Develop Bugs

Factory Restore an Encrypted Galaxy S3

Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.

I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.

Eddie,
Thanks for your response.
1) I used stock method for encryption
2) Decrypt the phone is not possible apparently,only way is to factory restore the phone apparently
3) I went to the AT&T store and they were unable to factory restore (using the standard methods). They offered an exchange but since I purchase over the phone at a discounted price, I have to do the exchange using that method. Before shipping back the phone, I was wondering if I could fix it myself with the help of knowledgeable people.
CZ Eddie said:
I have never encrypted an Android phone before. But maybe your response to these questions will serve as a "bump" to this thread.
1) What method did you use to encrypt the phone? Stock or 3rd party encryption?
2) Doesn't that same method also offer you the offer to unencrypt the phone?
3) If you used a stock method of encrypting the phone, then I'd assume your provider (AT&T?) tech support should be able to help you unencrypt it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I have never used the encryption but if the phone can turn on and is usable, cant you go into the encryption settings and turn encryption off? then you should be able to do anything (may be best to start with a factory restore first just so you have a fresh slate to work with)

1ofAKind said:
Model: Samsung Galaxy S3 AT&T i747
Hi!
I was forced to encrypt my galaxy s3 in order to receive corporate emails on my phone using the stock email app. However I never imagined that encrypting the phone would literally lock the memory and options to customize the phone.
I tried to root the phone to benefit from more flexibility and also debloat the phone. However during the rooting process, I could not mount /emmc/ when using ClockWorkRecovery in the startup menu. Based on what I found on the web, I figured it was due to the encryption.
I then tried to factory reset the phone to get rid of the encryption but I simply can't hard reset the phone from the OS or the startup menu. When doing the reset from the startup menu, the errors are "Can't mount /sdcard/". The reset continues but when the phone reboots, all my applications and personal data are there and the phone is still encrypted.
I read a lot about flashing a custom recovery via flashboot or ADB but I am reluctant to do it without guidance from the experts (you guys).
I deleted my corporate email account (It is my personal phone, I am not required to install exchange on it).
I tried to use an external sd card but as soon as the phone recoginizes it, I have to encrypt the card as well as a result from the corporate policies. I ejected the card and did not encrypt it.
I am new to android (long time iPhone user) and I would really appreciate your guidance on the methods to factory reset my phone or a different technique to get rid of the encryption because I am really stuck right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1ofaKind,
Had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me. Encrypted my S3 in order to access work exchange server. Tried CWM but cannot mount /emmc/ problem after booting into recovery. Have not tried to factory reset yet as I am wanting to learn more before I go that route. But basically I am in the same boat as you. The only difference is I was not required to encrypt an external SD card when I put it in my phone. Read about flashboot as well...maybe the only way to actually factory reset after encryption??
Sorry I cannot offer any solutions at the moment...but I will keep scouring the forums looking for a way.
If I learn something valuable, I will try to post it here to help ya out.
EDIT: Maybe you have read these threads, but there is some decent info in them. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1451655 & http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392037
good luck

Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

I'm in the same boat here - had to encrypt my GS3 in order to receive corporate (Exchange Server) emails. Now can't update the OS on the phone which is more important to me than receiving corporate emails on the device.
Can someone tell me how to decrypt (UN-encrypt) the phone? Everything I've read says that a factory reset won't do it.
Please help!

CZ Eddie said:
Look into using Odin to restore a factory image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried this? If so, did it work?

I clicked install rom from sd card in cwm selected f/w which i had copied into internal memory. Did factory reset in recovery.

Odin it back to stock.

This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.

sid9102 said:
This might be too late to help you guys, but here's what worked for me. I odined it back to stock. Then I went into recovery (volume down, power and home button) and selected wipe data/factory reset. This does of course erase all your data, so try to copy whatever you can onto a computer or something before doing this. You should end up with an unencrypted storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...

tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.

tamon77 said:
ODIN will not recognize my phone when it is in download mode ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ODIN (for me at least) wont see anything since im using Windows 8. On Windows 7, however, it works just fine.

Factory reset encrypted phone
hi,
I'm using CM11 as a rom.
I didn't want to reinstall stock rom, just to root it again later.
Installing updated version from external SD didn't work (updated the ROM but no decryption)
Tried to factory reset from recovery - didn't work, as the internal storage is encrypted it can't mount /sdcard/
however, from within settings menu, in backup&restore there's an option to do a factory reset - this is formatting internal memory altogether.
worked like a charm.

oxidase said:
After you hit start, unplug then replug the usb from the computer. I had some issues with it not recognizing it either to flash stock, but when i messed with the cord, it made the noise that i unplugged and it started working. Same thing with the root injected, only this time i fully unplugged it when the fiddling with it didnt work. Make sure you replace it into the same com port.
so, i seem to be having the same problem as all of you, only i encrypted to protect my data from agents. So, right now, i am *hopefully* :fingers-crossed: installing the root injected JB now. I had many issues. TWRP and CWM were no help, couldnt see phone to add new roms to it. ODIN was the only hope. I booted into recovery after going back to stock, did a new factory reset and am installing the stock with root. When i let it boot, it didnt go to encryption this time, but the first time i flashed the stock, it did. This is a mess to say the least.
EDIT: YEAH! done. No encryption and i got root. i used the image from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1968625 DLK3 worked for me. Good luck. i hope this helps. Ill be happy to explain more if you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand this is very old but I am going to make a note here in case anyone else gets into this problem. When you go back to stock, do the factory reset using the STOCK recovery. Don't install TWRP or anything else until you have cleared the encryption. At least, that's what worked for me.

Edit Oct 17, 2014 - Encrypt your device/phone with custom ROM

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage or liability arising out of these steps. I did not invent anything, I just tried something. Only move forward at your risk
If you don't agree ... stop reading and move on...
Background: Our phone has access to so much personal information that its scary if it fell into wrong hands. The only way to fix this is to encrypt phone. I did lot of research and here is a working solution that works for me - try at your risk.
Download Links:
a) Tested with ROM Stock 4.4.4 NH7 Galaxy S4 M919/Jfltetmo by @ShinySide
b) Tested with ROM |ROM|★KANGAKAT★|►KTU84P◄|4.4.4|Xposed|►8◄|6.26.14 by @iB4STiD
c) stock recovery AT&T S4 works with M919
d) Philz/CWM custom recovery
Encrypting with custom rom
1) Assume you are on custom recovery. - Backup everything first. Create a nandroid backup
2) Do a full wipe and install one of the two roms linked above (I have tested with few other roms ... none worked). Start the phone and set it up the way you want. Install all apps etc.
3) ODIN Stock recovery. See #c under download above. Its AT&T stock recovery but works for me. You need to know how to ODIN - find out. Doing this wrong will permanently damage your phone
4) Start your phone and turn on encryption. You will need to set lock type = password and will need to connect to charger and have 80% charge.
- Phone will do blank and stay blank for 20-30 minutes. Do not do anything. Encryption is happening behind the scenes.
- You might have to do this twice or thrice if it did not encrypt first time. For me the phone went blank first time and after 25 minutes it restarted but device was not encrypted. I redid the same steps and worked second time.
- If you interrupt the encryption process (battery pull or power up) you will see error message (encryption failed, reset device)
5) If all goes well you now have a password protected encrypted phone with custom rom!!! Check in Settings -> Security
6) You may install custom recovery ... but I don't see the point because you will need stock recovery to decrypt
To install another ROM
1) Reboot into stock recovery, then wipe data and cache (this removes encryption).
2) install your recovery of choice and install ROM using recovery. Philz/CWM
Credit goes to @Tronicus and his reply Flash a Rom on an Encrypted Android
Tronicus said:
How to Flash a rom on an encrypted Android phone (specifically this one, the I9505 SGH-I337).
The Problem: Once encrypted, you can't decrypt it easily. When encrypting the phone android will tell you you can only decrypt it using a factory reset. Naturally you assume it's talking about the "Factory Data Reset" option found in Settings --> Backup and Reset. But noooo, Android is lying through its ****ing teeth. Then you'll assume you have to wipe everything from your custom recovery mod (CWM, TWRP, or one of those). Wrong again! You'll get beautiful "can't mount /data" messages and more bull****. I read about a workaround that required installing the new rom using ADB, but I had ingeniously disabled USB debugging prior to wiping everything, so I only got so far with that option (plus it's tediously long if you haven't installed all the necessary software already and don't feel like bricking your phone because you made a typo in the command line). So, apparently the only other way to really format that partition free of its encryption is to use a stock recovery. So:
Short Version for Godlike users who know automatically how to do all this **** without any help (mimicking how most help posts are finely detailed on this site): Flash stock recovery, wipe everything, flash your custom recovery and install your new rom.
Long version for us mortals who don't know everything and haven't already downloaded already every single bit of software on earth:
Backup all the stuff you want to save. This process will truly wipe EVERYTHING. You can do it manually, or you can use an app like Titanium Backup Pro to help you (find it on Google Play Store). Here's a nice guide which recommends what to restore and what not to restore: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1480343
Flash the stock recovery using Odin. You can download a stock recovery from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=49687791&postcount=3 It's the link called "I337MK2stockrecovery.tar.md5" In case you don't know how to flash it with Odin, this short guide will help: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1506697
In step 6 replace "recovery.tar.md5" with the stock recovery you downloaded.
Wipe everything from the Stock recovery console. This little ****er will **** up the encryption all those sissies couldn't touch. You're welcome. You boot into recovery mode from a turned off phone by pressing simultaneously the volume up key + the home key + the power key until you see blue text appearing in the top left corner of your screen.
Reinstall your custom recovery. In my case I had installed the rom BEFORE flashing in the stock recovery (apparently it works, you just can't boot because of the encryption), so I was able to boot into the new rom before I returned to my custom recovery. Weird. Anyways, I recommend CWM. You can pick it up from this link: http://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/jflte
For some weird reason they call the I337 version the "jflte" version. It's bonkers. Click there, and download the latest version that ends with .tar.md5. This version is upgradable via Odin, which we already used. Use the same instructions used as when you upgraded the stock recovery rom.
Boot into your recovery mod and flash your rom like you usually do.
A word about TWRP: it cost me many hours of work and I don't recommend it. Its website is outdated, and recommends using GooManager (which is no longer mantained) and doesn't work anymore for this. GooManager suggests using a new, different app, which doesn't have the option of installing TWRP. Then I tried using their TWRP Manager app from play store and the image file wouldn't download. Then I tried manually selecting the image file in TWRP manager that I downloaded from their site for use via the ADB method, and it bricked my phone... twice (using two different methods the app sugested). I tried so much because in theory TWRP has the ability to decrypt android's 4.4 encryption, but after looking at their github site I noticed it was filled with people's reports (including people with the S4) on how it wouldn't work decrypting squat. So I gave up, and installed CWM in 30 seconds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage or liability arising out of these steps. I did not invent anything, I just tried something. Only move forward at your risk

cnewsgrp said:
One of the things I needed was the ability to encrypt my phone (device only not external SD) for security purpose. Our phones today gives access to lot of information that I would rather not fall in wrong hands. I did lot of research and here is a working solution.
Credit goes to @Tronicus and his reply Flash a Rom on an Encrypted Android
The quote looks long however it is really very simple. To install another ROM
- Install and reboot into stock recovery, then wipe data and cache (this removes encryption).
- Then install your recovery of choice and install ROM using recovery. Philz/CWM
This has been tested working on |ROM|★KANGAKAT★|►KTU84P◄|4.4.4|Xposed|►8◄|6.26.14 by @iB4STiD
This did NOT work on a Touchwiz ROM by same developer
I have not tested any other ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if it matters too much or not, but the stock recovery you linked to is for the AT&T S4. A good rule of thumb is to never use Odin to flash anything not specifically for your particular device... In this case the M919.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

lordcheeto03 said:
I don't know if it matters too much or not, but the stock recovery you linked to is for the AT&T S4. A good rule of thumb is to never use Odin to flash anything not specifically for your particular device... In this case the M919.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tested stock recovery on M919 .. it works

Honestly im surprised its not talked about more since there is a big push for personal privacy when it comes to data. Encryption really is a pain in the ass to work with on android. Figuring out how to switch or update custom roms while encrypted will drive you insane. The easiest way is to just odin back to stock and start over, but that requires a computer anytime you need to flash anything.
I recently was trying out one of the 4.4.4 GPE roms and turned on encryption. It worked great until i started missing touchwiz and wanted to go back to HyperDrive TW. So the journey began...
First of all, i backed up everything to external storage since i knew everything on the internal storage would have to be wiped. I loaded the phone into recovery mode (using TWRP) and tried wiping, but all i got was a bunch of "Failed to mount" errors. Fine. Got the same error when trying to factory reset or wiping /system, /data, /cache, and anything else. Tried formatting to different file systems and then formatting back to the original but no luck. Fixing permissions didnt help. I just kept trying everything available multiple times.
Eventually it started wiping everything except the /data mount. Well... At least i could install new custom roms. Im not sure exactly what did it because i was just throwing everything at it. Anyways I got it to install, and booted into it. Nope.
Now it was saying I needed the password to decrypt the internal storage. It would detect wrong passwords fine, but as soon as i put the correct password in, it would allow me in, show the green android encryption picture, then blank screen. I thought it was just decrypting and setting up my rom but after a few hours my screen was still black and nothing was happening. Pulled battery and went back to TWRP.
I started wiping everything again and again and tried doing everything i could to wipe everything on the internal storage. Again, not sure what did it, but eventually got it all cleaned up and got a new rom installed and could boot into it.
The whole process probably took about 6-7 hours...
I dont even want to enable encryption on the new rom...

p-hil said:
Honestly im surprised its not talked about more since there is a big push for personal privacy when it comes to data. Encryption really is a pain in the ass to work with on android. Figuring out how to switch or update custom roms while encrypted will drive you insane. The easiest way is to just odin back to stock and start over, but that requires a computer anytime you need to flash anything.
I recently was trying out one of the 4.4.4 GPE roms and turned on encryption. It worked great until i started missing touchwiz and wanted to go back to HyperDrive TW. So the journey began...
First of all, i backed up everything to external storage since i knew everything on the internal storage would have to be wiped. I loaded the phone into recovery mode (using TWRP) and tried wiping, but all i got was a bunch of "Failed to mount" errors. Fine. Got the same error when trying to factory reset or wiping /system, /data, /cache, and anything else. Tried formatting to different file systems and then formatting back to the original but no luck. Fixing permissions didnt help. I just kept trying everything available multiple times.
Eventually it started wiping everything except the /data mount. Well... At least i could install new custom roms. Im not sure exactly what did it because i was just throwing everything at it. Anyways I got it to install, and booted into it. Nope.
Now it was saying I needed the password to decrypt the internal storage. It would detect wrong passwords fine, but as soon as i put the correct password in, it would allow me in, show the green android encryption picture, then blank screen. I thought it was just decrypting and setting up my rom but after a few hours my screen was still black and nothing was happening. Pulled battery and went back to TWRP.
I started wiping everything again and again and tried doing everything i could to wipe everything on the internal storage. Again, not sure what did it, but eventually got it all cleaned up and got a new rom installed and could boot into it.
The whole process probably took about 6-7 hours...
I dont even want to enable encryption on the new rom...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah Encryption does not seem to work on TWZ roms. I tried on G Eye without luck.

I have updated op. Please check

Encryption will slow down your phone quite a bit. More battery usage + more CPU usage + slower phone = not worth it unless you've got some very private stuff you don't want being shared. Otherwise, 3rd party apps that lock a lot of files, can encrypt certain files, and hide others will do the trick perfectly well.'
Not trying to bash fully encrypting your phone, but I've tried it before and although I am very pro privacy, I had to eventually take it off due to all the extra hassle it created.

Don't know about slowing down. I am not seeing it. I feel differently about security.

Be warned: Encrypting your device can be dangerous

Hello,
As Google has decided to turn encryption on as a standard in the upcoming Android 5.0, I thought I would give it a test on my CosmicCM 5.4.
I started the encryption and it prompts you that you for a passcode that will be used from now on, so far no problem.
It started encrypting my device and it was running for some time(I left it alone for an hour) and reboots a couple of times.
After he's finished the annoyance came.
first you will have to type twice your password with a reboot, one time do decrypt your device the second time to enter your device.
Be aware that performance can be slowed through encryption, and it can negatively impact battery life too.
So I decide to go back.
The Problem: Once encrypted, you can't decrypt it easily.
When encrypting the phone android will tell you you can only decrypt it using a factory reset. Naturally you assume it's talking about the "Factory Data Reset" option found in Settings --> Backup and Reset and this works.
Now I wanted to try a rom (TW 4.2.2 based) and see how this worked and after installing and booting.
I got prompted to enter the decryption and of course this didn’t work anymore as there is no data for the password.
So I assumed you can wipe everything from your custom recovery mod (CWM, TWRP, or one of those).
Wrong! You'll get beautiful "can't mount /data" messages and more.
After some hard time I got everything working again, by flashing CosmicCM again.
The phone booted al clean again without asking for encryption and when you check the menu it also mentioned encryption is deactivated.
Trying the previous rom again just triggerd the encryption again.
So It seems that there is still somewhere a hidden encrypted protection that will be activated when I flash a different rom.
So be warned and don’t play with encrypting your device as you could brick it.
Didn't have time to investigate further on how I can remove it completely, but my guess is I have to redo all the partitions.

I was on the same boat a month ago

akiratoriyama said:
I was on the same boat a month ago
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish you told me sooner
Did you redo all the partitions to get the encryption completely removed?

RichyE said:
I wish you told me sooner
Did you redo all the partitions to get the encryption completely removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I had to wipe my data via Philz, CWM and stock to remove encryption.

akiratoriyama said:
I think I had to wipe my data via Philz, CWM and stock to remove encryption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, will try to flash stock this week and see if this helps

XT1710-01 Root Guide?

New to the Moto Z2 play, moved to this from a Z2 force on Verizon after the shattershield started peeling. Anyway, there seems to be a lot of conflicting information here, and i'm struggling to actually nail down the process for root. My bootloader is already unlocked, however between several different versions of TWRP, Retus based phones vs Albus, ability to unroot and update if the system is modified, rooting with or without disabling encryption, countless different variants with different procedures, etc. i'm a little overwhelmed. Can anyone point me in the right direction of rooting my device (hopefully) WITHOUT losing all my data?

StATicxTW0T said:
New to the Moto Z2 play, moved to this from a Z2 force on Verizon after the shattershield started peeling. Anyway, there seems to be a lot of conflicting information here, and i'm struggling to actually nail down the process for root. My bootloader is already unlocked, however between several different versions of TWRP, Retus based phones vs Albus, ability to unroot and update if the system is modified, rooting with or without disabling encryption, countless different variants with different procedures, etc. i'm a little overwhelmed. Can anyone point me in the right direction of rooting my device (hopefully) WITHOUT losing all my data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm about to buy the unlocked Moto Z2 Play from the Moto site (64GB variant... not sure of the model number) but have you checked out these threads?...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=75098899&postcount=40
https://forum.xda-developers.com/z2-play/how-to/guide-resource-help-thread-t3627615/page3

allstar21369 said:
I'm about to buy the unlocked Moto Z2 Play from the Moto site (64GB variant... not sure of the model number) but have you checked out these threads?...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=75098899&postcount=40
https://forum.xda-developers.com/z2-play/how-to/guide-resource-help-thread-t3627615/page3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did but they involve disabling encryption, which means having to wipe data everytime an update rolls around.
For those that see this in the future, I followed this guide, but used Magisk 13.3 and have working root, without having to wipe my data (bootloader already unlocked) https://gist.github.com/eexit/e6d5fc0984e1c7f25376d3dafa819792

StATicxTW0T said:
I did but they involve disabling encryption, which means having to wipe data everytime an update rolls around.
For those that see this in the future, I followed this guide, but used Magisk 13.3 and have working root, without having to wipe my data (bootloader already unlocked) https://gist.github.com/eexit/e6d5fc0984e1c7f25376d3dafa819792
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a rooted XT1710-01, also. If you are going to install Xposed and Gravity Box, I recommend not updating Magisk, above v14. After v15 and now v16, I have had issues with Automate It app and Tasker rules not working, until I uninstalled Xposed.
Downgrading Magisk versions requires flashing your stock ROM and basically starting over.
Motorola has not posted firmware for this model.

StATicxTW0T said:
I did but they involve disabling encryption, which means having to wipe data everytime an update rolls around.
For those that see this in the future, I followed this guide, but used Magisk 13.3 and have working root, without having to wipe my data (bootloader already unlocked) https://gist.github.com/eexit/e6d5fc0984e1c7f25376d3dafa819792
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So glad to see someone have it working and with a clear guide. I'm going to buy the phone this week.

StATicxTW0T said:
I did but they involve disabling encryption, which means having to wipe data everytime an update rolls around.
For those that see this in the future, I followed this guide, but used Magisk 13.3 and have working root, without having to wipe my data (bootloader already unlocked) https://gist.github.com/eexit/e6d5fc0984e1c7f25376d3dafa819792
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wanted to let everyone know that the guide posted in that post worked for me perfectly. I had an XT1710-01 that I had unlocked the bootloader before but stopped there. Then I finally wanted to root it, and ran into everything the OP ran into - just so many different guides and versions of TWRP/Magisk not working with the Z2 Play, it was hard to nail down the exact versions of everything I needed and make sure I didn't flash an incompatible version or something. I found that same guide a few days ago as well but never did it until today, and can confirm it works. I already had my bootloader unlocked and just did the rooting portion and all my data was saved (but I wasn't too worried about my data honestly, it's all backed up anyway).
And a special thanks to OP for coming back and posting his solution. Nothing is more frustrating than searching for a problem online, finding a hit on your exact problem in a thread that was posted years ago, and then no solution is ever posted in that thread. So good job. :good:

Johmama said:
I just wanted to let everyone know that the guide posted in that post worked for me perfectly. I had an XT1710-01 that I had unlocked the bootloader before but stopped there. Then I finally wanted to root it, and ran into everything the OP ran into - just so many different guides and versions of TWRP/Magisk not working with the Z2 Play, it was hard to nail down the exact versions of everything I needed and make sure I didn't flash an incompatible version or something. I found that same guide a few days ago as well but never did it until today, and can confirm it works. I already had my bootloader unlocked and just did the rooting portion and all my data was saved (but I wasn't too worried about my data honestly, it's all backed up anyway).
And a special thanks to OP for coming back and posting his solution. Nothing is more frustrating than searching for a problem online, finding a hit on your exact problem in a thread that was posted years ago, and then no solution is ever posted in that thread. So good job. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just received my Z2 Play, unlocked the bootloader, and am about to flash the custom TWRP (albus_twrp.img) posted in the guide linked above... but the guide never says to "flash" TWRP, it just says to "boot" with TWRP and also "Enter your FBE password: it must work! (turn off screen and turn it back on if not responsive)"...
I'm not 100% sure what to do here. Should I boot TWRP first, do a full backup and then flash TWRP? I don't want to wipe it.
And what is this FBE (File-Based Encryption) password? I've never set one and don't want everything encrypted.

allstar21369 said:
I just received my Z2 Play, unlocked the bootloader, and am about to flash the custom TWRP (albus_twrp.img) posted in the guide linked above... but the guide never says to "flash" TWRP, it just says to "boot" with TWRP and also "Enter your FBE password: it must work! (turn off screen and turn it back on if not responsive)"...
I'm not 100% sure what to do here. Should I boot TWRP first, do a full backup and then flash TWRP? I don't want to wipe it.
And what is this FBE (File-Based Encryption) password? I've never set one and don't want everything encrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't flash TWRP on my phone. I think I tried it once and it failed for some reason, so I just followed the guide of booting into TWRP, backing up my phone, and pulling the backup. Should be okay for what I need, in case of a failure I will have a backup somewhere and can recover the device. But yes, I'd at least boot into TWRP, then backup your device like in that guide so you have a backup. Flashing it is up to you, I've always flashed a custom recovery but on this phone I'm keeping the original recovery so I can get an OTA. On my Nexus devices I don't care about OTA because I just flash ROMs all the time so it's no big deal.
The FBE password as far as I can tell is the 4 or 5 digit PIN number you are asked to input upon a fresh wipe of your device to set as a password. I have my phone set up to use my fingerprint to unlock the phone, and if that fails it will ask for my PIN, which is the same as the FBE of mine. I used that same number in TWRP when it asks for a password to unencrypt the data and it worked. As far as turning off encryption, I'm not sure if there's a way to do that. There could be, but to turn it off, it wipes your data as a security measure.

Johmama said:
so I just followed the guide of booting into TWRP, backing up my phone, and pulling the backup. Should be okay for what I need, in case of a failure I will have a backup somewhere and can recover the device. But yes, I'd at least boot into TWRP, then backup your device like in that guide so you have a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I can't backup my ROM most likely because I don't have an FBE password. When I go to backup my ROM in TWRP it fails.
Johmama said:
The FBE password as far as I can tell is the 4 or 5 digit PIN number you are asked to input upon a fresh wipe of your device to set as a password. I have my phone set up to use my fingerprint to unlock the phone, and if that fails it will ask for my PIN, which is the same as the FBE of mine. I used that same number in TWRP when it asks for a password to unencrypt the data and it worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried entering my unlock code and the pin I created but neither worked for my FBE password. I don't ever remember being asked to enter a password when setting up my device. I suppose this means I'll have to wipe data and then setup an FBE password.

allstar21369 said:
I tried entering my unlock code and the pin I created but neither worked for my FBE password. I don't ever remember being asked to enter a password when setting up my device. I suppose this means I'll have to wipe data and then setup an FBE password.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it helps at all, the first time I tried it also didn't work for me and I did end up wiping my phone for other reasons before I came back and tried that guide again and it worked. I thought I set up the PIN they're talking about the first time around but I did have troubles in TWRP before the first wipe of my data. I would just boot up the phone regularly, plug it in to your computer, and try to grab any files you need and wipe it. I know that isn't the answer you're looking for, but it's all I can give I guess. Once you reset, hopefully they'll prompt you to make a PIN during the setup process and that should be the FBE password. Then follow the guide. I hope you get it man.
Oh, and to a note to you and everyone reading this, I booted to TWRP 3.2.1-0-albus and Magisk-v14.0. Dunno if it's just rumors or not but I heard the newer versions of Magisk might not work with the Z2 Play past version 14. Dunno if that's true but v14.0 worked for me.

Johmama said:
If it helps at all, the first time I tried it also didn't work for me and I did end up wiping my phone for other reasons before I came back and tried that guide again and it worked. I thought I set up the PIN they're talking about the first time around but I did have troubles in TWRP before the first wipe of my data. I would just boot up the phone regularly, plug it in to your computer, and try to grab any files you need and wipe it. I know that isn't the answer you're looking for, but it's all I can give I guess. Once you reset, hopefully they'll prompt you to make a PIN during the setup process and that should be the FBE password. Then follow the guide. I hope you get it man.
Oh, and to a note to you and everyone reading this, I booted to TWRP 3.2.1-0-albus and Magisk-v14.0. Dunno if it's just rumors or not but I heard the newer versions of Magisk might not work with the Z2 Play past version 14. Dunno if that's true but v14.0 worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. I just wiped and re-set up everything and still no FBE password was asked for OR works when I go into TWRP. I'm using TWRP 3.1.1-0... I suppose I'll try it all again using TWRP 3.2.1-0-albus after deleting data.
*Edit: I did exactly what I just said I was doing booted TWRP 3.2.1-0-albus instead of 3.1.1-0 and when I it booted up and asked me for a decryption password I entered the pin I set up previously and it has been stuck at the "Mount, Trying Decryption" screen for a long time... but it's not frozen. It says "Updating partition details... ...done
Unable to mount storage
Full SELinux support is present.
Data successfully decrypted, new block device: '/dev
/block/dm-0'
Updating partition details...
...done"
And the progress bar/thing at the bottom is still animated like it's working... no forward or back buttons or anything and turning off/on the screen hasn't done anything... not really sure what to do here... I don't want to unplug it and brick my phone or force it off...
*Edit 2:
I now have it all sorted out.
TWRP never finished trying to decrypt data so I long pressed the power button and eventually went here -> https://forum.xda-developers.com/z2-play/development/twrp-moto-z2-play-t3729531 , downloaded "twrp_albus_3.1.2_r18_64.img" and in adb used the command:
fastboot boot twrp_albus_3.1.2_r18_64.img
This TWRP looks a bit different than all of the others but it let me boot up and use my recently created PIN code to actually decrypt my data and make a full backup. After that I just installed Magisk (the latest one, 16.4) as indicated in this guide -> https://gist.github.com/eexit/e6d5fc0984e1c7f25376d3dafa819792 and everything is fine. I never even flashed TWRP, just booted it.

Just curious what you guys have done about getting OTA updates since you've rooted and installed Magisk.
Have @allstar21369 or @pizza_pablo had the chance to figure out the update process?
I'm currently trying to navigate the Magisk uninstall --> OTA update process and could use some insight if either of you guys have any to share.

joefuf said:
Just curious what you guys have done about getting OTA updates since you've rooted and installed Magisk.
Have @allstar21369 or @pizza_pablo had the chance to figure out the update process?
I'm currently trying to navigate the Magisk uninstall --> OTA update process and could use some insight if either of you guys have any to share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't want updates, especially the oreo "upgrade".

pizza_pablo said:
I didn't want updates, especially the oreo "upgrade".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, didn't even think about just sticking on what works... Did Oreo give people some issues?
Since this was Day 1 with the new phone, I was just trying to get up to speed and probably sit on one version until I had compatibility issues with something, but everything just works.

joefuf said:
Hmm, didn't even think about just sticking on what works... Did Oreo give people some issues?
Since this was Day 1 with the new phone, I was just trying to get up to speed and probably sit on one version until I had compatibility issues with something, but everything just works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oreo hasn't come to the phone, when I decided I didn't want it, mostly because of the white background in the Quick Settings and I didn't want any of the other "improvements".
With this setup, I accept the risks of not having the security updates.

Double - double \_0_/

pizza_pablo said:
Oreo hasn't come to the phone, when I decided I didn't want it, mostly because of the white background in the Quick Settings and I didn't want any of the other "improvements".
With this setup, I accept the risks of not having the security updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel exactly the same way. No benefits for me. I don't want the bright white interface and I would never use the "Picture in Picture" (or floating video) feature (and if I did want that there are a couple apps for Nougat that do it).
But If I do decide I want it and give upgrading a shot I'll definitely post it here.

pizza_pablo said:
Oreo hasn't come to the phone, when I decided I didn't want it, mostly because of the white background in the Quick Settings and I didn't want any of the other "improvements".
With this setup, I accept the risks of not having the security updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, very understandable. It really is superfluous to the general experience.
allstar21369 said:
I feel exactly the same way. No benefits for me. I don't want the bright white interface and I would never use the "Picture in Picture" (or floating video) feature (and if I did want that there are a couple apps for Nougat that do it).
But If I do decide I want it and give upgrading a shot I'll definitely post it here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you sir! Keep me posted. I'm posting everywhere right now to learn the new methods so I know if there ever comes a time. This is my first phone since my Motorola Droid 4. Back then it was one click root, install and run Safestrap apk to get custom recovery, boot into custom recovery and flash zips to your heart's content. I'm sure this will be as "simple" once I learn, but it's pretty daunting in prospect.

Tinkering with Redmi Note 5, flashing TWRP, trying to enable Camera2, bootloop...

Hello there,
I've recently received my Redmi Note 5 back from warranty service. As much as I like the phone, one thing I always found really disappointing about it is that for whatever reason, it is, as far as I know, the only phone from the Redmi Note series that has Camera2 disabled by default, preventing me from installing GCam. Fortunately, I have found multiple tutorials on how to activate it. Since I've wiped my data before sending it, now was the best time to do some tinkering.
I've used my friend's laptop to unlock its bootloader and install TWRP (it refused to work on my desktop for some reason). the official TWRP web page warned me that the phone uses dm-verity, which is something none of the tutorials mentioned. After some further digging, I found out that should I mess with it, the phone would simply revert any changes, and to prevent this, I needed to flash a dm-verity disabler, such as LazyFlasher
Thinking nothing would go wrong, I decided to try flashing TWRP and deal with the system replacing it with the stock recovery later. All went as planned, and the phone booted into the custom recovery with no issues. It asked me for a password to decrypt the internal storage, which I don't know, so I skipped this step. The first thing I did was creating a backup.
I then tried rebooting, just to see if it would really revert the changes. It did, but it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. The system became laggy to the point where it was basically unusable, often freezing for more than 30 seconds after just opening an app. Not knowing what to do, I flashed TWRP back, this time with the dm-verity disabler. A tutorial on how to do this that I found recommended I wipe the cache after flashing the tool. I tried doing that, but the process failed immediately. I rebooted the phone, and the next thing you know, I'm in a bootloop. I've let it sit for a while, but even after some time, the system wouldn't start. Fortunately, I was still able to get back into TWRP.
I restored the backup I created earlier. This, for the most part, solved my issues, the system works fine-ish again (aside from an occasional lag, but it's not nearly as bad as it was) and isn't trying to replace TWRP with the stock recovery anymore, but I'm kinda afraid to tinker with it again. I'd really hate having to buy a new phone just because I bricked the one I have (and I didn't even get to flash the tool that was meant to enable Camera2).
What did I do wrong? Should I've formated the internal storage to gain access to it first? Did flashing TWRP without dm-verity disabled somehow mess up the system? Would flashing a custom ROM bypass having to disable it? I'm confused...