Develop Bugs

[Q] Need advice on updating to Lollipop

I currently have a T-Mobile HTC One M8.
I am running 4.4.4 with Sense 6.0
It is rooted, custom recovery (TWRP), S-OFF, with Xposed Framework installed.
I know this has been asked and discussed a million times in bits and pieces around XDA and the internet in general, but I am still having trouble finding one source with a definitive answer as to the steps I should follow.
I would like to update to Android Lollipop 5.0 (5.0.1)
- The OTA that has shown up on my phone as of now is Software Update: 4.20.531.4 (632.7 MB). I am not sure if there is already another one that would follow this one if I were able to successfully update to this version.
With that being said, I did not make a backup of my stock rom, nor recovery.
I am assuming that the process I need to take is this (to return my device to stock):
1) Uninstall XPOSED Modules and XPOSED Framework
2) Flash a STOCK ROM via custom recovery (TWRP)
3) Flash a STOCK RECOVERY via custom recovery (TWRP)
- Is this correct?
- If so, can someone provide me a link to the STOCK ROM and STOCK RECOVERY that I would need?
- If not, what are the steps I should follow?
Then what do I need to do to update my device to Lollipop?
Do I just refresh and check the software update in the ABOUT section of settings and update it as an OTA?
Can I skip all of these steps and just flash a factory LOLLIPOP IMAGE and RECOVERY via ADB with my device in it's current state?
Thank you in advance to anyone who will help me out
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UPDATE...
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*** I finally updated to Android Lollipop 5.0 (5.0.1)
This is what I did:
* I kept my device plugged into my computer this entire time
1) Download this STOCK ROM zip (TMOUS-M8-3.32.531.2-Stock-TWRP.zip)
2) Download this STOCK RECOVERY img (Tmo-M8-3.32.531.2-recovery.img)
3) Download this OTA zip (OTA-3.32.531.2 to 4.20.531.4)
4) Backup CURRENT ROM via TWRP (just in case)
5) Extract the files from STOCK ROM zip and place them in a folder named STOCK ROM
6) Move the STOCK ROM folder to your device under |sdcard / TWRP / BACKUPS / "random numbers & letters" / Place the folder here|, next to your CURRENT ROM backup
7) Move the OTA zip to your device under |sdcard / Download|
8) Move the STOCK RECOVERY img to whatever folder you have ADB (fastboot) setup in, on your computer
9) Reboot into TWRP, click restore, select STOCK ROM, then swipe to restore
10) After it finishes restoring, do not reboot. Just click back until you can select reboot, then select to reboot bootloader
11) Once it reboots to the bootloader and you are at the screen where it says FASTBOOT, open ADB (fastboot) command prompt and flash the STOCK RECOVERY img by typing: fastboot flash recovery "name of recovery".img
12) Once that has completed, reboot the device
13) Once the device has rebooted open ADB (fastboot) command prompt again and reboot into recovery by typing: adb reboot recovery
14) For me, it rebooted to a black screen, then turned into a black screen with a warning triangle, then I hit the volume buttons a few times as well as the power button and then it loaded up the recovery options (sounds weird, but this is how it happened for me)
15) Once the options appear, use the volume and power buttons to select apply from phone storage, then locate the OTA zip file that you moved into the Download folder, select it and hit the power button to apply it
16) Let it run and apply the update, then follow the instructions at the end to reboot the phone
17) Now you will have Android Lollipop 5.0 (5.0.1) on your device
*** When you apply the OTA zip, it will sit at "patching system files" for quite a while, so don't worry. Applying the OTA took around 15 minutes to complete for me
*** I never wiped data or cache or anything like that during this entire process. All my apps, settings, etc... remained how I had them before. I didn't have to set anything up after the final reboot. Everything was just like I had had it on my CURRENT ROM
*** I never uninstalled XPOSED Modules or XPOSED Framework, or unrooted the device. I simply did all the steps I just listed. Nothing else.
*** Of course after completion of this update process you will lose root, and would have to re-root and re-install XPOSED (which is possible now that XPOSED is compatible with Lollipop)

I would also like to know...

It's somewhat old, but the instructions using Method #1 more or less apply. Just make sure that when/if you reflash TWRP that you flash 2.8.5. Nothing older.
http://venomroms.com/viperonem8_3-0-0-requirements/

This is of course irrelevant to the OP, but for anyone who's still considering the move, my advice would be not to "update". I see absolutely no advantage of Lollipop in comparison to KitKat, at least as long as stock Sense 6 phones are concerned.
I have a completely stock, unrooted (although not SIM-locked) HTC One M8. A few weeks ago the OTA came and I "updated". Now, my phone worked perfectly before: fast, on battery for more than 2 days, etc. After the "update" there where problems after problems after problems. The keyboard lags, the battery life is way worse, etc. Yes, some of the problems can be overcome. But in my opinion if you just want a working phone, this "update" is simply not worth your time.

unifex_ said:
This is of course irrelevant to the OP, but for anyone who's still considering the move, my advice would be not to "update". I see absolutely no advantage of Lollipop in comparison to KitKat, at least as long as stock Sense 6 phones are concerned.
I have a completely stock, unrooted (although not SIM-locked) HTC One M8. A few weeks ago the OTA came and I "updated". Now, my phone worked perfectly before: fast, on battery for more than 2 days, etc. After the "update" there where problems after problems after problems. The keyboard lags, the battery life is way worse, etc. Yes, some of the problems can be overcome. But in my opinion if you just want a working phone, this "update" is simply not worth your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you factory reset your device after the update? I'm 100% stock, not rooted (although S-OFF) and it lasts well over a day but I always factory reset after every major update

EddyOS said:
Have you factory reset your device after the update? I'm 100% stock, not rooted (although S-OFF) and it lasts well over a day but I always factory reset after every major update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did the factory reset. Strangely enough (although perhaps not so strangely) the reset kept the data of old apps. For example, I had some navigation app that downloaded lots of maps. The app is gone, but the maps are still there, even after the reset. They are just a dead weight now, with no way of accessing them - although I'm not sure whether I will be able to access them if I reinstall the app. Same with dictionaries.
The battery life got a bit better lately, perhaps after the Google Services update. But it's still not as good as it was on KitKat.
And finally, shouldn't the update bring improvements? So far we've been talking about issues and how to deal with them. I honestly have not seen any single improvement over KitKat. Perhaps something "under the hood", but then I would expect the phone to be more responsive, not lagging. So looking back, I just don't see what was the point of this update. Maybe with Sense 7 ...

[root] [ZS570KL] Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe fast rooting method. Despite TWRP

Not tested on nougat.
I use adb and fastboot , twrp, supersu.
Files We need:
TWRP: It's bogus, in my phone the screen flips upsidedown: Connect a mouse thru female usb or try to figure out how to tap in a rotated screen with a non rotated touch panel.
TWRP Download -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0XMYw0cbs_cdm5FZW1DQXl4MFU/view
SuperSU file - > https://download.chainfire.eu/1021/SuperSU/SR3-SuperSU-v2.79-SR3-20170114223742.zip?retrieve_file=1
For ADB access thru MAC:
1.- First of all we have to get open USB debug mode to get adb acces to the phone by going to Settings -> About -> Software Information -> Tap 7 times over Build number.
2.- After we get Developer options available we have to put the phone on usb debugging by goig to "Settings-> Developer Options" Activate USB Debugging.
3.- Install android platform-tools on your PC/Linux/MAC , in my case had work on MAC and no devices acces thru ADB on PC :silly: .
platform-tools -> http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/0...ble-without-full-sdk-android-studio-download/
Here you have the 3 options to download ADB and FASTBOOT
4.- Connect your phone to the PC (USB) and copy SuperSu to the root of your phone, a place that its easy too acces, cause TWRP, for the moment flips the screen.
5.- Copy TWRP3.0.XXX.zip to the folder where you have platform-tools installed.
6.- Reboot your phone to bootloader and in Linux could work too:
./adb reboot bootloader [./ is placed cause I don't put platform-tools on the my PATH]
After the boot, then we have to boot on TWRP
./fastboot boot twrp-3.0xxxx.zip (you don't flash anything) If you want to flash TWRP, at your awn risk, ./fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.0xxxx.zip".
Well, now you have to see TRWP on your phone screen.
My recomendation is to play a little bit with the flipped screen if you don't have a female USB to plug a mouse.
7.- Trying to make a complete backup of the phone could be a good practice to move on TWRP with the flipped screen . Tap backup option and make a Backup. Always recomended!
8.- After Backup, you can go to INSTALL SuperSU.zip file. "Install -> look for your SuperSU.zip file "
9.- Go to Playstore and install supersu app.
Now you can test your root, after reboot for example tryin to install some APP that requires root. Fast move:
./adb shell
su root
It has to appear a screen to grant root access to the phone.
10. Done!
Well I think thats my second post at all, hope can help someone to root the phone.
I placed In Questions and Answers cause XDA says want to protect us from SPAM.
Feel free to correct me anything.
Kronen_75

Your links do not work.

jnmacd said:
Your links do not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Links are corrected. Thanks!

You can also substitute Magisk instead of Supersu if you need to use any of the pay apps or have root sensitive apps...

Without the right Twrp, many benefits to rooting are missing such as removing stock rom applications. Seems without being able to boot to a recovery, even Titanium cannot remove apps because it needs to clean the dalvic.. Can't do it without a recovery
Sent from my ASUS_Z016D using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Download the right twrp here: https://mega.nz/#F!EkFF1CJD!C8o2wXMARW3YJFOipDttbA

You should change your title !!
Tested on nougat.
The variant ZS550KL can be rooted with same method on latest firmware with nougat

Very nice guide, Thank you. Could you please provide updated links to both TWRP and SuperSU. I am currently using TWRP 3.1.1-0 and it functions properly after hanging for approximately 45 seconds on boot. This may be due to the fact my phone is encrypted. I initially rooted without installing TWRP (fastboot boot twrp.img) but have since flashed it. Both ways work well. The posted version of SuperSU did result in root but caused me to lose cell service! The phone could "see" the sim card but not use it. Updating to SuperSU 2.82 solved that issue. This was all done on my finally rooted ZenFone 3 Deluxe Special Edition (Z016D)!!!

I unfortunately figured something out the other day. Using TWRP 3.1.1-0 I am able to install zip files, complete wipes, make & restore backups. The issues only arise after you restore your nandroid image. Everything works except for two things.
1. The ability to hear audio during phone calls. The phone is actually able to place calls but you are unable to hear or record any phone audio. Oddly enough I was able to play music and use voice dictation. It was only in-call audio that seemed to be affected.
2. If you have a pin set when you create your nandroid image your pin will no longer work once restored. You will be locked out of your own phone!!
Fortunately both are fairly easily resolved and keep TWRP relatively useful, although a bit bothersome!
To resolve the pin issue it is necessary to use the TWRP file manager or ADB to delete 5 files (listed below) and regain entrance to your phone. Once deleted simply reboot the phone and reset your pin. If you remove your pin before creating a backup this issue is averted completely.
/data/system/gatekeeper.pattern.key
/data/system/gatekeeper.password.key
/data/system/locksettings.db
/data/system/locksettings.db-wal
/data/system/locksettings.db-shm
To re-enable call audio use TWRP (install zip) to reflash the same version firmware from the Asus website over your current install without wiping. This will restore any system apps you may have removed but you should still have root and can easily remove them again. There will be two errors when performing the flash, which is why I believe root is retained but the system image will be reflashed. Reboot and enjoy
I sincerely hope I have not caused anyone any issues! Or that someone else finds this information useful. I have tested everything in this post at least three times. All testing was done on the most recent Android 7 firmware on my ZenFone 3 Deluxe Special Edition (SnapDragon 821/6/256).

Sandman45654 said:
I unfortunately figured something out the other day. Using TWRP 3.1.1-0 I am able to install zip files, complete wipes, make & restore backups. The issues only arise after you restore your nandroid image. Everything works except for two things.
1. The ability to hear audio during phone calls. The phone is actually able to place calls but you are unable to hear or record any phone audio. Oddly enough I was able to play music and use voice dictation. It was only in-call audio that seemed to be affected.
2. If you have a pin set when you create your nandroid image your pin will no longer work once restored. You will be locked out of your own phone!!
Fortunately both are fairly easily resolved and keep TWRP relatively useful, although a bit bothersome!
To resolve the pin issue it is necessary to use the TWRP file manager or ADB to delete 5 files (listed below) and regain entrance to your phone. Once deleted simply reboot the phone and reset your pin. If you remove your pin before creating a backup this issue is averted completely.
/data/system/gatekeeper.pattern.key
/data/system/gatekeeper.password.key
/data/system/locksettings.db
/data/system/locksettings.db-wal
/data/system/locksettings.db-shm
To re-enable call audio use TWRP (install zip) to reflash the same version firmware from the Asus website over your current install without wiping. This will restore any system apps you may have removed but you should still have root and can easily remove them again. There will be two errors when performing the flash, which is why I believe root is retained but the system image will be reflashed. Reboot and enjoy
I sincerely hope I have not caused anyone any issues! Or that someone else finds this information useful. I have tested everything in this post at least three times. All testing was done on the most recent Android 7 firmware on my ZenFone 3 Deluxe Special Edition (SnapDragon 821/6/256).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The second issue happens in all the phones/twrp.
It's possible to install the firmware from asus website with twrp?? To update i flash the stock recovery, install the firmware, then reflash twrp and supersu. Didn't know that! It updates successfully with twrp??

Thank you Ryder for confirming my suspicion that the pin issue may have been a more common one with TWRP. This is the first phone I actually cared enough about to use a pin. I was thrown for a loop when I first booted my fresh nandroid restore and the pin I know I've been using was incorrect!
As for installing firmware, with the two errors that occurred during I don't know that you would be able to do full scale upgrade to a higher version. To reinstall the system partition however it does seem to work quite well. I tested this part four times. To do so download the correct device/version firmware to the phones storage, click install, and select that file. After it completes I like to wipe both the cache and the dalvik cache before restarting the phone. The audio issue was unfortunately easily reproduced on my phone, but thankfully equally easy to resolve. This worked for me each time without fail.

Sandman45654 said:
Thank you Ryder for confirming my suspicion that the pin issue may have been a more common one with TWRP. This is the first phone I actually cared enough about to use a pin. I was thrown for a loop when I first booted my fresh nandroid restore and the pin I know I've been using was incorrect!
As for installing firmware, with the two errors that occurred during I don't know that you would be able to do full scale upgrade to a higher version. To reinstall the system partition however it does seem to work quite well. I tested this part four times. To do so download the correct device/version firmware to the phones storage, click install, and select that file. After it completes I like to wipe both the cache and the dalvik cache before restarting the phone. The audio issue was unfortunately easily reproduced on my phone, but thankfully equally easy to resolve. This worked for me each time without fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said that the two issues occurred when you restored the nandroid backup and to fix one of them by installing the zip firmware from asus website with twrp... I don't understand. I can install zip firmware with twrp or i have to flash the stock recovery and install with it? Errors may occur using the twrp? Sorry

Everything done in my post so far has been in TWRP. Honestly I didn't even back up the recovery image. TWRP seemed to work flawlessly so I bit bullet and flashed it.
On a sidenote I am currently testing the usability of FlahFire on this device. It appears to create a very nice fastboot installable recovery image! I have yet to restore the image however. I will post my findings here once I have thoroughly tested it.

Sandman45654 said:
Everything done in my post so far has been in TWRP. Honestly I didn't even back up the recovery image. TWRP seemed to work flawlessly so I bit bullet and flashed it.
On a sidenote I am currently testing the usability of FlahFire on this device. It appears to create a very nice fastboot installable recovery image! I have yet to restore the image however. I will post my findings here once I have thoroughly tested it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. I'm interested in flashing zip firmware to update. Never tried that. I thought that firmware can be installed only with stock recovery. The stock recovery can be downloaded in an asus forum website

This is the first time I have flashed anything in almost a year. I got to thinking and this is the most success I have had was flashing a stock image with TWRP! I doubt it will perform a full flash. I believe the errors are most likely for the boot and recovery partitions. As a save my butt reflash the system partition it does work. It sounds like it's time to find some TWRP changelogs!

Sandman45654 said:
This is the first time I have flashed anything in almost a year. I got to thinking and this is the most success I have had was flashing a stock image with TWRP! I doubt it will perform a full flash. I believe the errors are most likely for the boot and recovery partitions. As a save my butt reflash the system partition it does work. It sounds like it's time to find some TWRP changelogs!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't care about stock images... If i can't flash the zip with twrp to update successfully then i reflash the stock recovery and after the update root again with twrp and supersu. By the way, the zip firmare contains factory images? I thought it contains different kind of files

Ryder. said:
By the way, the zip firmare contains factory images? I thought it contains different kind of files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I lack the knowledge to answer that with enough certainty to even call it an answer! This is my foray into the insides of this phone and I don't want to start posting my hunches.
What I do know is you can flash the system partition using TWRP. I have done it several times. Asus's zips run as a script based zip install. You are offered no options during install. When the script runs you will see two errors quickly scroll past.

Ryder. said:
Download the right twrp here: https://mega.nz/#F!EkFF1CJD!C8o2wXMARW3YJFOipDttbA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you creating these TWRP builds? If so thank you very much! TWRP-3.1.1-0-Z016-20170826 seems to work flawlessly! No lag on boot and no known issues after restoring a backup unlike before.
I wanted to post my finding about FlashFire by Chainfire. I have had great success with the fastboot backup! It is the only option I have tested extensively however. I have been running the same fastboot restored phone since soon after my last post on this topic with no issues discovered.

Sandman45654 said:
Are you creating these TWRP builds? If so thank you very much! TWRP-3.1.1-0-Z016-20170826 seems to work flawlessly! No lag on boot and no known issues after restoring a backup unlike before.
I wanted to post my finding about FlashFire by Chainfire. I have had great success with the fastboot backup! It is the only option I have tested extensively however. I have been running the same fastboot restored phone since soon after my last post on this topic with no issues discovered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It's not me. It's another user which i don't remember the nickname

Ryder. said:
No. It's not me. It's another user which i don't remember the nickname
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay thank you. If you happen to find out/remember please let me know. I would like to give credit with my project and thank them for their hard work.

[V2][Update][Root][G955U]PartCyborgRom - SamFail Rooted/Debloated/Audio/More

SamFail presents...
PartCyborgRom
BQL1
A Rooted Custom Rom
For G955U/W, Bootloader Revisions 1, 2, 3​
Updates
NOW Supporting Bootloader V3!
I am happy to announce that BL version 3 phones are now supported by PartCyborgRom!
Just download the Version 3 BL further down in this post (after reading everything in between!) and use it in place of the normal BL Part2 file.
NOTICE: Rooting Process Steps Updated!
Enough people are coming from later bootloader revisions that have some extra protections that I updated the process to use an additional step. Many of you have used this step already at my suggestion when your AP flash was failing with Auth Error without a reboot to Upload.
Featured Modifications
Deodexed
Deodexed for all devices.
I found a way that works!
It should keep working as long as nougat
(is that a haiku?)
Xposed Preinstalled
PCR now comes out of the flasher with xposed pre-installed!
NOTE: Xposed Installer may crash on first boot. It will not crash after setup finishes and you reboot
New Boot Animation
Another great one from @Ryan-refoua.
This one is my favorite so far.
JamesDSP
I added another DSP style audio mod. JamesDSP is similar to V4A in how it operates and what features it has, but it has some really awesome features that have made me a fan and a regular user. Among other things, it has a better convolver (IRS processing) implementation, and its bass boost is significantly better than v4a. If there are things you like about V4A you can use both at the same time.
ITYBP Modded YouTube
A last minute addition, this is a really nice youtube mod brought to you by @laura almeida, @Razerman and @ZaneZam. It features some cool additions like native adblocking (no more xposed module), overriding your max youtube resolution (you can watch 4k videos on your phone, but not 4k hdr). I have been using it for a while and really like it. A big thanks to them for letting me include it with PCR
Improved Debloating
Found better stuff to delete. Added back some stuff I took out before that some of you asked for.
If you find something missing that you want back, pull it from the stock rom and install it in /system/app or /system/priv-app, wherever you got it from.
Improved Battery Life
Thanks to some battery sleuthing by @TheMadScientist, this release comes with a nice big bump in efficiency. With just some very minor tuning using amplify and a service disabler, I can get around 1%/h drain.
Performance Improvements
That increased battery life does not come at the cost of performance. In fact performance is better too. Part of that is due some personally tested build.prop tweaks. Another part is some data optimisation scripts that now run at boot. You wont notice those, but they are there doing their thing.
Other Features
New for first time flashers
- Pre-Rooted with SuperSU installed
- CSC OYN pre-installed. Tested working on several carriers
- RCS and VoLTE icons removed from status bar.
- High quality audio mods, including
- Viper Audio (V4A)
- Dolby Atmos from the Axon 7
- Pandora hifi audio framework
- Native Google Dialer & Contacts support, including local search, spam call blocking
- Oreo 8.1 Emoji Icon Set
- Custom Lockscreen Clock font
- Stock system display fonts replaced with Apple's original San Francisco Font
Special Thanks
- @ahiron and @Zackptg5 for the killer sounds from V4A and Dolby Atmos Mods!
- The Aiur crew for Pandora (now a legacy mod but works great on the s8)
- @syndre for the Google Dialer and Contacts framework mod
- @rayan-refoua for the beautiful Tech Lines Custom boot and shutdown animations!
- Last but not least, my new friend @laura almeida, along with @Razerman amd @ZaneZam for letting me include the iYTBP - injected YouTube Background Playback Mod
- everyone who tested
Warnings/Disclaimers/Known Issues
- 80% Battery life like every other rooted US snapdragon device
- Flashing on a USB 3.0 port will likely cause corruption in your flash that can cause kernel panics, loss of root, and occasionally very strange other errors. If you get something like this, its not the rom its a hardware conflict that can only show up with larger images like are used in SamFail flashing. See the section below on Kernel Panics for more.
- If there is an app or apk from the stock rom that you wish you had installed, the best solution is to extract it from your stock rom image and copy it to the same place in /system using a root file manager.
SamFail Rooting Process
and Rom Installation
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING WILL ERASE YOUR WHOLE PHONE
If you have a SDCard, remove it from your device. Occasional firmware incidents have wiped SDCards in the past. It has neer happened to me, but I have a backup of my sdcard so I can be a little more risky. Better safe than sorry.
Prepare the Following:
- complete stock rom at your bootloader rev in case things dont work
- Everything backed up
- Both Prince Comsy Odin, and Regular Odin for flashing stock
- A USB 2.0 Port. If you attempt to flash with a USB 3.0 port it may work, but if you get kernel panics, or unexpected bad behavior and/or crashes your usb3 is absolutely to blame. some people get lucky and suceed after a few tries, YMMV. If you can not acquire a machine with a usb2.0 port, get a usb2.0 hub and run your phone into that & that into your machine. Reports are that has made things work for some, but we get few reports back.
What is my Bootloader Revision?
Your bootloader revision is part of the baseband build number of the firmware you are currently running. Lets use this rom as our example. The full build number is as follows: G955USQS2BQL1
Start from the right and count 5 characters back. See that 2? That is the bootloader revision for the firmware that came with this rom. But we are not flashing the BQL1 firmware (or Baseband), We are using an older version because it works better. The version we are flashing is: G955UEU2AQK2. Can you tell which revision it is?
Is my Phone Compatible?
Is it a G955U? Is it a G950W? If you answered "yes" to one of those questions, then the answer is "yes". That being said, flashing this rom if you are on bootloader revision 1 will upgrade your bootloader revision to 2, which means that any previous rom you were running wont work, so be prepared by having a copy of stock for bootloader version 2. If you don't want to move to version 2, you can still run the latest PartCyborgRom though, just use the G955UEU1AQk1 BL_ tar under Old Downloads in place of the one that came with this one. It will work just fine. However if you are unsure I suggest you go ahead and upgrade, there are not really any benefits to staying on 1 at this point.
Steps to Root
1) Download and unzip AP Part 1 and BL Part 2 zip files.
2) Download and unzip Prince Comsey Odin and start it up
3) Reboot device into Download mode and connect it to your pc
4A) Open Comsy Odin and Reboot into Download mode. Add Only the BL Part2.tar.md5 file. Go to the options tab and remove the checkbox next to "Auto-Reboot". Do not check any additional checkboxes and leave the other ones alone. Connect your phone and Start. Odin will flash the BL file to your device and will say PASS, but will just sit in download mode (because we turned off auto-reboot!). This makes the next part a little easier...
4B) Reset Comsy Odin and use the "three button salute" on your device to Reboot back Download mode. This time only add the AP Part1.tar.md5 file. Select only the following options:
- "Auto-Reboot"
- "F-Reset Time"
- "Nand Erase All"
NOTE: Odin will freeze while checking the AP tar.md5 hash.
Be patient, it will come back. If your computer is old this will take even longer.
5) Click "Start" and wait for the system.img.ext4 file to flash fully to your device. This will take a while.
ATTENTION
When the flash finishes, this is when the SamFail magic happens. Instead of saying "Failed (Auth)" like it should, the device will crash into upload mode with "Unknow Error".
If your device stays in Download Mode:
If your device does not do this, and just says "Failed (Auth)" or something similar and stays in download mode, you need to start again from the beginning, but using a different set of usb ports as you have likely suffered from the usb3 corruption
When you see the upload mode page, do the 3 button salute to reboot into download mode again.
WARNING: When you reboot from upload mode, it wont look like download mode. You will see an error.
When you reboot back into download mode, your screen will say that you had a failed update and you need to do emergency repair or take your device to a service center.
Rest assured, your phone is actually in download mode, and Odin will have recognized it and said "Added!" along with the com port lighting up underneath the progress bar. Just continue the process. It is safe to do so and that error will go away after the next step.
6) Close and re-open Comsy Odin or hit the reset button, and once again add BL_PartCyborgRom-BootLoopEdition-<version>.tar.md5 to the BL section.
7) Do not change any of the options checkboxes, thus leaving the checkboxes checked for "F Reset Time" and "Auto Reboot". Click "Start" and flash the BL (part 2) to your device.
Note: Flashing BL twice is necessary as some newer stock BLs have patched the Root method we use, but the Combo Factory firmware is still vulnerable. In other words, the SamFail nickname continues to be prolific :good: :good:
Note: If you forgot to uncheck nand erase all, don't worry. You are just wasting time doing something again that you already did, the outcome is the same. "All" in "Nand Erase All" means "all userdata", which means cache and, well, userdata. Nothing else is deleted.
8) Wait for the flash to finish . It won't take very long at all as the files are small.
9) When it has finished, Odin will say PASS and your device will reboot into recovery.
From this point forther the scary download error message will be gone for good (or until next flash). Don't go looking yet though, you have more work to do to get root.
Warning: Failure to follow this step could lead to a corrupted instance with no cell coverrage
10) When in recovery issue a factory reset. This ensures that your device has a userdata and cache partitions that are valid, and that the csc is processed correctly. Failure to do the reset could cause issues with either.
11) Boot the device as normal. Wait for it to come up. Its deodexed so it will take longer than even your average odexed rom.
All done!
FlashFire Instructions
- Get the ROM on your phone and unzip it
- Open up FlashFire
- Add a Wipe task, select the top 3 items only
- Select Flash Firmware and load up the AP_PartCyborgRom-BootLoopEdition-<version>.Part1.tar.md5 file to flash your new system
- Select Reboot to Recovery
- Make sure "Inject Root" is NOT checked
- Press go. Wait for the rom to flash and your device to reboot into recovery
- From recovery do a factory reset
- Then select reboot to Download Mode
- When device reboots into Download mode, flash BL_PartCyborgRom-BootLoopEdition-<version>.Part2.tar.md5
You have to use odin for the BL file because flashing bootloaders in FlashFire is a bad idea.
Dirty Flashers
Yes, you can dirty flash this rom to upgrade, however it is problematic and can cause issues. I did it for a long time, but my install was a mess by the time I gave up and reset.
To dirty flash, follow your preferred method of flashing above, but skip the Wipe step.
Odin
Skip "Nand Erase All" during the Part 1 flash. Do everything else the same
FlashFire
For the first Wipe task, instead of selecting the top 3, select only Dalvik like the second wipe task.
NOTE: This procedure is ONLY for people upgrading from an earlier PartCyborgRom version. If you are coming from stock you can not dirty flash because you userdata is encrypted which is not supported by the Factory firmware. If you are coming from other rom, or stock, I have no idea man but don't look at me if it blows up.
ANOTHER NOTE: This method of flashing is unsupported! If you do this and you have issues, you are on your own. If you think they are the rom, then back up your entire rom, wipe and reproduce them.
Help! I Got a Boot loop!
If you get a boot loop or your device hangs at boot, try the following:
1) Reboot to recovery and factory reset again.
To get to recovery hold power+vol-down until screen goes black, then wait till upload mode (press power key for 7+ secs) comes up. Then press vol-down+power again and hold it till it reboots and as SOON as the screen goes black switch to holding vol-up+power+bixby. Hold it for 5-7sec then let go and you will wind up in recovery mode. If this doesnt help, or you can't get to recovery because you cant press the buttons right, proceed to the next step.
2) Try flashing just Part 2 (the BL) again. not only will this get you back in recovery, it will also format your cache again. Its worth a shot and doesnt take long.
Kernel Panic, Invalid Argument
Start Over
Go back to the beginning and do everything again. If it fails again, even in a slightly different way this time, bad interaction between the s8 and your USB port/controller/cable/etc are causing the image to be corrupted as its being written to disk. Try the following:
1) New USB Ports. If you have them, use a different set of usb ports (not the one next to it, but one further away). Its possible that that will be your "good" port, and that will be enough. Lots of machines also have some USB3 ports and some USB2.
2) New Cable. Its less likely, but maybe a new cable will help. Do the whole thing over with a new cable.
3) Try a few times. It sounds silly, but people who have had this issue have reported that eventually it just works. Try a few times until you get sick of trying. If you try like 10 times it probably wont work on the 11th though.
I Dont Have Another USB Port!
Try to borrow your partner/spouse/roommate/friends computer for a quick flash. Ask about the USB ports though, because another 3.0 port may not help you.
If you can't get someones computer, you can purchase a USB2.0 Hub online or at your friendly neighborhood electronics store. They arent very expensive, and I have heard positive reports from people saying it did the trick.
None of that Worked! I'm Screwed!
No you probably arent. I can count on one hand the number of people who someone couldnt get this working eventually. Some of us will be here to help. Check out our telegram channel, where people will be around that can help you. Its right here!.
And they all rooted happily ever after.
The End.​
XDA:DevDB Information
PartCyborgRom, ROM for the Samsung Galaxy S8
Contributors
partcyborg
ROM OS Version: 7.x Nougat
ROM Kernel: Linux 4.x
Based On: TouchWiz/Samsung Experience
Version Information
Status: Stable
Current Stable Version: BQL1
Stable Release Date: 2017-12-10
Created 2017-12-11
Last Updated 2018-2-10

Downloads
BQL1 (G955U and G955W)
AP_PartCyborgRom_G955U_BQL1.Part1.zip
[Alternate Mirror]
BL_PartCyborgRom_G955U_BQL1.Part2.zip
[Alternate Mirror]
NEW: Bootloader V3 Support!
BL_PartCyborgRom_G955U_U3BQL1_R5.zip
[Alternate Mirror]
Other Downloads
Do Not install any of these unless you are running an older version.
BQL1 has all of these mods already!
Remove OTA apps, downloads and debug messages
Remove RCS and VoLTE Icons Zip (Flash in FlashFire)
Odin3-v3.12-PrinceComsy-.zip
​

Previous Versions
SM-G955USQU2BQK5
AP and BL Parts 1 & 2
AP_PartCyborgRom-G955USQU2BQK5_Part1.zip
BL_PartCyborgRom-G955USQU2BQK5_Part2.zip
SM-G955USQU1AQK3
AP and BL Parts 1 & 2
AP_PartCyborgRom-BootLoopEdition-G955USQU1AQK3.Part1.zip
BL_PartCyborgRom-BootLoopEdition-G955USQU1AQK3.Part2.zip
​

One more

@partcyborg , nice work and thank you for posting your PCB ROM for S8+!

Thank you @partcyborg!

You ARE the f'ing man!!!!! THANK YOU!!!
And to the peeps whining, over the past 5+ months that there wasn't a custom ROM available for this phone, I would hope to see you hitting the 'Thanks' button.

You said you would do it, and you did it! Thanks for doing this for us! Very excited to give this a try.

Can't wait to get home and try this out!!!!!!

Im sooooo excited to try this .... Sucks im at work !!!!! Ahhhhhhhh no laptop !!!!!!
im wondering to get to this ROM and start from scratch .... do initial root process from https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...root-g955u-g955u1-snapdragon-sampwnd-t3658911 ... then just flash this via flashfire in part II ... sounds correct yes?

ok so i have wiped everything before install and then followed install instructions all the way....
scratch that a reboot fixed the rotation issue

Wow ! I watched you actually say you wouldn't mind doing a rom for us and you did do it. AMAZING. I gotta try this when i get home ! time to back everything up lolol. Do you know if xposed works for this ? and also can we change the font with iFont now since you managed to? Once again thanks for port !

Flashed . No service. Cant upload picture because tapatalk is garbage. (Wrong file extension garbage)
On Sprint. Do i have to reflash the csc.?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

matthewd769 said:
Im sooooo excited to try this .... Sucks im at work !!!!! Ahhhhhhhh no laptop !!!!!!
im wondering to get to this ROM and start from scratch .... do initial root process from https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...root-g955u-g955u1-snapdragon-sampwnd-t3658911 ... then just flash this via flashfire in part II ... sounds correct yes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope you can do samfail. See the directions in op. It's super easy unless you only have usb3.0 ports in which case it probably won't work

partcyborg said:
Nope you can do samfail. See the directions in op. It's super easy unless you only have usb3.0 ports in which case it probably won't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any ideas?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

partcyborg said:
Nope you can do samfail. See the directions in op. It's super easy unless you only have usb3.0 ports in which case it probably won't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks dog ... appreciate the hard work and answer .... i might start coughing and leave early

Goddly said:
Flashed . No service. Cant upload picture because tapatalk is garbage. (Wrong file extension garbage)
On Sprint. Do i have to reflash the csc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I solved this problem though flashin the bl through odin and doing a factory restore, i can use phone and data, but i can not message other people

Stovall Family said:
I solved this problem though flashin the bl through odin and doing a factory restore, i can use phone and data, but i can not message other people
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory restore?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Goddly said:
Factory restore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory restore through stock recovery.

Goddly said:
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you fire up PreConfig and try and set your csc?
Also try flashing 1 more time. If you have a usb2 port absolutely use that. Several people have had major issues with flashing on usb3.0 ports and every one whose had a usb2 port to try it's worked flawless after. This rom will fail when stock doesn't because of its size. In order for samfail to work we have to use a raw image not a sparse one like in the stock AP. This means the image is the full size of the partition despite not being completely full

[Q] Root Issues - Are these known? Are there fixes?

I purchased my Pixel 2 XL from the Google store. I had just upgraded to the 8.1 OTA a few days before when i came across this video and used it to root my phone:
https://youtu.be/nFD9sa-WdUM
Here's the basic steps i took:
Unlock dev options and turn on OEM Unlocking
Boot to stock recovery
Go to his highonandroid site and download TWRP 3.1.1 beta2 (img and zip), an outdated fastboot.zip, magisk 14.5, and the USB drivers which i didnt download because my computer is already recognizing my device just fine.
Extract the fastboot files to a new folder and copy the twrp img file to the fastboot folder.
In CMD, unlock the bootloader with fastboot and reboot phone.
Connect phone as storage device, copy over twrp zip file and magisk 14.5 zip files to root folder on the phone, reboot into recovery
Use fastboot to boot the twrp image that we copied to fastboot folder to get into twrp
Unhook the USB cable, set TWRP to read only, install TWRP, hit home button, then install Magisk and reboot
Once booted up, get into Magisk, download proprietary software, run checks and done.
Once this was done, my fingerprint scanner and wifi no longer worked. I could turn wifi on but it would never find anything. I also received the error when rebooting the phone that says "There's an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details." When this message is on the screen, if i dont touch the phone and the screen times out, it flickers really bad and never actually shuts off until i unlock it and hit the OK button.
So i decided to give it another go and ran into some big issues. I figured that i used 8.0 instructions on 8.1 and there was enough things different that it caused problems, so i used this link to reroot:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/how-to/guide-unlock-flash-root-pixel-2-xl-t3702418
I went through the first 10-15 pages and the last 10-15 pages and did some searches on the thread and never found any of my issues, but found that a lot of people used different sets of steps and pretty much everything was successful as long as you didnt miss anything and used the most updated stuff. So i did, i went to googles website and downloaded the newest SDK with fastboot, adb, and all that good stuff, as well as the newest 8.1 image (there was a newer version but it had a carrier label on it so i didnt get that one), and the newest magisk and twrp.
I flashed 8.1 and the phone wouldnt boot, nor would it get into TWRP anymore, so i had to use fastboot to boot the twrp image and reinstall the recovery and magisk but it still wouldnt boot. I ran through several different steps and eventually got it to boot up with recovery working. Its the newest 8.1 image, the newest magisk, and the newest twrp, and since then magisk has updated a couple times.
Now on to my issues!
I still get the "Internal problem" popup when booting
I get a lot more random reboots
Sometimes random things just wont work, like streaming plex to my tv or loading an app or something on an app and i have to reboot and it works fine
I've seen numerous times that the "Internal problem" thing is just a mismatch between the system and vendor build.prop files. I dont know what exactly is mismatching between the two but i've tried reflashing them and all sorts of things and nothing ever fixes it.
Does anyone know if there's a fix to any of these three issues, or if maybe looking at my steps i clearly did something wrong? I'm willing to do the whole thing over again if there's a good suggestion, but once i flashed the 8.1 image and went that route, i rerooted successfully 4 times total before i quit doing it again just because of that internal problem popup, i kept figuring something went wrong or i did something wrong. I had no security or anything set before rooting or flashing or anything, and each time i reflashed the operating system, but when i flashed the OS, i had to extract the system file because i would constantly get an error that it was too big and it failed to truncate it, so i've always had to manually install it by first copying it to my phone and installing it through TWRP. Its been an adventure, but these problems suck!

PMad said:
...Its been an adventure, but these problems suck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's called training. For the error, you just need to fastboot flash the stock dtbo.img. This was fixed on the 15.1 version of Magisk so you shouldn't have that problem anymore. I can tell you that rooted, kernel and a few root apps and I have never had ANY random reboots, so one of your apps is causing it or you didn't start from a completely blank slate. Run your phone in Safe Mode for a while to see if you stop the reboots 100%. If so, one of your apps is the cause. If you still get reboots in Safe Mode, you're gonna need to re-install. I suggest using the instructions on the Google web page where you got the full image. (and try to distill your posts down a little, ffs)

v12xke said:
It's called training.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every new phone is a new adventure, they are all the same but unique at the same time!
v12xke said:
For the error, you just need to fastboot flash the stock dtbo.img.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give this a shot! Thank you!
v12xke said:
This was fixed on the 15.1 version of Magisk so you shouldn't have that problem anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
15.1 is the version i'm on now but nothing has changed. Which issue was this supposed to fix?
v12xke said:
I can tell you that rooted, kernel and a few root apps and I have never had ANY random reboots, so one of your apps is causing it or you didn't start from a completely blank slate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My concern here is that my settings and apps are literally exactly the same as before root, except for magisk, its my only new app, which would lead me to believe that something Magisk is changing is causing the problem, or something else is happening that i'm not realizing yet.
v12xke said:
Run your phone in Safe Mode for a while to see if you stop the reboots 100%. If so, one of your apps is the cause. If you still get reboots in Safe Mode, you're gonna need to re-install. I suggest using the instructions on the Google web page where you got the full image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reboots are typically 1 reboot every 1 to 3 days, so its not a terrible issue but its happening and it shouldnt. For flashing the OS, after the first failure when trying to install it, those are the only instructions i've used, but i get that error when trying to install the OS that says something about how it failed to truncate the system.img file and so it wasnt installed, so my work around was to copy the file to the phones root folder, install the 8.1 image then immediately go and manually install the system.img file in twrp since its the only thing that fails, but i still have issues. What is this truncate issue?
v12xke said:
(and try to distill your posts down a little, ffs)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree! hahaha i just wanted to be clear and include all the details, otherwise everyone would have asked me question after question that i could have just included. It ends up being long, a lot happened!
I'll give that dtbo.img a shot and see what that clears up, then if there's issues with rebooting still i'll try safe mode for a few days and see what that does.
Thank you v12xke! (how do you pronounce that? haha)

PMad said:
...I'll give that dtbo.img a shot and see what that clears up, then if there's issues with rebooting still i'll try safe mode for a few days and see what that does.
Thank you v12xke! (how do you pronounce that? haha)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your dtbo.img got patched by Magisk somewhere along the line and that is why the OS is throwing the error. Extract that img file from the full Google image and fastboot flash it, and the error will go away. There is a long thread around HERE on random reboots you should read. The v12xke is a car (Jaguar E-Type) I once owned.

v12xke said:
Your dtbo.img got patched by Magisk somewhere along the line and that is why the OS is throwing the error. Extract that img file from the full Google image and fastboot flash it, and the error will go away. There is a long thread around HERE on random reboots you should read. The v12xke is a car (Jaguar E-Type) I once owned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So i just tried to do this and ran into one of the issues i had when originally trying to root it... I get into TWRP and it will not take any button presses, like the touch screen has become a screen (minus the touch). Is there a fix for this or do i just need to install TWRP before i use it each time it does this?

PMad said:
So i just tried to do this and ran into one of the issues i had when originally trying to root it... I get into TWRP and it will not take any button presses, like the touch screen has become a screen (minus the touch). Is there a fix for this or do i just need to install TWRP before i use it each time it does this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. You don't use TWRP to flash dtbo.img, you fastboot it while the phone is in bootloader mode.
2. TWRP works just fine if you install it and leave it installed. Make sure you are using 3.2.1-0 (img and zip).

v12xke said:
1. You don't use TWRP to flash dtbo.img, you fastboot it while the phone is in bootloader mode.
2. TWRP works just fine if you install it and leave it installed. Make sure you are using 3.2.1-0 (img and zip).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was getting into TWRP to create a backup of everything and it popped up asking for my password, and i remembered reading that we have to get rid of all of our security before making a backup, so i tried to hit buttons to cancel it and nothing worked, i had to hold the power button. So i eliminated all of my security and went back thinking it was a 1 time issue but it happened again, it took me straight to the main menu but nothing would work. I'm using 3.2.1-0 like you mentioned and i cant press any buttons. I'd like to back everything up before flashing this or anything else.

PMad said:
I was getting into TWRP to create a backup of everything and it popped up asking for my password, and i remembered reading that we have to get rid of all of our security before making a backup, so i tried to hit buttons to cancel it and nothing worked, i had to hold the power button. So i eliminated all of my security and went back thinking it was a 1 time issue but it happened again, it took me straight to the main menu but nothing would work. I'm using 3.2.1-0 like you mentioned and i cant press any buttons. I'd like to back everything up before flashing this or anything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need a backup before re-flashing the STOCK dtbo (or boot) partitions, haha. READ UP.

How Do I Flash Factory Image?

It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.

acheney1990 said:
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your wanting to flash a factory image, you'll need a few things first.
I would highly recommend that you look over the linked thread carefully. It has many links and tips to help you on your way :good:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/how-to/guide-unlock-flash-root-pixel-2-xl-t3702418

acheney1990 said:
It's been some time since I've done this so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've had my Pixel 2 XL for like a month now...but since day one I've gotten occasional force closes of various apps. Well next week I'm going with a new carrier (Koodo here in Canada) and I thought it would be a great time to flash a factory image to make sure everything is correct. Also when does Google release monthly updates? Is it the first week of April, maybe I'll just wait and flash that factory image when it comes out. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://developers.google.com/android/images

Make sure you have the latest adb and fastboot. Get them from Google...
Go get the latest image and Unzip it. Do not Unzip the folder inside. Move everything you just unzipped into the folder with adb and fastboot.
Now, if you've unlocked and unlocked critical, great. If you haven't unlocked critical, you'll have to. The system image won't install if the bootloader is out of date. Sadly, this will wipe your data.
If both are already unlocked, then open the flash-all file with a text editor and remove the,"-w" and the space preceding, then save the file. Removing the -w will keep your data. Run the flash-all.bat file and in about 10 minutes everything will be flashed.

back to stock
how to back on stock ....i sell the phone and want all stock...no root no boot loader unlocked ...what is the fastest way pls

lomski said:
how to back on stock ....i sell the phone and want all stock...no root no boot loader unlocked ...what is the fastest way pls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thing!! Forget fast!! You need to fastboot flash a full factory image with the -w still in the script. Maybe even do it twice. Then go in and do a factory reset from the OS for good measure. Once that is done and you know it reboots you can go through the locking command. I would NOT toggle the OEM switch in dev though.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

So this has been a a very frustrating experiance but I think I've got everything working again. I don't know how many times I've flashed different factory images and then tried to install TWRP and then install a new custom rom. So I want to explain all of the steps I took (if I remember them all).
0. I couldn't boot into my system but had TWRP installed. At this point I should have tried to get all my data from the sd card via "adb pull /sdcard" .
1. I didn't find any option to fix my system. So I followed this guide to install a factory image (link).
3. I skipped through all of the setup processes and gave my phone wifi. Then I went into the system and did a factory reset.
4. After skipping thourgh the setup again I enabled adb and bootet into the bootloader "adb reboot bootlader"
5. From the bootloader I booted into TWRP by "fastboot boot twrp-3.3.0.0-taimen.img. In the recovery I set the display time out to 300s because for some reason once the phone timed out I could get into twrp any more and the screen stayed black.
6. I transferred the twrp installer and my rom by " adb push TWRP_installer.zip /sdcard/Download" and " adb push ROM.zip /sdcard/Download"
7. I first added the TWRP installer to the flash queue and then I added the rom and then falshed them both. This allowed me to install the rom.
8. For some reason TWRP was not installed. So repeat step 5 and only flash the TWRP_installter.zip
Problems I had:
- In twrp I often got errors that said unable to mount system or vendor. I decided to ignore the error but this thread might help
- Installing TWRP while the stock rom is installed led to the problem that touch didn't work in TWRP
- Entering a pin for the stock rom and then installing TWRP led to TWRP asking for a pin to decrypt my data. Apparently this is not the case if you use a stock image which is older

After flashing stock ROM ota and twrp installer zip the only way to get TWRP to respond to touch is if you disable screen lock and connect to your PC before booting TWRP.
I've found the most reliable way to flash factory images is do it manually with fastboot, latest platform tools installed and a Linux OS like Ubuntu or pop os.
But first do some research and get comfortable with fastboot commands. And dear god don't relock your bootloader unless you're ?% sure it's totally stock.

@schpongo,
Also, a good point to keep when flashing via TWRP is to flash/install ONE AT A TIME. As per the great @Az Biker, you should even reboot to the bootloader after each subsequent flash/install. So, in your case, it seems that you might/should be rebooting to the bootloader three times; one for TWRP installation, one for flashing the custom ROM, and one more for any other subsequent installation (i.e. custom kernel or custom font)...
Also, as it's been said before, but stock kernel doesn't play nice with touch commands on TWRP, and (usually) the only way around it is to reboot into bootloader using the adb command -- as opposed to holding the volume-down button or from an app.
I know you figured this all out already, but it might bear repeating just in case you didn't know and/or to help any other users here...