Develop Bugs

[Q] Quick question about stock recovery

Hello all, this is my first post. I'm looking for a little clarification on which stock recovery I should use so I can do OTA updates.
First, a little background. This is the first device that I've ever unlocked and rooted. I did a lot of reading before I started, but sometimes you don't really learn until you get your hands dirty. I started with an AT&T HTC One M8. I used HTCdev to unlock the bootloader, then used TWRP recovery. After that, I used Hasoon2000's All-in-one-toolkit for the Perm Root. All went as expected. I then loaded the Xposed framework and tried a couple of things with it. Suddenly, my phone started re-booting every 30 seconds or so. After panicking a bit, I figured out that there was a problem with the SuperSU. I re-applied that and all has been happy again. Since then, I also tried to obtain S-Off using the firewater method, but it failed with the Whelp message so I still only have S-On. I've now uninstalled the Xposed framework and I want to revert back to a stock recovery so I can do future OTA updates.
When I use getvar all, my version-main is blank. From what I have read, this is a common problem so I'm not worried about it. But, isn't this the number that I need to determine which stock recovery to use? Is this the same number that shows up in the Settings->About->Software information->Software number? Does the cid have any determination in which stock recovery to use?
After I do find the correct stock recovery, it is my understanding that I just flash that back to the device and it should be safe for OTA updates in the future. Is this correct?
Sorry... I'm a little gun shy after my reboot problem and I'm just looking for a little confirmation that I'm understanding things correctly before pulling the trigger again.
Thanks!
Ron

ericksonline said:
Hello all, this is my first post. I'm looking for a little clarification on which stock recovery I should use so I can do OTA updates.
First, a little background. This is the first device that I've ever unlocked and rooted. I did a lot of reading before I started, but sometimes you don't really learn until you get your hands dirty. I started with an AT&T HTC One M8. I used HTCdev to unlock the bootloader, then used TWRP recovery. After that, I used Hasoon2000's All-in-one-toolkit for the Perm Root. All went as expected. I then loaded the Xposed framework and tried a couple of things with it. Suddenly, my phone started re-booting every 30 seconds or so. After panicking a bit, I figured out that there was a problem with the SuperSU. I re-applied that and all has been happy again. Since then, I also tried to obtain S-Off using the firewater method, but it failed with the Whelp message so I still only have S-On. I've now uninstalled the Xposed framework and I want to revert back to a stock recovery so I can do future OTA updates.
When I use getvar all, my version-main is blank. From what I have read, this is a common problem so I'm not worried about it. But, isn't this the number that I need to determine which stock recovery to use? Is this the same number that shows up in the Settings->About->Software information->Software number? Does the cid have any determination in which stock recovery to use?
After I do find the correct stock recovery, it is my understanding that I just flash that back to the device and it should be safe for OTA updates in the future. Is this correct?
Sorry... I'm a little gun shy after my reboot problem and I'm just looking for a little confirmation that I'm understanding things correctly before pulling the trigger again.
Thanks!
Ron
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can go to software number to get the info you need. To do an OTA you need a stock sense ROM (NO CHANGES TO ANY SYSTEM APPS) you then need to flash the correct recovery for your software number and [IMPORTANT] relock the bootloader. You then can reboot into your system and take the OTA while still being able to unlock the bootloader and flash a custom recovery afterwards.

No need to relock the bootloader for an ota. People should stop spreading that info

Thanks for the replies!
Just to check my understanding, since I simply unlocked the bootloader, used the TWRP recovery, added SuperSU, installed then uninstalled Xposed framework, that means that I should still be on a stock sense ROM (with no changes to any system apps), right?
There is a lot to learn with all of this when you are first starting out. I'm reading a lot, but sometimes you do find conflicting information. I'd rather be a little cautious than do something stupid!
Thanks again!

ericksonline said:
Hello all, this is my first post. I'm looking for a little clarification on which stock recovery I should use so I can do OTA updates.
First, a little background. This is the first device that I've ever unlocked and rooted. I did a lot of reading before I started, but sometimes you don't really learn until you get your hands dirty. I started with an AT&T HTC One M8. I used HTCdev to unlock the bootloader, then used TWRP recovery. After that, I used Hasoon2000's All-in-one-toolkit for the Perm Root. All went as expected. I then loaded the Xposed framework and tried a couple of things with it. Suddenly, my phone started re-booting every 30 seconds or so. After panicking a bit, I figured out that there was a problem with the SuperSU. I re-applied that and all has been happy again. Since then, I also tried to obtain S-Off using the firewater method, but it failed with the Whelp message so I still only have S-On. I've now uninstalled the Xposed framework and I want to revert back to a stock recovery so I can do future OTA updates.
When I use getvar all, my version-main is blank. From what I have read, this is a common problem so I'm not worried about it. But, isn't this the number that I need to determine which stock recovery to use? Is this the same number that shows up in the Settings->About->Software information->Software number? Does the cid have any determination in which stock recovery to use?
After I do find the correct stock recovery, it is my understanding that I just flash that back to the device and it should be safe for OTA updates in the future. Is this correct?
Sorry... I'm a little gun shy after my reboot problem and I'm just looking for a little confirmation that I'm understanding things correctly before pulling the trigger again.
Thanks!
Ron
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ericksonline said:
Thanks for the replies!
Just to check my understanding, since I simply unlocked the bootloader, used the TWRP recovery, added SuperSU, installed then uninstalled Xposed framework, that means that I should still be on a stock sense ROM (with no changes to any system apps), right?
There is a lot to learn with all of this when you are first starting out. I'm reading a lot, but sometimes you do find conflicting information. I'd rather be a little cautious than do something stupid!
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup you're good ROM wise. Just flash the stock recovery and you should be good to go.

You can be unlock and have OTA.
You just need a stock recovery.

HTC ONE M8 fails to load up after failed software update
Hello guys, this is my first post. I really need your help as I'm at risk of loosing all my phone data. My phone internal memory had been exhausted and I bought an external SD card. I am unable to transfer data to the external SD card. I was doing a software update on my phone that failed to install, there was a warning sign on the phone screen for a few minutes then it try to power on but has failed, as it's seem to stuck on the screen that display htc powered by android. I tried the recovery holding down the power button and the column up button, the phone power off and back on but is still stuck on this screen (htc powered by android). I tried connecting the phone to my laptop to try and recover my data, but it's not mounting to the laptop. Please can someone help me. Thanks in advance.

Similar to the post above ie rooted and kept on stock. Also loaded a few Xposed modules but when I connected to my wifi I had over 30 updates so loaded all of them and once loaded the old bootloop started. I restored my nandroid backup from TWRP (this is an essential backup) and I was back in action. Phew!!!! I no longer had Xposed. So I did the updates again and the same thing happened. I am now updating one at a time which is painful when you've got so many. I also tried wiping the caches but that didn't work.
I noticed there were a lot of HTC apps eg HTC sense input, service pack, blinkfeed etc. I also notice a super SU update. ericksonlines post above said he had a problem with superSU. What kind of problem? What does he mean by reapplying? Flashing from TWRP?
So the big question. Which app(s) update did the damage???
Any apps I shouldn't update eg HTCs?
Has this happened to anyone else? What did you then do? Is the new updated superSU the problem
Apologies for cross posting on an Australian site but I'm a bit frazzled with all of this.

jbarr3 said:
Similar to the post above ie rooted and kept on stock. Also loaded a few Xposed modules but when I connected to my wifi I had over 30 updates so loaded all of them and once loaded the old bootloop started. I restored my nandroid backup from TWRP (this is an essential backup) and I was back in action. Phew!!!! I no longer had Xposed. So I did the updates again and the same thing happened. I am now updating one at a time which is painful when you've got so many. I also tried wiping the caches but that didn't work.
I noticed there were a lot of HTC apps eg HTC sense input, service pack, blinkfeed etc. I also notice a super SU update. ericksonlines post above said he had a problem with superSU. What kind of problem? What does he mean by reapplying? Flashing from TWRP?
So the big question. Which app(s) update did the damage???
Any apps I shouldn't update eg HTCs?
Has this happened to anyone else? What did you then do? Is the new updated superSU the problem
Apologies for cross posting on an Australian site but I'm a bit frazzled with all of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello! It is possible that an update came through that caused my phone to start into the boot loop. I'm not sure because it worked fine for a few hours before the problem started happening all of the sudden. My guess is that something updated that broke SuperSU. As soon as something would try to use SuperSU (or maybe the rights granted by SuperSU), the phone would crash and reboot. To fix the problem, I rebooted into the bootloader (TWRP) and re-installed SuperSU from there. After I re-installed, everything began working nicely again. I have not had a problem since and the problem occurred a few months ago now. I have also recently updated to the new version of SuperSU with no problems at all.
I hope this helps!
Ron

ericksonline said:
Hello! It is possible that an update came through that caused my phone to start into the boot loop. I'm not sure because it worked fine for a few hours before the problem started happening all of the sudden. My guess is that something updated that broke SuperSU. As soon as something would try to use SuperSU (or maybe the rights granted by SuperSU), the phone would crash and reboot. To fix the problem, I rebooted into the bootloader (TWRP) and re-installed SuperSU from there. After I re-installed, everything began working nicely again. I have not had a problem since and the problem occurred a few months ago now. I have also recently updated to the new version of SuperSU with no problems at all.
I hope this helps!
Ron
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're dead right Ron. Supersu was the culprit. Just simply updating from the playstore caused this. I restored an android backup which got me back. I went into the old SuperSu (V1.94) and clicked "clean up when updating from google play" or similar, did the update again (v 2.04 from google) and while this didn't cause rebooting, I couldn't install the binary. I chose "normal" (maybe I should have chosen TWRP) and it didn't work. So I flashed my old v1.94 from TWRP and that got me back. So some questions on updating SuperSu.
1. Is flashing the zip file through TWRP the best way to install a new version?
2. Should I delete or uninstall the old version or will flashing do that for me? Did you simply flash over the top of the other one?
3. Should I stick with 1.94, which works, or should I update to a new and improved version?
4. I think 2.16 is the latest. What version are you running, is it stable and do you recommend it ?
5. I assume I get the zip file from chainfire. They are way ahead of the google playstore for updates

jbarr3 said:
You're dead right Ron. Supersu was the culprit. Just simply updating from the playstore caused this. I restored an android backup which got me back. I went into the old SuperSu (V1.94) and clicked "clean up when updating from google play" or similar, did the update again (v 2.04 from google) and while this didn't cause rebooting, I couldn't install the binary. I chose "normal" (maybe I should have chosen TWRP) and it didn't work. So I flashed my old v1.94 from TWRP and that got me back. So some questions on updating SuperSu.
1. Is flashing the zip file through TWRP the best way to install a new version?
2. Should I delete or uninstall the old version or will flashing do that for me? Did you simply flash over the top of the other one?
3. Should I stick with 1.94, which works, or should I update to a new and improved version?
4. I think 2.16 is the latest. What version are you running, is it stable and do you recommend it ?
5. I assume I get the zip file from chainfire. They are way ahead of the google playstore for updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no expert, but I'm happy to share my experience. I do believe that flashing from TWRP is the best way to install. That is what I did to fix my reboot problems. I don't recall uninstalling the previous version in any way. I think the old file was still on there. I browsed to it in TWRP and installed it. I'm not sure what version I was on when I did this. Recently, a new update (2.16) was available that downloaded through the Play Store. When I went to update, it recommended that I use TWRP to install. I didn't go this route because I had already switched back to the default bootloader and didn't want to reinstall TWRP if I didn't have to. So, I just used the "normal" method. It updated successfully and I've had no problems. I am now running 2.16.

ericksonline said:
I'm no expert, but I'm happy to share my experience. I do believe that flashing from TWRP is the best way to install. That is what I did to fix my reboot problems. I don't recall uninstalling the previous version in any way. I think the old file was still on there. I browsed to it in TWRP and installed it. I'm not sure what version I was on when I did this. Recently, a new update (2.16) was available that downloaded through the Play Store. When I went to update, it recommended that I use TWRP to install. I didn't go this route because I had already switched back to the default bootloader and didn't want to reinstall TWRP if I didn't have to. So, I just used the "normal" method. It updated successfully and I've had no problems. I am now running 2.16.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks erick but given what's happened I don't think I'll ever update from the playstore again. I'll load 2.16 using TWRP and report back. I can't stress enough how important it is to have a nandroid backup. I reckon its the best reason to load a custom recovery. Its got me out of trouble twice now and gives me piece of mind. I've actually gone overboard on this and I have two backups on my phone which I have copied to my PC..

vm54 said:
You can be unlock and have OTA.
You just need a stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And stock ROM.

Updated to v 2.16. Piece of cake!!!
Loaded through TWRP, rebooted and that was it. It didn't even ask about installing the binary. Same binary I guess.
It worried me, however, when I saw over 700 pages on this version xda. Most with problems.

jbarr3 said:
Updated to v 2.16. Piece of cake!!!
Loaded through TWRP, rebooted and that was it. It didn't even ask about installing the binary. Same binary I guess.
It worried me, however, when I saw over 700 pages on this version xda. Most with problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! I'm glad to hear that it worked!

Ominous screen after downgrading and installing recovery

I rooted a new aftv last night and all went smooth. Today downgrading and installing cwm very different story.
My aftv now boots to a plain screen displaying the time (incorrectly), a lock symbol and the word "charged" I'm not sure which scared me more. But I'm not bricked. I could still connect with adb and reboot recovery. AND if I hadn't panicked I would've found out sooner that pressing the context menu key on remote takes me right back to the homescreen.
I swear I followed the guides on aftvnews (well done btw!) But every time there was a "if this happens" stipulation in the guides, it happened to me. I can't say it was hard but it was tedious.
Now my issue to I've pushed the correct Rom.zip to my sd card, rebooted recovery but the install fails with this error--Assert failed !less_than_int getprop ro.build.date.utc
I might be missing critical details here to help with diagnosing. Sorry. I've got to work. That process took way longer than expected. I'm hoping it might be enough info to get some ideas. I'll try to check back here later. Thanks.

KLit75 said:
I rooted a new aftv last night and all went smooth. Today downgrading and installing cwm very different story.
My aftv now boots to a plain screen displaying the time (incorrectly), a lock symbol and the word "charged" I'm not sure which scared me more. But I'm not bricked. I could still connect with adb and reboot recovery. AND if I hadn't panicked I would've found out sooner that pressing the context menu key on remote takes me right back to the homescreen.
I swear I followed the guides on aftvnews (well done btw!) But every time there was a "if this happens" stipulation in the guides, it happened to me. I can't say it was hard but it was tedious.
Now my issue to I've pushed the correct Rom.zip to my sd card, rebooted recovery but the install fails with this error--Assert failed !less_than_int getprop ro.build.date.utc
I might be missing critical details here to help with diagnosing. Sorry. I've got to work. That process took way longer than expected. I'm hoping it might be enough info to get some ideas. I'll try to check back here later. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's been a few people who have reported the lockscreen oddness. Once you install the update and do a factory reset it will be fine. As for the error, you are not using the correct update. You need to use the prerooted roms.

rbox said:
There's been a few people who have reported the lockscreen oddness. Once you install the update and do a factory reset it will be fine. As for the error, you are not using the correct update. You need to use the prerooted roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not being home right now...But following the guide and working from memory...I've got the latest cwm, unlocked boot loader and running 51.1.2.0, my next step would've been to flash
51.1.4.0
If those steps are accurate then from the info I put in the op, I did not install 51.1.4.0 and that's why it failed. I'll bet you're right but I'm pretty sure I pushed the correct version.
It's a bit confusing but doesn't this version require your boot menu. I'm fairly certain the newest cwm does need it. So assuming I pushed the correct version of prerooted fw...would not having boot menu cause the install to fail. Or maybe it's 2 errors on my part but I do remember downloading 51.1.4.0
Thanks a lot! It's in everyone's best interest you don't spend time assisting people like me with something that's probably simple. So if anyone has a comment on my posts please share.

KLit75 said:
Not being home right now...But following the guide and working from memory...I've got the latest cwm, unlocked boot loader and running 51.1.2.0, my next step would've been to flash
51.1.4.0
If those steps are accurate then from the info I put in the op, I did not install 51.1.4.0 and that's why it failed. I'll bet you're right but I'm pretty sure I pushed the correct version.
It's a bit confusing but doesn't this version require your boot menu. I'm fairly certain the newest cwm does need it. So assuming I pushed the correct version of prerooted fw...would not having boot menu cause the install to fail. Or maybe it's 2 errors on my part but I do remember downloading 51.1.4.0
Thanks a lot! It's in everyone's best interest you don't spend time assisting people like me with something that's probably simple. So if anyone has a comment on my posts please share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way to get the ro.build.date.utc failure is by using a stock package. My prerooted roms simply do not have that check in them. It fails on that line precisely to prevent people from installing stock packages.

rbox said:
The only way to get the ro.build.date.utc failure is by using a stock package. My prerooted roms simply do not have that check in them. It fails on that line precisely to prevent people from installing stock packages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! You probably saved me a lot of time trying to figure out where I went wrong. When I get home I'll delete the Rom I pushed, push the correct one, if it installs right I think my next move is your boot menu. But I'll double or triple check that later on tonight.
Edit--install 51.1.4.0 updated version then, if I follow correctly, I can install the latest prerooted fw.

I did everything I said I was going to do and it went smoothly. I'm now running prerooted 51.1.40
There's just one thing. I was certain I unlocked bootloader earlier today. From what I know it's not possible to have the latest cwm with a locked bootloader. But when I clicked unlock bootloader in adbfire (the program I use for my other aftv) it says "bootloader not unlocked"
So I was second guessing myself. But couldn't explain how I missed it and still had the latest cwm. I checked and aftv-unlock was there in my adb folder. I wouldnt have put it there if I didn't transfer it. But to be on the safe side I went back into the terminal and unlocked my bootloader (I believe for the 2nd time). THEN i hit the unlock bootloader on adbfire again and it still returns with "bootloader not unlocked"???
Is it because busybox was not installed through adbfire? If I use it on my other aftv it says "bootloader unlocked" so the software definetly can confirm it. It's just not...
Normally I'd go ahead and install rbox's boot menu then the latest firmware, but many more things have gone wrong in the last 24 hours (not tragically wrong) but just enough for me to wait for an answer on this and maybe stop for the night. Everything's working great (knock-wood) but I assume when rbox finishes android tv I'll need the boot menu. So I'll wait here patiently for both. Thanks.

[Q] I have a sem-complicated soft bricking problem

So I wanted to root this tablet, and I used a video online to help me do so.
I installed the USB drivers, got Odin 3, and loaded in CF_AutoRoot_Port_T700_BeansTown106.tar
It rooted my tablet and I was pretty happy about that. I then had update supersu, by getting the SU binaries.
So I came to this site and downloaded the recommended Supersu, and flashed it. It fixed that.
Well, then I wanted to get a custom ROM, so I flashed the Cyanogenmod 12, along with the component with it.
I found I didn't like it compared to my 5.0.2 Lolipop, and so I tried finding the stock ROM.
The gator download site everyone was showing refused to let me download anything, and just about all the ROMS seemed like they were from countries other than the U.S.
I searched for awhile, found nothing, then found a ROM called the Ironman Lolipop ROM, it was close enough to stock, so I flashed it.
Suddenly everything was normal, but then supersu needed binaries again, and after I flashed it again, it just stopped asking if it should grant permission, making the root useless.
Frustrated, I looked online again for ROMS, found a Canada one, decided to download, it would take two hours.
Well I'm not from Canada so I doubted it would work, and didn't want to wait two hours.
I decided to Flash back the Cyanogen.
Well unfortunately I went in and found out that I had deleted it earlier, whoops. And so my data wipe brought me back to Ironman ROM.
So, thinking that flashing to Iron Man screwed up my root I tried to re-root with Odin, the same way as the first.
It then had trouble booting, and when it did, it hung at the Samsung logo.
Now I've been stuck on this logo for about an hour, I can't turn it off. I'm assuming the only way to is to wait for it to run out of power.
I have been using TWRP this whole time.
I twice have backed up, and wiped data.
When I hit restore I saw no backups though, I'm not sure if they were for the ROM?
I don't know, I only have a year of experience.
Edit: I have an 8.1" T700 from Amazon.

pennylessz said:
So I wanted to root this tablet, and I used a video online to help me do so.
I installed the USB drivers, got Odin 3, and loaded in CF_AutoRoot_Port_T700_BeansTown106.tar
It rooted my tablet and I was pretty happy about that. I then had update supersu, by getting the SU binaries.
So I came to this site and downloaded the recommended Supersu, and flashed it. It fixed that.
Bla bla ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi! To force reboot while in a soft brick, press and hold power+home button+ both volume buttons all at the same time.
Then when the screen goes black, quickly press the odin\download mode button combo or recovery comba if you wish.
Luckily, I have mirrored the latest firmware for the T700 to a faster hosting site. This is an UK firmware and is the latest one. It should flash fine as I have flashed different firmwares from different countries many times.
Download Firmware (fast download): https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347761130
Now, ironrom has problems with root sometimes. When I make roms I don't preroot them as they cause problems of binaries if you preroot them. Anyway feel free to flash the firmware with odin or load an custom ROM to your sd card and flash it.
Hope this helps!

DUHAsianSKILLZ said:
Hi! To force reboot while in a soft brick, press and hold power+home button+ both volume buttons all at the same time.
Then when the screen goes black, quickly press the odin\download mode button combo or recovery comba if you wish.
Luckily, I have mirrored the latest firmware for the T700 to a faster hosting site. This is an UK firmware and is the latest one. It should flash fine as I have flashed different firmwares from different countries many times.
Download Firmware (fast download):
Now, ironrom has problems with root sometimes. When I make roms I don't preroot them as they cause problems of binaries if you preroot them. Anyway feel free to flash the firmware with odin or load an custom ROM to your sd card and flash it.
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for getting me out of the brick and back to stock.
However going into Supersu it says.
"There is no SU binary installed, and SuperSu cannot install it. This is a problem!
If you just upgraded to Android 5.0, you need to manually re-root- consult the relevant forums for your device!"
My question is, can I properly re-root it the way I had been?
I'm assuming if it soft bricks again I can just reinstall a stock ROM again.
Also all these ROMS and backups take up a lot of space, how would I go about deleting those when I'm done?

pennylessz said:
Thank you for getting me out of the brick and back to stock.
However going into Supersu it says.
"There is no SU binary installed, and SuperSu cannot install it. This is a problem!
If you just upgraded to Android 5.0, you need to manually re-root- consult the relevant forums for your device!"
My question is, can I properly re-root it the way I had been?
I'm assuming if it soft bricks again I can just reinstall a stock ROM again.
Also all these ROMS and backups take up a lot of space, how would I go about deleting those when I'm done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my files app, look for an folder called TWRP. Your backups are in there. To root simply install twrp and follow the twrp method to root. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=59638836

You can delete your backups from within twrp. Just select restore, then the backup, then delete.

Removing TWRP

Hi all
A couple of weeks ago I upgraded my rooted gen 1 fire tv to os 5 software and used twrp (previously using clockwork mod as per guides online). Anyway, it worked but i dont think i blocked updates and have since updated to OS 5.2.1.0 and appear to have lost root. No biggie since i didnt use it anyway.
One thing which is really annoying though is that 1-2 times a day ill turn the tv on and the fire tv has reset and is on the twrp screen. I fix this by unplugging the power and the fire tv reboots to its normal homescreen. Im just wondering what is an easy fix for this? Can i get rid of twrp? Do i do a reset of some form? I dont want to lose all my apps and kodi if possible.
I assume it is doing this for a particular reason, maybe looking for updates or something? I havent blocked updates at my router and really dont care too much anymore and am happy to run stock.
Cheers

cbarre said:
Hi all
A couple of weeks ago I upgraded my rooted gen 1 fire tv to os 5 software and used twrp (previously using clockwork mod as per guides online). Anyway, it worked but i dont think i blocked updates and have since updated to OS 5.2.1.0 and appear to have lost root. No biggie since i didnt use it anyway.
One thing which is really annoying though is that 1-2 times a day ill turn the tv on and the fire tv has reset and is on the twrp screen. I fix this by unplugging the power and the fire tv reboots to its normal homescreen. Im just wondering what is an easy fix for this? Can i get rid of twrp? Do i do a reset of some form? I dont want to lose all my apps and kodi if possible.
I assume it is doing this for a particular reason, maybe looking for updates or something? I havent blocked updates at my router and really dont care too much anymore and am happy to run stock.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The device shouldn't be restarting by itself at all, let alone that often. Maybe wipe and reflash the ROM?

I figured it was something to do with it looking for updates but was surprised that It kept happening even after upgrading to a non pre-rooted rom.
Can I still flash a rom even if I don't have root? Which rom do I do?what the fire TV currently has ? Is there any way of just removing twrp?

cbarre said:
I figured it was something to do with it looking for updates but was surprised that It kept happening even after upgrading to a non pre-rooted rom.
Can I still flash a rom even if I don't have root? Which rom do I do?what the fire TV currently has ? Is there any way of just removing twrp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds to me like it downloaded a stock update but never installed it. You're seeing it sitting on TWRP randomly because after downloading an OTA update, the Fire TV reboots into stock recovery to install the update. Since your stock recovery has been replaced by TWRP, the OTA update is rebooting into TWRP and just sitting there because rbox made it so TWRP wont install OTA updates.
If you want to have a rooted device, install the latest pre-rooted ROM (5.2.1.1) from within TWRP and block updates. You'll also want to follow the "If your device is rooted and still powered on" section of this guide to clear the pending OTA update that's causing the reboots.
If you want to unroot, remove TWRP, and go back to stock, then follow this guide.

I have tried to follow the guide to unroot as suggested at the bottom, but when i go to install in twrp it says "updater process ended with ERROR: 255" "Error installing zip file '/sdcad/sloane-5.0.4-rooted_r2.zip'
Any thoughts?

cbarre said:
I have tried to follow the guide to unroot as suggested at the bottom, but when i go to install in twrp it says "updater process ended with ERROR: 255" "Error installing zip file '/sdcad/sloane-5.0.4-rooted_r2.zip'
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SOrry, but I'm not familiar with that error. The only things I can suggest are wiping everything except system from within TWRP and then trying again. Otherwise, maybe @rbox can help.

Could it be that gen2 roms don't work on gen1?

hmm, dont know. Is there a Gen 1 option?

Don't know as i don't have a gen1 device. If i was you i would just upgrade to the latest prerooted rom and follow AFTVnews guide to remove any pending ota.
Afterwards you can block future ota's by issuing following command as root:
Code:
pm disable com.amazon.device.software.ota

WheelchairArtist said:
Could it be that gen2 roms don't work on gen1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cbarre said:
hmm, dont know. Is there a Gen 1 option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite sure what would happen if you tried installing a Gen 2 ROM on a Gen 1 Fire TV, but you definitely shouldn't be doing it.
Fire TV 1 pre-rooted ROMs are here.
Fire TV 2 pre-rooted ROMs are here.
It's odd that you say you installed an OTA update that removed root, yet you still have TWRP. OTA updates are incremental (partial) updates. Before installing, they check system and/or recovery to make sure everything is on the up-and-up. If the device is rooted, the check fails and the device will then download a full version of the latest update that includes stock recovery. So, going by everything I've observed, either you lose root and TWRP simultaneously, or the OTA update doesn't install. If you really did install an OTA update, lose root, and NOT lose TWRP, then it seems somehow you installed an incremental OTA update on a pre-rooted ROM. I don't know how to proceed from here because I've never heard of this happening and in theory it shouldn't ever happen.

WheelchairArtist said:
Could it be that gen2 roms don't work on gen1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have put an /s in that post
My advice would be the same as the one from AFTVnews. Just don't try do install a gen2 rom even though it shouldn't work.
Edit: Forgot this one: "updater process ended with ERROR: 255" "Error installing zip file '/sdcad/sloane-5.0.4-rooted_r2.zip'
As you see it doesn't work anyway.
AFTVnews.com said:
If you really did install an OTA update, lose root, and NOT lose TWRP, then it seems somehow you installed an incremental OTA update on a pre-rooted ROM. I don't know how to proceed from here because I've never heard of this happening and in theory it shouldn't ever happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this would be the case he could still install any prerooted rom since he still has trwp and so a working custom recovery. In the worst case he needs to wipe data/cache or something like that after flashing.
And so my advice would be: flash latest prerooted, keep root, follow your guide to clean pending ota or wipe data, block further ota's and profit.
I don't know how Rbox implemented this on gen1 but he could also try to install for example the first official full ota (not incremental) to android 5 manually in twrp to make sure the recovery returns to stock as well. But that is just off the top of my head, don't know if this works that way.

Someone has the recovery files for the Firetv Stick 4k, i need to remove twrp because i send it back to amazon

test10000001 said:
Someone has the recovery files for the Firetv Stick 4k, i need to remove twrp because i send it back to amazon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just flash original boot.img from the stock rom.

[GUIDE] Root, custom recovery and ROMs for JEM [OCTOBER 2017]

My roommate gave me his Kindle 8.9 to play with and root if possible. I had been successful at rooting, flashing TWRP, but couldn't get a custom ROM to flash. Being stupid, I didn't do a test flash first, so I ended up wiping the system and storage, so I couldn't boot into anything aside from TWRP and ADB was unresponsive. It also caused a power error, causing the device to turn back on immediately when powered down.
I acquired two of these tablets from eBay, for $35.00 a Piece, in like-new condition. I replaced the one I broke and bought one for myself. The problem I had was, there is no single guide which 1) lists the current root method for this tablet 2) The files needed to flash a custom recovery once root is gained 3) the most up to date TWRP recovery available. I read a lot of stuff on XDA. I read a lot of stuff elsewhere. The root methods listed in most every thread, no longer root. It was very hard to find an updated TWRP recovery, but thanks to @ong14, who pointed me to a single post, that was possible. So, I created this guide as a single go to for the current methods to root, TWRP and install a custom ROM.
***THIS GUIDE WILL ROOT YOUR DEVICE AND INSTALL A CUSTOM RECOVERY FOR THE AMAZON HD 8.9 JEM TABLET ONLY***
This method is used with ADB which requires Windows. Please make sure the proper drivers are installed before performing these steps. Required files for rooting and custom recovery installation are available at the bottom of this post. Please see respective links for custom ROMs. I did not create any of this software or the files. I'm not responsible if your device is damaged or bricked.
1. Enable the installation of files from unknown sources in Settings > security.
2. Enable ADB debugging from Settings > device.
3. Using the Silk Browser, go to Kingroot.net and download, install and run the APK. Also from Silk, download and install Total Commander File manager and grant it root access. Once you do that, download FireFlash11.apk at the bottom of this post. Open Total Commander and navigate to /sdcard > Downloads. Install FireFlash, open it and grant it root access to use later. (You can locate FireFlash from Home > Apps.)
5. Download the rest of the files at the bottom of this post and place into a folder of your choice on your desktop. Then go here and download this file and this file and place them in that same folder. Then move the following files to your Kindle: freedom-boot-8.4.6, u-boot-prod-8.1.4, stack and kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img.
5. Please follow the steps below from @MeowDude which will tell you how to flash a custom recovery to your Kindle.
now if you moved the files straight to your kindle, then they should be on the sd card, if you downloaded these through silk, they'll be in the downloads folder in your sd card. Now open FlashFire11, and give it root access (if you haven't yet). You should be greeted with a somewhat complicated looking wall of text and checkboxes.
!IMPORTANT!
| | |
\/ \/ \/
1. So, let me now guide you through this app, first of all, there should be red print informing you that you're not on the 8.1.4 bootloader or something like that, so click on the checkbox (at the upper right. The one that says "install kfhd8uboot-prod-8.1.4.img or something like that)
2. Now go down, and you'll see some text that says "Boot Partition Image (boot.img) and a box under it that says "NOT FLASHED" tap it. it should bring up a file manager-like list. scroll down until you see your already downloaded "kfhd8freedom-boot-8.4.6.img" , and tap/select it. (I know it says 8.4.6, IT WORKS ON 8.5.1!).
now go slightly under it and check "apply stack override".
*Next, Go under that to find a line that says "Recover Partition Image (Recovery.img), and slightly under it a box that says "NOT FLASHED" tap that, and again, you'll be greeted with a list-like file manager. scroll down until you see "kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img" and tap/select it. last part! go slightly under that and tap the check box next to "disable auto recovery update".
*Now that you have all you options in order, verify that you have them in order, and correctly selected (refer back if needed) and scroll down until you see at the bottom, a box that will install/flash all these things, it will say something like "Execute Flash Script" tap it, and your all set. if you want to boot into recovery (immediately after flashing), go right under that box to find another box that says "reboot into recovery" click it, and wait a sec, your screen will black out, and you will first see the normal kindle fire logo, then a blue one, then some glitchy looking stuff, then it should show a TeamWin logo, and go into recovery.
NOTE: If you don't flash your device with android, the stock Amazon os will erase the recovery, so NEVER REBOOT INTO RECOVERY USING FIREFLASH! Only right after you install/re-install recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should boot back to recovery at this point and do a factory reset. Here is how to do that below:
1. Power off your Kindle.
2. Once off, press first and hold the volume down button, then the power button. Hold them both down until the device boots to the BLUE Kindle logo. Then release the power button then the volume down button.
3. You should see the "Team Win" logo come across the screen. Tap on wipe, advanced, and choose dalvik, data and cache. Ten swipe the wipe button. DO NOT SELECT THE SYSTEM OR INTERNAL STORAGE OPTION. This will do a clean install of FireOS 8.5.1 and get rid of Kingroot.
Installing a custom ROM
You can now use FireOS as you were able to before, but I was unable to get the necessary Gapps to work with each other properly. You can try, but I recommend installing a custom ROM. I've tried two so far and can confirm they both work. I will list the links below where you can get the ROMs and installation instructions.
1. The Candy Rom, based off of Lollipop 5.1.1, works on this tablet. Root is built in so you don't need to install or flash SuperSU, but the post does say you can flash it. I've had a lot of trouble with custom 5.1.1 ROMs when it comes to launchers. Be warned it doesn't play nice with Nova and will cause the SystemUI to crash and restart over and over.
2. Unofficial CyanogenMod (CM 13). I currently use this ROM. Root is also built in. I have had trouble getting used to the permissions for apps. I have to go in and set them myself. If you can't get the Google app to sign you in, go to settings > apps > Google App > permissions > grant all permissions. I cannot get Hangouts to work, but the dialer works perfect. I'm not sure if either of those issues are a fault of mine or just a fluke.
I own 3 Amazon tablets: Amazon Fire 7, rooted with a custom ROM. Amazon Fire HD 8, but unfortunately there's no root for it yet. Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9, rooted, custom recovery and ROM. I have had great fun 'hacking' these things. I hate FireOS, but I will give Amazon credit for making some really bad ass tablets.

I didn't really feel too happy with the CM 13 ROM. It was pretty sluggish. Just overall performance was less than it should've been. So I decided to try another CM13 (Marshmallow 6.0.1) build by Temasek . This is by far the best ROM I've ever worked with on Kindle (Sorry Fire Nexus). Performance is off the chart. There's little to no lag. You HAVE to flash SuperSu, but it works really well. You don't see the App icon, just tap settings and SuperSU is listed. You also don't need to flash Viper4Android, already comes installed. Just select it in settings, grant it root access and select yes to download the driver. It will take a minute or two for it to update, but reboot when done and configure your Viper. Just make sure you have BusyBox installed and updated. You can get it from the play store. There are more settings and customization options I can list. Truly an awesome, well built ROM.

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to post your very good guide for us new guys. Another superb tutorial can be found here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72395624&postcount=55
Your and comwiz's guides that summarize MeowDude's excellent work are two of the best ones I've seen to date and they help us novices a lot.
I want to set my elderly father up with Google's new YouTube TV streaming service when I visit him after the holidays and they currently require an Android L device or better to activate the service and control their interface. All he had was a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 a relative gave him that he never uses, so he sent it to me a few days ago so I could modify it. I've read a few of your posts on this and other threads and you seem very impressed with Temasek's CM13 custom ROM, so that's good enough for me and the one I wanna try first. But I'm a little confused by your followup post when you say "you HAVE to flash SuperSu". Does this mean that one should root with that app instead of Kingroot as was described in your original guide? I'm also not totally clear on exactly where in the procedure BusyBox needs to be installed. Here's what I have done so far to date...
*performed factory reset on Kindle Fire HD 8.9 just to clean it up and get it back to stock
*installed ADB on PC and verified it communicates with the Fire HD (detects device and returns serial number)
*downloaded and installed Total Commander (nice looking file explorer at first glance, BTW)
*sideloaded Root Check and verified device is not rooted
*downloaded the following files to PC but have not yet transferred them to the Fire:
---NewKingrootV5.1.0_C176_B415_en_release_2017_05_11_20170511212237_105203.apk
---fireflash11.apk
---kfhd8-u-boot-prod-8.1.4.bin.img
---kfhd8-freedom-boot-8.4.6.img
---kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img
---stack
---SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip
---stericson.busybox.apk
---cm-13.0-20160827-V11-temasek-jem.zip
I think this is everything I need but I'm not yet comfortable enough with my current knowledge level to try rooting and flashing a custom ROM. If you or anybody else could tell me what I should do next or at least point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated. I figure it's better to ask some dumb noob questions now before I attempt anything rather than have to come back later and ask how to unbrick my tablet.

CornellEngineer said:
First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to post your very good guide for us new guys. Another superb tutorial can be found here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72395624&postcount=55
Your and comwiz's guides that summarize MeowDude's excellent work are two of the best ones I've seen to date and they help us novices a lot.
I want to set my elderly father up with Google's new YouTube TV streaming service when I visit him after the holidays and they currently require an Android L device or better to activate the service and control their interface. All he had was a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 a relative gave him that he never uses, so he sent it to me a few days ago so I could modify it. I've read a few of your posts on this and other threads and you seem very impressed with Temasek's CM13 custom ROM, so that's good enough for me and the one I wanna try first. But I'm a little confused by your followup post when you say "you HAVE to flash SuperSu". Does this mean that one should root with that app instead of Kingroot as was described in your original guide? I'm also not totally clear on exactly where in the procedure BusyBox needs to be installed. Here's what I have done so far to date...
*performed factory reset on Kindle Fire HD 8.9 just to clean it up and get it back to stock
*installed ADB on PC and verified it communicates with the Fire HD (detects device and returns serial number)
*downloaded and installed Total Commander (nice looking file explorer at first glance, BTW)
*sideloaded Root Check and verified device is not rooted
*downloaded the following files to PC but have not yet transferred them to the Fire:
---NewKingrootV5.1.0_C176_B415_en_release_2017_05_11_20170511212237_105203.apk
---fireflash11.apk
---kfhd8-u-boot-prod-8.1.4.bin.img
---kfhd8-freedom-boot-8.4.6.img
---kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img
---stack
---SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip
---stericson.busybox.apk
---cm-13.0-20160827-V11-temasek-jem.zip
I think this is everything I need but I'm not yet comfortable enough with my current knowledge level to try rooting and flashing a custom ROM. If you or anybody else could tell me what I should do next or at least point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated. I figure it's better to ask some dumb noob questions now before I attempt anything rather than have to come back later and ask how to unbrick my tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Root" is built into the ROM. But, it's not full root. So the ROM maker tells you to Flash SuperSU once the ROM is installed and functioning. You have to do that because you wipe the system (pretty much all of it) before you flash the ROM. That wipes Kingroot, root etc. until you flash the new ROM. You're on the right track exactly. Just make sure your files are placed properly and use FireFlash to install TWRP. Just follow all the steps exactly and it should be successful. The good thing about this method, it doesn't wipe your data to install the recovery.

Okay, DF...thanks. When researching Kingroot & SuperSU I came across a ton of external links about how to get rid of the former if it was used to originally root a device and replace it with the latter. I even found another XDA thread last night where you posted that you yourself spent many hours reading about how to do just that. It seemed like a lot of hoops to jump through so I thought maybe it was better just to use SuperSU to root in the first place and be done with it. But this was all probably before you tried the new ROM you're now using and are apparently liking a lot. It sounds like Temasek's ROM version automatically takes care of most/all of the Kingroot exorcism that gave you such a headache. Apparently on many devices you can install TWRP first and THEN root with SuperSU afterward but I gather the Kindle Fire's funky bootloader unfortunately doesn't permit this.
I'll just keep reading threads over and over again as well as outside reference articles on other sites like I have been so far. Some of it must be finally sinking in because some posts are actually finally starting to make a little sense and in some cases I now understand what a few folks did wrong to cause them problems. When the vast majority of the posts and articles I read make sense and not just some of them then I'll give it a shot. Appreciate the guidance.

Okie dokie, DF...just a quick status report on how we're doing following your new guide. So far, so good...used Kingroot to root the device no problem, verified it was rooted with Root Check, gave Total Commander (which I had installed a few days ago) root access, and downloaded and installed FireFlash. But when I opened the app and clicked on "allow" to have root privilege there was a minor glitch...although I could see the FireFlash menu in the background there was an error message saying it did not have root access and that it was going to close, even though Kingroot verified it as an app that had permission. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling a few times but kept getting the same error message. Finally I simply rebooted the device and it worked fine after that...so if there are any fellow noobs out there who are one step behind me (and heaven help you if you are) you might wanna try a simple reboot during this step if you experience a similar problem to see if that solves it.
Before I do anything else I'm gonna use ADB to create some images of several of the now-rooted stock partitions and save them to my PC just in case I eff something up later on. You did not mention this in your guide but this was summarized nicely by comwiz in his very similar tutorial...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72395624&postcount=55
He also included many screenshots that one will see while following your guides...I found these visual aids to be very helpful in terms of what one could expect to see as you march through all the steps that you guys so graciously spent the time laying out for us newbies. I'm probably gonna hold off on installing TWRP and Temasek's custom ROM for a few days...I wanna read up more about TWRP and fastboot before I take the next baby steps. BTW, like you I just bought another used KFHD 8.9 in almost new condition on eBay today for about the same price that you paid...how's THAT for the ultimate "backup"???
Man, thank God for this XDA forum...no way I try this on my own without all the info and tools and help that experienced folks have taken the time to post here.

CornellEngineer said:
EDITED BY ME, "compjan"
Before I do anything else I'm gonna use ADB to create some images of several of the now-rooted stock partitions and save them to my PC just in case I eff something up later on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PLEASE upload those images !!! if you are running 8.5.1 on a 32 gig model I NEED THEM !

compjan said:
PLEASE upload those images !!! if you are running 8.5.1 on a 32 gig model I NEED THEM !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote a guide on how to flash recovery on 8.5.1 without a computer. Swing around and check it out, its got all the updated files.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ki...t-install-twrp-android-fire-os-8-5-1-t3278286

MeowDude said:
I wrote a guide on how to flash recovery on 8.5.1 without a computer. Swing around and check it out, its got all the updated files.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ki...t-install-twrp-android-fire-os-8-5-1-t3278286
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iRoot doesn't work anymore. At least not when I tried. Regardless of the method used to root, the quicker to get rid of them, the better it makes me feel.

MeowDude said:
I wrote a guide on how to flash recovery on 8.5.1 without a computer. Swing around and check it out, its got all the updated files.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ki...t-install-twrp-android-fire-os-8-5-1-t3278286
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
um, i do not have a working 8.9 tablet. i screwed it up and had a red screen of death for a couple years now. i have been off work due to knee surgery and decided to see if there was a working fix. member sd_shadow has me OFF red screen, now i need to get back to stock BEFORE i start playing with it. that way i can fix it right then if i mess it up again.
SO, i need a copy of the 3 partitions to get back to stock.
UNLESS. . . . i can get the partitions out of the 8.5.1 BIN i grabbed from amazon. that is how sd_shadow ( THANK YOU SIR ! ) got me back to a NOT booting but hung at the fire logo. i flashed the bin to SYSTEM and now i need the other 2 partitions.

UPDATE: GOT IT UP AND RUNNING AS 8.1.4 ! ! !
wife wanted it stock, so i loaded the 8.5.1 update from amazon in the root directory of INTERNAL STORAGE. not i a folder. re-booted and it installed the 8.5.1 update. worked fine . . . EXCEPT . . . .
the built-in amazon app store was buggy as hell. so was the silk browser. gapps worked fine until a re-boot. then crashed as soon as i launched play store.
SO. . . . i'm backing up the 3 partitions and going to load a ROM on this puppy.
EDIT: there is a NEWER 8.5.1 "update" at amazon, it will NOT auto install via the "check for updates" button (afaik. and i tried it on 2 different 8.9's) . download it, copy it to the ROOT of the 8.9, not in a folder. reboot. it will install all by it's self. fixed all my stock problems!! END EDIT

I got CM13 installed on my 8.9 but then having issue.
a. Can't boot into custom recovery. With volume down hold + power button -> Kindle Fire orange -> Kindle Fire blue -> then it either boots back into CM13 or getting "Fast boot".
b. In CM13, i don't have root access. How so? Weird. I am always under the impression that every custom image will come with root access. I maybe wrong though.
---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------
Well, my bad was I downloaded the wrong gapps, picked 7.1 instead of 6.0, so I wanted to boot back in recovery to install the correct gapps.

votinh said:
I got CM13 installed on my 8.9 but then having issue.
a. Can't boot into custom recovery. With volume down hold + power button -> Kindle Fire orange -> Kindle Fire blue -> then it either boots back into CM13 or getting "Fast boot".
b. In CM13, i don't have root access. How so? Weird. I am always under the impression that every custom image will come with root access. I maybe wrong though.
---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------
Well, my bad was I downloaded the wrong gapps, picked 7.1 instead of 6.0, so I wanted to boot back in recovery to install the correct gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If using temasek ROM, you'll have to flash SU. Use 2.7X. then update from play store. Root for regular CM is found in developer options. Settings > about device > tap build number 7 times and go back to Maine settings menu, scroll to bottom. For developer options. Enable root in that menu. Select both apps and ADB.

I am using the CM13 ROM by alexander_32, I guess the same one you're using.
Personally, it isn't as snappy as I wish but I'll give it some more time.
Also, the option to boot into recovery on the menu is so much better than using keys combination. Thumb up for that!

what is the optimal gapps to get from open gapps? there are so many options im not sure which works best on jem.

green_reaper said:
what is the optimal gapps to get from open gapps? there are so many options im not sure which works best on jem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I almost always use pico gapps.

DragonFire1024 said:
I almost always use pico gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so basically for jem im using CM13 (Marshmallow 6.0.1) build by Temasek . and for gapps should I use (platform = ARM , Android 7.0 and pico) ? or is there a better gapps build selection?

green_reaper said:
so basically for jem im using CM13 (Marshmallow 6.0.1) build by Temasek . and for gapps should I use (platform = ARM , Android 7.0 and pico) ? or is there a better gapps build selection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to opengapps website. Always download the gapps for the corresponding Android version. Always choose ARM.