ROM newbie here, but I wanted to know how the pros figure out which ROMs they can safely install.
Over on the development board, I see all sorts of references to hard bricking phones as a result of installing the wrong ROM.
I'd really like to update my rooted/gingerblur'd (I believe, how can I check?) phone to Gingerbread.
Thanks for any tips y'all can give me!
Start here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1154600
For the rom safety installs ... just read the all information about the rom and understand what you need to have and if it fits to your phone.
Its rare a rom bricks a phone. Hard brick that is. Its the pre rom stuff required that's gets people into trouble. Soft bricks usually have an easy escape route. Its the panic and the omg I bricked my phone because I didn't read the instructions threads that confuses people.
Sent from the coolest voided warranty phone ever.
the only way you'll hard brick a phone is if you use RSDlite to flash an SBF file.
Specifically, if you did the OTA gingerbread upgrade, then flash a pre-gingerbread SBF.
If you do everything through clockwork recovery, then you'll be able to recover in one way or another.
Have you unlocked your bootloader? If not I recommend doing so, check the pudding thread, unfortunately this does involve using an SBF file (no other way I believe?). But thats just once, after you unlock, flash recovery via moto-fastboot, then do everything through moto-fastboot or recovery, 0% chance of bricking. After you unlock your bootloader its pretty straightforwards.
Roms don't usually brick phones. Most ppl tend to brick by messing up on rooting/unlocking.
I used the Automatic Root/Unlocker/CWM installer (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871) to do the setup and it all went fine.
Related
I am reviewing PUDDING information to unlock the bootloader and I have some concerns.
PUDDING Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1136261
1. This guide posted in PUDDING says your phone must register as NS Flash Olympus and mine is registering (now) as SE Flash Olympus. Why is that? My phone "used" to register as NS Flash Olympus but no longer does and I am concern with any "issues" that may arise in RSD Lite due to that discrepancy.
Is there any way to get my phone to register back as NS Flash Olympus? Does it matter?
Guide: http://briefmobile.com/how-to-unlock-the-atrix-4g-bootloader
2. I see this post regarding my situation from OTA Gingerbread (official, not the beta that was easily unlocked via the guide) to unlocking the Bootloader via PUDDING:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15953305&postcount=362
While it seems that people are getting by this fine, with my first issue I am skeptical and I also saw this thread that made me a bit more weary of the situation and hard bricking:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1165154
Is this something I should be concerned or worried about? The only note in that thread that concerned me was "If you managed to un-brick:" section.
System Version: 4.5.91.MB860.ATT.en.US
Android Version: 2.3.4
Rooted: No
Please, save yourself time. If you just plan on being rude, flaming, etc...I don't care. I am just attempting to ensure I don't hard brick and the guides do not match exact specs in my situation. If I had a "fraction" of the time available to investigate, work, test, etc I wouldn't be here.
I used this on the official OTA and it worked perfectly: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
I had the soft brick error as was to be expected, but just put the phone in fastboot mode and chose option 3 to fix it.
It did reset /data for me unfortunately, so I had to re-setup and reinstall my apps.
jkrohn said:
I used this on the official OTA and it worked perfectly: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
I had the soft brick error as was to be expected, but just put the phone in fastboot mode and chose option 3 to fix it.
It did reset /data for me unfortunately, so I had to re-setup and reinstall my apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you share the same problem as my concern #1?
Never even checked to be honest. I had used RSD to flash a few SBFs in the past though for this atrix, so I was not concerned.
Well, in short...I just used the method you posted above -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16520624&postcount=2
Worked just fine. No brick, safe and sound... I really do appreciate the extra info I somehow missed looking around for.
That's it! You just made me realize my problem. After my official update back to stock my phone comes up se flash not nf flash and it does not allow rsdlite or the moto software upgrade to see my phone when connected to pc hence I am unable to unlock again. Please post back if unlock is successful. I am betting its not while coming up se flash but maybe I am wrong.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
I bricked one Atrix already a few weeks ago, and have since gotten another...(don't wanna think about it)..
I had toyed with unlocking it, and 'rooted' using the gingerbreak method. I was then, bored, one day and installed CWM paid version(Since I had it on my Nexus One, and it popped up under 'my apps'). Out of curiosity I installed the bootloader via CWM, thinking it would fail before it broke anything..wrong.. It froze after a reboot, but after taking the battery out and back in came back up. Didn't think any more about it, and figured i'd finish the unlocking/flashing part some other time..
Meanwhile the annoying pending system update kept going off, and I inadvertently clicked download... it downloaded, so I figured might as well install and not worry about roms since with root I was able to use the google adhoc wifi apk, which is what I care about most. The install was stuck in an infinite loop. It would 'fail to load RSD', if you took the battery out it boot to android then reboot automatically for system update over and over. I tried using the RSD lite program at this point to flash back to stock rom, and ended up hard bricked...
So, forgive me for being a complete noob as I never had an issue with my nexus one. I am at 4.1.83, android 2.2.2. and baseband 1.7.15.. Which of the many tutorials and post should I follow? How safe are they? Did I brick because I had a partial 2.3.x install, and flashed back to a pre 2.3 base? I've read many post, but definitely a bit gun shy of bricking another Atrix. The phone keeps bugging me to update, and I keep hitting 'cancel'.
I'd like to unlock the boot loader for custom roms.
I'm also a heavy linux user, majority of tutorials seem to only imply windows with RSD lite? can this not be done with adb, and fastboot via linux?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1154600
I would personally go HERE Read through the entire post, then read it again. And go with the ATT 2.3.4 pudding+root
That of course is after reading and re-reading THIS post! (also linked in the post above mine.
Just my opinion.. and make sure you read and nkow what to expect!
xploited said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1154600
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That references 4.5.91 and unless I missed it, doesn't explicitly state it's backwards compatible with 4.1.83 and 2.2.2. is it?
Should I update first, to be at those levels and just know not to flash to an earlier build(pre 2.3.4/4.5.91)?
jmorgan6 said:
That references 4.5.91 and unless I missed it, doesn't explicitly state it's backwards compatible with 4.1.83 and 2.2.2. is it?
Should I update first, to be at those levels and just know not to flash to an earlier build(pre 2.3.4/4.5.91)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, don't update. It's safer to unlock BL while you are still at 4.1.83, you just need to download the correct unlock file from the pudding thread.
Otherwise the unlocking steps are exactly the same.
The easiest steps to unlocking are here:
http://briefmobile.com/how-to-unlock-the-atrix-4g-bootloader
From there you can flash CWM in one minute.
From there you can flash any rom via CWM in two minutes.
Good luck and don't do anything stupid.
Hey,
I was on CM7, then I flashed Stock Gingerbread using CWM (Fruitcake, I think), I want to remove root and the "unlocked" sign when booting. I was searching this forum (and the rest of the internet ) for a couple of days and didn't find a solution. Either the links are dead or there is a person threating with hard brick. Does anyone know how to do this safely and has necessary files, please? Thank you in advance.
Wait, what exactly do you want to do?
If you want to just remove the text while the BL and everything else remains unlocked... That is impossible, you cannot do that.
If you want to re-lock your BL... well, that would probably be the only time (apart from when unlocking the BL) when you should reach for a SBF. There is no other known way to re-lock the BL.
Yep, I need to re-lock the BL, to get the phone to factory state (I know it won't actually re-lock the BL, just the sign will disappear). But I didn't find any usable SBF's, everybody is writing about hardbrick or the links are down. I found a couple of US ATT SBF's , but really don't know which one to use, I really don't want to brick my phone
Okay, I found this site with SBF's:
http://www.filefactory.com/f/89f588286a560e39/
I guess this one SHOULD put my phone back to factory state without root access and unlocked sign. Does anyone know, if it's safe? And if it's the only file I need to flash. Thanks
All the SBFs were removed here because they are too dangerous. For that same reason, you won't find many people here who will be willing to help you with them, not even say "yes, this one is good" or "no, don't use this one". It's just too dangerous and nobody wants to take responsibility for other people's phones like that. Not to mention, you failed to give any relevant information on your phone, so even if someone wanted to help, they can't.
What information do you have on mind?
Currently I'm running rooted unlocked stock gingerbread 2.3.4 (System version: 45.31.20.MB860.NonEFIGSRetail.en.EU, Build number: 4.5.2A-74_OLE-31.20).
If flashing SBF is dangerous, is there any method to get back to factory state?
Yes, that would be the information needed.
Flashing a SBF is the only known way to remove the "Unlocked" text while booting; however you will still find very little support here for doing that - like I said, it is too dangerous, things can go wrong too easily.
You can flash a fruitcake to return the system to stock, but the "Unlocked" text will remain.
That's what I was afraid of So no one will tell me: "Yes, with your configuration you can flash this and you'll be fine."
Nevermind, I will send for repair like this (problem with touchscreen - fantom touches, quite common hardware problem on atrixes) and in the worst case I´ll just pay for the repair.
Anyways, thank you for help, I really appreciate it! :good:
People have been known to just flash over the stock firmware and send it in and be fine. A lot of service centers don't really care about the unlocked BL or even a custom recovery.
i think he can remove unlocked sign with flashing motorola logo. if i remember corectly
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app
Nope.
Hey all. I am actually from the Samsung Galaxy W community and since I'm gonna get the Atrix from my mom soon, I thought I should get a little heads up on how to root it and all. However, the guides here (no offense) freaked me out cuz they had lots of warnings and since the phone I use now is really simple to root (flash update.zip and you're rooted), I realised that rooting the Atrix isn't as easy as rooting the W. Thus I consulted my best friend, Google. He gave me this link: http://www.android-advice.com/2012/root-the-motorola-atrix-4g-running-4-5-141/
Is this the proper way to root? If so, then what do I do next? Because my motive for this phone is to install a custom recovery (ClockworkMod if possible) and (50% chance) stop it right there... I will really appreciate all the help I can get. Thank you, Atrix community.
---EDIT---
I got the method of installing the recovery. Now I just need you guys to verify if that is the proper way.
This looks like the well-known preinstall method. Yes, this is the most common (and IMO the most reliable) way to root the Atrix.
However, a common misconception when it comes to the Atrix is that you need root to get custom recovery. Those two probably couldn't be farther apart - one has nothing to do with the other. You not only don't need root to get custom recovery, it is in fact completely irrelevant because it operates on a much lower level. Instead, you need to unlock the bootloader (because fastboot is implemented in the bootloader, and because you need fastboot that isn't locked down), and then you simply flash your custom recovery via fastboot.
Now here's the problem. First, unlocking the bootloader is by far the most risky step of all. To do that you need to flash a piece of code (the unlocked bootloader, also known as pudding) in the most sensitive part of the phone. You screw this up and you got yourself a brick. Second, when you finally do unlock the bootloader, sometimes you'll be left in an unbootable state (the infamous Failed to boot XXX error). No worries, there's a fix for that too (it is called a softbrick btw). Point is, in that case you cannot just install the custom recovery and then "stop there", you'll need to install an OS too. If you prefer to stick to stock firmware, you should go with so-called fruitcakes, which is just stock firmware prepared to be flashed through custom recovery.
Nothing much to worry about though, everything is explained in detail here. You don't need to google or search in other places, everything you need is right here on XDA (in fact it is probably preferred that you stay within XDA instead of trying to follow random procedures from random places). I suggest you start with some basic noob stuff like this and this. (Some of the stuff in there is somewhat outdated, take any version info mentioned with a grain of salt.)
One big point. You will inevitably come across "SBFs" and advices to flash them. SBFs are inherently dangerous because they contain full complete systems (bootloader, radio, pds, and all the other very sensitive parts of the system), and they are flashed without any error checking, so it's very easy to brick (also known as hardbrick) your phone if you don't know exactly what you're doing. (That is also why all SBFs have been removed from XDA.) Unlocking the bootloader is the only time you should ever be dealing with a SBF, it should be avoided any other time if at all possible.
What I want to do is to get root and at the same time, get a custom recovery. Which means, I want to stick to stock ROM (again 50% chance of sticking to it). And that exactly what I meant by scary warnings... I have no idea what SBFs are (are they like .zip files that Galaxy W users use to flash files?). Anyway, the PUDDING thread was really, and I mean really, scary. Considering the fact that if I screw this phone, my mom will make me own the Galaxy W again...
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy W (GT-I8150) with CM9 RC 6
Yes, it can be scary, and for a reason. It is not for the faint hearted, although it goes without a hitch at least 95% of the time. The idea is that you get familiar with the process until the point where you feel comfortable with doing it.
SBFs are nothing like flashable ZIPs (well, except that both are used to flash stuff onto a device). Fruitcakes and custom ROMs come in flashable ZIPs. SBF stands for "single binary file" and is a proprietary Motorola file. It is created and signed by Motorola. Other than the pudding SBF which is the hacked unlocked bootloader, not much is known about them really, except that in some cases they can easily brick a device if misused.
There's another thing. If your atrix is too new, you might have a newer, non-unlockable bootloader. In that case all you can do is root the phone, no way to get custom recovery on it. Good news is, trying to unlock a non-unlockable BL won't do any harm, it just won't work.
If your goal is to have a custom recovery and root, I suggest you first deal with the recovery and then do the rooting. If you end up having to flash a fruitcake, by doing so you might get root anyway, depending on the fruitcake you choose (some are completely untouched, meaning no root, while some are completely stock but also rooted).
There is also an automated unlock method which you can try if you want. It should be slightly less scary to deal with. Personally, I dislike automated anything, I prefer to do the whole process myself (that way I also learn a bunch of stuff in the process), but to each their own.
ravilov said:
Yes, it can be scary, and for a reason. It is not for the faint hearted, although it goes without a hitch at least 95% of the time. The idea is that you get familiar with the process until the point where you feel comfortable with doing it.
SBFs are nothing like flashable ZIPs (well, except that both are used to flash stuff onto a device). Fruitcakes and custom ROMs come in flashable ZIPs. SBF stands for "single binary file" and is a proprietary Motorola file. It is created and signed by Motorola. Other than the pudding SBF which is the hacked unlocked bootloader, not much is known about them really, except that in some cases they can easily brick a device if misused.
There's another thing. If your atrix is too new, you might have a newer, non-unlockable bootloader. In that case all you can do is root the phone, no way to get custom recovery on it. Good news is, trying to unlock a non-unlockable BL won't do any harm, it just won't work.
If your goal is to have a custom recovery and root, I suggest you first deal with the recovery and then do the rooting. If you end up having to flash a fruitcake, by doing so you might get root anyway, depending on the fruitcake you choose (some are completely untouched, meaning no root, while some are completely stock but also rooted).
There is also an automated unlock method which you can try if you want. It should be slightly less scary to deal with. Personally, I dislike automated anything, I prefer to do the whole process myself (that way I also learn a bunch of stuff in the process), but to each their own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I was looking through the threads of the QnA section. And I came across this. Should I use the method mentioned in post #2 and #3? It looks pretty straightforward to me...
No, you cannot. The procedure you found assumes you have an unlocked bootloader.
I told you clearly what you need to do. Do not try to short-circuit the procedure. You need to go through ALL of those steps, there is no skipping ahead. It might seem scary, but either deal with it or give up on it. Do or do not, there is no try.
Oh, so is it like, you need to unlock bootlkader then root? If so, then I've finally got it!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy W (GT-I8150) with CM9 RC 6
i rooted then was forced to unlock the boot loader when i screwed up my phone un-installing apps
used rescue root to one click root my atrix 4g (http://rescueroot.com/)
download clockwork mod recovery (http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager)
i installed clockwork mod recovery from fastboot (http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_olympus)
unlock the boot loader following this guide (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1302423)
as an added bonus here how to bypass that stupid motoblur crap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXDj-h1DEAM)... not nessicery for anything other then turning off the blur social media thing that comes installed with the phone
now i'm rooted, got the boot loader unlocked and running neutrino rom 2.91 GT+ for the last week, and so far i couldn't be happier
also it helped me to have a second computer, one to have all the how to running on and another to do all the work with
I was wondering if i can root the vzw note 2 with casual and not unlock the device? is there a way to just use it to root the device? Im guessing that it actually unlocks the device and then the rom that i put on the device will be rooted? Ive spoke about rooting without unlocking before, I would prefer keeping the device locked for warranty reasons. Please help if its available. Thanks in advance.
that would depend on which stock rom youre using. I dont think there has been much demand for rooting without unlocking the bootloader, so Mr.Outler probably didnt consider it when creating casual. which is awesome..
It should be a relatively straight-forward process to return the phone back to stock using odin though. Even if your screen breaks or something you can still do it. provided you follow the directions on the forum post.
So:
If you have vraljb----Yes you can root without unlocking the bootloader
if you have vramc3---No you cant as of yet. Although, if i understood correctly, you can just use Odin to flash your phone to vraljb. But good luck cuz its a pain in the ass. make sure you have a list of instructions that has been confirmed to work because youll probably sitting with your phone and odin for an hour or more just retrying flashing the proper PIT files and such.