Database Develop

[HOW-TO]Unlock, Root and install CWM step by step

This HOW-TO is meant for individuals who like to do things manually and see each process as they occur, versus using a toolkit. I prefer manually unlocking/rooting as I can confirm each step visually and I believe it makes for a more educational experience. Familiarity and confidence with fastboot/adb can be beneficial later on for restoring/troubleshooting/flashing etc down the road.
Unknown at this point if OTA updates will install after flashing CWM. There may be a check file in the OTA that could prevent installation if modified file structure is detected. I’ll edit when I confirm. At any rate, not really an issue as you can flash the OTA yourself as someone on XDA will most likely post it up, or you could re-flash the stock recovery using fastboot which you will now be comfortable with after using this guide! Additionally, if an OTA causes you to lose root you can revisit the appropriate steps to flash SuperSU again.
There are several ways to do these procedures, and I’ve certainly taken the long way on some of them. So by no means am I claiming this to the best or most efficient method, but my hopes are to make things a little more clear and simple based off some of the questions and challenges I’ve seen in a few threads.
This how-to was written for Windows and uses adb and fastboot for installation.
Please let me know of any corrections, additions or errors. Many thanks to the members and devs who made these files available.
1. Download all of the following files and place them in the same directory. I will note whether you need to extract them or not.
Download and extract platform-tools-v16.zip from here: (thanks to efrant)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1626895
Download and extract [ADB/FB/APX Driver] Universal Naked Driver 0.72 from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20058157&postcount=1
Download SuperSU from here: (look for UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.25.zip or current version)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538053
Download ClockworkMod from here: (look for Galaxy Nexus 7, Download Recovery 6.0.3.1 or current version – Recommend non-Touch as of ver 6.0.10, some reported issues with the Touch version)
http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager/
2. Now we will install the drivers and verify they are working. If you cannot verify drivers are functioning in both normal boot and recovery you need to stop and figure out what you are doing wrong. Proceeding further would be pointless. If you are having trouble, visit the Naked Driver thread listed above or here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=29044502&postcount=735
a. Make sure you have USB debugging enabled on your Nexus: setttings ->develop options ->USB Debugging.
b. USB connect your Nexus to your Windows pc. If you get a notification for unknown/driver not found, look in Device Manager for the exclamation point, and right click for update driver software, then browse my computer, then point to where you saved and extracted the Universal Naked Driver folder. If you get a warning from Windows complaining the driver is not signed, hit ‘Install driver anyway’. After the driver installs, you should now have ‘Nexus 7’ listed under ‘Portable Devices’ with no exclamation point.
Now we will verify using adb. You will need to launch a command prompt from the directory you saved all the files from step 1 to. Easiest way is to navigate to the directory via file explorer, then hold down shift and the RIGHT mouse button, and select “Open command window from here”.
In the cmd prompt, type:
adb devices
You should get a response with your Nexus serial number. If not, stop. Drivers are not loaded, re-read above and visit threads mentioned, try again. You should see something like:
List of devices attached
945d3339495 device
if instead you see:
List of devices attached
945d3339495 offline
then most likely you need to look on your nexus for a notice to allow the connected computer permissions to use usb debugging. If you don't see a notice, disable/enable usb debugging in "Settings -> Developer options" and then you should get the prompt. You should select 'remember this computer', if not you will have to do it again upon reboot.
c. Now we need to reboot into the bootloader and load the drivers again. So type:
adb reboot bootloader
and your Nexus should reboot into the bootloader. My laptop found the driver on its own, note that in Device Manager it is now listed as ‘Android Device’ instead of under ‘Portable Devices’. If your system does not find the driver, follow the same steps as above to update your driver after you located the exclamation point in Device Manager.
Now we will verify that the driver is installed correctly while in the bootloader. Again from a command prompt opened from the directory where you saved all the files from step 1, type:
fastboot devices
You should get a response with your Nexus serial number. If not, stop. Drivers are not loaded, re-read above and visit threads mentioned, try again.
3. Perform device unlock. NOTE: !!!THIS WILL ERASE ALL YOUR USER DATA!!! Please backup accordingly.
Your Nexus should still be in the bootloader. Type:
fastboot oem unlock
Your Nexus will prompt you to accept. NOTE: !!!THIS WILL ERASE ALL YOUR USER DATA!!! After a short moment, the device should report unlocked under “lock state”. Reboot device by typing:
fastboot reboot
After rebooting, sign in, etc.
4. Copy over SuperSU . In windows explorer locate the UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.25.zip and copy it to your Nexus internal storage area. Don’t put it any of the folders, just dump it in there. Now reboot into the bootloader again by typing:
adb reboot bootloader
5. Flash CWM. Once in the bootloader type:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-6.0.3.1-grouper.img
after you get ‘finished’ from the command window, reboot your Nexus into CWM recovery by navigating with the volume buttons to ‘recovery mode’, then press power button.
6. Root Nexus. Using the volume keys, navigate to ‘install zip from sdcard’ and hit the power button. Now select ‘choose zip from sdcard’ and hit the power button. Navigate down to UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.25.zip’ and hit the power button. Select ‘Yes’, hit power. Once done select ‘go back’, then ‘reboot system now’.
Congrats, you’ve unlocked and rooted your Nexus!
Now at this point CWM recovery may or may not still be present on your device. There have been mixed reports on whether it will ‘stick’ the first time you flash it. The stock ROM has a check file that will replace CWM with the stock recovery upon reboot. To determine if CWM is still present simply reboot into recovery and see if it is there. Type:
adb reboot recovery
Obviously if you see the droid with exclamation point CWM did not stick. If you have no need for CWM, and simply wanted root you could stop now. Wait a few minutes and your device will reboot on its own and you are all done.
However, if you desire CWM then proceed on.
7. Rename recovery-from-boot.p to prevent stock recovery re-installation. Your Nexus should be booted normally at this point.
a. Go to the Play store and install ES File Explorer File Manager. Under settings enable ‘up to root’, ‘root explorer’, and ’mount file system’.
b. Navigate to /system and rename:
recovery-from-boot.p
to
recovery-from-boot.bak
by long pressing and selecting ‘rename’. Note: Be careful while navigating your device with these options enabled, a typo or slip-up could cripple your device and require a restore. I suggest once this rename is competed to disable the above options to avoid any mistakes in future exploring.
8. Flash CWM again.
a. Reboot into bootloader by typing:
adb reboot bootloader
b. once in bootloader type:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-6.0.3.1-grouper.img
c. reboot device by typing:
fastboot reboot
d. verify CWM stuck by rebooting into recovery:
adb reboot recovery
And that should be it!
Some additional notes: CWM does make notice on rebooting with a message ”ROM may flash stock recovery on reboot. Fix? This can not be undone”. I don’t know what CWM will do there, so I prefer to rename the recovery-from-boot file so that I could easily restore it if I wanted. But perhaps that is what CWM does, although the message persists even after I renamed the file. Maybe someone could clarify this.
Hope this helps some people out in enjoying this great device even more, thanks for reading.

4.1.2 and 4.2.1 updates...
Thought I would revisit the thread as we've had two updates since I wrote the above. I installed 4.1.2 OTA with no problems but as expected, I lost root and CWM.
Because I'm lazy, I didn't worry over it much and then 4.2.1 shows up and also installed perfectly. Finally got around to getting root back and here are the steps I used.
Notes:
* Need to make sure drivers are correctly installed. See first post.
* I never really used CWM so I elected not to permanently install it this time.
* This update is a brief synopsis of how I got root back. If the steps are not clear, review the first post as the procedure is very similar.
1.) Ensure USB debugging is still enabled. On 4.2.1 "Developers options" are hidden by default. To enable simply tap "Settings > About tablet > Build number" 7 times. Back out and "Developers options" should now be available. In my case USB debugging was still enabled.
2.) Download SuperSU v0.99 and CWM 6.0.1.9 from links in first post. I used non-touch version of CWM.
3.) Transfer SuperSU over to internal storage of your Nexus. Be sure you know where you dumped it.
4.) Reboot into bootloader: adb reboot bootloader
5.) Temporarily boot or permanently install CWM so we can install SuperSU zip.
for temp boot type: fastboot boot recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.9-grouper.img
for perm install type: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.9-grouper.img
6.) Once in CWM select:
a. install zip from sdcard
b. choose zip from sdcard
c. navigate to /0/ then wherever you put SuperSU
7.) Once finished back out and reboot system now. I selected "No" on allowing CWM to disable stock recovery. If you are only temp booting CWM then this likely won't matter either choice you make. If you perm flashed CWM then you may wish to choose 'Yes".
That should cover it. Thanks for reading, any questions or corrections be sure to let me know.

I have a question about this:
I rooted and installed CWM on my 4.2 N7, but now, then I try to install the 4.2.1 OTA update, I get this error:
Code:
assert failed: apply_patch_check("/system/lib/libweb rtc_audio_preprocessing.so", "bin_number", "big_number""),
E: error in /cache/jop40d-from-jop40c.zip
(Status 7)
It's wise to apply this if I already have a rooted+CWM N7?

Some root procedures, or third party apps like Titanium Pro can make changes to certain system files that will cause an official update to fail. In your case, it appears at least "rtc_audio_preprocessing.so" located in "/system/lib/libweb" has been altered.
The easiest solution is to flash the current factory image then root. You can find them here: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#nakasi.
However, you will lose your data. So back up accordingly.
If that's not an option, you can try:
a.) figure out which app you have that caused the change, and see if it has a 'revert' option or if uninstalling will put the file(s) back to stock.
b.) find the unmodified contents of /system/app and /system/lib and replace yours. Needs to be from 4.2 in your case.
c.) find a modified manual update patch (either zip for CWM or .img for fastboot) that has been altered to ignore the integrity check.

Curious, just went looking for "rtc_audio_preprocessing.so" in a factory 4.2 system.img and can not locate it, or the lib/libweb directory. Perhaps a third party app made these additions and thus the integrity check is failing as the files are unknown/unaccounted for?
At any rate, I went ahead and sourced a 4.2 system.img and extracted the /app and /lib directories in case this helps you or anyone else searching along.
Extracted from: nakasi-jop40c-factory-6aabb391.tgz
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/34704640/sys_apps_dir.zip
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/34704640/sys_lib_dir.zip
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/34704640/sys_apps_dir.zip.md5
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/34704640/sys_lib_dir.zip.md5

so I factory-reseted my N7, but it didn't helped. I found the file /system/lib/libwebrtc_audio_preprocessing.so so I tried to replace it with the file you posted (thanks btw!), but while using a console (su, then cp file.so file.so.backup) I get the error saying it's a read-only system, so I can't replace that file
any other idea?
EDIT: So I was playing around with the N7 (although I can really remember, I think I formated /system ?):
So, yeah, I actually formated /system for some unknown reason and there is no OS to boot, so I'm downloading at 25 KBps (yes...I know) and I'll be installing the JOP40D version for the N7.

ah, so the file is actually:
/lib/libwebrtc_audio_preprocessing.so
not
/lib/libweb/rtc_audio_preprocessing.so
That makes a little more sense. On cp over the original file, as you discovered the /system partition needs to be remounted as writable before you would be able to make changes. You could easily accomplish this with one of the root file explorers from the market. I use "ES File Explorer" as its free. Then simply copy over your file.
Or if you prefer adb: mount -o remount rw /system
Regardless, you are starting over from scratch so no worries. One of the things I love about this device is the option to start fresh-from-factory with minimal fuss.

igot a question. im currently running or 4.2.1 (rooted/unlocked). i used wugsfresh to root and unlock my device. wugfresh uses TWR and i want to try CWM and remove the TWR, would it be possible? i want to try different roms like cyanogen and i think CWM would be a good option.TIA

cub0ne said:
igot a question. im currently running or 4.2.1 (rooted/unlocked). i used wugsfresh to root and unlock my device. wugfresh uses TWR and i want to try CWM and remove the TWR, would it be possible? i want to try different roms like cyanogen and i think CWM would be a good option.TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am also on 4.2.1 unlocked and rooted with wugfresh toolkit. I downloaded CWM from the play store, the app can download the latest CWM recovery and flash it for you. That is what I did, All I have used CWM for is a nandroid backup, but have booted into recovery and wiped cache and fixed permission
Has anyone had issue is SuperSU and CWM running Fix Permissions in the CWM app? I get an error...

Thank you!
Thank you very much for the excellent guide, your explanations were very clear!
It was a lot of fun following it, and I am very happy for choosing this guide over the 'one-click' toolkits.

I'll give it a try
After trying a "all in one toolbox" to unlock and root I think I'll give this a shot. I got stuck at not being able to root and like your OP said, doing it manually would help with the learning curve.
Quick questions that has popped up is.
Do I lock my bootloader back to use your guide?
I've noticed drivers I have in device manager have different names. Does this mean there are dif drivers that do the same thing? Should i delete them and use the ones in the OP?

Late response, but I'll answer for future users following this thread...
Once your bootloader is unlocked by any means, no need to relock in order to follow this guide. We simply have to have it unlocked so we can gain root
Drivers are probably the most common issues people have in any instance of trying to interact with their device. While its not imperative that the names are the same, what is most important is that you can communicate with the device. There really isn't the right or wrong driver name, just that the driver works! Having said that, if you are wondering whether you have the correct drivers installed, simply follow the steps and attempt a "adb devices" or "fastboot devices" command depending on your device status as is outlined in the tutorial. If you do not have the appropriate response, then you need to stop and determine the issue.

Update after OTA 4.2.2
Lost root as expected, and followed procedure in post #2 to gain root back. Also updated OP file versions to current as of this post as they all worked successfully.
Only thing I would note: If you get a "offline" notice after trying 'adb devices', be sure to check your nexus for a notification to allow the connected computer access for USB debugging. If you don't see one, go to "Settings -> Developer options" and disable/enable USB debugging and it should pop up. I don't remember this behavior when I first wrote the tutorial, so it may be something new for 4.2.2. After reboot it will require approval again, so you may wish to select 'remember this computer'. I added this note in the OP as well in the appropriate step.

[TUTORIAL] Applying an OTA update with stock + root/custom recovery

Preamble
As the title suggests, I had a Nexus 5 running stock Android 5.0, with root and TWRP, and wanted to update to Android 5.0.1 (without losing all my data, of course). I couldn't find any guides for my particular circumstances, so after working out how to do it myself, I thought I'd share my method.
Note: This guide is not for the uninitiated. Be prepared to Google something for yourself if you don't understand it.
Prerequisites
Before starting this guide, you should have:
A Nexus 5 that running stock Android. The presence of root/Xposed/custom recovery (maybe custom kernels?) shouldn't be relevant, but I can't vouch for the efficacy of this guide if you've done something obscure to your install.
Android SDK tools, specifically the ADB and fastboot binaries. Additional USB drivers may be required on Windows.
The factory image for the Android version you are currently running.
1. Uninstall root and other /system modifications
If you have rooted your Android, and/or installed BusyBox, Xposed or other modifications to /system, you will need to uninstall these modifications. Failing to do so will cause the OTA to complain that there's something funky going on in your /system partition.
You may be able to manually uninstall each of these modifications, but this was not enough for my install – doing a ‘Full unroot’ in SuperSU still left behind files in /system. The easiest way to uninstall all /system modifications is to reflash the /system partition.
Extract the Nexus 5 factory image (e.g. hammerhead-lrx21o-factory-01315e08.tgz), yielding a directory with files such as flash-all.bat and image-hammerhead-XXXXXX.zip. Do not use the flash-all script, as this will unnecessarily wipe all data on the device.
Extract the image-hammerhead-XXXXXX.zip file, specifically the system.img file.
Open a command prompt/terminal window.
Connect the phone to the computer with a USB cable.
Boot the phone into the bootloader.
Method 1: Power down the phone, then hold VolUp + VolDn + Power until the phone boots into the bootloader.
Method 2: From the terminal, run adb reboot bootloader while the phone is still powered on.
From the terminal, run fastboot flash system /path/to/system.img.
2. Uninstall any custom recovery
Custom recoveries don't seem to support OTA updates, making it necessary to uninstall the custom recovery by reflashing the stock recovery.
Extract the recovery.img file from the factory image, as in Part 1.
Open a command prompt/terminal window, connect the phone to the computer, and boot into the bootloader, as in Part 1.
From the terminal, run fastboot flash recovery /path/to/recovery.img.
Optional: Reflash boot.img and/or cache.img
Some users have reported that reflashing system.img was not sufficient, and that reflashing boot.img and/or cache.img was also necessary. I did not have this problem, but if you do:
Extract the boot.img and/or cache.img files from the factory image, as in Part 1.
Open a command prompt/terminal window, connect the phone to the computer, and boot into the bootloader, as in Part 1.
From the terminal, run fastboot flash boot /path/to/boot.img.
From the terminal, run fastboot flash cache /path/to/cache.img.
3. Apply the OTA update
The simple part. In the bootloader, use the VolUp/VolDn buttons to select ‘Start’, then press the Power button, to reboot into Android. Follow the system update instructions to install the OTA update.
4. Reflash the custom recovery and re-root
Also self-explanatory.

Hey,
I just wanted to say thanks. This totally fixed the problem I was having. I also want to add that after I flashed the system.img, I was getting errors related to "EMMC:/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot" with a bunch of numbers after. I googled it and found I had to also flash boot.img, and after that, the OTA worked fine. I would assume if anyone else gets errors like this, they should flash whatever img it shows in the error (ie: mine said /by-name/boot so I flashed boot.img).
-BGM

It worked for me

I've always been using a toolkit for my rooting purposes, I have done Full Unroot on SuperSU, but still getting an error when trying to update to 5.0.1
Will flashing stock wipe everything(whatsapp image, camera's,messages, etc etc)on my phone?

azlan96 said:
I've always been using a toolkit for my rooting purposes, I have done Full Unroot on SuperSU, but still getting an error when trying to update to 5.0.1
Will flashing stock wipe everything(whatsapp image, camera's,messages, etc etc)on my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also had problems using ‘Full Unroot’ in SuperSU. It's not actually as ‘full’ as it sounds.
Flashing a full factory image would normally wipe everything, but carefully following this guide will only reset the /system partition, not any user data.

I'd like to say thank you very much! I was looking for this kind of tutorial... I encountered an error while following all the steps because I forgot I had a custom kernel. So I wanted to add that if you have a custom kernel remember to do the same steps as described above for the kernel (return to stock) and then follow the system and recovery steps afterwards.
If you don't like running commands in terminal you can use Nexus Root Toolkit, on advanced, you have all the commands you need available.
Thank you very much RunasSudo

Taiyo85 said:
I'd like to say thank you very much! I was looking for this kind of tutorial... I encountered an error while following all the steps because I forgot I had a custom kernel. So I wanted to add that if you have a custom kernel remember to do the same steps as described above for the kernel (return to stock) and then follow the system and recovery steps afterwards.
If you don't like running commands in terminal you can use Nexus Root Toolkit, on advanced, you have all the commands you need available.
Thank you very much RunasSudo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have my ADB and Fastboot ok as confirmed by nexus root toolkit, but I am not sure on how to use terminal.. I launched command prompt but it doest recognise all the commands..
Tried Flash Stock + Unroot on Nexus Root Toolkit but the software will crash (fastboot.exe has stopped responding)
I am really clueless on what to do next..

azlan96 said:
I have my ADB and Fastboot ok as confirmed by nexus root toolkit, but I am not sure on how to use terminal.. I launched command prompt but it doest recognise all the commands..
Tried Flash Stock + Unroot on Nexus Root Toolkit but the software will crash (fastboot.exe has stopped responding)
I am really clueless on what to do next..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash Stock + Unroot wipes everything and defeats the purpose of the tutorial made by RunasSudo
First and foremost you should download Android SDK (Tools only) on http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and then ask to install the extra: Google USB Driver.
With Nexus Root Toolkit you don't need terminal, click on advanced and you should see options to flash through fastboot the system only, recovery and kernel. It is pretty straighforward and it asks where the .img are in your computer

Thanks! This guide worked.
For Ubuntu users, you need to install adb and fastboot with these commands :
sudo add-apt-repository ppahablet-team/tools && sudo apt-get update (optional)
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

Thanks for the great step by step.
As with some of the other posters, re-flashing system.img was not enough for me, I had to also re-flash the boot.img. Once that was done, I had no problems side loading the update and am now running LRX22C.
I only seem to fiddle with adb once a year - when it OTA time comes - and can never seem to remember some of the steps that need to be taken. Reading through some of the other threads, I have a feeling a lot of people who rooted/custom recovery and cant do the OTA are going to be doing complete image re-flashes when this guide makes that completely unecessary.
thanks again,
.d

BananasGoMoo said:
I googled it and found I had to also flash boot.img, and after that, the OTA worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
datcon said:
As with some of the other posters, re-flashing system.img was not enough for me, I had to also re-flash the boot.img.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback! I've added a note about boot.img to the OP.

+1 for flashing boot.img worked perfect after I did that.

I tried with this tutorial. I flashed system and recovery and then restart. Confirm OTA but I get ERROR.
Then I flashed boot as it was described. Now I don't get OTA In About phone, I'm still on 5.0.0, Check for updates now don't find update
Any idea?
UPDATE - UPDATE: After hour now it is here ... super, it works.

This walkthrough was most helpful! Ended up replacing the boot.img as well since I had ElementalX installed. My apps are optimizing as we speak. Thank you!

Worked for me. What a hassle!
Here is a summary of the process for those looking for a less wordy procedure, with a few added steps:
Download Nexus 5 5.0 (LRX21O) file (note: NOT 5.0.1 yet) https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
Unzip via 7-zip multiple times in order to get boot.img, recovery.img, system.img
Enable USB debugging: http://www.kingoapp.com/root-tutorials/how-to-enable-usb-debugging-mode-on-android-5-lollipop.htm
Plug phone into PC > cmd prompt where adb is installed > type "adb devices" to ensure connection is valid (will need to authorize via popup on phone > then "adb devices" should return your device id and "device"; if it says "unauthorized" then look for the popup on your phone)
adb reboot bootloader
Put system.img, recovery.img, and boot.img in same folder as fastboot.exe
Run commands:
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot erase cache (this is optional. I didn't have to do it, but you might)
Use Volume Up/Down to select Start > press Power Button to reboot
Update via Settings > About Phone > System Update
Re-flash TWRP recovery:
Get the file from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57580889&postcount=1
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot flash recovery openrecovery-twrp-2.8.1.0-hammerhead.img

Paul22000 said:
Worked for me. What a hassle!
Here is a summary of the process for those looking for a less wordy procedure, with a few added steps:
1. Download Nexus 5 5.0 (LRX21O) file (note: NOT 5.0.1 yet) https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images
2. Unzip via 7-zip multiple times in order to get boot.img, recovery.img, system.img
3. Enable USB debugging: http://www.kingoapp.com/root-tutorials/how-to-enable-usb-debugging-mode-on-android-5-lollipop.htm
4. Plug phone into PC > cmd prompt where adb is installed > type "adb devices" to ensure connection is valid (will need to authorize via popup on phone > then "adb devices" should return your device id and "device"; if it says "unauthorized" then look for the popup on your phone)
5. adb reboot bootloader
6. Put system.img, recovery.img, and boot.img in same folder as fastboot.exe
7. Run commands:
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
8. Use Volume Up/Down to select Start > press Power Button to reboot
9. Update via Settings > About Phone > System Update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you could add `fastboot erase cache` as stepp 8.

gee2012 said:
Maybe you could add `fastboot erase cache` as stepp 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I added it to step 7, thanks. :good: I also cleaned up the formatting and added step 10 about re-flashing TWRP.

Loading problem
I flashed system, recovery & boot images strictly following the instructions, restarted the phone. It got stuck in loading where balls in four colors keep running for half an hour. Shall I keep waiting? I think there must be something wrong. Your advises are welcome.

guangy said:
I flashed system, recovery & boot images strictly following the instructions, restarted the phone. It got stuck in loading where balls in four colors keep running for half an hour. Shall I keep waiting? I think there must be something wrong. Your advises are welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try flash the partitions again. If it's still not working, you may need to reflash a factory image.

RunasSudo said:
Try flash the partitions again. If it's still not working, you may need to reflash a factory image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed the cache image as well, then the problem solved. Thanks

Soft bricked phone? Can't install recovery and can't install a rom

Okay so I got my oneplus 3t today and I updated it to Nougat via the ota file all good so far. I then decided that I wanted to install a custom rom so I downloaded twrp supersu etc everything needed to root and install the rom. Here's where it went wrong in knowingly I downloaded the wrong twrp flashed it and it would just hang at the flash screen for twrp. Anyway after hours of trying to install a recovery I managed to get a stock one to semi work, now it turns out I don't know how I did it but my phone won't even boot it just turns on and goes straight to fastboot mode. I managed to get a stock recovery semi working but it won't let me install the stock rom from internal storage and I've tried updating through adb and it will hang at a random percentage for a good 20 mins and then just fail. Really need some help here it would be great, thanks

Hi,
If you can get into fastboot mode then the best recourse is through there. Hope you properly OEM unlocked your device.
First of all, you MUST have the latest adb/fastboot binaries and FOR SURE have the correct drivers.
Follow the links on this XDA article to download the latest adb and fastboot binaries: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-releases-separate-adb-and-fastboot-binary-downloads
This is the link for the Windows binary: https://dl.google.com/android/repository/platform-tools-latest-windows.zip
Extract all the contents of the zip file in a folder on your PC.
Then, also make sure to have THE CORRECT twrp, 3.0.2.0 or 3.0.3.0. This is the link but currently it is down: https://twrp.me/devices/oneplus3t.html
Download THE IMAGE, NOT FLASHABLE ZIP and put it in the same folder as the android platform tools above.
Finally, download the latest complete 3T firmware from OnePlus from this link: http://downloads.oneplus.net/devices/oneplus-3t/
I STRONGLY recommend not to use an update zip, even a full ROM update zip as that one might not include certain firmware images.
Put THE ZIP on the same folder as the others, DO NOT EXTRACT ANYTHING.
On your PC, open a command prompt in the folder where you extracted the android platform tools and run the following: fastboot boot twrp-3.0.3-0-oneplus3t.img (assuming you downloaded the 3.0.3 version of twrp).
Your phone will TEMPORARILY accept the twrp recovery as a boot image and boot from there. NOTHING IS BEING PERMANENTLY WRITTEN AT THIS TIME.
After that, enter TWRP's Wipe menu and wipe system, data and cache.
Finally, use TWRP's Advanced menu and enter adb sideload mode. Once there slide that slider to the right to enable adb mode and return to your PC and enter the following command in the command prompt:
adb sideload OnePlus3TOxygen_28_OTA_029_all_1612131737_17e7161d2b234949.zip (assuming you downloaded the 3.5.4 binary from OnePlus).
TWRP should properly flash the OnePlus ROM and hopefully, return you to proper function. You can then update back to Nougat.
Hope that helped!

Yeah that sorted it thanks a lot

Use the emergency tool for OP3T and start from scratch:
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/unbrick-guide-oneplus-3t.481214/

@KeyperOS
I'm trying to follow this guide, but did you miss something out here?
On your PC, open a command prompt in the folder where you extracted the android platform tools and run the following: fastboot boot twrp-3.0.3-0-oneplus3t.img (assuming you downloaded the 3.0.3 version of twrp).
Your phone will TEMPORARILY accept the twrp recovery as a boot image and boot from there. NOTHING IS BEING PERMANENTLY WRITTEN AT THIS TIME.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once I do "fastboot boot twrp" and get a success, then what?
Do I need to somehow reboot the phone into TWRP - because that didn't happen on its own.
If so, how do I do this?
Thanks,

jackmacbunton said:
Yeah that sorted it thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad that sorted it out
PugRallye said:
@KeyperOSI'm trying to follow this guide, but did you miss something out here?
Once I do "fastboot boot twrp" and get a success, then what? Do I need to somehow reboot the phone into TWRP - because that didn't happen on its own. If so, how do I do this? Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My instructions while detailed are not step-by-step. I expect the person reading them to have their PC configured correctly and at least a vague idea of what they're doing.
So, assuming you put the correct TWRP image (my command uses the name of the image for TWRP 3.0.3.0, you MUST alter it to reflect the actual image's filename if it's not that) on the same folder as the fastboot binary then yeah, the command
fastboot boot twrp-3.0.3-0-oneplus3t.img
should have made your phone reboot and enter into the TWRP image that you had on your PC.
If it didn't then you did sth else wrong before that.
Either you didn't OEM unlock your phone when you still could or you didn't use the android platform tools that I linked or you don't have the correct ADB drivers installed on your PC.
Start from there.
Hope that helped!

Thanks for your help @KeyperOS - I know where I went wrong...
To save some time, when I tried to reboot into TWRP, I typed "fastboot boot " then I dragged and dropped the TWRP img file onto that line in the cmd window (rather than typing the filename manually) - when you do that, it appears to include the full path to the img - it was that that was causing the problem.
When I typed the TWRP filename manually, it worked.
The only thing that caught me out was after I'd installed the ROM (via adb sideload) I tried to reboot the device from TWRP recovery - this seemed to just hang. In the end I just powered off the phone using the power key, then powered it back up as per usual.
Checked that the phone booted to the first of the setup screens, then powered off/booted into fastboot mode, relocked the bootloader and it seems to be OK.
I'm now back on 3.5.4 again, which was what I was trying to do...
4.0.0/1 had felt a bit laggy, and I'd sensed some issues with wifi and BT, I can now run 3.5.4 and see how it compares - was I just imagining it?
Thanks again for the guide and your help - I really appreciated it

@PugRallye
Windows' command prompt has an autocomplete feature. If you want it to add the name of a file, type a couple letters and then present TAB, it's gonna complete the filename itself and if it's the wrong file you can keep tapping tab to cycle through all the options.
Really glad it worked out Btw [emoji4]
In my experience, 3.5.4 was great but 4.0 is a step up in both battery life, which IME is amazing and features, with it I almost didn't need root and certainly don't need xposed which was a first.

Need workaround for flashing custom to my quirky N6

One of my N6s has a little trouble doing ADB.
When it's in stock, the phone will only accept ADB commands and show up in ADB Devices when the USB mode is set to MIDI. It doesn't work with ADB in MTP mode. But in MTP mode, I can drop files to the phone from Windows File Manager, but no ADB. In TWRP recovery mode, with MTP on I can't drop files to the phone. In TWRP, if I disable MTP, the phone no longer shows up in Windows. That's the background on this phone.
I'm trying to flash Pure Nexus, GApps, Magisk, and Franco Kernel to this phone without encrypting it.
As a starter step, I have flashed stock and TWRP to it without rebooting to the stock ROM (which would encrypt the phone).
(Note I know many people say encryption doesn't matter for better performance. Let's not get distracted by that discussion here. I'm trying to see if I can flash this custom setup without encrypting.)
I now need to get the Zips for PN, GApps, Magisk, and Franco onto the phone but am unable to use adb push command or Windows File Manager to drop those files.
So it has fresh stock and TWRP on it. Now when the phone is in TWRP, and I try to "adb push ROM.zip" I get an error: failed to get feature set: no devices/emulators found If I try adb devices it returns a blank list.
So while TWRP is on the phone i don't know other ways to push the Zips over to a folder on the phone.
In Windows File Manager I can see the device Nexus 6 and inside of that is Internal Storage. If I try to drop files to Internal Storage using Windows, it processes for a long time and hangs.
In Windows File Manager I cannot create a new folder on the phone when it's in TWRP mode.
In TWRP, Mount, the default boxes checked are Data and Cache. Others aren't checked.
Is there some other trick to getting those Zips onto the phone without booting the phone into Stock, thus encrypting the data? Thanks

wittier said:
One of my N6s has a little trouble doing ADB.
When it's in stock, the phone will only accept ADB commands and show up in ADB Devices when the USB mode is set to MIDI. It doesn't work with ADB in MTP mode. But in MTP mode, I can drop files to the phone from Windows File Manager, but no ADB. In TWRP recovery mode, with MTP on I can't drop files to the phone. In TWRP, if I disable MTP, the phone no longer shows up in Windows. That's the background on this phone.
I'm trying to flash Pure Nexus, GApps, Magisk, and Franco Kernel to this phone without encrypting it.
As a starter step, I have flashed stock and TWRP to it without rebooting to the stock ROM (which would encrypt the phone).
(Note I know many people say encryption doesn't matter for better performance. Let's not get distracted by that discussion here. I'm trying to see if I can flash this custom setup without encrypting.)
I now need to get the Zips for PN, GApps, Magisk, and Franco onto the phone but am unable to use adb push command or Windows File Manager to drop those files.
So it has fresh stock and TWRP on it. Now when the phone is in TWRP, and I try to "adb push ROM.zip" I get an error: failed to get feature set: no devices/emulators found If I try adb devices it returns a blank list.
So while TWRP is on the phone i don't know other ways to push the Zips over to a folder on the phone.
In Windows File Manager I can see the device Nexus 6 and inside of that is Internal Storage. If I try to drop files to Internal Storage using Windows, it processes for a long time and hangs.
In Windows File Manager I cannot create a new folder on the phone when it's in TWRP mode.
In TWRP, Mount, the default boxes checked are Data and Cache. Others aren't checked.
Is there some other trick to getting those Zips onto the phone without booting the phone into Stock, thus encrypting the data? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SUCCESS
Update: with some manipulation in TWRP, I was able to get a file system I could see and drop files to from Windows.
After flashing stock, and TWRP, and booting to TWRP (without ever booting to system/stock, which would have encrypted phone) i did the following.
I'm trying to remember all the steps but I think that Wiping the data and cache partitions via TWRP was the key, and required before I could move zips over to the phone.
I dropped the Pure Nexus, GApps, and Magisk onto the phone and then flashed them in that order via TWRP
Rebooted to system.
It installed and set up under Pure Nexus. It's reloading my apps from my Google account.
I checked Settings, Security and the phone is not encrypted.
I haven't yet checked on the GApps and Magisk. I assume I can install Franco Kernel from the Franco Manager app that I bought.

When you can't transfer files from PC to the N6:
Remove the drivers of the PC and let Windows search for the latest drivers.
Check on https://dl.twrp.me if you have the latest version of TWRP.

NLBeev said:
When you can't transfer files from PC to the N6:
Remove the drivers of the PC and let Windows search for the latest drivers.
Check on https://dl.twrp.me if you have the latest version of TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. it is the latest TWRP.
I fixed it, see above, it wasn't the drivers on the PC.
The PC works with my other N6. This N6 has issues.
The workaround of wiping in TWRP fixed it. I don't know yet if I'd have to do the same wipe with my better N6. Will find out soon.

wittier said:
... I don't know yet if I'd have to do the same wipe with my better N6. Will find out soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updating TWRP to the latest version is a good practice.

wittier said:
SUCCESS
Update: with some manipulation in TWRP, I was able to get a file system I could see and drop files to from Windows.
After flashing stock, and TWRP, and booting to TWRP (without ever booting to system/stock, which would have encrypted phone) i did the following.
I'm trying to remember all the steps but I think that Wiping the data and cache partitions via TWRP was the key, and required before I could move zips over to the phone.
I dropped the Pure Nexus, GApps, and Magisk onto the phone and then flashed them in that order via TWRP
Rebooted to system.
It installed and set up under Pure Nexus. It's reloading my apps from my Google account.
I checked Settings, Security and the phone is not encrypted.
I haven't yet checked on the GApps and Magisk. I assume I can install Franco Kernel from the Franco Manager app that I bought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated my other N6 last night.
After flashing stock ROM and TWRP and booting to TWRP only, I didn't have to wipe before I could push files to the phone.
The other phone is more difficult.

Google Apps disappeared after rooting

Hello,
I followed a tutorial yesterday to get root access to get rid of some of the pre-installed apps on my newly bought P8 Lite 2017.
I made sure the operation would work on my phone before starting : PRA-LX1 (C432B170), EMUI 5.0, Android 7.0
I supposedly managed to get root access, but somehow without me doing anything for it, all of the Google Apps (including Play Store) have totally disappeared within the phone.
I'll describe below my yesterday's doings. To precise, I'm a novice in this and never rooted any phone before.
- Downloaded ADB, Fastboot & Drivers (adb-setup-1.4.3.exe) and installed it.
Got an adb directory created in my C:\ afterwards containing adb.exe, fastboot.exe and two AdbWin .dll .
- Unlocked bootloader doing so : plugged my phone with USB, opened cmd (win+r), went to my C:\adb folder (cd command) and typed adb reboot bootloader; the phone rebooted in bootloader mode. Typed then fastboot oem unlock [code_ive_been_given_on_huawei_website]. Operation was successful.
- Downloaded TWRP (twrp-3.1.1-2-v1-prague.img), renamed it recovery.img and put it in my C:\adb directory.
Opened the cmd (win+r) and rebooted into bootloader mode (adb reboot bootloader). (NB : I tried using the PowerShell cmd but it said "adb isn't recognized as command [...]" "The command adb is nowhere to be found but exists in current spot, PowerShell doesn't load commands from current spot [...]")
Once my phone rebooted in bootloader, I typed in the cmd prompt : fastboot flash recovery recovery.img and operation was successful (two lines of "OKAY" or something similar iirc).
- Downloaded SuperSU (v2.79-201612051815-EMUI5.0.zip), rebooted my phone to put it in.
To mention it, since bootloader unlock the first screen I see is "your device has been unlocked and can't be trusted" with three operations "1. Power up to boot, 2. Vol up to enter erecovery, 3. After 5sec it'll boot automatically". Getting this screen is normal to my understanding.
I moved SuperSU.zip into an external SD once rebooted and plugged via USB.
Then I entered TWRP Recovery Menu, Install-ed the SuperSU.zip, and then Wipe-d Dalvik/Cache and rebooted afterwards.
Phone rebooted once, twice, and ended up booting normally.
Google Apps disappeared since then (no appearance in Settings>Apps), this including Chrome (which was seemingly the sole browser) and PlayStore (rest of Google Apps being what I wanted to erase).
I'm fairly sure that those disappeared after I unlocked the bootloader, but can't be certain of it (operations to get root access took me some time and reboots and the Chrome widget on the main screen has been gone since then iirc).
NB : I see the SuperSU app and when I go to Settings>Google Play "All my applications - See all my applications on the shop" and click on that, nothing happens (I assume it should redirect me to something like the SuperSU dev PlayStore page with his/her developed apps).
I've tried to find out what to do reading some forum posts and the sole post I found that's alike is the following : https://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-9/help/missing-playstore-unlocking-bootloader-t3551269/page2, which end up with a user telling to factory reset, but I read on other posts (not necessarily on xda) that may/might brick and as a novice I would like to get clues on what to do next before going all in on it and bricking it.
Note, I stupidly didn't Backup before doing the operations to get root ... I didn't think of it and the tutorial I followed forgot to mention it.
Thanks in advance for the time spent reading and the help given.

Use the unbrick part of the rooting tutorial. You will get latest stock firmware
---------- Post added at 23:20 ---------- Previous post was at 23:20 ----------
Aftereards root with magisk v14 or supersu

After unlocking the bootloader you must do a factory reset before installing twrp and super su..
Unroot then try to factory reset then re-root you device..
hope it works