Hello,
Picked up my OP3 on Monday (Contract with o2 in the UK) and itching to flash a new ROM. Just has a few questions.
Does the all in one toolkit still work? Comfortable with adb and fast boot but toolkit is obviously easier and quicker.
Currently running latest firmware is there any precautions to take when flashing ROMs etc? On previous devices it's been a simple boot into TWRP/CWM, wipe, flash ROM/gapps and happy days. Are all ROMs compatible?
Noticed OnePlus don't consider unlocking a bootloader and flashing etc worthy of voiding a warranty- does this mean if anything did happen at some point and I was running custom ROMs that o2 will still repair it or do they not follow OP's after care? Whilst im on this topic; Can you relock the bootloader with ease if anything was to happen?
Finally which 7.X ROM is the most stable with good battery life and plenty of features? Personal favourite has always been PACman but haven't had a chance to scroll through the current ROMs for this device yet. On my G3 many custom ROMs which weren't based on stock had terrible camera quality, is this common on the OP3 too?
Thanks,
Curtis
1. Yes the toolkit should still work
2. Flashing roms is the same as all other devices
3. If the problem was not caused because of the custom rom the they will repair it for you i guess.
4. And as far as battery life is concerned it is determined more by the kernel than the rom. I would recommend exkernel and official cm14.1
Thank for your reply!
Another question haha, can I just unlock bootloader, load up TWRP, boot into recovery, wipe, install any ROM and I'm golden? Saw a few threads say firmware X.X.X aren't compatible and you need to jump to X.X.X for it to work as well as some fingerprint problems occurring if not using a certain build?
Just wondering if the above is all old stuff that has been ironed out haha
Thanks
If your flashing cm14.1 based ROMs then you would need to flash correct firmware which would be in installation instructions or help threads but oos stock based ROMs will have everything included
Got myself a Redmi Note 5 Global version and want to update MIUI and possibly try a custom ROM. Just came here to make sure i'm not falling for any common mistakes before i do anything especially after reading a lot of folks that have bricked these devices due to Anti Roll-back so thats the last thing i want to do. The device came boxed with MIUI 9.5.6.0(OEIMIFA) and i've just ignored the update notification up to now so i presume i've avoided ARB and i would like to keep it that way.
So just to confirm are these the correct steps.
1. Unlock the bootloader
2. Flash a custom recovery (TWRP or the equivalent)
3. Update MIUI / Flash custom rom package without ARB and flash through TWRP
Is there anything i'm missing or anything i need to specifically avoid other than ARB?
drkdeath5000 said:
Got myself a Redmi Note 5 Global version and want to update MIUI and possibly try a custom ROM. Just came here to make sure i'm not falling for any common mistakes before i do anything especially after reading a lot of folks that have bricked these devices due to Anti Roll-back so thats the last thing i want to do. The device came boxed with MIUI 9.5.6.0(OEIMIFA) and i've just ignored the update notification up to now so i presume i've avoided ARB and i would like to keep it that way.
So just to confirm are these the correct steps.
1. Unlock the bootloader
2. Flash a custom recovery (TWRP or the equivalent)
3. Update MIUI / Flash custom rom package without ARB and flash through TWRP
Is there anything i'm missing or anything i need to specifically avoid other than ARB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just don't update your firmware (or update it with a ARB-less firmware), that's what will trigger ARB. Most of the customs rom don't contain firmware, only LOS advises you to flash a specific version, but MIUI roms do.
So you either steer away from those and flash fw-less roms, or you just delete the firmware-files folder from the rom and flash it without them.
This is my advice, before flashing anything, open the zip and check for the firmware folder. If it has it, delete it (unless is specified by the dev to flash that along the rom, in that case, just avoid it, there's a plethora of custom roms to choose from).
Ok thanks so i'll just stay clear of any roms containing the firmware folder for now. I do like LOS but if theres any risk associated i'll just give it a miss for now.
I also assume its easy to recover from a bad flash following the no firmware folder rule since theres no real risk associated with flashing just a ROM(no firmware)?
Finally, what about kernels and bootloader updates is there anything specific i need to watch out for there? I only ask because my previous device included a sneaky OTA update which locked the bootloader and i'd obviously like to avoid anything like that here.
Sorry for all the questions i'm just a bit behind on the flashing front, my previous device was a Motorola Razr HD and flashing seems to have changed quite a bit since then.
drkdeath5000 said:
Ok thanks so i'll just stay clear of any roms containing the firmware folder for now. I do like LOS but if theres any risk associated i'll just give it a miss for now.
I also assume its easy to recover from a bad flash following the no firmware folder rule since theres no real risk associated with flashing just a ROM(no firmware)?
Finally, what about kernels and bootloader updates is there anything specific i need to watch out for there? I only ask because my previous device included a sneaky OTA update which locked the bootloader and i'd obviously like to avoid anything like that here.
Sorry for all the questions i'm just a bit behind on the flashing front, my previous device was a Motorola Razr HD and flashing seems to have changed quite a bit since then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems, happy to help if I can.
And yes, no risk if you don't flash firmware. Worst case scenario, you'll have to reflash a miui rom with MiFlash, which means losing your data, but imo it's better than bricking the device.
As for kernels and bootloader, you're good to go. Nothing will relock your bootloader (except flashing with MiFlash and selecting that specific option) and a kernel in the worst case will just give you a bootloop. Use backups. ?
And as far as LOS goes, you can flash it without the specified firmware (even tho I'm pretty sure it's an ARB3 firmware) but I guess there might be some small issues.
Good luck with unlocking the bootloader, that thing takes from 720 to 1440 hours, just got my rn5p in a week now i have to wait a month before rooting...
Hello,
I currently have a XZ2 compact H8324 rooted
Build number : 52.0.A.3.126
I rooted it some years ago and to be honest I don't remember well what I used to do it. I just remember DRM are safe.
The bootloader is unlocked if I remember well (warning message at boot)
Could someone please tell me how to update to latest Android version still rooted ?
I don't care about format it, but I would like it to work as usual (camera stuff) with root.
Is there some kind of precautions ? tools ?
Thank you.
Edit : downloading 52.1.A..3.49 with XperiFirm currently
Xperifirm might work. You can also try Emma (Sony's official flashing tool) which is easier to use but will wipe your device and uninstall any custom recovery you have installed. Your bootloader will remain ulocked, and your DRM keys intact, so you can always reinstall custom recovery after that.
You can also install LineageOS. They have an official 17.1 (Android 10) build for the XZ2 Compact, so it should be very stable and have minimal issues. I'd recommend installing LineageOS after flashing the latest firmware with Xperifirm/Emma because the stock ROM doesn't play nice if you have root or TWRP installed.
Thanks @dankcuddlybear for your answer.
I don't care about custom recovery and data as long as I'm able to flash back custom recovery and root after flash.
If your current Pie variant is fast, stable and is fulfilling its mission, be happy and leave it be.
Q is using cpu cycle wasting scope storage and is a downgrade in many ways from Pie.
Being rooted means you could (?) overcome many of these limitations but how much is your time worth?
Android 10,11(Apple) woke, go broke
blackhawk said:
If your current Pie variant is fast, stable and is fulfilling its mission, be happy and leave it be.
Q is using cpu cycle wasting scope storage and is a downgrade in many ways from Pie.
Being rooted means you could (?) overcome many of these limitations but how much is your time worth?
Android 10,11(Apple) woke, go broke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not... screen hangs for no reason and needs to switch it off and on
And last week i had to force hardware button reboot as it was stuck
Orphee said:
It is not... screen hangs for no reason and needs to switch it off and on
And last week i had to force hardware button reboot as it was stuck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not good. Pie should be rock solid stable.
It sounds like it's fixing to crash and burn.
Look at the launcher and other 3rd party apps you're using. That load maybe corrupted or the original firmware was flawed.
Hi everyone,
I would like to know if it is safe to unlock bootloader and flash a custom ROM under MIU 13.0.3 SKHEUXM ?
I've seen people having bugs, hence why I'm asking if anyone has given this a try ?
Furthermore, I was going to do this update in order for the firmware to be updated then switch to a custom ROM, but I could go for custom ROM first then flash the newest firmware (even if I'm more confident on the first option which should work out of the box, and preserve warranty in case something goes wrong during flashing firmware, always gotta keep fingers crossed).
Thanks for any help on this matter.
If you updated to the latest ROM, your firmware is updated along with it, there's no need to flash the firmware again seperately. Flash the ROM of your choosing, Magisk if you absolutely need it, and enjoy. Most ROMs these days also pass SafetyNet if you do not root your phone.
AkechiShiro said:
Hi everyone,
I would like to know if it is safe to unlock bootloader and flash a custom ROM under MIU 13.0.3 SKHEUXM ?
I've seen people having bugs, hence why I'm asking if anyone has given this a try ?
Furthermore, I was going to do this update in order for the firmware to be updated then switch to a custom ROM, but I could go for custom ROM first then flash the newest firmware (even if I'm more confident on the first option which should work out of the box, and preserve warranty in case something goes wrong during flashing firmware, always gotta keep fingers crossed).
Thanks for any help on this matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not very safe, you need to be careful.
Make sure your PC wouldn't crash or that your USB connection may be unstable.
Take your time in setting everything up and reading up some resources on the internet.
If the Flash-process aborts for whatever reason, do not reboot phone. Your phone may not be able to reboot back into Fastboot and turn black.
As for good resources of information, I recommend the YouTube Channel "Munchy". He covers Xiaomi Flashing very well. You can trust him.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDSfvwvAsKE4Nrosu7bTbJw
You might also want to use a Custom ROM with passing SafetyNet, or to use Magisk Root. If SafetyNet fails, you can't use some apps.
I personally use Xiaomi.eu Weekly Android 12 with Magisk Root + SafetyNet Fix Module. No bugs, I'm happy
My only wish was that I had Over-The-Air updates. With most Custom ROMs, you unfortunately still have to download & flash the ZIP-file manually in TWRP Recovery.
Hi, a have recently purchased the XZ2 Compact single Sim model, it should arrive later this week. While waiting, I would appreciate everyone's opinion on which stock firmware version is best in terms of performance and battery life:
• Android 8 Oreo
• Android 9 Pie
• Android 10
Or if you guys haven't found a any difference, between firmware versions at all, then please comment below !
Thanks in advance.
David-538 said:
Hi, a have recently purchased the XZ2 Compact single Sim model, it should arrive later this week. While waiting, I would appreciate everyone's opinion on which stock firmware version is best in terms of performance and battery life:
• Android 8 Oreo
• Android 9 Pie
• Android 10
Or if you guys haven't found a any difference, between firmware versions at all, then please comment below !
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Latest 10 with eXistenZ patch - https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-stock-xz2-xz2c-xz2p-existenz-quindim-v1-0-0-06-05-20.4095403/
levone1 said:
Latest 10 with eXistenZ patch - https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-stock-xz2-xz2c-xz2p-existenz-quindim-v1-0-0-06-05-20.4095403/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestion, I just meant stock, without rooting, or installing any mods. Like has Sony made it worse with a9/a10 official update, or is there no major performance loss when upgrading ?
David-538 said:
Thanks for your suggestion, I just meant stock, without rooting, or installing any mods. Like has Sony made it worse with a9/a10 official update, or is there no major performance loss when upgrading ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never used stock as-is, because of Sony bloatware, restrictions, etc, but I typically prefer stock UI over most custom ROM UIs, so if I can get eXistenZ, I will always go with it. @niaboc79 has been the master of Sony roms going back to at least 4.4. Between UI customization and under the hood type stuff, there's no better option I have found. With root and eXistenZ, the whole firmware is at your control...
If you're only interested in straight-stock vs. custom ROM, then custom ROM is by far better, but not sure why you would limit yourself to straight stock if that's the case, because you have to unlock bootloader and root to use custom ROM. The only advantage of straight stock is official support/security, which is arguably n/a in this case, since the last official update was 2 years ago...
levone1 said:
I have never used stock as-is, because of Sony bloatware, restrictions, etc, but I typically prefer stock UI over most custom ROM UIs, so if I can get eXistenZ, I will always go with it. @niaboc79 has been the master of Sony roms going back to at least 4.4. Between UI customization and under the hood type stuff, there's no better option I have found. With root and eXistenZ, the whole firmware is at your control...
If you're only interested in straight-stock vs. custom ROM, then custom ROM is by far better, but not sure why you would limit yourself to straight stock if that's the case, because you have to unlock bootloader and root to use custom ROM. The only advantage of straight stock is official support/security, which is arguably n/a in this case, since the last official update was 2 years ago...
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Click to collapse
Hi, ah yes, I also prefer rooting and custom roms, but there's chance the device won't be in unlocked, because I ordered it from Aliexpress, and it's the Japanese Docomo version. Anyway I also heard that some features and good photo quality, get lost when unlocking ? Is there a work around if the DRM keys get lost ?
David-538 said:
Hi, ah yes, I also prefer rooting and custom roms, but there's chance the device won't be in unlocked, because I ordered it from Aliexpress, and it's the Japanese Docomo version. Anyway I also heard that some features and good photo quality, get lost when unlocking ? Is there a work around if the DRM keys get lost ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there's any such thing for this phone. Some have found a way to dump ta, but not to restore it, so not much use...
I upgraded to 10 to start with, then unlocked bl, etc. I think that's the best way. There's much discussion in the forums about camera function and drm in regards to 8 and 9, (ask @MartinX3 or @Pandemic), and seems like there may be different things you can do...
I'm not so hung up on the finer aspects of camera functionality. I think the difference is pretty subtle. Camera is good for me, (probably better on stock with unlocked bl than on custom/AOSP).
levone1 said:
I don't think there's any such thing for this phone. Some have found a way to dump ta, but not to restore it, so not much use...
I upgraded to 10 to start with, then unlocked bl, etc. I think that's the best way. There's much discussion in the forums about camera function and drm in regards to 8 and 9, (ask @MartinX3 or @Pandemic), and seems like there may be different things you can do...
I'm not so hung up on the finer aspects of camera functionality. I think the difference is pretty subtle. Camera is good for me, (probably better on stock with unlocked bl than on custom/AOSP).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, thanks for the info. I'm new to Sony devices lol. Well I always wanted to try out a sony device. Anyway is 960fps video recording still there ? After unlocking your bootloader ?
levone1 said:
I have never used stock as-is, because of Sony bloatware, restrictions, etc, but I typically prefer stock UI over most custom ROM UIs, so if I can get eXistenZ, I will always go with it. @niaboc79 has been the master of Sony roms going back to at least 4.4. Between UI customization and under the hood type stuff, there's no better option I have found. With root and eXistenZ, the whole firmware is at your control...
If you're only interested in straight-stock vs. custom ROM, then custom ROM is by far better, but not sure why you would limit yourself to straight stock if that's the case, because you have to unlock bootloader and root to use custom ROM. The only advantage of straight stock is official support/security, which is arguably n/a in this case, since the last official update was 2 years ago...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just flashed eXistenZ after seeing your opinion. But help me out... How do i know the flash is properly done if there is no kernel brand on device stats... Weird
Purplearyes said:
Just flashed eXistenZ after seeing your opinion. But help me out... How do i know the flash is properly done if there is no kernel brand on device stats... Weird
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Click to collapse
...
Purplearyes said:
Just flashed eXistenZ after seeing your opinion. But help me out... How do i know the flash is properly done if there is no kernel brand on device stats... Weird
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what you mean by kernel brand, but you know if flashed properly because the ui and options will be drastically different with eXistenZ compared to stock. If everything's the same, then it's not flashed.
levone1 said:
Not sure what you mean by kernel brand, but you know if flashed properly because the ui and options will be drastically different with eXistenZ compared to stock. If everything's the same, then it's not flashed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i just realized the flash didn't went through. im experiencing many issues. Firstly twrp is not flashing anything always some error of storage access or something. then i try to flash on los recovery, and it works for lineage perfect flash, but for existenz stock zip it flashes everything no errors but doesn't change anything on the stock rom (.618 clean install) i can't seem to figure it out...
levone1 said:
Not sure what you mean by kernel brand, but you know if flashed properly because the ui and options will be drastically different with eXistenZ compared to stock. If everything's the same, then it's not flashedalso
levone1 said:
I have never used stock as-is, because of Sony bloatware, restrictions, etc, but I typically prefer stock UI over most custom ROM UIs, so if I can get eXistenZ, I will always go with it. @niaboc79 has been the master of Sony roms going back to at least 4.4. Between UI customization and under the hood type stuff, there's no better option I have found. With root and eXistenZ, the whole firmware is at your control...
If you're only interested in straight-stock vs. custom ROM, then custom ROM is by far better, but not sure why you would limit yourself to straight stock if that's the case, because you have to unlock bootloader and root to use custom ROM. The only advantage of straight stock is official support/security, which is arguably n/a in this case, since the last official update was 2 years ago...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some research and from what is logged on existenz page it includes nothing more than UI customizations? Am i missing something. How can this stock patch be the best for you if it only does UI changes..?
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Click to collapse
Purplearyes said:
Yes i just realized the flash didn't went through. im experiencing many issues. Firstly twrp is not flashing anything always some error of storage access or something. then i try to flash on los recovery, and it works for lineage perfect flash, but for existenz stock zip it flashes everything no errors but doesn't change anything on the stock rom (.618 clean install) i can't seem to figure it out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Which version of TWRP? Make sure you are using the right one. Should be this one - https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz2/development/recovery-twrp-3-3-1-0-t4074305
- Did you follow this, (from eXistenZ thread):
Flash latest android 10 firmware with Newflasher and boot it once.
Reboot in bootloader mode with adb (adb reboot boolloader) and boot TWRP (see TWRP thread for instructions).
Inside TWRP, go in settings and uncheck unmount system before flashing.
Mount system partition and Flash eXistenZ Quidim cleaner.
Boot once, it shouldn't reach pin code screen, reboot in bootloader mode with adb.
Boot TWRP, mount system partition and flash the rom.
Flash Magisk.
(e.g. - make sure to boot once before flashing, use adb for bootloader mode, check system in TWRP, etc...)
levone1 said:
- Which version of TWRP? Make sure you are using the right one. Should be this one - https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz2/development/recovery-twrp-3-3-1-0-t4074305
- Did you follow this, (from eXistenZ thread):
Flash latest android 10 firmware with Newflasher and boot it once.
Reboot in bootloader mode with adb (adb reboot boolloader) and boot TWRP (see TWRP thread for instructions).
Inside TWRP, go in settings and uncheck unmount system before flashing.
Mount system partition and Flash eXistenZ Quidim cleaner.
Boot once, it shouldn't reach pin code screen, reboot in bootloader mode with adb.
Boot TWRP, mount system partition and flash the rom.
Flash Magisk.
(e.g. - make sure to boot once before flashing, use adb for bootloader mode, check system in TWRP, etc...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used 3.4.00 twrp, maybe should try 3.3.10. Also i flashed .618 which is 10 though not the latest but it should be the same thing.
The rom seems to flash, because i get the existenz custom settings on phone settings, idk if that is all it does.