Database Develop

[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

Nexus 6 Flashing TEAMWIN STUCK?

I managed to borrow a Samsung Satellite laptop, so I could root and unlock my Nexus 6. Laptop is brand new. Everything was great on unlocking and rooting using Wogfresh's Nexus Tool Kit.
Then I decided to stop the forced encryption. Used Wug's Tool Kit again. At the end it says phone will reboot in 15 minutes. I waited over a half hour. Then I tried rebooting the phone. Now it flashed teamwin.
I can get it turned off. And I can still get it into recovery, bootloader mode, etc. I worked on this from 16:30 - 05:30 yesterday. I have been working today for another 3-4 hours.
Wug's Tool, the computer will not recognize the phone. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is sooooo frustrating! I have uninstalled drivers, updated drivers, usbs too. I did everything Wug's kit said to do.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

first off, stop using toolkits!
doing it properly is just as easy, and takes about 4-5 minutes, to unlock the bootloader, flash the recovery, flash the supersu zip, and to flash a custom kernel that wont bring on encryption(but you have format data for un-encryption to work).

Good looking out! Thanks for all the information. I am positive that you must be of Wug's caliber, dev wise, right?
It's a real shame everyone doesn't know everything like you, huh? Also appreciate the directions on doing it your way, in 4-5 minutes.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

addcancercat said:
Good looking out! Thanks for all the information. I am positive that you must be of Wug's caliber, dev wise, right?
It's a real shame everyone doesn't know everything like you, huh? Also appreciate the directions on doing it your way, in 4-5 minutes.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
assuming you got the driver installed..
1. while in bootloader.. fastboot oem unlock(this will unlock the bootloader
2. fastboot flash twrp recovery
3. flash the latest supersu with twrp recovery
this will give you root
4. flash any custom kernel(if you want to decrypt).
5. in twrp recovery, format data.
6. reboot and youll be rooted and unencrypted.
thats the basics, for any nexus. root toolkits can be used, if you already know what to do. if you are clueless of the process, youll learn ziltch using a roit toolkit, and will remain without any knowledge. so when you need to do some basic upkeep, you will be clueless, and will feel as your device is bricked. at that point youll start a pointless thread..

Thanks again. Did you read my post?
No I don't have drivers installed.
The computer does not recognize the phone now.
Please spare me anymore help.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

simms22 said:
assuming you got the driver installed..
1. while in bootloader.. fastboot oem unlock(this will unlock the bootloader
2. fastboot flash twrp recovery
3. flash the latest supersu with twrp recovery
this will give you root
4. flash any custom kernel(if you want to decrypt).
5. in twrp recovery, format data.
6. reboot and youll be rooted and unencrypted.
thats the basics, for any nexus. root toolkits can be used, if you already know what to do. if you are clueless of the process, youll learn ziltch using a roit toolkit, and will remain without any knowledge. so when you need to do some basic upkeep, you will be clueless, and will feel as your device is bricked. at that point youll start a pointless thread..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude lay off! You are forever on here giving ppl **** about the posts they make. Sorry if most ppl arnt as skilled as you and might actually need some help. Just cause your "recognized" doesnt make you a mod. If they have a problem with what someone post let them deal with it.

addcancercat said:
Thanks again. Did you read my post?
No I don't have drivers installed.
The computer does not recognize the phone now.
Please spare me anymore help.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you went through and installed it yet? here is the page for the android adb driver as well, it should also work http://adbdriver.com/
---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------
chris6278 said:
Dude lay off! You are forever on here giving ppl **** about the posts they make. Sorry if most ppl arnt as skilled as you and might actually need some help. Just cause your "recognized" doesnt make you a mod. If they have a problem with what someone post let them deal with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lay off what? with helping him out? no, im not a mod, nor do i want to be a mod(i have said no to xda mod offers before). but, i will always fight against lies and untruth, no matter what, no matter who says it. i dont come here, to xda, to learn. i mostly come here to help people out. if you dont want any help, thats fine, let me know and i wont help you. but if you are just here to give me crap about nothing except me going against what others say, get the fxxk out of here.

simms22 said:
have you went through and installed it yet? here is the page for the android adb driver as well, it should also work http://adbdriver.com/
---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------
lay off what? with helping him out? no, im not a mod, nor do i want to be a mod(i have said no to xda mod offers before). but, i will always fight against lies and untruth, no matter what, no matter who says it. i dont come here, to xda, to learn. i mostly come here to help people out. if you dont want any help, thats fine, let me know and i wont help you. but if you are just here to give me crap about nothing except me going against what others say, get the fxxk out of here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Help ppl? All you do is give ppl ****. Ive seen numerous posts where you act like an a55 just cause someone needed some help or putting ppl down for using toolkits. Look i dont come here to start anything with anybody but if i see ppl unfairly treated cause they are new or dont have much experience your gonna get called out on it. As far as "getting the fxxk out of here" nah i think ill stay

chris6278 said:
Help ppl? All you do is give ppl ****. Ive seen numerous posts where you act like an a55 just cause someone needed some help or putting ppl down for using toolkits. Look i dont come here to start anything with anybody but if i see ppl unfairly treated cause they are new or dont have much experience your gonna get called out on it. As far as "getting the fxxk out of here" nah i think ill stay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
show me one post where i acted like an ass when someone needed help.

Simms is correct, its much easy to unlock using fastboot rather than a tool kit. When I first started modding it took me >5 minutes to learn how to do this. It always works and can really help you if you mess something up using a tool kit. If the OC doesn't recognize your phone, what screen is it showing (the TWRP logo) have you tried to hold power and volume down to boot into the boot loader? If you can boot into BL then you can flash anything via fastboot and fix this problem easily.

I am unlocked and rooted. When I tried change the forced encryption is when the phone became useless. I can get it into recovery (factory) and restart bootloader, etc.
But now it justs stay on the black and white Google when your first reboot your phone.
I have downloaded all the tools. I don't know the commands or the proper order.
My computer is not reconizing my phone after the encryption attempt.

addcancercat said:
I am unlocked and rooted. When I tried change the forced encryption is when the phone became useless. I can get it into recovery (factory) and restart bootloader, etc.
But now it justs stay on the black and white Google when your first reboot your phone.
I have downloaded all the tools. I don't know the commands or the proper order.
My computer is not reconizing my phone after the encryption attempt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first thing you need to do is get the driver installed, so that your device would be disabled to your computer to adb/fastboot. you are going to have to flash the factory.img through your bootloader via fastboot. or, you can fastboot oem unlock your bootloader, flash a custom recovery, and adb push/sideload a rom/gapps/supersu to your phone and flash them via your new recovery.

simms22 said:
first thing you need to do is get the driver installed, so that your device would be disabled to your computer to adb/fastboot. you are going to have to flash the factory.img through your bootloader via fastboot. or, you can fastboot oem unlock your bootloader, flash a custom recovery, and adb push/sideload a rom/gapps/supersu to your phone and flash them via your new recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man you wouldn't know where I might find a more detailed step by step instructions on how exactly to do this. Then I could probably do it.
I have been updating drivers, uninstalling drivers, etc.
The tiol kit was great for unlocking and rooting. Then I tried to undo the forced encryption.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

addcancercat said:
Man you wouldn't know where I might find a more detailed step by step instructions on how exactly to do this. Then I could probably do it.
I have been updating drivers, uninstalling drivers, etc.
The tiol kit was great for unlocking and rooting. Then I tried to undo the forced encryption.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this should help you out. if you have anything to adk about it, ask there or here. good luck! http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/guide-flash-factory-images-nexus-6shamu-t2954008

[Q] Nexus 6 Rooting Help

I just received my Nexus 6 that I bought from Best Buy yesterday and have got it activated today.
I really want to root and try flashing my first rom. I have been reading thread after thread trying to learn and understand what it takes to root a Nexus 6, flash a rom, and what the proper way to do it is. Spent at least 5 hours reading threads and I have been so confused as to what to do.
First, I have read that you should do the ADB way to unlock, root, flash etc. (Nexus 6 all in one Beginners Guide) because using a toolkit will make flashing roms more trouble than its worth.
Next, I have read repeatedly that the method used when the Nexus 6 first came out is still a valid and perfectly fine way to unlock, root, flash, etc , but then I have found in another thread that in order to root it you will need to flash a custom kernal of some sort so i'm unsure what I need to do.
The Nexus 6 All-in-One Beginners Guide seems pretty straightforward and easy, however this is my first time flashing anything and rooting a Nexus device so i'm unsure what I should trust.
Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help give this newbie some advice.
Any help is appreciated, I am just frustrated with trying to find a current method of unlocking, rooting, flashing, etc because nearly every thread I have read is dated back to when the device first came out and I usually am able to learn visually very easily but many videos for the N6 on youtube are from when the N6 came out, dating back 6-9 months ago.
So again, any help would be greatly appreciated because I am getting a bit frustrated with sorting out all the information and learning what I can trust so I don't damage my phone beyond repair.
Thank you again for reading and giving advice if you choose to and I apologize if this sounded like a rant. I just really need some help understanding what to do. Thank you.
If anyone is able to clear up my confusion on the issues I brought up, thank you.

1. Use Wugs to unlock and root
(Sure knowing how to adb is important, but just do that)
2. Wugs will install a custom recovery - you flash roms in said recovery.
3. Apps I recommend you get after obtaining root:
(Some paid, some free)
SuperSU Pro (paid)
Buaybox Pro (paid)
Root Explorer (paid)
Titanium Backup (paid/free)
Then you'll have a pretty good start at supporting the devs, while having a good file/folder control app, and a way to protect yourself against data loss - with a simple way of reverting back to a previous build should you dislike a rom.
Keep reading. You're off to a gold start but I learn more and more every day. Never underestimate the value of reading everything prior to flashing/modifying it just might save you a headache when your phone inevitably bootloops for a silly reason.

iRub1Out said:
1. Use Wugs to unlock and root
(Sure knowing how to adb is important, but just do that)
2. Wugs will install a custom recovery - you flash roms in said recovery.
3. Apps I recommend you get after obtaining root:
(Some paid, some free)
SuperSU Pro (paid)
Buaybox Pro (paid)
Root Explorer (paid)
Titanium Backup (paid/free)
Then you'll have a pretty good start at supporting the devs, while having a good file/folder control app, and a way to protect yourself against data loss - with a simple way of reverting back to a previous build should you dislike a rom.
Keep reading. You're off to a gold start but I learn more and more every day. Never underestimate the value of reading everything prior to flashing/modifying it just might save you a headache when your phone inevitably bootloops for a silly reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your advice. May I ask the difference of doing it with a Toolkit rather than the ADB way ? It just seems that one is easier than the other.
May I ask the pros and cons of doing it the Toolkit way and the ADB way ?

Iandrew124 said:
Thank you for your advice. May I ask the difference of doing it with a Toolkit rather than the ADB way ? It just seems that one is easier than the other.
May I ask the pros and cons of doing it the Toolkit way and the ADB way ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The adb way teaches you how to do it at the base level - this method would allow you to pull files/folders without the phone booting, or flash individual partitions without having to flash a whole image - there's a LOT of reasons to know and understand adb, and you eventually should, as it could save your phone when all else fails.... It has its benefits, but for simplicity's sake - for now - just use Wugs.
Using toolkits in effect gives you a crutch. With this crutch you then are forced to depend on this crutch for future needs. What happens when you get a update or different phone that Wugs doesn't work with or do what you need to do? THATS where adb understanding would come in handy.
I NEVER recommend people use toolkits exclusively as this can and WILL eventually lead to major issues that the user is now at step 1 of the learning process all over again - or - are forced to wait for toolkits to be made to do something as simple as obtain root. That's annoying.
In this case, I hope you will make yourself more familiar with adb when you can, use it, try it out, understand what it does and what it's for - but just to get you up and running you can use the kit, just don't expect it to be that easy every time because, I promise you, it won't be and at some point adb will be the only option you have. You don't want to have to be in a panic situation when that knowledge could have saved you.
That's just how I like to help people learn this stuff. Start off slow just so they can do what they want to do - but heavily stress the importance of HOW that toolkit works - because its doing what you need to learn how to do - it just does it all for you.
Don't rely on that crutch - it won't always be there.

Iandrew124 said:
. . .
May I ask the pros and cons of doing it the Toolkit way and the ADB way ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Manual flashing has the advantage that you controls the 'speed of the process. Because you have to enter commands one by one.
Toolkits use scripts instead of commands. And you have a choice from many options.
You won't be fast enough to stop when using a wrong option/script.
The post of irub1out is a good method.
After point 1. wait a day and go on with reading and posting.

adb is not used in the rooting process. fastboot is used to unlock the bootloader and then flash a custom recovery.
It's a really simple process after installing fastboot.
1. fastboot oem unlock
2. fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
3. Put SuperSU flashable zip on sdcard
4. Boot into recovery and flash that zip
There really shouldn't be any need to use a toolkit and if you do it manually, you KNOW your computer is configured properly so if you need it for recovery purposes later and something is not working, you know it's not the computer that is the issue.
Use the toolkit for other things once you've done the unlock and flash manually by all means. But NEVER use the toolkit first. This is a recipe for disaster.
Although the previous posts stress the importance of learning manually, they kind of miss part of the point as to why and I bet 90% of our experienced users here will agree with me...NO SHORTCUTS FIRST TIME.
If you need more info on fastboot, there's an adb and fastboot thread in general > sticky roll-up thread.

I concur with @danarama. We spend half our time in this forum trying to fix mistakes made with toolkit.

really, if the user doesnt have the proper knowledge to make the simple choices given in the toolkit, they are not going to choose the right files to do it manually.
so it makes no difference really, other than the person gaining the knowledge to understand exactly what they are doing, which i agree with,
but regardless of what any user might claim, the toolkit doesnt make mistakes. it executes the same commands you would use manually via a script based on your choices.
there is no margin of error other than the users input.

j
bweN diorD said:
really, if the user doesnt have the proper knowledge to make the simple choices given in the toolkit, they are not going to choose the right files to do it manually.
so it makes no difference really, other than the person gaining the knowledge to understand exactly what they are doing, which i agree with,
but regardless of what any user might claim, the toolkit doesnt make mistakes. it executes the same commands you would use manually via a script based on your choices.
there is no margin of error other than the users input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first off, toolkits DO occasionally make mistakes, it has been proven, so dont argue with that. sure, its not always, but it happens. secondly, the user choosing files.. ok, if you do it the right way, there are only two files you need. and the user doesnt have a choice to pick them. they are the twrp recovery, and supersu. the user has to go find them, not pick out of a list. and witj my time on the n6 since last November, not one person picked the wrong files to root their phones. again, its because they arent given a choice.

bweN diorD said:
it makes no difference really, other than the person gaining the knowledge to understand exactly what they are doing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...and to ensure fastboot is Working, as I mentioned in my post. So it does make a difference.

a person gaining knowledge to understand what they are doing is by far the most important thing that can happen. thats something thatll never happen with a root toolkit.

Iv'e had several good flashes and some bad using the exact same files and same options during testing and playing. Worst button/option to even be available to noobs is the lock after flash or even a relock button at all. Remove that option and you are pretty much safe from hard brick. Then only have to come back and ask us to walk through fastboot when the flash goes belly up. Need an audit on how many times we have seen this exact scenario.

prdog1 said:
Iv'e had several good flashes and some bad using the exact same files and same options during testing and playing. Worst button/option to even be available to noobs is the lock after flash or even a relock button at all. Remove that option and you are pretty much safe from hard brick. Then only have to come back and ask us to walk through fastboot when the flash goes belly up. Need an audit on how many times we have seen this exact scenario.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's another good point.. When 5.1 came out and locking the bootloader after flash, if it didn't boot, it would be a brick.. Toolkits would do this after a flash and brick phones.. You have to wait until the toolkit is updated before using it safely.

simms22 said:
j
first off, toolkits DO occasionally make mistakes, it has been proven, so dont argue with that. sure, its not always, but it happens. secondly, the user choosing files.. ok, if you do it the right way, there are only two files you need. and the user doesnt have a choice to pick them. they are the twrp recovery, and supersu. the user has to go find them, not pick out of a list. and witj my time on the n6 since last November, not one person picked the wrong files to root their phones. again, its because they arent given a choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i sir, will argue with whatever i wish.
in the year i maintained a toolkit for the last moto i had, 20k+ downloads, not one user accused the toolkit of flashing something it wasnt supposed to. the code is fairly simple, one option points to a command and file (simply put), etc. etc.
is it possible some one in a million error happened, doubtful but ok.
my comment was more directed at the previous poster who said something about spending 1/2 his time helping users with toolkit problems.
thats very unlikely, unless the toolkit coding is done very poorly.
---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------
danarama said:
...and to ensure fastboot is Working, as I mentioned in my post. So it does make a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how about you quote the rest of my sentence next time, where i agreed with your logic on that.
unless your intentionally trying to start an argument? cause thats what it looks like.

bweN diorD said:
how about you quote the rest of my sentence next time, where i agreed with your logic on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the rest of your sentence was nothing to do with what I wanted to say and you didn't agree with my logic at all. In fact your sentence (even complete) suggests that what I had said wouldn't even factor in to anything.
bweN diorD said:
unless your intentionally trying to start an argument? cause thats what it looks like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm 35 years old. I've got better things to do than try to create arguments in Internet forums. I was expanding on your sentence on something you missed. Kick yourself for the omission, not me for pointing it out.
Don't be so bloody confrontational. You're coming off as a petulant child, as does everyone who starts a sentence "how about" without trying to understand what they're talking about first.

bweN diorD said:
i sir, will argue with whatever i wish.
in the year i maintained a toolkit for the last moto i had, 20k+ downloads, not one user accused the toolkit of flashing something it wasnt supposed to. the code is fairly simple, one option points to a command and file (simply put), etc. etc.
is it possible some one in a million error happened, doubtful but ok.
my comment was more directed at the previous poster who said something about spending 1/2 his time helping users with toolkit problems.
thats very unlikely, unless the toolkit coding is done very poorly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i can get someone that will make a toolkit that does what it does, and goes through every step explaining the process of what its doing and how to do it manually, id be a happy man. seriously.

danarama said:
Because the rest of your sentence was nothing to do with what I wanted to say and you didn't agree with my logic at all. In fact your sentence (even complete) suggests that what I had said wouldn't even factor in to anything.
I'm 35 years old. I've got better things to do than try to create arguments in Internet forums. I was expanding on your sentence on something you missed. Kick yourself for the omission, not me for pointing it out.
Don't be so bloody confrontational. You're coming off as a petulant child, as does everyone who starts a sentence "how about" without trying to understand what they're talking about first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
funny, it looks like i am agreeing with the manual logic...
other than the person gaining the knowledge to understand exactly what they are doing, which i agree with,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

simms22 said:
if i can get someone that will make a toolkit that does what it does, and goes through every step explaining the process of what its doing and how to do it manually, id be a happy man. seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly considered making that in the past.
---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 PM ----------
bweN diorD said:
funny, it looks like i am agreeing with the manual logic...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not what we're talking about. I never said you didn't agree with the "manual logic"
Please re-read my post. I think you've misunderstood what I said. Let me know if you'd like me to explain what were talking about afterwards if you still dont understand

Tbh, not using toolkits comes down to this:
Its the easiest ****ing thing ever to do with out one. If you need one, you have a major gap in your understanding... And you need to fix that first. Well you don't "need" to unfortunately, but acquiring root access is taking over being the admin for your device. If you are choosing to do that, you should probably understand the basic tools.

I am in approximately the same position as the OP with a brand new Nexus 6 and I have a question. Should I take any OTA updates that are available before starting the unlock bootloader and rooting process?

Need help rooting Nexus 6 on 6.0.0

I want to root my Nexus 6 running stock android 6.0.0 but not sure exactly how to do it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

dbzturtle said:
I want to root my Nexus 6 running stock android 6.0.0 but not sure exactly how to do it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chainfire just released a new root for mm, http://www.xda-developers.com/chainfire-releases-root-for-android-6-0-without-modifying-system/
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

blueyes said:
Chainfire just released a new root for mm, http://www.xda-developers.com/chainfire-releases-root-for-android-6-0-without-modifying-system/
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says that it's experimental and will likely have bugs. is there a stable way to root? If not I don't mind waiting until there is.

dbzturtle said:
It says that it's experimental and will likely have bugs. is there a stable way to root? If not I don't mind waiting until there is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fastboot flash twrp, and then flash 2.52superuser.sip in recovery. Look up wugfresh Nexus root toolkit, it'll explain the process.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I rooted my N6 on Android 6.0 with 2.52 weeks ago and it's absolutely fine - I've seen no problems at all. The "experimental" mention is a disclaimer to cover Chainfire in case you have problems - a very sensible warning in my opinion, but in this case you can probably ignore it.
And I agree with blueyes - Nexus Root Toolkit is pretty much idiot-proof as long as you read the instructions and in particular choose the correct ROM.

dahawthorne said:
I rooted my N6 on Android 6.0 with 2.52 weeks ago and it's absolutely fine - I've seen no problems at all. The "experimental" mention is a disclaimer to cover Chainfire in case you have problems - a very sensible warning in my opinion, but in this case you can probably ignore it.
And I agree with blueyes - Nexus Root Toolkit is pretty much idiot-proof as long as you read the instructions and in particular choose the correct ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with using toolkits when they are "idiot-proof" is that if you go into the process as an idiot, you leave the process still an idiot, so if something goes wrong with the device at a later date, the user has not got the skills to fix it, which becomes a problem on these forums as rather than telling someone how to fix it, we also have to teach the skills that should already have been learned.
Toolkits are great if you know what they're doing but if you dont, use fastboot the first time to get an understanding of it and also to ensure you know it is working on your computer correctly. It's easier to troubleshoot PC configurations when the device is fully working rather than waiting until it is "broken"

"you leave the process still an idiot"
I'll take that in the spirit I think you meant it...
Sure, point taken, but the problem with telling someone to start learning to use tools they don't understand is that this forum ends up with a flood of "I've bricked my device" posts. I agree that the manual way is useful for resolving problems, and I don't use NRT for everything - I'd say maybe 50% of the time for installing a brand new factory ROM, and the rest of the time using ADB/Fastboot for stuff I (think I) understand.
I just think that if someone has taken the time and trouble to give me the commands typed perfectly in the correct order and proven to work, why would I risk typing them in maybe in the wrong order or accidentally installing an image into the wrong partition? My own stupid fault, sure, but why take the long way round instead of the simple straight proven path?
Just sayin'...

dahawthorne said:
"you leave the process still an idiot"
I'll take that in the spirit I think you meant it...
Sure, point taken, but the problem with telling someone to start learning to use tools they don't understand is that this forum ends up with a flood of "I've bricked my device" posts. I agree that the manual way is useful for resolving problems, and I don't use NRT for everything - I'd say maybe 50% of the time for installing a brand new factory ROM, and the rest of the time using ADB/Fastboot for stuff I (think I) understand.
I just think that if someone has taken the time and trouble to give me the commands typed perfectly in the correct order and proven to work, why would I risk typing them in maybe in the wrong order or accidentally installing an image into the wrong partition? My own stupid fault, sure, but why take the long way round instead of the simple straight proven path?
Just sayin'...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not really the long way round. Once everything is installed, its as quick if not quicker. And as I said, you need all this installed for ongoing maintenance anyway so may as well do this whilst your device is working.
You can't brick your device by flashing to the wrong partition so there are no floods of posts from people doing things manually at all. .if you flash to the wrong partition,.just flash to the right partition. It's not rocket science either. If you flash a radio, flash it to the radio partition. If you flash system, flash it to the system partition. ...and if you type something wrong, it won't do anything at all.
Fastboot is well documented (by me and others) in the general forum. People should feel free to nude toolkits once they have learned it, but noobs should definitely learn it and use it the first time for the reasons I have already mentioned.
To root is so simple.
1. In fastboot, use
"fastboot oem unlock"
2. In fastboot, flash a custom twrp recovery image
"fastboot flash recovery twrp.img "
3. If marshamallow, flash a custom boot.img to allow it to be rooted
"fastboot flash boot boot.img"
4. Copy SuperSU to sdcard
5. Flash SuperSU zip from recovery
Once these steps have been carried out, you've used fastboot, know how it works and also have proof your computer has working fastboot. That ticks essential boxes.that every root user needs to have ticked. Once they're ticked, use toolkits to your hearts desire.
The worst thing about noobs using toolkits is when we need them to use fastboot when helping with their issues, they don't know what it is and we have to teach them that. We also need to troubleshoot setting it up which can be extremely hard if their device is bricked or in a state of needing repair. 10 minutes learning now can help prevent hours of wasting our time later. Surely it's only being courteous to learn these things ?

Where can I find a custom boot image ? I'm asking because I'm rooted but every time I try to go into recovery it ask me for a password

getmoneygreen said:
Where can I find a custom boot image ? I'm asking because I'm rooted but every time I try to go into recovery it ask me for a password
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're encrypted, recovery will always ask you for a password. If you've set a password in android, you use that..if you have not set a password in android, you use the default twrp password.

I am an Android Noob! My first Android devices were the Nexus Player and the Nexus 6. (I came from iPhones and Apple TV) It did not take me long at all to learn how to use fastboot and adb. I manually flashed my Nexus 6 and Nexus Player to 6.0 before the OTAs were rolling out no problem. I have root on both of my devices.
My point is, if I can learn how to do this in a matter of a day (I have not had my Nexus 6 a full month yet) You can learn how to do it as well. There are tons of guides out there on how to do all of this. Google is your friend. You will feel awesome and have a sense of accomplishment if you take the time to learn this stuff. It is easy to learn, not hard at all! I come from a pretty extensive tech background so I was a step ahead, but anyone can do / learn this stuff.
There are toolkits that can do this stuff for you pretty much. I have not downloaded or used one myself. I don't trust someone else's code with my device. That's just me though. I like to feel in control when I flash stuff.

@danarama
"Surely it's only being courteous to learn these things ?"
I know that it's all too easy to be taken wrong when writing a post, so I'll say up front that I'm serious - thanks for posting those steps. I've watched the NRT run through its steps a number of times and it clearly does a lot more than this, which is why i'm glad that it's doing the typing for me
I have used your steps when flashing various things, I've just never used them for a ROM upgrade - except once when I was trying to recover a broken-radio N5 and was installing Chroma.
One value at least of the NRT for noobs is its help in setting up your PC's drivers - that alone is a good reason to look at it.
Just for interest, what would happen if I flashed recovery into the radio partition? Or the boot partition?
Seriously, thanks for these steps - I appreciate it.

dahawthorne said:
@danarama
"Surely it's only being courteous to learn these things ?"
I know that it's all too easy to be taken wrong when writing a post, so I'll say up front that I'm serious - thanks for posting those steps. I've watched the NRT run through its steps a number of times and it clearly does a lot more than this, which is why i'm glad that it's doing the typing for me
I have used your steps when flashing various things, I've just never used them for a ROM upgrade - except once when I was trying to recover a broken-radio N5 and was installing Chroma.
One value at least of the NRT for noobs is its help in setting up your PC's drivers - that alone is a good reason to look at it.
Just for interest, what would happen if I flashed recovery into the radio partition? Or the boot partition?
Seriously, thanks for these steps - I appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Radio may boot but won't connect to a network.
Boot is the kernel so it won't boot without it (bootloop)
Both can be fixed by flashing the correct image to the correct partition.
The images in the factory image are appropriately labelled too, so it would be difficult to flash to the wrong partition without realizing it was wrong.. Eg
"fastboot flash radio boot.img" looks wrong when you have radio.img too.

Thanks, danarama. I suppose that's the point I was trying to make at the top - that if you're a bit of a thicko then you could flash to the wrong partition, which a predefined script won't. As long as it's recoverable, no problem, but I remember the pumping heart and breathlessness as I watched my devices on several occasions sitting with the boot animation for 10-15 minutes and thinking "What the hell do I do now?"
I know I'm hijacking this thread (sorry...) but is there anything you can think of that would definitely hard-brick my device if I'm being thick or careless? I've never managed it, and maybe as Android progresses it's becoming harder to hard-brick, but is there ever a time when I need to think "There's no way back from this one"?

danarama said:
If you're encrypted, recovery will always ask you for a password. If you've set a password in android, you use that..if you have not set a password in android, you use the default twrp password.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank for the heads up really appreciate that. BTW what is the default password for twrp

getmoneygreen said:
Thank for the heads up really appreciate that. BTW what is the default password for twrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure, Im not encrypted. But its documented somewhere by twrp dev. Maybe on their site or in their thread

not really a noob, but still confused anyway... need a little help from my friends...

Project Fi Nexus 6 rooted here on 5.1.1 LVY48E
I keep getting a notice that a system update has been downloaded (29.1) megs..a tad annoying
Would like to run the update, but can't because of TWRP... Also would like to try 6.0 if it is out, just don't want to lose root, and or have to have my phone reset...
I have Wug's nexus root toolkit too
How do I update to the latest L and or/ M???
Looking for some friendly advice....
Thanks!

Forgot to mention that I have tried flashing the update manually to no avail..
Drumrjoe

You can't update your rooted phone with Ota update, only way is to flash the factory image, download latest Nexus 6 factory image from Google and flash it with the tool kit, if you don't know how to flash a factory image, you should see the main thread

And I believe , given the need for a modified boot when rooting Marshmallow, you lose the OTA anyway, no?

aiiee said:
And I believe , given the need for a modified boot when rooting Marshmallow, you lose the OTA anyway, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help! Been using the toolkit to try and flash stock + unroot...
It doesn't seem to be working for me... First tried to update to last version of lollipop.. runs the batch updater after downloading the factory image and extracting.. batch window closes after awhile I wait after no change to phone or toolkit and nothing has changed on phone... tried this with marshmallow too... same thing....
At a loss..

drumrjoe said:
Thanks for the help! Been using the toolkit to try and flash stock + unroot...
It doesn't seem to be working for me... First tried to update to last version of lollipop.. runs the batch updater after downloading the factory image and extracting.. batch window closes after awhile I wait after no change to phone or toolkit and nothing has changed on phone... tried this with marshmallow too... same thing....
At a loss..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just do it manually using fastboot. Or since you have TWRP, find a pre-rooted rom.zip you can flash from there.

Lately half the threads are about a toolkit not working. There should be a sticky about this: Don't use toolkits on Nexus phones! Those who don't feel secure enough to enter three lines in a command line/terminal really shouldn't use toolkits either. It gives a feeling of false security for a price of being totally at loss if anything goes wrong. And things do go wrong.

istperson said:
Lately half the threads are about a toolkit not working. There should be a sticky about this: Don't use toolkits on Nexus phones! Those who don't feel secure enough to enter three lines in a command line/terminal really shouldn't use toolkits either. It gives a feeling of false security for a price of being totally at loss if anything goes wrong. And things do go wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We try to advise people not to use rootkits or kits of any kind. It does nothing but hinder their efforts if something goes wrong. In the end it is people being lazy and then bricks happen and they have no idea what to do.

zelendel said:
We try to advise people not to use rootkits or kits of any kind. It does nothing but hinder their efforts if something goes wrong. In the end it is people being lazy and then bricks happen and they have no idea what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think many of us here agree with that. To avoid bashing, we have to say "use them if you like, but learn to use fastboot manually first". But all the work we collectively put in to that as a majority is easily undone when just one person replies "use a toolkit". It almost always ends up in a debate that is so long that when it reaches it's conclusion, the OP ended up using a toolkit anyway.,

danarama said:
I think many of us here agree with that. To avoid bashing, we have to say "use them if you like, but learn to use fastboot manually first". But all the work we collectively put in to that as a majority is easily undone when just one person replies "use a toolkit". It almost always ends up in a debate that is so long that when it reaches it's conclusion, the OP ended up using a toolkit anyway.,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know. All we can do is advise and the lazy will still be lazy and then end up with issues. This is why you will see people post about issues and then the min they mention they have used a root kit all replies stop. There are many of us that refuse to help people that have used a root kit. It shows they should not be messing around with their devices if they dont have the time to learn to do things properly.

Duly noted -
But seriously, thanks for the info.. will be figuring this out!
Best all
DJ

Update-
Sincere thanks to all that replied.. Did not know that the toolkit's were a nono-
I did use the command line to manually update and all is well. I am on LVY48I now and rooted.. Next is to reinstall the latest xposed for 5.1.1.
Also, tried finding a stock pre-rooted marshmallow, but didn't really have any luck with that... any pointers or links?
TIA

drumrjoe said:
Update-
Sincere thanks to all that replied.. Did not know that the toolkit's were a nono-
I did use the command line to manually update and all is well. I am on LVY48I now and rooted.. Next is to reinstall the latest xposed for 5.1.1.
Also, tried finding a stock pre-rooted marshmallow, but didn't really have any luck with that... any pointers or links?
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not 100% sure of this but I believe that Marshmallow will not achieve root without some modification. At least I couldn't