Related
Update: The ebay seller took my money, lied about sending the phone which I wanted in time for christmas as a present, then when nothing arrived on the day claimed (24th dec) i contacted them to be told they "tried" to email me to say it had a fault when packing it and will give a refund, for which I am still waiting.
Long story short, I have given up now on wanting to buy a Hero, I was cautious about the seller to start, and they have now ruined my mood over christmas.
Hey Welcome to Android...
Hero's don't need to be HardSPL'd, once you learn to 'Flashrecover/One Click Root' you can just store multiple ROM's on your SD card, wipe and flash whenever it suits you
Hopefully your Hero comes with a Stock ROM so there is no need to Goldcard bypass it!
Amon-Ra is just a recovery image for when you enter recovery mode after rooting... There are many more to choose from and you will learn all about these after rooting.
Rooting is useful for tethering, themes, storing applications to SD card and (most importantly for me being on t-mobile) getting updates before they are officially released!
The resolution is extremely clear and I'm sure you will be pleased with it
Regards
Thanks
OGC313 said:
Hey Welcome to Android...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
Hero's don't need to be HardSPL'd, once you learn to 'Flashrecover/One Click Root' you can just store multiple ROM's on your SD card, wipe and flash whenever it suits you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good, where do I look for a tutorial and the files to get started with this? I'd like to have a thorough read before hte phone gets here so i won't hastily do as my friend did and brick his phone by not reading the instructions first.
Hopefully your Hero comes with a Stock ROM so there is no need to Goldcard bypass it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can tell, it's a HTC generic Hero with no modifications made, so it should be stock ROM. What does this mean to me and what is Goldcard? I noticed a site where you have to go to get some code using CID? Means nothing to me really.
Amon-Ra is just a recovery image for when you enter recovery mode after rooting... There are many more to choose from and you will learn all about these after rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw a video of this or something similar, it's some what of a recovery menu with various recovery options as well as the abilility to install modifications or some sort from zip files?!.
Rooting is useful for tethering, themes, storing applications to SD card and (most importantly for me being on t-mobile) getting updates before they are officially released!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious, on a phone designed for user customizability, why has it been made so difficult for us to flash custom user modifications?
The resolution is extremely clear and I'm sure you will be pleased with it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good enough for me, not like I intend on playing videos or games on this thing.
Thanks
http://theunlockr.com/2009/08/27/how-to-root-your-htc-hero-in-one-click/
- Thats probably the easiest tutorial for Flashrec.
If your Hero is Generic it should be fine and you won't need to create a Goldcard, you can just root straight away. In short a goldcard is editing your SD card to reverse the CID (Customer Identification) code so any RUU/ROM can be installed onto the phone. This is a hardcore method to root and only needs to be done for phones on certain carriers e.g. t-mobile, some Asian carriers.
Yea the recovery menu varies depending on what recovery image you are using (the most popular being Cyanogen, Amon-RA and Modaco). All ROM's are installed as a .zip file, but using the above site will make that clearer, its all simple enough.
http://theunlockr.com/2009/08/27/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-your-htc-hero/
- A tutorial on how to install ROM's after rooting.
There were problems with Cyanogen's custom ROM as he was using Google apps that were only supposed to be used on 'with Google' phones. Maybe for reasons like this rooting has become so difficult?
Regards
OGC313 said:
http://theunlockr.com/2009/08/27/how-to-root-your-htc-hero-in-one-click/
- Thats probably the easiest tutorial for Flashrec.
If your Hero is Generic it should be fine and you won't need to create a Goldcard, you can just root straight away. In short a goldcard is editing your SD card to reverse the CID (Customer Identification) code so any RUU/ROM can be installed onto the phone. This is a hardcore method to root and only needs to be done for phones on certain carriers e.g. t-mobile, some Asian carriers.
Yea the recovery menu varies depending on what recovery image you are using (the most popular being Cyanogen, Amon-RA and Modaco). All ROM's are installed as a .zip file, but using the above site will make that clearer, its all simple enough.
http://theunlockr.com/2009/08/27/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-your-htc-hero/
- A tutorial on how to install ROM's after rooting.
There were problems with Cyanogen's custom ROM as he was using Google apps that were only supposed to be used on 'with Google' phones. Maybe for reasons like this rooting has become so difficult?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, well hopefully it's not anything like that, I'm slightly concerned because the seller claims the phone is black, but in the picture it doesn't seem to have T-mobile written, across the top, and as far as I'm aware black is exclusive to them. I am hoping it's actually brown and hence no branding, but either way doesn't matter as long as it's unbranded.
As for recovery images, I noticed the One-click rooting uses a specific recovery menu, it's that the one I'm recommended to use or should I switch?
As for ROMs, I'm happy to stick either with stock ROM and make some personal modifications, or I have heard good things about the MoDaCo ROM, although I'm concerned with one small post there, that BT OBEX is planned for a future release, does that mean the current version doesn't have BT OBEX, so I can't send files? I rely on this feature regularly.
As for "comes with Google" I thought all Android phones were "comes with Google", I guess I was mistaken here.
To be honest the recovery image used makes no difference, its just a preference of how you'd prefer the recovery menu to look... I'm currently using the Amon-RA, running the Modaco 3.0 ROM and it does the job for me. I think the video tutorial on unlockr is showing an older recorvery image than the one it suggests you use.
The Modaco ROM currently doesn't support BT as the Hero doesn't have the components needed until the 2.1 Eclair/Flan release. You could always try and flash the 2.1 ROM which isn't fully optimised yet and see if any applications work on that?
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?p=30418&posted=1#post30418 - 2.1 ROM
Not all Android phones are Google branded, I think its only the G1/Dream and Magic/my Touch, the ones with the Google logo on the back. This is why HTC were able to intergrate Sense UI onto their phone.
OGC313 said:
To be honest the recovery image used makes no difference, its just a preference of how you'd prefer the recovery menu to look... I'm currently using the Amon-RA, running the Modaco 3.0 ROM and it does the job for me. I think the video tutorial on unlockr is showing an older recorvery image than the one it suggests you use.
The Modaco ROM currently doesn't support BT as the Hero doesn't have the components needed until the 2.1 Eclair/Flan release. You could always try and flash the 2.1 ROM which isn't fully optimised yet and see if any applications work on that?
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?p=30418&posted=1#post30418 - 2.1 ROM
Not all Android phones are Google branded, I think its only the G1/Dream and Magic/my Touch, the ones with the Google logo on the back. This is why HTC were able to intergrate Sense UI onto their phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, so I take it this is based on an unreleased BETA version? Kinda like the winMo6.5 we were flashing on the Xperia. I guess I will stick with the official ROM for now then.
Is there still some customising that can be done if I root my phone and keep the stock ROM? I require bluetooth regularly for sending V-Cards and files so I can't do without it for the sake of customizability.
If you decide to root, you may aswell flash the Mocado 3.0 ROM which is much faster and less laggy.
No version of the Hero currently supports bluetooth file transfer, unless it works on the 2.1 ROM. Even the stock does not support it, wasn't this mentioned in the specs. when you bought the phone? The 2.1 update which will give the Hero bluetooth support isn't scheduled for release until 1Q/H 2010. Sorry to disappoint
OGC313 said:
If you decide to root, you may aswell flash the Mocado 3.0 ROM which is much faster and less laggy.
No version of the Hero currently supports bluetooth file transfer, unless it works on the 2.1 ROM. Even the stock does not support it, wasn't this mentioned in the specs. when you bought the phone? The 2.1 update which will give the Hero bluetooth support isn't scheduled for release until 1Q/H 2010. Sorry to disappoint
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yikes, that is a major let down, something I didn't think possible from anyone but Apple. This means I'm going to have to carry a second phone which is irritating and part of my reason for switching.
In this case, I suppose there really is no reason not to switch to the MoDaCo ROM.
So, when I root, I noticed two methods, one is a pack on the pc with some batch files and recovery images. Should I use this method, or downloaded the latest Amon-Ra and use FlashRec, I noticed Amon-Ra builds of v1.5.1 which is much higher than the ones given in the tutorials.
Yea but at least support is on its way where as Apple aren't even considering it.
For the easiest method the files you'll need to download are:
Flashrec
Amon-RA Recovery image
Modaco 3.0 ROM
Latest Radio (ends in .26)
Basically put all these files into the root of your SD card, and install Flashrec using a file manager found in the market (I find Astro the best).
Open up Flashrec once its installed and click Back-up recovery image, it will then say 'Working do not interupt'.
Once that is done, type the name of the recovery image in the empty box ( I think Amon-RA's is something like /sdcard/Recovery-RA-HERO-v1.2.3.img) and then click Flash new recovery image.
Turn off your phone and reboot into recovery mode by hold down the HOME and POWER buttons, which will then bring up the recovery menu which you have seen before.
Scroll down to nandroid back-up and click that so if anyone goes wrong you can restore everything. Once done click Wipe Date/ Factory Reset and wate for that to finish.
Then scroll up to install .zip file (Not install update.zip) and click the Radio file. This should be relatively quick.
Once that is finished click on install .zip file again and click the Modaco ROM, which should take a far bit longer to install. Scroll to the top of the menu and reboot system.
If it seems to take a while to reboot do not worry!
OGC313 said:
Yea but at least support is on its way where as Apple aren't even considering it.
For the easiest method the files you'll need to download are:
Flashrec
Amon-RA Recovery image
Modaco 3.0 ROM
Latest Radio (ends in .26)
Basically put all these files into the root of your SD card, and install Flashrec using a file manager found in the market (I find Astro the best).
Open up Flashrec once its installed and click Back-up recovery image, it will then say 'Working do not interupt'.
Once that is done, type the name of the recovery image in the empty box ( I think Amon-RA's is something like /sdcard/Recovery-RA-HERO-v1.2.3.img) and then click Flash new recovery image.
Turn off your phone and reboot into recovery mode by hold down the HOME and POWER buttons, which will then bring up the recovery menu which you have seen before.
Scroll down to nandroid back-up and click that so if anyone goes wrong you can restore everything. Once done click Wipe Date/ Factory Reset and wate for that to finish.
Then scroll up to install .zip file (Not install update.zip) and click the Radio file. This should be relatively quick.
Once that is finished click on install .zip file again and click the Modaco ROM, which should take a far bit longer to install. Scroll to the top of the menu and reboot system.
If it seems to take a while to reboot do not worry!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds simple enough, just one questions, I found this version of Amon-Ra's Recovery v1.5.2, should I use this instead since it's later?
alias_neo said:
Sounds simple enough, just one questions, I found this version of Amon-Ra's Recovery v1.5.2, should I use this instead since it's later?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, always use the newest version from the official thread here.
kendong2 said:
yes, always use the newest version from the official thread here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, got that downloaded now, so I'm good to go. Now just to sit patiently twiddling my thumbs until my Hero arrives.
Anything I can do in the meantime? Hero related I mean.
One question, as an Engineer myself, I'm curious why HTC has has made this device not only with so little ROM, but also not able to install apps to the SD card by standard(assumption based on the A2SD hack I am assuming enables something that couldn't be done before), is it not a given that we might want to install over the ROMs capacity worth of apps?
I'm just feeling a little disappointed at the moment considering all that Android was supposed to be, I followed it's progress intently as an Engineer and a curious gadgeteer, it seems things are being made a little more difficult than they should be (perhaps by HTC?) in order for us to have the customisability we desire for our OS, which, given the ability we should, technically be able to re-write from the ground up.
Someone tell me I'm wrong, and the worst I'll have to deal with for hte time being is having no BT OBEX. (I have come from an N95->iPhone->Xperia, and a rocky road it was.)
Thanks, for all the help so far guys, it is appreciated.
alias_neo said:
Thanks, got that downloaded now, so I'm good to go. Now just to sit patiently twiddling my thumbs until my Hero arrives.
Anything I can do in the meantime? Hero related I mean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
read these forums but i guess you know/did that already.
alias_neo said:
One question, as an Engineer myself, I'm curious why HTC has has made this device not only with so little ROM, but also not able to install apps to the SD card by standard(assumption based on the A2SD hack I am assuming enables something that couldn't be done before), is it not a given that we might want to install over the ROMs capacity worth of apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, for example it will most probably give you errors and problems when you eject the sdcard while the phone is powered up... what i would complain about is why the hell does such a phone only have 512mb of flash of flash memory? flash memory is as cheap as sand, just put some 8gb in there and nobody would have a problem. make it 10$ cheaper, who cares when you can write "8GB!" on the box?
alias_neo said:
I'm just feeling a little disappointed at the moment considering all that Android was supposed to be, I followed it's progress intently as an Engineer and a curious gadgeteer, it seems things are being made a little more difficult than they should be (perhaps by HTC?) in order for us to have the customisability we desire for our OS, which, given the ability we should, technically be able to re-write from the ground up.
Someone tell me I'm wrong, and the worst I'll have to deal with for hte time being is having no BT OBEX. (I have come from an N95->iPhone->Xperia, and a rocky road it was.)
Thanks, for all the help so far guys, it is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well in fact it seems to be harder to customize the hero, but that is mainly due to its htc sense ui. if you want the fullblown modding phone you should get a g1, at least that is how i see it. just have a look at the g1 threads, they're flooded with roms and themes. tbh i don't miss it, i like when i have the feeling that i know all my options. then i take the best (in this case mcr), mod it to my needs and then use it. imho the hero is a way cooler device than the g1, i find it ugly and bulky. thought this about the hero too, until the day i had my coworker's in my hands, at that point it was only a matter of time until i could extend my contract and get the hero
Well
Well, my getting a Hero is a funny story, I had my Xperia which I was happy with along with the custom ROMs running TouchFlo until one day I was in the Phones4U shop talking to them and they mentioned that the Satio had been recalled.
So, being the good friend I am, I went to my friend who wasn't at all happy with the Satio and told him he could swap it for something else because it's recalled.
My friend of course asks what I would recommend, and having been a WinMo user, I knew he wasn't the type to want to customize a device in that way, I mentioned HTC and android, so he had a look, we weighed up each one briefly and I basically said go for the Hero, I'v heard a lot of good things about it.
So, lo and behold, the next day he turns up with a Hero, which I then get to hold for the first time and am amazed.
Being the gadgeteer I am, it just would not do for a friend not even interested in gadgets to have the phone I now want!
So, I got myself one, and am now waiting impatiently for the ebay seller to deliver it.
Personally, I would never have considered the G1, it was ugly, and the specs were horrible, and the keyboard slide method wasn't nice at all.
When I first saw it, I was thinking, smaller, soft keyboard, slightly better camera and what not, and i'll buy it, and here we have it, the Hero.
As for customization, I'm not hugely bothered, as long as I can theme the thing myself.
The main thing that is non-stock I'm interested in are tethering by USB or Wifi to my 3G connection, other than that and theming, I can't think of anything off the top of my head I would need to do, only a phone that doesn't do everything it should, needs customizing so much as my Xperia did.
you will be happy with the hero
even theming is doable, though not in a few clicks. i tried, had a proof-of-concept and then it got too complicated for my unpatient being...
kendong2 said:
you will be happy with the hero
even theming is doable, though not in a few clicks. i tried, had a proof-of-concept and then it got too complicated for my unpatient being...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I used to theme for the iPhone, which included SSHing to the phone, downloading .artwork files, unpacking, converting the PNGs, editing, repacking and uploading again followed by a reset.
Assuming it's not too much more difficult than that, I should have no problem theming, on the plus side, I'm a perfectionist and a minimalist, so in terms of the graphics, the editing in Photoshop shouldn't be too great, and my skills are adequate anyway.
I'm very anti-clutter and anti-glass and anything of the like as can be seen from one of my old iphone themes here.
My main focus usually is on retaining functionality while being able to clearly see the wallpapers unhindered.
Although in the iPhone case, my removal of the slide to unlock bar at the bottom was for pure novelty and was done to purposely hinder unlocking the device.
alias_neo said:
Well, I used to theme for the iPhone, which included SSHing to the phone, downloading .artwork files, unpacking, converting the PNGs, editing, repacking and uploading again followed by a reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
add a little signing and you have the process for the hero though i prefer using adb and the usb cable. never actually hacked an iphone (my friends who own one are all wusses ), but i would think it is even easier on the hero.
kendong2 said:
add a little signing and you have the process for the hero though i prefer using adb and the usb cable. never actually hacked an iphone (my friends who own one are all wusses ), but i would think it is even easier on the hero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, from what I can find through searching, I assume ADB to be the Android Debug Bridge?
Something to do with the development mode connection of the phone, does this not connect the SD card to USB though rather than the Internal?
And how difficult is the signing process for the files, I have no problems with command prompts as a programmer.
Hello XDA!
I opened a new thread hopefully to open a discussion about improvements I think are beneficial, my experience over the last 24 hours that a couple sticky edits would have saved me (and others) time.
My Story:
Yesterday (5/3) I saw I had around a 250 mb OTA. Excited (hoping for 4.2, assuming was the 4.1.2 that VZW released recently) I kick on WiFi, download and watch as it reboots and appears to install successfully. Time for work to end, grabbed phone off charger as it appeared to be rebooting after successful install, and ran out to catch train home.
Downstairs, at train stop, take a look at phone and heart sinks as it is in a fast splash screen loop, blinking the VZW Galaxy Note 2 screen for about 1 second in endless loop. As I had never seen before was thinking firmware update bricked it and I was looking at least until Tuesday before I'd have a working phone. Luckily, I was able to quickly see that I could still get into download mode, so knew I was (likely) going to be ok.
Get home and a Quick Robin, to the Internetz! later I'm browsing XDA and following the t=t=2024207 walkthu to restore stock. FYI, my device prior to the failed OTA was unrooted stock. At this point I'm not sure if it's going to restore, so I'm trying to do the true stock, no unlocked bootloader in case it has to be RMA'd. I've downloaded all my files, waited patiently for the slow hosting service for the FXZ(?) to download and am grinding through it and of course it fails at the system.img. Luckily, blessedly the awesome community here had released the image that included the unlocked bootloader which I was (after waiting to download, etc etc again) able to successfully get installed via Odin, booted up and working successfully.
So, while the first post section regarding restore to stock does indicate users with latest firmware "L4 OTA Only" shouldn't be attempting to use the Official VRAL I didn't think it applied to me. I would say that a fair amount of individuals looking to take the drastic step of a full restore to stock might be in a scenario like mine, where something significant has happened and likely confirming what OS/firmware/etc you are on might not be feasible. In my case, I assumed never rooted/unlocked vanilla device should be about as receptacle to an "official" restore as any. In this scenario, where a 100% for all devices stock recovery ("alternative") works, 'I feel that it should have been pushed harder than the official or at least blurbed with if you don't know what you are on, use this' While I understand that it is the "official" image, it has requirements for it to work. A co-worker had an ASUS TF300T that tried pushing a recovery image for ICS after he had upgraded to JB and it hard bricked his tablet, with ASUS wanting to charge him about 60% cost of the tablet to replace motherboard. That's heartbreaking, and I am sure since a hard brick wasn't a likely scenario here, why it wasn't mentioned.
Also: The download link for the Alternate Restore lists the file as: I605_VRALJB_Restore.tar.md5.xz which requires that it be unpacked using 7zip AND also that once extracted, it needs to be renamed to kick of the extra extension md5 in order for ODIN to see it properly as a PDA image file. (I605_VRALJB_Restore.tar.md5 ) Neither step is mentioned in the original post, and I had to read through to I believe the 11th page or so before realizing that was the problem. I'm sure with most of the people that are daily users of this forum knew automatically that these steps were required, but I would counter that a thread explaining how to restore Stock is one of the few threads that is likely to reach a larger, inexperienced demographic who would need to know such details.
Lastly, since (I thought) I had an unlocked bootloader, but otherwsie working phone again (Thank you, thank you thank you!) might as well get it rooted, and grab a ODEX'd stripped ROM with the OS release because getting the Software Update nag and not being able to complete or even brick my phone makes my OCD gland flex mightily. Was delighted to see an on-device APK root option which threw me back to the ease of z4root a few years ago with my Droid X. APK installs, and it roots so easily, like it had the functionality out of the box. I grab goo.im manager and install TWRP. Go to boot into custom recovery so I can install my sexy updated OS ROM and enjoy my fun device without all the yucky bloatware I've just ignored/dealt with for the last 2 months and I get the dreaded and in my opinion illegal "VZW unauthorized software" software brick.
Back to the forums, see I need another stock 'alternative' restore to fix AND a little confused, but believe I need to run a "jailbreak" bootloader unlock (CASUAL ?t=2118348) Which I haven't done yet. I have all files downloaded, just paused to post my experiences here.
So, this was main reason for my post, as I can understand some of why walkthru is laid out the way it is above, but why not have this included as part of the stickied root walkthru? It's mentioned thusly:
section 1a is a old method and no longer needs to be used unless the end user wants root only. proceed to Adam Outler's "JAILBREAK" thread linked at the bottom of this section for rooting and unlocking bootloader so custom roms can be flashed!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find the link it refers to at bottom of section? I ended up googling to find guide. ((t=202420)
if this is still a requirement for root, custom ROM/Recovery, I would have made this steps 1-x of the root guide. is it because another person authored it? It would be nice to be able to credit and quote, I know alot of what drives contributors is the 'Thanks" and Donations, be great if XDA admins could round table and find a solution that allows for a consolidated guide for each device and still give each contributor a way to get their +1's and plug donation/web/twitter handle url's
So, is my understanding incorrect of what is needed or do folks agree with me that current setup is not the most efficient way XDA community could be offering instructive guides on Root/Mods? It would be wonderful if XDA Mods upon announcement of devices, when creating the forum threads for device (Development, OG Development, General, etc etc) created a blank thread for the how to root et.al and then allowed it to be edited by the community as a Wiki. Or even if an individual created, allow that person to allow x amount of other community members to edit, add and adjust.
I see droidstyle created a thread about questions for softbrick, and I might have to look at the original sticky thread about how to stock restore, but it seems he/she might have better saturation if this info was included in the original post. The stickied How To recover stock is direct accessible from a google search. I doubt his Q&A thread is or definitely not going to be one of the highest page-ranked sites.
So, please let me know if I'm just out of my mind, off the mark. I will give myself a small escape clause based on the fact that I probably scored about 2 hours of sleep last night messing around trying to get the note running again. I am actually concerned that the instructions for Return to Stock/Root/Etc for the VZW i605 doesn't have the link to unlock bootloader via casual and am hoping that following that process before rooting/customrecovery/ROM is correct, and not going to be another BrickGate for me. I know as OS versions are updated and/or Big Red and Big Blue constantly push patches trying to lock people out of their phones that instructions change and methods break. As new directions are implemented it's easy to lose steps as edits occur on the fly.
Most importanly! I hope this thread comes across as constructive criticism/suggestions, I have nothing but the highest respect for this community and it's contributors. Even skewed, outdated and conflicting information is better than no information and I SUPER appreciate the hard work required to get it out to us. I am most definitely not expressing displeasure with my experience or the content, only using the threads I mentioned as examples of what I personally see as opportunity for improvements XDA could implement that would allow for easier dissemination of the information the community is sharing so unselfishly. I only open it for discussion, so that others like me can access the information quicker with less confusion. I read comments of disgust and exasperation as people are directed to search, rather than post, and they are right, the information is invariably there, and most often or not within the first 5 posts of a thread. But sometimes when a developer talks to another developer, the tiny and considered minor details are not mentioned because it's considered common knowledge, and thats where the noobs, soccer moms and Grandmas can get left scratching their heads trying to puzzle how you got from point a to b. (Stereotypes used for comedic effect, please take no offense) I believe it would save alot of people having to answer the same questions over and over again time and frustration and freeing them to focus their talents on making us the next epic ROM/Kernel/App
thanks for reading! Also, I'm not just drive-by b*tching, if anyone is interested, I would love to show a mock-up of the i605 guide these great contributors have created as I would compile it. I'm passionate about mobile technology and customization, sadly my talents don't lie in the creation of such, only the enjoyment of it. But I'm a hell of a document admin. I create wiki's and KB's/sharepoint admin for a living, and would love to contribute what I know in that way
Is there any lolipop custom rom available on here for mediapad youth 2 s7-721w
Ive tried the links online , but I cant get past the ads even with inputting valid info
Please help me. Im looking everywhere with no luck, and my current system is wrecked
thanks
dermot31 said:
Is there any lolipop custom rom available on here for mediapad youth 2 s7-721w
Ive tried the links online , but I cant get past the ads even with inputting valid info
Please help me. Im looking everywhere with no luck, and my current system is wrecked
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen several links that "claim" to be custom Lollipop roms for the mediapad. However, as you had already noticed its all garbage ad links.
The good news is there are guides on youTube to get past all that junk (I tried it myself and it worked). I forgot which provider I used to give you exact instructions, but try a search on YouTube
The bad news is any lollipop rom for mediapad is "at best", some custom one with questionable legitimacy. I'd say avoid it for now. Adding insult to injury the general public worldwide isn't lining up outside stores for Medipad devices, much less Huawei in general, so Huawei has very little motivation to push out lollipop on Mediapads.
Also on a final note, a lot of these links for custom roms may come preloaded with malware that will not ask you for permission but take over your machine.
I strongly urge you to stay as is. Any benefits provided by lollipop over Kitkat are not worth the risk involved.
The Mediapad x2 was recently announced, so you may want to hold off and see what Huawei does
Sorry i couldn't be of more help.
shassouneh said:
I have seen several links that "claim" to be custom Lollipop roms for the mediapad. However, as you had already noticed its all garbage ad links.
The good news is there are guides on youTube to get past all that junk (I tried it myself and it worked). I forgot which provider I used to give you exact instructions, but try a search on YouTube
The bad news is any lollipop rom for mediapad is "at best", some custom one with questionable legitimacy. I'd say avoid it for now. Adding insult to injury the general public worldwide isn't lining up outside stores for Medipad devices, much less Huawei in general, so Huawei has very little motivation to push out lollipop on Mediapads.
Also on a final note, a lot of these links for custom roms may come preloaded with malware that will not ask you for permission but take over your machine.
I strongly urge you to stay as is. Any benefits provided by lollipop over Kitkat are not worth the risk involved.
The Mediapad x2 was recently announced, so you may want to hold off and see what Huawei does
Sorry i couldn't be of more help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, I think you've confirmed what I already thought. I think Ill steer clear. I was only considering them as an option because Im not sure what else I can do with the tablet. I have bought it a couple of weeks ago for college. to test some apps Im working on.. The jelly ban 4.3 OS on it isnt too bad. I was quite happy with it up until lately. I think Ive messed up the gps on it somehow as one of my apps uses it and which I need in order for the app to work. Ive tried resetting the device, but this doesnt help.
Perhaps you could advise me further. I downloaded an official update file from huawei in the form of update.APP. I believe if I could start fresh with this,(completely refresh my system), the problem might go away. The problem is that none of the android recovery apps recognize this format( .APP). Ive tried changing the extension to .zip, but no joy.
Maybe there are some other alternatives, you mentioned kitkat,, and whats next with Mediapad x2.
Is it possible for me to take an update meant for another huawei device. Wouldn't this screw up my tablet.?
Thanks for your help. I just need something to completely refresh my system. I think if i could refresh it using the update.APP file id be sorted, but anything will do at this stage
General Tips
dermot31 said:
Thanks for the reply, I think you've confirmed what I already thought. I think Ill steer clear. I was only considering them as an option because Im not sure what else I can do with the tablet. I have bought it a couple of weeks ago for college. to test some apps Im working on.. The jelly ban 4.3 OS on it isnt too bad. I was quite happy with it up until lately. I think Ive messed up the gps on it somehow as one of my apps uses it and which I need in order for the app to work. Ive tried resetting the device, but this doesnt help.
Perhaps you could advise me further. I downloaded an official update file from huawei in the form of update.APP. I believe if I could start fresh with this,(completely refresh my system), the problem might go away. The problem is that none of the android recovery apps recognize this format( .APP). Ive tried changing the extension to .zip, but no joy.
Maybe there are some other alternatives, you mentioned kitkat,, and whats next with Mediapad x2.
Is it possible for me to take an update meant for another huawei device. Wouldn't this screw up my tablet.?
Thanks for your help. I just need something to completely refresh my system. I think if i could refresh it using the update.APP file id be sorted, but anything will do at this stage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any idea what an APP file is, so I cannot attest to how (if at all) it would work. Also, the device I have is the Mediapad (honor) X1, which is technically a different device than yours, but there was an OTA update to KitKat (4.4.2) which i installed.
Also, NEVER EVER EVER (DID I ALREADY SAY EVER) TAKE AN UPDATE MEANT FOR A DIFFERENT DEVICE. To give you an idea how serious I am I wouldn't even take an update designed for the 3G-only version of my mediapad (even though it would be very close, if not identical, software). This is an almost guaranteed way to (at best) render your device useless until you flash back to a working rom, or (at worst) permanently brick your device. Follow the golden rule of thumb: If in doubt, steer clear - better safe than sorry
Try the following, in order:
The steps below are very generic, and you probably already know most, if not all, of them, but it never hurts to post them here just in case some other person reads this thread and benefits from it.
1.) Backup any data you care about (this goes without saying, but just in case). Don't forget contacts, bookmarks, photos, music, etc
2.) Check for an OTA update (Settings --> About Phone or Settings --> Updater (depending on your device and OS). If there's anything, install it, reboot, etc. You may have to do this 2 or 3 times to get fully updated.
3.) Now you're ready to roll back. (Settings --> Backup & reset --> Factory data reset)
4.) The very first thing you should do at this point is to check to see if everything is working right. Don't bother setting up your phone/tablet just yet! Check to see if the GPS issue is fixed. If all is well, you can proceed to step 5
5.) Assuming you're good to go after step 4, you may want to familiarize yourself with loading up google services on your phone/tablet by glancing at
a.) This post
b.) my other thread
Don't forget that my device is different than yours, so be very cautious before you do anything!
6.) Set up your phone/tablet the way you like
7.) Optional but highly recommended: Perform a full phone/tablet backup. I have never done this myself, so I cannot walk you through this. But search here on XDA and on google for "NAND phone backup" and do some reading This will help you get back into a working state if you dink around with your phone/tablet and screw things up again.
8.) Optional but highly recommended: Search here on XDA for a "stock" ROM specific to your device. This would come in handy if all else fails and you want to force your phone/tablet back to the way it was as shipped off the factory line. Its probably a good idea to hang on to that file anyways. You never know when you want to restore everything to factory settings if you want to return the device for warranty, or if you want to gift it or sell it
Best of luck
In short, the best advice Captain Obvious can give you is READ, Re-ead, Re-re-read, and google like crazy before you do anything
Thanks for the reply, but I think I can manage a basic reset of my device
Hi there,
I've been cruising these forums for a while and have managed to root my device, get adb setup, and TWRP installed. An unfortunate bit seems to be that you cannot leave TWRP installed and actually boot the device. I managed to get stuck in a boot loop having not restored the 5.4.1 bootloaders. I turned the device off and rebooted into TWRP, flashed the 5.4.1 bootloaders, rebooted, and I'm golden. However, this doesn't really get me anywhere.
So my goal here is to just wipe all this FireOS crap and turn this tablet into a normal android tablet. I've seen plenty of posts about it but cannot seem to find any single post that would achieve this for my specific device and software version. So I'm coming here for help.
Mostly, what I have done so far has come from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/general/how-to-upgrade-to-lollipop-root-gapps-t3163950
Unfortunately, from what I can tell, this process does not remove FireOS and replace it with stock Lollipop, it just updates you to 5.1.2 (which I'm already at) and installs GAPPS. It does not really have a "pure" Android install and it somehow retains the FireOS as the primary OS.
Now, please correct me if I am wrong here with any of the above (this is not a hobby of mine) but since I've rooted a few devices before I figured I could handle it. It seemed like a bargain getting this Fire HD 7 used for like $64... if only I can get it onto stock Android. I'm basically trying to make it a Nexus 7.
Since I CAN get into TWRP, I figure I should just be able to flash a custom ROM right? I've just been having a really hard time finding a stock Lollipop ROM specifically for my device. From what I've heard, flashing the new ROM is the most error-prone part of this type of stuff and can totally brick the device if it were not meant for it. If that did happen, I would need to be able to boot the device back up, get an adb connection, run the scripts that flash the correct bootloaders (post #2, section 101, from the link above) so I can reboot into TWRP and fix it. Perhaps understandably so, I've been very hesitant to just go trying things willy-nilly that I don't fully understand.
Could anyone offer any assistance? Perhaps just point me in the right direction? I've probably read most of the threads you'll likely link, so a short bit of context to how something pertains to my specific device as well as the link could help me significantly. The guides that people write usually contain updates and are quite difficult to follow to the "T" and half the time I'm not even sure something I'm doing actually pertains to my device.
[EDIT] I found this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c5hHSCO_o8) but it looks like he's doing that on a previous generation Fire so, again, I'm not sure it will work and don't want to try and then brick it.
nedwards said:
Hi there,
I've been cruising these forums for a while and have managed to root my device, get adb setup, and TWRP installed. An unfortunate bit seems to be that you cannot leave TWRP installed and actually boot the device. I managed to get stuck in a boot loop having not restored the 5.4.1 bootloaders. I turned the device off and rebooted into TWRP, flashed the 5.4.1 bootloaders, rebooted, and I'm golden. However, this doesn't really get me anywhere.
So my goal here is to just wipe all this FireOS crap and turn this tablet into a normal android tablet. I've seen plenty of posts about it but cannot seem to find any single post that would achieve this for my specific device and software version. So I'm coming here for help.
Mostly, what I have done so far has come from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/general/how-to-upgrade-to-lollipop-root-gapps-t3163950
Unfortunately, from what I can tell, this process does not remove FireOS and replace it with stock Lollipop, it just updates you to 5.1.2 (which I'm already at) and installs GAPPS. It does not really have a "pure" Android install and it somehow retains the FireOS as the primary OS.
Now, please correct me if I am wrong here with any of the above (this is not a hobby of mine) but since I've rooted a few devices before I figured I could handle it. It seemed like a bargain getting this Fire HD 7 used for like $64... if only I can get it onto stock Android. I'm basically trying to make it a Nexus 7.
Since I CAN get into TWRP, I figure I should just be able to flash a custom ROM right? I've just been having a really hard time finding a stock Lollipop ROM specifically for my device. From what I've heard, flashing the new ROM is the most error-prone part of this type of stuff and can totally brick the device if it were not meant for it. If that did happen, I would need to be able to boot the device back up, get an adb connection, run the scripts that flash the correct bootloaders (post #2, section 101, from the link above) so I can reboot into TWRP and fix it. Perhaps understandably so, I've been very hesitant to just go trying things willy-nilly that I don't fully understand.
Could anyone offer any assistance? Perhaps just point me in the right direction? I've probably read most of the threads you'll likely link, so a short bit of context to how something pertains to my specific device as well as the link could help me significantly. The guides that people write usually contain updates and are quite difficult to follow to the "T" and half the time I'm not even sure something I'm doing actually pertains to my device.
[EDIT] I found this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c5hHSCO_o8) but it looks like he's doing that on a previous generation Fire so, again, I'm not sure it will work and don't want to try and then brick it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You seem to have the gist of it, which is that what you want to do can't be done. There is only one ROM for this device--CM11, here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/orig-development/rom-cm-11-kindle-hd6-t3270138 --and it is not fully working. No one's ever posted here about successfully installing a ROM for a different device, only about bricks as a result of trying.
@xSentinel has been disabling all possible apps, while still keeping the device running. His goal may be the same as yours(?). He started a thread here, but has since got a lot more disabled: http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/help/5-1-2-bloatware-safe-to-remove-apps-2014-t3355167. Might want to post there and see what he's up to.
DoLooper said:
You seem to have the gist of it, which is that what you want to do can't be done. There is only one ROM for this device--CM11, here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/orig-development/rom-cm-11-kindle-hd6-t3270138 --and it is not fully working. No one's ever posted here about successfully installing a ROM for a different device, only about bricks as a result of trying.
@xSentinel has been disabling all possible apps, while still keeping the device running. His goal may be the same as yours(?). He started a thread here, but has since got a lot more disabled: http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-hd/help/5-1-2-bloatware-safe-to-remove-apps-2014-t3355167. Might want to post there and see what he's up to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, that is unfortunate. At least you've helped me to understand that my goal cannot be fully realized. I probably should have done a bit more research before purchasing the Fire tablet. I'm really just looking to set up an in-car tablet to handle Torque guages, navigation, and music. Perhaps I should just return the Kindle and shell out the extra cash for a Nexus 7. I think I could probably get a refurbished one for a price similar to what I paid for the Fire. I'll poke around xSentinel's thread a bit and see what I'm up against first though. If it comes down to it, the headache of dealing with Amazon's locked down devices might just outweigh the extra money/hassle of a Nexus 7 and a return.
nedwards said:
Ah, that is unfortunate. At least you've helped me to understand that my goal cannot be fully realized. I probably should have done a bit more research before purchasing the Fire tablet. I'm really just looking to set up an in-car tablet to handle Torque guages, navigation, and music. Perhaps I should just return the Kindle and shell out the extra cash for a Nexus 7. I think I could probably get a refurbished one for a price similar to what I paid for the Fire. I'll poke around xSentinel's thread a bit and see what I'm up against first though. If it comes down to it, the headache of dealing with Amazon's locked down devices might just outweigh the extra money/hassle of a Nexus 7 and a return.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You also might check out the Fire forums. (I got a refurb for $30.) They have a few ROMs and are doing interesting things. Also, lots of activity over there.
Some people may strive to be "purists", but remaining pragmatic is a recipe for relatively happy life
Because the bootloaders are locked, there are very limited options on what to boot. There was some lucky bug in the earlier bootloaders that gifted us with the ability to boot an unsigned TWRP using 4.5.3 bootloaders. But boot.img always had to be signed, or it would not boot.
To create a custom OS, one needs to match the custom ROM to the existing boot.img from a given version of FireOS. Kind of pain in the @ss, don't you agree ?
Instead, however, one can just keep FireOS 5, and tweak it to behave like almost a pure Android. And it's not hard ! So why chase the unicorns when all you want is right in front of you !
I'm currently working on completing a CM11 port - as someone else mentioned it needs to use the stock boot.img though, so I have to heavily modify CM code in order to get it to work with full functionality. CM11 does run very well on the device though, and it's much snappier than Fire OS imo.
In theory this device could use something like safestrap to boot unsigned boot images, however I probably won't bother writing something like that until I have CM11 at 100% functionality (currently my build is at about 60% if I were to estimate).
I think the guy who posted the first CM11 port is now working on porting CM12, although it's a massive pain to test.
nedwards said:
Ah, that is unfortunate. At least you've helped me to understand that my goal cannot be fully realized. I probably should have done a bit more research before purchasing the Fire tablet. I'm really just looking to set up an in-car tablet to handle Torque guages, navigation, and music. Perhaps I should just return the Kindle and shell out the extra cash for a Nexus 7. I think I could probably get a refurbished one for a price similar to what I paid for the Fire. I'll poke around xSentinel's thread a bit and see what I'm up against first though. If it comes down to it, the headache of dealing with Amazon's locked down devices might just outweigh the extra money/hassle of a Nexus 7 and a return.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just so you know it can be done, I am running Torque on a Fire HD 6 and still running thr Fire O.S. There is also a similar app to Torque Pro in the Amazon app store - search for OBD and it should see it (sorry I can't give the name, soft bricked the device and won't be near a computer for another 4 days) It is similar in capabilities to Torque Pro, and runs around the same price.
New here. Didn't see a forum for the Moto G Pure XT2163. Mods - I am sorry. Please move wherever's best.
Discovered that the version Verizon is selling (notably the slickdeals thread on the one from Visible) is different. It's -2 vs. -4.
Looks like VZW disabled most of the bands that T-Mobile/Sprint use - 25, 41, 71, for example.
Looking to see if it's possible to enable those bands. One report on SD thread says they bricked their device trying RETUS version but IDK if the bootloader needs to be unlocked first, or if it would even help. Probably more work to unlock these bands if it's even possible.
Downloads look available here https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/ellis/official/
Haven't messed with flashing a phone in years. May be able to try later but hoping anyone else here can look into this.
I'm going to guess as is the case with most other Android devices branded by Verizon that the bootloader will be restricted from being unlocked. There is really no way around this as it's an OEM based policy. If you want to play with custom ROMs or root based modding, I would highly recommend ditching the Verizon or any other carrier branded variant with the exception of T-Mobile/Metro and Google Fi (there are others) that actually allow OEM unlock. Not only that, but if you're looking for certain connectivity bands, you don't want to settle for a carrier device variant designed to use a particular set of bands which don't include the ones you need. No sense getting a Verizon variant to run on T-Mobile/Sprint bands when you can, you know, get the T-Mobile variant in the first place. Get the global unlocked variant model if you can and start from there. Far easier than the headaches you'll get trying to transform VZW to TMUS.
Cross-flashing is not going to unlock bands, you need to change modem configuration. Throw your SoC(Mediatek) followed by "unlock bands" into Google and see if you have any luck.
I also didn't see a forum for the Moto G Pure and was wondering if anyone knows of a custom bootloader like TWRP or CWM for it? I think I have enough understanding of how to sideload the app, I just need something to send the phone. I tried using a random TWRP mod on it but it fails, invalid signature. I haven't tried doing the phone rooting thing in years now, but I have this Moto G Pure phone without any service on it that I'm willing to experiment on. It can be used as a test bed or data extraction device to put code from it on the internet if someone needs it to help custom rom makers for example by testing stuff on it. Perhaps that's why no one has a custom recovery for it yet.
I don't know exactly how to extract the phones current ROM data so all I've done so far is unlock the bootloader. The phone's carrier based on the unactivated sim card shows it's a T-Mobile branded device, but the T-Mobile and other carrier software is inactive other than the few Moto apps. An article on XDA say's the phone's suck, but that's just not true at least not to me. It's a fine phone like it is, but if I can format it's SSD and only install what I want it to have on it that would be great. It's just a spare sim locked phone that I can't use my active sim card in. So with that it's now a project phone. I would like to mainly just unbloat it and free up all that used space occupied by the recovery partition. I don't necessarily need a whole new ROM, just want to root it. That's the only way to erase those factory files that I know of.
For me unlocking the bootloader wasn't to hard to do. You have to make sure the drivers from Motorola are installed and have a current version of ADB available on a computer. I still had a version of ADB tools that was almost a decade old now so I had to update that for the fastboot oem_unlock_unlockcode (automated code from Motorola support) command to work. To find out if it can be unlocked or not go here:
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone%2Fbootloader%2Funlock-your-device-b
At the Moto site they will guide you on how to generate the code they want you to send them. You have to sign in to their site to use that function though. After I finally figured out what to type in the CMD window it generated that code and I edited it down to one long line of numbers and give it to the page. In seconds I had an email with the unlock code inside.
Unlocking it seems to help with uninstalling some of the built in stuff, before I could only disable most of the apps that come with it. The apps are still probably on there I just have to factory reset it and they'll come back. Now however the removed apps don't show as using any internal storage, all the apps info numbers go to 0 bytes, but still even doing that it's still over 10GB of unmovable data. When it should really be more like 2-3 GB for the entire system. I hate how Google just inserts itself in your life even when you don't want it at all.
I anyone passing by reading this post needs more details please let me know and I'll try to get the information or even data files from the phone. Would a copy of it's stock firmware be of any help? If so let me know how I would go about saving a copy of it. I'll keep looking for answers but it seems this phone is not high on the priority list or is new or something. So there is only scam guides trying to tell you "How to unlock your phone" or "Install TWRP on Motorola devices" and other clearly click bait sites. I can't even find the stock rom for it on Motorola's site, just outdated versions from 2016, with different build numbers, that can't be right.
All I know is unlocking the bootloader was the first step on all the guides and I've done that. Got a warranty voided notice and everything. There currently isn't a custom recovery mod for this model as far I can tell. If I can ever find that then I can try Linage or just debloat Android 11 which is probably the safer and easier option provided I can find that Custom Covery'.
When it boots up now, it has to tell me it's unlocked and all the dangers it poses. Dangerous if you cared about what was on it I suppose. There is nothing on it I can't just copy back over to it, other than the stock operating system.
Oh yeah, it's model number and other side of the box information is:
Model Name: Moto G PURE
SKU: MO-XT21634-AJB (MOXT21634AJB)
Software Version RRH31.Q3-46-20
Production date was 12/15/2021
I'm not sure what other information to include.
BrittonCBurton said:
I also didn't see a forum for the Moto G Pure and was wondering if anyone knows of a custom bootloader like TWRP or CWM for it? I think I have enough understanding of how to sideload the app, I just need something to send the phone. I tried using a random TWRP mod on it but it fails, invalid signature. I haven't tried doing the phone rooting thing in years now, but I have this Moto G Pure phone without any service on it that I'm willing to experiment on. It can be used as a test bed or data extraction device to put code from it on the internet if someone needs it to help custom rom makers for example by testing stuff on it. Perhaps that's why no one has a custom recovery for it yet.
I don't know exactly how to extract the phones current ROM data so all I've done so far is unlock the bootloader. The phone's carrier based on the unactivated sim card shows it's a T-Mobile branded device, but the T-Mobile and other carrier software is inactive other than the few Moto apps. An article on XDA say's the phone's suck, but that's just not true at least not to me. It's a fine phone like it is, but if I can format it's SSD and only install what I want it to have on it that would be great. It's just a spare sim locked phone that I can't use my active sim card in. So with that it's now a project phone. I would like to mainly just unbloat it and free up all that used space occupied by the recovery partition. I don't necessarily need a whole new ROM, just want to root it. That's the only way to erase those factory files that I know of.
For me unlocking the bootloader wasn't to hard to do. You have to make sure the drivers from Motorola are installed and have a current version of ADB available on a computer. I still had a version of ADB tools that was almost a decade old now so I had to update that for the fastboot oem_unlock_unlockcode (automated code from Motorola support) command to work. To find out if it can be unlocked or not go here:
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone%2Fbootloader%2Funlock-your-device-b
At the Moto site they will guide you on how to generate the code they want you to send them. You have to sign in to their site to use that function though. After I finally figured out what to type in the CMD window it generated that code and I edited it down to one long line of numbers and give it to the page. In seconds I had an email with the unlock code inside.
Unlocking it seems to help with uninstalling some of the built in stuff, before I could only disable most of the apps that come with it. The apps are still probably on there I just have to factory reset it and they'll come back. Now however the removed apps don't show as using any internal storage, all the apps info numbers go to 0 bytes, but still even doing that it's still over 10GB of unmovable data. When it should really be more like 2-3 GB for the entire system. I hate how Google just inserts itself in your life even when you don't want it at all.
I anyone passing by reading this post needs more details please let me know and I'll try to get the information or even data files from the phone. Would a copy of it's stock firmware be of any help? If so let me know how I would go about saving a copy of it. I'll keep looking for answers but it seems this phone is not high on the priority list or is new or something. So there is only scam guides trying to tell you "How to unlock your phone" or "Install TWRP on Motorola devices" and other clearly click bait sites. I can't even find the stock rom for it on Motorola's site, just outdated versions from 2016, with different build numbers, that can't be right.
All I know is unlocking the bootloader was the first step on all the guides and I've done that. Got a warranty voided notice and everything. There currently isn't a custom recovery mod for this model as far I can tell. If I can ever find that then I can try Linage or just debloat Android 11 which is probably the safer and easier option provided I can find that Custom Covery'.
When it boots up now, it has to tell me it's unlocked and all the dangers it poses. Dangerous if you cared about what was on it I suppose. There is nothing on it I can't just copy back over to it, other than the stock operating system.
Oh yeah, it's model number and other side of the box information is:
Model Name: Moto G PURE
SKU: MO-XT21634-AJB (MOXT21634AJB)
Software Version RRH31.Q3-46-20
Production date was 12/15/2021
I'm not sure what other information to include.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey i just came up on one of these today, nice phone considering... Any luck with trying to find a custom recovery? I have been looking as well but development seems pretty sparse right now. I am in the same boat as you, unlocked bootloader, locked everything else lol. I cant even find a way to root it without TWRP! I am curious if one of the other moto G series phones would have the same TWRP? Also check this out. It sounds legit but IDK...https://www.getdroidtips.com/root-motorola-g-pure-xt2163/
Agent_Orange1488 said:
hey i just came up on one of these today, nice phone considering... Any luck with trying to find a custom recovery? I have been looking as well but development seems pretty sparse right now. I am in the same boat as you, unlocked bootloader, locked everything else lol. I cant even find a way to root it without TWRP! I am curious if one of the other moto G series phones would have the same TWRP? Also check this out. It sounds legit but IDK...https://www.getdroidtips.com/root-motorola-g-pure-xt2163/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I was able to use Magisk to "root" it with the patched boot file trick, but still that's not the same thing as I did before with a Samsung phone and the CWM recovery deal. That gave the user all the control they wanted. Even though the phone claims I have root access, I'm not sure what to do with Magisk's root trick. I still don't see a way to backup or install a different operating system or just a blank Android 11 OS. My knowledge there is limited and there isn't a custom recovery for this model as far as I can tell.
So I still can't wipe the drive or remove the OEM partition that contains the installers for the bundled stuff. I'd still need some form of interface that has more features than the stock Fastboot and Bootloader modes offer I guess, or I just don't know how to use the software tools correctly. It's still locked even with root as far as I can tell but if there is something more I'm missing or an additional app to install for example, like SU. Is that still a thing? If I'm on the right track let me know.
BrittonCBurton said:
Well I was able to use Magisk to "root" it with the patched boot file trick, but still that's not the same thing as I did before with a Samsung phone and the CWM recovery deal. That gave the user all the control they wanted. Even though the phone claims I have root access, I'm not sure what to do with Magisk's root trick. I still don't see a way to backup or install a different operating system or just a blank Android 11 OS. My knowledge there is limited and there isn't a custom recovery for this model as far as I can tell.
So I still can't wipe the drive or remove the OEM partition that contains the installers for the bundled stuff. I'd still need some form of interface that has more features than the stock Fastboot and Bootloader modes offer I guess, or I just don't know how to use the software tools correctly. It's still locked even with root as far as I can tell but if there is something more I'm missing or an additional app to install for example, like SU. Is that still a thing? If I'm on the right track let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!!! I am speaking from a place of semi-ignorance here but I would thing that you could install SuperSU from inside the system, right? As long as the root binary is there...idk though and from what I hear, chainfire is not responsible for SuperSU anymore so it has become somewhat sketchy. I saw a post (about this phone, I think) that mentioned having to install terminal emulator and running root command from there to achieve legit root after flashing the patched boot.img. I will see if I can find the post again and update you. Is there anyway you could post the boot.img? Or give me a link for it?
Agent_Orange1488 said:
Thanks for the reply!!! I am speaking from a place of semi-ignorance here but I would thing that you could install SuperSU from inside the system, right? As long as the root binary is there...idk though and from what I hear, chainfire is not responsible for SuperSU anymore so it has become somewhat sketchy. I saw a post (about this phone, I think) that mentioned having to install terminal emulator and running root command from there to achieve legit root after flashing the patched boot.img. I will see if I can find the post again and update you. Is there anyway you could post the boot.img? Or give me a link for it?
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Well I can try and learn how to extract the phones information to my computer. I don't know how to do that exactly. The way I was able to get a hold of the phones stock firmware data was by using Lenovo's Smart Rescue and Recovery software.
You have to enable usb debugging mode, attach the phone to the computer with the software running and make sure that you didn't disable/delete Device Help. That app is what makes the Lenovo software work, otherwise the Recovery software fails to see the phone. If it sees the phone correctly then you can see the preselected target firmware it wants you to download under the Rescue tab along the top.
So I did that and grabbed the files it created without actually applying them to the device. The whole thing is a little over 2GB and difficult to host but I put the stock boot.img file here for anyone who needs it. If anyone wants all the files I can try to upload the whole thing one file at at time. That's the way it was sent to me, an uncompressed folder. If I zip it all up and try to upload it most sites will say file size exceeded. Anyway here's the link...
boot
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
www.mediafire.com
Thanks I was able to patch it with Magisk and achieve root. It looks like Magisk is an SU manager anyway. I have never used it before so this is a first for me. The root and bootloader unlock seem a little pointless without any recovery or ROM though....I guess it's time to learn how to compile one lol
I just picked up the Moto G Pure (XT2163-4) Android 11 aka Red Velvet Cake *sounds yummy lol*....I've been searching around and not seen any info about any rooting method for this device....besides the "Root All Motorola Phones" crap...and I don't feel like risking making a paper weight with it. Even on here it doesn't show up in the...add device list....was going to add to my profile...but can't.
Agent_Orange1488 said:
Thanks I was able to patch it with Magisk and achieve root. It looks like Magisk is an SU manager anyway. I have never used it before so this is a first for me. The root and bootloader unlock seem a little pointless without any recovery or ROM though....I guess it's time to learn how to compile one lol
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Yeah now we're on the same page then. I thought the same thing, not much use to have an unlocked boot loader and root access without software to make use of it. I gave the phone to my nieces to play with for now, but it's with in arms reach if I need it for instructions yet to be defined. I should receive updates to this post if anyone else responds.
Gamekeeper408 said:
I just picked up the Moto G Pure (XT2163-4) Android 11 aka Red Velvet Cake *sounds yummy lol*....I've been searching around and not seen any info about any rooting method for this device....besides the "Root All Motorola Phones" crap...and I don't feel like risking making a paper weight with it. Even on here it doesn't show up in the...add device list....was going to add to my profile...but can't.
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Yeah appears it was produced in late 2021 or sold at that time so it's new and no one has made any custom firmware's or recoveries for it as far as I know. I don't know how to do that, requires computer programming skills. I don't have any of those.
Gamekeeper408 said:
I just picked up the Moto G Pure (XT2163-4) Android 11 aka Red Velvet Cake *sounds yummy lol*....I've been searching around and not seen any info about any rooting method for this device....besides the "Root All Motorola Phones" crap...and I don't feel like risking making a paper weight with it. Even on here it doesn't show up in the...add device list....was going to add to my profile...but can't.
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I feel your pain! Had mine a few days and of course came to XDA immediately to find the DL on this joint but no luck... Ya I definitely don't recommend one click root method for this. If you want, I can post/link the patched boot.img i made with magisk. Mine boots with it and have confirmed root.
BrittonCBurton said:
Yeah now we're on the same page then. I thought the same thing, not much use to have an unlocked boot loader and root access without software to make use of it. I gave the phone to my nieces to play with for now, but it's with in arms reach if I need it for instructions yet to be defined. I should receive updates to this post if anyone else responds.
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Excellent, it's nice to be caught up with everyone else haha!! I am going to do some digging and posting and whatnot to try to find some info on porting a recovery for this model. I feel like it can't be too different from at least one or two of the other G series phones. I will see updates as well so please post if you come up with anything!!
BTW does anyone know the process of creating a device page for this joint?! I think this phone is definitely worth some development...
Agent_Orange1488 said:
Excellent, it's nice to be caught up with everyone else haha!! I am going to do some digging and posting and whatnot to try to find some info on porting a recovery for this model. I feel like it can't be too different from at least one or two of the other G series phones. I will see updates as well so please post if you come up with anything!!
BTW does anyone know the process of creating a device page for this joint?! I think this phone is definitely worth some development...
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Good luck finding anything that will load onto the phone. Seems like it would be possible to install LineageOS on it if nothing else. You'd think by now installing a phone's operating system would be similar to how operating systems are installed on other computers. All I get is invalid signature, way to much security (for them) on phone OS'es. With phones and PDA's apparently you can't just find the OS you want to use and install it. Where's the generic and bloat free Andriod 11 stock OS/firmware at? No such thing? It's either "Gaggles" way or nothing apparently. (It's ok if you don't know either, maybe someone else has more information about that.)
BrittonCBurton said:
Good luck finding anything that will load onto the phone. Seems like it would be possible to install LineageOS on it if nothing else. You'd think by now installing a phone's operating system would be similar to how operating systems are installed on other computers. All I get is invalid signature, way to much security (for them) on phone OS'es. With phones and PDA's apparently you can't just find the OS you want to use and install it. Where's the generic and bloat free Andriod 11 stock OS/firmware at? No such thing? It's either "Gaggles" way or nothing apparently. (It's ok if you don't know either, maybe someone else has more information about that.)
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Ya I'm definitely not going to try anything on the actual device, (ESPECIALLY if I am trying to put it together myself) but I am pretty sure you can test that stuff on a virtual system. Some kind of android emulator or whatever. As for a stock/debloated/de-odexed ROM, I haven't seen one but that couldn't be all that difficult to put together, right? I mean as long as the patched boot.img is included anyway. I feel like a recovery would be a higher priority though...? BTW, I have never used Lineage before, how is it?
Agent_Orange1488 said:
I feel your pain! Had mine a few days and of course came to XDA immediately to find the DL on this joint but no luck... Ya I definitely don't recommend one click root method for this. If you want, I can post/link the patched boot.img i made with magisk. Mine boots with it and have confirmed root.
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That would be great if you could share that patched boot.img......it is for the XT2163-4 MOTO G PURE correct?
Gamekeeper408 said:
That would be great if you could share that patched boot.img......it is for the XT2163-4 MOTO G PURE correct?
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Agent_Orange1488 said:
I feel your pain! Had mine a few days and of course came to XDA immediately to find the DL on this joint but no luck... Ya I definitely don't recommend one click root method for this. If you want, I can post/link the patched boot.img i made with magisk. Mine boots with it and have confirmed root.
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I would also like the patched boot.img if it is for the XT2163-4. Thanks
Hey boys I actually got rid of the moto g pure...for now at least lol! GREAT phone and I would be willing to get it back once there is some dev work done on it...will definitely be watching the threads on it. Good luck boys!!!
Hi
I read the above posts, and it seems like even if I am able to root it using Magisk, I won't be able to flash it with custom rom?
Thank you Agent_Orange1488 for the posts.