[Q] A multitude of questions - Motorola Droid 3

[Q] A multitude of questions - Motorola Droid 3

Hi everyone. I'm the proud owner of a new Droid 3, and I have some questions about ROMs and stuff that I'm hoping someone can answer:
1. As I understand, the Droid 3's bootloader is locked. As I understand it, the /boot partition is signed and we can't modify it, right? Are any other partitions signed this way? What about any kind of encryption or something on the partitions? I read somewhere that certain Motorola phones with OMAP chipsets have encrypted stuff. Is the Droid 3 one of these devices? If so, what is encrypted?
2. What ways around whatever verification on the device exist? Is 2nd-init a technique used on this device, like on the Droid 2 and other Motorola phones?
3. As I understand it, SafeStrap boots the phone from /preinstall, not system, and leaves /system intact when flashing stuff. Is this correct? What's the point? Every other Android device I've used doesn't have anything like that (afaik). And why doesn't it do the same for /data?
4. On the topic of SafeStrap, if I wanna dual boot Motoblur and Cyanogenmod, can I? (I know this is possible on the Bionic, so I'm assuming the same is true for the Droid 3) How?
5. This phone supports fastboot commands, which is unusual for Motorola devices, right? What would happen if I issued it a "fastbook oem unlock" command?
6. What is "BP," as in "BP Tools?"
Thanks a ton
-Zane

ZaneKaminski said:
Hi everyone. I'm the proud owner of a new Droid 3, and I have some questions about ROMs and stuff that I'm hoping someone can answer:
1. As I understand, the Droid 3's bootloader is locked. As I understand it, the /boot partition is signed and we can't modify it, right? Are any other partitions signed this way? What about any kind of encryption or something on the partitions? I read somewhere that certain Motorola phones with OMAP chipsets have encrypted stuff. Is the Droid 3 one of these devices? If so, what is encrypted?
2. What ways around whatever verification on the device exist? Is 2nd-init a technique used on this device, like on the Droid 2 and other Motorola phones?
3. As I understand it, SafeStrap boots the phone from /preinstall, not system, and leaves /system intact when flashing stuff. Is this correct? What's the point? Every other Android device I've used doesn't have anything like that (afaik). And why doesn't it do the same for /data?
4. On the topic of SafeStrap, if I wanna dual boot Motoblur and Cyanogenmod, can I? (I know this is possible on the Bionic, so I'm assuming the same is true for the Droid 3) How?
5. This phone supports fastboot commands, which is unusual for Motorola devices, right? What would happen if I issued it a "fastbook oem unlock" command?
6. What is "BP," as in "BP Tools?"
Thanks a ton
-Zane
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Zane,
1. Yes, the bootloader is locked. And more than just the boot partition are signed. Recovery, System and a few others as well. I don't know about encryption support for the OMAP chipsets, but I do know that the chips can enforce the signatures and md5 type verification of partitions. I'm not sure that the Droid 3 is actually making use of this feature. I believe the signature is currently stored in a table on the cdt.bin partition. Several people have tried to edit that partition by hand, erasing the check for signatures on certain partitions and none have been successful.
2. For custom AOSP ROMs we are using a logwrapper hijack to 2nd-init the Droid 3 just like the D2.
3. You are correct. Safestrap uses the /preinstall partition as a 2nd-system. And I'm not sure why it's never been done before, but the idea behind Safestrap is fairly simple:
3a. How do we protect our ability to enter recovery (even after flashing system) when in almost all cases any system flash will over-write the hijack needed to enter recovery in the first place? Flashing a ROM on a locked phone is a touchy issue. And I can't count the # of "I'm bootlooped" or "I'm bricked" posts that you see on these boards because of that. This isn't the case with unlocked bootloaders. They ALWAYS have access to recovery and have a way out. And that makes flashing ROMs alot more fun.
3b. Enter Safestrap which is essentially a 2nd-system Bootstrap. It does the hijack to provide access to recovery and custom ROM booting. The ROMs don't have to worry about it. Safestrap is still in very early stages. The interface isn't as easy as it should be to use. I'll work on that as I get more time.
3c. You bring up a good point about "data". MotoBlur and CM7 have very different sets of userdata, and in some ways they're incompaible. Moto likes to throw security information on the /data partition in various spots and CM7 obviously doesn't do that. I have actually hung at the boot when swapping systems and not changing my user data around. I know there's a video of Deodexed doing this exact thing on his Bionic, but in most cases you can't just "flip the switch" on 2nd-system and boot up correctly. Currently, in Safestrap you need to backup your current ROM's data and then restore/wipe the data you want for the new ROM your going to. This process is time consuming and will be ironed out with the next release. It will perform a mini system-specific backup/restore of just userdata when you enable/disable the 2nd-system. I would have stuck the 2nd-system data on another partition ... if we had another spare one to use.
4. This is the current "default" setup for Safestrap. MotoBlur on the primary system and people are testing CM7 on the 2nd-system. You can download the files here:
http://hash-of-codes.blogspot.com/2011/10/beta-testing-safestrap-w-cm7.html
5. The fastboot oem unlock command doesn't work. Been tried.
6. BP = Baseband Processor. "BP-Tools mode" is special boot mode which opens access to the BP via Motorola Software and a USB cord. Most will never use it.
EDIT: Sorry for the wall of text.. good questions.

-delete- realized Hashcode gave a far better response that I could even dream up.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium

That was the best answer to any question (or, well, a bunch of questions) I've read in a long time. Thanks so much.
-Zane

jjhiza said:
-delete- realized Hashcode gave a far better response that I could even dream up.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Such good questions and such a good response are worthy of a sticky/faq imo

Related

[README FAQ] PLEASE Read this before posting or asking questions

I am making this thread because I am seeing *far* too many people posting things when they have no idea what they do or when things are coming, or what things are possible with the phone at this point, so please take these answers into consideration when deciding to post either a new thread, or a reply to someone in an existing thread:
(Note: This thread will be continuously updated when more issues need to be addressed)
QUESTION NUMBER 1:
What can our phone do at this point (9/17/2011)?
At this point, our phones can do the following:
-Be rooted
-Use a bootstrap ClockworkMod Recovery
-Make nandroid backups
-Use the 2nd init booting process
QUESTION NUMBER 2:
What is bootstrap recovery?
Bootstrap recovery is an alternative form of recovery which "hijacks" the boot process and instead goes into a recovery mode that loads the ClockworkMod Recovery.
In order to boot into it, you *must* bootstrap it through the app on Android *every time you want to boot into recovery*.
QUESTION NUMBER 3:
What does having bootstrap recovery do for us?
With bootstrap recovery, we can do EVERYTHING that a normal recovery can do for us, *INCLUDING* installing ROMs and making nandroid backups.
QUESTION NUMBER 4:
Now that we have bootstrap recovery, does this mean we can use ROM Manager to install stuff?
No. No, no, no, a thousand times no. This is not an official 2nd init Recovery release from koush and ROM Manager WILL NOT work with the bootstrap version of recovery.
QUESTION NUMBER 5:
What is 2nd init?
2nd init is altering the init files in the system partition to take over the booting process so that we can load whatever we want to on boot. It is a way to get around the locking of the bootloader. This is also what allows CM7 to run on Moto phones with locked bootloaders.
QUESTION NUMBER 6 (this is the important one):
What does it mean when our bootloader is "locked"?
The bootloader being locked means that we are not allowed to flash unsigned images in fastboot or flash custom kernels to our phone that can alter features such as overclocking, or BFS, etc.
HOWEVER: This *does NOT* mean we cannot start making custom ROMs on our phone. The bootloader being locked has *nothing* to do with the system partition and custom ROMs are still completely viable and can be made and now freely distributed.
ALSO: There *are* ways to get around the fact that we cannot flash custom kernels. With 2nd init and kernel modules, we can freely get around the locked bootloader and even achieve features such as overclocking without having to flash a different kernel.
Please read this and understand this before you post.

very useful information here...there seems to be many in these forums that are new-to-root and this explains the current status very well. thanks for this and all of the help you have provided people already.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

I liked this thread since I just picked the bionic up yesterday, like it better than the Droid 3
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

If your truly new to root i suggest waiting or reading alot before attempting anything here way to early to be rooting and have no idea what your doing that makes for a perfect bionic paperweight
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

Bump-This needs a sticky.

topxshelfxtre said:
If your truly new to root i suggest waiting or reading alot before attempting anything here way to early to be rooting and have no idea what your doing that makes for a perfect bionic paperweight
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you know what you're doing, there's not much risk...if you don't, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

Berzerker7 said:
I am making this thread because I am seeing *far* too many people posting things when they have no idea what they do or when things are coming, or what things are possible with the phone at this point, so please take these answers into consideration when deciding to post either a new thread, or a reply to someone in an existing thread:
......Please read this and understand this before you post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please include Pictures?

Forever root
Where can I find a link to Forever root and cheesecake?
Thankk you

Thanks
Nice write up. As a newbie I can't thank you enough for clearing those topics up in a short and sweet manner. Thanks!

this is the place for stupid questions?
im experienced (rooted droids) but total noob.
what is all the talk about 893 or 5.6something.
its seems totally differenent from ROMs but it looks like some say you need to have this # to use this rom and so forth. It looks also like people are screwing up there data with this stuff.
So...for people who want to Root&Rom is this stuff important? Where is info on what it actually is (893 and other #s)
covering my head and waiting for the smack...

Berzerker7 said:
QUESTION NUMBER 4:
Now that we have bootstrap recovery, does this mean we can use ROM Manager to install stuff?
No. No, no, no, a thousand times no. This is not an official 2nd init Recovery release from koush and ROM Manager WILL NOT work with the bootstrap version of recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was taking a look at the Bootstrap description on the market and it reads:
YOU MUST BE ROOTED TO USE THIS APPLICATION. FOR DROID BIONIC ONLY.
DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS IF YOU AREN'T COMFORTABLE USING AN SBF!
Droid Bionic Recovery Bootstrap will set your phone up so you can access a custom recovery mode to create full backups of your phone and install new ROMs! Install ROM Manager afterwards for easy ROM installation and backup!
What does the developer mean by the last sentence of his description? Doesn't this conflict with FAQ #4? I'm just trying to make sense of everything before I begin using Roms... Thanks.

Any Fastboot Files????

I have been hearing a lot that the DROID 4 and the DROID Razr are very simaliar... If thats true then is there a Possibility that the Razr fastboot files cold work on the DROID 4?

The hardware is identical.....
EXCEPT for the keyboard (maybe the screen, too??). If you have a spare Droid 4 laying around, why not?
For even the above casual user this might be a little much. I haven't had much luck with getting my fully functioning Droid 4 to be recognized by RSDLite.
Although, I do want to know from the developer here, HOW CAN I HELP??
I don't want to just take take take, some of us want to give back.
I bricked my spare Droid 4, and everyone should be really careful with SafeStrap, and backup everything (including the webtop).

RueTheDayTrebek said:
EXCEPT for the keyboard (maybe the screen, too??). If you have a spare Droid 4 laying around, why not?
For even the above casual user this might be a little much. I haven't had much luck with getting my fully functioning Droid 4 to be recognized by RSDLite.
Although, I do want to know from the developer here, HOW CAN I HELP??
I don't want to just take take take, some of us want to give back.
I bricked my spare Droid 4, and everyone should be really careful with SafeStrap, and backup everything (including the webtop).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Droid RAZR fastboot files would probably work on the Droid 4, IF we had unlocked bootloaders. I have tried every combination of DR fastboot files on the D4 and the /system/ partition is never properly signed for the D4.
We need a full Droid 4 update or Droid 4 fastboot files to get back to working order, the Razr won't cut it.

Without trying to sound too stupid here(lol), but could we not make a stock nandroid backup and dump the image in the fastboot file by chance, and change the md5 inside zip?

The problem is not hardware, but rather encryption. Quite simply, we need a properly signed and encrypted software bundle to load on the locked bootloader. If we could sign and encrypt the bundle ourselves, the locked bootloader would not be an issue. The Droid Razr is a different phone with a different encryption key, so we can't use those fastboot files on a D4. We also can't sign our own Nandroid, so we can't load that either.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA

Is there anything that I can do to help?
I'm really eager to get into Android development, and would be willing to pursue the path in getting these signed drivers.

I don't think this will be a problem for much longer. http://www.droid-life.com/2012/03/20/motorola-razr-gsm-bootloader-bypass-discovered-could-work-on-lte-razr/

problematic said:
I don't think this will be a problem for much longer. http://www.droid-life.com/2012/03/20/motorola-razr-gsm-bootloader-bypass-discovered-could-work-on-lte-razr/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!! Oh, this would be EXCELLENT.

GOOGLE IT!!!! Fastboot files are now out for the Droid 4!!!!!

backing up / restoring original firmware

i'm about to root my moto x dev.
i want to keep a backup of the original firmware in case i want to go back.
does it make any difference that it is encrypted? i'm guessing no...
also, any good dumb proof steps? the main info thread only mentions restoring stock by downloading a firmware not using a backed up one.

gcbxda said:
i'm about to root my moto x dev.
i want to keep a backup of the original firmware in case i want to go back.
does it make any difference that it is encrypted? i'm guessing no...
also, any good dumb proof steps? the main info thread only mentions restoring stock by downloading a firmware not using a backed up one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting how? What version of android are you on? These are very important considerations to be able to make a recommendation.
Assuming you intend to unlock your bootloader, you can make a backup with TWRP Custom Recovery BEFORE you root.
If you are using the PIE exploit (only current root method for 4.4.2+), you cannot flash custom recovery. If this is the case, your only option to return to stock will be to flash the official SBF file for your carrier as listed in the "Return to Stock" thread. Not really important since the changes are lost upon reboot anyways.
Regardless, we need more details.
EDIT: Just saw you are using DEV edition.
Very easy!
FIRST: When you unlock your bootloader, it ERASES EVERYTHING. Save anything important first. You cannot make a backup until after you flash twrp, which you can only do AFTER you unlock the BL.
Additionally, according to this thread, it is impossible to backup an encrypted device. So after unlock, you are advised to not choose to encrypt, otherwise no backup can be made: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/moto-x-qa/twrp-device-encryption-t2711700
Once Unlocked, flash TWRP custom recovery with mfastboot:
mfastboot flash recovery twrpfilename.img
link to download twrp here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/development/recovery-twrp-official-support-moto-x-t2779637
then use fastboot to reboot into bootloader:
fastboot reboot-bootloader
now VOL DOWN to "recovery" and VOL UP to open it.
There is a BIG backup button. Use it.
Afterwards, click exit. When you do, it will tell you that you are not rooted and ask if you want to flash SuperSU Installer.
Say yes! Once rebooted, run SuperSU installer and it will root & install SuperSU for you. It will give you 2 options: Choose Play Store Option.
Good Luck

@gcbxda
Keep in mind, since unlocking the bootloader also does a factory reset and puts you back to "fresh out box" the backup you do once you flash TWRP on your phone, will be no different than "Stock Rom" (except TWRP recovery). So why not use the factory firmware to flash the phone back instead of restoring such a backup?
Oh, and keep in mind, if you do backup while in TWRP, you'll want to copy that back up file from the phone to the PC for storage. Future Factory Resets and such will likely wipe the X's internal /SDcard so the backup file would be lost.
Now if your intent is to unlock the bootloader, setup your phone the way you like it before rooting, back up, and then root.... I can see the value in that.

You can also use 'adb pull /sdcard c:\' to backup any files you have

Thanks everyone!
Backing up my stuff is good, but my main concern is going back to stock if I need (what if they release a kick ass moto watch and i need the OTA stock upgrade to use it?
Also, what if I do a backup of the partitions with ADB? ...man sometimes the android community pisses me off. everything must be packaged in a app or some GUI that hides all the information. ...just wasted 2 days reading xposed source to learn that all i had to do, instead of even installing xposed, was to edit a single sql value from 1 to 0... i'm all for the nice guis, but don't hide the actual steps like it is some black magic.
When i started this thread i was thinking of a backup more on the lines of: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2450045
anyway, if adb pull is not an option, my plan of action:
1. backup everything i want on the fake sdcard
2. copy the files out (either adb pull or rootbrowser to move sd files to a external pendrive on the USB OTG)
3. factory reset and/or root bootloader
4. install TWRP (this will be new, always liked classic no-touch CWM on my nexus)
5. backup stock roms
6. root/flash/etc
anyone can expand on item 5 with personal experiences? ideally if you ever did a successful back-to-stock restore

Stock
gcbxda said:
Thanks everyone!
Backing up my stuff is good, but my main concern is going back to stock if I need (what if they release a kick ass moto watch and i need the OTA stock upgrade to use it?
Also, what if I do a backup of the partitions with ADB? ...man sometimes the android community pisses me off. everything must be packaged in a app or some GUI that hides all the information. ...just wasted 2 days reading xposed source to learn that all i had to do, instead of even installing xposed, was to edit a single sql value from 1 to 0... i'm all for the nice guis, but don't hide the actual steps like it is some black magic.
When i started this thread i was thinking of a backup more on the lines of: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2450045
anyway, if adb pull is not an option, my plan of action:
1. backup everything i want on the fake sdcard
2. copy the files out (either adb pull or rootbrowser to move sd files to a external pendrive on the USB OTG)
3. factory reset and/or root bootloader
4. install TWRP (this will be new, always liked classic no-touch CWM on my nexus)
5. backup stock roms
6. root/flash/etc
anyone can expand on item 5 with personal experiences? ideally if you ever did a successful back-to-stock restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
You can find all the stock roms here - - > http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=0

MikeNaples said:
Hello,
You can find all the stock roms here - - > http://sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. i also saw that motorola offer it themselves.. is this their own repository?
but regardless, it is always nice to already have your own handy

gcbxda said:
thanks. i also saw that motorola offer it themselves.. is this their own repository?
but regardless, it is always nice to already have your own handy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moto officially offers recovery images (full stock rom) for the GSM Dev/GSM Unlocked XT1053 and Verizon XT1060 by request on their web site here -> https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/recovery-images They are the most currently released rom only. You wont find older versions there.
SBF.Droid-Developers.org is neither owned, operated nor sponsored by Moto. They keep every version full stock roms (SBF files) they find. I'm not going to speculate how they come across them, but they have many SBF files that Moto hasn't officially released to the public too. i.e. Sprint, ATT, and other carriers.
---------- Post added at 07:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 AM ----------
gcbxda said:
Thanks everyone!
Backing up my stuff is good, but my main concern is going back to stock if I need (what if they release a kick ass moto watch and i need the OTA stock upgrade to use it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are ways to get back to stock to be able to take an OTA -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html
gcbxda said:
Also, what if I do a backup of the partitions with ADB? ...
When i started this thread i was thinking of a backup more on the lines of: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2450045
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can certainly back up that way. But I haven't tried backing up that way and restoring, so I don't know.
gcbxda said:
anyway, if adb pull is not an option, my plan of action:
1. backup everything i want on the fake sdcard
2. copy the files out (either adb pull or rootbrowser to move sd files to a external pendrive on the USB OTG)
3. factory reset and/or root bootloader
4. install TWRP (this will be new, always liked classic no-touch CWM on my nexus)
5. backup stock roms
6. root/flash/etc
anyone can expand on item 5 with personal experiences? ideally if you ever did a successful back-to-stock restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With my HTC Incredible and HTC Thunderbolt and Moto Droid, I did backups in CWM, and restores. It was mainly for when a new upgrade came out. I would backup my current device setup, apps, etc. Apply the update, and if I didn't like the update or had problems, I could revert to my pre-update backup, rather than flash a stock rom and have to set it up all over again, install all my apps, etc. But the HTC devices had S-OFF, so downgrading wasn't an issue.
With my Droid Bionic, the bootloader wasn't unlocked, so it wasn't an option. And there were issues with GPT.Bin and other items preventing downgrading roms, even when flashing official full SBF files.
I haven't really done this with my VZW Dev X, mostly due to the fact that while the bootloader is unlocked, its not unlocked as much as a Nexus device, or an HTC with S-Off, where you can downgrade and flash any parts no matter what. Security issues, things like GPT.BIN, MotoBoot, etc can still get in the way when trying to downgrade. So I never felt it worth the risk. Not to mention the limited space on the X, and time/effort to make the back up and move the file to the PC, and then getting it back on the phone should I ever need to restore it since there is no real SD card.
If your intent of backing up stock roms is so you can revert to stock, having the Moto SBF files available elevates most users concerns. When flashing the same version, there are ways to do it without losing your Apps/Data (like in the case of running 4.4.2 rooted and modded, but wanting to get back to stock to take the 4.4.3 OTA).
If you want to do a backup/restore inside TWRP, you can. I have read many posts from users who were successful. I just advise that you keep track of the version you back up, and only restore if the same Android version is still on your phone (i.e. only restore a 4.4.2 back up if 4.4.2 is on your phone, only restore a 4.4 back up if 4.4 is still on your phone, etc)

wait, what are the limitations i will have with a unlocked Dev device?
with my nexus and touchpad i often tried 4.3 roms and went back to 4 or 2.3 even...
i tried searching the terms you mentioned but it spawn all sort of threads with OP having some flashing problem and then pages of comments starting with "i think..."
I'm extremely confused now
Sent from my XT1053 using XDA Free mobile app

gcbxda said:
wait, what are the limitations i will have with a unlocked Dev device?
with my nexus and touchpad i often tried 4.3 roms and went back to 4 or 2.3 even...
i tried searching the terms you mentioned but it spawn all sort of threads with OP having some flashing problem and then pages of comments starting with "i think..."
I'm extremely confused now
Sent from my XT1053 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocked or Locked Moto X... you have to be concerned when flashing backwards. The Security features on the X prevent downgrading certain components. Attempting to do so will brick or set you up to brick in the future.
Please see -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-Downgrade.htm
Short version... once you have 4.4.2 on your phone, do NOT attempt to downgrade.

KidJoe said:
Moto officially offers recovery images (full stock rom) for the GSM Dev/GSM Unlocked XT1053 and Verizon XT1060 by request on their web site here -> https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/recovery-images They are the most currently released rom only. You wont find older versions there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. looking back at that thread i whish i had went ahead and did all the backups on all OTA updates before each twrp/root and did not trust motorola to have my back.
I'm a moron. Bumping this as a lesson to others

Nexus 6 is horrible

I have a nexus 6. The sound quality is horrible with headphones and the speakers. I unlocked the bootloader, rooted the nexus 6. A lot of the custom roms I have tried freeze during installation and soft brick the phone. The only rom that works is the stock rom.
alucke

That's a rather non-descript post. Who's your carrier, what Rom's are you talking about, any custom kernels, did you perform a wipe before installing? As far as the Audio goes, I've got no complaints from the speakers nor using headphones (both hardwired and BT headphones). You do realize that the first boot after installing a fresh Rom can take several minutes, some as long as 8 minutes while everything is set in place. More info so that we can help, please.

alucke said:
I have a nexus 6. The sound quality is horrible with headphones and the speakers. I unlocked the bootloader, rooted the nexus 6. A lot of the custom roms I have tried freeze during installation and soft brick the phone. The only rom that works is the stock rom.
alucke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol your doing something wrong.
i have flashed most of the available roms, in total hundreds of times, never failed to boot, not even once.

i know i say this often, but ill say it again(even if im wrong this time).. i bet you used used a toolkit to root your device. too bad that you learn absolutely nothing from a toolkit. what you should do is put your phone down, and not touch it until you do some serious research into your device. how you do things properly, what can you flash, etc. these are things that you have to do before you ever root your device.

Is this a rant or are you asking for help? This is a development forum, so not really the place to rant. If you want help, please ask specific questions whilst supplying relevant information

Need education
simms22 said:
i know i say this often, but ill say it again(even if im wrong this time).. i bet you used used a toolkit to root your device. too bad that you learn absolutely nothing from a toolkit. what you should do is put your phone down, and not touch it until you do some serious research into your device. how you do things properly, what can you flash, etc. these are things that you have to do before you ever root your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. Where do I go for help and advice upon this phone OS? I am willing to learn but know of no courses or clubs to join. I am taking lessons online at the Google developers site. This is a start but slow go. As an update, my soft bricked Nexus6 is back in order. I some how managed to use the Root Tool Kit and "pushed" the factory to the phone. I assume this restored my ABD and debug thereby establishing USB connection between PC and phone. I then wiped Cache, system and Dvalick. and loaded Cyanogen Mod 12.1 and Gapps. For a while there I lost debug and was never able to open the phone and enable it.
Still,I would like to know the alternate way such as sideload ABD and commands, Fastboot, Bootloader, etc.. Thank you.
---------- Post added 21st September 2015 at 12:09 AM ---------- Previous post was 20th September 2015 at 11:59 PM ----------
simms22 said:
i know i say this often, but ill say it again(even if im wrong this time).. i bet you used used a toolkit to root your device. too bad that you learn absolutely nothing from a toolkit. what you should do is put your phone down, and not touch it until you do some serious research into your device. how you do things properly, what can you flash, etc. these are things that you have to do before you ever root your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. Where do I go for help and advice upon this Android phone OS? I am willing to learn but know of no courses or clubs to join. I am taking lessons online by self at the Google developers site. This is a start but slow go. As an update, my soft bricked Nexus 6 is back in order. I some how managed to use the Root Tool Kit v2.0.4 and "pushed" the factory, I downloaded from Google, to the phone. I assume this restored my ABD allowing debug thereby establishing USB connection between PC and Nexus 6, I then wiped Cache, system and Dvalick. and loaded Cyanogen Mod 12.1 and Gapps. For a while there I lost debug and was never able to open the Nexus 6 bootloader or Fastboot.
Still,I would like to know the alternate way such as sideload ABD and commands, Fastboot, Bootloader, etc.. Thank you.

This is the most idiotic post I've seen here all day. Seriously sell your nexus 6 and go buy a different phone if you don't like the phone or face the fact that you either don't know how to use a nexus device or you have a defective phone. But I'm almost entirely convinced this is 100% user error
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

ray6279 said:
You are correct. Where do I go for help and advice upon this phone OS? I am willing to learn but know of no courses or clubs to join. I am taking lessons online at the Google developers site. This is a start but slow go. As an update, my soft bricked Nexus6 is back in order. I some how managed to use the Root Tool Kit and "pushed" the factory to the phone. I assume this restored my ABD and debug thereby establishing USB connection between PC and phone. I then wiped Cache, system and Dvalick. and loaded Cyanogen Mod 12.1 and Gapps. For a while there I lost debug and was never able to open the phone and enable it.
Still,I would like to know the alternate way such as sideload ABD and commands, Fastboot, Bootloader, etc.. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here is a good place to start
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/how-to-nexus-6-one-beginners-guide-t2948481
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/noob-read-adb-fastboot-how-help-t3006500
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/guide-flash-factory-images-nexus-6shamu-t2954008
good luck!

Android documentation is kinda lacking
Its not terrible... Its just not entirely coherent, well organized or complete. A lot of poking around and learn by doing, patching together threads that document how things work ect...
Here is my suggestion:
Follow the second link posted by simms22 above, this one here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/noob-read-adb-fastboot-how-help-t3006500
Go here: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images?hl=en
And download the latest image for your phone (shamu, the images at the bottom of the list are most recent. All carriers currently use same build, unless your on tmobile or Fi)
Use some kind of unzipping program (not sure if winrar can do .tgz, if not just google "Windows .tgz") to decompress the image you download. This will have a few .img files in it and a .zip Unzip the .zip for the rest of the partition images for the phone.
With these you can use fastboot to re-format partition to stock.
Here is an older guide, while devices may vary a little... and things have changed since 2011, were still mostly talking about system, boot, recovery, data....
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile...plained-boot-system-recovery-data-cache-misc/
I would say read through the above guides thoroughly, then manually update your phone to stock.
You will notice the stock flash-all script will
Code:
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-shamu-moto-apq8084-71.10.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul
fastboot flash radio radio-shamu-d4.0-9625-02.101.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul
fastboot -w update image-shamu-lmy48m.zip
You probably don't want to do all this... You will notice the last command I showed is fastboot -w update image-shamu-lmy48m.zip (assuming you downloaded the lmy48m image)
We already unzipped this, so rather then flash it in bulk (flashing userdata.img will wipe device) lets flash everything but leave data in place.
So get fastboot working, go to bootloader, and as the script does
With fastboot:
Flash the bootloader
then use fastboot to reboot, to the bootloader
flash the radio
then use fastboot to reboot to the bootloader
then fasboot flash system, recovery, boot and cache images, skipping userdata to avoid wiping the sd card.
At this point reboot. It may take a while for the first boot as android sets itself up and optimizing applications. If things appear to be hung give it 10 minutes before forcing a reboot checking your images and trying again. Pay attention to the output of the commands and make sure there are no errors. If there are read them, and google them.
Now you should be able to boot, and you will be fully stock. This is what it takes to recover from almost any situation. Often you can just flash system to update. Boot will overwrite your kernel, so it is often skipped when custom kernels are used... particularly when not encrypted.
Now find the website for twrp and find the image for your device, then go back to bootloader mode and flash recovery, after flashing reboot directly to recovery.
Also find chainfire's website with the recovery flashable supersu (should be a .zip)
Make sure the supersu install zip is on your phone, and the recovery is on your computer.
Reboot to bootloader and fastboot flash twrp to your recovery partition, then immediately reboot to recovery mode to finish the install.
In recovery make a backup of your working stock system.
After that install supersu
Reboot, and you should be stock and rooted with a backup of your completely stock system.
From here if your want to install a rom reboot to recovery, wipe caches, system and data. On future upgrades backup first, and try only wiping system and caches, then flash the new version of the rom and you wont have to set anything back up. You will have to reinstall xposed if your use it, as well as supersu if your rom does not include it for some reason.
If you do all that, read those guides to the point where you understand each step, and read the thread or at least the last hand full of pages of any rom or utility that you use... Things should work pretty good.

It so easy for some to assume user error, the phone might be a defective I know hate the layout of mine, and out of 13 android phones currently this d*m thing is the only one that freezes on me and will not show up in Linux (two versions) or windows 7 and it still stock. I have hated the phone from day two and tried very hard to use it stock for as long i could. I finally said screw it and went back to my old lg g flex till just died.. I wish i could sell this...but I am stuck trying to make it work. still cant even make it show up in any os and that makes it a bit hard to do anything (and yes my USB ports and drivers and cables are fine i have checked)

And likewise to this post , useless as well
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

nevermind

simms22 said:
nevermind
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:laugh: :laugh:
Was going to post, and had this thought also....
btw JJD loves his N6 and his speakers Rock!
#nuffsaid

Nexus 6 ftw!

disturb1 said:
It so easy for some to assume user error, the phone might be a defective I know hate the layout of mine, and out of 13 android phones currently this d*m thing is the only one that freezes on me and will not show up in Linux (two versions) or windows 7 and it still stock. I have hated the phone from day two and tried very hard to use it stock for as long i could. I finally said screw it and went back to my old lg g flex till just died.. I wish i could sell this...but I am stuck trying to make it work. still cant even make it show up in any os and that makes it a bit hard to do anything (and yes my USB ports and drivers and cables are fine i have checked)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is user error.
SOME hardware is bad... But people like to view their phones as these temperamental beasts that "need to settle" and "all have their own intricacies"
Its a computer. Is this the way we look at laptops?
Two, or two hundred version of linux... Doesn't really matter because linux is a kernel and MTP implementation is handled separately. Not Nexus' fault that you didn't configure linux correctly, or that you expected someone else to do it for you for free, and they didn't do it either.
What file manager do you use, and did you have gvfs-mtp or kio-mtp installed?
What utilities were you using to mount the mtp drive?
These instructions are for arch linux, https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MTP#simple-mtpfs (I use simple mtpfs), adapt them to your distro, find your distros documentation.
But then you don't really need it to show up in the OS? Does fastboot recognize it? Have you installed udev rules for it?

ok, thanks for all the input. I will give the nexus 6 a try again, root it. Can anyone point me to a custom rom that is somewhat close to stock?

I like Pure Nexus

scryan said:
It is user error.
SOME hardware is bad... But people like to view their phones as these temperamental beasts that "need to settle" and "all have their own intricacies"
Its a computer. Is this the way we look at laptops?
Two, or two hundred version of linux... Doesn't really matter because linux is a kernel and MTP implementation is handled separately. Not Nexus' fault that you didn't configure linux correctly, or that you expected someone else to do it for you for free, and they didn't do it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if I just have issues with lollipop or the hardware and lollipop
I have it rooted now and also still hate it I don't have the sound issues that some have but freezing was a constant with nexus T-Mobile stock ROM or maybe I have a lucky lemon ether way
I don't blame others or look to others to do my rooting rom installation or themes nor do I assume that it the phone every time all I am saying is we need to stop blaming every confused user as noob and assume people are not trying to learn
I been here 3 years but I lurk and learn and move on but I constantly see issues of flaming it is sad ...I see your reply and that fact that you offered help is what I like to see what I would offer if I knew an answer..
Honestly I am just not a fan of the phone but I made my bed and in it I must... hack at it till I am happy...

Why exactly can't we downgrade to 2.3 from 4.x?

OK, so I've had my Droid 4 since it came out in 2012, and finally replaced it with a Galaxy S7 and the keyboard case.
I wanted to play around a bit with RSD Lite and flash all the different firmware versions, as part of a wallpaper dump project I'm doing. I knew at the time that once you updated to ICS, you could not go back to Gingerbread. But it's now four years later, and I'm just curious what the technical reason for this is... it just tells me "flash failed"
With the original Droid you were able to go from 2.0 to 2.3 and vice versa easily, it was just a matter of putting the phone in flash mode and using the .sbf. Is it possible to use the 2.3 system.img with the newer baseband or whatever?

The Droid 4 has a locked bootloader. It prevents older firmware from being flashed, kind of how on newer Samsung devices, you can't downgrade the version because of KNOX and a qfuse trip. I'm not sure of the specifics on the Droid 4, but it should be a similar concept.

Don't the other Droids (1 and 2) have locked bootloaders too? It's a GOOD thing so you don't perma-brick by trying to flash garbage code to it.

drfsupercenter said:
Don't the other Droids (1 and 2) have locked bootloaders too? It's a GOOD thing so you don't perma-brick by trying to flash garbage code to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global had locked bootloaders, but the OG Droid didn't. It had a fully unlocked bootloader. I have two of them, and it was nearly impossible to brick them. As long as you don't mess with the bootloader, then you have one way to restore it, even if the system and recovery become corrupted (fastboot, or RSD Lite in this case).

eragon5779 said:
The Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global had locked bootloaders, but the OG Droid didn't. It had a fully unlocked bootloader. I have two of them, and it was nearly impossible to brick them. As long as you don't mess with the bootloader, then you have one way to restore it, even if the system and recovery become corrupted (fastboot, or RSD Lite in this case).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yeah, I noticed that.
I was trying to collect SBF files recently and wanted to verify all the ones I had... on the original Droid I was able to go back and forth between the original 2.0 and the latest 2.2.3 update; on my Droid 2 anything older than the most recent would leave me with a "MEM_MAP Blank" error in the bootloader.
However, the part that I don't understand... isn't the "OK to Program, Connect USB Data Cable" part of said bootloader? If it was fully unlocked, you could write a bunch of zeroes to it and you'd be left with a brick you couldn't recover from. That, to me, is the benefit of the locked bootloaders...
Similarly, you can flash ClockworkMod to both the D1 and D2, but on the D2 it requires a "bootstrap" which I imagine is similar to Safestrap on the Droid 4. I assume the custom recovery on the original Droid replaces the stock recovery, but it leaves that bootloader intact so you can flash back to 100% unrooted stock. So how is that any different than what the D2 bootstrap and D4 Safestrap do?
And furthermore... even using the bootstrap/Safestrap, if you try to flash a nandroid backup from an older version, it won't boot, you'll just get a black screen. I don't get that part either, because the bootloader is left intact during that process, wouldn't that be like live-booting Windows XP on a Windows 7 computer by plugging in an external hard drive? (Especially so with the Droid 4 and Safestrap, where you literally store all the partitions as files on the internal storage)

drfsupercenter said:
Ah yeah, I noticed that.
I was trying to collect SBF files recently and wanted to verify all the ones I had... on the original Droid I was able to go back and forth between the original 2.0 and the latest 2.2.3 update; on my Droid 2 anything older than the most recent would leave me with a "MEM_MAP Blank" error in the bootloader.
However, the part that I don't understand... isn't the "OK to Program, Connect USB Data Cable" part of said bootloader? If it was fully unlocked, you could write a bunch of zeroes to it and you'd be left with a brick you couldn't recover from. That, to me, is the benefit of the locked bootloaders...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically, yes. You could brick it by doing that. But I never once touched the bootloader, or even used RSD Lite, until I got to the Droid 2 Global. Even then, I never touched the bootloader. You shouldn't ever have to (unless you unlock it through an exploit on a device, like some newer phones).
Similarly, you can flash ClockworkMod to both the D1 and D2, but on the D2 it requires a "bootstrap" which I imagine is similar to Safestrap on the Droid 4. I assume the custom recovery on the original Droid replaces the stock recovery, but it leaves that bootloader intact so you can flash back to 100% unrooted stock. So how is that any different than what the D2 bootstrap and D4 Safestrap do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't remember how the Droid 2 worked in terms of exploits, but I know that the Droid 4 uses kexec, or kernel execution. Check here for some info on kexec (for regular Linux).
And furthermore... even using the bootstrap/Safestrap, if you try to flash a nandroid backup from an older version, it won't boot, you'll just get a black screen. I don't get that part either, because the bootloader is left intact during that process, wouldn't that be like live-booting Windows XP on a Windows 7 computer by plugging in an external hard drive? (Especially so with the Droid 4 and Safestrap, where you literally store all the partitions as files on the internal storage)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Untouched systems require the corresponding bootloader or older. The Galaxy S5 could run a newer system on an older bootloader, but not vice versa. Even Cyanogenmod requires a specific bootloader sometimes (Droid 2 Global, for example).

eragon5779 said:
Technically, yes. You could brick it by doing that. But I never once touched the bootloader, or even used RSD Lite, until I got to the Droid 2 Global. Even then, I never touched the bootloader. You shouldn't ever have to (unless you unlock it through an exploit on a device, like some newer phones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used RSD Lite even back then, because I had rooted my phone and wanted to unroot it for something. Also if I recall, before ROM Manager had a nice recovery install feature, the only way to do it was to flash a .sbf file with the recovery partition to the phone.
Either way, I see people complaining about locked bootloaders and it makes me wonder why that's a bad thing. With the Droid 2 and 4 (and I assume 3 as well, I don't have one), you can only really "soft brick", it's always repairable via RSD Lite, and that's what Motorola themselves would do too. If you somehow bricked an original Droid by corrupting the bootloader, I don't think even THEY could fix it! Never hurts to have some sort of brick recovery.
eragon5779 said:
Untouched systems require the corresponding bootloader or older. The Galaxy S5 could run a newer system on an older bootloader, but not vice versa. Even Cyanogenmod requires a specific bootloader sometimes (Droid 2 Global, for example)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I'm fundamentally mis-understanding what exactly a bootloader does, then. You would think if the encryption changed, the older versions would still work but NOT the newer versions.
Would this be of any use?
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a

drfsupercenter said:
I used RSD Lite even back then, because I had rooted my phone and wanted to unroot it for something. Also if I recall, before ROM Manager had a nice recovery install feature, the only way to do it was to flash a .sbf file with the recovery partition to the phone.
Either way, I see people complaining about locked bootloaders and it makes me wonder why that's a bad thing. With the Droid 2 and 4 (and I assume 3 as well, I don't have one), you can only really "soft brick", it's always repairable via RSD Lite, and that's what Motorola themselves would do too. If you somehow bricked an original Droid by corrupting the bootloader, I don't think even THEY could fix it! Never hurts to have some sort of brick recovery.
I guess I'm fundamentally mis-understanding what exactly a bootloader does, then. You would think if the encryption changed, the older versions would still work but NOT the newer versions.
Would this be of any use?
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. The bootloader always has been and always will be locked on the Droid 4. Once kexec was achieved, unlocking wasn't looked at anymore.
And in terms of what a bootloader is, read around on XDA. There are plenty of threads on it.

Just an idea, I'm thinking there's a difference between a bootROM and the bootloader on a phone.
I'm thinking of the Nintendo 3DS as an example because I've done a bit of 3DS hacking. The 3DS has a bootROM, which means it cannot be overwritten and as a result Nintendo cannot update it even if they wanted to. They update other bits of code, but the bootROM is and always will be the same because it's readonly memory.
From what I gather, since the Motorola phones have had updates that reprogram (and update) the bootloader, meaning it has to be flashable somehow. What people have done with the 3DS is actually solder some wires to the NAND which lets you read/write it like an SD card. Could something like that be done on a Motorola phone? Even if the fastboot stuff isn't the full code, you could probably dump the oldest version of the bootloader from a phone that hasn't been upgraded (if there even are any out there in the wild...) and others could use it on theirs.
Given that you can buy a Droid 4 on eBay for like $40 it's probably not even a big deal, but it would be an interesting undertaking nonetheless. Especially for those who know how to solder. I don't know if phones actually use a NAND or not, but given "nandroid" I was assuming.

drfsupercenter said:
Just an idea, I'm thinking there's a difference between a bootROM and the bootloader on a phone.
I'm thinking of the Nintendo 3DS as an example because I've done a bit of 3DS hacking. The 3DS has a bootROM, which means it cannot be overwritten and as a result Nintendo cannot update it even if they wanted to. They update other bits of code, but the bootROM is and always will be the same because it's readonly memory.
From what I gather, since the Motorola phones have had updates that reprogram (and update) the bootloader, meaning it has to be flashable somehow. What people have done with the 3DS is actually solder some wires to the NAND which lets you read/write it like an SD card. Could something like that be done on a Motorola phone? Even if the fastboot stuff isn't the full code, you could probably dump the oldest version of the bootloader from a phone that hasn't been upgraded (if there even are any out there in the wild...) and others could use it on theirs.
Given that you can buy a Droid 4 on eBay for like $40 it's probably not even a big deal, but it would be an interesting undertaking nonetheless. Especially for those who know how to solder. I don't know if phones actually use a NAND or not, but given "nandroid" I was assuming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a process called JTAGing and is used on a lot of phones. But at this point, doing so is kind of pointless. All ROMs are made using kexec, and unless you can a) figure out the pin layout for the JTAG without killing the phone and b) build a kernel that doesn't use kexec, then there isn't much point to it at this point. We have working 6.0 ROMs, and I can deal with the extra boot time that kexec takes (which is, in my opinion, the only thing that would be improved from unlocking the bootloader).

Yeah, JTAG is basically the same thing I'm talking about, just that on a 3DS the pinout is such that it can be read/write like an SD card instead of needing a parallel connection.
I was thinking more for being able to flash any SBF (or in the case of the Droid 3/4, the XML and image files) to the phone. There probably aren't many people interested in actually downgrading, since the newest OTA update can be rooted and you can use kexec, but I'm more of a hobbyist and it was something I was interested in doing.
Plus, you could probably redo the SBF/XMLs to not update the bootloader (if it really can run newer code as you said) so that way you can just go back and forth between the first version of the OS to the newest freely, instead of being locked to the newest as you are now.

Database Develop

welcome