Database Develop

Full Wipe and Reinstall Froyo?

After an adventure in Froyo I have found many things to be strange since the update. I was curious how I could do a full wipe and reinstall of Froyo so I get the experience of a brand new phone.
What is the process?

Ummm...go into settings, privacy, then factory reset. Note...this WILL NOT revert back to an older version of Android.

I have done that.
You may have seen my other posts and frustrations with Froyo.
What I really wanted was to completely remove my OS and install again so that there is NO pieces of the past OS or other remnants left over. I am guessing this is only possible if I unlock / root.

Possible Brick[Fixed]

So I installed and ran psouza's bloatware removal script, but when it was reset my phone got stuck at the boot screen. So I did battery pull and re-booted the phone, which led me to be stuck at the boot screen once again. Ok, no biggie, I don't really have too much on the phone I'll factory reset it. Once I did that everything was going good until after it asked me what gps services I was going to use(verizon, google, stand alone) I clicked them all pressed finished, and then things started to get a bit weird. The screen was completely black except for the notification bar up top, which I could access and set up things like wifi and such, but pulling it back up showed the same black screen as before. Now what this leads me to believe is that I might have removed the launcher on accident(I don't know how I was being very careful as to watch what I was removing, but it's been a long day...). So my question is, is there any way to recover my phone, whether it be setting it back to stock somehow, downloading another launcher from the android market(keep in mind I don't exactly have access to the market via my phone), or other? Also I really don't want to talk to Verizon/get a new phone unless it's the only thing possible.
Thanks in advance, and sorry for being such a noob >.<
Edit: Managed to install launcher pro and now everything is working fine.

use ADB and install launcherpro to the device. You can get it from www.launcherpro.com and use adb install (not push).
For everyone else reading...
Factory Reset is the last thing you want to do when having issues with your phone if you have modified the system/app files in anyway (renamed, deleted, froze, etc..).
It seems from what I've been reading, most do not know what a Factory Reset does. Factory Reset wipes your /data /cache and /davlik-cache partitions clean. It does not change your /system partition, does not "restore" apps you've deleted, changed, replaced, added or anything else in /system. Why...because there is no hidden partition that holds a copy of "how the phone was" when it was stock. It's only "resetting" what you have (as a user) done on the phone. If you've deleted contacts.apk and added SuperUser.apk to /system/app....then that's the same way it will be after a factory reset. Same for /system/xbin or /system/bin if you've copied SU and BUSYBOX there......
So what it does it is erases all the settings, configurations, apps you've downloaded/installed from the Market, account info and such....things that might still function once configured and then some apps deleted/renamed/frozen but will not function if trying to configure fresh.
If you have a stock phone, Factory Reset can be your friend. If you have a modified phone, Factory Reset can be your worst nightmare.
Complete ROMs (CM7, Bugless Beast, etc..) can be Factory Reset just like a stock ROM...unless you start changing things in /system......
Remember, Factory Reset is not a recovery, it's an "erase the stuff I've added/configured" based off a stock unrooted users abilities. Changes to files/folders/apps that are in areas that require root to access, are not touched by a Factory Reset.
This is why you can get in more trouble....things are missing and now you've wiped your configurations/install apps (example...using LauncherPro and deleted the stock Launcher.apk...do a Factory Reset....now LauncherPro no longer exist and the deleted stock Launcher.apk is still deleted....no home screen launcher).

Thanks for the insight tcrews, I managed to get everything straightened out right before you posted, but it still has some valuable information that I will make sure to remember. I really shouldn't have done to much messing around with my phone since I wasn't quite sure what I was doing(I don't even have a reliable way to recover via sd, or cloud storage yet). I think this instance was just one of carelessness, in that I wasn't paying full attention to what was going on. Oh well, I learned my lesson.

What IS the scoop on "check for update is not available"?

Droid 4 running OTA GB 2.3.6 here in W. San Jose, CA
I get "check for update is not available at this time.". For many days now. LTE and Wifi (LTE is almost instant and Wifi takes 5 seconds or so).
I've looked at a zillion posts about "check for update is not available" and none have a definitive explanation. -- and all of them are from a couple of months ago or earlier. Didn't find anything recent.
I understand that the intended meaning of the message is that you can't connect to the update server.
I've read dozens of "solutions" but each one of them didn't work for somebody else so I've got to assume it was just coincidence -- resetting the phone, factory reset, renaming files, and so on. I *have* network connectivity. Data works great. Apparently I'm not able to connect to the update server? That shouldn't have anything to do with rooted or not, frozen or deleted apps, safestrap, etc. Fail to update once you get the download, sure. But I am expecting to be able to connect to the server.
Anybody know for sure?
I could imagine that the connect request might contain info identifying my particular phone model or ESN (would expect software version checks to be exchanged after connecting though). Something like that.
How does VZW roll out the updates? is it strictly by geographic region? or blocks of ESN? or what?
I have the "official" OTA download from here but figured if I side loaded it I might get out of sync or cut off from future OTAs? Failed to find a definitive answer on that too .

#eliot# from dialer then restart and try again... let us know
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 01:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 AM ----------
dbreezy187 said:
#eliot# from dialer then restart and try again... let us know
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will check in with Motorola's server btw kinda busy sorry for no further info
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app

Nope.
That's one of the myriad ones I read about (didn't recognize it right away though 'cause the post I saw it in had it in numbers instead of letters). One guy said it worked for him and the next guy said it didn't.
If you haven't tried it, as soon as you type in the final '#' you get a popup that says "Log Checkin initiated". So it does *something*but it didn't change my Check for update is not available... maybe whatever it is supposed to do never got into the server either.
lol, reminded me that I used to have a comprehensive list of all those codes for my Treo. Now I got yet another mission
[edit] dahaha, "there's an app for that". https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cx.makaveli.androidsecretcodes&hl=en

Other then that Matt had to push the up date to them.. I believe on one post he actually said to get back to stock 100% wipe cache partition then he pushed the ota to said device... he was really nice about the being rooted over there... the forum is closed now so I can't check for more info.. id post over at Motorola owners forum
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app

I'll give it a bit more soak time I guess. I will try side loading the update before resetting/wiping. Reset/wipe will be my last resort. First choice is OTA.
Part of what prompted my post is that I'm unclear if the phased rollout is complete.
Is it the case that EVERYONE with a Verizon Droid 4 who is going to get the notification should have gotten it by now? Or is VZW still in the middle of the phased roll out for the Droid 4's? Got to wondering since googling for the Unavailable message only returned results that were at least a couple of months old. I figured it's possible that server access was/is part of the phasing mechanism but, then again, expected to find constant posting about that if it was. It seems that the mechanism of the roll out and the schedule is also a well kept super secret.

are you rooted? I had that same problem for days before I realized unrooting will fix that. Despite what a lot of trusted posters have said here and other forums, having root and no other changes will cause that. I used voodoo ota rootkeeper (free on market) to unroot and I had the OTA installed within 10 minutes (downloaded over wifi). it is recommended you update your binaries in your superuser app before using rootkeeper.
if you're not rooted then this doesn't apply.
---------- Post added at 02:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:50 PM ----------
one more note, the stock recovery on the D4 after ICS update now tracks whether you are or you were rooted. Unrooting your phone no longer hides the fact that you were at some point rooted if a service rep goes into the stock recovery screens. this has been reported on other phones earlier in the year, now also true for D4.

No effect.
I've tried all combinations.
I've used the D4 utility only to root and install safestrap ( and used safestrap only to do a backup. nothing else)
Routine goes like this:
- in safestrap: uninstall recovery
- in settings->applications->manage applications: safestrap -> force close, clear data, uninstall
- in ES File Explorer: delete /system/bin/logwrapper
- in ES File Explorer: rename /system/bin/logwrapper.bin -> /system/bin/logwrapper
- power off, reboot
- in Titanium Backup: clear filters (ALL)
- in Titanium Backup: unfreeze all user and system apps
(the only "system" bloatware I've removed was uninstallable through the normal settings->applications -- I did not use TI for that)
- in OTA Rootkeeper: delete su backup
- in superuser: update su binary
- in OTA Rootkeeper: Protect root
- in OTA Rootkeeper: temp un-root
- power off, reboot
Try to check for updates with 4G LTE (i have great reception) - fails in a second or less
Try to check for updates with WiFi - fails but it takes 5 seconds or a little longer for a response/popup

Since you installed Safestrap you can't install the OTA update anyway, so not much of a bother that you can't get it pushed to you It'd fail trying to install as OTA updates require the stock recovery.
Root does not affect it. My wife's Droid 4 was rooted (by me) and many system apps frozen and the OTA was pushed to her the same day the SOAK testers were scheduled to get it (she was not part of the SOAK test, though I was). My sisters Droid 4 was rooted as well and she got the OTA pushed to her and installed a week or so later,
You'll have to uninstall the recovery Safestrap installs, and uninstall Safestrap. You'll also have to edit some files (logwrapper.bin or something like that).

for the ota
sbf 217 4.0.4 with rsd
SBF
http://sbf.droid-developers.org/cdma_maserati/VRZ_XT894_6.7.2-180_DR4-16_M2-37_1FF.xml.zip
rsd
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1348587
dont forget to install the motorola driver first and enable debugging mode in development in your settings
i think they are here https://motorola-global-portal.cust...e-can-i-obtain-the-usb-drivers-for-my-device?

UPDATE: (lengthy with fairy tale ending)
Management summary: I am now on the OTA ICS (acquired over the air). following a wipe/factory reset
Called *611 tech support yesterday afternoon.
Got someone that sounded like they were located on this continent AND proficient. Always a good sign when they ask what the problem is right after getting your name instead of insisting on the 5 minute scripted generic question and answer form. Stated my problem was related to the system update for my Droid 4 and that I had been getting "check for update is not available..." for a few days now. My questions were "is that expected/normal?", "I understand roll outs are phased. What is the date the roll out is expected to be complete? -- last group has been notified or can pull it?", "If the persistent 'check unavailable' message is indicative of a problem then do they have possible fixes/known problem?".
He checked for the dates and said they expect to have completed the roll out by the end of September -- all Droid 4s should have it or have it available to them by the end of September. That the "check unavailable" did not necessarily indicate a problem but that it was not "normally expected" and more likely indicative of a problem on my end since it was persistent over that length of time. I said I felt better knowing they were still in the phased roll out and maybe I should just wait a while. We tried a soft reset (vol- and power) with no effect. He said he was afraid the next step would be to try a factory reset and advised I wait a while to see if the condition cleared. Went on to say that one effect/risk of the factory reset was that, if there was a software/system problem with GB preventing the OTA check it might also effect the factory reset -- if the phone had a problem coming up it might just pull the ICS update in order to come up from the reset. (Nice! he didn't just assume I would be OK with that following a reset). That I decided to wait I should definitely call back if it didn't resolve in 2 weeks. -- OK, that was a pleasantly refreshing encounter with tech support.
So I figured, fine, I haven't really tested a restore/recovery with Titanium backup and I've never gone through a factory reset so maybe now was the time. Had 2 alternatives. I could try using the D4 utility recovery using the official (same as the OTA) zip I have on my sd card or try the wipe/factory reset and see if OTA started working.
My thoughts (due to lack of any knowledge):
- Apparently once you get on ICS there is no reversion to GB (at least the actual kernel).
- Likely they have history at Galactic Headquarters of OTA and/or physical upgrades at factory or service centers for a particular phone.
- Obviously they check the phone's system version when you connect to the OTA server. Have to in order to determine if you even need an update. Additionally they would probably check if the version the phone reports is the version they expect it to be on -- I would, for technical and support reasons.
- So maybe if I went to ICS myself it might remove me from the OTA path for future updates. Not a big deal in my mind but, heh, why eliminate alternatives if you don't have to.
* reinstall safestrap and do a backup
* uninstall safestrap (uninstall recovery, uninstall safestrap apk, delete logwrapper and rename logwrapper.bin to logwrapper)
* unfreeze everything with Ti
* batch backup all user apps with Ti
* batch backup (green and yellow) system data with Ti
* temp un-root with Voodoo
* wipe/factory reset
It comes up in GB
(lot of activity follows which I didn't write down and can't quite remember)
Basically I waited for some market activity and whatnot to die down and tried update. Immediately said update available!
Cancelled that, got Ti (pro) back from the market, batch restored missing apps.
I have eset security (i don't know... I have it on my PCs so I figured I'd stick it on my phone too. Not that I think there is much in the way of virus for android yet). Eset has an urgent notification that it wants to be added as an administrator for the device so it can protect itself from installation of counterfeit Eset. I understand that but I'm wondering if maybe Eset maybe had something to do with my fail to connect to OTA. Probably not but that's the only thing that presented itself after the reset that looked like it could have been related.
OTA again to download the update -- deferred update after download.
Oh wait, forgot to batch restore system data. Did that, checked for sms messages. All good so I triggered the update.
Holy crap!!! I forgot to temp un-root! Figured the worst thing I could do was try to abort anything and just let it run and expect the update to fail.
It didn't fail. It completed just fine?
I go through the new phone screens far enough to sign into my google account.
Bunch of market update activity.
Restore missing apps with Ti
Restore system data with Ti
Then it strikes me that, sure enough, I'm still rooted. I did not restore root anywhere after the update.
I was rooted before the update (by accident) and still rooted after the update... Whats up with that?
So at the moment I'm a happy camper.
All my apps seem to have been effortlessly restored.
All my app settings seem to be intact.
All my system data seems to be intact with no migration issues.
I'm still (magically) rooted without doing anything.

standard101 said:
[/COLOR]one more note, the stock recovery on the D4 after ICS update now tracks whether you are or you were rooted. Unrooting your phone no longer hides the fact that you were at some point rooted if a service rep goes into the stock recovery screens. this has been reported on other phones earlier in the year, now also true for D4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am going to have to disagree with this. I was rooted and flashed. Ran the download and the install failed. I then did a factory reset (lost my flash and root as expected) and immediately ran the download. Install went off without a hitch. I even had a support rep from verizon and motorola on the phone during the install when i was doing it because i was so mad about the slow download. They were watching the install once it was done because they both stated that everything on my phone "looked good".

YeeP said:
I am going to have to disagree with this. I was rooted and flashed. Ran the download and the install failed. I then did a factory reset (lost my flash and root as expected) and immediately ran the download. Install went off without a hitch. I even had a support rep from verizon and motorola on the phone during the install when i was doing it because i was so mad about the slow download. They were watching the install once it was done because they both stated that everything on my phone "looked good".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that's what he was saying.
After you go to ICS it tracks (displayed in the recovery screen) if you are or were rooted.
Go into recovery and you will see a yellow "qe 0/0" left of the android.
ge 0/0 -- are not rooted/never been rooted
ge 0/1 -- are not rooted/been rooted sometime prior
ge 1/1 -- are rooted/been rooted
No idea if this was tracked before but not displayed in recovery. I suspect it was. On GB they were checking system files on boot and logging differences (I think I read they were comparing system file CRCs?). The list was getting logged to a qer...something log file (I forgot the file name and where it's at). I verified that. On my rooted GB there were mostly /xbin files and a couple of others listed in the log.
Now on ICS my recovery screen shows "qe 1/1".
Oddly enough I did a factory reset, forgot to temp un-root and my root persisted through the OTA update just fine. No idea why.
Since my root persisted through the update I was not able to check before re-rooting to see if it displayed "qe 0/0". My guess is this was always logged/stored and they just added the display to the recovery screen. I would find it almost inconceivable this information (and other) was not written to NVRAM since day one. Basic support/diagnosis information.

[Q] Factory Reset and Unfreezing Software Update

Good Morning All,
I have done some searching and have not found anything specific to my question on Factory Resets and Frozen Software Updates. I am assuming a Factory Reset will essentially thaw anything I have frozen with Titanium since it is essentially reverting the phone back to factory default. However, when I have updated ROMs or installed new ones, I have always been told and had to thaw Software Udpate before updating otherwise it would cause issues even with performing a data wipe.
Is this the same with a Factory Reset? Or do I need to thaw Software Update before doing a factory reset?
I am assuming a Factory Reset is different from a Data Wipe but I am not 100%.
Normally, I would just thaw the freeze since it is so easy, but I had lost root reverting back to the stock kernel from Blitzkreig. I know I can just regain root and then thaw, but I would prefer to not waste my time if it is necessary. Also, it is just something good to know for future use.
Appreciate the help here.

Missing "System Updates" button in about phone

Yesterday morning I noticed that the "System Updates" button in Settings/About Phone was missing. At the time I was on the LVY48F(Project Fi build) but have since flashed MRA48K without wiping ddata and it is still missing. Some Google searching found one thread regarding an N5 with the same issue but the resolution they found was a Factory Reset. I'm not opposed to wiping data to fix issues but since this is really more of an annoyance than a problem since I usually flash the images ADB sideloaded the OTAs I don't mind doing some research to see if I can fix . Anyone ever seen this before and know a way to fix it? When I get home from work I'm going to try to use ADB to run the Setup Wizard like you would if you had the broken home button and notification shade.

Did you try 'wiping cache'?

Cache wipe from stock recovery didn't help. I wiped data for the settings app as well with no change.

I would just back up your phone then factory reset everything

irontaco1 said:
I would just back up your phone then factory reset everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I mentioned that I don't mind doing a Factory Reset, just wanted to explore any options to fix it without wiping first.
Unfortunately, i dont think backing everything up would prevent me from having to reset my Android Wear watch to be able to pair with again which is the 1 and only thing that annoys me about resetting.

Did you find a solution to your problem yet?

irontaco1 said:
Did you find a solution to your problem yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly haven't put a lot of time into it yet, hoping to get some time after work today.

For some other reason I ended up doing a factory reset and the button is back. I was sure wiping would bring it back but was really looking forward to digging through the phone and figuring it out.

Well its good that it's fixed I guess