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[GUIDE] Easiest Step-By-Step Tutorial To Upgrade/Reset Your Bionic to Stock 5.9.905 + Root
<< This is for people who need to upgrade or get back to the latest Gingerbread Stock ROM release. >>
OVERVIEW: This guide will get your Bionic on the Stock 5.9.905 release (Gingerbread). These steps are universal for all Bionics, and work as long as you have not upgraded your phone past the .232 ICS leak. This process is called 'performing an FXZ' (in other words, 'resetting your phone to the latest factory default state').
CAUTION: Before beginning these steps, make sure you have backed up all personal data that you do not want to lose. This process WILL wipe all internal user data, apps and settings! You can put your backup on your external SD card if you like since this process will NOT modify any files on your SD card. As with any user guide, do this is at your own risk.
DEPENDENCIES: This guide assumes you have a Verizon Droid Bionic phone and are running as an administrator user on Windows XP or later.
Be sure that your battery has at least 75% charge and make sure your phone is NOT plugged into your computer. Do NOT attempt this process with a battery level lower than 75%.
Power off your Bionic and make sure it is not plugged into anything
In Windows, go into Control Panel, "Programs and Features" (or "Add/Remove Programs" in XP) and uninstall any existing Motorola phone or USB drivers.
Download and install the latest Motorola USB drivers [mirror] and RSD Lite v5.7 [mirror].
On your Bionic, while holding down both volume keys, press and hold the power button until you see a black and white menu selection screen. Press Volume Down twice, to select "AP FastBoot" then press Volume Up just once to activate that mode.
Plug your phone into your PC (If you are using a Desktop, then be sure to use one of the USB ports on the BACK of your computer). Let Windows complete installing the multiple device drivers necessary for the Bionic (do NOT unplug it during this time). You may be prompted to reboot; if so go ahead and do it.
Right click on RSD Lite, and select "Run as administrator" (or just double-click on XP/2003)
Your device should be showing in line 1. Click on it to select it, then click the browse button to the right of the "Filename" box - it looks like three dots, [...]
Download this 5.9.905 FZX zip file and place it in the root of your hard drive (e.g. C:\). Select this file then click the "Decompress And Start Flashing" button.
Your phone will now go through a 15-20 minute flashing process. Be patient! Once finished you should see it load the "Welcome" screen with the picture of the large green android. You are finished! You may now setup and use your phone.
NOTE REGARDING STEP 10: It is VERY important that you be patient. Even if you think the process is frozen, it probably is not. Some of the parts that get updated take a very long time (especially the 'Webtop' segment) so just wait it out. If you see "Failed" or "Error" text at any point, then you should unplug your phone and start this process over again from the beginning. If you continue to see these errors then try a different USB port on your computer, or a different computer altogether.
===
OPTIONAL: How To Root 5.9.905 (or any Gingerbread ROM)
OVERVIEW: Once you have completed the above steps to get your phone into a stock 5.9.905 state (or any Gingerbread ROM for that matter), then these steps will help you root your phone. Rooting your phone allows you deeper access to your phone's file system and gives your phone other more advanced functionality.
A. Enable Unknown Sources: From the home screen on your Bionic, tap Menu, Settings, Applications, then enable the checkbox for "Unknown Sources" then tap "OK" to confirm.
B. Enable USB Debugging: From that same screen, tap "Development", then enable the checkbox for "USB debugging", then tap "OK" to confirm.
C. You should already have the Motorola Drivers installed from STEP 4 above, so plug your phone into your computer and let Windows install any necessary device drivers needed.
D. Download Motofail-GB to your PC and select "Run as administrator" (or just double-click on XP/2003). Press enter when prompted, to begin the rooting process. This may take about 2 to 3 minutes, and may reboot your phone multiple times.
You are now rooted! Enjoy.
Can you substitute the 902 for the 905 and this work the same?
Thanks,
Yes.
SlimMan said:
Can you substitute the 902 for the 905 and this work the same?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, but why? .905 has a better radio
Thanks!
that was my very first rooting experience :good: and it kicked ass!
im off to find out how to remove bloatware and figure out what ROM will work for me as a daily driver and any recommendations you have would be very well received.
I'd recommend the 'Liquid' ICS ROMs. Follow all the steps (including the optional ones) in this guide here: [GUIDE] Easiest Step-By-Step Tutorial For Upgrading Your Bionic To ICS
I'm currently on eclipse 2 w/ 902. Should I revert back to stock to get the 905 update and then reroot and put another rom on using safestrap?
Thanks.
s.wyckoff1 said:
I'm currently on eclipse 2 w/ 902. Should I revert back to stock to get the 905 update and then reroot and put another rom on using safestrap?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend ICS in which case you can just follow the ICS guide I posted just before yours. It contains ALL the steps you'll need to do - from stock FXZ (.905) to custom ROM install.
crobs808 said:
I recommend ICS in which case you can just follow the ICS guide I posted just before yours. It contains ALL the steps you'll need to do - from stock FXZ (.905) to custom ROM install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quick question: is this OTA? So if ICS is ever released for the Bionic, one can just upgrade to it? Or do you have to first go to .902 and upgrade to .905?
edit: also, I'm interpreting as OTA as "on the air" please correct me if it is actually "off the air".
imprettynewtothis said:
Quick question: is this OTA? So if ICS is ever released for the Bionic, one can just upgrade to it? Or do you have to first go to .902 and upgrade to .905?
edit: also, I'm interpreting as OTA as "on the air" please correct me if it is actually "off the air".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA stands for "Over the air". No, this is not the OTA, this is a "leak" from Motorola.
To get the official OTA, you would have to FXZ to .905. Forget about .902 - you do not need that anymore since the full .905 file is available to directly flash.
crobs808 said:
OTA stands for "Over the air". No, this is not the OTA, this is a "leak" from Motorola.
To get the official OTA, you would have to FXZ to .905. Forget about .902 - you do not need that anymore since the full .905 file is available to directly flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, really? Where would I find this official .905 file? I had thought the download you provided was the official 5.9.905 file. I followed the first 10 steps of your guide to flashing to ICS thinking I was getting back OTA (I believe those steps are the same as this post). Could you point me in the right direction of getting back OTA?
edit: Just to claify, so this is "stock .905" but still is not OTA? It's a leaked .905?
Thanks!
imprettynewtothis said:
Oh, really? Where would I find this official .905 file? I had thought the download you provided was the official 5.9.905 file. I followed the first 10 steps of your guide to flashing to ICS thinking I was getting back OTA (I believe those steps are the same as this post). Could you point me in the right direction of getting back OTA?
edit: Just to claify, so this is "stock .905" but still is not OTA? It's a leaked .905?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? I think you misread my post. .905 is just the latest public stock ROM from Motorola/VZW. It is Gingerbread (the one in this thread). To get the ICS OTA (whenever it comes out) you'll need to FXZ to .905 first (then you can get the OTA when it is available). Make sense?
crobs808 said:
Huh? I think you misread my post. .905 is just the latest public stock ROM from Motorola/VZW. It is Gingerbread (the one in this thread). To get the ICS OTA (whenever it comes out) you'll need to FXZ to .905 first (then you can get the OTA when it is available). Make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. I think you might have misread my post actually. I followed these instructions and FXZ'd back to. 905 using the files in the thread. I then asked if this is OTA, as I'm about to send my phone in and don't want anything but the official ROM on my phone when I do, but you said it's not and that it's a leak and that I'd need to FXZ back to.905 for OTA. I thought I just did that! Did you think I was posting in the ICS guide thread? My question was (is), if following these instructions will put you back OTA on the most recent official release. Thanks again, sorry for the confusion.
imprettynewtothis said:
Hmm. I think you might have misread my post actually. I followed these instructions and FXZ'd back to. 905 using the files in the thread. I then asked if this is OTA, as I'm about to send my phone in and don't want anything but the official ROM on my phone when I do, but you said it's not and that it's a leak. Did you think iI was posting in the ICS guide thread? My question was (is), if following these instructions will put you back OTA on the most recent official release. Thanks again, sorry for the confusion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, you're right, I misread and thought you were asking about ICS. Disregard my previous post. Yes, this is the latest official stock ROM. If you do this process you can take your phone back for service/warranty replacement. (Just be sure to remove your SD card before giving it to them.)
Thanks!
Very easy to use guide and very helpful. I will definitely be using it again in the near future to be able to take the ICS OTA. :cyclops:
thank for working link :good:
OK, before I do this, I should back everything up with Titanium, the when I get to ICS, I'd root again, install Titanium, restore (most) settings, correct?
And as far as we know, we can re-root under ICS, correct?
NEVER use backup apps like Titanium. Just backup user files (like photos, music, etc.), then go through this process, then manually download/reset up all your apps.
crobs808 said:
NEVER use backup apps like Titanium. Just backup user files (like photos, music, etc.), then go through this process, then manually download/reset up all your apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, when I said backup everything, I just meant the data.
If you mean "app data" ("data" folder) then I wouldn't even do that. Resetup apps and reconfigure from scratch
Hello. I have an AT&T stock non-rooted and I accepted the recent OTA update to KitKat. I'm now wondering if it's too late to ever get root access using SlapMyMoto. I've searched around and can't find an answer. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
colgate1974 said:
Hello. I have an AT&T stock non-rooted and I accepted the recent OTA update to KitKat. I'm now wondering if it's too late to ever get root access using SlapMyMoto. I've searched around and can't find an answer. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thread in development will give you step by step instructions ( though, the impactor portion isn't explained but a link Is provided)
You can still root even if you are on 4.4, but need to return to stock first.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2538896
Moto X rocking 4.4
Stock confusion!
My confusion was that I though I was on stock if I accepted the OTA update and that would make it too late. I (think) I understand now - I need to return to a previous version and then go through the process outlined in the development section.
Thanks again for the swift response!
I'm a little bit stupid to understand the return stock process. It's the same a stock via RDslite than a reset factory default? First, what means stock???
jportnoy said:
I'm a little bit stupid to understand the return stock process. It's the same a stock via RDslite than a reset factory default? First, what means stock???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset in the context of phones is a little bit misleading, more like an expression of a state of being rather than a literally one... It's actually just a wipe to a "fresh" state. So, if you have 4.4 on your phone and do a "factory reset" then you will still be on 4.4... Just without any of your data... Like if it had just been bought.
When someone says "return to stock" this to can have a few different meaning... In this case it's to the stock firmware (which actually isn't even the original stock, it's just the furthest back we can currently go and the closest to "stock") stock being what the phone originally came with from the manufacturer.
I hope I explained that in an understandable way... Had a early thanks giving feast with the in-laws and I'm drunk on Turkey and hef.
AT&T Moto X rocking rooted 4.4
Hi folks. So I haven't been on this site in a good while, but I've come across an issue that requires the help of someone with wisdom about the issue at hand. Up front, you should know that I'm not familiar with the whole rooting thing and even the technical terminology of most of it.
A little back story...I've recently purchased a Sprint HTC One M8 from someone. Everything works fine with the phone, there's nothing wrong with it at all. It's rooted and has s-off. I bought it that way. I asked the seller if he could unroot and take the phone back to full stock before the deal, but turns out he had someone else root and soff for him so he wasn't able to take it back to full stock. But he put the stock ROM back on it for me, though it's still rooted and has s off. I've provided pictures for those who are in the know to see for yourself, because I don't know what any of that software info means on those screens.
Here are my questions, and I'll put them in numerical format so there won't be any confusion in replying back:
1. From what you see in the pictures provided, are you able to to tell if it is in fact on the stock ROM or not?
2. I am receiving notifications that an official OTA update is available from Sprint/HTC:
A. What are the consequences of downloading and installing the OTA update(s)?
B. Will s-off be effected?
C. Will the root block the update from happening, or will it work fine since it's on stock ROM and has s-off?
D. Will it brick my phone if I update, or is there a chance at all that my phone will get bricked or stuck?
3. If I want to revert my Sprint M8 back to full stock (unroot and s-on), or maybe even put on a different ROM, how can I go about doing it?
4. What benefits do I have in keeping my phone in the state that it is currently in, that is, having rooted and s-off? And how can I take advantage of those benefits?
5. If I want to flash a different ROM or revert back to full stock (unroot and s-on), will it delete everything off my phone, including specifically my synced Gmail accounts?
6. As you can see in the picture with the 3 Android figures, at the top it says "tampered" and "unlocked." Does the "unlocked" mean that the phone is fully unlocked and can be used on any other service provider network, domestically and internationally?
Sorry about the length of this message, but I know there are some knowledgeable people on here who have wisdom and experience on the issue, so I would greatly appreciate any productive and helpful replies to my questions. If you have any questions for clarification please feel free to ask. Thanks!
If you choose recovery from the menu option in your first screenshot, what happens?
Captain_Throwback said:
If you choose recovery from the menu option in your first screenshot, what happens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Captain. I haven't tried anything because I wanted to seek help first and get answers to my questions before doing anything. That would be much appreciated. I also didn't want to risk bricking since I don't know anything about this stuff. What is recovery, what is it supposed to do?
1. Yes, it appears to be a stock rooted ROM. Appears to be the first update. There have been two since, including the most recent one from this past week.
2.Your software & firmware version will be updated. S-off won't be affected. You simply have to have the stock recovery installed to take the OTA. Taking the OTA won't brick your phone.
3. You can revert to S-on but I'm not even sure why you'd want to. If you want to unroot simply take the OTA after installing the stock recovery.
4. Hit the second link in my sig for more info.
5. If you flash a different ROM yes, your phone will get wiped and you'll need to set up your accounts again. If you take a OTA update your data won't be affected.
6. "Unlocked" means your bootloader is unlocked, plain and simple. See my answer to question #4 for more info.
As far as what recovery is, think of it as a very small and separate OS from the Android OS. It allows for the flashing of .zip files (ROM's, kernels, mods, etc.). It also allows you to back up your entire phone to either the internal storage or micro-SD card, among other things.
Take a look at this thread if you haven't already.
Magnum_Enforcer said:
1. Yes, it appears to be a stock rooted ROM. Appears to be the first update. There have been two since, including the most recent one from this past week.
2.Your software & firmware version will be updated. S-off won't be affected. You simply have to have the stock recovery installed to take the OTA. Taking the OTA won't brick your phone.
3. You can revert to S-on but I'm not even sure why you'd want to. If you want to unroot simply take the OTA after installing the stock recovery.
4. Hit the second link in my sig for more info.
5. If you flash a different ROM yes, your phone will get wiped and you'll need to set up your accounts again. If you take a OTA update your data won't be affected.
6. "Unlocked" means your bootloader is unlocked, plain and simple. See my answer to question #4 for more info.
As far as what recovery is, think of it as a very small and separate OS from the Android OS. It allows for the flashing of .zip files (ROM's, kernels, mods, etc.). It also allows you to back up your entire phone to either the internal storage or micro-SD card, among other things.
Take a look at this thread if you haven't already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much Magnum_Enforcer for the detailed and organized response. I will definitely be looking into the links you've mentioned/provided. Ideally, it would be great if I can somehow keep it rooted and have s-off while being able to take OTA updates. From that point I clean learn about and use the benefits from it being rooted with s-off, although I need to keep my Google accounts synced, so no flashing of ROMs for me.
So after reading your reply, I went ahead and tried taking the OTA, and after it turned off, it loaded up in the screen in the pic I've attached to this message. I'm assuming it doesn't seem I have the stock recovery as you said is required to take the OTA. How do I get the stock recovery on my phone in place of this "Team Win Recovery Project" recovery so that I can be able to take the OTA update properly? And will removing the current recovery and putting on the stock recovery effect s-off, root, or my synced accounts in any way?
P.S. I see you're in Birmingham. I actually grew up all over B'ham. Which part of town are you from?
L A Z I Z A said:
Thank you very much Magnum_Enforcer for the detailed and organized response. I will definitely be looking into the links you've mentioned/provided. Ideally, it would be great if I can somehow keep it rooted and have s-off while being able to take OTA updates. From that point I clean learn about and use the benefits from it being rooted with s-off, although I need to keep my Google accounts synced, so no flashing of ROMs for me.
So after reading your reply, I went ahead and tried taking the OTA, and after it turned off, it loaded up in the screen in the pic I've attached to this message. I'm assuming it doesn't seem I have the stock recovery as you said is required to take the OTA. How do I get the stock recovery on my phone in place of this "Team Win Recovery Project" recovery so that I can be able to take the OTA update properly? And will removing the current recovery and putting on the stock recovery effect s-off, root, or my synced accounts in any way?
P.S. I see you're in Birmingham. I actually grew up all over B'ham. Which part of town are you from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I asked you to select recovery in the first place. I could've told you whether it would've worked based on that.
I recognize you wanted answers to your questions, but in order to give you the most complete and accurate answer, all I asked was for you to check your recovery.
Captain_Throwback said:
That's why I asked you to select recovery in the first place. I could've told you whether it would've worked based on that.
I recognize you wanted answers to your questions, but in order to give you the most complete and accurate answer, all I asked was for you to check your recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no need for quarrel or to take anything personal. It's not as if I ignored you, I replied back to you. I'm here to seek answers and help, I've no interest in disagreements. Sorry if you feel that way. I'm sure you're quite knowledgeable and experienced enough to have been able to tell me the same, if not more. The response I received from Magnum just happened to be complete and informative enough to me to let me know it was ok to try it out. I like to know at least a little about what I'm doing before jumping into something. That's just the way I am, people are different.
I sought help again in my last response though, and if you're still interested in helping, it would be appreciated. If not, I would understand, no worries or hard feelings.
You won't be able to take the OTA with TWRP installed. You can find the stock recovery in the first post of the link below. There are also instructions on how to install it. Once installed you can boot back to the OS and take the OTA.
Stock Backups + OTA's
To answer your other question, I've lived in several different places all over the state over the years but now live in the northern part of Jefferson county, outside of the city of Birmingham (you couldn't pay me to live in the city limits of B'ham).
Sent from my HTC M8
First off, I'm a long-time iPhone user, first time Android owner.
I have an SM-G900A rooted with towelroot and I have to send it back to AT&T for a warranty concern with the front facing camera. I see some elaborate guides on how to flash back to stock. Is that necessary? Will a factory reset from recovery mode do the trick? I'd hate to attempt that first and end up with a brick.
Thanks.
It depends on what you've done with your phone.
The guides are the most complete ways to unroot and remove all traces that the phone was ever rooted. The easiest way to unroot would be to unroot from the settings in the supersu app, that you can find in the playstore. But after that you would need to re-install the supersu app, but don't run it, and then uninstall it again from phone settings. You have to do both steps to remove all traces of root. I've tried each one separate, and yes, some signs were still there. But if you modified the phone in any way, then those modifications may possibly remain.
And no, a factory reset will not remove root. All that does is wipe your userdata, but the root is inside the phone's ROM.
elgrecoFL said:
First off, I'm a long-time iPhone user, first time Android owner.
I have an SM-G900A rooted with towelroot and I have to send it back to AT&T for a warranty concern with the front facing camera. I see some elaborate guides on how to flash back to stock. Is that necessary? Will a factory reset from recovery mode do the trick? I'd hate to attempt that first and end up with a brick.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest way is to Odin back to stock ROM.
just follow step 1 to 4 on this guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2785185
it is pretty simple and straightforward and you phone will be just as you took it out of the box for the first time with no trace of root whatsoever.
.
it worked!
w00t! worked perfectly. Just did steps 1-4.
shortydoggg, thank you for the guide.
eortizr, thanks for the encouragement
So I have searched the Q&A posts up until pg 30. One thing I keep coming across is when someone asks about unrooting, factory flashing is ALWAYS mentioned. My question is, is it possible to unroot WITHOUT factory flashing? And if so, can someone explain it? I want to update to 5.0.1 and then reroot my device afterwards without losing any data whatsoever.
Keep in mind, this is my first Nexus device and i am extremely new to utilizing adb and cmd promts and whatnot. TIA:good:
melficeapollo said:
So I have searched the Q&A posts up until pg 30. One thing I keep coming across is when someone asks about unrooting, factory flashing is ALWAYS mentioned. My question is, is it possible to unroot WITHOUT factory flashing? And if so, can someone explain it? I want to update to 5.0.1 and then reroot my device afterwards without losing any data whatsoever.
Keep in mind, this is my first Nexus device and i am extremely new to utilizing adb and cmd promts and whatnot. TIA:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hit thanks instead of reply but anyway you can unroot in the SuperSU app unless you used the original way and flashed a kernel to root.
See attached images below: (hit the full unroot button and you should be fine)
awesome sauce!
now after my unroot and update, when i re-root my info will not get erased because my bootloader is already unlocked correct?
melficeapollo said:
awesome sauce!
now after my unroot and update, when i re-root my info will not get erased because my bootloader is already unlocked correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't hold your breath on being able to unroot and OTA update. I've read where people say it can work, but I've never been able to do it. You'll probably have to lose info and reflash. But just back up what you need to and put it back on your phone.
melficeapollo said:
I want to update to 5.0.1 and then reroot my device afterwards without losing any data whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, not sure if I'm fully understanding what you want, but the process which I followed to update to 5.0.1 and then reroot without losing any data is described in the "Flashing 5.0.1" thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/flashing-5-0-1-t2969888