[Magisk] Root for the Galaxy S10 Series - Samsung Galaxy S10 ROMs, Kernels, Recoveries, & Ot

[Magisk] Root for the Galaxy S10 Series - Samsung Galaxy S10 ROMs, Kernels, Recoveries, & Ot

Here comes official Magisk support for the Galaxy S10!
Let's get Magisk to kick start the development of these Samsung devices!
Link to Instructions
Carefully read through everything in the page linked above! Follow the instructions closely so you don't end up bricking your device
Technical Details
Google enforces all devices that ships with Android 9.0 to use system-as-root in part of "Project Treble", so Samsung finally introduced their own "flavor" of the implementation. More details regarding system-as-root can be found in the official Google dev site. Samsung is using the A-only system-as-root setup, meaning that its boot image will only contain the kernel binary without ramdisk included. Similar setup has already been deployed on many new devices, and the solutions for those devices are rather simple: add a new ramdisk section into the boot image and hexpatch the kernel to always use ramdisk as rootfs. However in Samsung's case, the bootloader simply does not load anything other than the kernel binary to the memory, meaning no matter what we do the kernel will always use the system partition as root directory. This leaves us no option but to install Magisk onto the recovery partition.
Installing to the recovery partition have its own issues: first is that a service called "flash_recovery" will run when the system starts up, which will restore the recovery image back to stock on startup. This is unacceptable because not only does it uninstall Magisk in the process, the data encryption key will also be changed due to fact that Samsung's data encryption keys are tied to the bootloader status and boot/recovery image signatures, and thus causing the device unable to boot in following reboots unless factory reset. The solution to this problem is to simply repack the boot image to remove the binary integrity and also the signature of the partition. The second issue is that since Magisk and recovery shares the same partition, how can we actually boot into recovery? (e.g. to factory reset your device, or have custom recovery co-exist with Magisk) Fortunately a solution that detects button key presses is introduced, which details are already provided in instructions.
To make matters even worse, Samsung introduced a "VaultKeeper" service, which adds another "lock" on top of the OEM lock of the bootloader. By default the service will "relock" the bootloader after data is wiped. Only after the initial setup will it verify the OEM lock option and changes the bootloader state accordingly. If you are running custom firmware with stock system, DO NOT try to wipe data or else you might end up bricking your device due to vaultkeeper locking your bootloader up, which will eventually lead to bootloader refusing to boot because unofficial partitions are detected.
For custom ROM developers, the first few things you would want to remove is VaultKeeper to protect your users from bricking their devices. For stock ROM users, just make sure to always boot to Magisk after a data wipe, or never power off your device before finishing the initial setup and verify OEM lock is enabled.

thx

Yay.

The best day of my life!!

Can I ask, when we install Magisk what sammy stuff will be broken? I understand Knox will be tripped but what 'features' will still be available.
Does the fingerprint still work for instance
Amazing work though, well done buddy

Fantastic!
I hope people carefully read those instructions!

ok, who's trying it first on an European S10+ ?

..

Amazing! Is this for unlocked Snapdragon too?

S9 Exynos not install
On S9 the installation does not give error, but on restart Magisk is no longer installed.

ooonea said:
On S9 the installation does not give error, but on restart Magisk is no longer installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm aware of this issue

cant even boot into download mode with the way you have given... is there a step missing?
ahh, turn the phone off, USB connected and press Bixby and Volume Down.

Fix?
topjohnwu said:
I'm aware of this issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will you fix it?

A couple of questions:
1. What will happen if I boot from boot partition after installing magisk? What steps will be needed to recover from that?
2. Why final wipe after installing magisk is needed?

ooonea said:
Will you fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What an odd question... obviously.

I got some questions about Safetynet
1. Is Safetynet still passing with this method when you boot to system with magisk?
2. Also if you boot to system without pressing any button, so system without magisk, is Safetynet passing or failing?
Thanks for your hard work.

Download Mode doesn´t work for mee
is there a step missing?

Memento_Mori said:
Download Mode doesn´t work for mee
is there a step missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cable must be in too

Thanks,
I have one question, after install Magisk can I still install OTA update ?

tiho5 said:
The cable must be in too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, but it doesn´t work for me too

Related

[RECOVERY][ROOT]TWRP 3.2.3-1 Galaxy Tab S4 - T830/T835

Unofficial release -TWRP recovery for the Galaxy Tab S4 2018 - SM-T830/T835 MSM8998
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TWRP 3.2.3-0 Released
Aug 6, 2018
TWRP 3.2.3-0 is out now for most currently supported devices.
What's new in 3.2.3-0:
* Fix automatic installing of OTA zips on encrypted devices
* Remove SuperSU from TWRP
* Support both md5 and md5sum file extensions when doing MD5 checking for zip files
Want to get notifications when we release new versions of TWRP? Install the TWRP app and select your device!
We need your help! The bulk of TWRP work is done by a handful of people on a volunteer basis. We have pushed most of our device files to our github and we have a gerrit instance. If you have the ability, please help us maintain our official devices and/or add your device to our official device list. Thanks in advance!
You can track the progress of builds here
Update 21/9/2018
Beta build released.
Current status - Beta (tested working)
Treble supported
Pretty much everything is working except for ADB and MTP at the moment.
You flash this at your own risk. Please ensure you have the stock ROM to hand downloaded from SAMMOBILE in case of problems. This will trip the knox counter.
NOTE: ON ANDROID 5.1.1> DEVICES IT IS NECESSARY TO GO TO:
Settings -> Developer Options -> OEM unlocking
AND ENABLE OEM UNLOCK FIRST OR YOU MAY ENCOUNTER 'BLOCKED BY FRP LOCK' WHEN FLASHING.
*****INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:*****
Flash with ODIN in the AP slot.
1. Put your device in DOWNLOAD mode.
(Hold POWER + VOL DOWN + VOL UP) ]
2. Run ODIN and uncheck Auto reboot.
3. Load the file below into the AP slot and hit start.
twrp_3.2.3-1_t830_26918
4. After flashing and ODIN reports PASS immediately force reboot to recovery. Do NOT let the device boot to the OS.
You should now see TWRP recovery.
NOTE: FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE STEPS ABOVE IMPLICITLY WILL RESULT IN STOCK RECOVERY REPLACING TWRP AT FIRST BOOT.
*****OREO ROOT INSTRUCTIONS:*****
Note: A MicroSD card is required to install the files below to your device.
1. Flash the Forced encryption disabler patch. This is only required if you wish to have full functionality in TWRP.
Flashing this will disable Samsung's forced encryption. Disabling encryption will allow TWRP to mount the data partition.
After flashing the patch it is necessary to *FORMAT* (not wipe) the /DATA partition using the FORMAT DATA button under the wipe options.
PLEASE NOTE THIS WILL DELETE EVERYTHING ON INTERNAL STORAGE AND FACTORY RESET THE DEVICE, SO BACK UP ANYTHING YOU WISH TO KEEP.
TabS4_oreo_forced_encryption_disabler
2. To root I suggest installing Magisk as this is a currently supported project, SuperSu is no longer getting active development.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
3. Enjoy your rooted device.
DEVICE TREE: https://github.com/ashyx/TWRP_Samsung_GTS4LWIFI
PLEASE DO *NOT* DIRECT LINK TO THESE FILES. PLEASE LINK TO THIS POST
Credits: Me, Teamwin, @ianmacd. Huge thanks to Ian for his full support and testing, helping patch the kernel and providing everything needed to get this done.
Please note I don't own this device and spend a lot of my free time bringing these builds for you to use and benefit from.
FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED PLEASE.
THANKS.
DONATE ME HERE IF YOU WANT TO BUY ME A BEER OR HIT THE THANKS BUTTON IF I HELPED YOU

ashyx said:
I don't expect this to even boot as I have been forced to use the stock kernel and even if it does there is likely to be problems mounting partitions or accessing certain parts of the file system.
This is due to Samsung's current kernel source being totally borked causing many compiler errors I have not yet managed to fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me be the first to say thank you for this, @ashyx.
I don't have time to flash it until later in the day, but you mention having to use the stock kernel, so I wanted to point you at my repo of Samsung's kernel source for firmware revision ARGH. Samsung hasn't released the source of a more recent version yet.
I built this before I even had the device (before it had even been released in Europe, in fact), so it's also untested, but I did fix all of the compile errors before committing it. You can either clone this repo, or just cherry-pick the commit that fixes all of the compile errors (e1af7e420d4d1eb0a3302d65bb1b6e8e54f7f36b). The defconfig is as released by Samsung, so probably needs a number of config options turned off before it will produce a kernel that will even boot as an unofficial build.
Thanks once again for all of your hard work (often on devices you don't even own).

ianmacd said:
Let me be the first to say thank you for this, @ashyx.
I don't have time to flash it until later in the day, but you mention having to use the stock kernel, so I wanted to point you at my repo of Samsung's kernel source for firmware revision ARGH. Samsung hasn't released the source of a more recent version yet.
I built this before I even had the device (before it had even been released in Europe, in fact), so it's also untested, but I did fix all of the compile errors before committing it. You can either clone this repo, or just cherry-pick the commit that fixes all of the compile errors (e1af7e420d4d1eb0a3302d65bb1b6e8e54f7f36b). The defconfig is as released by Samsung, so probably needs a number of config options turned off before it will produce a kernel that will even boot as an unofficial build.
Thanks once again for all of your hard work (often on devices you don't even own).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah good stuff.
Yep most of them were include and tracepoint errors. Had pretty much fixed most of them by the looks of it, but got fed up after a while and got stuck at multiple tracepoint defines errors.
Honestly sometimes Samsung just release any old rubbish source code just to comply with the GPL.
No way is this the actual source code used in the stock kernel.
Many thanks for the link to the kernel source. I'll ensure you get some credit for the commits.

ashyx said:
Honestly sometimes Samsung just release any old rubbish source code just to comply with the GPL.
No way is this the actual source code used in the stock kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we're never able to produce a bootable custom kernel for this device, as with the Tab S3. Once we have TWRP up and running, however, I shall certainly give it my best shot.

ianmacd said:
Yes, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we're never able to produce a bootable custom kernel for this device, as with the Tab S3. Once we have TWRP up and running, however, I shall certainly give it my best shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's ridiculous. Many times I have had to debug Samsung kernel sources. As you have discovered some just do not boot the OS no matter what.
I had an issue with the Tab A a while back where no matter what I couldn't get the kernel to boot.
I put a complaint into Samsung's open source dept. and threatened to report it to the GPL for releasing unbootable source code.
Lo and behold the next source code release booted perfectly.

ashyx said:
Current status - UNTESTED
This is really only intended for users who have fair knowledge of flashing custom stuff. I do not recommend for novices until the build is proved stable and proper instructions are available.
I don't expect this to even boot as I have been forced to use the stock kernel and even if it does there is likely to be problems mounting partitions or accessing certain parts of the file system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've flashed this now, @ashyx, and there's both good and bad news.
The good news is that it boots!
The bad news is that, although I didn't swipe to allow modifications, it's no longer possible to boot back to system. dm-verity appears to have been triggered. Interestingly, it takes as long as a full boot before the system finally reports Verification failed, so possibly this can still be bypassed by making the right edits from TWRP.
That's all I've done with it at this point. Let me know which steps you would like me to carry out. I'll leave it as is now until I hear from you.
Photos attached. Note the newly appeared open padlock and Custom in the second photo.

ianmacd said:
I've flashed this now, @ashyx, and there's both good and bad news.
The good news is that it boots!
The bad news is that, although I didn't swipe to allow modifications, it's no longer possible to boot back to system. dm-verity appears to have been triggered. Interestingly, it takes as long as a full boot before the system finally reports Verification failed, so possibly this can still be bypassed by making the right edits from TWRP.
That's all I've done with it at this point. Let me know which steps you would like me to carry out. I'll leave it as is now until I hear from you.
Photos attached. Note the newly appeared open padlock and Custom in the second photo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great.
Now I know it boots I'll fix the DM-VERITY issue.
I take it DATA is unmountable until FORMATTED?

ashyx said:
Great.
Now I know it boots I'll fix the DM-VERITY issue.
I take it DATA is unmountable until FORMATTED?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hadn't done any more with it, but I've just tried and data is indeed unmountable.
Less expected is that all other file-systems (system, efs, cache, etc.) are also unmountable. Or is that the result of dm-verity having been tripped?

ianmacd said:
I hadn't done any more with it, but I've just tried and data is indeed unmountable.
Less expected is that all other file-systems (system, efs, cache, etc.) are also unmountable. Or is that the result of dm-verity having been tripped?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I mentioned previously I expected the file system to have access issues due to the kernel.
Will have to patch the kernel to fix that. However no part of DATA will be accessible until formatted.

ashyx said:
As I mentioned previously I expected the file system to have access issues due to the kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I was rushing out the door and keen to answer you before I left. As soon as I was outside, I remembered what you had written about expecting file-system access to be impaired.
Sent from my SM-G965F using XDA Labs

So...anyone succesfully rooted this device with TWRP help ? Step-by-step procedure requested. Thanks !!

ianmacd said:
Sorry, I was rushing out the door and keen to answer you before I left. As soon as I was outside, I remembered what you had written about expecting file-system access to be impaired.
Sent from my SM-G965F using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok have recompiled TWRP with the patched kernel and created a patched boot to disable dm-verity and a flashable zip to disable forced encryption.
twrp_3.2.3-1_t830_test_r2
To disable forced encryption, mount internal storage(DATA) and disable dm-verity:
1. Install the patched boot below. This can be installed with ODIN or extract the boot.img and flash with TWRP:
T830XXU1ARH8_dmverity_patched_boot
2. Boot to TWRP
3. Install the Forced encryption patch: TabS4_oreo_forced_encryption_disabler
4. Format DATA using the *FORMAT DATA button* under the wipe options.
(NOTE - THIS WILL WIPE ALL INTERNAL STORAGE!)
5. Reboot and check DATA is mountable
Done.

crissx said:
So...anyone succesfully rooted this device with TWRP help ? Step-by-step procedure requested. Thanks !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thread is only 2 pages, rather than asking you could have read the posts. If you would have read the thread you would see that the recovery is still being developed and has bugs being worked out. There are ways to root your device without twrp. If you need a step by step guide, hold off, because you may need another step by step guide to unbrick your device.

ashyx said:
Ok have recompiled TWRP with the patched kernel and created a patched boot to disable dm-verity and a flashable zip to disable forced encryption.
twrp_3.2.3-1_t830_test_r2
To disable forced encryption, mount internal storage(DATA) and disable dm-verity:
1. Install the patched boot below. This can be installed with ODIN or extract the boot.img and flash with TWRP:
T830XXU1ARH8_dmverity_patched_boot
2. Boot to TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, @ashyx.
I'm afraid can't boot this version of TWRP. At first, I thought it was because dm-verity was tripped yesterday, so I first performed the factory reset demanded by the device, and then tried again, but no joy.
Instead of TWRP, it boots me into download mode, but rather than the familiar turquoise download screen, I get a mixed splash screen/diagnostic text display. Nevertheless, it is definitely download mode.
From there, I tried reflashing test2 of TWRP followed by the dm-verity patched boot image, but rebooting afterwards always puts me back in download mode. The only way I can seem to get out of it again is by flashing stock firmware.
I can't post a log, obviously, but I've attached a photo of the screen in question.
UPDATE:
I tried reinstalling yesterday's initial build of TWRP, just to see if I could still get into that, and it appears that I can.

ianmacd said:
Thanks, @ashyx.
I'm afraid can't boot this version of TWRP. At first, I thought it was because dm-verity was tripped yesterday, so I first performed the factory reset demanded by the device, and then tried again, but no joy.
Instead of TWRP, it boots me into download mode, but rather than the familiar turquoise download screen, I get a mixed splash screen/diagnostic text display. Nevertheless, it is definitely download mode.
From there, I tried reflashing test2 of TWRP followed by the dm-verity patched boot image, but rebooting afterwards always puts me back in download mode. The only way I can seem to get out of it again is by flashing stock firmware.
I can't post a log, obviously, but I've attached a photo of the screen in question.
UPDATE:
I tried reinstalling yesterday's initial build of TWRP, just to see if I could still get into that, and it appears that I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could either be the custom kernel or the dtb, as I have modified both.
However regarding the dtb, I had issues splitting the dtb with aik, so had to use an alternative method.
I will compile twrp with the stock dtb and custom kernel and see how that goes.
Thanks

ashyx said:
It could either be the custom kernel or the dtb, as I have modified both.
However regarding the dtb, I had issues splitting the dtb with aik, so had to use an alternative method.
I will compile twrp with the stock dtb and custom kernel and see how that goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you know, I had started work on a version of TWRP for this device myself, but not got very far. Like you, I had run into the issue of the embedded DTB. When I mentioned this to a developer on Telegram, he pointed me at this splitting tool. Before I could use it, however, you announced your build of TWRP, so I never tried it, but perhaps it can be of some use to you now.

ianmacd said:
As you know, I had started work on a version of TWRP for this device myself, but not got very far. Like you, I had run into the issue of the embedded DTB. When I mentioned this to a developer on Telegram, he pointed me at this splitting tool. Before I could use it, however, you announced your build of TWRP, so I never tried it, but perhaps it can be of some use to you now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes thats one of the tools I've used to split the dtb.
It's not the splitting that's the issue I think it's the appending back to the kernel or the custom kernel itself.
Thanks anyway
EDIT: Compiled this one with just the custom kernel and stock dtb.
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1322778262904007632

ashyx said:
EDIT: Compiled this one with just the custom kernel and stock dtb.
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1322778262904007632
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one yields the same result, I'm afraid. I can't get into TWRP and am stuck in download mode until I flash stock firmware again.

ianmacd said:
This one yields the same result, I'm afraid. I can't get into TWRP and am stuck in download mode until I flash stock firmware again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope it's not the kernel. I'm going to repack the stock kernel and dtb the exact same way and see if that boots.
I have a suspicion there's some special way Samsung are appending the dtb.
I'm also going to contact @osm0sis as he's a whizz at this stuff
Are you ok with the testing?

ashyx said:
I hope it's not the kernel. I'm going to repack the stock kernel and dtb the exact same way and see if that boots.
I have a suspicion there's some special way Samsung are appending the dtb.
I'm also going to contact @osm0sis as he's a whizz at this stuff
Are you ok with the testing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, my friend. I'll test whatever you ask me to.
The device is wiped and unusable now anyway without reinstallation, so I have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

A beginner and a Google pixel C

Hello,
I am looking, as a perfect beginner, to know what the root of my Google pixel C will allow. I encounter one or two problems (screen that freezes during heavy tasks, connections that breaks) on this tablet like many owners of this one and I have heard that the installation of a new system based on android can cancel these problems. So I would like to be enlightened on this subject! What are the best software to install? How to proceed (is it simple after all )? What can this bring?
That's it, I'd like to learn something. Thank you in advance for your answers

LineageOS 15.1 is a great advantage in contrast to the stock ROM (more settings, more smooth, more updates).
You have first to unlock the bootloader (developer settings), install TWRP and then flash lineageos, GApps, Vendor Image.
For detailed instruction search in this forum.

braunie said:
LineageOS 15.1 is a great advantage in contrast to the stock ROM (more settings, more smooth, more updates).
You have first to unlock the bootloader (developer settings), install TWRP and then flash lineageos, GApps, Vendor Image.
For detailed instruction search in this forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All right, very well, thank you. I still had some questions ?.
1. Can this improve performance as well? For example in games ?
2. what are the risks?
3. what does the term "Flash" mean?
4.Can I, if I wish, go back to the original version without any problem?
5. Is it complex to update lineageOS where can we do it from the system settings simply?
Thank you for your answers that's awesome!

I forgot to ask if:
Do we need a computer necessarily?
Is root required?
Sorry, there are a lot of questions. I hope you will take the time to answer ?

Hawkeye5 said:
All right, very well, thank you. I still had some questions .
1. Can this improve performance as well? For example in games ?
2. what are the risks?
3. what does the term "Flash" mean?
4.Can I, if I wish, go back to the original version without any problem?
5. Is it complex to update lineageOS where can we do it from the system settings simply?
Thank you for your answers that's awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I'm not playing on my Pixel C, but LineageOS is more smooth than the stock ROM on my Pixel C
2. The risk is that you maybe brick your tablet
3. Flashing means to install an image (new Firmware) on your device
4. Yes, it is possibel
5. If you've never done this, it is difficult to do that, I've done this a few times, but it is every time a challange for me, so I would suggest you: let it be or find someone with expirience!!!

braunie said:
1. I'm not playing on my Pixel C, but LineageOS is more smooth than the stock ROM on my Pixel C
2. The risk is that you maybe brick your tablet
3. Flashing means to install an image (new Firmware) on your device
4. Yes, it is possibel
5. If you've never done this, it is difficult to do that, I've done this a few times, but it is every time a challange for me, so I would suggest you: let it be or find someone with expirience!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I'm going to try to install lineageOS 15.1. In the meantime, I've been looking for a lot of tutorials so I think it should be fine. Anyway, just follow the instructions on the lineageOS website for installation and everything will be fine I think. What would you advise me as a topic on the forum about the advantages and inconveniences of lineageOS? Where can I find the vendor.img files specific for pixel C?

You might want to have a look at this topic
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-c/help/pixel-c-oreo-8-1-unlock-bootloader-t3849422
starting at message 19 where I outline what is required to root and flash a ROM image.
I use the example of a Google Factory Image but Lineage will do.

m+a+r+k said:
You might want to have a look at this topic
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-c/help/pixel-c-oreo-8-1-unlock-bootloader-t3849422
starting at message 19 where I outline what is required to root and flash a ROM image.
I use the example of a Google Factory Image but Lineage will do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where can I find vendor.img for lineageOS?: o

Not a clue, sorry.

Hawkeye5 said:
Thank you! I'm going to try to install lineageOS 15.1. In the meantime, I've been looking for a lot of tutorials so I think it should be fine. Anyway, just follow the instructions on the lineageOS website for installation and everything will be fine I think. What would you advise me as a topic on the forum about the advantages and inconveniences of lineageOS? Where can I find the vendor.img files specific for pixel C?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The vendor.img is a part of the factory image. The factury image is accessible here:
https://developers.google.com/android/images
Scroll down to "ryu" for Pixel C and download the latest factory image, unzip it and you'll find the vendor.img.
Alternative here is a link to the latest vendor.img on my google drive:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ptXKX_QGIb0EJRaBzap1fWYM5N507khL/view?usp=sharing
Good luck!

braunie said:
The vendor.img is a part of the factory image. The factury image is accessible here:
https://developers.google.com/android/images
Scroll down to "ryu" for Pixel C and download the latest factory image, unzip it and you'll find the vendor.img.
Alternative here is a link to the latest vendor.img on my google drive:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ptXKX_QGIb0EJRaBzap1fWYM5N507khL/view?usp=sharing
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After all, is vendor.img really useful or is it optional?

Well, finally I flashed an Android 7.1.2 factory rom to start. And frankly, I did well. I'm happy with myself. It's true that I wanted to have lineageos at the base but I was a little afraid of the result. But finally it's perfecto with nougat 7.1.2. It's my first time.

Hello. Well, in the end I have a big problem with the c pixel. I followed all the steps on the Google site. So install adj and Fastboot with their drivers. Then double click on Flash_all.bat. All went well it rebooted and I can use the tablet without any problem. The only thing I didn't do was lock the bootloader because I thought it would wait until tomorrow. So everything works fine I have some features for you then I test the restart and there is a big mistake. I see the message: bootloader is unlocked and os verification is off the device continues booting in 30 second. Then a high-pitched beep and the Google logo appears but never changes. So nothing left and blocked on this logo. And did I do something stupid, did I brick it. I'm lost ?

It has now turned into a bootloop I think because it only restarts up to the four small circles that rotate the Google logo and then turns off and on again. I can still go to Recovery.

Hawkeye5 said:
It has now turned into a bootloop I think because it only restarts up to the four small circles that rotate the Google logo and then turns off and on again. I can still go to Recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar issue. The cause seems to be TWRP-Recovery. Could you enter TWRP-Recovery mode?
If so; you have to flash lineageos, vendor.img and gapps by sideload. This is an option in TWRP to flash from your PC direct in TWRP. (Option: Advanced - ADB Sideload.)
This may be helpful:
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/sideload-flashable-zips-android-with-twrp-0176529/

braunie said:
I had a similar issue. The cause seems to be TWRP-Recovery. Could you enter TWRP-Recovery mode?
If so; you have to flash lineageos, vendor.img and gapps by sideload. This is an option in TWRP to flash from your PC direct in TWRP. (Option: Advanced - ADB Sideload.)
This may be helpful:
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/sideload-flashable-zips-android-with-twrp-0176529/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created another post to better explain my problem. I also mentioned that I had managed to solve it but I still thank you for offering your help I flashed a Factory rom so I didn't have to install twrp. Actually I didn't know that I had to lock the bootloader immediately after flashing a Factory rom. Unlike custom rom. So I almost bricked my tablet at 400€
But it's good that you told me, though. ADB sideload is used to install the system and the Gapps at the same time, for example?

You do not have to lock the bootloader after installing a ROM or flashing a factory image.
I flash the factory image every month after a security update and have never locked the bootloader.

m+a+r+k said:
You do not have to lock the bootloader after installing a ROM or flashing a factory image.
I flash the factory image every month after a security update and have never locked the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you can still restart or turn off your device without any problem? It was when I restarted that I had the bootloop problem.
This is what is said on the Google developers website: "Once the script is finished, your device restarts. You should now lock the bootloader for security reasons:
Restart the device in Fastboot mode, as described above.
Execute:
fastboot flashing lock
or, for older devices, run:
fastboot oem lock
Locking the bootloader will erase data on some devices. After locking the bootloader, if you want the device to flash again, you must run fastboot oem unlock again, which will erase the data."

Hawkeye5 said:
But you can still restart or turn off your device without any problem? It was when I restarted that I had the bootloop problem.
This is what is said on the Google developers website: "Once the script is finished, your device restarts. You should now lock the bootloader for security reasons:
Restart the device in Fastboot mode, as described above.
Execute:
fastboot flashing lock
or, for older devices, run:
fastboot oem lock
Locking the bootloader will erase data on some devices. After locking the bootloader, if you want the device to flash again, you must run fastboot oem unlock again, which will erase the data."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, of course I can restart and switch off without problems.
The problem with locking the bootloader again is, as Google says, you lose your data when you next want to install a ROM of flash a factory image.
The state of your bootloader isn't what is causing the bootloop.

Hawkeye5 said:
I created another post to better explain my problem. I also mentioned that I had managed to solve it but I still thank you for offering your help I flashed a Factory rom so I didn't have to install twrp. Actually I didn't know that I had to lock the bootloader immediately after flashing a Factory rom. Unlike custom rom. So I almost bricked my tablet at 400€
But it's good that you told me, though. ADB sideload is used to install the system and the Gapps at the same time, for example?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could install system image, vendor image and gapps by sideload flashing in one session.

General help with bootloader & flashing (coming from Sony phones)

Any help is greatly appreciated, I have no experience with Google phones, I was years into Sony.
I have just bought a Pixel 2 XL from a local shop in Greece, and of course, I want to root it and be able to install custom roms etc.
I have a few questions that I am searching everywhere recently and I would really appreciate if someone can make it clear to me:
1) I have read that you have to buy your phone from Google so you are able to unlock it? Can someone explain this to me? (My phone is not a specific carrier) How do I know if I am able to unlock my bootloader?
2)I have flashed roms and kernels in the past on my Sony phones, however I haven't really messed with the bootloader other than just unlocking it in the beginning. So now on the Pixel 2 XL I am reading so much about the unlock_critical vs the normal unlock, and I can admit I cannot understand the difference. Why does someone want to flash a bootloader? ( I do not understand what does "flash a bootloader" mean)
What I want to be able to do is flash custom roms, flash factory images to revert back to stock whenever I want, flash custom kernel, flash stock kernel, make a nandroid backup with twrp and restore a nandroid backup with twrp. That is all I want to be able to do without facing any errors with the bootloader,so do I need the unlock_critical ? And why?
3)If I unlock the bootloader with any of the two ways, am I able to re-lock it like nothing has happened? For example if the screen has dead pixels for some reason and I want to send it back for warranty but the bootloader is unlocked, can I lock it without it being logged? Or once unlocked, there is no going back to the warranty by re-locking? On many Sony phones we could do that.
4)If I unlock the bootloader and install TWRP I read that I will not be able to receive official updates from settings any more (OTA):
"NOTE #1: If you have mounted /system as rw at any point (like in TWRP), you must upgrade using the factory image method. OTAs will fail because they cannot verify the integrity of the disk since its verity data has been changed."
My question is, if I flash a stock image, does that get fixed? ( so if I flash 8.1.0 stock manually, will I be able to get an official update e.g. 9.0.0 from settings?)
Or if I just grab the stock boot.img of my current version of android and flash it with fastboot, then will I be able to get official updates from settings normally again?
5)Can I do the following on this order? :
Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
Unlock the bootloader (either critical or normal, whatever works)
Boot into Fastboot
Boot the twrp image from fastboot to the device
Flash the twrp zip to the phone to install TWRP
Flash the magisk zip so I root the device
Reboot and everything works? (Or do I need a custom kernel for TWRP or Magisk to work?)
Is there any issue you see with the above plan of mine?
6) Before I tweak my device in any way, is it okay if I update the device fully? So can I install any update available (OTA) and then unlock the bootloader and root etc? Or do I have to be on a specific version and not on the latest?
7)I have read something about 2 different slots on some flashing forums here, slot a and slot b, but it is not clear to me what that is. Does anyone know what that is? At which point may I face this?
Thank you very much.

A quick and not complete response to get you going
Plan 5 seems solid, unlock the bootloader to allow custom stuff. At boot you will get a warning screen to let you know.
I forgot if I only unlocked the bootloader or also the critical, try it etc.
Personally I never had to tinker with the A/B slots, within TWRP you can choose which to use.
Before Magisk, I used to flash another recovery like cwm or twrp but it is not required. You must however boot to twrp.img to flash the magisk zip.
As far as I know it is indeed the altering of the /system folder that denies future OTA (when using factory image). A manual flash (of future OTA) is easy but may require altering (removing) a switch command in the install.bat file to remove the -w (wipe).
As to the custom kernels, I never noticed the need and am running the latest v10 image with only Magisk flashed to get root.
My main goal is to get rid of ads. I use AdAway.
To get that to work in v10 you need to enable systemless host module im the Magisk manager app (reboot after).
A final feedback; when you get to sideload and need to get to recovery you may get the screen 'no command' or so; press volume-up and click power or power->click volume.
Let us know if you worked it etc!

arismelachrinos said:
Any help is greatly appreciated, I have no experience with Google phones, I was years into Sony.
I have just bought a Pixel 2 XL from a local shop in Greece, and of course, I want to root it and be able to install custom roms etc.
I have a few questions that I am searching everywhere recently and I would really appreciate if someone can make it clear to me:
1) I have read that you have to buy your phone from Google so you are able to unlock it? Can someone explain this to me? (My phone is not a specific carrier) How do I know if I am able to unlock my bootloader?
2)I have flashed roms and kernels in the past on my Sony phones, however I haven't really messed with the bootloader other than just unlocking it in the beginning. So now on the Pixel 2 XL I am reading so much about the unlock_critical vs the normal unlock, and I can admit I cannot understand the difference. Why does someone want to flash a bootloader? ( I do not understand what does "flash a bootloader" mean)
What I want to be able to do is flash custom roms, flash factory images to revert back to stock whenever I want, flash custom kernel, flash stock kernel, make a nandroid backup with twrp and restore a nandroid backup with twrp. That is all I want to be able to do without facing any errors with the bootloader,so do I need the unlock_critical ? And why?
3)If I unlock the bootloader with any of the two ways, am I able to re-lock it like nothing has happened? For example if the screen has dead pixels for some reason and I want to send it back for warranty but the bootloader is unlocked, can I lock it without it being logged? Or once unlocked, there is no going back to the warranty by re-locking? On many Sony phones we could do that.
4)If I unlock the bootloader and install TWRP I read that I will not be able to receive official updates from settings any more (OTA):
"NOTE #1: If you have mounted /system as rw at any point (like in TWRP), you must upgrade using the factory image method. OTAs will fail because they cannot verify the integrity of the disk since its verity data has been changed."
My question is, if I flash a stock image, does that get fixed? ( so if I flash 8.1.0 stock manually, will I be able to get an official update e.g. 9.0.0 from settings?)
Or if I just grab the stock boot.img of my current version of android and flash it with fastboot, then will I be able to get official updates from settings normally again?
5)Can I do the following on this order? :
Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlocking
Unlock the bootloader (either critical or normal, whatever works)
Boot into Fastboot
Boot the twrp image from fastboot to the device
Flash the twrp zip to the phone to install TWRP
Flash the magisk zip so I root the device
Reboot and everything works? (Or do I need a custom kernel for TWRP or Magisk to work?)
Is there any issue you see with the above plan of mine?
6) Before I tweak my device in any way, is it okay if I update the device fully? So can I install any update available (OTA) and then unlock the bootloader and root etc? Or do I have to be on a specific version and not on the latest?
7)I have read something about 2 different slots on some flashing forums here, slot a and slot b, but it is not clear to me what that is. Does anyone know what that is? At which point may I face this?
Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The reason for this is Google had an exclusivity contract to sell through the US cellular company, Verizon; much like the original Apple iPhone did (at first) with AT&T. And, for reasons that are most likely stupid, foolish, and unconvincing in its justifications, Verizon locks their device's bootloaders. So, not that it's "locked" or "unlocked" in terms of carriers, but more-so whether a device is "locked bootloader" or unlockable because it was purchased from Google (or elsewhere, but at least originally Google) and not from Verizon. If you're wondering further, getting it from Verizon would allow Verizon subscribers and customers to be able to "lease" and pay the Pixel off in increments with their usual cell phone bill; but it's not all too exclusive because Google offers to lease if you purchase from them also! The only caveat is you have to pass a credit check when leasing from Google; but, then again, you have to pass a credit check when signing up for a Verizon cell plan as well!
2) So, with my limited understanding between the difference between just a regular "unlock" and an "unlock_critical" is that it might be that a regular unlock allows you to get a R/W access (root access) to the various vital partitions (i.e. system, data [not to be confused with userdata], even boot to a degree) while unlock_critical allows you to straight modify and replace partitions (i.e. what would've been the recovery partition [but now there's no such thing and recovery just resides in the boot partition], the whole system & data partition to have/run custom ROMs, bootloading screen, etc.). But it all is rather convoluted that Google probably agreed and, so you can/should be aware, they updated things within the past few months (I'm guessing June or July) where they rid the need to "unlock_critical" and bootloaders that are newer than a certain point/month no longer needs that fastboot command to unlock the bootloader and everything else in order to flash custom anythings...
3) Okay, so here's a very tricky thing to this.... Technically, yes you can relock the bootloader as well as there have been many who have successfully done so; BUT there are so many more that have COMPLETELY and permanently bricked their device attempting to do so and most (if not all) the experts here would advise anyone to just leave well enough alone. But, if it is insisted and must be, the way to do it is to remove all Magisk modules (because, for whatever reason, these modules can survive a complete flashing of a Full Factory stock image), run a Full Factory image where the flash-all command is left intact (meaning “-w” is unedited; I’ll go more into this later), running it through the initial set up process, then (for good measure, this step might not be at all absolutely necessary) switch slots and run the flash-all command on the other slot, running the initial set up process again, then rebooting to Bootloader Mode and running the fastboot locking command, then unticking (if wished and insisted) unticking the OEM unlocking. Again, a word of warning, that so many have relocked the bootloader and unticked the OEM unlocking which allows the unlocking of the bootloader, then find that their device goes into a bootloop; and since they had just locked the bootloader in 2/all different ways, it leaves rescuing the device with all but the fewest options – usually because it’s forgotten in one way or another returning all of the device back to stock.
If anything, what has been said around these forums is that, if returning to Google, there hasn’t been an (proven) instance that Google refused to repair/replace it because it had its bootloader unlocked. But it’s usually for that fear or re-selling the device in which this is usually sought; but in most (if not all) cases (the experts here figure), having the bootloader unlocked would be refused or looked down upon.
4) So, most of what you assumed here is correct; but may be a bit misguided due to not knowing some things – which, of course, can be expected since you had just said you just moved to this device from a totally different manufacturer (Sony). If you are rooted (Magisk), there is absolutely no way you can update via the regular System Update from an OTA from within the Settings in the OS. And even having just an unlocked bootloader will cause OTAs to not work -- but there are conflicting reports stating differently, but I, personally, am under the understanding that even at that point you cannot.
But here’s the key thing; there really isn’t any reason to install updates by download and using OTAs anyways. Most (if not all) the experts here actually forego the OTAs and merely download the Full Factory stock images from Google’s Developers website and flash those. Here’s the reason; in the “olden days”, flashing a stock Full Factory image would erase absolutely everything and return the device to a complete factory state. But Google, in their “infinite wisdom”, allowed it to be possible to flash this but still withhold and save/keep all of one’s apps, settings, and data – essentially leaving both device data and userdata untouched! This is achieved by simply editing a batch file called “flash-all.bat” (or “flash-all.sh” for Linux and MacOS) and removing the 3 characters “-w” (3rd character would be a space “character”) from within its code. In this manner, OTAs can be considered a “dirty flash” because, while a Full Factory will completely overwrite (I could be wrong, but I believe it erases and formats it) the system, radio, bootloader, boot, etc., which would/should take care of any erroneous bugs or glitches, while OTA’s do not necessarily do this and just “modifies” the existing data; and therefore bugs and glitches may still remain being more on the root of things and/or OTAs would just modify “on top” or elsewhere where those glitches may reside.
And in either/both cases, one would still be required to reflash/reinstall everything root.
But, if insisted, there are multiple methods to achieve a state where you can run an OTA; either downloading an OTA image from Google and manually flashing it (“sideloading”), or unrooting temporarily to be able to use & download the regular System Updater (can be found HERE : https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/docs/tutorials.md#ota-installation under the “Devices with A/B Partitions” which is my preferred method if I was to do this sort of thing, but I have never done this so I’m unsure if it even is successful in our device). I even wrote out an in-depth and step-by-step guide, but it is rather convoluted and was written in the beginnings of our taimen and there are most likely more updated methods now; but if you want to check it out, you can HERE.
But, to answer your questions directly; No, flashing the stock image will not allow you to user the stock System Updater; although there are conflicting reports, I am under the impression that anything other than a locked bootloader will allow the stock System Updater to work.
5)More correctly, you boot into “Bootloader Mode” to be able to use the “fastboot” commands. And no, you do not need to permanently flash a custom recovery (TWRP), a custom kernel, or anything else to achieve root – although I do highly recommend it – as you can temporarily boot into TWRP (by downloading the TWRP image file (*.img) and install Magisk in that manner – I do not suggest you root/install Magisk using the app. Other people have had success, but many (most?) have issues that you wouldn’t run into if you installed it via TWRP – but here’s a key thing; no matter what you intend to flash and install, unless you need to have root for it to already be installed, you should always flash Magisk last. Moreso, as the great Az Biker of ‘round thes’ parts greatly suggests, you should even reboot to bootloader after each and every flash separately. Explanation is, for whatever reason and even though many claim to be able to “detect” and modify their flash for an already modified boot and dtbo (where modifications must happen for root access), most don’t play well with Magisk and Magisk must modify the boot and dtbo after all other modifications or else problems can arise (or at least it has for me).
Just keep these things in mind, but, for the most part, your “order” of things will do well enough. Again, just keep in mind that if you are going to install a custom recovery or kernel, try to do that before Magisk as well as if you can avoid it, don’t use the Magisk app to install or manually flash any boot.img if you can help it.
6)No, you don’t have to stick to a specific version; it might even be suggested to update it stock before doing anything. BUT (of course there is a caveat), consider this; many things (especially anything root and specifically TWRP) aren’t really “playing nice” with Android Q/10; so, if you update and go to the most up to date, but don’t wish to run into those glitches/bugs and wish to “hold off” (like I am, actually and for the same reasoning), then of course you should only go up to August (I believe that was the last before the upgrade to Q/10) Full Factory.
7) There are many great resources on the information on having the 2 different slots; I apologize if I can’t recall where I even saw them – other members (maybe an RC or Mod even) input a URL to read and I can’t for the life of me recall where it possibly could be. But, for the most part, you would really only run into identifying and manually changing to a specific one if you were attempting to rescue or deeply modify your device; I can say that me and the great @Az Biker have never felt the necessity to manually change or choose a certain, specific slot. And, my guess, is that, because the coding and flashing output when running the Full Factory states something about “system_other” or a “system_b”, but while the main system can be close to 3GB, the system_other is closer to 300MB, and that boot, dtbo, vendor, and something called lafb has a “_b” partition, I’m thinking it’s something as a safety or backup, maybe something like what used to be in old laptops a sort of RAM to help load things up faster. In any case, it seems that going from one to the other, a to b or vice-versa, doesn’t seem to be too key or much of a hassle, so….take that for what you will.
Alright…hopefully I was able to answer all your inquiries. And, if you have any more, please feel free to ask them…that’s what we’re all about here. And I know I can run on and get wordy, so thank you for bearing with me with all of this.
I mean, it’s really good to have a user/member who really does their research, reading, and due diligence before getting into their new device; there are so many instances here and in my own experience where the “…if I only knew that beforehand…” would be supremely helpful, and supremely easier on everyone else! So that’s to be commended and reinforced…!
Hope this helps and welcome to your Pixel and this taimen forum!

I really cannot thank you enough for your time. I truly appreciate it very much.
1) Very clear.
2) Do you happen to have a link or do you know how to check if my phone supports unlock_critical? How can I check if I have that newer bootloader? Or do you remember where did you learn this?
3) Thank you so much about that. Very clear aand you just saved my phone
4) Very clear.
5) Thank you for the info! Interesting, I was searching on how to root the device running Android 10 (I have fully updated and I really am not going back to Android 9 ), and I saw that you have to patch your boot.img with the Magisk app, and then flash it with fastboot. So first you get the factory image from google and you extract the boot.img and insert it to the phone. Then you load it into Magisk app and patch it. Then moving the patched to the PC, booting to bootloader and flash it on boot partition. This is the way I saw on how to get root working fine with Android 10, not sure if it is the best method or the worst.
6) What do you mean with "go up to August"? Do you mean that the "oldest" image I can flash is "9.0.0 (PQ3A.190801.002, Aug 2019)"? So one cannot go back to 8.0.0 and Google has done something to prevent us from doing that? Also, if I wanted to go back to that August image or any "compatible", the procedure is just to run the flash-all.bat file of that image?
I used to experement a lot with custom roms, custom kernels and mods with my Sony devices, but that was mainly because I wanted stock android and some more features. The thing is that I have almost anything I need with this device, with some minor wishes. So I can leave without flashing custom roms and kernels, but I wanted to just root and at least install Adaway(!!!!!! I cannot leave with those ads!!!!!!), Titanium Backup and some other similar root apps that don't really do any harm. Have you tried rooting Android 10 and it was unusable? Do you suggest that it is not really worth it? The thing is that I love Android 10, the gestures and all the features, and I could not go back to Android 9, even though I only used the phone for a week, I am used to it and really like the way it currently is.
7)Hmm okay so I should not really mess with that. Maybe as I saw online, when flashing stock or unrooting, it is best to flash the same thing to both a and b slots, seems a bit complicated but whatever
Thank you for being so helpful!!

arismelachrinos said:
I really cannot thank you enough for your time. I truly appreciate it very much.
1) Very clear.
2) Do you happen to have a link or do you know how to check if my phone supports unlock_critical? How can I check if I have that newer bootloader? Or do you remember where did you learn this?
3) Thank you so much about that. Very clear aand you just saved my phone
4) Very clear.
5) Thank you for the info! Interesting, I was searching on how to root the device running Android 10 (I have fully updated and I really am not going back to Android 9 ), and I saw that you have to patch your boot.img with the Magisk app, and then flash it with fastboot. So first you get the factory image from google and you extract the boot.img and insert it to the phone. Then you load it into Magisk app and patch it. Then moving the patched to the PC, booting to bootloader and flash it on boot partition. This is the way I saw on how to get root working fine with Android 10, not sure if it is the best method or the worst.
6) What do you mean with "go up to August"? Do you mean that the "oldest" image I can flash is "9.0.0 (PQ3A.190801.002, Aug 2019)"? So one cannot go back to 8.0.0 and Google has done something to prevent us from doing that? Also, if I wanted to go back to that August image or any "compatible", the procedure is just to run the flash-all.bat file of that image?
I used to experement a lot with custom roms, custom kernels and mods with my Sony devices, but that was mainly because I wanted stock android and some more features. The thing is that I have almost anything I need with this device, with some minor wishes. So I can leave without flashing custom roms and kernels, but I wanted to just root and at least install Adaway(!!!!!! I cannot leave with those ads!!!!!!), Titanium Backup and some other similar root apps that don't really do any harm. Have you tried rooting Android 10 and it was unusable? Do you suggest that it is not really worth it? The thing is that I love Android 10, the gestures and all the features, and I could not go back to Android 9, even though I only used the phone for a week, I am used to it and really like the way it currently is.
7)Hmm okay so I should not really mess with that. Maybe as I saw online, when flashing stock or unrooting, it is best to flash the same thing to both a and b slots, seems a bit complicated but whatever
Thank you for being so helpful!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s really my pleasure! And I’m just as thankful that you/anyone would even go through the trouble of reading all of that…!
1) Thank you for the compliment
2)Usually, if your bootloader version is within a certain version – which you can find when in bootloader mode – then you either do or do not need unlock_critical. I can’t remember how many months prior to Android 10/Q, it was within 6 I believe, so any bootloader version from 5 or 6 months ago to now, and obviously if you’re on 10/Q, you would not need to run the command unlock_critical. But, if anything, you don’t have to have any fear of it, whether you need to or not, or don’t know your bootloader version, running the “fastboot flashing unlock_critical” when you don’t need to will just amount to a simple error and nothing bad will happen. And if it does end up doing something, well, then that’s a good thing. It almost amounts to unlock_critical-ing twice, the second on will just state that it’s already unlocked and that’s it.
If anything, I believe I found the resource here from the great Az Biker: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78908055&postcount=2843
If you are very curious, it should address much of what you’re seeking and/or at least point you to where you might find that information.
3) You’re very welcome. It really is a good thing that saves you in the future, and saves those who try to help some grief as well.
4) Thank you for the compliment.
5) I would say that the process you described is certainly doable, but is far from the best/easiest. From my experience helping many here on this forum, many bugs or things go wrong when loading the stock boot.img to the phone, having Magisk modify it, then getting the modified boot.img and successfully flashing it. More often than not, one ends up having a device turn into a boot loop and are usually forced to flash the stock boot.img and have to give it a number of tries.
The best way (subjectively) is to download the Magisk installation .zip. Then boot into TWRP (which doesn’t mean you have to replace the stock recovery since you can temporarily boot into it), and “Install” it using the .zip. Then everything is automated and done for you, if anything goes wrong you have an output log you can use to troubleshoot, but it seems best to leave it to the experts who created all this than us manually attempting to ourselves.
Oh and AFAIK this method still works on Android 10/Q as it has for Pie and Oreo.
6) I meant that, if you did not wish to update to 10/Q, then you shouldn’t do anything newer than from August’s security update/patch, since all the Full Factory images and updates are of 10/Q. But, if you go to Google’s Developers site, you’ll see that they pretty much list and make available all the Full Factory images ever published; to the point that there are some that go back to Oreo!
And everything you’ve said is understandable. And I kinda feel the same way. For me, in my humble opinion, it is supremely good idea to root and for whatever issues you get doing that, the returns are incalculable. It is most definitely worth it/rooting! The extra options and customizations and modifications all make it worth while and more! And, even if rooting gives the capability of rendering the device rather unusable, take confidence in that Google, in all their “infinite wisdom”, gave us “Bootloader Mode”…and pretty much, as long as you can get into Bootloader Mode and successfully connect to a computer, your phone would never be considered too far lost/gone. I’ve only witnessed that be opposite on less than a handful of cases.
But, most importantly, and if you have been in the rooting and ROMing game, you should well know this, but the most vital part of having root access is the ability to make the best backups! So, as long as you make sure to backup (Nandroid is best) and key times, running into some pitfalls here and there shouldn’t take you all the way out of the game….
7) Yeah…I mean, it is rather fascinating, and when up against an issue and you have an idea that deals with it, that’s when you can read up and learn about it and experiment I imagine. But for me and one of the great ones here in all of XDA, we’ve done all the custom ROM, custom recovery, custom kernel, Full Factory recover, root, Magisk modules, theming, Xposed, and countless other things, and all without the need to ever mess with manually or forcing an assignment between the two.
Again, it’s my pleasure. And if you any further questions or thoughts, bring them on! I’d be happy to address them…
Hope these are helpful….

Thank you all very much! I am pretty busy these days so once I find some time I will do more research and root it.
@simplepinoi177
I am not sure if your paypal address works, I felt like buying you a coffee earlier, the least I could do with all the time you spent explaining

Oh forgot to ask some minor things,
to make a nandroid backup, I just send twrp.img via fastboot to the phone and boot into it and make it? And if I want to revert back I do the same and restore it?
Also if TWRP asks me the question about if I want to enable modification to the system, what do I answer? Either for the nandroid backup, the restore or for flashing magisk.zip? Do any of those require that enabled?
Lastly, I understood that just unlocking the bootloader alone can result in no OTAs. But, will I keep getting the security updates? I heared something about security updates that are frequently available from the playstore or something like that but I have the phone for less than a week and haven't gotten anything. No OTAs mean no security updates as well? Or they are irrelevant and I will keep getting those security updates once rooted?

arismelachrinos said:
Oh forgot to ask some minor things,
to make a nandroid backup, I just send twrp.img via fastboot to the phone and boot into it and make it? And if I want to revert back I do the same and restore it?
Also if TWRP asks me the question about if I want to enable modification to the system, what do I answer? Either for the nandroid backup, the restore or for flashing magisk.zip? Do any of those require that enabled?
Lastly, I understood that just unlocking the bootloader alone can result in no OTAs. But, will I keep getting the security updates? I heared something about security updates that are frequently available from the playstore or something like that but I have the phone for less than a week and haven't gotten anything. No OTAs mean no security updates as well? Or they are irrelevant and I will keep getting those security updates once rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, about booting TWRP...
You can temporarily boot into TWRP just the one time if you wish. If you are using the newest version of TWRP (for the Pixel 2), they actually give an option to flash and replace the recovery with TWRP from within their recovery environment; I'm guessing they use the temporarily booted twrp.img to install. In any case, you can find the option in the Install section. In any case, it's up to you whether you install it as your custom recovery, but it's easy enough to restore it back to stock recovery either by manually flashing the stock boot.img (and maybe dtbo.img for good measure, as I'm unsure...) and/or if you update your device via a Full Factory (or even a downloaded OTA) image, as that will update and replace the boot partition regardless...
So, about the alert for enabling modification to the system; In the past, I had always enabled it. Of course you would want to have r/w and mounting capabilities towards the device's system and data partitions. But keep this in mind...until the TWRP team updates the latest version, there is no write capabilities/permissions. It will pull up an error that it either can't mount or doesn't write -- For this reason, I'm holding off so I don't have firsthand experience... -- but installing and flashing and backing up from within TWRP does work even if it spits up some errors. What you should be careful about is if/when it asks to install it as a "system service" or something, as general consensus says at no circumstance should you do this as it "forks" up many other things while at it.
But, to answer your question directly, I'm unsure whether you can or cannot install Magisk root or restoring without enabling this "modification" capability, but I say it can't hurt.....
As for your inquiries on OTAs, as I understand it (so anyone please correct me if I'm wrong), but the monthly security updates come with the OTAs (also monthly, so I believe they may be one in the same). I'm unsure about the whole seeing the security updates on the Play Store or something like that, but I highly doubt that is the case. Conventional knowledge says that you can only get these either from the stock System Updater or if you download them yourself and either sideload or "flash-all" it. That's why many (most) experts will download the Full Factory image every month (usually first Monday of the month) and we have this whole step-by-step process in updating platform-tools, unregistering Magisk modules and screenlocks/fingerprints, running the flash-all, temporarily booting TWRP, installing all custom modifications (Magisk last), rebooting after each and every flash/install, then going back into the OS and resetting up the screenlock/fingerprints and Magisk modules. As it would be nice if we could simply and always use the stock System Updater, but in any case, one would need to re-install all the custom modifications anyways. So, it is one of the sacrifices/compromises having a rooted Pixel 2….
But it is peculiar that you haven’t gotten any alert (unless you inadvertently updated to the latest already), for it still should alert you that there is an update available, and usually, if you have unlocked your bootloader, while it’s downloading and attempting to install, it will throw up an error; but everything would look like normal up to that point. But, then again, Google notifying updates on their various devices are intermittent at best. It would be simpler and best if you just keep it in mind that there’s usually the monthly update on/after the first Monday of the month and do what we all do and have to manually install the updates to keep most up to date.
If there’s anything else, you know you can ask…
Good luck and hope this helps…!

I'm on 10 with an unlocked bootloader, 1st gen Pixel. I still get security updates. Twrp doesn't mount /system or /vendor, so I take system/vendor IMAGE backups with no issue. Not sure if I'll get updates still after unrooting. I've always flashed factory after rooting. Theoretically it should return to stock if you flash the Magisk uninstaller. The boot image (boot + recovery + base system) will be restored. You should then be able to get OTA updates. They will be installed to the OTHER slot, so if the phone fails to boot (3 times?) it will switch back to the first slot. If you have issues and want to go back, you can manually switch slots in fastboot or go into twrp, tap reboot, tap the other slot, then reboot system. It will show a message that the slot has changed. You can of course always check the active slot in fastboot to make sure. If you want to roll back an OTA update, reboot to twrp, change the active slot, then reboot system, and it should boot to the older version. Make sure to turn off automatic updates or else it will redownload the same update again. I believe I've lost twrp by installing an OTA update, which installs to the inactive slot, which overwrites recovery, and then boots to that slot. Meaning if you don't have a pc to switch slots in fastboot, you can't go back to the first slot which still has twrp. The command is fastboot set_active, something like that. Quick google search.. No pc means no restore if something goes wrong while you're away from a computer. The only way I know of to change slots at that point is to hard reset 3 times, which will trigger the phone to switch slots. ALWAYS reboot after flashing bootloader/radio. I'm decently sure that the bootloader has to match the system, so if you install lineage Pie, you need to flash the bootloader/radio from Pie or the phone won't boot. Flash bootloader, reboot, flash radio, reboot, flash matching rom. It is technically possible to have dual boot, where one slot is lineage and the other is stock, as long as they're the same Android versions. Lineage Pie/stock Pie for example, because the bootloader won't match if you flash Lineage Oreo/stock Pie. Keep in mind OTAs will overwrite twrp with stock recovery, so if you reboot, you might lose access to twrp, and I don't know of a way to OTA and reboot on the same slot. I don't know if there is an app or command for this, WHICH WOULD BE REALLY FREAKING NICE. Also, when restoring boot from twrp, I always reflash twrp to make sure. It will install to both slots. You can keep a copy of twrp on your data partition. To reflash twrp from within twrp, Install > Select Image > find twrp.img > flash to RAMDISK. If you flash to boot, it will overwrite system, and leave you with only twrp. When installing in older twrp's, I believe it will install to the same slot. With newer twrp's that specifically support Treble, it will flash to the other slot. Don't quote me on that. Due to the single data partition, there's a chance Lineage will have issues with stock data. I've never seen it though. I've dirty flashed a couple times with few issues. I think I've even dirty flashed different OS versions. If you get app crashes, open that app's info, delete its storage/cache, and reopen the app. Most of the app data is the same across versions anyway. The Pixel is a complete pain in the ass when coming from non Treble phones. Sorry if this is repeated info, the posts above are LONG lol. Hope this helps.
Edit- not sure if relevant to you, but I get bootloops when flashing twrp to the ramdisk. There should be an option in twrp to fix it. I always do this after flashing twrp this way.

OnePlus 7t root and TWRP recovery

So it's been awhile since I've had a phone I cared to get into installing root and custom stuff but I just bought a 7t and am trying to get it all working. I have the bootloader unlocked and the latest version of TWRP flashed but every time I'm in TWRP it shows up as 0mb and can't mount the storage. I tried "fastboot format userdata" in adb and it worked for one boot cycle but once I rebooted TWRP after that I was back to the 0mb and can't mount storage (I also still cannot format storage from TWRP before anyone tells me to try that) so what gives? What am missing?

You're missing the search functionality of the forum.
TWRP does not currently support reading data partition when encrypted by OOS. It does work, however, for custom ROMs, as long as you don't use a PIN, but a pattern. It also does not support formatting data partition, regardless of the ROM you're using.

morphvale said:
You're missing the search functionality of the forum.
TWRP does not currently support reading data partition when encrypted by OOS. It does work, however, for custom ROMs, as long as you don't use a PIN, but a pattern. It also does not support formatting data partition, regardless of the ROM you're using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's disappointing. So it sounds like there's really not too much point to it then. So I'm assuming there's a guide on how to install root and magisk via fastboot commands?

Again, you're missing the search functionality.
You can see it on the home page of the 7T, under ONEPLUS 7T GUIDES, NEWS, & DISCUSSION, third topic right now..

morphvale said:
Again, you're missing the search functionality.
You can see it on the home page of the 7T, under ONEPLUS 7T GUIDES, NEWS, & DISCUSSION, third topic right now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still leaving trouble using the search function to find what I want but I'll figure it out. So is it worth installing a custom rom on this phone or should I just try and root the phone on the stock OS? I'm very new to this phone and everything that goes along with it.

Justin541 said:
Still leaving trouble using the search function to find what I want but I'll figure it out. So is it worth installing a custom rom on this phone or should I just try and root the phone on the stock OS? I'm very new to this phone and everything that goes along with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Justin541 - If you need any help just PM me. Ill get you going.. As long as your bootloader is unlocked, the rooting process is easy. All you have to do is:
- Install magisk manager (here)
- Download a patched boot.img from here(try to find the boot.img that matches the build your on, all though it probably doesnt matter)
- Boot into bootloader (adb reboot bootloader) and BOOT(dont flash) the patched boot.img (fastboot boot patched_boot.img)
- When phone is booted, open up magisk manager and do a direct install. Booting the patched boot.img is what you gives you a temporary root to be able to install magisk.

[GUIDE][A10/A11] Flashing and booting GSI on Galaxy Tab S7+

Code:
/*
* Your warranty is now void.
*
* I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards,
* thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please
* do some research if you have any concerns about features included in this ROM
* before flashing it! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if
* you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you.
*/
This is tested on my SM-T976B, but I think the same should work on other models as well.
1. WARNING AND DISCLAIMER
Just unlocking the bootloader will not trip the warranty bit yet, so you can still go back at this point.
The warranty bit will be tripped (0x1) as soon as you actually try flashing something unofficial via Odin. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Make sure you back up all the important files in your internal storage, as you need to disable encryption with Multi-Disabler in order to let TWRP access the data partition, which would require you to format the data partition (wiping everything in the process). Additionally, keep a few nandroid backups with you so you can recover yourself in case something goes wrong.
2. Requirements
- Bootloader unlocked
- ianmacd's TWRP
- Neutralized vbmeta*
- (Optional**) vendor.img from Android 10 stock FW (I used ATK3, but any A10 vendor should do)
- Multi-Disabler
* An empty vbmeta is not recommended. You need to patch the vbmeta of the stock FW you're currently on.
** UPDATE (2022-08-29): It seems Magisk now works with recent A11 GSIs using A11 vendor, so there's no explicit need to flash A10 vendor in the following tutorial steps, unless you run into issues. Thanks to @AnonVendetta for testing and confirming. Using a more recent version of Magisk is recommended.
3. Flashing
Since this device uses dynamic partitions. Flashing system images is not as straightforward as before but not impossible.
azteria2000's GSI Flasher provided a good example on how to use dd/simg2img to flash dynamic partitions using just recovery. This is extremely helpful, as TWRP currently doesn't support fastbootd, which would make flashing even easier.
(1). Extracting Android 10 vendor.img (Optional, unless you have issues with your current vendor)
While you can boot recent GSIs with Android 11 vendor, Magisk currently doesn't work with it. Android 10 vendor is required for Magisk to work properly.
The Android 10 vendor can be extracted from the factory image's super.img. You need to unsparse the image using simg2img then use lpunpack to extract it, and you'll obtain the vendor.img.
(2). Flashing GSI and (Optional) Android 10 vendor.img
The entire flashing process can be done from TWRP.
NOTE 1 (UPDATE 2022-08-29): Flashing A10 vendor is no longer necessary now, unless you have issues.
NOTE 2: At present, Multi-Disabler expects /system_root to be mountable r/w, which cannot be done with a non-vndklite GSI. As such, if you're about to flash /vendor at this step, use a vndklite GSI, or if you're coming from stock, flash Multi-Disabler before actually flashing GSI (a reboot is needed after flashing /vendor to make it accessible).
The corresponding block devices for system and vendor are as follows:
Code:
/dev/block/dm-0 - system
/dev/block/dm-1 - vendor
First set the block devices to r/w so you can flash images.
Code:
# blockdev --setrw /dev/block/dm-0
# blockdev --setrw /dev/block/dm-1
Now actually flash the images with dd. Change the "if" parts to point to where the GSI system image and Android 10 vendor image are.
Code:
# dd if=<GSI image here> of=/dev/block/dm-0 bs=1m
# dd if=<vendor image here> of=/dev/block/dm-1 bs=1m
In rare cases that the GSI image you're about to flash is sparsed, run the following command instead of dd. You need to point to your sparsed GSI image here.
The vendor.img you obtain from super.img is not sparsed and can be flashed directly using the dd command above.
Code:
# simg2img <sparsed GSI image here> /dev/block/dm-0
If nothing goes wrong, you've flashed the GSI as well as Android 10 vendor.
Android 10 vendor flashed this way will work even if you have upgraded past BUC1 (which blocked the downgrade to Android 10).
It's advised to reboot recovery before trying to access system and vendor, to avoid potential issues.
NOTE: If you flashed vendor in this step, DO NOT REBOOT TO SYSTEM JUST YET.
(3). Flashing Multi-Disabler
You need to flash Multi-Disabler to disable encryption of internal storage so TWRP could access it.
If you flashed the vendor.img when flashing GSI, you MUST flash Multi-Disabler again if you have already disabled encryption with it before.
After flashing Multi-Disabler, you can now try booting to see if the GSI of your choice works.
4. Important Notes
(1). Neutralizing Software (Platform) Watchdog
There's a software (platform) watchdog that by default doesn't get fed while running GSI, causing system to reboot about 100 seconds after boot due to "platform watchdog bite". See this issue and this issue for details.
It's possible to disable this watchdog after boot, by executing the following command using a root shell.
Code:
# echo 'V' > /dev/watchdog
You need to look for a way to execute the command above at boot to automatically disable the problematic watchdog so the GSI can function normally. There are several ways to do this, like putting the command into a Magisk module's service.sh so it gets executed when the Magisk module loads.
EDIT: I've filed an issue regarding the matter here. After some testing, it seems /dev/watchdog0 is the real culprit for our device. Disabling either /dev/watchdog or /dev/watchdog0 will work this around.
UPDATE (2021-09-11): I can confirm that DragKernel is not affected by this issue. The offending watchdog is not present and the system won't reboot after 100 seconds.
UPDATE (2022-08-29): The watchdog is mainly an issue if you use A10 vendor. You may not have issues with that watchdog if using A11 vendor but it's still recommended to get it disabled.
(2). Uncertified Device
Since phh-AOSP v303 and onwards, the device is considered uncertified which will prevent you from logging in to your Google account.
Manually registering the device is required for using Google Play Services, but for some reasons that didn't work for me, so I recommend using NanoDroid with microG if applicable (requires Magisk).
(3). Offline Charging Icon
With some GSIs, when powered off, plugging in the charger would make the tablet enter a screen with a white charging battery icon in the middle, that I couldn't easily get out of by pressing POWER button alone. Although I did manage to get out of that screen and boot to the system, I don't really know which button combination is required, and how long I should be holding them. So for now, charging while powered off is not advised...
(4). Potential soft bricks with Securize
UPDATE (2022-08-29): Should have pointed this out earlier that if you attempt to Securize on official phh-AOSP, the device will softbrick. Additionally, merely removing phh-SU is enough to cause the softbrick (thanks to AnonVendetta again for confirming).
While the cause is uncertain, it's quite likely that the tablet cannot work if not using any form of root (be it phh-SU or Magisk) due to Samsung's security mechanisms getting in the way.
5. Working Stuffs
- 120 fps working (by forcing FPS using Phh-Treble Settings).
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work fine.
- S-Pen works as a pointer device.
- Alternate Audio Policies (from Phh-Treble Settings) is needed to get audio out through USB Type-C.
- Front and rear camera appears working.
6. Not Working Stuffs
- MTP does not appear to work properly for some reasons. You'll need ADB for transferring files.
- USB Type-C audio adapters may or may not work depending on GSI, Kernel or maybe other aspects.
- Bluetooth audio currently has issues that cause the system to freeze.
7. Untested Stuffs
- Haven't tested telephony-related stuffs as I'm not using a SIM card on the tablet yet.
- Haven't tested fingerprint sensors as I'm not using it.
There are still some functionalities I haven't tested yet, but anyone is free to test if you want to use a GSI.
Special thanks to: ianmacd, phhusson, Bushcat, Vntnox, azteria2000, dron39 and many more...
Original GSI progress issue: here

I finally got this working on my SM-T970. Though I had some troubles getting it working by following your instructions exactly, it would still boot loop even after neutralizing vbmeta.img (perhaps I changed the wrong offset?). Though for some reason flashing magisk made it boot perfectly? I assume Magisk disables AVB entirely or something. Thank you for this guide, may this tablet live a long life thanks to treble!

sambow23 said:
I finally got this working on my SM-T970. Though I had some troubles getting it working by following your instructions exactly, it would still boot loop even after neutralizing vbmeta.img (perhaps I changed the wrong offset?). Though for some reason flashing magisk made it boot perfectly? I assume Magisk disables AVB entirely or something. Thank you for this guide, may this tablet live a long life thanks to treble!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also got SM-T970 please help me to get back to android 10... Most of the game which play crashes in the middle for android 11 ... Can you please help me to do what you did ... i am new to this custom ROMs and flashing so help me..

As I know, you can't. All android 10 bootloaders are XXU1 - if you upgraded to XXU2 then nothing can be done.

ivanox1972 said:
As I know, you can't. All android 10 bootloaders are XXU1 - if you upgraded to XXU2 then nothing can be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, didn't notice there were new posts in my actual thread...
While you certainly can't flash XXU1 firmware via Odin once you upgraded to XXU2, you can follow the instructions to use dd in TWRP to flash the logical partitions. This is how I used to flash vendor image extracted from Android 10 FW, as due to SELinux policy issues, Android 11 vendor does not work well with GSIs on Samsung Qualcomm devices in general. Magisk won't work, and the tablet would semi-brick if you attempt to use Securize from Phh-Treble settings.
While I mostly use Android 11 GSIs, the same should work with Android 10 GSIs of your choice, but I haven't tested, as most A10 GSIs are no longer maintained. GSI image of your choice (/system) and A10 vendor (/vendor) are all you need, as GSIs do not care about /odm and /product so it's safe to leave them as-is.
A WARNING: I DO NOT recommend flashing A10 stock FW using this method as you're literally violating the rollback protection which has the risk of causing A HARD BRICK!!! Similar cases have happened on other devices of other vendors before.
ONE MORE WARNING: Due to the ongoing case of Samsung disabling cameras on Z Fold 3, I seriously advise against upgrading the device any further, especially in case a XXU3 firmware comes out in the future, as there are potential signs that such crippling behavior might spread to existing devices.

@LSS4181 thanks dor for deep explanation, but I'm afraid my level is not high enough to understand all of this. I am also tempted to try gsi but not want to risk lot...
So, can it be installed over stock android 11, new bootloader XXU2?
Thanks

ivanox1972 said:
@LSS4181 thanks dor for deep explanation, but I'm afraid my level is not high enough to understand all of this. I am also tempted to try gsi but not want to risk lot...
So, can it be installed over stock android 11, new bootloader XXU2?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't guarantee A10 GSI will work on such environment, but GSIs probably won't have issues with rollback protections. It's just stock ROM might have something that would do dirty stuffs in case such violation happens so I personally would not recommend such use case.
However, A11 GSIs will certainly work fine, just that with A10 vendor you need to use DragKernel as the stock one has a watchdog that'll reboot the system after 100 seconds.

@LSS4181 - thank you for the guide, I've had a T970 for nearly 1 year now, always wanted to run a custom rom on it!
I've tried your guide twice now, but it results in failures for me.
I've unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP (twrp-gts7xl-3.5.0_10-A11_3_ianmacd.img), running ATK3.
Not sure if TWRP for Android 11 and ATK3 being Android 10 makes a difference?
I extracted a vbmeta.img.lz4 from the ATK3 pack online, decompressed it to get the vbmeta.img, and wrote 0x03 to decimal offset 123.
(Tried to follow the instructions exactly)
I think it's the flashing/dd part.
After I dd the gsi img to dm-0, I can not reflash the multidisabler anymore. It tells me something like:
"Failed to mount '/system_root' (Invalid argument)"
Then, I can't even mount 'system' in TWRP, the checkbox is unselectable.
To get back to a working state, I have reflashed the stock rom (ATK3).
The GSI I tried to use was: system-roar-arm64-ab-vanilla.img.xz - from AOSP 11.0 v313
Is this the correct version to use (A, A/B etc?)
And how can I tell if the image file is sparsed or not?
Any input is appreciated, thank you!

zxczxc4 said:
@LSS4181 - thank you for the guide, I've had a T970 for nearly 1 year now, always wanted to run a custom rom on it!
I've tried your guide twice now, but it results in failures for me.
I've unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP (twrp-gts7xl-3.5.0_10-A11_3_ianmacd.img), running ATK3.
Not sure if TWRP for Android 11 and ATK3 being Android 10 makes a difference?
I extracted a vbmeta.img.lz4 from the ATK3 pack online, decompressed it to get the vbmeta.img, and wrote 0x03 to decimal offset 123.
(Tried to follow the instructions exactly)
I think it's the flashing/dd part.
After I dd the gsi img to dm-0, I can not reflash the multidisabler anymore. It tells me something like:
"Failed to mount '/system_root' (Invalid argument)"
Then, I can't even mount 'system' in TWRP, the checkbox is unselectable.
To get back to a working state, I have reflashed the stock rom (ATK3).
The GSI I tried to use was: system-roar-arm64-ab-vanilla.img.xz - from AOSP 11.0 v313
Is this the correct version to use (A, A/B etc?)
And how can I tell if the image file is sparsed or not?
Any input is appreciated, thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh... I should have mentioned earlier. Multi-Disabler expects /system_root to be mountable r/w, which cannot be done with a non-vndklite GSI.
As such, to disable encryption, you'll initially need to flash a vndklite GSI, or simply just do that before you actually flash the GSI (stock ROM can be mounted r/w). As Multi-Disabler is only needed once per /vendor flash, you'll be able to use non-vndklite GSI afterwards.
EDIT: If you are experienced in modifying recovery zips, you can edit the Multi-Disabler install script and comment out the parts actually involving /system or /system_root.
EDIT 2: I just realized this... I recall that phh AOSP GSI is sparsed. You need to use simg2img command instead of dd to flash it.

@LSS4181 - thank you for the reply.
I am not sure if the images I was trying to us were sparsed or not.
Since you mentioned vndklite images, I tried those - `simg2img` told me that the hash/magic was not valid, so at least these ones are not sparsed.
But good idea to attempt to use `simg2img` if you are not sure about an image, it doesn't hurt to try.
I flashed phh's v313 ab vndklite image, my device was stuck on the samsung boot screen for about 10 minutes (the screen with "your device is unlocked" etc...) I then held some buttons to force reboot/power down. I powered back on and I finally saw the rom booting.
Vanilla AOSP was a bit boring, so flashed LOS 18.x (vndklite again) and that is great. Dark mode can be made BLACK which I really appreciate.
No issues with the watchdog/no reboot after 100 seconds.
I did try to install microg... tried to install (adb push) to /system/priv-data but must have done something wrong.
It gave me bootloops, tried to reflash the gsi twice but didn't seem to change anything...
I ended up reflashing stock again, repeated the whole process (apart from microg!) and my system is up working again.
I should go and ask on the lineage os gsi thread for advice about microg.
Thanks again for the guide.

zxczxc4 said:
@LSS4181 - thank you for the reply.
I am not sure if the images I was trying to us were sparsed or not.
Since you mentioned vndklite images, I tried those - `simg2img` told me that the hash/magic was not valid, so at least these ones are not sparsed.
But good idea to attempt to use `simg2img` if you are not sure about an image, it doesn't hurt to try.
I flashed phh's v313 ab vndklite image, my device was stuck on the samsung boot screen for about 10 minutes (the screen with "your device is unlocked" etc...) I then held some buttons to force reboot/power down. I powered back on and I finally saw the rom booting.
Vanilla AOSP was a bit boring, so flashed LOS 18.x (vndklite again) and that is great. Dark mode can be made BLACK which I really appreciate.
No issues with the watchdog/no reboot after 100 seconds.
I did try to install microg... tried to install (adb push) to /system/priv-data but must have done something wrong.
It gave me bootloops, tried to reflash the gsi twice but didn't seem to change anything...
I ended up reflashing stock again, repeated the whole process (apart from microg!) and my system is up working again.
I should go and ask on the lineage os gsi thread for advice about microg.
Thanks again for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always flash magisk and use the microg module, works perfectly for me

sambow23 said:
You could always flash magisk and use the microg module, works perfectly for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I ended up doing.
Originally I wanted to avoid the 'newer' style, using Magisk etc, it seems more complicated than just using a rom that is already rooted. For my use case of this device, I don't care about safetynet etc, don't care about keeping system untouched etc.
BUT! Flashing Magisk was so easy, no need to patch any images... I simply flashed the latest version of the Magisk apk via TWRP.
On restart, Magisk app wanted to finish the install itself... but failed? So I simply installed the same apk myself, and it's been working perfectly

Thank you @LSS4181 for the exquisitely detailed instructions! I think have enough experience with this stuff to be succesful, but have not yet bought this tablet to try it (currently using a rooted, debloated S6).
Questions:
Which vendor does it ship with? ATK3? I wouldn't do any upgrades when I got it, but would immediately start flashing.
Has anyone succesfully used XPrivacyLua (XPL) on this? I currently use XPL Pro, and I know that it depends on a working EdXposed (or Lsposed, which I've never used) which requires a working Magisk. From reading this thread, the Magisk part seems Okay, but what about Ed/L Xposed?
Thanks again.

TiTiB said:
Thank you @LSS4181 for the exquisitely detailed instructions! I think have enough experience with this stuff to be succesful, but have not yet bought this tablet to try it (currently using a rooted, debloated S6).
Questions:
Which vendor does it ship with? ATK3? I wouldn't do any upgrades when I got it, but would immediately start flashing.
Has anyone succesfully used XPrivacyLua (XPL) on this? I currently use XPL Pro, and I know that it depends on a working EdXposed (or Lsposed, which I've never used) which requires a working Magisk. From reading this thread, the Magisk part seems Okay, but what about Ed/L Xposed?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XPrivacyLua/LSPosed does work, I'm able to pass safetynet thanks to it

TiTiB said:
Thank you @LSS4181 for the exquisitely detailed instructions! I think have enough experience with this stuff to be succesful, but have not yet bought this tablet to try it (currently using a rooted, debloated S6).
Questions:
Which vendor does it ship with? ATK3? I wouldn't do any upgrades when I got it, but would immediately start flashing.
Has anyone succesfully used XPrivacyLua (XPL) on this? I currently use XPL Pro, and I know that it depends on a working EdXposed (or Lsposed, which I've never used) which requires a working Magisk. From reading this thread, the Magisk part seems Okay, but what about Ed/L Xposed?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my tablet early so it was on an earlier version than ATK3.
If your device ships with BUBB or before, you should be able to downgrade directly if you know how to use Odin.
Flashing ATK3 (or earlier) vendor via dd from TWRP is only needed if your device is on BUC1 or later, as from that version onwards SW REV has been incremented so you can't downgrade via Odin anymore.

sambow23 said:
XPrivacyLua/LSPosed does work, I'm able to pass safetynet thanks to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which Xposed are you using? I'm not very familiar with Lsposed.

Thanks ag
LSS4181 said:
I got my tablet early so it was on an earlier version than ATK3.
If your device ships with BUBB or before, you should be able to downgrade directly if you know how to use Odin.
Flashing ATK3 (or earlier) vendor via dd from TWRP is only needed if your device is on BUC1 or later, as from that version onwards SW REV has been incremented so you can't downgrade via Odin anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for the detailed response. The info you've shared gives me confidence. Now I just need to convince myself that I 'need' to buy it.

@LSS4181: I've been running the stock Android 11 firmware since I bought the Tab S7+ SM-T970, about halfway into this year. Mine shipped with a version 2 bootloader, so there is no possibility of running stock 10 for me.
Then I saw your note about Bluetooth earbuds not working. This would be a big deal for me on a GSI. I don't want to use a USB C headphone jack adapter, since it would prevent charging while using them. And it would wear out the charging port by constantly inserting/removing.
What BT earbuds do you use? Does it happen on all GSIs that you've tried? I saw your recent issue on GitHub, and noticed that no one else has commented.
GApps is another big deal for me, a must have. I used to use MicroG on my daily driver devices, but stopped using it about a year ago due to issues that I was unable to find solutions for.
Can you elaborate a bit more on how to modify vbmeta and what to change? I'm not particularly skilled with the usage of hex editors, so not sure how to proceed here or what to edit.
I know there will probably be issues inherent to running to a GSI, but I'd like to change things up a bit and experiment. If I don't like what I see, I can always return to stock rooted. I'm not a big fan of stock firmwares, but so far it has been very stable for me. However, if I can get a custom ROM like AOSP, RR, LOS, etc running reliably, then I'd definitely switch. There are no features on stock besides Dex and Secure Folder, that are compelling enough to me me stay on it.

AnonVendetta said:
@LSS4181: I've been running the stock Android 11 firmware since I bought the Tab S7+ SM-T970, about halfway into this year. Mine shipped with a version 2 bootloader, so there is no possibility of running stock 10 for me.
Then I saw your note about Bluetooth earbuds not working. This would be a big deal for me on a GSI. I don't want to use a USB C headphone jack adapter, since it would prevent charging while using them. And it would wear out the charging port by constantly inserting/removing.
What BT earbuds do you use? Does it happen on all GSIs that you've tried? I saw your recent issue on GitHub, and noticed that no one else has commented.
GApps is another big deal for me, a must have. I used to use MicroG on my daily driver devices, but stopped using it about a year ago due to issues that I was unable to find solutions for.
Can you elaborate a bit more on how to modify vbmeta and what to change? I'm not particularly skilled with the usage of hex editors, so not sure how to proceed here or what to edit.
I know there will probably be issues inherent to running to a GSI, but I'd like to change things up a bit and experiment. If I don't like what I see, I can always return to stock rooted. I'm not a big fan of stock firmwares, but so far it has been very stable for me. However, if I can get a custom ROM like AOSP, RR, LOS, etc running reliably, then I'd definitely switch. There are no features on stock besides Dex and Secure Folder, that are compelling enough to me me stay on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sambow23 said:
Bluetooth audio works if you disable the a2dp hardware offload in the phh treble app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know if audio issues might be caused by using a different kernel (as I've switched to using DragKernel for this tablet). I don't recommend using stock kernel, though, due to a nasty 100-second watchdog that you need to manually disable after system startup (DragKernel has that removed from config).
I recall it's now possible to patch vbmeta using Magisk now. Simply provide the vbmeta of your FW version to Magisk and it'll patch it for you. I haven't tried, though, as I always do this by hand with a hex editor (it's just to change a single byte, which the recent Magisk versions would do).
Back then I couldn't get the device certified so I switched to microG which is working well. I recommend using NanoDroid as it comes with a modded Play Store which allows you to purchase apps as well as IAPs. The modded Play Store still works, despite being quite dated.
I don't really have anything blocking me from using microG now. If you need real GApps and know about the workflow for uncertified devices, you may try flashing a bgN flavor GSI as opposed to bvN (g means the GSI ships with GApps).

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