Develop Bugs

20gb System storage alotment and unable to flash anything

Hello all! I've got a puzzling issue (for me, at least) that I'd like to see if anyone else has encountered and what their possible fix might be.
So I've been alternating between running Resurrection Remix and Pure Nexus the past few months and have had no issues flashing new builds or kernels. Last night when I went to switch back from RR to Pure Nexus I encountered and error I haven't seen before and some weird results from it.
When I went to flash the Pure Nexus it kept failing stating TWRP was unable to find the meta/inf/com/Google (I think) data in the zip. I tried flashing RR again with the same issue. I then tried to wipe and restore a TWRP backup that didn't end up working even though it said it did. I then decided screw it and flashed the factory image for the Pixel XL and was able to at least get booted and running on stock. However, my storage is pretty much gone and now only have like 6gb out of 8gb total. Upon I spection System is currently taking up 20gb worth of storage and even after flashing the factory image again it is still not resolved.
Can anyone tell me what I managed to do here and if there is a fix? Realistically I'd love to figure out how to actually repartition everything in the phone and start from scratch again.
Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated as I'm not new to rooting and rom'ing but am getting uinely confused as to what has happened here.
PS: I attached a picture of my storage breakdown but can't inspect further due to not having root and being on stock. Viewing storage in TWRP didn't yield much more I formation either.

MR H3LLMAN said:
Hello all! I've got a puzzling issue (for me, at least) that I'd like to see if anyone else has encountered and what their possible fix might be.
So I've been alternating between running Resurrection Remix and Pure Nexus the past few months and have had no issues flashing new builds or kernels. Last night when I went to switch back from RR to Pure Nexus I encountered and error I haven't seen before and some weird results from it.
When I went to flash the Pure Nexus it kept failing stating TWRP was unable to find the meta/inf/com/Google (I think) data in the zip. I tried flashing RR again with the same issue. I then tried to wipe and restore a TWRP backup that didn't end up working even though it said it did. I then decided screw it and flashed the factory image for the Pixel XL and was able to at least get booted and running on stock. However, my storage is pretty much gone and now only have like 6gb out of 8gb total. Upon I spection System is currently taking up 20gb worth of storage and even after flashing the factory image again it is still not resolved.
Can anyone tell me what I managed to do here and if there is a fix? Realistically I'd love to figure out how to actually repartition everything in the phone and start from scratch again.
Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated as I'm not new to rooting and rom'ing but am getting uinely confused as to what has happened here.
PS: I attached a picture of my storage breakdown but can't inspect further due to not having root and being on stock. Viewing storage in TWRP didn't yield much more I formation either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Format userdata should fix it.

toknitup420 said:
Format userdata should fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe I tried that at one point last night but will try it again here shortly. Any thoughts on what it could be if this does not fix it? And what method would you recommend to format userdata? Do I do it through TWRP?

fastboot format userdata

swapavi said:
fastboot format userdata
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this did indeed fix my storage partition issues but now I am unable to flash TWRP to my device. It is stating my recovery partition doesn't exist. What the hell is happening? haha

MR H3LLMAN said:
So this did indeed fix my storage partition issues but now I am unable to flash TWRP to my device. It is stating my recovery partition doesn't exist. What the hell is happening? haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may need to fast boot new boot images to slot a and b. You just have to unzip factory image and you will see them in there. Or just flash the factory image all over. Start fresh.

MR H3LLMAN said:
So this did indeed fix my storage partition issues but now I am unable to flash TWRP to my device. It is stating my recovery partition doesn't exist. What the hell is happening? haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't flash recovery, you're pixel will get all screwed up lol. You temp boot it and install via the twrp installer zip.

Use TWRP to flash 8.1 update

I feel like I should know how to do this and I just can't think right now...
I have 8.0 and the latest TWRP installed. Root with Magisk as well. I want to update to 8.1 but I don't want to have to factory reset the phone by flashing 8.1 to it and then reflashing root & TWRP. There's a way to do this that I'm not thinking of, right?
I read another post about using FlashFire but regardless of where I put the factory image, the app doesn't see it. So I feel like I'm at a loss right now.
Am I missing something? Thanks in advance!

WyldOne91 said:
I feel like I should know how to do this and I just can't think right now...
I have 8.0 and the latest TWRP installed. Root with Magisk as well. I want to update to 8.1 but I don't want to have to factory reset the phone by flashing 8.1 to it and then reflashing root & TWRP. There's a way to do this that I'm not thinking of, right?
I read another post about using FlashFire but regardless of where I put the factory image, the app doesn't see it. So I feel like I'm at a loss right now.
Am I missing something? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is how I upgraded to 8.1, my setup before I upgraded was the same as yours.
1. Bootloader and unlock_critical both unlocked?
2. Download and extract the factory image, and place all contents in your SDK platform tools folder.
3. Edit the flash-all.bat file and remove the -w in the last line of code. (This prevents your data from being wiped)
4. Double click the flash-all.bat file to start the process. It'll take a little while, so be patient.
5. Once it's done, get back to bootloader mode.
6. Flash the twrp.img file. This will take you to temporary twrp.
7. Once in twrp, flash the twrp.zip, then flash custom kernel.zip(optional) then flash your magisk.zip.
8. Reboot and done.
Couple of caveats, make sure your using a good USB transfer cable, and it's recommended to remove your finger print and/or password/pin, and uninstall any themes you have installed. Hope all goes well for you :good:

Badger50 said:
This is how I upgraded to 8.1, my setup before I upgraded was the same as yours.
1. Bootloader and unlock_critical both unlocked?
2. Download and extract the factory image, and place all contents in your SDK platform tools folder.
3. Edit the flash-all.bat file and remove the -w in the last line of code. (This prevents your data from being wiped)
4. Double click the flash-all.bat file to start the process. It'll take a little while, so be patient.
5. Once it's done, get back to bootloader mode.
6. Flash the twrp.img file. This will take you to temporary twrp.
7. Once in twrp, flash the twrp.zip, then flash custom kernel.zip(optional) then flash your magisk.zip.
8. Reboot and done.
Couple of caveats, make sure your using a good USB transfer cable, and it's recommended to remove your finger print and/or password/pin, and uninstall any themes you have installed. Hope all goes well for you :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool thank you I will give this a shot later tonight! One question, what is "unlock_critical?" I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere else before.

WyldOne91 said:
Cool thank you I will give this a shot later tonight! One question, what is "unlock_critical?" I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere else before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pic is from the Google factory image page. Unlock_critical must be performed on the P2XL to allow the bootloader to be updated with future monthly security or software updates. This does not apply to the standard P2. Be advised, this WILL wipe your phone. However, you really don't have much choice if you want to flash monthly factory images.

Badger50 said:
The pic is from the Google factory image page. Unlock_critical must be performed on the P2XL to allow the bootloader to be updated with future monthly security or software updates. This does not apply to the standard P2. Be advised, this WILL wipe your phone. However, you really don't have much choice if you want to flash monthly factory images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh crap... I only ran the OEM unlock. Welp, looks like I'm going to end up wiping anyways. Thanks for the info though. This is definitely one of those situations where I assumed I knew what I was doing and ran with it without actually reading the process.

WyldOne91 said:
Oh crap... I only ran the OEM unlock. Welp, looks like I'm going to end up wiping anyways. Thanks for the info though. This is definitely one of those situations where I assumed I knew what I was doing and ran with it without actually reading the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem my friend. There's a lot to learn on these new pixel devices. There are plenty threads on these forum with tons of info on whatever topic you may have questions about. Just takes time, patience, lots of reading, and a willingness to learn :good:

WyldOne91 said:
Oh crap... I only ran the OEM unlock. Welp, looks like I'm going to end up wiping anyways. Thanks for the info though. This is definitely one of those situations where I assumed I knew what I was doing and ran with it without actually reading the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you are rooted, and already have the mindset that all is or will be lost you have the opportunity to try a couple options that if fail nothing lost...
After doing away with screen security and any themes, do Full backup in TWRP and also use TiBu to back up all your apps and then move them off the phone until after you do your thing.
After you do the critical unlock and get 8.1 installed and rooted you could try restoring the TWRP data partition and see what happens. Worst case it's either not booting or just acting funky. Do a factory wipe and not much lost.
Or... Use TiBu to save some time restoring all your apps. While I have had pretty good luck with restoring data on most apps, a few either won't restore or are boned in some way. Some other folks had a really hard time with restoring data so maybe just restore the apps without data. I run over 100 apps and have been through some version of this many times while playing around. With my crappy internet out here in the boonies it took 4 hours for google to restore all my apps and that's with hardly no data. It took about 20 minutes to restore most everything through TiBu. I would not restore data in the big initial bulk restore but instead go back and cherry pick the data restore on the things you need.
Again worst case all lost but you assumed that anyway and maybe you can save some time and effort if either option works.

Badger50 said:
No problem my friend. There's a lot to learn on these new pixel devices. There are plenty threads on these forum with tons of info on whatever topic you may have questions about. Just takes time, patience, lots of reading, and a willingness to learn :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah for sure. I'm always willing to learn!
CyberpodS2 said:
Since you are rooted, and already have the mindset that all is or will be lost you have the opportunity to try a couple options that if fail nothing lost...
After doing away with screen security and any themes, do Full backup in TWRP and also use TiBu to back up all your apps and then move them off the phone until after you do your thing.
After you do the critical unlock and get 8.1 installed and rooted you could try restoring the TWRP data partition and see what happens. Worst case it's either not booting or just acting funky. Do a factory wipe and not much lost.
Or... Use TiBu to save some time restoring all your apps. While I have had pretty good luck with restoring data on most apps, a few either won't restore or are boned in some way. Some other folks had a really hard time with restoring data so maybe just restore the apps without data. I run over 100 apps and have been through some version of this many times while playing around. With my crappy internet out here in the boonies it took 4 hours for google to restore all my apps and that's with hardly no data. It took about 20 minutes to restore most everything through TiBu. I would not restore data in the big initial bulk restore but instead go back and cherry pick the data restore on the things you need.
Again worst case all lost but you assumed that anyway and maybe you can save some time and effort if either option works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I actually already ran a backup with Titanium Backup and moved it to my PC last night just in case I did something stupid haha but I appreciate the tips!

bricked?

is my phone bricked it only boots into fastboot and if I go on recovery or start the phone just shows a black screen this is after a twrp restore

You are clearly not bricked if you get to Fastboot. You can try writing the boot.img to both slots, and if that doesn't recover you install the factory image using flash-all (get rid of the -w in the batch file to retain your data). Read up a bit before posting. There are a lot of guides and good info here.

sliding_billy said:
You are clearly not bricked if you get to Fastboot. You can try writing the boot.img to both slots, and if that doesn't recover you install the factory image using flash-all (get rid of the -w in the batch file to retain your data). Read up a bit before posting. There are a lot of guides and good info here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i took it to a shop they said they flashed it but it was doing the same thing

atari260 said:
i took it to a shop they said they flashed it but it was doing the same thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you restore in twrp?

jd1639 said:
What did you restore in twrp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think it was system can't remember i did a backup then restore

jd1639 said:
What did you restore in twrp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all i know is it said restored failed then started doing this

atari260 said:
all i know is it said restored failed then started doing this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I assume you made a backup of boot, system, and data in twrp and then restored that? You backed up system and not system image? Have you flashed a factory image before using fastboot commands or have you been using a tool kit of some sort to do your flashing? I'm trying to gauge your proficiency and how your PC is set up to determine the next steps.

jd1639 said:
Ok, I assume you made a backup of boot, system, and data in twrp and then restored that? You backed up system and not system image? Have you flashed a factory image before using fastboot commands or have you been using a tool kit of some sort to do your flashing? I'm trying to gauge your proficiency and how your PC is set up to determine the next steps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never flashed a factory img before took me while to grasp how to root not a software person what i got told by a friend who's tried fixing it for me is that he has flashed the stock rom on to it and it is still doing the same thing

atari260 said:
I have never flashed a factory img before took me while to grasp how to root not a software person what i got told by a friend who's tried fixing it for me is that he has flashed the stock rom on to it and it is still doing the same thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you tried to restore in twrp, was it a backup you made on your device or was it backup from some other device? Is your friend pretty proficient at flashing google devices? It may be that there's nothing you can do at this point. To walk you through flashing a factory image is going to be a time consuming process.

jd1639 said:
When you tried to restore in twrp, was it a backup you made on your device or was it backup from some other device? Is your friend pretty proficient at flashing google devices? It may be that there's nothing you can do at this point. To walk you through flashing a factory image is going to be a time consuming process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
backup I made on the device and you got any idea what has actually happened?
and he owns a repair shop so presume he does

jd1639 said:
When you tried to restore in twrp, was it a backup you made on your device or was it backup from some other device? Is your friend pretty proficient at flashing google devices? It may be that there's nothing you can do at this point. To walk you through flashing a factory image is going to be a time consuming process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sad times ah i broke the lcd 2 weeks after i got it the phones been in a repair shop longer then I have had it

atari260 said:
backup I made on the device and you got any idea what has actually happened?
and he owns a repair shop so presume he does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have an idea of what happened. Google devices are pretty hard to brick. And if they turn on and boot to anything they technically aren't bricked. But with that said, these dual slot devices are a bit finicky. It could be just a coincidence that something failed while you where restoring.

jd1639 said:
I don't have an idea of what happened. Google devices are pretty hard to brick. And if they turn on and boot to anything they technically aren't bricked. But with that said, these dual slot devices are a bit finicky. It could be just a coincidence that something failed while you where restoring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a dumb question would a rma work if I relocked the bootloader?

atari260 said:
backup I made on the device and you got any idea what has actually happened?
and he owns a repair shop so presume he does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not a certainty that he does. He could have sideloaded the OTA or even used the wrong factory image. Here is the guide for the 3XL. #4 has the information on a factory image.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3-xl/how-to/guide-pixel-xl-android-9-0-pie-unlock-t3857195

atari260 said:
a dumb question would a rma work if I relocked the bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your biggest problem with a RMA is that you had the screen replaced. Something could have been damaged when doing that. Whether the bootloader is locked or not usually isn't an issue with Google. But it's worth a try. If you don't ask you definitely won't get a RMA. But I don't condone you fib on anything they ask you.
If it were my device I'd flash the factory image. Then change the active slot and flash it again. Then if that didn't work I'd flash each partition separately to both slots. That's a real pita as there's 20 to 30 different partitions, maybe more I haven't looked for awhile. That probably wouldn't do me any good but it might tell what partition is failing, not that I could do anything about it if one did.

I would probably even take it a step farther and fastboot erase the system on both partitions, the data, and the vendor on both. Then install the factory image.

If u can get to fastboot you are far from bricked

jd1639 said:
I don't have an idea of what happened. Google devices are pretty hard to brick. And if they turn on and boot to anything they technically aren't bricked. But with that said, these dual slot devices are a bit finicky. It could be just a coincidence that something failed while you where restoring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i got told by the shop/dads friend who owns it that I've apparently messed around with the system files and that it's ****ed tbh i think he is bs but idk as i did a system twrp backup and restore which the restore then failed

atari260 said:
well i got told by the shop/dads friend who owns it that I've apparently messed around with the system files and that it's ****ed tbh i think he is bs but idk as i did a system twrp backup and restore which the restore then failed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of the suggestions here have involved using TWRP. The days of just restoring a TWRP backup on your phone do not apply for this device. Even the most skilled have issues with TWRP and the Pixel series. I have been on it since the OG Pixel and Pixel XL, and to be honest I haven't bothered restoring a TWRP backup. I can reinstall the factory image (with or without a wipe) and be back to normal sooner and with less headaches.

I ran into a similar situation after restoring a backup a little while ago. I ended up fixing it by flashing the stock build to both slots using the flash all bat. At this point I wouldn't be concerned about removing the -w. Just let it wipe everything and start from scratch.

[SOLVED] Stuck on Splash screen after magisk, Need data off device

So firstly i have been doing this myself when necessary for many years now thanks XDA Devs!
The device im using is always just a pokemon go spoof device, maybe the odd game for kids but strictly trashable in the passed. Part of the saftest method to set up the device was that i couldnt backup via TWRP. I didnt care anything i needed was saved on the cloud via game accounts...
Unfortunalty a few months ago i accidently updated from 10 to 11 and it killed my setup.. i was in the mood to fix it off i went. the same methods appeared to be identical for 10 to 11 just newer versions.....
I destroyed my everyday phones camera so i was using the pixel to save important info , only some of which i backed up correctly.. these include keys to wallets. my backup keys....
I stupidy went headfirst into doing the same thing i had done numerous times for myself and others. Its a pretty noob mistake i know.
Im pretty sure i can flash my way back without loosing data, but i need to be 100%.
I believe sideloading the OTA is safe for what i want, but i also see the backup your data warning hitting me on the forehead. Not trusting myself here at the minute.
was android 10 rooted and smali patcher, updated to Android 11... untoached, unlocked bootloader, dev enabled.
Obviosly Pixle 2 XL
Build rp1a.201005.004.a1
So i simply booted TWRP.img v 3.3.0-0 then installed the zip. normal permission errors FAILED TO MOUNT '/SYSTEM (INVALID ARGUMENT)
never needed to care before and wasnt thinking BACKUP.
I renamed magisk v23.0 apk to .zip like normal... installed via TWRP like normal.... whats not normal is im stuck with the loading bar under the G on the splash screen.
It only ever had this problem with samali but it just takes a bit.
I apologise for the story and not getting straight to it but i feel like a clown for this one and felt the need to explain my noobie mistake.
All i care about it a way back to booting up the device with my data intact so i can make it safe. i can knock down and rebuild the setup i need myself, i have been doing this long enough. really just want the clarity on a sure thing way back to my data.
Cheers yall, FYI u can take the micky out of me if you like i get it hahah.

Hi! Did you try to:
Code:
fastboot boot boot.img
from bootloader?
If you will use untouched boot.img from ROM you have on phone, it could boot normally if bootloop happend after magisk patching.
If you will sideload ota image, your data should stay on their place.

somin.n said:
Hi! Did you try to:
Code:
fastboot boot boot.img
from bootloader?
If you will use untouched boot.img from ROM you have on phone, it could boot normally if bootloop happend after magisk patching.
If you will sideload ota image, your data should stay on their place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Actually had not tried a thing once i realised what i could be losing, i had to drop my understanding and pride and triple check my methods.
I extracted boot.img from stock Firmware and fastooted back into the OS. Cheers.
I had that ready to go i almost did it before opening the thread..
I appreciate your time thanks buddy, highly appreciated.

Problems restoring nandroid backup to new phone

Hi all,
I believe the original motherboard for my RN5 whyred went bad (spontaneous reboots) and so I found a replacement for it - but it is a RN5Pro whyred board. Since they are both whyred, I figured it would be ok to replace the RN5 with the RN5Pro board. The boards look identical and they're both whyred, so why not? Right?
I made a nandroid backup with OrangeFox (9.2.3 I think?), swapped the boards, everything booted great with the new board. I unlocked the bootloader, installed a slightly newer version of OrangeFox (10.0.3) and then restored the nandroid backup. It restored without any errors, but when I tried to boot it - then the problems started. Since there was no logo or anything to see on the screen, I thought I hard bricked it, but MiFlash saw it and I was able to reinstall a stock MIUI 11.0.3 image. Now it boots, but I have a few questions/issues:
1. It doesn't recognize the SIM any more. It did recognize it when I first booted the new board, so I know it's not an issue of the board not recognizing the SIM by nature. Maybe the nandroid restore bonked it? Not sure what I can do at this point besides asking for a replacement SIM. Any ideas?
2. Is it not possible to restore a nandroid backup from the RN5 to the RN5Pro? Or do you have to use the exact same version of recovery to restore that you used to backup? I would really like to not have to reinstall and reconfigure all my programs, which includes 2FA apps that will be a pain to refresh.
Any help is appreciated,

eisenbergw said:
1. It doesn't recognize the SIM any more. It did recognize it when I first booted the new board, so I know it's not an issue of the board not recognizing the SIM by nature. Maybe the nandroid restore bonked it? Not sure what I can do at this point besides asking for a replacement SIM. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I put the SIM in another phone and it works fine. So the problem is somewhere else. Can anyone point me in the right direction? The new board definitely recognized the SIM before I restored the nandroid backup and now after a stock ROM reflash, it doesn't recognize it. Driver?

eisenbergw said:
OK, so I put the SIM in another phone and it works fine. So the problem is somewhere else. Can anyone point me in the right direction? The new board definitely recognized the SIM before I restored the nandroid backup and now after a stock ROM reflash, it doesn't recognize it. Driver?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Persist partition and 1 more are corrupted... Search it on xda

drnightshadow said:
Persist partition and 1 more are corrupted... Search it on xda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I found some resources for flashing the persist partition. Which is the other partition you suspect of being corrupted, or how can I discover that? Is it the modem partition/non-HLOS.bin? I've already done the regular stock ROM flash through fastboot, so the 'normal' partitions have already been rewritten. What other 'special' partitions are there besides persist?

eisenbergw said:
Thanks for the reply. I found some resources for flashing the persist partition. Which is the other partition you suspect of being corrupted, or how can I discover that? Is it the modem partition/non-HLOS.bin? I've already done the regular stock ROM flash through fastboot, so the 'normal' partitions have already been rewritten. What other 'special' partitions are there besides persist?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha, you have them CCA 28 partitions. You need to find out by your self. Start with persist, vendor,... Most common ones than less common. Maybe you should try flashing under EDL mode. I would advise you to check which partitions did restored and start there.

drnightshadow said:
Ha, you have them CCA 28 partitions. You need to find out by your self. Start with persist, vendor,... Most common ones than less common. Maybe you should try flashing under EDL mode. I would advise you to check which partitions did restored and start there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, no idea there were that many. I haven't been this deep into the phone before.
I see there is a file called partition.xml in the fastboot images directory, I assume that is the full list of partitions on the phone (but there are 64 entries there)? Do you actually check them all for corruption, or just try to reflash them all until it starts working? Some of them do not have a filename listed. Not sure what to do with those.
<partition label="apdp" size_in_kb="256" type="E6E98DA2-E22A-4D12-AB33-169E7DEAA507" bootable="false" readonly="false" filename=""/>
The 'flash_all.bat' file (that did the flash that got it working again) looks like it flashes 24 images by default, so I guess there aren't too many others to try.
Any links you can refer me to, to understand how to start poking at this? Thanks!

eisenbergw said:
Wow, no idea there were that many. I haven't been this deep into the phone before.
I see there is a file called partition.xml in the fastboot images directory, I assume that is the full list of partitions on the phone (but there are 64 entries there)? Do you actually check them all for corruption, or just try to reflash them all until it starts working? Some of them do not have a filename listed. Not sure what to do with those.
<partition label="apdp" size_in_kb="256" type="E6E98DA2-E22A-4D12-AB33-169E7DEAA507" bootable="false" readonly="false" filename=""/>
The 'flash_all.bat' file (that did the flash that got it working again) looks like it flashes 24 images by default, so I guess there aren't too many others to try.
Any links you can refer me to, to understand how to start poking at this? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Start with EDL MODE and flash all.... Check and search 1st how EDL MODE works and how to get into it... Read a lot before you'll mess with your phone... for persist you need to patch file (like notepad++), very simple and for the rest like I said read a loooooot..
But if you use OrangeFox recovery than you should only look at those partitions + persist.. For everything else you need research by yourself, sorry no easy way out.
BE CAREFUL DON'T LOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER OR YOU'LL GET EVEN MORE TROUBLES !!!!!
Good luck.

You should be fine flashing 2 files, persist partition and modem file.
Extract the files from the fastboot rom installed in your device.
Please read and document yourself how to flash those files.
Modem file is called "NON-HLOS.bin" and is fastboot flashable.
Persist partition is recovery flashable by OrangeFox.
The best part is that you managed to hardware repair your device! The software part is easy.
Take care and good luck!
Follow @drnightshadow advice also.

MadK9 said:
You should be fine flashing 2 files, persist partition and modem file.
Extract the files from the fastboot rom installed in your device.
Please read and document yourself how to flash those files.
Modem file is called "NON-HLOS.bin" and is fastboot flashable.
Persist partition is recovery flashable by OrangeFox.
The best part is that you managed to hardware repair your device! The software part is easy.
Take care and good luck!
Follow @drnightshadow advice also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I tried both items, flashing modem from fastboot and persist from OF, but it didn't change anything.
So I tried an EDL flash, but it won't flash persist.img. It recognizes that it is sparse, but still gives me a 'ERROR_BAD_FORMAT' error and that is the end of that. Reflashed persist.img from OF, no results. Tried a regular stock fastboot-based flash with no tweaks and now it won't flash the modem with the error:
error:FAILED (status read failed (Too many links))
There's really not much left in the images directory that isn't already flashed -
* ddi.elf
* misc.img
* lksecapp.mbn
* uefi.elf (but that looks like a bootsector kind of thing)
My Google-fu is not strong enough to find any mentions of the first three images or what they are used for.
I do note that rawprogram0.xml mentions a lot of partitions that have no files associated with them. I'm a bit wary of just dropping those images into there without a good reason to do so. But again, Google is not helping here.
Any ideas before I toss the phone and go buy a new one?

Oh, man... I'm no expert at all and really cannot help anymore... There are more android experts here then anywhere else on this web and still your issue found no fix. In my opinion you should try to flash the factory image, the rom which your device came. I did encounter the issue when flashing went wrong a few years ago. No other image was flashable! Had errors with more recent ones but when I went and flash the factory image, my RN5 came to life.

MadK9 said:
Oh, man... I'm no expert at all and really cannot help anymore... There are more android experts here then anywhere else on this web and still your issue found no fix. In my opinion you should try to flash the factory image, the rom which your device came. I did encounter the issue when flashing went wrong a few years ago. No other image was flashable! Had errors with more recent ones but when I went and flash the factory image, my RN5 came to life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that and it did come back to life... except for not recognizing the SIM.
There is a lot of help here on xda, but I guess even that has its limits sometimes. If you or @drnightshadow don't have any other ideas, then I guess it's time to get a new phone. A shame really, this one lasted me about 3 years and I've had no reason to replace it until now.

No, you tried and accomplished a lot! You should not give up just because of us. We're no experts. Just try to look and search for similar issues but on other brands! Try this approach. And even if you buy a new phone, continue to look for solutions in order to have a RN5 functional again! I remember I even lost imei and all mac addresses for bth and wireless... Not quite like your issue but similar. Only flashing persisit partition brought my device back.
SIM not recognized after flashing at DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.
duckduckgo.com
L.E.
You could also try to flash persist partition from other rom version, older or newer from stock images... an idea, something else to try...

MadK9 said:
No, you tried and accomplished a lot! You should not give up just because of us. We're no experts. Just try to look and search for similar issues but on other brands! Try this approach. And even if you buy a new phone, continue to look for solutions in order to have a RN5 functional again! I remember I even lost imei and all mac addresses for bth and wireless... Not quite like your issue but similar. Only flashing persisit partition brought my device back.
SIM not recognized after flashing at DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.
duckduckgo.com
L.E.
You could also try to flash persist partition from other rom version, older or newer from stock images... an idea, something else to try...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking - I got into this problem because I tried to restore a nandroid backup from the first board to the new board. I'm wondering if there is something like an IMEI or other 'burned in' identifier that got written in and now the phone has a mismatch so the OS won't recognize the SIM as being installed.
Fortunately, before I started doing anything with the new board I did a nandroid backup of what came shipped with it (I unlocked it and put OF on it first, obviously). A bunch of reading I did today made me think about the efs partition - I had restored persist and modem, but not that one. So I did a full nandroid restore of the clean backup, including efs. Rebooted and it went straight to fastboot, would not boot. No problem, used MiFlash to put MIUI 11.0.3 cleanly on it (no tweaks). When it booted after that - the SIM is back! Woo-hoo!
I'm guessing the EFS partition has something to do with it, but I'd have to do more reading to understand it more fully.
In any case, I have a usable board again. *finally*.
For the record (and for anyone else that might have this problem in the future):
* restore original clean nandroid backup (but probably only needed the *efs* partition)
* forced to do a stock rom install via fastboot (used MIUI 11.0.3)
** got use of the SIM again!
* flashed twrp in fastboot to be able to flash OrangeFox from inside twrp
* updated firmware to latest stable v12.0.2
* flash Lineage 18.1
* flash Magisk
* wipe caches and dalvik
* install gapps
* wipe caches and dalvik
* reboot to usable phone
Thanks for being part of the journey!

Sweet, that's nice to hear... Resurrection of whyred wuuuhuuu ..
good job... See, you just don't give up and success is here.. Remember that I told you persist and 1 more partition are corrupted... You find it, EFS
If it isn't hardware problem, whyred can be always unbricked.

Really, really happy for you man!!!
Well done!!!
Yesterday was about to do more research in order to find a way out for your issue but had something else at my job, only downloaded a fastboot rom and was trying to find that troubled partition, even to tell you about efs... And now, the good news from you is that you were busy and had success!!!
Enjoy your zombi phone! I mean resurrected!