Hypothetical data wiping question before I root!

Hypothetical data wiping question before I root! - Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A

I'm going to root my nexus, but the only thing making me hesitant is if for instance, the device were to fail on me in such a way that I could not flash stock firmware and wipe my private data off it.. I'd want to ensure my private info was wiped.
Say the power button were to fail... and I couldn't then boot it into recovery mode, I wouldn't mind paying for a repair/etc as it would be rooted, but I'm really hesitant about sending off a device with my pictures/data on it. So I was wondering what methods there are to wipe data from the flash memory without drowning the entire thing in water if I were to be left with a faulty device! aha
Thanks

iamtherealmungo said:
I'm going to root my nexus, but the only thing making me hesitant is if for instance, the device were to fail on me in such a way that I could not flash stock firmware and wipe my private data off it.. I'd want to ensure my private info was wiped.
Say the power button were to fail... and I couldn't then boot it into recovery mode, I wouldn't mind paying for a repair/etc as it would be rooted, but I'm really hesitant about sending off a device with my pictures/data on it. So I was wondering what methods there are to wipe data from the flash memory without drowning the entire thing in water if I were to be left with a faulty device! aha
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To root you'll have to unlock the bootloader, which will erase the device completely. It's the first step, so it should be almost impossible to get your device unbootable without first scrubbing it.

Hello, thanks I'm aware I'll have to wipe my data to root the device but once it is rooted, supposing the power button were to fail I would be unable to boot into recovery mode.. or if the device were to fail and refuse to turn on I would not be able to wipe my personal data or unroot the device?
I'm just wondering what my options would be if that were to happen ? (Although highly unlikely!)

There are al lot of topics about repairing bootlopping, bricked, etc. devices with most often solutions in different threads. But off course you read mostly about problems in those topics which could blur an objective view. But I pre-informed myself a bit before rooting. Off course there is always a risk, but I think the changes on failure are very very slim. If you read and follow nstructions carefully and understand what you're doing. Also about how to do there are great instruction videos.
Main questions: do I need root, do I understand instructions and is it worth the risk (perhaps losing waranty)? I for myself can not have Android anymore without root and rather buy a new Nexus in worst case scenario. Need it for Ad Away, Greenify, Titanium Backup, OTG read and write, Power Toggles, ES Root Explorer, Xposed with Gravitybox and Xtheme Engine, etc.

Related

A Battery Replacement/Back to Stock Question

Hello All,
I've seen multiple threads but none that exactly answered that question I had, two part question actually.
1. So I have a replacement battery waiting for my at a Verizon store. What are the chances they will want to troubleshoot the phoen before making the swap, possibly seeing it's unlocked and rooted, then giving me some textbook well the problem might have been you unlocking your phone and voiding the warranty. Do you think they would check?
2. If it's probable, I would flash back to stock. Now I've done the unlocking and rooting manually as per suggested and had tons of fun flashing new ROMs, bricking, and restoring, but I have yet to do a full flash back to stock/relock. Will this wipe all of my current Nandroid backups or remove CWM? Or is flashing back to stock and relocking, just like any other factory reset/data wipe I do in between ROMS? I'm just curious of the workload I'd have to put in all to flash back to stock for 5 min to swap the battery, then literally flash my next favorite ROM in the parking lot.
I apologize for the newbness, still learning.
Thanks all.

For me what I do is that I restore to stock and wipe so they have no evidence or what you could try and do is go to stock download an app called bootunlocker and lock the phone. You can unlock the bootloader again without wiping. Then to hide the root apps just install a third party launcher with a hidden apps feature.
Galaxy Nexus-codenameandroid rom

Chances are 50/50. They might check hardware and software to see if it is the problem with the battery or just a phone.
Going back to stock using this guide.
Personally, I would do a nandroid first, transfer it to computer, so you won't lose nothing at all when you get it back.

[Q] Urgent help recovering my data...

Hi everyone,
I'm at a loss at the moment as I do not know which way to turn, any help would be greatly appreciated.
so the last 2 years have been pretty eventful for me. I had a number of close relatives pass away and various other important family events take place and all my pictures and videos surround them seem to have disappeared from my HTC One X.
I had the phone connected to a laptop and was in the process of backing up the entire collection when the phone got incredibly hot, froze and restarted on me, to my shock all my videos and pictures where gone once the phone booted back up. I have removed the battery and have not used the phone since, in fear that it may delete/write over any data structures, or remove any chance I have at recovering my files.
Now I am of course a newbie to the HTC one X when it comes to rooting etc but I have done this sorta thing with previous phones in the past so I can work through a guide/root/update if needed.
Having tried many of these generic "recover your data" type software they all seem to require USB Mass Storage Mode. from what I have found and and experienced I can not do this as my android version is 4.1.1 and the option was removed in an update. MTP connection type is how it connects to a PC ( i hope im making sense here as im not sure if im saying that right).
I've spent the last week trying to figure out a way to get the phone to work with mass storage mode but my understanding is a little sketchy.
Is there anyway to recover my data and if so what is the best course of action?
Should I root and upgrade to a custom firmware?
If i do this will this wipe the existing internal storage/ or perhaps remove any chance I have at recovery after the upgrade? I haven't used the phone since as ive read on several threads that the best chance of recovery is to ensure that very little data / no new data is written to the phones internal memory.
I've even considered paying professional data recovery services however they simply do not provide enough information as to what/how they do it and im scared that they may return the phone with no results and also wipe any chance I have at recovery.
any help at all would be greatly appreciated, as at this point i really don't know what else to do.
if someone has a tried and tested method or recovery service they have used please let me know. If it really is too difficult to attempt a recovery myself id be willing to pay for any assistance beyond that.
thanks for any assistance in advance.

.Xenon- said:
Hi everyone,
I'm at a loss at the moment as I do not know which way to turn, any help would be greatly appreciated.
so the last 2 years have been pretty eventful for me. I had a number of close relatives pass away and various other important family events take place and all my pictures and videos surround them seem to have disappeared from my HTC One X.
I had the phone connected to a laptop and was in the process of backing up the entire collection when the phone got incredibly hot, froze and restarted on me, to my shock all my videos and pictures where gone once the phone booted back up. I have removed the battery and have not used the phone since, in fear that it may delete/write over any data structures, or remove any chance I have at recovering my files.
Now I am of course a newbie to the HTC one X when it comes to rooting etc but I have done this sorta thing with previous phones in the past so I can work through a guide/root/update if needed.
Having tried many of these generic "recover your data" type software they all seem to require USB Mass Storage Mode. from what I have found and and experienced I can not do this as my android version is 4.1.1 and the option was removed in an update. MTP connection type is how it connects to a PC ( i hope im making sense here as im not sure if im saying that right).
I've spent the last week trying to figure out a way to get the phone to work with mass storage mode but my understanding is a little sketchy.
Is there anyway to recover my data and if so what is the best course of action?
Should I root and upgrade to a custom firmware?
If i do this will this wipe the existing internal storage/ or perhaps remove any chance I have at recovery after the upgrade? I haven't used the phone since as ive read on several threads that the best chance of recovery is to ensure that very little data / no new data is written to the phones internal memory.
I've even considered paying professional data recovery services however they simply do not provide enough information as to what/how they do it and im scared that they may return the phone with no results and also wipe any chance I have at recovery.
any help at all would be greatly appreciated, as at this point i really don't know what else to do.
if someone has a tried and tested method or recovery service they have used please let me know. If it really is too difficult to attempt a recovery myself id be willing to pay for any assistance beyond that.
thanks for any assistance in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all you need to do to salvage your data is USB mount storage then I suggest flashing a custom recovery, CWM and TWRP both enable USB mount storage.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

Craiglivesey94 said:
If all you need to do to salvage your data is USB mount storage then I suggest flashing a custom recovery, CWM and TWRP both enable USB mount storage.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok so I've used CWM a few years back and I have a rough idea of what to do (i can search around for a decent guide) but I just want to confirm that flashing a custom recovery will not force me to reformat or format the internal memory in its entirety before/during/after the installation itself?
Would this be the best way to recover data from the device as its not currently rooted or had any custom firmware flashed to it
ie: install CWM>enable mass storage mode>use generic software to scan the drive and attempt to recover
thank you

.Xenon- said:
ok so I've used CWM a few years back and I have a rough idea of what to do (i can search around for a decent guide) but I just want to confirm that flashing a custom recovery will not force me to reformat or format the internal memory in its entirety before/during/after the installation itself?
Would this be the best way to recover data from the device as its not currently rooted or had any custom firmware flashed to it
ie: install CWM>enable mass storage mode>use generic software to scan the drive and attempt to recover
thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unlocking your bootloader will wipe all your data. I would try recovery software first, if your pc can see your phone I don't see why the software won't.

nogotaclue said:
unlocking your bootloader will wipe all your data. I would try recovery software first, if your pc can see your phone I don't see why the software won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are a number of reputable recovery software applications on the market, almost all of which require that you are using mass storage mode (when attempting to recover from a mobile device). I've used 14 different programs so far and none of them can recognize my HTC one x when its plugged into the PC.
my htc works fine and is showing up as "portable media device" in the windows browser however none of the programs ive tried can locate the storage with there respective disk/file browsers.

.Xenon- said:
there are a number of reputable recovery software applications on the market, almost all of which require that you are using mass storage mode (when attempting to recover from a mobile device). I've used 14 different programs so far and none of them can recognize my HTC one x when its plugged into the PC.
my htc works fine and is showing up as "portable media device" in the windows browser however none of the programs ive tried can locate the storage with there respective disk/file browsers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doesn't really like you have much of a choice now then. You should prepare yourself for the possibility that, because data is missing, the sdcard may be corrupted and not recoverable at all. having said that, I have recovered data from hard drives and sdcards that have been formatted multiple times, with minimal loss. I would wait till tomorrow night before you decide anything, give more people a chance to see the post through tomorrow

nogotaclue said:
doesn't really like you have much of a choice now then. You should prepare yourself for the possibility that, because data is missing, the sdcard may be corrupted and not recoverable at all. having said that, I have recovered data from hard drives and sdcards that have been formatted multiple times, with minimal loss. I would wait till tomorrow night before you decide anything, give more people a chance to see the post through tomorrow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah im hoping someone may know of a why to get either usb mass storage mode working or perhaps just a good recovery service anyone could recommend.

.Xenon- said:
Yeah im hoping someone may know of a why to get either usb mass storage mode working or perhaps just a good recovery service anyone could recommend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the device rooted? Do you have CWM Recovery installed on it?

MrT69 said:
Is the device rooted? Do you have CWM Recovery installed on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no unfortunately not, just wish i had now and I woulda have saved myself alot of hassle.
I think if i understand it correctly now if i root and install CWM recovery now it actually reformats/wipes the storage.

.Xenon- said:
no unfortunately not, just wish i had now and I woulda have saved myself alot of hassle.
I think if i understand it correctly now if i root and install CWM recovery now it actually reformats/wipes the storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. Currently I'm on the way home from work but I guess I will need aprox. 1 hour.
1. DO NOT install a custom ROM
2. You need to install CWR Recovery for this Action
3. Don't care if the device will boot or not - you need only CWR Recovery installed on it
4. Do not try to do stupid things like using public bull**** recovery crap Tools
It will take up to two hours and your data will be back. Ok. lets say most of them.
To do:
1. Unlock your device bootloader
2. Install CWM Recovery
3. Let me know when it's done
And most important - leave the device as it is. Do not restart or boot the device to much times

MrT69 said:
Ok. Currently I'm on the way home from work but I guess I will need aprox. 1 hour.
1. DO NOT install a custom ROM
2. You need to install CWR Recovery for this Action
3. Don't care if the device will boot or not - you need only CWR Recovery installed on it
4. Do not try to do stupid things like using public bull**** recovery crap Tools
It will take up to two hours and your data will be back. Ok. lets say most of them.
To do:
1. Unlock your device bootloader
2. Install CWM Recovery
3. Let me know when it's done
And most important - leave the device as it is. Do not restart or boot the device to much times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your help!
Im at work at the moment too so I will try to do this as soon as I get home.
just a quick question though, does unlocking the bootloader and installing CWM recovery format the storage? nogotaclue said unlocking the bootloader would wipe/reformat the memory again. (I am trying to avoid this as it could potentially write over the data im trying to recover)

.Xenon- said:
thanks for your help!
Im at work at the moment too so I will try to do this as soon as I get home.
just a quick question though, does unlocking the bootloader and installing CWM recovery format the storage? nogotaclue said unlocking the bootloader would wipe/reformat the memory again. (I am trying to avoid this as it could potentially write over the data im trying to recover)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't care about if the SDCard will be formated or not.
On the one Hand it seems you have already formated or lost the partion on it and on the other Hand there is no other way to get the data back.
I promise to you that this is OK even when the unlock procedure Format your SDCard This is not the first time that I recover some data. And I do this Job since more than 15 years.
It's up to you to decide.

Sorry I didn't mean to offend you. Just worried that's all. I was called away for work so I'm back this weekend. Will root and install the recovery as soon I can.
Thanks again for your help.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app

MrT69 said:
Don't care about if the SDCard will be formated or not.
On the one Hand it seems you have already formated or lost the partion on it and on the other Hand there is no other way to get the data back.
I promise to you that this is OK even when the unlock procedure Format your SDCard This is not the first time that I recover some data. And I do this Job since more than 15 years.
It's up to you to decide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then i have a question to you Mr T, what software is "best" or at least very good to use to recover lost/formatted data ?
As you seem to know much about that
sent from my venomized piece of technology

Re: Recover deleted pictures and videos
It is very good that you did not use your phone after deletion of photos and videos so there will be no matter of overwriting. You said that you have tried many Recovery Tools but I think they might be free of cost. I have also tried so many free data recovery tools to recover my photos but all are of no use. Then my friend suggested me Remo recover Android tool after employing the tool I successfully recovered all my data from my HTC one.

Full Wipe to New Install - Possible or Not?

I've been trying to figure out methods of basically circumventing the locked bootloader on this stupid device and the only solution that I could possibly think would work is completely wiping all data off the phone and installing a custom BL and rom all at once on a blank phone. I'm not entirely certain whether or not this is possible, though, and if it is, where I would go about finding the images I'd need to reflash the phone. Warranty is nothing to me, as I recognise that my behaviour will result in consequences I have to live with.
So, is it possible to wipe the whole thing and start over, or is the KNOX writelock still screwing everything up? Even without removing the bootloader, is it possible to wipe only /system and then reflash without write protect rearing its head?

Newbie rooting/backup thread (groan...)

In my defence, m’lud, I spent about 6 hours yesterday reading through a great many threads before posting this one. It’s amazing how hard it can be to pick up a slightly unfamiliar technology when it’s not the one you're used to… I spent the latter half of my life in IT (Windows), but really struggle with this phone stuff.
I expect it's just the terminology… when you guys talk about a bootloader, I’m thinking that’s roughly the same as a BIOS on a computer…? Then there’s the “recovery” thingy… is that like a recovery partition on a Windows machine? But then some threads seem to suggest you over-write that when rooting, so is the original factory image lost forever?
My main reason for wanting to root my M8 is to remove all the bloatware HTC put on it. I can read the instructions for rooting here, but I don’t like blindly following anything I don’t understand, for obvious reasons!
I kind of gather that the “ROM” is the operating system… if I root the phone, does that automatically obliterate the existing one, necessitating a new one, or can I just gain the access I need to delete the horrible factory apps, and keep everything else?
I’ve read through several tutorials, and they’re easy to follow, but not easy to understand, if you get me… they’ll say things like download this, flash that… but I don’t really know what’s going on when you flash something – what am I over-writing etc.
Is there a thread anywhere which explains what these various things actually ARE?
Oh, and I’ve been playing various King games for years, and have got a long way. I’ve tried to figure out how to back them up – the King website is possibly the most unhelpful I’ve come across. People mention various utilities (I think maybe Titanium etc), but if they only work on a rooted phone, they presumably can’t be used to back the games up prior to rooting…
Sorry about all this guys – not asking you to re-invent the wheel, but f there are specific threads that already answer my questions to get me started, I’d be VERY grateful
Thanks
Roger

Roger465 said:
In my defence, m’lud, I spent about 6 hours yesterday reading through a great many threads before posting this one. It’s amazing how hard it can be to pick up a slightly unfamiliar technology when it’s not the one you're used to… I spent the latter half of my life in IT (Windows), but really struggle with this phone stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aye, it takes a bit of time to learn all the things and understand them.
Me, after being really familiar with a Sony device had to spend XX hours reading about HTC and after few years there are still things that I don't know
Roger465 said:
I expect it's just the terminology… when you guys talk about a bootloader, I’m thinking that’s roughly the same as a BIOS on a computer…? Then there’s the “recovery” thingy… is that like a recovery partition on a Windows machine? But then some threads seem to suggest you over-write that when rooting, so is the original factory image lost forever?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd rather say recovery is closer to bios., but bootloader matches too.
Recovery is a partition that all android phones have and it can be accessed in case when the system dies to factory reset and things. Stock recovery is good, but it can't be used to flash things like roms and kernels, so we use TWRP - a custom recovery with many options.
Original recovery is overwritten, but can be restored.
As for bootloader it's kinda like a gate - a locked one prevents booting and flashing of any unauthorized files, like custom recovery for example. Unlocking it removes this restriction. That's one fuction of bootloader, another one is starting up the system - like a bios - and can be accessed by a button combination durning boot up, it's also called hboot. In it you can see some essential info about phone software and boot to recovery.
Roger465 said:
My main reason for wanting to root my M8 is to remove all the bloatware HTC put on it. I can read the instructions for rooting here, but I don’t like blindly following anything I don’t understand, for obvious reasons!
I kind of gather that the “ROM” is the operating system… if I root the phone, does that automatically obliterate the existing one, necessitating a new one, or can I just gain the access I need to delete the horrible factory apps, and keep everything else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROM is the android itself, drivers, kernel and manufacturer's interface, apps, tweaks, settings. and probably something else I've missed. I think it would be somewhat correct to call this operating system. Rooting is gaining superuser access on the phone - it can be used to give extended functionality to apps, like making modifications in system itself. Pretty similiar to "run as administrator" in windows. Rooting itself won't remove the rom.
Roger465 said:
I’ve read through several tutorials, and they’re easy to follow, but not easy to understand, if you get me… they’ll say things like download this, flash that… but I don’t really know what’s going on when you flash something – what am I over-writing etc.
Is there a thread anywhere which explains what these various things actually ARE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those should give you a basic knowledge:
https://www.androidcentral.com/dictionary
https://android.gadgethacks.com/news/big-android-dictionary-glossary-terms-you-should-know-0165594/
Roger465 said:
Oh, and I’ve been playing various King games for years, and have got a long way. I’ve tried to figure out how to back them up – the King website is possibly the most unhelpful I’ve come across. People mention various utilities (I think maybe Titanium etc), but if they only work on a rooted phone, they presumably can’t be used to back the games up prior to rooting…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup is an app used to backup other apps, but it requires root. To get root you need a custom recovery and for it you need an unlocked bootloader.
Unlocking the bootloader will wipe all data from the phone. I'm not aware of many working methods to backup apps and their data.
There's an app called Helium, but there are many complaints that it doesn't fully work. You can try syncing all data to your google account or adb backup.

A lot of the basic terminology is explained here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=52484527#post52484527
My responses below in red font:
Roger465 said:
when you guys talk about a bootloader, I’m thinking that’s roughly the same as a BIOS on a computer…?
I'd say that is a pretty good analogy. It's responsible for loading the OS, same as BIOS does on a PC. And as long as you can get into bootloader, the phone is recoverable almost regardless of what else you did (within some limits).
Then there’s the “recovery” thingy… is that like a recovery partition on a Windows machine? But then some threads seem to suggest you over-write that when rooting, so is the original factory image lost forever?
Recovery is the tool for making or restoring backup (and also flashing ROMs and other mods like root). And not the actually backup itself. So that is one important distinction to remember.
Installing custom recovery (TWRP) will overwrite the stock recovery, that is true. You can only have one recovery at a time.
Stock recovery is easy to restore; and the stock recoveries are available on this forum. But stock recovery is close to useless. The only reason you would need stock recovery, is to install an official OTA (over-the-air) upated. And HTC was done updating this phone a long time ago (with Marshmallow) and there will be no more updates. Therefore, no need for stock recovery.
Since you've decided to do to the dark side and root; custom recovery TWRP as vastly more useful than stock recovery (as also mentioned in the previous response). To be honest, I can't say I've booted to stock recovery on this or any HTC device I've owned (and it's been several) even once. Never used it, and never needed to.
I kind of gather that the “ROM” is the operating system… if I root the phone, does that automatically obliterate the existing one, necessitating a new one, or can I just gain the access I need to delete the horrible factory apps, and keep everything else?
Depending on root method (SuperSU or Magisk), root will make changes to the system and/or kernel (which comprise the OS or ROM). It's still the stock ROM, just with some minor changes to allow superuser access. You can and should make a backup or your stock ROM, before rooting, using TWRP custom recovery. This gives you an easy way to restore to stock unrooted ROM, if you ever want to. And also gives you an easy "escape hatch" if anything goes wrong while trying to root. There are other tools on this forum for restoring the stock ROM. But best practice (and just plain common sense) is to make a backup in TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 AM ----------
Phalangioides said:
There's an app called Helium, but there are many complaints that it doesn't fully work. You can try syncing all data to your google account or adb backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All backup methods are far from perfect, especially before/without root. I'll agree that Helium is probably the best bet for the OP to backup things like game saves.
---------- Post added at 10:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 AM ----------
Roger465 said:
It’s amazing how hard it can be to pick up a slightly unfamiliar technology when it’s not the one you're used to… I spent the latter half of my life in IT (Windows), but really struggle with this phone stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stick with it. Every technology has its own lingo and nuances. Even from one Android device to another, there is a learning curve. I've found myself wondering: "WTF is a blob, or Odin" when switching to other Android devices.
With your IT experience, it shouldn't take much to pickup the necessary knowledge.

Thanks guys, kind of you to go to so much trouble to explain for me. Wish I had two phone,s then I could play around messing one up... will read a bit more, then give it a go in a day or two I think. But just to clarify again, can I give myself the rights to remove stock bloatware, while maintaining my familiar Android environment, the apps I use at the moment etc, or do I have to install a custom ROM if I root?
Cheers

Roger465 said:
can I give myself the rights to remove stock bloatware, while maintaining my familiar Android environment, the apps I use at the moment etc, or do I have to install a custom ROM if I root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the OS will remain the same.
Whether you can remove bloat apps after root is a little complicated to explain. You would normally expect to be able to delete system apps (which bloat apps are) with root. However, for whatever reason, HTC decided to write-protect the system partition, even with root. This means that if you try to delete apps when the phone is booted to OS, (depending on what method you used to delete the apps) you will find they return when the phone is rebooted.
You can flash a kernel mod to disable the write protection, or install a custom kernel. Or you may find the easiest work around (after root) is to use the file manager within TWRP to delete the bloat apps.
---------- Post added at 12:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 PM ----------
Vomer's guide is a good one, for unlocking the bootloader, custom recovery and root:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/vomerguides-m8-bootldr-unlock-s-off-t2800727
It's a bit outdated, so some words of advice:
- Only follow parts 0 and 1 of the guide. The sections after that aren't needed (s-off and SuperCID) for root, and the s-off method no longer works.
- Use an updated version TWRP from what is in the guide. If you are currently on Marshmallow, the current version TWRP 3.2.1.0 should work. Or basically any version 2.8.7 or later. You can get TWRP here: https://dl.twrp.me/m8/
- Similarly, use current version SuperSU 2.82 (use TWRP flashable zip from here): https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/supersu/stable-2016-09-01supersu-v2-78-release-t3452703
Or alternately, you can use Magisk to root, instead of SuperSU. Honestly, Magisk is really cool, and has lots of features that SuperSU doesn't. So I suggest checking it out: https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445

redpoint73 said:
Vomer's guide is a good one, for unlocking the bootloader, custom recovery and root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hhmmm, not getting very far with that procedure. Difficulties so far:
- Enable USB debugging in your phone's Developer options - DONE
- Un-check "Fast boot" on your phone by going to Settings -> Battery Manager – NO SUCH OPTION
- Install ADB and Fastboot on your computer - DONE
- Make sure to back up all of your app data using either ADB or HTC Sync, because you will be wiping your phone – JUST PLAYING AROUND WITH CONNECTING TO THE PHONE AT THIS STAGE
- Install the HTC One M8 drivers on your computer (if you have HTC Sync installed, then you already have them) - DONE
Enter Fastboot (bootloader) Mode
Place your device into fastboot mode by plugging in your HTC One to your computer,
then powering it down by holding both the Power and Volume Down buttons until you see the screen below – WHEN I DO THAT, IT JUST TAKES A SCREENSHOT

Roger465 said:
Hhmmm, not getting very far with that procedure. Difficulties so far:
- Un-check "Fast boot" on your phone by going to Settings -> Battery Manager – NO SUCH OPTION
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was only available back on 4.4. It was removed in 5.0 and above, no need to worry about it now.
Roger465 said:
Enter Fastboot (bootloader) Mode
Place your device into fastboot mode by plugging in your HTC One to your computer,
then powering it down by holding both the Power and Volume Down buttons until you see the screen below – WHEN I DO THAT, IT JUST TAKES A SCREENSHOT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guide is a bit inaccurate in this one. Turn off your phone, then press power and vol down - you should get into bootloader. Select fastboot and when it gets into fastboot, plug in the usb, it should change to "fastboot usb" - or at least I think it was like this.
My phone refuses to boot up after I turn it off. Have to help it with a soft reset and then hold vol down so it gets into bootloader, so I can't fully confirm.

Roger465 said:
- Un-check "Fast boot" on your phone by going to Settings -> Battery Manager – NO SUCH OPTION
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned in the previous response, this doesn't apply anymore. The feature doesn't exist (hasn't since Kitkat) and therefore does not need to be turned off.
Also note, this option is not to be confused with the fastboot/adb interface (virtually the same name, for different things) which is still fully working, and required to unlock the bootloader and flash custom recovery. The power option "Fast boot" was just a feature used by HTC to make the phone turn on faster. It was merely a "deep sleep" trick which was not a true "power down" and would interfere with accessing bootloader/fastboot mode if you tried to it from a "power off" condition (since in fact it wasn't truly powered off).
Again, it's irrelevant now, and you don't need to worry about that step at all.
---------- Post added at 09:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------
Phalangioides said:
The guide is a bit inaccurate in this one. Turn off your phone, then press power and vol down - you should get into bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, the guide is a little incorrect on that step, and I hadn't caught that (error in the guide) before. Power+vol down to access bootloader, will only work when the phone is powered off.
To the OP, another method/trick to access bootloader:
1) While the phone is on, reboot the phone by holding down the power button, and select "reboot" (or restart, I forget exactly what it says)
2) Once the screen goes dark to reboot, but before the white HTC logo screen appears, hold down the vol down button. Don't let go until you see the white bootloader screen.
3) If the phone simply restart to OS, you simply got the timing wrong. You either started pressing vol down too late, or let go too early. Just repeat steps 1 and 2 until you get it right.
Another alternative, is to force a reboot by holding power+vol up. Again, once the screen goes dark to reboot, but before the HTC logo screen appears, hold the vol down button only. In this case, you simply let go of the power button, and slide your finger down to the vol down button, and don't let go until the bootloader screen appears. This method is handy to know, since it works in all cases when the phone is powered on, even of the phone is "frozen" or stuck not loading the OS.
Phalangioides said:
Select fastboot and when it gets into fastboot, plug in the usb, it should change to "fastboot usb" - or at least I think it was like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone is already connected to the PC by USB cable before going to bootloader, it should default to fastboot mode once the bootloader is accessed.
Not sure if it will automatically switch to fastboot mode if you are in bootloader, then plug in the USB cable. But that may well be true (and would make sense).
In either case, if it's not in fastboot mode, simply select "fastboot" by using the vol buttons, and confirm the choice by pressing the power button. You should see "fastboot" highlighted in red near the top of the screen.

Phalangioides said:
Turn off your phone, then press power and vol down - you should get into bootloader. Select fastboot and when it gets into fastboot, plug in the usb, it should change to "fastboot usb" - or at least I think it was like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wahay! That worked fine, thanks both. Hope you can appreciate, though, how scary it can be for somebody like me following instructions I don't really understand, when the expected thing doesn't happen – visions of bricks keep coming into my mind
OK, will practice these steps a few times till they’re 2nd nature. I have managed to retrieve my phone identifier thingy though

Roger465 said:
Hope you can appreciate, though, how scary it can be for somebody like me following instructions I don't really understand, when the expected thing doesn't happen – visions of bricks keep coming into my mind
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, you won't brick this device with what you are doing (unlock bootloader, custom recovery & root). In fact, this device is very hard to brick. As long as the screen comes on, it can almost always be recovered.
Worst case, is that something goes wrong, and you can't boot the phone. Maybe you did something wrong, or maybe just some random event that was not fault of yours. And maybe it takes you an (hairpulling) hour to find the answer, and figure out what went wrong (or how to recover from the problem). But that pretty much happens to everyone who mods these devices from time to time. If you work IT, you've been there. Stressful, but hardly ever catastrophic.

Woo hoo! Got my unlock code. Now time for some more studying before I do anything drastic - specifically how to back up.
I think the HTC Sync Manager will handle most of it? My contacts are all on Google anyway... main worry is 2 years' progress on various King games

Roger465 said:
Now time for some more studying before I do anything drastic - specifically how to back up.
I think the HTC Sync Manager will handle most of it? My contacts are all on Google anyway... main worry is 2 years' progress on various King games
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use HTC Sync, personally. So I really don't know. I typically root my devices pretty soon after getting them, and therefore never had to use any no-root backup solutions (Titanium Backup is my go-to backup app, but requires root). A number of folks around these forums have suggested Helium for backing up app data when no rooted (and it was mentioned before on this thread).

redpoint73 said:
I don't use HTC Sync, personally. So I really don't know. I typically root my devices pretty soon after getting them, and therefore never had to use any no-root backup solutions (Titanium Backup is my go-to backup app, but requires root). A number of folks around these forums have suggested Helium for backing up app data when no rooted (and it was mentioned before on this thread).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... it doesn't fill me with confidence. I'm sure I'd do exactly as you if it was rooted. I'll probably do it with several different backup apps, and hope that one of them will do it

Roger465 said:
Yeah... it doesn't fill me with confidence. I'm sure I'd do exactly as you if it was rooted. I'll probably do it with several different backup apps, and hope that one of them will do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first unlock bootloader will restore your phone. Cross your finger if the game data has been backed up. :fingers-crossed:

redpoint73 said:
I don't use HTC Sync, personally. So I really don't know. I typically root my devices pretty soon after getting them, and therefore never had to use any no-root backup solutions (Titanium Backup is my go-to backup app, but requires root). A number of folks around these forums have suggested Helium for backing up app data when no rooted (and it was mentioned before on this thread).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't play games so I can't really confirm all games are same.
On my experience transfering games data from one device to another (for nieces & nephews), the data is stored in internal storage android\data\games folder & android\obb\games folder. I copy these two out and transfer them to new device.
(Also check sdcard android folder)

Roger465 said:
Yeah... it doesn't fill me with confidence. I'm sure I'd do exactly as you if it was rooted. I'll probably do it with several different backup apps, and hope that one of them will do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the approach, make different backups and hope one or more works properly. Games and other apps don't all save data the same way, so no single approach will work in all cases.

Me again, sorry… shortly after that post, I dropped the thing and broke the screen. For one reason or another, I ended up getting a Samsung S6, which I’m quite happy with.
But I want to use the HTC as a spare/emergency phone – trouble is I can’t remember what I’ve done to it, apart from installing something which was recommended as part of my attempted rooting process.
When I switch it on I get the screen below – but no matter which option I select, it just seems to either switch it off or loop back to this screen.
I didn’t go any further than install whatever software it was that gives me this boot menu screen.
I’m no longer interested in rooting it etc – just went to restore it to factory settings and leave it.
Can anybody tell me how please…?
Thanks

Roger465 said:
I can’t remember what I’ve done to it, apart from installing something which was recommended as part of my attempted rooting process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously, if you don't know what you did, it's hard for us to figure out as well.
The "LOCKED" banner at the top of the bootloader screen means the bootloader was never unlocked. So really, no actual mods were done to the phone by you.
All I can think, the "something" what you installed was possibly the Helium app (recommended by another user back up on this thread) which can be used to backup/restore your app data.
Roger465 said:
I didn’t go any further than install whatever software it was that gives me this boot menu screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what you're trying to say here. You'll need to be more specific (at least try) than "whatever software". Did you flash something to the phone? Or only installed something to your PC (drivers, fastboot, etc.).
We need to properly understood what you've done, before we can assist further.

redpoint73 said:
Obviously, if you don't know what you did, it's hard for us to figure out as well.
The "LOCKED" banner at the top of the bootloader screen means the bootloader was never unlocked. So really, no actual mods were done to the phone by you.
All I can think, the "something" what you installed was possibly the Helium app (recommended by another user back up on this thread) which can be used to backup/restore your app data.
I don't know what you're trying to say here. You'll need to be more specific (at least try) than "whatever software". Did you flash something to the phone? Or only installed something to your PC (drivers, fastboot, etc.).
We need to properly understood what you've done, before we can assist further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah… sorry, I’m aware how unhelpful my post is. Unfortunately, it was a while ago now, life went tits up for quite a while, and the phone lay in a drawer, being a very low priority. I used to take it out occasionally and charge it up – it started normally.
The other day, I realised I hadn’t charged it in many months, so took it out, and sure enough it was completely dead – so I plugged it in, and it came up with the screen as posted. I let it charge for a couple of hours, then rebooted, and it came up that way again. No matter which option I select from the menu, it either just shuts down, or reboots to that screen.
I’m virtually certain I didn’t do anything other than enable the mode which lets you get to that boot screen, and that I didn’t get as far as flashing the phone or anything. Don't think I installed Helium - if I did, I didn't actually use it.
So it may just be that the phone has died from being left flat for so long… is that likely do you think?
Thanks and sorry again for the lack of info – I completely understand if you can’t help!

Roger465 said:
I’m virtually certain I didn’t do anything other than enable the mode which lets you get to that boot screen, and that I didn’t get as far as flashing the phone or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so it was somewhat confusing, as you said previously (twice) that you "installed" something. But I think you are just confused, thinking that installing something is necessary to get to the bootloader screen. Which it isn't, that screen is part of the bootloader, without which your device would be a paperweight. It will sometimes default to this screen by virtually no action of yours (except powering it on) in cases when the Android Operating System (OS) is missing or damaged. Or you can simply access the bootloader screen by holding the button combo power+vol down.
Roger465 said:
So it may just be that the phone has died from being left flat for so long… is that likely do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We've seen it a number of times, actually. The OS was probably corrupted or damaged by being powered off (battery dead) for so long. This condition is over recoverable, as long as the phone can power on, and you can get to bootloader (which you can).
You can restore the OS with the RUU (ROM Update Utility) tool. You can get the RUU, and instruction how to flash it from here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64926626&postcount=6
Note: there is no need to lock the bootloader as the first part of the instructions say (your bootloader is still locked).

General help with bootloader & flashing (coming from Sony phones)

Any help is greatly appreciated, I have no experience with Google phones, I was years into Sony.
I have just bought a Pixel 2 XL from a local shop in Greece, and of course, I want to root it and be able to install custom roms etc.
I have a few questions that I am searching everywhere recently and I would really appreciate if someone can make it clear to me:
1) I have read that you have to buy your phone from Google so you are able to unlock it? Can someone explain this to me? (My phone is not a specific carrier) How do I know if I am able to unlock my bootloader?
2)I have flashed roms and kernels in the past on my Sony phones, however I haven't really messed with the bootloader other than just unlocking it in the beginning. So now on the Pixel 2 XL I am reading so much about the unlock_critical vs the normal unlock, and I can admit I cannot understand the difference. Why does someone want to flash a bootloader? ( I do not understand what does "flash a bootloader" mean)
What I want to be able to do is flash custom roms, flash factory images to revert back to stock whenever I want, flash custom kernel, flash stock kernel, make a nandroid backup with twrp and restore a nandroid backup with twrp. That is all I want to be able to do without facing any errors with the bootloader,so do I need the unlock_critical ? And why?
3)If I unlock the bootloader with any of the two ways, am I able to re-lock it like nothing has happened? For example if the screen has dead pixels for some reason and I want to send it back for warranty but the bootloader is unlocked, can I lock it without it being logged? Or once unlocked, there is no going back to the warranty by re-locking? On many Sony phones we could do that.
4)If I unlock the bootloader and install TWRP I read that I will not be able to receive official updates from settings any more (OTA):
"NOTE #1: If you have mounted /system as rw at any point (like in TWRP), you must upgrade using the factory image method. OTAs will fail because they cannot verify the integrity of the disk since its verity data has been changed."
My question is, if I flash a stock image, does that get fixed? ( so if I flash 8.1.0 stock manually, will I be able to get an official update e.g. 9.0.0 from settings?)
Or if I just grab the stock boot.img of my current version of android and flash it with fastboot, then will I be able to get official updates from settings normally again?
5)Can I do the following on this order? :
Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
Unlock the bootloader (either critical or normal, whatever works)
Boot into Fastboot
Boot the twrp image from fastboot to the device
Flash the twrp zip to the phone to install TWRP
Flash the magisk zip so I root the device
Reboot and everything works? (Or do I need a custom kernel for TWRP or Magisk to work?)
Is there any issue you see with the above plan of mine?
6) Before I tweak my device in any way, is it okay if I update the device fully? So can I install any update available (OTA) and then unlock the bootloader and root etc? Or do I have to be on a specific version and not on the latest?
7)I have read something about 2 different slots on some flashing forums here, slot a and slot b, but it is not clear to me what that is. Does anyone know what that is? At which point may I face this?
Thank you very much.

A quick and not complete response to get you going
Plan 5 seems solid, unlock the bootloader to allow custom stuff. At boot you will get a warning screen to let you know.
I forgot if I only unlocked the bootloader or also the critical, try it etc.
Personally I never had to tinker with the A/B slots, within TWRP you can choose which to use.
Before Magisk, I used to flash another recovery like cwm or twrp but it is not required. You must however boot to twrp.img to flash the magisk zip.
As far as I know it is indeed the altering of the /system folder that denies future OTA (when using factory image). A manual flash (of future OTA) is easy but may require altering (removing) a switch command in the install.bat file to remove the -w (wipe).
As to the custom kernels, I never noticed the need and am running the latest v10 image with only Magisk flashed to get root.
My main goal is to get rid of ads. I use AdAway.
To get that to work in v10 you need to enable systemless host module im the Magisk manager app (reboot after).
A final feedback; when you get to sideload and need to get to recovery you may get the screen 'no command' or so; press volume-up and click power or power->click volume.
Let us know if you worked it etc!

arismelachrinos said:
Any help is greatly appreciated, I have no experience with Google phones, I was years into Sony.
I have just bought a Pixel 2 XL from a local shop in Greece, and of course, I want to root it and be able to install custom roms etc.
I have a few questions that I am searching everywhere recently and I would really appreciate if someone can make it clear to me:
1) I have read that you have to buy your phone from Google so you are able to unlock it? Can someone explain this to me? (My phone is not a specific carrier) How do I know if I am able to unlock my bootloader?
2)I have flashed roms and kernels in the past on my Sony phones, however I haven't really messed with the bootloader other than just unlocking it in the beginning. So now on the Pixel 2 XL I am reading so much about the unlock_critical vs the normal unlock, and I can admit I cannot understand the difference. Why does someone want to flash a bootloader? ( I do not understand what does "flash a bootloader" mean)
What I want to be able to do is flash custom roms, flash factory images to revert back to stock whenever I want, flash custom kernel, flash stock kernel, make a nandroid backup with twrp and restore a nandroid backup with twrp. That is all I want to be able to do without facing any errors with the bootloader,so do I need the unlock_critical ? And why?
3)If I unlock the bootloader with any of the two ways, am I able to re-lock it like nothing has happened? For example if the screen has dead pixels for some reason and I want to send it back for warranty but the bootloader is unlocked, can I lock it without it being logged? Or once unlocked, there is no going back to the warranty by re-locking? On many Sony phones we could do that.
4)If I unlock the bootloader and install TWRP I read that I will not be able to receive official updates from settings any more (OTA):
"NOTE #1: If you have mounted /system as rw at any point (like in TWRP), you must upgrade using the factory image method. OTAs will fail because they cannot verify the integrity of the disk since its verity data has been changed."
My question is, if I flash a stock image, does that get fixed? ( so if I flash 8.1.0 stock manually, will I be able to get an official update e.g. 9.0.0 from settings?)
Or if I just grab the stock boot.img of my current version of android and flash it with fastboot, then will I be able to get official updates from settings normally again?
5)Can I do the following on this order? :
Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
Unlock the bootloader (either critical or normal, whatever works)
Boot into Fastboot
Boot the twrp image from fastboot to the device
Flash the twrp zip to the phone to install TWRP
Flash the magisk zip so I root the device
Reboot and everything works? (Or do I need a custom kernel for TWRP or Magisk to work?)
Is there any issue you see with the above plan of mine?
6) Before I tweak my device in any way, is it okay if I update the device fully? So can I install any update available (OTA) and then unlock the bootloader and root etc? Or do I have to be on a specific version and not on the latest?
7)I have read something about 2 different slots on some flashing forums here, slot a and slot b, but it is not clear to me what that is. Does anyone know what that is? At which point may I face this?
Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The reason for this is Google had an exclusivity contract to sell through the US cellular company, Verizon; much like the original Apple iPhone did (at first) with AT&T. And, for reasons that are most likely stupid, foolish, and unconvincing in its justifications, Verizon locks their device's bootloaders. So, not that it's "locked" or "unlocked" in terms of carriers, but more-so whether a device is "locked bootloader" or unlockable because it was purchased from Google (or elsewhere, but at least originally Google) and not from Verizon. If you're wondering further, getting it from Verizon would allow Verizon subscribers and customers to be able to "lease" and pay the Pixel off in increments with their usual cell phone bill; but it's not all too exclusive because Google offers to lease if you purchase from them also! The only caveat is you have to pass a credit check when leasing from Google; but, then again, you have to pass a credit check when signing up for a Verizon cell plan as well!
2) So, with my limited understanding between the difference between just a regular "unlock" and an "unlock_critical" is that it might be that a regular unlock allows you to get a R/W access (root access) to the various vital partitions (i.e. system, data [not to be confused with userdata], even boot to a degree) while unlock_critical allows you to straight modify and replace partitions (i.e. what would've been the recovery partition [but now there's no such thing and recovery just resides in the boot partition], the whole system & data partition to have/run custom ROMs, bootloading screen, etc.). But it all is rather convoluted that Google probably agreed and, so you can/should be aware, they updated things within the past few months (I'm guessing June or July) where they rid the need to "unlock_critical" and bootloaders that are newer than a certain point/month no longer needs that fastboot command to unlock the bootloader and everything else in order to flash custom anythings...
3) Okay, so here's a very tricky thing to this.... Technically, yes you can relock the bootloader as well as there have been many who have successfully done so; BUT there are so many more that have COMPLETELY and permanently bricked their device attempting to do so and most (if not all) the experts here would advise anyone to just leave well enough alone. But, if it is insisted and must be, the way to do it is to remove all Magisk modules (because, for whatever reason, these modules can survive a complete flashing of a Full Factory stock image), run a Full Factory image where the flash-all command is left intact (meaning “-w” is unedited; I’ll go more into this later), running it through the initial set up process, then (for good measure, this step might not be at all absolutely necessary) switch slots and run the flash-all command on the other slot, running the initial set up process again, then rebooting to Bootloader Mode and running the fastboot locking command, then unticking (if wished and insisted) unticking the OEM unlocking. Again, a word of warning, that so many have relocked the bootloader and unticked the OEM unlocking which allows the unlocking of the bootloader, then find that their device goes into a bootloop; and since they had just locked the bootloader in 2/all different ways, it leaves rescuing the device with all but the fewest options – usually because it’s forgotten in one way or another returning all of the device back to stock.
If anything, what has been said around these forums is that, if returning to Google, there hasn’t been an (proven) instance that Google refused to repair/replace it because it had its bootloader unlocked. But it’s usually for that fear or re-selling the device in which this is usually sought; but in most (if not all) cases (the experts here figure), having the bootloader unlocked would be refused or looked down upon.
4) So, most of what you assumed here is correct; but may be a bit misguided due to not knowing some things – which, of course, can be expected since you had just said you just moved to this device from a totally different manufacturer (Sony). If you are rooted (Magisk), there is absolutely no way you can update via the regular System Update from an OTA from within the Settings in the OS. And even having just an unlocked bootloader will cause OTAs to not work -- but there are conflicting reports stating differently, but I, personally, am under the understanding that even at that point you cannot.
But here’s the key thing; there really isn’t any reason to install updates by download and using OTAs anyways. Most (if not all) the experts here actually forego the OTAs and merely download the Full Factory stock images from Google’s Developers website and flash those. Here’s the reason; in the “olden days”, flashing a stock Full Factory image would erase absolutely everything and return the device to a complete factory state. But Google, in their “infinite wisdom”, allowed it to be possible to flash this but still withhold and save/keep all of one’s apps, settings, and data – essentially leaving both device data and userdata untouched! This is achieved by simply editing a batch file called “flash-all.bat” (or “flash-all.sh” for Linux and MacOS) and removing the 3 characters “-w” (3rd character would be a space “character”) from within its code. In this manner, OTAs can be considered a “dirty flash” because, while a Full Factory will completely overwrite (I could be wrong, but I believe it erases and formats it) the system, radio, bootloader, boot, etc., which would/should take care of any erroneous bugs or glitches, while OTA’s do not necessarily do this and just “modifies” the existing data; and therefore bugs and glitches may still remain being more on the root of things and/or OTAs would just modify “on top” or elsewhere where those glitches may reside.
And in either/both cases, one would still be required to reflash/reinstall everything root.
But, if insisted, there are multiple methods to achieve a state where you can run an OTA; either downloading an OTA image from Google and manually flashing it (“sideloading”), or unrooting temporarily to be able to use & download the regular System Updater (can be found HERE : https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/docs/tutorials.md#ota-installation under the “Devices with A/B Partitions” which is my preferred method if I was to do this sort of thing, but I have never done this so I’m unsure if it even is successful in our device). I even wrote out an in-depth and step-by-step guide, but it is rather convoluted and was written in the beginnings of our taimen and there are most likely more updated methods now; but if you want to check it out, you can HERE.
But, to answer your questions directly; No, flashing the stock image will not allow you to user the stock System Updater; although there are conflicting reports, I am under the impression that anything other than a locked bootloader will allow the stock System Updater to work.
5)More correctly, you boot into “Bootloader Mode” to be able to use the “fastboot” commands. And no, you do not need to permanently flash a custom recovery (TWRP), a custom kernel, or anything else to achieve root – although I do highly recommend it – as you can temporarily boot into TWRP (by downloading the TWRP image file (*.img) and install Magisk in that manner – I do not suggest you root/install Magisk using the app. Other people have had success, but many (most?) have issues that you wouldn’t run into if you installed it via TWRP – but here’s a key thing; no matter what you intend to flash and install, unless you need to have root for it to already be installed, you should always flash Magisk last. Moreso, as the great Az Biker of ‘round thes’ parts greatly suggests, you should even reboot to bootloader after each and every flash separately. Explanation is, for whatever reason and even though many claim to be able to “detect” and modify their flash for an already modified boot and dtbo (where modifications must happen for root access), most don’t play well with Magisk and Magisk must modify the boot and dtbo after all other modifications or else problems can arise (or at least it has for me).
Just keep these things in mind, but, for the most part, your “order” of things will do well enough. Again, just keep in mind that if you are going to install a custom recovery or kernel, try to do that before Magisk as well as if you can avoid it, don’t use the Magisk app to install or manually flash any boot.img if you can help it.
6)No, you don’t have to stick to a specific version; it might even be suggested to update it stock before doing anything. BUT (of course there is a caveat), consider this; many things (especially anything root and specifically TWRP) aren’t really “playing nice” with Android Q/10; so, if you update and go to the most up to date, but don’t wish to run into those glitches/bugs and wish to “hold off” (like I am, actually and for the same reasoning), then of course you should only go up to August (I believe that was the last before the upgrade to Q/10) Full Factory.
7) There are many great resources on the information on having the 2 different slots; I apologize if I can’t recall where I even saw them – other members (maybe an RC or Mod even) input a URL to read and I can’t for the life of me recall where it possibly could be. But, for the most part, you would really only run into identifying and manually changing to a specific one if you were attempting to rescue or deeply modify your device; I can say that me and the great @Az Biker have never felt the necessity to manually change or choose a certain, specific slot. And, my guess, is that, because the coding and flashing output when running the Full Factory states something about “system_other” or a “system_b”, but while the main system can be close to 3GB, the system_other is closer to 300MB, and that boot, dtbo, vendor, and something called lafb has a “_b” partition, I’m thinking it’s something as a safety or backup, maybe something like what used to be in old laptops a sort of RAM to help load things up faster. In any case, it seems that going from one to the other, a to b or vice-versa, doesn’t seem to be too key or much of a hassle, so….take that for what you will.
Alright…hopefully I was able to answer all your inquiries. And, if you have any more, please feel free to ask them…that’s what we’re all about here. And I know I can run on and get wordy, so thank you for bearing with me with all of this.
I mean, it’s really good to have a user/member who really does their research, reading, and due diligence before getting into their new device; there are so many instances here and in my own experience where the “…if I only knew that beforehand…” would be supremely helpful, and supremely easier on everyone else! So that’s to be commended and reinforced…!
Hope this helps and welcome to your Pixel and this taimen forum!

I really cannot thank you enough for your time. I truly appreciate it very much.
1) Very clear.
2) Do you happen to have a link or do you know how to check if my phone supports unlock_critical? How can I check if I have that newer bootloader? Or do you remember where did you learn this?
3) Thank you so much about that. Very clear aand you just saved my phone
4) Very clear.
5) Thank you for the info! Interesting, I was searching on how to root the device running Android 10 (I have fully updated and I really am not going back to Android 9 ), and I saw that you have to patch your boot.img with the Magisk app, and then flash it with fastboot. So first you get the factory image from google and you extract the boot.img and insert it to the phone. Then you load it into Magisk app and patch it. Then moving the patched to the PC, booting to bootloader and flash it on boot partition. This is the way I saw on how to get root working fine with Android 10, not sure if it is the best method or the worst.
6) What do you mean with "go up to August"? Do you mean that the "oldest" image I can flash is "9.0.0 (PQ3A.190801.002, Aug 2019)"? So one cannot go back to 8.0.0 and Google has done something to prevent us from doing that? Also, if I wanted to go back to that August image or any "compatible", the procedure is just to run the flash-all.bat file of that image?
I used to experement a lot with custom roms, custom kernels and mods with my Sony devices, but that was mainly because I wanted stock android and some more features. The thing is that I have almost anything I need with this device, with some minor wishes. So I can leave without flashing custom roms and kernels, but I wanted to just root and at least install Adaway(!!!!!! I cannot leave with those ads!!!!!!), Titanium Backup and some other similar root apps that don't really do any harm. Have you tried rooting Android 10 and it was unusable? Do you suggest that it is not really worth it? The thing is that I love Android 10, the gestures and all the features, and I could not go back to Android 9, even though I only used the phone for a week, I am used to it and really like the way it currently is.
7)Hmm okay so I should not really mess with that. Maybe as I saw online, when flashing stock or unrooting, it is best to flash the same thing to both a and b slots, seems a bit complicated but whatever
Thank you for being so helpful!!

arismelachrinos said:
I really cannot thank you enough for your time. I truly appreciate it very much.
1) Very clear.
2) Do you happen to have a link or do you know how to check if my phone supports unlock_critical? How can I check if I have that newer bootloader? Or do you remember where did you learn this?
3) Thank you so much about that. Very clear aand you just saved my phone
4) Very clear.
5) Thank you for the info! Interesting, I was searching on how to root the device running Android 10 (I have fully updated and I really am not going back to Android 9 ), and I saw that you have to patch your boot.img with the Magisk app, and then flash it with fastboot. So first you get the factory image from google and you extract the boot.img and insert it to the phone. Then you load it into Magisk app and patch it. Then moving the patched to the PC, booting to bootloader and flash it on boot partition. This is the way I saw on how to get root working fine with Android 10, not sure if it is the best method or the worst.
6) What do you mean with "go up to August"? Do you mean that the "oldest" image I can flash is "9.0.0 (PQ3A.190801.002, Aug 2019)"? So one cannot go back to 8.0.0 and Google has done something to prevent us from doing that? Also, if I wanted to go back to that August image or any "compatible", the procedure is just to run the flash-all.bat file of that image?
I used to experement a lot with custom roms, custom kernels and mods with my Sony devices, but that was mainly because I wanted stock android and some more features. The thing is that I have almost anything I need with this device, with some minor wishes. So I can leave without flashing custom roms and kernels, but I wanted to just root and at least install Adaway(!!!!!! I cannot leave with those ads!!!!!!), Titanium Backup and some other similar root apps that don't really do any harm. Have you tried rooting Android 10 and it was unusable? Do you suggest that it is not really worth it? The thing is that I love Android 10, the gestures and all the features, and I could not go back to Android 9, even though I only used the phone for a week, I am used to it and really like the way it currently is.
7)Hmm okay so I should not really mess with that. Maybe as I saw online, when flashing stock or unrooting, it is best to flash the same thing to both a and b slots, seems a bit complicated but whatever
Thank you for being so helpful!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s really my pleasure! And I’m just as thankful that you/anyone would even go through the trouble of reading all of that…!
1) Thank you for the compliment
2)Usually, if your bootloader version is within a certain version – which you can find when in bootloader mode – then you either do or do not need unlock_critical. I can’t remember how many months prior to Android 10/Q, it was within 6 I believe, so any bootloader version from 5 or 6 months ago to now, and obviously if you’re on 10/Q, you would not need to run the command unlock_critical. But, if anything, you don’t have to have any fear of it, whether you need to or not, or don’t know your bootloader version, running the “fastboot flashing unlock_critical” when you don’t need to will just amount to a simple error and nothing bad will happen. And if it does end up doing something, well, then that’s a good thing. It almost amounts to unlock_critical-ing twice, the second on will just state that it’s already unlocked and that’s it.
If anything, I believe I found the resource here from the great Az Biker: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78908055&postcount=2843
If you are very curious, it should address much of what you’re seeking and/or at least point you to where you might find that information.
3) You’re very welcome. It really is a good thing that saves you in the future, and saves those who try to help some grief as well.
4) Thank you for the compliment.
5) I would say that the process you described is certainly doable, but is far from the best/easiest. From my experience helping many here on this forum, many bugs or things go wrong when loading the stock boot.img to the phone, having Magisk modify it, then getting the modified boot.img and successfully flashing it. More often than not, one ends up having a device turn into a boot loop and are usually forced to flash the stock boot.img and have to give it a number of tries.
The best way (subjectively) is to download the Magisk installation .zip. Then boot into TWRP (which doesn’t mean you have to replace the stock recovery since you can temporarily boot into it), and “Install” it using the .zip. Then everything is automated and done for you, if anything goes wrong you have an output log you can use to troubleshoot, but it seems best to leave it to the experts who created all this than us manually attempting to ourselves.
Oh and AFAIK this method still works on Android 10/Q as it has for Pie and Oreo.
6) I meant that, if you did not wish to update to 10/Q, then you shouldn’t do anything newer than from August’s security update/patch, since all the Full Factory images and updates are of 10/Q. But, if you go to Google’s Developers site, you’ll see that they pretty much list and make available all the Full Factory images ever published; to the point that there are some that go back to Oreo!
And everything you’ve said is understandable. And I kinda feel the same way. For me, in my humble opinion, it is supremely good idea to root and for whatever issues you get doing that, the returns are incalculable. It is most definitely worth it/rooting! The extra options and customizations and modifications all make it worth while and more! And, even if rooting gives the capability of rendering the device rather unusable, take confidence in that Google, in all their “infinite wisdom”, gave us “Bootloader Mode”…and pretty much, as long as you can get into Bootloader Mode and successfully connect to a computer, your phone would never be considered too far lost/gone. I’ve only witnessed that be opposite on less than a handful of cases.
But, most importantly, and if you have been in the rooting and ROMing game, you should well know this, but the most vital part of having root access is the ability to make the best backups! So, as long as you make sure to backup (Nandroid is best) and key times, running into some pitfalls here and there shouldn’t take you all the way out of the game….
7) Yeah…I mean, it is rather fascinating, and when up against an issue and you have an idea that deals with it, that’s when you can read up and learn about it and experiment I imagine. But for me and one of the great ones here in all of XDA, we’ve done all the custom ROM, custom recovery, custom kernel, Full Factory recover, root, Magisk modules, theming, Xposed, and countless other things, and all without the need to ever mess with manually or forcing an assignment between the two.
Again, it’s my pleasure. And if you any further questions or thoughts, bring them on! I’d be happy to address them…
Hope these are helpful….

Thank you all very much! I am pretty busy these days so once I find some time I will do more research and root it.
@simplepinoi177
I am not sure if your paypal address works, I felt like buying you a coffee earlier, the least I could do with all the time you spent explaining

Oh forgot to ask some minor things,
to make a nandroid backup, I just send twrp.img via fastboot to the phone and boot into it and make it? And if I want to revert back I do the same and restore it?
Also if TWRP asks me the question about if I want to enable modification to the system, what do I answer? Either for the nandroid backup, the restore or for flashing magisk.zip? Do any of those require that enabled?
Lastly, I understood that just unlocking the bootloader alone can result in no OTAs. But, will I keep getting the security updates? I heared something about security updates that are frequently available from the playstore or something like that but I have the phone for less than a week and haven't gotten anything. No OTAs mean no security updates as well? Or they are irrelevant and I will keep getting those security updates once rooted?

arismelachrinos said:
Oh forgot to ask some minor things,
to make a nandroid backup, I just send twrp.img via fastboot to the phone and boot into it and make it? And if I want to revert back I do the same and restore it?
Also if TWRP asks me the question about if I want to enable modification to the system, what do I answer? Either for the nandroid backup, the restore or for flashing magisk.zip? Do any of those require that enabled?
Lastly, I understood that just unlocking the bootloader alone can result in no OTAs. But, will I keep getting the security updates? I heared something about security updates that are frequently available from the playstore or something like that but I have the phone for less than a week and haven't gotten anything. No OTAs mean no security updates as well? Or they are irrelevant and I will keep getting those security updates once rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, about booting TWRP...
You can temporarily boot into TWRP just the one time if you wish. If you are using the newest version of TWRP (for the Pixel 2), they actually give an option to flash and replace the recovery with TWRP from within their recovery environment; I'm guessing they use the temporarily booted twrp.img to install. In any case, you can find the option in the Install section. In any case, it's up to you whether you install it as your custom recovery, but it's easy enough to restore it back to stock recovery either by manually flashing the stock boot.img (and maybe dtbo.img for good measure, as I'm unsure...) and/or if you update your device via a Full Factory (or even a downloaded OTA) image, as that will update and replace the boot partition regardless...
So, about the alert for enabling modification to the system; In the past, I had always enabled it. Of course you would want to have r/w and mounting capabilities towards the device's system and data partitions. But keep this in mind...until the TWRP team updates the latest version, there is no write capabilities/permissions. It will pull up an error that it either can't mount or doesn't write -- For this reason, I'm holding off so I don't have firsthand experience... -- but installing and flashing and backing up from within TWRP does work even if it spits up some errors. What you should be careful about is if/when it asks to install it as a "system service" or something, as general consensus says at no circumstance should you do this as it "forks" up many other things while at it.
But, to answer your question directly, I'm unsure whether you can or cannot install Magisk root or restoring without enabling this "modification" capability, but I say it can't hurt.....
As for your inquiries on OTAs, as I understand it (so anyone please correct me if I'm wrong), but the monthly security updates come with the OTAs (also monthly, so I believe they may be one in the same). I'm unsure about the whole seeing the security updates on the Play Store or something like that, but I highly doubt that is the case. Conventional knowledge says that you can only get these either from the stock System Updater or if you download them yourself and either sideload or "flash-all" it. That's why many (most) experts will download the Full Factory image every month (usually first Monday of the month) and we have this whole step-by-step process in updating platform-tools, unregistering Magisk modules and screenlocks/fingerprints, running the flash-all, temporarily booting TWRP, installing all custom modifications (Magisk last), rebooting after each and every flash/install, then going back into the OS and resetting up the screenlock/fingerprints and Magisk modules. As it would be nice if we could simply and always use the stock System Updater, but in any case, one would need to re-install all the custom modifications anyways. So, it is one of the sacrifices/compromises having a rooted Pixel 2….
But it is peculiar that you haven’t gotten any alert (unless you inadvertently updated to the latest already), for it still should alert you that there is an update available, and usually, if you have unlocked your bootloader, while it’s downloading and attempting to install, it will throw up an error; but everything would look like normal up to that point. But, then again, Google notifying updates on their various devices are intermittent at best. It would be simpler and best if you just keep it in mind that there’s usually the monthly update on/after the first Monday of the month and do what we all do and have to manually install the updates to keep most up to date.
If there’s anything else, you know you can ask…
Good luck and hope this helps…!

I'm on 10 with an unlocked bootloader, 1st gen Pixel. I still get security updates. Twrp doesn't mount /system or /vendor, so I take system/vendor IMAGE backups with no issue. Not sure if I'll get updates still after unrooting. I've always flashed factory after rooting. Theoretically it should return to stock if you flash the Magisk uninstaller. The boot image (boot + recovery + base system) will be restored. You should then be able to get OTA updates. They will be installed to the OTHER slot, so if the phone fails to boot (3 times?) it will switch back to the first slot. If you have issues and want to go back, you can manually switch slots in fastboot or go into twrp, tap reboot, tap the other slot, then reboot system. It will show a message that the slot has changed. You can of course always check the active slot in fastboot to make sure. If you want to roll back an OTA update, reboot to twrp, change the active slot, then reboot system, and it should boot to the older version. Make sure to turn off automatic updates or else it will redownload the same update again. I believe I've lost twrp by installing an OTA update, which installs to the inactive slot, which overwrites recovery, and then boots to that slot. Meaning if you don't have a pc to switch slots in fastboot, you can't go back to the first slot which still has twrp. The command is fastboot set_active, something like that. Quick google search.. No pc means no restore if something goes wrong while you're away from a computer. The only way I know of to change slots at that point is to hard reset 3 times, which will trigger the phone to switch slots. ALWAYS reboot after flashing bootloader/radio. I'm decently sure that the bootloader has to match the system, so if you install lineage Pie, you need to flash the bootloader/radio from Pie or the phone won't boot. Flash bootloader, reboot, flash radio, reboot, flash matching rom. It is technically possible to have dual boot, where one slot is lineage and the other is stock, as long as they're the same Android versions. Lineage Pie/stock Pie for example, because the bootloader won't match if you flash Lineage Oreo/stock Pie. Keep in mind OTAs will overwrite twrp with stock recovery, so if you reboot, you might lose access to twrp, and I don't know of a way to OTA and reboot on the same slot. I don't know if there is an app or command for this, WHICH WOULD BE REALLY FREAKING NICE. Also, when restoring boot from twrp, I always reflash twrp to make sure. It will install to both slots. You can keep a copy of twrp on your data partition. To reflash twrp from within twrp, Install > Select Image > find twrp.img > flash to RAMDISK. If you flash to boot, it will overwrite system, and leave you with only twrp. When installing in older twrp's, I believe it will install to the same slot. With newer twrp's that specifically support Treble, it will flash to the other slot. Don't quote me on that. Due to the single data partition, there's a chance Lineage will have issues with stock data. I've never seen it though. I've dirty flashed a couple times with few issues. I think I've even dirty flashed different OS versions. If you get app crashes, open that app's info, delete its storage/cache, and reopen the app. Most of the app data is the same across versions anyway. The Pixel is a complete pain in the ass when coming from non Treble phones. Sorry if this is repeated info, the posts above are LONG lol. Hope this helps.
Edit- not sure if relevant to you, but I get bootloops when flashing twrp to the ramdisk. There should be an option in twrp to fix it. I always do this after flashing twrp this way.

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