which was geared towards rooted users. I'm assuming this is a modified version of the factory image. Is that also correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root is only applicable to the OS itself so yes ROMs already contain the necessary binary and apk
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Related
I do not have access to any PC, whether its windows, Linux or mac. All I have is my chromebook. With that said, is there any way to install the stock recovery back to my nexus device without the use of a pc? I currently have TWRP installed, but just got prompted to update to 6.0, and would like to install it. Any suggestions?
timrock said:
I do not have access to any PC, whether its windows, Linux or mac. All I have is my chromebook. With that said, is there any way to install the stock recovery back to my nexus device without the use of a pc? I currently have TWRP installed, but just got prompted to update to 6.0, and would like to install it. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need a copy of the stock recovery image, which you should be able to pull from a factory image.
Once you have that, you should be able to flash it from within TWRP itself (be careful - if you do this, once you exit TWRP, you'll only have the stock recovery until TWRP is re-flashed), or you can use the flashify app if you are rooted.
There are some things to consider though - are you rooted and/or have made any modifications to the /system partitiion? If so, an OTA will likely fail even if the stock recovery is re-installed. If you're rooted, I'd say just wait patiently on a stock (or near-stock) rooted flashable ROM, and upgrade that way by just flashing in TWRP. I believe there are 1 or 2 options for this already in the forums here, and I'm sure more will be coming soon, along with updates to the many custom ROMS out there.
If you do successfully flash stock recovery and successfully accept/install the 6.0 OTA, you'll eventually need access to a PC with fastboot to get TWRP back and/or root the device again, so that's also a consideration for many users.
Hi guys, the last time I rooted my 5X was a very long time ago when I did a "traditional" root by using a modified boot.img. I checked out Heisenberg's guide to rooting thread and I no longer see references to systemless root or modified boot.img files. Is the current rooting method no longer requiring these things? Is the only root now systemless? I would like to update to the most recent stock rom and then re-root. Thanks.
When you install SuperSU (through TWRP) it will detect your nexus 5x needs systemless root and on the fly it will patch your boot.img (and backup your original boot.img to /data).
It will also install /data/su.img which is a mountable image containing SuperSUs main files.
If you do a factory reset, it will wipe out /data (and thus su.img) so you'll lose root, but you will still have the patched boot.img (meaning dm-verity verifying of /system and /vendor is disabled, /data is not forceencrypt, and some se contexts were adjusted)
To reinstall root in the case of factory reset, just reinstall SuperSU-*.zip. It will complain that it can't restore your boot.img (because it was also wiped out by the factory reset) but by that time everything has been installed to get root back so it'll just work.
Also, one other thing, you need to actually install twrp.img into the recovery partition (fastboot flash recovery twrp.img) rather than just taking the shortcut of doing fastboot boot twrp.img or twrp won't be able to decrypt your /data partition.
Thanks @sfhub. So sounds like the answer is yes SuperSU will only install the systemless root if you're on the 5x.
Is there anything else I would need to do in order to finalize the "systemless" portion of the root?
I.e. delete the /data/SU.img or something?
also - is there a way to know if my root is "systemless" or not? does the systemless route not have a supersu application installed?
Since I have the traditional root, ie using an old modified boot.img, should I just wipe my device and flash the newest firmware from adb? I'd like to keep everything in tact a go stock rooted on newest software but I'm worried I will brick my phone going from the traditional root to systemless method. Thoughts?
SeriesOfTubes said:
Since I have the traditional root, ie using an old modified boot.img, should I just wipe my device and flash the newest firmware from adb? I'd like to keep everything in tact a go stock rooted on newest software but I'm worried I will brick my phone going from the traditional root to systemless method. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably have systemless root already. The modified boot image was required until CF make it so SuperSU patched the boot on install. Anyway, thats kind of irrelevant now that you plan on updating.
The quickest way to update is to to flash the latest factory images. This is done in fastboot mode and with the tool called, you guessed it, fastboot. ADB and fastboot are not the same thing. ADB only works when booted up or in recovery. Fastboot only works in... fastboot mode. :good:
You can update without losing any of your installed application or data. To do this you need to edit one line in the flash-all.bat file (Windows) or the flash-all.sh file (Linux/Mac). This flash-all file is located in the tarball that contains the factory images. You simply need to remove the -w near the end of this file. So from...
this:
Code:
fastboot -w update image-bullhead-xxx##x.zip
to this:
Code:
fastboot update image-bullhead-xxx##x.zip
That way userdata is not wiped when you run the flash-all file.
To re-root I suggest you follow the guide HERE. Note that flashing the factory images will wipeout either of the root styles you may have at the moment.
EDIT: Obviously you need to reflash TWRP to flash SuperSU or any other flashable zip. If you aren't interested in Android Pay, you dont need to follow the instructions in the link i posted above. Simply flash the latest SuperSU.
EDIT 1: If you want to decript, might as well do it straight away. No sense in setting everything up that then wiping it out. Remember this is done by formatting data. You can do it just after flashing TWRP from within TWRP. Note wiping data and formatting data are two separate things.
Good luck.
Thanks for all the help, you guys are awesome.
Hi,
I've just bought a Nexus 5X and wanted to root it with systemless method for being able to get OTA in futur.
I've booted to TWRP to flash SuperSU zip but I've made the mistake to use the slider when TWRP ask if I want to keep the system as read only.
Is there an easy way to revert back without the reflashing the rom ?
And is there a way to boot to TWRP from android (if i keep the. .img on my phone) ?
Thank you
Sebacestmoi said:
Hi,
I've just bought a Nexus 5X and wanted to root it with systemless method for being able to get OTA in futur.
I've booted to TWRP to flash SuperSU zip but I've made the mistake to use the slider when TWRP ask if I want to keep the system as read only.
Is there an easy way to revert back without the reflashing the rom ?
And is there a way to boot to TWRP from android (if i keep the. .img on my phone) ?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you had TWRP touch your /system in R/W mode even if it made no changes, the system partition is tainted (there is meta-data that changed)
The only practical way to get back to untainted /system is to flash the stock system.img. The flashing is simple, but it might take a little time to download the factory image and extract the system.img.
I usually keep twrp in the recovery partition, probably chainfire has something to boot twrp directly. I do know that if you boot twrp over usb there is a problem where it doesn't accept your pin/pattern/pass to decrypt the user partition. I don't know if it suffers the same problem through other booting methods.
BTW even with systemless root, you cannot flash the differential OTA you receive over the air directly. You need to restore the stock boot.img before flashing the OTA.
The FULL OTA you get from the factory image website, on the other hand, can flash over anything, regardless of whether you have boot, system, or vendor modified.
Thank you for the clear answer
Sebacestmoi said:
Hi,
I've just bought a Nexus 5X and wanted to root it with systemless method for being able to get OTA in futur.
I've booted to TWRP to flash SuperSU zip but I've made the mistake to use the slider when TWRP ask if I want to keep the system as read only.
Is there an easy way to revert back without the reflashing the rom ?
And is there a way to boot to TWRP from android (if i keep the. .img on my phone) ?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The command
Code:
[I]fastboot boot <img file name>[/I]
will boot twrp from your computer with out having to install it.
So I have a Play Store Pixel XL running stock 7.1.1, rooted, with TWRP 3.0.2-0-RC1 recovery.
Most upgrade guides I've read seem to assume stock recovery, or no root to start, or some such.
What do I need to do to get to Stock Android O, rooted? If I need to wipe the phone I can, but I'd prefer not to if I can avoid it.
Thanks!
If you don't want to wipe just update through factory image, just open the factory zip, open flash-all file and remove "-w" from last line, then execute it (update without wipe)
But I suggest to flash the stock factory image with the "-w" to make a clean install, flashing major release like 7.x -> 8.x is always better wipe to avoid potential issues.
But yes, you can first give a try without wipe and only if you find bugs try wiping. Your choice.
simply flash the OTA, then re-root
xraystyle said:
So I have a Play Store Pixel XL running stock 7.1.1, rooted, with TWRP 3.0.2-0-RC1 recovery.
Most upgrade guides I've read seem to assume stock recovery, or no root to start, or some such.
What do I need to do to get to Stock Android O, rooted? If I need to wipe the phone I can, but I'd prefer not to if I can avoid it.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use full unroot in supersu. Then take ota. Then root again after upgrading to O
Thanks for the help everyone, you pointed be in the right direction.
In the event that it might help someone else, here's what I ended up doing:
1. I downloaded the OTA, booted into the TWRP I had currently installed, and then sideloaded the OTA.
2. I used ADB to push the newest TWRP flashable zip, the latest SuperSU, and the latest SU-Hide to /sdcard on the device.
3. I then used the most recent TWRP bootable img, booted into it with fastboot, and used it to flash the TWRP zip I had previously pushed to the phone storage. I then had the OTA with the latest TWRP installed on the phone.
4. Finally, I rebooted to recovery on the phone (latest TWRP now instead of stock), and flashed SuperSU and SU-Hide.
I'm now stock, rooted, on O. No wipe necessary, kept all my apps and data. So far the OS itself has been entirely stable. I had an issue or two with a few apps after the upgrade, but those were fixed with a quick re-install. Except for Better Terminal Emulator Pro, seems it doesn't want to work on Oreo and it's no longer under active development. It's fine though, there's other terminal emulators out there.
Thanks again for the help!
xraystyle said:
3. I then used the most recent TWRP bootable img, booted into it with fastboot, and used it to flash the TWRP zip I had previously pushed to the phone storage. I then had the OTA with the latest TWRP installed on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of TWRP do you have TWRP working with Oreo 8.0?
I can boot into the modded TWRP 3.1 (fastboot boot twrp-3-1-pixel-bootable-mod.img) but AFAIK there is no working flashable recovery for 8.0 yet.
quick question, are the steps the same for stock root 7.1.2? I've never installed twrp. I've fastbooted to it to root and that's it. I'm familiar with that as I've sideloaded all the ota security updates and the re-rooted.
my main question is su-hide required? I have never done it and have no reason to that I'm aware of. Seems all the guides I see involve su-hide and flashing kernels etc. I've never changed kernels since having the pixel. Really just want root for adaway.
I plan to do a clean install of O and then hope to root with fastboot twrp to flash supersu.
gordonlw said:
quick question, are the steps the same for stock root 7.1.2? I've never installed twrp. I've fastbooted to it to root and that's it. I'm familiar with that as I've sideloaded all the ota security updates and the re-rooted.
my main question is su-hide required? I have never done it and have no reason to that I'm aware of. Seems all the guides I see involve su-hide and flashing kernels etc. I've never changed kernels since having the pixel. Really just want root for adaway.
I plan to do a clean install of O and then hope to root with fastboot twrp to flash supersu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's how I did it. I don't use suhide.
Does the -w in the .bat file format or wipe the data? I want a clean clean , o-fresh in the morning feeling kind of wipe
toknitup420 said:
That's how I did it. I don't use suhide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! What I ended up doing:
Decided to try and unroot and take the ota. super-su full unroot would not work. so I fastbooted to the mod twrp and flashed UPDATE-unSU. I then took the ota. then fastbooted to mod twrp and flashed super-su. worked perfect!
Hey all,
I'm trying to better understand what I'm doing with my phone here. Currently I have my OP3 rooted (aka unlocked bootloader, correct?) and on 8.0.0.
1. If I wanted to keep it rooted and reinstall the OS, is this as simple as downloading whichever ROM I want, copying it to my phone's internal storage, and flashing it in recovery using TWRP?
2. Is stock recovery (recovery_OP3.img on the oneplus.net website) the same part of the software as TWRP? As in the stock recovery is locked bootloader and TWRP is unlocked bootloader?
3. I've been searching for the most recent root guide, can I get a recommendation? I've read that SuperSU is not the thing to use any longer, but rather Magisk. Correct?
4. What is boot.img?
Thanks all
Shoruk3n said:
Hey all,
I'm trying to better understand what I'm doing with my phone here. Currently I have my OP3 rooted (aka unlocked bootloader, correct?) and on 8.0.0.
1. If I wanted to keep it rooted and reinstall the OS, is this as simple as downloading whichever ROM I want, copying it to my phone's internal storage, and flashing it in recovery using TWRP?
2. Is stock recovery (recovery_OP3.img on the oneplus.net website) the same part of the software as TWRP? As in the stock recovery is locked bootloader and TWRP is unlocked bootloader?
3. I've been searching for the most recent root guide, can I get a recommendation? I've read that SuperSU is not the thing to use any longer, but rather Magisk. Correct?
4. What is boot.img?
Thanks all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If you switch roms, always do a clean install (wipe all partitions) . If you want to get rid off all the mods wipe system and flash the same rom + gapps + root. You won't loose data since you are only modifying the system partition.
2. Stock recovery by Oneplus is as if says stock, you littery can't do anything with it apart from upgrading your OOS, wiping cache partitions and doing a factory reset. I do recommend the TWRP provided by Bluspark since that seems to be the only one I tried without any issues whatsoever.
3. Magisk is the new root method in my opinion, it supports Magisk modules which simply are mods that can be installed and removed with a single click (reboot required tho). You can compare it to xposed but very limited when compared.
4. Boot.img is your kernel, never flash standalone img files apart from TWRP since the kernel modifies more the only the boot img. Always flash the full zip.