Develop Bugs

Community Build and OTA/Update questions

I've ordered a OP 3 and its due to arrive at the end of the month. Till then I've been reading about the OP3 and have a few questions. I'm a relative novice when it comes to phone mods.
1. What is a "Community Build"? Googling did not render a good answer but my understanding is that it is sort of a "beta" build that does not come via OTA. Is this correct? Are the community builds generally pretty stable? I ask because the OP website recommends the standard build over the community build (see attached screenshot). I assume the community builds eventually make it to a final build?
2. If you are rooted, how do you update your phone? I assume taking an OTA will not work on a rooted phone so what is the best method of doing an update?
Thank you

1. Yes, community build (a.k.a Community Edition - most often just "CE" on forums") is a beta version of ROM with some new features and a bit different looks. Actually it's a merger between OxygenOS and HydrogenOS (Chinese ROM).
Not using it myself, but from what I hear it's stable in last couple of versions - good enough for daily driver.
There's no ETA so we don't know when/if it will become stable. Like I said before, it's not just a newer version but a completely new ROM so it's not directly related to standard version. I put "if" as an option because Nougat is already on the works so this may never be finalized (just a guess).
2. For updating rooted device you need to download full ROM zip (not just OTA package) and flash it manually in recovery (TWRP). You'll also need to flash SuperSU and other system modifications (if any) after every update as the ROM will overwrite them.
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

shobuddy said:
I've ordered a OP 3 and its due to arrive at the end of the month. Till then I've been reading about the OP3 and have a few questions. I'm a relative novice when it comes to phone mods.
1. What is a "Community Build"? Googling did not render a good answer but my understanding is that it is sort of a "beta" build that does not come via OTA. Is this correct? Are the community builds generally pretty stable? I ask because the OP website recommends the standard build over the community build (see attached screenshot). I assume the community builds eventually make it to a final build?
2. If you are rooted, how do you update your phone? I assume taking an OTA will not work on a rooted phone so what is the best method of doing an update?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yep a community build is pretty much a beta. Anyone can download it and flash it but i don't recommend it as "daily drivers". A "CE" is for testing purposes and to report bugs, so of course it's not going to be stable enough. I recommend just staying with the standard build "unless you have another op3 to test "CE" builds xD". Yes once they polished the beta versions, they will make it into the stable version for everyone to use.
2. The only way you can update is by flashing (flashing means installing just in case if you didn't know what that meant) the update into the op3 using twrp. I recommend to flash the "signed versions". Basically what that means is when you flash the update using "the signed version" it doesn't delete twrp cuz if you flash the normal version downloaded from the op website, it will revert back into the normal recovery, so you have to flash twrp again. You can get the signed versions on xda when they become available.
Hope on what i wrote helped you.

williefromthedark said:
1. Yep a community build is pretty much a beta. Anyone can download it and flash it but i don't recommend it as "daily drivers". A "CE" is for testing purposes and to report bugs, so of course it's not going to be stable enough. I recommend just staying with the standard build "unless you have another op3 to test "CE" builds xD". Yes once they polished the beta versions, they will make it into the stable version for everyone to use.
2. The only way you can update is by flashing (flashing means installing just in case if you didn't know what that meant) the update into the op3 using twrp. I recommend to flash the "signed versions". Basically what that means is when you flash the update using "the signed version" it doesn't delete twrp cuz if you flash the normal version downloaded from the op website, it will revert back into the normal recovery, so you have to flash twrp again. You can get the signed versions on xda when they become available.
Hope on what i wrote helped you.
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Click to collapse
The latest CE is probably more stable than the latest standard build. It's completely daily driver worthy.

dpryor88 said:
The latest CE is probably more stable than the latest standard build. It's completely daily driver worthy.
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Click to collapse
Yeah when i was writing mine, you already posted yours so i didn't knew xD. Anyway your right. Sorry for the confusion.

williefromthedark said:
Yeah when i was writing mine, you already posted yours so i didn't knew xD. Anyway your right. Sorry for the confusion.
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Click to collapse
Haha no worries. I love the CE build. The h2os beta is basically the same, but I like it better than the CEs cause it has better battery life.

williefromthedark said:
I recommend to flash the "signed versions". Basically what that means is when you flash the update using "the signed version" it doesn't delete twrp cuz if you flash the normal version downloaded from the op website, it will revert back into the normal recovery, so you have to flash twrp again. You can get the signed versions on xda when they become available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the replies! I was not aware of the signed version thing so thats good to know. Does flashing a signed version wipe data off your phone? (pictures, messages, apps, etc.) If so, how do you get around this?
I'm currently on a Nexus 4 with root and to apply updates, I would dirty flash thus preserving the phone data.

shobuddy said:
Thanks for the replies! I was not aware of the signed version thing so thats good to know. Does flashing a signed version wipe data off your phone? (pictures, messages, apps, etc.) If so, how do you get around this?
I'm currently on a Nexus 4 with root and to apply updates, I would dirty flash thus preserving the phone data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you can do a dirty flash when you install the update and it won't wipe your data but a reminder, since you are getting the op3 for the first time, you first have to unlock the bootloader and when you unlock the bootloader, it will delete everything that's on the phone, so i recommend when you first get the phone, don't put any media or any important files just yet, first unlock the bootloader, then flash twrp, then you can flash the update and since you won't have any data on the op3 just do a clean flash so it will have better results. Then after all of that, then you can go ahead and put all of your data on the op3. Oh and if you want, you can flash SuperSu so you can have root privileges.

shobuddy said:
Thanks for the replies! I was not aware of the signed version thing so thats good to know. Does flashing a signed version wipe data off your phone? (pictures, messages, apps, etc.) If so, how do you get around this?
I'm currently on a Nexus 4 with root and to apply updates, I would dirty flash thus preserving the phone data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If nothing goes wrong, you should always keep your files, even when doing clean flashes. In TWRP you'll see you can wipe "data" without touching "internal storage".
Doing this gets rid of all apps and their settings, but your files stay safe.
Anyways, while you're on the same ROM and just applying updates there's usually no need to wipe anything, dirty flash and that's it.
I'd recommend making a nandroid backup every time before wiping and flashing stuff, just in case. And backing up apps, messages, call logs ... with some app also comes in handy. I'm using Titanium Backup Pro and SMS Backup and Restore for that purpose.
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

Thanks again for the responses. I was torn between the OP3 and the Axon 7 and was leaning towards the Axon 7 because I could get it from BestBuy for $225 since I have $175 worth of gift cards with them but I chose the OP3 purely because of the cleaner Android experience and the user/developer community. I think I chose wisely Can't wait to get my hands on the phone.

Explorer23 said:
2. For updating rooted device you need to download full ROM zip (not just OTA package) and flash it manually in recovery (TWRP). You'll also need to flash SuperSU and other system modifications (if any) after every update as the ROM will overwrite them.
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you confirm which version of TWRP to use for 3.2.7(latest stable build)? I am seeing messages on xda to use twrp-3.0.2-19 else you will get bootloop but it is not immediately clear if that is for stable build or CE. I feel twrp-3.0.2-1-oneplus3.img should work but don't know exactly due to this confusion thus asking.
Also while we are at it, can you please give link to latest working SuperSU & Xposed for 3.2.7 stable build? my OP3 is arriving today so gathering all info

power2top said:
Can you confirm which version of TWRP to use for 3.2.7(latest stable build)? I am seeing messages on xda to use twrp-3.0.2-19 else you will get bootloop but it is not immediately clear if that is for stable build or CE. I feel twrp-3.0.2-1-oneplus3.img should work but don't know exactly due to this confusion thus asking.
Also while we are at it, can you please give link to latest working SuperSU & Xposed for 3.2.7 stable build? my OP3 is arriving today so gathering all info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3.0.2-19 is for CE only, use the official 3.0.2-1 for stable.
SuperSU link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/supersu/stable-2016-09-01supersu-v2-78-release-t3452703
For Xposed install this app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/material-design-xposed-installer-t3137758
and then download and install framework through the app (correct version will be preselected - standard for arm64).
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

Explorer23 said:
3.0.2-19 is for CE only, use the official 3.0.2-1 for stable.
SuperSU link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/supersu/stable-2016-09-01supersu-v2-78-release-t3452703
For Xposed install this app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/material-design-xposed-installer-t3137758
and then download and install framework through the app (correct version will be preselected - standard for arm64).
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks @Explorer23 but saw something else on http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3/how-to/3-2-7-t3471679/page7 where regular twrp i.e 3.0.2-1 did not work and they are facing bootloop issues but modded one (which I presume 3.0.2-19) works. Is my understanding correct?

power2top said:
Thanks @Explorer23 but saw something else on http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3/how-to/3-2-7-t3471679/page7 where regular twrp i.e 3.0.2-1 did not work and they are facing bootloop issues but modded one (which I presume 3.0.2-19) works. Is my understanding correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting ... There's always that one person that does everything the same as others but gets new issues [emoji19] Quite possible it bootlooped for some other reason and not due to recovery.
Version 3.2.7 doesn't bring any substantial changes so there's no reason for official TWRP to not work. And it did work for majority of people.
That said, I can only provide my "educated guess" about 3.2.7 as I haven't personally flashed it. I'm sticking with FreedomOS (modified OxygenOS), which is still at 3.2.6 (probably because 3.2.7 wasn't officially released, it only came as OTA).
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

shobuddy said:
Thanks again for the responses. I was torn between the OP3 and the Axon 7 and was leaning towards the Axon 7 because I could get it from BestBuy for $225 since I have $175 worth of gift cards with them but I chose the OP3 purely because of the cleaner Android experience and the user/developer community. I think I chose wisely Can't wait to get my hands on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heard software experience on Axon 7 is bad and almost no dev support

updating to new oxygen os

Just wondering if it's safe to upgrade to the new oxygen OS update on a rooted op3. I know you can't upgrade from marshmallow to nougat but a smaller OS update is OK?

Sure, you can update it. But keep in mind that you'll lose root, so you'll have to flash SuperSU (or whatever you're using) again.
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

Cool it won't brick my phone or anything? I want to download the beta so I can just install it and the re root my phone? Sorry new to all this.

Yes, you can safely update to beta. Just make sure you have modified TWRP 3.0.2-22 before flashing. Official TWRP 3.0.2-1 doesn't play nicely with new firmware in community builds.
So:
1. Flash TWRP 3.0.2-22
2. Upgrade ROM
3. Flash SuperSU
4. Done 🙂
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

envious86 said:
Cool it won't brick my phone or anything? I want to download the beta so I can just install it and the re root my phone? Sorry new to all this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, and even when it's bricked it's fixable.

Thanks. I bricked my oneplus last week and it was so stressful getting it unbricked so just a little nervous .

Also if you're unencrypted (like me), oos will require SuperSU to even boot

How to get back to stock?

My op3 is running on cm14.1 jgcaap and I was planning to go back to OOs. I want to flash 3.2.8. Should I flash through twrp or adb side load ?

MM MaD said:
My op3 is running on cm14.1 jgcaap and I was planning to go back to OOs. I want to flash 3.2.8. Should I flash through twrp or adb side load ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do either but ensure two things for avoiding a possible bootloop. One is the TWRP and the other is wiping all except internal storage before flashing the ROM.
You should have the modified TWRP 3.0.2-23.
Wipe, flash ROM and flash TWRP before booting as the existing TWRP is likely to be overwritten by the stock recovery. Speaking from experience!
Though I was going from 3.2.7 to 3.2.8, TWRP was overwritten which I found only after booting and when I tried to get back into recovery.

Hi. what's the difference between the official and modded twrp? And is it better to have which one? Thanks

jfodra said:
Hi. what's the difference between the official and modded twrp? And is it better to have which one? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason of the existence of the modified TWRP is the inability of the original one to deal with the OOS community builds. The modified version is capable of flashing these builds.
Some older versions of recoveries have problems flashing some newer android version so you should always use the newest TWRP release out there and since the original release is a little bit outdated, the modified one is the better choice if you want to use Nougat
If you want to stay with Marshmallow then the original TWRP release would also do the trick for you (I use the original one too)

lekronop said:
The reason of the existence of the modified TWRP is the inability of the original one to deal with the OOS community builds. The modified version is capable of flashing these builds.
Some older versions of recoveries have problems flashing some newer android version so you should always use the newest TWRP release out there and since the original release is a little bit outdated, the modified one is the better choice if you want to use Nougat
If you want to stay with Marshmallow then the original TWRP release would also do the trick for you (I use the original one too)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ooohh. If i flashed the modified one, i could still be able to flash the official oos builds? I'm going to use the toolkit provided and it seems that uses the modified twrp one.

jfodra said:
Ooohh. If i flashed the modified one, i could still be able to flash the official oos builds? I'm going to use the toolkit provided and it seems that uses the modified twrp one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this is no problem, you can flash the older builds with the modified twrp, so no worries.

lekronop said:
Yes this is no problem, you can flash the older builds with the modified twrp, so no worries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh okay. Thanks a lot for the clarifications.

jfodra said:
Oh okay. Thanks a lot for the clarifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem, but even if the modified one couldn't handle older android versions then you can always flash another twrp which works for your desired task. So if you have twrp 3.0.2-23 installed you can go back to 3.0.2-1 or even lower without any problems

lekronop said:
No problem, but even if the modified one couldn't handle older android versions then you can always flash another twrp which works for your desired task. So if you have twrp 3.0.2-23 installed you can go back to 3.0.2-1 or even lower without any problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh. Okay. Just a question though, does unlocking the bootloader also wipes the files in the phone such as the images and music?

jfodra said:
Oh. Okay. Just a question though, does unlocking the bootloader also wipes the files in the phone such as the images and music?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does.. That's the reason I unlock the bootloader as soon as I get a new device

i was on freedom os . i am back on stock oxygen os but i have 2 issues.
1) when i got an update to 3.2.7 it showed in german that there is an update even though the language i chose was english
2) The boot animation shows the freedom os splash screen and then the boots into stock. Ihave got the boot animation of stock os but need instructions on how to flash the zip.
Can someone throw light on the above 2 issues?

Accept OTA or Flash entire ROM?

Hello all-
I have looked everywhere for clarification on this to no avail. I am currently UN-rooted, Unlocked Bootloader & TWRP (OOS 4.0.3, 12/1/16 Android Security patch). Can I take the OTA for OOS 4.1.3 or will that make me lose TWRP? I know there are instances when you can take the OTA and where you have to flash the entire ROM but I can't locate the differences and which route I need to take? Please advise if you know this answer.
Thank you!

I'm not sure, but, you can just flash the ota in twrp and make sure to flash the twrp img after flashing the ota. And, always make a twrp backup

AFAIK you need stock recovery for OTA to work (not 100% sure).
If downloading whole 1.4GB ROM is not a big issue, it's safer to dirty flash the whole ROM. Otherwise you could flash back stock recovery, install small OTA, then flash TWRP again. A bit more work, but less downloading.
Sent from my OnePlus 3 using Tapatalk

This question doesn't belong in this section. @Stephen please move this to the Q&A section. Thanks.

DroidJay123 said:
Hello all-
I have looked everywhere for clarification on this to no avail. I am currently UN-rooted, Unlocked Bootloader & TWRP (OOS 4.0.3, 12/1/16 Android Security patch). Can I take the OTA for OOS 4.1.3 or will that make me lose TWRP? I know there are instances when you can take the OTA and where you have to flash the entire ROM but I can't locate the differences and which route I need to take? Please advise if you know this answer.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me make it clear, the full rom flash is a better option and you can do so from twrp. You would not loose twrp after the flash and need not flash the recovery again. SuperSU/Magisk flash is optional after the ROM flash. I see that you are running 3.0.4-1 which is a 7.1.1 compatible TWRP so there is no need to worry of any data loss. TWRP is also able to flash the OTA's provided you have not made any changes to your system partition and have remained unrooted.
You can come to General / OOS thread and ask there for further understanding :fingers-crossed:

You can flash OTA as long as your kernel is on default, what I mean is stock/untouched which is basically same situation as yours since youre unrooted. ? So yes you can flash OTA no need for full flash

If me, i like waiting full ROM zip release and do clean install.
Sometimes, flash OTA getting error (cause root, bla bla bla hahaha )
Yeah, it could be lazy gonna install back all apps at least you backup it
My advice, if you update same Android version, no problem to do a dirty flash (same ROM like LOS 14 to LOS 14, but if different ROM, i suggest better do clean install)
But if different version, mean 7.0 to 7.1.1, better clean install (dirty also no problem, but wonder in future got problem)
But hey, different people, different way right? This just my 2cent

It is my understanding that when moving from whole version number changes (6 to 7, 7 to 8) etc that a clean install is definitely way to go but even from 7.0 to 7.1? Also when you download the OTA, is the file saved somewhere so you can then locate it in TWRP for flashing? I don't want to allow the system to install the ota automatically correct?

DroidJay123 said:
Hello all-
I have looked everywhere for clarification on this to no avail. I am currently UN-rooted, Unlocked Bootloader & TWRP (OOS 4.0.3, 12/1/16 Android Security patch). Can I take the OTA for OOS 4.1.3 or will that make me lose TWRP? I know there are instances when you can take the OTA and where you have to flash the entire ROM but I can't locate the differences and which route I need to take? Please advise if you know this answer.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is best to clean flash if you've major upgrade like 6->7 or 7>8 something like that but if as your question you're still on marshmallow so you can flash OTA zip through twrp and make sure after OTA you've to flash twrp again to maintain it. If the system shows OTA it can't flash it via open recovery on twrp, you must have stock recovery to do it.

This thread is not for ROM development. Please get a mod move this thread to the Q&A section.

Rollback from BETA 3 to STABLE 10.0.9

Anyone can help me how to Rollback from BETA 3 to STABLE 10.0.9?
Obviously return error that stable is older than beta.
Thanks

Maybe flashing Fastboot rom will work without issues. But I didn't test it.

Of course you can't local update to 10.0.9 since it's old dated than OB3. You have to wait for a roll back zip.

Rolling back from a beta to a lower stable on the OP5 was just a case of booting into recovery and choosing the lower stable zip.
Have you tried from recovery ?
Basically the same procedure except your performing the rollback from recovery directly instead of the software system menu method.

Subscribing to thread. I find the actual phone service and signal strength is poor on Beta 3 and am anxious to get off of it.

Use msm tool

You can install the rollback package found on OB1 thread on OnePlus forums..it takes you back to 10.0.8 and can install update on top of that...

Anyone tried it yet with the ob1 rollback package? I just want to be sure before doing it. Thank!

Udzi said:
Anyone tried it yet with the ob1 rollback package? I just want to be sure before doing it. Thank!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did and it worked fine...Install Rollback package from OB1 thread and install 10.0.9...Your data will be wiped though..

ram4ufriends said:
I did and it worked fine...Install Rollback package from OB1 thread and install 10.0.9...Your data will be wiped though..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I am aware of that, thank you for the clarification!

ram4ufriends said:
I did and it worked fine...Install Rollback package from OB1 thread and install 10.0.9...Your data will be wiped though..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I said try it with Fastboot rom. You can easily edit the flash.bat file and flash without wipe. But I can't say if that works without issues.