Database Develop

Looking for a little clarification on rooting

I am fairly new to rooting, but thanks to this great website and all your inputs I have learned so much over the past month.
I first rooted my G1 using the 1-click method which was great, but now my earpiece has blown I will be receiving a new handset next week. So I learned how to properly downgrade and install stock firmware for my old handset.
When I receive my new handset, I decided to take the plunge and root the traditional way for 2 reasons.. 1- to learn a different way and 2- its possible the security hole may be patched by then rendering the 1-click useless.
Anyway, after reading all the varying posts on how to downgrade/root/flash custom rom I am still left with a little confusion so hopefully someone can clear this up for me.
When actually rooting, I have seen methods to type various things in the telnet window, and another method to just rerun the .apk and select "protect root". What is the difference between these two methods? Do they both accomplish the same task of making a permanent root? One method actually said to download the JFreke rom to fix permissions to root, bo no other method mentioned that. Is that even necessary?
Also, I know that with Cyanogen Roms I do not really need to flash to "hard spl" if I decide to stay with cm roms, and cm recovery also allows the use of nandroid backup as well. The only other argument I have seen is that a hard spl would potentially allow someone to "unbrick" a bricked phone, but from everything I have read, most people have bricked trying to flash the hard spl.
If I am going to stay with cm roms, is there any real benefit to a hard spl other than increasing the brick chance? If I do upgrade the spl, am I correct that it would be done last, after a potential radio update (assuming my replacement handset does not come with the latest radio)?
Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance for your help.

This is the best guide I found.
I have done 4 phones using this method with only 2 minor differences.
1) I format the sd card using a microsd card reader instead of the phone.
2) when it says What To Do Now That You Have Root don't download any of the builds listed there, just download the latest cyan stable rom.

This is the guide hehe forgot to link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442480
Oh and don't worry about swap or apps2sd partitions until after you root and verify that the rom is working with no problems, this will limit the number of variables in case you have troubles.

Thanks for the input.
So do you install hard spl according to that guide or do you skip that and just install the cm rom?
I love the auto apps2sd of cm roms. My phone is currently back on stock cupcake and I miss having all my apps on my 500mb ext 3 partition!

yea you need HardSPL. and use the recovery linked in the guide. Install cyan's recovery later.

This to me is the easiest step by step visual rooting process have done 3 G1 with full success. The newest G1 I had would not let me do the 1 click rooting method.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOo2V9qCauc&feature=related

maybeoneday said:
This to me is the easiest step by step visual rooting process have done 3 G1 with full success. The newest G1 I had would not let me do the 1 click rooting method.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOo2V9qCauc&feature=related
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I figured the new handset would most likely be patched. What was the result when you tried the 1-click. Would the new phone just not let you install the 1-click apk?

One thing I might add is you can't brick your phone by flashing Hardspl. It's the "danger" spl that has the potential of bricking your phone. Just follow the traditional guide that fingerlickin provided and your good to go.

Thanks for the help!

Anytime.......

Nope sure wouldn't just kept telling me install aborted. I don't no why. It could be some kind of patch. But I went to old faithfull step by step you tube install. Its really a nice video. You can pause the video and root your phone right along with guy doing the video. he also gives you links on the side bar to all files needed in the rooting process.

oh I'm sorry, I actually have one more question.
After flashing the HardSPl, would there ever be a reason to revert back to the original g1 spl? For instance if I had to send a phone back to t-mo, would they know that I am using the hardspl if all I did was reload the dreaimg.rbh rc-29 downgrade, or does that also reflash the spl back to the original?

Yes you would want to unroot phone before sending it to Tmobile, they do not warrenty a rooted phone
Unrooting
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=491350

dcorrea said:
oh I'm sorry, I actually have one more question.
After flashing the HardSPl, would there ever be a reason to revert back to the original g1 spl? For instance if I had to send a phone back to t-mo, would they know that I am using the hardspl if all I did was reload the dreaimg.rbh rc-29 downgrade, or does that also reflash the spl back to the original?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't ever have to go back. T-mo would prolly never check it. Many people have sent there phones in with root access and different things installed. But if you do get paranoid and ever have to do it, just flash RC29 and it will put everything back to stock.

maybeoneday said:
Yes you would want to unroot phone before sending it to Tmobile, they do not warrenty a rooted phone
Unrooting
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=491350
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I turned my phone in with root access and custom splash screen and they didn't say anything. You don't want to make it known that you have done anything to it, but they won't check. When they are sent in they just hook it up with jtag and reflash everything.

supremeteam256 said:
You shouldn't ever have to go back. T-mo would prolly never check it. Many people have sent there phones in with root access and different things installed. But if you do get paranoid and ever have to do it, just flash RC29 and it will put everything back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks that is what I figured. I actually just unrooted my phone yesterday from cyanogens rom, but I never flashed the SPL (did the 1-click thing originally), but now that I am going to do the original method I wanted to be sure.
I can't wait for my replacement phone to get here next week, because using the stock cupcake rom sux!
Anyway, thanks to everyone who gave their input and helped me learn even more about the process! You all rock!

supremeteam256 said:
I turned my phone in with root access and custom splash screen and they didn't say anything. You don't want to make it known that you have done anything to it, but they won't check. When they are sent in they just hook it up with jtag and reflash everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really, thats music to my ears. I have often thought it would be a pain if something broke on the phone and I had to try to unroot it before I sent it in. uhhhh like a bricked phone

I work in an electronics repair company and I agree with supremeteam256 about sending your phone in rooted. Our techs don't check for tampering, they just plug it in and use the programs my department writes to test and reflash the devices. Of course our devices are much more complicated but the same NON-Communication between customer service and technicians still exist.
I think the biggest reason for this is because the techs just aren't interested in explaining the technical details to a customer service rep because all they ever get is "huh? wtf is a bootloader?"

Disclaimer:
I'm not claiming that HTC or TMobile will not check or notice that you have rooted your phone. Just illustrating that the repair techs don't want to talk to customer service anymore than you do and would rather just fix the phone and move on to the next one.

Fingerlickin said:
I work in an electronics repair company and I agree with supremeteam256 about sending your phone in rooted. Our techs don't check for tampering, they just plug it in and use the programs my department writes to test and reflash the devices. Of course our devices are much more complicated but the same NON-Communication between customer service and technicians still exist.
I think the biggest reason for this is because the techs just aren't interested in explaining the technical details to a customer service rep because all they ever get is "huh? wtf is a bootloader?"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice breakdown.

One on the verge of bricking! Help would be appreciated.

Sooooo today I read this article (http://www.androidcentral.com/google-play-edition-htc-one-bootloader-and-recovery-now-available) and I was siked to try to get vanilla android on my One. Unfortunately, I'm no whiz when it comes to these things and usually just try and follow step by step directions I find on forums. I found this page (cdforum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2316726) and in all my excitement I completely missed where it said S-off is required and began the process. Booted the phone into bootloader, flashed the zips, and ended up with "error: cannot load 'descenpet_HBOOT_1.54_2.24_MOD'. Now I'm stuck with my phone still plugged into my computer only showing the black screen with the HTC logo. I read on to find out if I mess with it anymore it could possibly be bricked...not something I want.
Some quick facts, it's running stock sense software which came on it when I bought it and I rooted it a month or two ago. I hadn't even upgraded the software version to .10 (instead I still have the .7 at the end). Any kind of help would be great and please feel free to ask questions because I'm completely out of my element here and I don't what else you guys need to know in order to help me out. Thanks anyways!

its a bad idea to flash GSM firmware onto a CDMA phone... I would just RUU the whole thing back to stock

RUU may be your best option, but if you managed to flash the modified hboot/bootloader with S-ON you may be hosed OP. S-ON won't let the tampered boot-time code run if you overwrote it. Look in the forums for the RUU guide (search tool) and give it a go, but it doesn't look great.

cowkong said:
Sooooo today I read this article (http://www.androidcentral.com/google-play-edition-htc-one-bootloader-and-recovery-now-available) and I was siked to try to get vanilla android on my One. Unfortunately, I'm no whiz when it comes to these things and usually just try and follow step by step directions I find on forums. I found this page (cdforum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2316726) and in all my excitement I completely missed where it said S-off is required and began the process. Booted the phone into bootloader, flashed the zips, and ended up with "error: cannot load 'descenpet_HBOOT_1.54_2.24_MOD'. Now I'm stuck with my phone still plugged into my computer only showing the black screen with the HTC logo. I read on to find out if I mess with it anymore it could possibly be bricked...not something I want.
Some quick facts, it's running stock sense software which came on it when I bought it and I rooted it a month or two ago. I hadn't even upgraded the software version to .10 (instead I still have the .7 at the end). Any kind of help would be great and please feel free to ask questions because I'm completely out of my element here and I don't what else you guys need to know in order to help me out. Thanks anyways!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you may just need to flash the kernel for .10, don't know your whole situation.

[Q] Please help, oh wise & experienced ones of XDA

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

[Q] Any hope for my Moto X?

Ill try to keep this short. So my stock Moto X is for some unknown reason stuck in a boot loop. The only thing I can do is get into the fastboot by holding the vol down key however the "Barcodes" option is the only one that will do anything other than go back into this loop. Recovery / Factory / BP Tools all try to start but never make it past the Motorola splash screen, it stays there about 20 seconds or so and reboots.
It is running on 4.4.4 and from my understanding the bootloader can not be unlocked. I spent the better part of the last couple of days trying to figure out if there is any hope of bringing this thing back to life but I am still unsure. I was thinking maybe I could reload the official 4.4.4 but the only place I can even find it anywhere is on MotoFirmware but I cant get it to complete the download, I have tried numerous times with 3 different browsers.
I guess what I am trying to find out is if there is any way to reload the stock firmare or even load a custom ROM or something else I am not aware of yet?
Thanks much in advance for any help you can provide, it will certainly be much appreciated.

rikzjr said:
Ill try to keep this short. So my stock Moto X is for some unknown reason stuck in a boot loop. The only thing I can do is get into the fastboot by holding the vol down key however the "Barcodes" option is the only one that will do anything other than go back into this loop. Recovery / Factory / BP Tools all try to start but never make it past the Motorola splash screen, it stays there about 20 seconds or so and reboots.
It is running on 4.4.4 and from my understanding the bootloader can not be unlocked. I spent the better part of the last couple of days trying to figure out if there is any hope of bringing this thing back to life but I am still unsure. I was thinking maybe I could reload the official 4.4.4 but the only place I can even find it anywhere is on MotoFirmware but I cant get it to complete the download, I have tried numerous times with 3 different browsers.
I guess what I am trying to find out is if there is any way to reload the stock firmare or even load a custom ROM or something else I am not aware of yet?
Thanks much in advance for any help you can provide, it will certainly be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What carrier are you on?

Verizon.
It seems the more I am reading the more it is looking like I am likely out of luck.

rikzjr said:
Verizon.
It seems the more I am reading the more it is looking like I am likely out of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HAve you wiped cache or factory reset in your stock recovery? When you boot to recovery do you get the dead android guy on his back with a triangle?

You've checked here for firmware?
http://www.filefactory.com/folder/dd05c058d3ff8dbe/?sort=created&order=DESC&show=100&page=1
Otherwise, continue trying the site you've tried. It's bound to work eventually. ?

Travisdroidx2 said:
HAve you wiped cache or factory reset in your stock recovery? When you boot to recovery do you get the dead android guy on his back with a triangle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I cant get into the stock recovery. It never gets to the injured android guy, gets hung up on the Motorola logo then reboots.
Thanks Darth I will check there.

rikzjr said:
Verizon.
It seems the more I am reading the more it is looking like I am likely out of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Verizon XT1060 Retail and Moto Maker versions use the same Rom/Recovery Images as the Verizon (VZW) Developer Edition phones. The the recovery images are available by request directly from Motorola. Visit -> https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/recovery-images Once you request you will get a link from Moto to down load it. NOTE: it can take 5 min to 24 hours for the link to hit your email mailbox.
You can flash by following Method 2 at -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/guide-moto-x-return-to-100-stock-using-t2446515 (there are steps included which will erase all your data/apps from the phone). Please use mFastboot for All commands, not just flashing system.
However, I recommend flashing by following Option 5 at -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html It has a few extra steps, and a few different ones.
Always make sure you have the latest Android SDK/Platform Tools installed, along with the latest Moto device drivers, and the latest mFastboot. (If you need them, they are listed in the pre-req sections on http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html ) If you get an error, please capture it, and post what it says.
Since you have 4.4.4 on there, yes you are out of luck from the stand point of unlocking your bootloader, and therefore can't root your phone or flash custom recovery or rom. And do NOT attempt to downgrade your rom! Since you say you have 4.4.4 on there, only use 4.4.4 SBF when flashing.
But you are not out of luck in that you can still flash STOCK Moto Signed Roms. So if its just a software issue, flashing back to stock moto Rom could help fix it. However, since you don't say what was done leading up to the issue, I must say that if this problem just "appeared on its own" and you weren't trying to flash anything, downgrade anything, use the older root processes, etc.. then you may have a hardware issue. BUT if you were trying to downgrade, use the old root processes, etc.. then you might not be able to fix the phone.

Hey KidJoe, Thanks much for the info, I really do appreciate it.
This particular phone was send to me from Motorola as a repair replacement for my original which I managed to drop and break the screen on. Totally my fault so I had no problem paying there $110 repair fee.
I do have to agree there is likely a hardware issue as I had never attempted any kind of modification at all to this phone. I was in the middle of a call when it just restarted for no reason at all. At first the phone would boot all the way up as it normally would but freeze after about 30 seconds then reboot. After reading a bit I tried to boot into the stock recovery to clean the cache and factory reset if I needed to however the first time I tried to boot into the stock recovery it just hung on the Motorola logo then rebooted. Now that is all it will ever do.
Thanks again for all the useful info for all of yall. I really do appreciate it.

rikzjr said:
This particular phone was send to me from Motorola as a repair replacement for my original which I managed to drop and break the screen on. Totally my fault so I had no problem paying there $110 repair fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long ago did you get the replacement? Also, what was the purchase date of your original X?
i.e. are you still under the 1yr warranty of the original phone purchase, or the refurb you got for $110 might have a 30-90day warranty on it.
You can still try flashing the stock 4.4.4 rom on there. it MIGHT work. Its worth a try, especially if its completely out of warranty.

KidJoe said:
How long ago did you get the replacement? Also, what was the purchase date of your original X?
i.e. are you still under the 1yr warranty of the original phone purchase, or the refurb you got for $110 might have a 30-90day warranty on it.
You can still try flashing the stock 4.4.4 rom on there. it MIGHT work. Its worth a try, especially if its completely out of warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Original purchase date was more than 1 year ago now. The refurb replacement i just received the day before Christmas.
At the moment I am waiting to hear back from Motorola, hopefully they will just replace this one and all will be good.

Just downgraded. (Accidentally). Now I have some questions

This is NOT a how-to or anything. Don't try to follow in my footsteps of stupidity and brick your phone.
That being said...
XT 1060 (Verizon)
I have been running 4.4.4 for quite a while now. Right after JCase released sunshine for our phones. (I have an unlocked bootloader.)
I had it rooted, and tried out the 5.0 ROMs a while ago. Flashed back to stock to wait for the update when we heard it was coming "very soon". But tonight I got impatient and decided I was going to re-root and switch back to CM12. So, I opened Moto X Toolkit (love that tool) and installed TWRP. When I manually rebooted I forgot to boot into recovery. Don't know if that had anything to do with the ensuing problems or not, but after that, I couldn't get it to boot into recovery.
So, I flashed back to stock 4.4.4 again. Tried rebooting into stock recovery... no joy.
So off I go again... one more attempt to flash stock 4.4.4. This time, when it asked me if I wanted to reboot into bootloader or android, I tried to boot into android. Sadly I missed the "a" and typed "ndroid". The toolkit began doing something... looks like it was running the flash all over again. I let it do its thing, then very carefully typed "android" so I wouldnt screw it up again.
It rebooted perfectly, but once it was up and running, I noticed all of my icons were blue. I quickly jumped into the "about phone section and noticed it said "4.2.2".
This is not supposed to be possible, so at this point I was half panicking and half curious... so I decided to do an even more stupid thing and accept the updates.
I am now updated completely to 4.4.4. Zero issues... recovery works fine, radio is fine, wifi and BT are fine.
This leads me to two questions (Directed to developers)...
1) Is there a possibility this is repeatable?
2) My curiosity is about to get me into trouble... I have two more Moto X's that are 4.4.4. Locked BL. I would like to know what the worst case scenario is. I know there is a possibility of "bricking", but that term has not, for a long time, meant what it originally did. How badly "bricked" might it be? Bootloops? Chance of recovering by flashing stock firmware or RSD? Or truly bricked?

You are lucky you didn't bricked it by installing ota
updates. Whatever you do please don't install any ota updates. Simple wait for the sbf and manually flash it with rsd. Don't even even attempt to downgraded

I know I got lucky, but that didn't answer either of my questions.

I wouldn't try to repeated it if I were you. Go to moto x bricked phones thread and read the comments. That will satisfy and answer your questions http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/how-to-resurrecting-bricked-moto-x-t2629057

Fadelight said:
This leads me to two questions (Directed to developers)...
1) Is there a possibility this is repeatable?
2) My curiosity is about to get me into trouble... I have two more Moto X's that are 4.4.4. Locked BL. I would like to know what the worst case scenario is. I know there is a possibility of "bricking", but that term has not, for a long time, meant what it originally did. How badly "bricked" might it be? Bootloops? Chance of recovering by flashing stock firmware or RSD? Or truly bricked?
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1) I would NOT try to repeat it. You are lucky.
What likely happened is the toolkit flashed 4.2.2 via mFastboot, errored on GPT.BIN and Motoboot.img, and continued flashing the rest. Taking an OTA in this state USUALLY bricks the phone, however we have seen a few, like yourself, who reported it didn't brick.
Due to the sheer number of people and threads from those who have bricked doing this, the warnings have been... do NOT try it unless you don't mind if you turn your phone into a paper weight!
To be safe at this point, I would consider downloading the Verizon 4.4.4 SBF, and re-flashing it using Option 5 (and its pre-reqs) at -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html to make sure everything is back to stock/consistent. Its your choice if you don't want to.
2) Worst case is you turn your phone into a paperweight.
Some have screwed it up very badly but have been able to recover following these instructions -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/how-to-resurrecting-bricked-moto-x-t2629057 It is the last resort. You'll also see many in that thread who followed those instructions and were unsuccessful, leaving their phone unusable.
We've also seen a few who were able to reflash the latest rom (currently 4.4.4) via mFastboot, with a few "extra" commands and have been able to recover, but that is a very small number compared to those who have bricked.

That's the odd thing... it DIDN'T error on anything. I would've thought the same thing... error on motoboot and gpt.
I don't mind screwing up a phone and taking a day or two to get it back to operable. As long as there is a way to fix it, I'm good. I just don't want to completely brick the phone. That's why I asked if people meant truly bricked or the new standardized "bricked" which usually means nothing more than having to RSD.

Fadelight said:
That's the odd thing... it DIDN'T error on anything. I would've thought the same thing... error on motoboot and gpt.
I don't mind screwing up a phone and taking a day or two to get it back to operable. As long as there is a way to fix it, I'm good. I just don't want to completely brick the phone. That's why I asked if people meant truly bricked or the new standardized "bricked" which usually means nothing more than having to RSD.
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I haven't used that tool kit. I do everything manually. So I don't know exactly what processes it runs, or what steps it takes when flashing. IF while flashing it does try to flash all parts, it should have given an error on GPT.BIN if it tried to downgrade, but at the same respect, if its a batch file that just runs the fastboot commands one after the other, if fastboot errors, it will just go to the next line in the bat file, so unless you are paying attention and watching it from start to finish, you could have missed the error.
Another possibility would be if you, or someone who had your phone, upgraded to 4.4.4 by flashing only system.img, and the older bootloader and partition table remained on your phone, then attempting to "downgrade" would not have failed (depending on the bootloader/gpt.bin on your phone).
As said... there are enough that have NOT been able to recover their phones, even after following the instructions in -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/how-to-resurrecting-bricked-moto-x-t2629057 which are usually the last resort.

Yeah, the second it started running again after I typed "ndroid" by accident, I was in full-on panic mode, so my eyes were glued to the phone and the computer. I saw them flash.
As far as upgrading, I was on 4.4.0 until Sunshine was released... at which point I unlocked my BL and took all of the OTA updates. So it was on full 4.4.4.
This is the oddest thing I have seen in a long time. I was tempted to send a DM to JCase and ask him, but I figured that would probably go over like a fart in church.