Just downgraded. (Accidentally). Now I have some questions - Moto X Q&A

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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Related

[Q] Having trouble upgrading to 4.4.2 stock on Verizon

I have a Moto X Developer Edition rooted on Verizon with TWRP 2.6.3.1 and stock Android 4.4 on it. I have been trying to upgrade to 4.4.2 without doing the OTA, and without having to reflash TWRP.
So far, I have been unsuccessful.
I have tried Blur_Version.140.45.5.ghost_verizon.Verizon.en.US.zip (approximate file size 150MB) from multiple sources as all the posts I read keep saying that is what works. I have also tried a ~650MB version I found somewhere. In addition, I tried the upgrade located here: sbf.droid-developers.org/phone.php?device=0 which is called VZW_XT1060_4.4.2-KXA20.16-1.25.2_CFC_1FF.xml.zip (It's the 4.4.2 upgrade listed under Verizon US).
All of these fail. In TWRP, about 2-3 steps after it verified md5, it simply says "Failed" with no explanation as to why.
Here is my question:
How can I upgrade to 4.4.2 without a data wipe, and without having to reflash TWRP?
I have no interest in going to a ROM, I want to stay stock, and if I must, I will reflash the recovery if I have to, but I *really* don't want to.
Flash stock recovery, take the OTA, flash TWRP again.
It's so simple, so painless, so quick and it will not wipe your data.
tcrews said:
Flash stock recovery, take the OTA, flash TWRP again.
It's so simple, so painless, so quick and it will not wipe your data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was hoping to avoid that (Yep, I really am that lazy...) but that's what I was going to do tonight if I couldn't get my hands on a .zip to flash.
Ironically, I bought the Dev Edition specifically so things like this would be easy.
It is easy.....just need to do it.
I support my sister, her husband and my wife (as well as my own) who all have Moto X's. 2 seconds to flash recovery, however long it takes for the OTA to install and reboot and then 2 seconds to flash TWRP again. Heck...I'd just leave the stock recovery in place since it's not needed if you don't plan on flashing any ROMs. The OTA doesn't even remove root.
tcrews said:
It is easy.....just need to do it.
I support my sister, her husband and my wife (as well as my own) who all have Moto X's. 2 seconds to flash recovery, however long it takes for the OTA to install and reboot and then 2 seconds to flash TWRP again. Heck...I'd just leave the stock recovery in place since it's not needed if you don't plan on flashing any ROMs. The OTA doesn't even remove root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, that last bit is good to know! Well, I think even if it did remove root, getting it back is easy on the DE.
I think you're right though, I probably won't install TWRP again, I specifically got the Moto X because I was tired of messing around with stuff when I all I want is a rooted, stock Android experience.
So, after several hours of messing with this, and thinking the stock recovery had gotten messed up because the instructions I had for getting in to it were wrong, I finally got the OTA installing...
and it fails.
I don't know why, I haven't seen the error (I'm not looking at the phone when it fails).
So... Awesome.
Taegost said:
So, after several hours of messing with this, and thinking the stock recovery had gotten messed up because the instructions I had for getting in to it were wrong, I finally got the OTA installing...
and it fails.
I don't know why, I haven't seen the error (I'm not looking at the phone when it fails).
So... Awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are there files out so you can just flash 4.4.2 with mfastboot? Would be easiest.
kj2112 said:
Are there files out so you can just flash 4.4.2 with mfastboot? Would be easiest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume so, but I haven't found any instructions specifically saying how to do that, except for the ones that tell you how to return to stock without using RSD Lite.
Unfortunately, I don't know enough about how all this stuff works to be able to figure out which bits and pieces to put together to get upgraded without wiping my data.
What really pisses me off is that I specifically bought this phone so I wouldn't have issues like this, and here I am...
BTW: The only thing the error says is "Error". That's it, nothing else.
Taegost said:
I assume so, but I haven't found any instructions specifically saying how to do that, except for the ones that tell you how to return to stock without using RSD Lite.
Unfortunately, I don't know enough about how all this stuff works to be able to figure out which bits and pieces to put together to get upgraded without wiping my data.
What really pisses me off is that I specifically bought this phone so I wouldn't have issues like this, and here I am...
BTW: The only thing the error says is "Error". That's it, nothing else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This guide has a return to stock section. It will tell you how to flash the stock firmware.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2603358
Unfortunately the moto x is not a simple phone for tinkering with, like say a nexus, even the dev edition.
It can be easier once you do fully understand everything. Just gotta know what applies to you...meaning mostly the locked versus unlocked methods for everything.
After owning an s2, a moto x and now an n5 (n7 too...but I don't tinker with it really....its a family device) I've come to the mind set that for flashers and rooters.....nothing at all beats owning a nexus. Every other device has some limitations that a nexus won't have.
kj2112 said:
This guide has a return to stock section. It will tell you how to flash the stock firmware.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2603358
Unfortunately the moto x is not a simple phone for tinkering with, like say a nexus, even the dev edition.
It can be easier once you do fully understand everything. Just gotta know what applies to you...meaning mostly the locked versus unlocked methods for everything.
After owning an s2, a moto x and now an n5 (n7 too...but I don't tinker with it really....its a family device) I've come to the mind set that for flashers and rooters.....nothing at all beats owning a nexus. Every other device has some limitations that a nexus won't have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's the page I was talking about when I said I found the full instructions...
I specifically bought this phone because I didn't want to mess around with it like this, I just wanted to root it so I could use Titantium Backup and be done with it... and now I'm stuck at a halfway point.... Again...
I'll probably end up just doing the full wipe and manually flash to 4.4.2 (RSD Lite doesn't see my device... yay), since I have gone from my mute button not working (with 4.2.2), to a really bad echo for whomever I'm talking to when it's on speakerphone (Even when speakerphone is muted... THAT made for a fun conference call...).
Taegost said:
Yeah, that's the page I was talking about when I said I found the full instructions...
I specifically bought this phone because I didn't want to mess around with it like this, I just wanted to root it so I could use Titantium Backup and be done with it... and now I'm stuck at a halfway point.... Again...
I'll probably end up just doing the full wipe and manually flash to 4.4.2 (RSD Lite doesn't see my device... yay), since I have gone from my mute button not working (with 4.2.2), to a really bad echo for whomever I'm talking to when it's on speakerphone (Even when speakerphone is muted... THAT made for a fun conference call...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing stock and rooting on an unlocked Moto x is basically the same as a nexus. It really is simple, once you are familiar with fastboot.
I guess there are toolkits that automate everything....like Samsung's Odin, and there's a few for nexus....but it really doesn't help anyone learn. And that's kinda what this hobby is all about.
But, I am sorry you're having trouble. Not sure what else to add. The guides are there, and they work. Usually. I can't think of anything to add to whats already been said.
Hope it works out for you!
kj2112 said:
Flashing stock and rooting on an unlocked Moto x is basically the same as a nexus. It really is simple, once you are familiar with fastboot.
I guess there are toolkits that automate everything....like Samsung's Odin, and there's a few for nexus....but it really doesn't help anyone learn. And that's kinda what this hobby is all about.
But, I am sorry you're having trouble. Not sure what else to add. The guides are there, and they work. Usually. I can't think of anything to add to whats already been said.
Hope it works out for you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think I'm articulating my issue properly. I understand how to do everything in the guides you mentioned, they're a piece of cake. That doesn't solve my problem.
My problem is that I want to get to 4.4.2 WITHOUT wiping my data, but can't do the update via OTA or flashing in recovery. RSD Lite doesn't work either.
The ONLY option I have available to me is to manually push the update with fastboot, which I can definitely do with the instructions provided... But those instructions require me to wipe my data.
I know it's possible to apply the update with fastboot without requiring me to wipe my data, but I don't know enough about the inner workings to know which steps to skip, and which need to be modified, in order to make that happen.
Taegost said:
I don't think I'm articulating my issue properly. I understand how to do everything in the guides you mentioned, they're a piece of cake. That doesn't solve my problem.
My problem is that I want to get to 4.4.2 WITHOUT wiping my data, but can't do the update via OTA or flashing in recovery. RSD Lite doesn't work either.
The ONLY option I have available to me is to manually push the update with fastboot, which I can definitely do with the instructions provided... But those instructions require me to wipe my data.
I know it's possible to apply the update with fastboot without requiring me to wipe my data, but I don't know enough about the inner workings to know which steps to skip, and which need to be modified, in order to make that happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says right at the bottom of the return to stock section in the guide I linked too.....you can skip
Fastboot erase user data
fastboot erase cache
Though if you have any problems after, you might have to do it again and do erase those, before spending time trying to figure out what's wrong.
kj2112 said:
It says right at the bottom of the return to stock section in the guide I linked too.....you can skip
Fastboot erase user data
fastboot erase cache
Though if you have any problems after, you might have to do it again and do erase those, before spending time trying to figure out what's wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow... Attention to detail -5
Sorry about that, when I looked through that article, I skimmed through and saw that the "Return to Stock" section was (almost) identical to the other instructions I was reading...But I missed that last paragraph when I looked at the link you provided, the directions I was using referenced that article but did not include that last bit...
Thank you for your patients, I feel like a dumbass now *sheepish grin*
Taegost said:
Wow... Attention to detail -5
Sorry about that, when I looked through that article, I skimmed through and saw that the "Return to Stock" section was (almost) identical to the other instructions I was reading...But I missed that last paragraph when I looked at the link you provided, the directions I was using referenced that article but did not include that last bit...
Thank you for your patients, I feel like a dumbass now *sheepish grin*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries!! .
And sorry, its userdata. My keyboard split the words up.
---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------
And, you may very well have issues doing that way. But its worth a shot first. If you do have issues, then you can erase those and repeat the process.
if using fastboot/mfastboot, I would still erase cache, as it doesn't touch your data/apps/config.
Another tip, use this mfastboot -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/X-STUFF/Mfastboot-4.4.zip
or you can use RSDlite to flash the SBF, but there is a corresponding line for "erase data"
Two helpful links that will help explain what you saw...
Taking the OTA -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-OTA.html
various ways to Return to stock -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html
kj2112 said:
No worries!! .
And sorry, its userdata. My keyboard split the words up.
---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------
And, you may very well have issues doing that way. But its worth a shot first. If you do have issues, then you can erase those and repeat the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alrighty, well I was able to successfully flash to 4.4.2 using the Fastboot instructions. Flashed TWRP afterwards and got root right back. Now that I know, this won't be a trial in the future (fingers crossed!)
Thanks for your help and patience

[Resolved] Moto X randomly bricked itself

So, I imported and gifted this device to my GF and will describe what happened as she did. She was downloading a torrent and suddenly the screen just went black. After holding the power button for awhile, the phone came back on but, would get stuck on the boot logo(welcome message) screen and in a boot loop. I know that it is a SIM unlocked Moto X(XT 1053?)
So far, I've tried getting into the bootloader and am able to. The only problem is when I get to the recovery, I don't see the little dead Android dude. The phone ends up dying. Now I have it charging and I'm on the bootloader screen, but I still can't get into recovery. I just get a blank screen when I try.
It will be hard, time consuming and maybe a little expensive RMAing the device, as I'd probably have to send it back to the US for the warranty.
I'm thinking maybe I just try and unlock the bootloader and see if the subsequent factory reset helps. But I don't know if this will work.
I have tried fastboot erase cache but it didn't help.
I think somehow my recovery is gone. I've tried flashing a recovery.img but it errors out. (failed to hab check for recovery)
Any ideas?
Did you root the XT1053 before you sent it to her? If so, how?
Next, do you know what ROM was on there before it got stuck in this state? the failed hab check when flashing recovery makes me question if there is a missmatch somewhere... i.e. attempt to down grade from 4.4.3 or 4.4.2 to lower... or the stock recovery you are trying to flash doesn't match the rom version on the phone.
KidJoe said:
Did you root the XT1053 before you sent it to her? If so, how?
Next, do you know what ROM was on there before it got stuck in this state? the failed hab check when flashing recovery makes me question if there is a missmatch somewhere... i.e. attempt to down grade from 4.4.3 or 4.4.2 to lower... or the stock recovery you are trying to flash doesn't match the rom version on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it was not rooted, completely stock and the bootloader was locked. Something just got borked I guess. It was on 4.4.3. It was like there was no recovery and I attempted to access it a bunch of time.
So, my solution was to just void my warranty and unlock the bootloader. This worked. But, on reboot it went to the dead Android logo, and I could suddenly access recovery again(WTF?!). I did a factory reset and now it seems to be working fine!
Now, for the fun bit. I'm going to use your guide to make my face her boot logo! :cyclops:
deejaylobo said:
No, it was not rooted, completely stock and the bootloader was locked. Something just got borked I guess. It was on 4.4.3. It was like there was no recovery and I attempted to access it a bunch of time.
So, my solution was to just void my warranty and unlock the bootloader. This worked. But, on reboot it went to the dead Android logo, and I could suddenly access recovery again(WTF?!). I did a factory reset and now it seems to be working fine!
Now, for the fun bit. I'm going to use your guide to make my face her boot logo! :cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny. I've read of another having a similar issue... locked, not-rooted, and had the phone just "brick." Warranty replacement was needed. So keep an eye on that.
Since you factory reset already, you could consider re-flashing the firmware to the phone, just in case.. To be safe, make sure you are flashing the EXACT same rom, do not attempt to downgrade. I would consider using mFastboot rather than RSDLite... and follow option 5 at -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html (and yes, there are a couple of lines repeated in that sequence, its intentional).
As for using your face for her bootlogo.. hmm... you sure she is ok with that? then again, the X doesn't need to be rebooted often, so she wont see it
KidJoe said:
Funny. I've read of another having a similar issue... locked, not-rooted, and had the phone just "brick." Warranty replacement was needed. So keep an eye on that.
Since you factory reset already, you could consider re-flashing the firmware to the phone, just in case.. To be safe, make sure you are flashing the EXACT same rom, do not attempt to downgrade. I would consider using mFastboot rather than RSDLite... and follow option 5 at -> http://mark.cdmaforums.com/MotoX-ReturnToStock.html (and yes, there are a couple of lines repeated in that sequence, its intentional).
As for using your face for her bootlogo.. hmm... you sure she is ok with that? then again, the X doesn't need to be rebooted often, so she wont see it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only found one person with a similar issue, and you're right, he did end up getting a replacement. That's just not an option for me. It's too much of a pain sending it back to the US.
Yeah, I think I will reflash a ROM. Can you point me towards figuring out which is the correct ROM? My System Version is 212.44.21.ghost_row.Retail.en.US. So, I just grab the corresponding SBF, yeah? I flashed the logo with mfastboot, so I'm okay with that. EDIT: No worries. Foudn the right file. Sorted. Everything seems to be working fine. Thanks!
The face thing, is just to prank her. I previously had a custom message set up for her through the Moto Maker. I think she'll be rebooting her phone more often now.

XT1060 Problem Cannot Boot

I have a Verizon XT1060 developer edition. It has been having some errors with Assist and other things not working correctly. I thought I'd just return to stock and start over. I downloaded MOTXT1060DEV_4.4-13.11.1Q2.X-69-3_1FF-CID2.xml.zip and extracted it. I used mfastboot and used the commands in the .xml. gpt.bin and motoboot.img failed, but I had read to just skip those. I flashed the rest of the commands and rebooted.
The phone boots to the Motorola globe and then Verizon splash shows for a few seconds. After that, the screen just shuts off. If I push and hold the power button, it vibrates and screen stays off. I can push and hold the power button and it will repeat (boot Motorola animation, Verizon, screen shut off). I can boot into bootloader and have tried flashing the 4.4.4 and 4.4.2 .xml.zip's I had saved, but the result is the same. Anyone have any ideas?
It booted fine after I erased userdata. It downloaded the newest update and I applied it. It rebooted and started to apply the update. When I looked at it again, it was off and now will not boot system or bootloader. The battery was ~70% charged, so that should not be a problem. Anyone know how to get it to turn on?
Edit - I guess it hard bricked itself when applying the update. It now shows Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 when connected to a computer. Here I thought getting a dev edition and having factory image would be great.
Oh man, it looks like you did the dreadful downgrade. I'm pretty sure if you had tried to flash it with rsd lite it wouldn't have let you but since you did it manually through mfastboot you kinda hung yourself.
From here, I think your only hope is in the [how to] resurrecting a bricked Moto X. All is not lost, yet. Best of luck.
This is why it's important to read read read before you flash something new. There are warnings posted all over this forum about the downgrade brick.
cntryby429 said:
Oh man, it looks like you did the dreadful downgrade. I'm pretty sure if you had tried to flash it with rsd lite it wouldn't have let you but since you did it manually through mfastboot you kinda hung yourself.
From here, I think your only hope is in the [how to] resurrecting a bricked Moto X. All is not lost, yet. Best of luck.
This is why it's important to read read read before you flash something new. There are warnings posted all over this forum about the downgrade brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing that is weird is that it booted fine after flashing 4.4.4 and erasing user data. It then downloaded a system update (actually showed 2 in the notifications with different icons). I chose to apply the update and that is when it bricked. I tried the resurrecting with no luck. Probably off to a new nexus now .
mwalt2 said:
The thing that is weird is that it booted fine after flashing 4.4.4 and erasing user data. It then downloaded a system update (actually showed 2 in the notifications with different icons). I chose to apply the update and that is when it bricked. I tried the resurrecting with no luck. Probably off to a new nexus now .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If 4.4.4 flashed correctly, those updates wouldn't have been there, and you wouldn't have bricked. There has been no update for the XT1060 since 4.4.4 came out.
Not sure what you were reading that said it was OK to skip GPT.BIN and Motoboot.img... but it was flat out wrong, and setting you up to brick if/when the phone saw an OTA.
I'm not going to go into how many times this has been debated on XDA and elsewhere, but despite claims to the contrary, as you found out, it is NOT safe to try and downgrade (except when following the SlapMyMoto process to go from 4.4 to 4.2.2 w/Camera), you'll usually end up with a BRICK at some point.
To resurect the phone now, please see -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/general/how-to-resurrecting-bricked-moto-x-t2629057
If that doesn't work, then yeah, its time to buy a new phone.
mwalt2 said:
The thing that is weird is that it booted fine after flashing 4.4.4 and erasing user data. It then downloaded a system update (actually showed 2 in the notifications with different icons). I chose to apply the update and that is when it bricked. I tried the resurrecting with no luck. Probably off to a new nexus now .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at the filename you posted you flashed 4.4, not 4.4.4. That was the fatal error.
cntryby429 said:
Looking at the filename you posted you flashed 4.4, not 4.4.4. That was the fatal error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's embarrassing . I wish motorola did not make you request a link and wait for some guy to give you the download. Guess I'll have to read closer next time.

Issues after trying to Root : Bootloader Code 3 : Soft Bricked?

Using this guy's guide for the Nexus 5 I had no issues, bought a N6 today and was giddy to flash on Cataclysm for N6 and figured might as well use same person's guide for next phone up.
http://www.androidrootz.com/2014/12/how-to-root-nexus-6-windowsmaclinuxubun.html
Was able to unlock bootloader, then installed TWRP but now am getting the 'corrupt phone' message, however unlike others like I have read on XDA, am unable to boot up by just letting it sit. Screen turns off and that's that. Before beginning entire process I enabled "enable/allow oem unlocking". I'm assuming that when the phone factory resets after the bootloader unlock I need to go back in and recheck 'allow oem unlock' in dev options, but I didn't as I assume/ed that it wasn't necessary and the guide doesn't tell you to.
Tried relocking the bootloader to maybe get phone to open up, but terminal tells me that I need to have 'allow oem unlock' checked. Nice Catch-22 http://puu.sh/moOUf/d0f8fa9050.png
Tried formatting data from within TWRP and factory resetting/wiping everything but it tells me that it is unable to mount '/data'
Have since tried WugsToolkit and flashing to stock with 'softbricked' option enabled the shamu-mmb29k-fact....tgz image that I downloaded and imported myself into Wugs (was taking 10 minutes to dl 1%). That seemed to work and told me it was a success, however when I then went back to re-enable the bootloader via wugs it fails and reboots with the lock sign still open and boots again onto 'corruption' screen that then flashes off and turns phone off, left it for 30 minutes at one point and didn't boot so don't think I'm lucky enough to be able to sit if through like others who had that issue
Where to go from here? Really hoping I didn't brick this phone less that 3 hours after getting it. I can still boot and see the Google screen and can get onto the bootloader and used to be able to get into recovery (since wugs have been getting the android with red triangle)
Been rooting/rom'ing since day one that I've had androids. Had a Samsung Apollo with CM on it, same for the Nexus S, then the Galaxy Nexus, then the N5 and looks like my chain of no issues ended tonight
Anything you can do for guys would be greatly appreciated. No clue where to go from here....
So from what I gathered, I think you are in luck. It sounds like your bootloader is unlocked. This is a very good thing. Under no circumstances do you want to try to re lock it right now or do you ever when stuck not being able to boot or any issues like that. If you lock it while stuck, thats when you are soft bricked. If I remember correctly, I got myself in the same situation , although maybe with out a custom recovery installed. None of that matters though. The way to fix this is to reflash the the factory image. Here are the guides for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_m6bYNKrXQ
This is the video I used the first time. A bit rough but, It did the job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hao_Yf-gaw
Here is a bit of a nicer one. I used it the second time around.
and lastly here is an xda post http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/guide-flash-factory-images-nexus-6shamu-t2954008
I would recommend reading and watching all of these and maybe doing more research so you really knows whats going on. The flash-all script is not going to work from what I've read and I've always done it manual so go with that. It may also be a good idea to keep the custom recovery, so look into to keeping that. Maybe it is as simple as not erasing the recovery partition and not flashing the recovery image. This is what should save your nexus.
Now, I am fairly new to the Rooting and ROMming, really only started 2 months ago, so I would really appreciate if any of the more experienced guys on XDA can confirm what I said. Please don't try any of this without confirmation from another member here, I do not want to be responsible for sending your device past the point of no return. I recently had to order a new Nexus 6 as the screen is dead, so I know it's frustrating to have that loss. In your case, as long as that boot loader is unlocked, you should be safe. Best of luck to you.
DO NOT RELOCK THE BOOTLOADER!!!!! I cannot emphasize how critical it is that you do not relock the bootloader, given the position you are in. If you somehow manage to relock the bootloader and "enable OEM unlock" is toggled off and Android will not boot (even after attempting a factory reset), then you are 100% bricked with no way to fix your phone. Personally, I leave my bootloader unlocked 100% of the time so that I can fix anything that may go wrong with my phone. Additionally, I (as well as many other users on here) will always advise against using Wug's or any other toolkit in order to do stuff to your phone. While they do provide a nice GUI as well as an easy way to install the necessary drivers, using the regular platform-tools command line method isn't all that hard to figure out, and it allows you to know exactly what you have done to your phone. With Wug's and the like, you never really know what commands that they are running and exactly at what point in the process a flash may fail. Right now, I would advise you to read up on using the platform-tools method to flash stock images. After you have all of the necessary drivers, platform-tools, etc. working properly on your computer, I would strongly advise that you download MMB29S (the latest official update) from the Google Developer page and flash it using the platform-tools method, NOT with Wug's. And whatever you do, I repeat, DO NOT LOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER!
---------- Post added at 07:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 AM ----------
triguyrn said:
So from what I gathered, I think you are in luck. It sounds like your bootloader is unlocked. This is a very good thing. Under no circumstances do you want to try to re lock it right now or do you ever when stuck not being able to boot or any issues like that. If you lock it while stuck, thats when you are soft bricked. If I remember correctly, I got myself in the same situation , although maybe with out a custom recovery installed. None of that matters though. The way to fix this is to reflash the the factory image. Here are the guides for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_m6bYNKrXQ
This is the video I used the first time. A bit rough but, It did the job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hao_Yf-gaw
Here is a bit of a nicer one. I used it the second time around.
and lastly here is an xda post http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/guide-flash-factory-images-nexus-6shamu-t2954008
I would recommend reading and watching all of these and maybe doing more research so you really knows whats going on. The flash-all script is not going to work from what I've read and I've always done it manual so go with that. It may also be a good idea to keep the custom recovery, so look into to keeping that. Maybe it is as simple as not erasing the recovery partition and not flashing the recovery image. This is what should save your nexus.
Now, I am fairly new to the Rooting and ROMming, really only started 2 months ago, so I would really appreciate if any of the more experienced guys on XDA can confirm what I said. Please don't try any of this without confirmation from another member here, I do not want to be responsible for sending your device past the point of no return. I recently had to order a new Nexus 6 as the screen is dead, so I know it's frustrating to have that loss. In your case, as long as that boot loader is unlocked, you should be safe. Best of luck to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding the flash-all script, my friend and I just used the script included with MMB29S and it worked fine. In addition, I was able to use the one with MMB29K, MRA58K and MRA58R, all of which worked fine. I'm not sure if these scripts always work for some users and never work for others, but I always recommend that people who are new to flashing simply try them, as they are quite convenient when they work. In addition, I have only been in the rooting and ROMing scene for about a month or two as well, but I would consider myself pretty seasoned by now considering all the different ROMs, rooting methods, etc. that I have tried. All the advice that you gave to the OP is excellent and I agree with it all.
matthew2926 said:
Regarding the flash-all script, my friend and I just used the script included with MMB29S and it worked fine. In addition, I was able to use the one with MMB29K, MRA58K and MRA58R, all of which worked fine. I'm not sure if these scripts always work for some users and never work for others, but I always recommend that people who are new to flashing simply try them, as they are quite convenient when they work. In addition, I have only been in the rooting and ROMing scene for about a month or two as well, but I would consider myself pretty seasoned by now considering all the different ROMs, rooting methods, etc. that I have tried. All the advice that you gave to the OP is excellent and I agree with it all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I always wanted to try the flash-all script but, I ahve read a few places it wouldn't work and haven't had the chance to give it a try lately. When my new device arrives in a day or two, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the confirmation, makes me feel good knowing I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff
triguyrn said:
Thank you. I always wanted to try the flash-all script but, I ahve read a few places it wouldn't work and haven't had the chance to give it a try lately. When my new device arrives in a day or two, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the confirmation, makes me feel good knowing I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! It's too bad to hear about your device but at least you got a new one on the way. There is really no harm to at least trying the flash-all script. It will either work and save you time or fail halfway through and force you to flash everything manually.
triguyrn said:
Thank you. I always wanted to try the flash-all script but, I ahve read a few places it wouldn't work and haven't had the chance to give it a try lately. When my new device arrives in a day or two, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the confirmation, makes me feel good knowing I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash-all script is still broken, flash the img files individualy in fastboot.
gee2012 said:
Flash-all script is still broken, flash the img files individualy in fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys are life savers, thank you so much
Got it to work after I was getting ready to phone it in and bring it to a repair shop and eat whatever the charge might've been

H811 unbrick help

Hi everyone,
Please forgive any n00b questions.
I got started with rooting / custom ROMs on a Nexus 4, and I didn't realize at the time that this made things really easy and I didn't need to learn very much about how everything worked. Fast forward to last week -- I decided, at long last, that I was tired of using stock MM on my T-Mo G4 / H811. How hard could it be? Probably not much different from playing on my old Nexus 4 right? Lol, maybe not.
So now 72 hours later, my phone is hard bricked and will not enter download mode. and I need some assistance, if anyone would be so kind.
I will try to recount what I did:
To start with, I was using a Mac, so I used Homebrew to install Android platform tools / ADB.
I decided I wanted to try out LineageOS so I went ahead and followed their very clear steps (on LOS wiki) to unlock the bootloader install TWRP. However, TWRP doesn't seem to have an official build for the G4(!) so I had to look up and use one of the betas from this post. Is this where I went off the rails already? [Of course, very stupidly I also failed to make a complete backup of anything before going on ahead. Rookie mistake.]
After unlocking bootloader and flashing my TWRP beta, I was able to boot into TWRP just fine. I followed the normal prescribed steps of doing a Wipe (normal TWRP defaults -- system, cache, etc.?) before flashing the latest LOS nightly (14.1-something) and also the nano-x64 variety of gapps. I rebooted and got stuck with the LOS boot animation. I let this go for 55 minutes, so I am pretty sure it was an actual bootloop, not just the 1st-time-startup and optimization going on.
I rebooted into TWRP and decided to try a different ROM to see if that was the issue. So I wiped again, flashed another ROM (I believe it was a flavor of AOKP 14.1.x), flashed gapps again, and gave it another try. Again got stuck with an endless bootloop (45 minutes).
Since this is my daily driver, I decided to go back to stock. Found this thread, downloaded the MM-debloated zip, pushed to phone, and again Wiped + Flashed. This time, when I hit reboot, my phone was immediately hard-bricked. No startup screen, no nothing. That was quite unexpected. Also, the first time I had ever HARD bricked a device that I was playing with. Yikes!
Since then, I got a hold of a PC, and have been trying to revive the device by flashing an image to the microSD and booting into Download mode, in the form of this thread or this one.
I did get this to work briefly yesterday, or at least I got to Download Mode / Firmware Update screen, and then attempted to run LGUP with the KDZ file. However I ran into an error at about 9%, and couldn't continue -- and then I had to give back my loaner PC for the day. I also noticed that the LG Mobile Support tool was recognizing my phone NOT as an H811 but as something like HX230 or ... whatever it was, it was definitely wrong. Which is worrisome.
Today I'm giving it another try but my phone will not enter Download Mode at all, nor respond in any other way. I'm curious if this is a battery issue? So I am simply charging it for the time being. I also re-formatted the microSD and re-flashed the single .img just to be safe, but still can't get a response out of the phone. On my PC's device manager it is showing up as the common Qualcomm 9008 that a lot of people seem to have seen. No recognition from LG Mobile Support tool, nor from LGUP.
So ... what now?
It's possible that once my battery gets some charge again, maybe I'll be able to enter DL mode. Let's hope so.
However, I am also totally in the dark about which software version I should be using. 20i? 20p? I have no idea what these refer to, and I did not make any prior notes to capture the state that my phone was in before this all began. So IF I get to DL mode I will definitely need further instruction on the CORRECT KDZ FILE to be flashing. Else I will just compound my problems.
ANY tips or suggestions will be appreciated! Thanks so much.
Should have verified being on 20o firmware
Upon further reading, quite obvious, at the top of this thread, I definitely should have followed the Prerequisite steps. I did NOT verify that I was on 20o firmware. "OR RISK BRICKING YOUR DEVICE" is right.
So I bricked my device, in exactly the way I was warned not to do, it seems.
Still, what's the next step? Any thoughts?
freeradical426 said:
Upon further reading, quite obvious, at the top of this thread, I definitely should have followed the Prerequisite steps. I did NOT verify that I was on 20o firmware. "OR RISK BRICKING YOUR DEVICE" is right.
So I bricked my device, in exactly the way I was warned not to do, it seems.
Still, what's the next step? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try search for a fix if not may be @steadfasterX knows how to help you.
Re: searching for unbrick solutions
raptorddd said:
try search for a fix if not may be @steadfasterX knows how to help you.
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Click to collapse
Thanks, I have been looking around for solutions, but can't seem to find anything aside from the unbrick-guides that I've already listed / already attempted.
Will hope for help from @steadfasterX ! Or some other knowledgeable / benevolent party.
freeradical426 said:
Thanks, I have been looking around for solutions, but can't seem to find anything aside from the unbrick-guides that I've already listed / already attempted.
Will hope for help from @steadfasterX ! Or some other knowledgeable / benevolent party.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok what was the last KDZ file you flashed which had worked? 20o?
As you have hard bricked your device you can try the sdcard method again if it works flash 20o again (of it it was 20o).
If you flash a lower version you will hard brick again.
If the sdcard doesn't work anymore for you you can try to flash with QFIL but beware to use the right one. If you use the wrong one it will convert your device and believe me that's not what you want. I can share the good ones but unfortunately maybe on next week first.
Otherwise search on your own for 9008 unbrick but check the md5sum of the programmer!! Compare it with the Evil one mentioned in my ARB list here: http://tinyurl.com/antirollg4 and DO NOT USE THE EVIL one..
Sent from my LG-H815 using XDA Labs
steadfasterX said:
Ok what was the last KDZ file you flashed which had worked? 20o?
As you have hard bricked your device you can try the sdcard method again if it works flash 20o again (of it it was 20o).
If you flash a lower version you will hard brick again.
If the sdcard doesn't work anymore for you you can try to flash with QFIL but beware to use the right one. If you use the wrong one it will convert your device and believe me that's not what you want. I can share the good ones but unfortunately maybe on next week first.
Otherwise search on your own for 9008 unbrick but check the md5sum of the programmer!! Compare it with the Evil one mentioned in my ARB list here: http://tinyurl.com/antirollg4 and DO NOT USE THE EVIL one..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the guidance! The post that you linked to REALLY helps. Until now I really was not sure what 10n, 20i, 20o, etc. referred to, aside from just various software versions. Having a definition for anti-rollback and further links to explain, really helps! This gives me more information and I might be able to self-resolve from here. I will give it a shot.
As for your question ... unfortunately there was NO instance where I flashed a working KDZ file, and I didn't know (due to my past experience with my Nexus) that I needed to check the STOCK software version of my phone before beginning to play with ROMs. In other words, I have no idea if I was on 20i, 20o, 20p, etc. From what I understand, this makes things a lot more difficult
Having looked at the linked thread just a little bit, it appears that using a 20o KDZ is the best bet -- because I bricked my device using a 20i ROM so I expect it was due to violating the anti-rollback restriction.
I will look into it more closely and come back if I hit another brick wall. Thanks so much!
If anyone cares, here are the ending results of all this ...
#1 Be wary of anti-rollback restrictions before you flash anything to your G4. You WILL brick your phone!
I tried multiple rounds and multiple variations of all the MicroSD card methods that I could find. I could NOT succeed in unbricking my phone.
#2 Luckily ... I was able to convince LG that I was still technically under warranty!
Because I had the stock bootloop issue in May 2017, LG did an in-warranty repair for me, and replaced the motherboard. So last week, I simply told them "my phone is AGAIN unable to charge and will not power on, just like in May". Since it had only been 5-6 months since the first issue, they agreed to replace the motherboard again.
Moral of the story: you can definitely unbrick your phone by having LG replace the mobo XD XD
From here, I think I will just totally avoid doing any rooting or custom ROMs on my totally-stock G4 coming today in the mail. I will cross my fingers and hope we get OEM Nougat in the USA sometime in the next couple of months.
Thanks again for the help everyone!

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