Wondering if there is a root method for a GSM GN (locked BL). Then I could run a BL unlock from userland to retain data. Is this currently possible?
vbman213 said:
Wondering if there is a root method for a GSM GN (locked BL). Then I could run a BL unlock from userland to retain data. Is this currently possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just looking for the same information today as well. I think the answer is that you used to be able to do this through a security exploit but that has since been fixed in recent versions.
flintdragon said:
I was just looking for the same information today as well. I think the answer is that you used to be able to do this through a security exploit but that has since been fixed in recent versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came to the same conclusion a few weeks ago and went ahead and unlocked and let it wipe my phone. As much as I hate having to reconfigure everything, it is always nice to start over fresh. Although now I'm unlocked and rooted I can create a backup to avoid this in the future.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Guide in my Sig...or stickied up top.
You can backup without root.
So .... I just found a way to unlock the bootloader without losing data.
I posted it up in a blog here http://plognews.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/how-to-unlock-android-nexus-bootloader-without-losing-data/ But I'll post here too..
---------
So many of you may be aware that you may unlock the bootloader on your Google Nexus Device. However, in doing so, the device is wiped clean and you must reinstall everything from scratch (or from backup).
Having an unlocked bootloader does provide benefits. It allows one to take full system backups, install unsigned updates, etc. There is one drawback that it allows for. it may allow an “attacker” to bypass Android securities and do bad things to your device.
I can understand why Google would force your device to be wiped, but there is a way around it without anything really special.
I’m going to try to make it as detailed as possible, but there are many great resources out there on how to do each of these things already. I will provide relatively high level instructions on how to carry this out. This is confirmed multiple times to work on the LG/Google Nexus 4.
You first need to download and install the Android SDK. This includes files in the platform-tools folder called “adb” and “fastboot”. Download the CWM Recovery image from here.
Steps:
1. Put your device in “USB Debug mode” and plug your phone into your PC.
2. Ensure your PC detects the phone by using “adb devices”. If nothing is listed, either you need to run the command as an administrator or you need to install the USB driver.
3. From your PC, use ”adb restart bootloader”
4. You should see a new screen with a bunch of text.
5. Run “fastboot oem unlock”. (from your PC)
6. Select “Yes”.. It will warn you that your device will be wiped. You will be brought back to that screen with the robot that’s open.
7. Run “fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-touch…img” (from your PC).
8. Use the volume keys to change to “Recovery Mode” and click the power button to select. If you can’t select it, then you never flashed the recovery properly.
9. After you’re in the recovery screen, select “Reboot System Now”. It will ask you a question about preventing a reflash, select “Yes”.
10. Let it reboot.. The Google screen and the X will take a very long time and won’t get anywhere. Give it a few minutes at the “X” screen.
11. Hold down the power button until the screen turns off and let go.
12. Hold the volume down button until you’re brought back to the screen with the open robot.
13. “Wipe Cache Partition” and under Advanced, select “Wipe Dalvik cache”
This works on the LG/Google Nexus 4 phone, but there’s no reason this won’t work on other Nexus phones.
*** I will not be responsible for lost data, so ensure to still take a backup. ***
precurse said:
5. Run “fastboot oem unlock”. (from your PC)
6. Select “Yes”.. It will warn you that your device will be wiped. You will be brought back to that screen with the robot that’s open.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you didnt read the post.
it clearly says you will lose your data with fastboot oem unlock.
also, thread necro!
Zepius said:
you didnt read the post.
it clearly says you will lose your data with fastboot oem unlock.
also, thread necro!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it's supposed to .... But it never did when I overwrote the recovery partition this particular way. I believe it may do the actual "wipe" on reboot after you've unlocked the bootloader. However, overwriting the recovery partition may confuse it and so it doesn't format it...
It worked for me this way (confirmed twice), and so I'm providing the steps I took.
precurse said:
I know it's supposed to .... But it never did when I overwrote the recovery partition this particular way. I believe it may do the actual "wipe" on reboot after you've unlocked the bootloader. However, overwriting the recovery partition may confuse it and so it doesn't format it...
It worked for me this way (confirmed twice), and so I'm providing the steps I took.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a sure way that data won't be lost. Not sure if you're aware but there are a select number of gnex and even n4 units which did not experience data loss with that method. If memory serves me right there wasn't a clear explanation as to which units were lucky. Some time several months ago those that came from play store didn't experience data loss from unlocking bootloader. Those that originally came with takju were those. However it's not a hundred percent accurate because some still did lose data. Recovery doesn't have anything to do with it. The simple act of unlocking the bootloader erases data but some "lucky" units didn't experience it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Interesting. Well, this apparently doesn't affect my Nexus 4 that I received from Google yesterday.
I'll try the same directions with my Galaxy Nexus after I get home today as well and report back.
precurse said:
Interesting. Well, this apparently doesn't affect my Nexus 4 that I received from Google yesterday.
I'll try the same directions with my Galaxy Nexus after I get home today as well and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out this thread for the gnex http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1650830
For the n4 there have been mentions of some units not wiping data as well
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
showthread.php?t=2016628
Search next time......................................
I currently have a T-Mobile HTC One M8.
I am running 4.4.4 with Sense 6.0
It is rooted, custom recovery (TWRP), S-OFF, with Xposed Framework installed.
I know this has been asked and discussed a million times in bits and pieces around XDA and the internet in general, but I am still having trouble finding one source with a definitive answer as to the steps I should follow.
I would like to update to Android Lollipop 5.0 (5.0.1)
- The OTA that has shown up on my phone as of now is Software Update: 4.20.531.4 (632.7 MB). I am not sure if there is already another one that would follow this one if I were able to successfully update to this version.
With that being said, I did not make a backup of my stock rom, nor recovery.
I am assuming that the process I need to take is this (to return my device to stock):
1) Uninstall XPOSED Modules and XPOSED Framework
2) Flash a STOCK ROM via custom recovery (TWRP)
3) Flash a STOCK RECOVERY via custom recovery (TWRP)
- Is this correct?
- If so, can someone provide me a link to the STOCK ROM and STOCK RECOVERY that I would need?
- If not, what are the steps I should follow?
Then what do I need to do to update my device to Lollipop?
Do I just refresh and check the software update in the ABOUT section of settings and update it as an OTA?
Can I skip all of these steps and just flash a factory LOLLIPOP IMAGE and RECOVERY via ADB with my device in it's current state?
Thank you in advance to anyone who will help me out
-----
UPDATE...
-----
*** I finally updated to Android Lollipop 5.0 (5.0.1)
This is what I did:
* I kept my device plugged into my computer this entire time
1) Download this STOCK ROM zip (TMOUS-M8-3.32.531.2-Stock-TWRP.zip)
2) Download this STOCK RECOVERY img (Tmo-M8-3.32.531.2-recovery.img)
3) Download this OTA zip (OTA-3.32.531.2 to 4.20.531.4)
4) Backup CURRENT ROM via TWRP (just in case)
5) Extract the files from STOCK ROM zip and place them in a folder named STOCK ROM
6) Move the STOCK ROM folder to your device under |sdcard / TWRP / BACKUPS / "random numbers & letters" / Place the folder here|, next to your CURRENT ROM backup
7) Move the OTA zip to your device under |sdcard / Download|
8) Move the STOCK RECOVERY img to whatever folder you have ADB (fastboot) setup in, on your computer
9) Reboot into TWRP, click restore, select STOCK ROM, then swipe to restore
10) After it finishes restoring, do not reboot. Just click back until you can select reboot, then select to reboot bootloader
11) Once it reboots to the bootloader and you are at the screen where it says FASTBOOT, open ADB (fastboot) command prompt and flash the STOCK RECOVERY img by typing: fastboot flash recovery "name of recovery".img
12) Once that has completed, reboot the device
13) Once the device has rebooted open ADB (fastboot) command prompt again and reboot into recovery by typing: adb reboot recovery
14) For me, it rebooted to a black screen, then turned into a black screen with a warning triangle, then I hit the volume buttons a few times as well as the power button and then it loaded up the recovery options (sounds weird, but this is how it happened for me)
15) Once the options appear, use the volume and power buttons to select apply from phone storage, then locate the OTA zip file that you moved into the Download folder, select it and hit the power button to apply it
16) Let it run and apply the update, then follow the instructions at the end to reboot the phone
17) Now you will have Android Lollipop 5.0 (5.0.1) on your device
*** When you apply the OTA zip, it will sit at "patching system files" for quite a while, so don't worry. Applying the OTA took around 15 minutes to complete for me
*** I never wiped data or cache or anything like that during this entire process. All my apps, settings, etc... remained how I had them before. I didn't have to set anything up after the final reboot. Everything was just like I had had it on my CURRENT ROM
*** I never uninstalled XPOSED Modules or XPOSED Framework, or unrooted the device. I simply did all the steps I just listed. Nothing else.
*** Of course after completion of this update process you will lose root, and would have to re-root and re-install XPOSED (which is possible now that XPOSED is compatible with Lollipop)
I would also like to know...
It's somewhat old, but the instructions using Method #1 more or less apply. Just make sure that when/if you reflash TWRP that you flash 2.8.5. Nothing older.
http://venomroms.com/viperonem8_3-0-0-requirements/
This is of course irrelevant to the OP, but for anyone who's still considering the move, my advice would be not to "update". I see absolutely no advantage of Lollipop in comparison to KitKat, at least as long as stock Sense 6 phones are concerned.
I have a completely stock, unrooted (although not SIM-locked) HTC One M8. A few weeks ago the OTA came and I "updated". Now, my phone worked perfectly before: fast, on battery for more than 2 days, etc. After the "update" there where problems after problems after problems. The keyboard lags, the battery life is way worse, etc. Yes, some of the problems can be overcome. But in my opinion if you just want a working phone, this "update" is simply not worth your time.
unifex_ said:
This is of course irrelevant to the OP, but for anyone who's still considering the move, my advice would be not to "update". I see absolutely no advantage of Lollipop in comparison to KitKat, at least as long as stock Sense 6 phones are concerned.
I have a completely stock, unrooted (although not SIM-locked) HTC One M8. A few weeks ago the OTA came and I "updated". Now, my phone worked perfectly before: fast, on battery for more than 2 days, etc. After the "update" there where problems after problems after problems. The keyboard lags, the battery life is way worse, etc. Yes, some of the problems can be overcome. But in my opinion if you just want a working phone, this "update" is simply not worth your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you factory reset your device after the update? I'm 100% stock, not rooted (although S-OFF) and it lasts well over a day but I always factory reset after every major update
EddyOS said:
Have you factory reset your device after the update? I'm 100% stock, not rooted (although S-OFF) and it lasts well over a day but I always factory reset after every major update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did the factory reset. Strangely enough (although perhaps not so strangely) the reset kept the data of old apps. For example, I had some navigation app that downloaded lots of maps. The app is gone, but the maps are still there, even after the reset. They are just a dead weight now, with no way of accessing them - although I'm not sure whether I will be able to access them if I reinstall the app. Same with dictionaries.
The battery life got a bit better lately, perhaps after the Google Services update. But it's still not as good as it was on KitKat.
And finally, shouldn't the update bring improvements? So far we've been talking about issues and how to deal with them. I honestly have not seen any single improvement over KitKat. Perhaps something "under the hood", but then I would expect the phone to be more responsive, not lagging. So looking back, I just don't see what was the point of this update. Maybe with Sense 7 ...
Not tested on nougat.
I use adb and fastboot , twrp, supersu.
Files We need:
TWRP: It's bogus, in my phone the screen flips upsidedown: Connect a mouse thru female usb or try to figure out how to tap in a rotated screen with a non rotated touch panel.
TWRP Download -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0XMYw0cbs_cdm5FZW1DQXl4MFU/view
SuperSU file - > https://download.chainfire.eu/1021/SuperSU/SR3-SuperSU-v2.79-SR3-20170114223742.zip?retrieve_file=1
For ADB access thru MAC:
1.- First of all we have to get open USB debug mode to get adb acces to the phone by going to Settings -> About -> Software Information -> Tap 7 times over Build number.
2.- After we get Developer options available we have to put the phone on usb debugging by goig to "Settings-> Developer Options" Activate USB Debugging.
3.- Install android platform-tools on your PC/Linux/MAC , in my case had work on MAC and no devices acces thru ADB on PC :silly: .
platform-tools -> http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/0...ble-without-full-sdk-android-studio-download/
Here you have the 3 options to download ADB and FASTBOOT
4.- Connect your phone to the PC (USB) and copy SuperSu to the root of your phone, a place that its easy too acces, cause TWRP, for the moment flips the screen.
5.- Copy TWRP3.0.XXX.zip to the folder where you have platform-tools installed.
6.- Reboot your phone to bootloader and in Linux could work too:
./adb reboot bootloader [./ is placed cause I don't put platform-tools on the my PATH]
After the boot, then we have to boot on TWRP
./fastboot boot twrp-3.0xxxx.zip (you don't flash anything) If you want to flash TWRP, at your awn risk, ./fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.0xxxx.zip".
Well, now you have to see TRWP on your phone screen.
My recomendation is to play a little bit with the flipped screen if you don't have a female USB to plug a mouse.
7.- Trying to make a complete backup of the phone could be a good practice to move on TWRP with the flipped screen . Tap backup option and make a Backup. Always recomended!
8.- After Backup, you can go to INSTALL SuperSU.zip file. "Install -> look for your SuperSU.zip file "
9.- Go to Playstore and install supersu app.
Now you can test your root, after reboot for example tryin to install some APP that requires root. Fast move:
./adb shell
su root
It has to appear a screen to grant root access to the phone.
10. Done!
Well I think thats my second post at all, hope can help someone to root the phone.
I placed In Questions and Answers cause XDA says want to protect us from SPAM.
Feel free to correct me anything.
Kronen_75
Your links do not work.
jnmacd said:
Your links do not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Links are corrected. Thanks!
You can also substitute Magisk instead of Supersu if you need to use any of the pay apps or have root sensitive apps...
Without the right Twrp, many benefits to rooting are missing such as removing stock rom applications. Seems without being able to boot to a recovery, even Titanium cannot remove apps because it needs to clean the dalvic.. Can't do it without a recovery
Sent from my ASUS_Z016D using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Download the right twrp here: https://mega.nz/#F!EkFF1CJD!C8o2wXMARW3YJFOipDttbA
You should change your title !!
Tested on nougat.
The variant ZS550KL can be rooted with same method on latest firmware with nougat
Very nice guide, Thank you. Could you please provide updated links to both TWRP and SuperSU. I am currently using TWRP 3.1.1-0 and it functions properly after hanging for approximately 45 seconds on boot. This may be due to the fact my phone is encrypted. I initially rooted without installing TWRP (fastboot boot twrp.img) but have since flashed it. Both ways work well. The posted version of SuperSU did result in root but caused me to lose cell service! The phone could "see" the sim card but not use it. Updating to SuperSU 2.82 solved that issue. This was all done on my finally rooted ZenFone 3 Deluxe Special Edition (Z016D)!!!
I unfortunately figured something out the other day. Using TWRP 3.1.1-0 I am able to install zip files, complete wipes, make & restore backups. The issues only arise after you restore your nandroid image. Everything works except for two things.
1. The ability to hear audio during phone calls. The phone is actually able to place calls but you are unable to hear or record any phone audio. Oddly enough I was able to play music and use voice dictation. It was only in-call audio that seemed to be affected.
2. If you have a pin set when you create your nandroid image your pin will no longer work once restored. You will be locked out of your own phone!!
Fortunately both are fairly easily resolved and keep TWRP relatively useful, although a bit bothersome!
To resolve the pin issue it is necessary to use the TWRP file manager or ADB to delete 5 files (listed below) and regain entrance to your phone. Once deleted simply reboot the phone and reset your pin. If you remove your pin before creating a backup this issue is averted completely.
/data/system/gatekeeper.pattern.key
/data/system/gatekeeper.password.key
/data/system/locksettings.db
/data/system/locksettings.db-wal
/data/system/locksettings.db-shm
To re-enable call audio use TWRP (install zip) to reflash the same version firmware from the Asus website over your current install without wiping. This will restore any system apps you may have removed but you should still have root and can easily remove them again. There will be two errors when performing the flash, which is why I believe root is retained but the system image will be reflashed. Reboot and enjoy
I sincerely hope I have not caused anyone any issues! Or that someone else finds this information useful. I have tested everything in this post at least three times. All testing was done on the most recent Android 7 firmware on my ZenFone 3 Deluxe Special Edition (SnapDragon 821/6/256).
Sandman45654 said:
I unfortunately figured something out the other day. Using TWRP 3.1.1-0 I am able to install zip files, complete wipes, make & restore backups. The issues only arise after you restore your nandroid image. Everything works except for two things.
1. The ability to hear audio during phone calls. The phone is actually able to place calls but you are unable to hear or record any phone audio. Oddly enough I was able to play music and use voice dictation. It was only in-call audio that seemed to be affected.
2. If you have a pin set when you create your nandroid image your pin will no longer work once restored. You will be locked out of your own phone!!
Fortunately both are fairly easily resolved and keep TWRP relatively useful, although a bit bothersome!
To resolve the pin issue it is necessary to use the TWRP file manager or ADB to delete 5 files (listed below) and regain entrance to your phone. Once deleted simply reboot the phone and reset your pin. If you remove your pin before creating a backup this issue is averted completely.
/data/system/gatekeeper.pattern.key
/data/system/gatekeeper.password.key
/data/system/locksettings.db
/data/system/locksettings.db-wal
/data/system/locksettings.db-shm
To re-enable call audio use TWRP (install zip) to reflash the same version firmware from the Asus website over your current install without wiping. This will restore any system apps you may have removed but you should still have root and can easily remove them again. There will be two errors when performing the flash, which is why I believe root is retained but the system image will be reflashed. Reboot and enjoy
I sincerely hope I have not caused anyone any issues! Or that someone else finds this information useful. I have tested everything in this post at least three times. All testing was done on the most recent Android 7 firmware on my ZenFone 3 Deluxe Special Edition (SnapDragon 821/6/256).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The second issue happens in all the phones/twrp.
It's possible to install the firmware from asus website with twrp?? To update i flash the stock recovery, install the firmware, then reflash twrp and supersu. Didn't know that! It updates successfully with twrp??
Thank you Ryder for confirming my suspicion that the pin issue may have been a more common one with TWRP. This is the first phone I actually cared enough about to use a pin. I was thrown for a loop when I first booted my fresh nandroid restore and the pin I know I've been using was incorrect!
As for installing firmware, with the two errors that occurred during I don't know that you would be able to do full scale upgrade to a higher version. To reinstall the system partition however it does seem to work quite well. I tested this part four times. To do so download the correct device/version firmware to the phones storage, click install, and select that file. After it completes I like to wipe both the cache and the dalvik cache before restarting the phone. The audio issue was unfortunately easily reproduced on my phone, but thankfully equally easy to resolve. This worked for me each time without fail.
Sandman45654 said:
Thank you Ryder for confirming my suspicion that the pin issue may have been a more common one with TWRP. This is the first phone I actually cared enough about to use a pin. I was thrown for a loop when I first booted my fresh nandroid restore and the pin I know I've been using was incorrect!
As for installing firmware, with the two errors that occurred during I don't know that you would be able to do full scale upgrade to a higher version. To reinstall the system partition however it does seem to work quite well. I tested this part four times. To do so download the correct device/version firmware to the phones storage, click install, and select that file. After it completes I like to wipe both the cache and the dalvik cache before restarting the phone. The audio issue was unfortunately easily reproduced on my phone, but thankfully equally easy to resolve. This worked for me each time without fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said that the two issues occurred when you restored the nandroid backup and to fix one of them by installing the zip firmware from asus website with twrp... I don't understand. I can install zip firmware with twrp or i have to flash the stock recovery and install with it? Errors may occur using the twrp? Sorry
Everything done in my post so far has been in TWRP. Honestly I didn't even back up the recovery image. TWRP seemed to work flawlessly so I bit bullet and flashed it.
On a sidenote I am currently testing the usability of FlahFire on this device. It appears to create a very nice fastboot installable recovery image! I have yet to restore the image however. I will post my findings here once I have thoroughly tested it.
Sandman45654 said:
Everything done in my post so far has been in TWRP. Honestly I didn't even back up the recovery image. TWRP seemed to work flawlessly so I bit bullet and flashed it.
On a sidenote I am currently testing the usability of FlahFire on this device. It appears to create a very nice fastboot installable recovery image! I have yet to restore the image however. I will post my findings here once I have thoroughly tested it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. I'm interested in flashing zip firmware to update. Never tried that. I thought that firmware can be installed only with stock recovery. The stock recovery can be downloaded in an asus forum website
This is the first time I have flashed anything in almost a year. I got to thinking and this is the most success I have had was flashing a stock image with TWRP! I doubt it will perform a full flash. I believe the errors are most likely for the boot and recovery partitions. As a save my butt reflash the system partition it does work. It sounds like it's time to find some TWRP changelogs!
Sandman45654 said:
This is the first time I have flashed anything in almost a year. I got to thinking and this is the most success I have had was flashing a stock image with TWRP! I doubt it will perform a full flash. I believe the errors are most likely for the boot and recovery partitions. As a save my butt reflash the system partition it does work. It sounds like it's time to find some TWRP changelogs!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't care about stock images... If i can't flash the zip with twrp to update successfully then i reflash the stock recovery and after the update root again with twrp and supersu. By the way, the zip firmare contains factory images? I thought it contains different kind of files
Ryder. said:
By the way, the zip firmare contains factory images? I thought it contains different kind of files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I lack the knowledge to answer that with enough certainty to even call it an answer! This is my foray into the insides of this phone and I don't want to start posting my hunches.
What I do know is you can flash the system partition using TWRP. I have done it several times. Asus's zips run as a script based zip install. You are offered no options during install. When the script runs you will see two errors quickly scroll past.
Ryder. said:
Download the right twrp here: https://mega.nz/#F!EkFF1CJD!C8o2wXMARW3YJFOipDttbA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you creating these TWRP builds? If so thank you very much! TWRP-3.1.1-0-Z016-20170826 seems to work flawlessly! No lag on boot and no known issues after restoring a backup unlike before.
I wanted to post my finding about FlashFire by Chainfire. I have had great success with the fastboot backup! It is the only option I have tested extensively however. I have been running the same fastboot restored phone since soon after my last post on this topic with no issues discovered.
Sandman45654 said:
Are you creating these TWRP builds? If so thank you very much! TWRP-3.1.1-0-Z016-20170826 seems to work flawlessly! No lag on boot and no known issues after restoring a backup unlike before.
I wanted to post my finding about FlashFire by Chainfire. I have had great success with the fastboot backup! It is the only option I have tested extensively however. I have been running the same fastboot restored phone since soon after my last post on this topic with no issues discovered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It's not me. It's another user which i don't remember the nickname
Ryder. said:
No. It's not me. It's another user which i don't remember the nickname
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay thank you. If you happen to find out/remember please let me know. I would like to give credit with my project and thank them for their hard work.
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
acheney1990 said:
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your wanting to flash a factory image, you'll need a few things first.
I would highly recommend that you look over the linked thread carefully. It has many links and tips to help you on your way :good:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/how-to/guide-unlock-flash-root-pixel-2-xl-t3702418
acheney1990 said:
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://developers.google.com/android/images
Make sure you have the latest adb and fastboot. Get them from Google...
Go get the latest image and Unzip it. Do not Unzip the folder inside. Move everything you just unzipped into the folder with adb and fastboot.
Now, if you've unlocked and unlocked critical, great. If you haven't unlocked critical, you'll have to. The system image won't install if the bootloader is out of date. Sadly, this will wipe your data.
If both are already unlocked, then open the flash-all file with a text editor and remove the,"-w" and the space preceding, then save the file. Removing the -w will keep your data. Run the flash-all.bat file and in about 10 minutes everything will be flashed.
back to stock
how to back on stock ....i sell the phone and want all stock...no root no boot loader unlocked ...what is the fastest way pls
lomski said:
how to back on stock ....i sell the phone and want all stock...no root no boot loader unlocked ...what is the fastest way pls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thing!! Forget fast!! You need to fastboot flash a full factory image with the -w still in the script. Maybe even do it twice. Then go in and do a factory reset from the OS for good measure. Once that is done and you know it reboots you can go through the locking command. I would NOT toggle the OEM switch in dev though.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
So this has been a a very frustrating experiance but I think I've got everything working again. I don't know how many times I've flashed different factory images and then tried to install TWRP and then install a new custom rom. So I want to explain all of the steps I took (if I remember them all).
0. I couldn't boot into my system but had TWRP installed. At this point I should have tried to get all my data from the sd card via "adb pull /sdcard" .
1. I didn't find any option to fix my system. So I followed this guide to install a factory image (link).
3. I skipped through all of the setup processes and gave my phone wifi. Then I went into the system and did a factory reset.
4. After skipping thourgh the setup again I enabled adb and bootet into the bootloader "adb reboot bootlader"
5. From the bootloader I booted into TWRP by "fastboot boot twrp-3.3.0.0-taimen.img. In the recovery I set the display time out to 300s because for some reason once the phone timed out I could get into twrp any more and the screen stayed black.
6. I transferred the twrp installer and my rom by " adb push TWRP_installer.zip /sdcard/Download" and " adb push ROM.zip /sdcard/Download"
7. I first added the TWRP installer to the flash queue and then I added the rom and then falshed them both. This allowed me to install the rom.
8. For some reason TWRP was not installed. So repeat step 5 and only flash the TWRP_installter.zip
Problems I had:
- In twrp I often got errors that said unable to mount system or vendor. I decided to ignore the error but this thread might help
- Installing TWRP while the stock rom is installed led to the problem that touch didn't work in TWRP
- Entering a pin for the stock rom and then installing TWRP led to TWRP asking for a pin to decrypt my data. Apparently this is not the case if you use a stock image which is older
After flashing stock ROM ota and twrp installer zip the only way to get TWRP to respond to touch is if you disable screen lock and connect to your PC before booting TWRP.
I've found the most reliable way to flash factory images is do it manually with fastboot, latest platform tools installed and a Linux OS like Ubuntu or pop os.
But first do some research and get comfortable with fastboot commands. And dear god don't relock your bootloader unless you're ?% sure it's totally stock.
@schpongo,
Also, a good point to keep when flashing via TWRP is to flash/install ONE AT A TIME. As per the great @Az Biker, you should even reboot to the bootloader after each subsequent flash/install. So, in your case, it seems that you might/should be rebooting to the bootloader three times; one for TWRP installation, one for flashing the custom ROM, and one more for any other subsequent installation (i.e. custom kernel or custom font)...
Also, as it's been said before, but stock kernel doesn't play nice with touch commands on TWRP, and (usually) the only way around it is to reboot into bootloader using the adb command -- as opposed to holding the volume-down button or from an app.
I know you figured this all out already, but it might bear repeating just in case you didn't know and/or to help any other users here...
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.
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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!!
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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….
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!!
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Click to collapse
As @simplepinoi177 said, I'm part of the community that just let's the factory image flash the slot it needs/wants to, and it's never once been an issue.
Look at it like this; some people prefer to simply copy/paste a link or block of text in the PC, some people prefer to CTRL + C then CTRL + V.... BOTH take you to the same end.
Plus, knowing me, the more I manually mess with Slot A vs Slot B, the more chance there is for me to screw something up
Best of luck with your 2 XL, it's a FICKLE device, but it's a really, really great device once you get it as you want it.
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.