Database Develop

[Q] Confused about 24A and recovery

I'd like to try a 24A rom, but I'm pretty confused about the process. I have a few questions.
1. I have a nandroid backup of my current setup which is an old cm11 nightly on 12b. Can I simply restore that backup in recovery if I want to revert back from a 24A rom? Or does the 24A bootstack change everything? I read something in the thread for xdabbeb's 24A rom about restoring download mode. I don't even know what that is. I think has something to do with how you can interface with a pc to TOT or kdz, but I'm not sure.
2. Will the twrp I have now continue to work, or will I have to do something special in terms of getting recovery to work on 24A. In reference again to xdabbeb's thread, it would appear that his 24A bootstack zip also flashes a custom recovery. So I wouldn't need to worry about that. Is that right?
3. What's the process for returning from 24A to a 12B or lower rom? Would I have to restore a 12b bootstack?
I'd love to have a stable KK rom but I'm a little intimidated, especially when I read Jackpot Calvin's cm11 thread. What's the easiest way to do this, I guess is my question.
-D
(I have the vzw variant)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2715408
This is how I did it and it was very easy. Just read carefully. Be sure to reboot to recovery after flashing bootstack. And you need to be on TWRP 2.7. There's a flashable loki'd somewhere in the Verizon forums.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

If you follow the OTA update steps to get the phone up to 24A, you can re-root with ioroot25 and use AutoRec to push TWRP to the phone also, easiest way to do it.

Ok, I got twrp 2.7 on now. I'll verify the md5s and flash. We'll see how it goes.
If I ever figure this out I might start a Google doc where you could choose your starting point (rom, Android Version, recovery, Baseband etc.) and then it will walk you through steps depending on what rom you want to install.
I think it'd be helpful because right now it's kind of a kludge.
-D

D-meist said:
Ok, I got twrp 2.7 on now. I'll verify the md5s and flash. We'll see how it goes.
If I ever figure this out I might start a Google doc where you could choose your starting point (rom, Android Version, recovery, Baseband etc.) and then it will walk you through steps depending on what rom you want to install.
I think it'd be helpful because right now it's kind of a kludge.
-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PLEASE do this. I would love to contribute, because I am tired of 50 different methods and posts that say:
Step 1: Revert back to stock everything
Step 2: Install ROM
Step 3: Done
Step 1 contains 20 steps that aren't detailed, and when you ask, people say "LOL idiot search the forums." I don't expect hand-holding but glossing over things is annoying, especially since the search function here isn't that great.

jmilacek said:
PLEASE do this. I would love to contribute, because I am tired of 50 different methods and posts that say:
Step 1: Revert back to stock everything
Step 2: Install ROM
Step 3: Done
Step 1 contains 20 steps that aren't detailed, and when you ask, people say "LOL idiot search the forums." I don't expect hand-holding but glossing over things is annoying, especially since the search function here isn't that great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you could just follow this for step 1 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2448960

Need help again....pls

ive got safestrap installed. created rom slot. tried to load a rom and nothin. it boots to a wiped stock rom. nothin happens. nothin changes

harley1rocker said:
ive got safestrap installed. created rom slot. tried to load a rom and nothin. it boots to a wiped stock rom. nothin happens. nothin changes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to provide a lot more information if you want some help. What firmware are you on? What version of SafeStrap did you install? What ROM did you try to install? What steroids did you take? Which modules did you flash? Does your stock ROM boot?
Always provide as much information as possible, it will increase your chances of getting help.

Devo7v said:
You need to provide a lot more information if you want some help. What firmware are you on? What version of SafeStrap did you install? What ROM did you try to install? What steroids did you take? Which modules did you flash? Does your stock ROM boot?
Always provide as much information as possible, it will increase your chances of getting help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me try, because I think I have the same issue. I'm running 4.4.2, and I used safestrap 3.73 to create a rom slot and install Hyperdrive. I wiped everything it said to before I installed it, and installed the latest masterpatch after and rebooted. When it rebooted, it appears to have gone into my stock ROM. Everything is the same, except my network doesn't work because it says my SIM card isn't inserted. Any ideas?
---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 AM ----------
Caboose27 said:
Let me try, because I think I have the same issue. I'm running 4.4.2, and I used safestrap 3.73 to create a rom slot and install Hyperdrive. I wiped everything it said to before I installed it, and installed the latest masterpatch after and rebooted. When it rebooted, it appears to have gone into my stock ROM. Everything is the same, except my network doesn't work because it says my SIM card isn't inserted. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And now I tried to wipe it again, and that ROM slot is gone, and I suddenly don't have room to make a new one.
*edit* apparently a wipe this time around reset my entire phone. No idea why. Is there a manual on this program somewhere? I keep getting told to search and I'll find it, but all I've found is about five lines worth of instructions.

Caboose27 said:
Let me try, because I think I have the same issue. I'm running 4.4.2, and I used safestrap 3.73 to create a rom slot and install Hyperdrive. I wiped everything it said to before I installed it, and installed the latest masterpatch after and rebooted. When it rebooted, it appears to have gone into my stock ROM. Everything is the same, except my network doesn't work because it says my SIM card isn't inserted. Any ideas?
---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 AM ----------
And now I tried to wipe it again, and that ROM slot is gone, and I suddenly don't have room to make a new one.
*edit* apparently a wipe this time around reset my entire phone. No idea why. Is there a manual on this program somewhere? I keep getting told to search and I'll find it, but all I've found is about five lines worth of instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot use ROM slots with SafeStrap 3.73. You have to install ROMs to your stock ROM slot overwriting your stock ROM. So make a backup before you flash anything. The developer of SafeStrap took a new job and had to abandon development before he could fully implement ROM slots on 4.4.2. I know it's difficult to find but the information is there. Thank you for trying to find it before posting.
EDIT: just so you're aware, I'm still on 4.2.2, so I haven't actually had any experience with SafeStrap on 4.4.2. I'm just relaying information I've read. So definitely do some reading before you do anything in case I'm wrong. If you have more questions I'll do my best to answer them, but make sure you fact check me because i wouldn't want to brick your phone.

Devo7v said:
You cannot use ROM slots with SafeStrap 3.73. You have to install ROMs to your stock ROM slot overwriting your stock ROM. So make a backup before you flash anything. The developer of SafeStrap took a new job and had to abandon development before he could fully implement ROM slots on 4.4.2. I know it's difficult to find but the information is there. Thank you for trying to find it before posting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, if that information is out there, it's pretty deep. Like, Mariana's Trench deep. At least now it'll be up front. So basically, SafeStrap is a custom recovery in itself, bypassing the need for an unlocked bootloader?

Caboose27 said:
Yeah, if that information is out there, it's pretty deep. Like, Mariana's Trench deep. At least now it'll be up front. So basically, SafeStrap is a custom recovery in itself, bypassing the need for an unlocked bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same version of bootstrap. same prob here. and let me get this str8...over write stock rom slot? isnt that suppose to be like the "safe zone"

Caboose27 said:
Yeah, if that information is out there, it's pretty deep. Like, Mariana's Trench deep. At least now it'll be up front. So basically, SafeStrap is a custom recovery in itself, bypassing the need for an unlocked bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SafeStrap does not bypass the bootloader, it loads after the kernel loads so there is no way to install a custom kernel. This means that you can only use ROMs that are compatible with your stock kernel, no AOSP ROMs and no CM. You can only use TouchWiz-based ROMs.
harley1rocker said:
same version of bootstrap. same prob here. and let me get this str8...over write stock rom slot? isnt that suppose to be like the "safe zone"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the way it was intended to work, but Samsung changed some things in 4.4.2 and the developer didn't have time to reimplement ROM slots before he left.

Devo7v said:
SafeStrap does not bypass the bootloader, it loads after the kernel loads so there is no way to install a custom kernel. This means that you can only use ROMs that are compatible with your stock kernel, no AOSP ROMs and no CM. You can only use TouchWiz-based ROMs.
That is the way it was intended to work, but Samsung changed some things in 4.4.2 and the developer didn't have time to reimplement ROM slots before he left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it working. I have the 4.4.2 kernel and the Graviton ROM flashed after using Safestrap to make a backup. After I flashed the rom, I wiped dalvik and cache, flashed the master patch v.2, wiped again, and rebooted. Everything works except the stock camera app, which I'm currently looking for a fix.

master patch link??

Devo7v said:
You cannot use ROM slots with SafeStrap 3.73. You have to install ROMs to your stock ROM slot overwriting your stock ROM. So make a backup before you flash anything. The developer of SafeStrap took a new job and had to abandon development before he could fully implement ROM slots on 4.4.2. I know it's difficult to find but the information is there. Thank you for trying to find it before posting.
EDIT: just so you're aware, I'm still on 4.2.2, so I haven't actually had any experience with SafeStrap on 4.4.2. I'm just relaying information I've read. So definitely do some reading before you do anything in case I'm wrong. If you have more questions I'll do my best to answer them, but make sure you fact check me because i wouldn't want to brick your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DONT TRY OVERWRITING YOUR STOCK ROM SLOT WITH HYPERDRIVE ROM. YOU WILL LOSE SAFESTRAP AND IT BREAKS CAMERA WIFI,basiclly your phone wont work. Ive done it ant now have a s4 active paperweight. Ive tried odin and all the tar,pit and rar files you can find. NOTHIN WORKS. Before any1 says take it to bestbuy....i did. Kies and all the merry samsung reps culdnt put it back together. So before flashing anything over your stock rom slot make dam sure your a rocket scientist or at the very least a software engineer for samsung...

harley1rocker said:
DONT TRY OVERWRITING YOUR STOCK ROM SLOT WITH HYPERDRIVE ROM. YOU WILL LOSE SAFESTRAP AND IT BREAKS CAMERA WIFI,basiclly your phone wont work. Ive done it ant now have a s4 active paperweight. Ive tried odin and all the tar,pit and rar files you can find. NOTHIN WORKS. Before any1 says take it to bestbuy....i did. Kies and all the merry samsung reps culdnt put it back together. So before flashing anything over your stock rom slot make dam sure your a rocket scientist or at the very least a software engineer for samsung...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to flash the modules after flashing the ROM to get everything working again. Make sure you do it before you allow Hyperdrive to boot for the first time.
Also, in order to use Odin you cannot have Kies installed.

Devo7v said:
You need to flash the modules after flashing the ROM to get everything working again. Make sure you do it before you allow Hyperdrive to boot for the first time.
Also, in order to use Odin you cannot have Kies installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way past that dude. The phone only allows me to enter into DL mode as of now. I know i was on ne3 htperdrive when this happened. Can you pls post a link for the correct tar file to use in odin? Ive tried most of those files but none worked. Can u post the correct ones for odin? May the software gods be with me....ima gonna need em....thanx dude

harley1rocker said:
Way past that dude. The phone only allows me to enter into DL mode as of now. I know i was on ne3 htperdrive when this happened. Can you pls post a link for the correct tar file to use in odin? Ive tried most of those files but none worked. Can u post the correct ones for odin? May the software gods be with me....ima gonna need em....thanx dude
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow the instructions and you'll be fine. Remember, since you're on NE3 you can only flash NC9 or NE3.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2835481

Nexus 6 Help

Hi I have a few questions for my nexus 6 that I am getting today
1) I am going to flash a the new marshmallow update, which one should I pick because for root you need a specific build but on the google factory images the latest build is not supported? I really don't know.
2) After I flash 6.0 can I just do the fastboot flash recovery twrp.img without flashing the boot.img
3) When I go to a new rom like Chroma by Zephik do I still need to change the boot.img to flash the beta super user
For now these are all my questions and I would really appreciate if you could answer it.
side note: I cannot use NRT becuase I am on a mac, if you guys have any alternatives I would really appreciate it too.

1) Flash any of them, they are all rootable. I would recommend going with the latest one. Unless I am mistaken, I believe K, N, and R each have the same radio so there effectively would be no real difference in the end result, as a custom ROM will overwrite everything else.
2) Yes, there is no need to have a modified boot image or root if you plan on flashing a custom ROM.
3) This depends on the ROM, they should have instructions in their post as to what they require. I am pretty sure Chroma comes with a custom kernel already, and I believe it comes pre-rooted as well. It could be that you have to root the ROM after you flash it if you want root though, there are some ROMs that are like that. The OP should have installation instructions.
As for your side note, I don't recommend using a toolkit of any sort. I recommend learning how to use fastboot, and doing it manually. That way if you were to need to fix something in the future, you would have a general understanding of what you did and why, and perhaps that will help you in how to fix it. Rather than clicking a couple buttons in a toolkit. Also, toolkits can fail, and not tell you why. It is often hard to figure out what went wrong when it is doing multiple steps at once, rather than one at a time like if you were to do it the manual way. It really isn't that difficult, and it is very well documented process at this point with tons of guides with pictures and even videos out there.

cupfulloflol said:
1) Flash any of them, they are all rootable. I would recommend going with the latest one. Unless I am mistaken, I believe K, N, and R each have the same radio so there effectively would be no real difference in the end result, as a custom ROM will overwrite everything else.
2) Yes, there is no need to have a modified boot image or root if you plan on flashing a custom ROM.
3) This depends on the ROM, they should have instructions in their post as to what they require. I am pretty sure Chroma comes with a custom kernel already, and I believe it comes pre-rooted as well. It could be that you have to root the ROM after you flash it if you want root though, there are some ROMs that are like that. The OP should have installation instructions.
As for your side note, I don't recommend using a toolkit of any sort. I recommend learning how to use fastboot, and doing it manually. That way if you were to need to fix something in the future, you would have a general understanding of what you did and why, and perhaps that will help you in how to fix it. Rather than clicking a couple buttons in a toolkit. Also, toolkits can fail, and not tell you why. It is often hard to figure out what went wrong when it is doing multiple steps at once, rather than one at a time like if you were to do it the manual way. It really isn't that difficult, and it is very well documented process at this point with tons of guides with pictures and even videos out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much, I actually used adb/fastboot when I was rooting my mytouch 4g so this knowledge should come in handy, one other question if I were to root the latest factory image can I use the MRA58K.img that Chainfire posted for 6.0 or do I have to find a modified boot img that matches the latest factory image which is MRA58R, thank you so much again

20p and CM13

Quick question. Is there any reason flashing cm13 on a 20p phone would cause issues? I had to get a refurb due to boot loop and tried to load cm13 on it but ended up with no sound card. I got that fixed by kdz to 20o and then updated to 20p but I don't really like the stock ROM much and am wary about flashing CM again because the back order on this phone is ridiculous.

forvrknight said:
Quick question. Is there any reason flashing cm13 on a 20p phone would cause issues? I had to get a refurb due to boot loop and tried to load cm13 on it but ended up with no sound card. I got that fixed by kdz to 20o and then updated to 20p but I don't really like the stock ROM much and am wary about flashing CM again because the back order on this phone is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean "because the back order on this phone is ridiculous"
OK let me revise
First, you unlock bootloader, and "unlocked bootloader" appear when you turn on your device.
Next, you installed TWRP custom recovery.
Then you boot into recovery (TWRP)
Before installing (flashing) CM you first wipe your previous OS. In TWRP you Advance wipe (delvak,system,data,cach) and internal if you already backed up your data.
After completely wiping. Now you install (flash) latest CM13.
Then, after flashing complete reboot system. Don't install Gapps yet. Every thing should be working fine.
Last but not least, Gapps you install, it might be tricky because if you try to install an app that has an alternative pre installed. some problems could appear. For me Camera and keyboard the stop working.
I'm a noob myself. But if there would be a problem between a software and a hardware. I would blame it on the kernel.
Or the CM file you downloaded is corrupted.
Re download it and check the md5.
Please keep me updated. And any further Q.
Give me a like if this was helpful.

Wolf2231 said:
What do you mean "because the back order on this phone is ridiculous"
OK let me revise
First, you unlock bootloader, and "unlocked bootloader" appear when you turn on your device.
Next, you installed TWRP custom recovery.
Then you boot into recovery (TWRP)
Before installing (flashing) CM you first wipe your previous OS. In TWRP you Advance wipe (delvak,system,data,cach) and internal if you already backed up your data.
After completely wiping. Now you install (flash) latest CM13.
Then, after flashing complete reboot system. Don't install Gapps yet. Every thing should be working fine.
Last but not least, Gapps you install, it might be tricky because if you try to install an app that has an alternative pre installed. some problems could appear. For me Camera and keyboard the stop working.
I'm a noob myself. But if there would be a problem between a software and a hardware. I would blame it on the kernel.
Or the CM file you downloaded is corrupted.
Re download it and check the md5.
Please keep me updated. And any further Q.
Give me a like if this was helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The backorder for a refurbished is about a month. My 1st G4 was rooted and running several roms but mostly cm13. It randomly boot looped after a flash and in an attempt to fix it used the LG flash utility and a 20n kdz. When it would boot it would be so laggy that it was unusable. Managed to look at logcat and saw errors related to asound device missing. Turned that phone on for a replacement at a t-mobile store and it just arrived.
The new phone came on 20n I think and I unlocked, rooted, and flashed cm13 again. After about a day I rebooted for something and got the exact same problem. After some searching I managed to find that kdz to 20o would fix it and it did. Not really sure but was thinking that maybe some filesystem change or something might have happened between versions that didn't play nice with cm13.
Not really sure this isn't my area of expertise or anything so just guessing. I'd rather not go through all this again so figured I'd ask if anyone knew any reason that cm13 could have caused it or if I'm just unlucky.
Thanks for the response though I'll make sure to double check the md5 I'm really bad about that lol

forvrknight said:
The backorder for a refurbished is about a month. My 1st G4 was rooted and running several roms but mostly cm13. It randomly boot looped after a flash and in an attempt to fix it used the LG flash utility and a 20n kdz. When it would boot it would be so laggy that it was unusable. Managed to look at logcat and saw errors related to asound device missing. Turned that phone on for a replacement at a t-mobile store and it just arrived.
The new phone came on 20n I think and I unlocked, rooted, and flashed cm13 again. After about a day I rebooted for something and got the exact same problem. After some searching I managed to find that kdz to 20o would fix it and it did. Not really sure but was thinking that maybe some filesystem change or something might have happened between versions that didn't play nice with cm13.
Not really sure this isn't my area of expertise or anything so just guessing. I'd rather not go through all this again so figured I'd ask if anyone knew any reason that cm13 could have caused it or if I'm just unlucky.
Thanks for the response though I'll make sure to double check the md5 I'm really bad about that lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you went through a lot. Well the possibility of one of us getting this problem is low, under same consequences. Anyways, on this page, we just try to share info between each other to find the best solution. That's what its about.
Hey, thanks for sharing your experience you just added a possible problem and solution. This will be helpful for the community. About md5 google how to check it. There are really easy ways. Checking the md5 is worth it, that's for CM ROM. I believe LGUP does check for kdz automatically, since the kdz are stock.
Good luck, and don't stop sharing.

Is "Copy partitions zip" still needed when prepping for roms with official firmware?

Is "Copy partitions zip" still needed when prepping for roms with official firmware?
In the following threads and others, I'm seeing the first step listed as crucial, and involving flashing this small zip file in order to populate the B slots of the phone:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x4/how-to/guide-install-android-9-0-pie-gsi-moto-t3833860
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x4/development/rom-lineage-os-15-1-t3802265
However, in more recent tutorials as well as the (awesome) videos I've seem floating around from munchy, this step is not shown. In fact, the act of "populating the B slots" now seems tied to flashing a copy of the official firmware in order to prep for custom roms.
I'm a little bit confused about wether the official firmware is now a replacement for this original "copy-partitions-payton.zip" file. Aside from a couple of OP's, I don't see anybody mentioning this file anymore. Also, when instructions are given on "populating the B slots" it seems to now refer to the official firmware flashing process.
Am I getting all of this correct? Is flashing the official firmware a replacement for the step of flashing the copy-partitions-payton.zip file?
I've already unlocked my bootloader.
I really apologize if I'm asking obvious questions, but this is my first android phone in 5 years and I really, REALLY don't want to screw this up. I've had a lot of catching up to do and have been doing a ****-ton of reading in this forum. I think I have the rest of the flashing process figured out... I just want to do the first step right. Thank you so much XDA for being the resource for people like me!!

we still need it. which video doesn't have this step? pretty sure i did mention it in all the videos. if i did not , then my bad.

Hey man thanks so much for replying! I haven't actually seen it in any of the videos - unless I'm missing something incredibly obvious.
(for context - my ultimate goal is to flash LineageOS 15.1 and get root passing SafetyNet to the point where GPay works)
I started here to get the basics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkmczD9tvEQ
This video starts right with flashing the stock firmware:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Kcwjyk_Ls
This video I didn't understand at first, but eventually got that you're just explaining A/B slots, not necessarily giving a tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVwYxp30dps&t=119s
None of these have that specific zip being flashed.
So if I understand correctly the correct process after buying the phone would be...
1) Unlock bootloader
2) push needed zips to phone storage
3) fastboot into TWRP
4) flash copy-partitions-payton.zip
5) reboot into recovery
6) flash stock firmware (I'll be using PAYTON_FI_8.1.0_OPWS28.46-21-8_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC)
6) ...and basically follow the rest of your video to a T from there.

Hey I was wrong sorry - it's totally in the Android P video. So that was super helpful... and I just finished flashing everything successfully! I did not seem to have to flash the stock firmware at all - I simply flashed copy-partitions-payton.zip, did a factory reset, and moved right on to flashing LineageOS.
So does this mean that copy-partitions-payton.zip and flashing a copy of stock firmware accomplishes the same thing?
This is also missing from the official Lineage documentation, fyi:
https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/payton/install
Thanks for your videos, they've been super helpful and so far no problems with my flash.

amirite said:
So does this mean that copy-partitions-payton.zip and flashing a copy of stock firmware accomplishes the same thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by flashing a copy of stock firmware? Where is it asking you to flash stock firmware, the guide assumes you are on stock firmware. Also, if you have LOS already running dont bother about it too much. The original instructions explaining all this were in the LOS thread I created, which was transferred to Erfan once LOS was official. Now, the original instructions are no longer there. So, just forget about them and enjoy your custom rom :highfive:

I surely am Everything is running perfectly, except for a couple of minor crashes of the settings app. No biggie. Thanks again for the reply, I'm sure I'm mis-reading a few things pretty badly, but this is helping.
When you use the flash_all.sh script in your videos (at 4:45 in the 2nd video), is that not flashing the stock firmware? Isn't that zip directly from Motorola and flash_all.sh flashes the entire phone back to stock?
I assumed that flashing the stock firmware was a way of putting the phone in a known-good state before continuing with you guide. But then you talk about how Motorola didn't populate the B slots. So I'm just not exactly clear on what the copy-partitions-payton.zip does. I did flash that, but I didn't have to use flash_all.sh at all.

amirite said:
I surely am Everything is running perfectly, except for a couple of minor crashes of the settings app. No biggie. Thanks again for the reply, I'm sure I'm mis-reading a few things pretty badly, but this is helping.
When you use the flash_all.sh script in your videos (at 4:45 in the 2nd video), is that not flashing the stock firmware? Isn't that zip directly from Motorola and flash_all.sh flashes the entire phone back to stock?
I assumed that flashing the stock firmware was a way of putting the phone in a known-good state before continuing with you guide. But then you talk about how Motorola didn't populate the B slots. So I'm just not exactly clear on what the copy-partitions-payton.zip does. I did flash that, but I didn't have to use flash_all.sh at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I understand is that Moto does not flash both slots by default, but flashing the flash-all does both slots with the stock firmware. If you are on the default stock setup, copy-partions will just copy your the Moto default to the other slot.

Got it. So basically the main goal with that first step is simply to populate the B slot which can be achieved by either method. Thanks guys, I just wanted to make sure I understood the full scope of what had to be done. Always an adventure catching up to the many months of hard work y'all do to get us here. Much appreciated and I'm enjoying my new setup a bunch!

amirite said:
In the following threads and others, I'm seeing the first step listed as crucial, and involving flashing this small zip file in order to populate the B slots of the phone:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x4/how-to/guide-install-android-9-0-pie-gsi-moto-t3833860
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x4/development/rom-lineage-os-15-1-t3802265
However, in more recent tutorials as well as the (awesome) videos I've seem floating around from munchy, this step is not shown. In fact, the act of "populating the B slots" now seems tied to flashing a copy of the official firmware in order to prep for custom roms.
I'm a little bit confused about wether the official firmware is now a replacement for this original "copy-partitions-payton.zip" file. Aside from a couple of OP's, I don't see anybody mentioning this file anymore. Also, when instructions are given on "populating the B slots" it seems to now refer to the official firmware flashing process.
Am I getting all of this correct? Is flashing the official firmware a replacement for the step of flashing the copy-partitions-payton.zip file?
I've already unlocked my bootloader.
I really apologize if I'm asking obvious questions, but this is my first android phone in 5 years and I really, REALLY don't want to screw this up. I've had a lot of catching up to do and have been doing a ****-ton of reading in this forum. I think I have the rest of the flashing process figured out... I just want to do the first step right. Thank you so much XDA for being the resource for people like me!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I did not need it. I just went from stock android 9 to LineageOS 16.