Database Develop

Thinking about lollipop upgrade

im pretty happy with kk, but i do want to be on 5.0, so i just wanted to make a few thing clear first.
1. if anything goes wrong with flashing a captured ota, how to restore my kk as it is now? will simply restoring a twrp backup do the trick on any stock rom?
2. where can i find the stock rom? the motorola site links arent working for me.
3. the quicksettings panel. is there a way/mod/app/ that will let me pull down quicksettings with one swipe like on cm and with gravitybox?
4.i really like to be able to customize the quicksettings, is that possible?
5. are there any bugs that seriously affect most users?
i am planning to root immediately so root only mods are fine.
im on a rooted unlocked bootloader xt1063,
thanks for your time,!

1. Just flash the stock ROM via fastboot.
2. I guess are some links on the Development section.
3. in 5.0, unfortunately not.
4. I guess no :/
5. Only a bootloop that happens with the newest versions of SuperSU (the only versions that works with 5.0), no major bugs..
Sent from my XT1063 using XDA Free mobile app

thanks for your fast response
is there a fix for said bootloop yet? can you show me a link?

Kobro said:
thanks for your fast response
is there a fix for said bootloop yet? can you show me a link?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I ran into that problem I just hard reset (hold power button until it reboots) then let it run the course. After another reboot it came up to the lock screen and all was well. I have not had any issues since.
That said, I suspect if I had just left it for a few minutes without the hard reset it would have been fine. My tendency (as is the case with most people in these forums) is to be impatient, and jump the gun before things are completed.
The first reboot after installing Lollipop takes a while so don't get impatient.
I am using an XT1063.

pastorbob62 said:
When I ran into that problem I just hard reset (hold power button until it reboots) then let it run the course. After another reboot it came up to the lock screen and all was well. I have not had any issues since.
That said, I suspect if I had just left it for a few minutes without the hard reset it would have been fine. My tendency (as is the case with most people in these forums) is to be impatient, and jump the gun before things are completed.
The first reboot after installing Lollipop takes a while so don't get impatient.
I am using an XT1063.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol im no noob to flashing roms and updates, i am new to lollipop
thanks so much for your info, it is very helpful.

Kobro said:
lol im no noob to flashing roms and updates, i am new to lollipop
thanks so much for your info, it is very helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't implying you were a noob, just sharing my experience with you since you asked the question. Every device has its own quirks and idiosyncrasies. And I have seen posts from people with apparent considerable experience that displays much impatience.

Kobro said:
3. the quicksettings panel. is there a way/mod/app/ that will let me pull down quicksettings with one swipe like on cm and with gravitybox?
4.i really like to be able to customize the quicksettings, is that possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try pulling down with two fingers instead of one- I've heard that this is the shortcut for the quick settings. (I don't have a device w/ 5 to try.) I think Google has also made the tiles in the quick settings dynamic and "smart" based on what you use most often. I tend to prefer having a static view and knowing exactly which ones are present (and in the same place!), but I won't know until I actually use it more.
I have the US GSM variant (XT1064) which came preloaded with 21.11.23. The OTA I've found only applies to 21.11.17 (the original release), and I've not had any luck downgrading. Good luck in your Lollipop quest!

Flash custom rom and enjoy lollipop

pastorbob62 said:
I wasn't implying you were a noob, just sharing my experience with you since you asked the question. Every device has its own quirks and idiosyncrasies. And I have seen posts from people with apparent considerable experience that displays much impatience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your right for stating everything clearly, my bad

anomalyconcept said:
Try pulling down with two fingers instead of one- I've heard that this is the shortcut for the quick settings. (I don't have a device w/ 5 to try.) I think Google has also made the tiles in the quick settings dynamic and "smart" based on what you use most often. I tend to prefer having a static view and knowing exactly which ones are present (and in the same place!), but I won't know until I actually use it more.
I have the US GSM variant (XT1064) which came preloaded with 21.11.23. The OTA I've found only applies to 21.11.17 (the original release), and I've not had any luck downgrading. Good luck in your Lollipop quest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes that works, and has been since 4.3, on my custom rom devices it just is not so comfortable on a 5" device i was thinking more of something like pull down from right.

these responses motorola about the model xt1068
Catherine: Hi, my name is Catherine. How may I help you?
ENRICO: good morning
are to hold model xt1068, I wanted to know when will the update to Android 5
Catherine: Hi, at the moment we do not have a release date for Lollipop in Europe. It is currently going through testing before release but we are working hard to get it out as soon as possible. You can find the latest information at http://www.motorola.com/updates
ENRICO: thanks
Catherine: No problem, is there anything else that I can help you with?
ENRICO: no thanks
Catherine: Ok, have a nice day!
ENRICO:

pastorbob62 said:
When I ran into that problem I just hard reset (hold power button until it reboots) then let it run the course. After another reboot it came up to the lock screen and all was well. I have not had any issues since.
That said, I suspect if I had just left it for a few minutes without the hard reset it would have been fine. My tendency (as is the case with most people in these forums) is to be impatient, and jump the gun before things are completed.
The first reboot after installing Lollipop takes a while so don't get impatient.
I am using an XT1063.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just wanted to let you know, i have successfully flashed lollipop, rooted with twrp, run into the bootloop, found a solution in the general forum, (wipe cache and dalvik) and voila rooted 5.0
thanks for all your input.

Kobro said:
just wanted to let you know, i have successfully flashed lollipop, rooted with twrp, run into the bootloop, found a solution in the general forum, (wipe cache and dalvik) and voila rooted 5.0
thanks for all your input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't need it now, but good to know should I have to reflash in the future. Thanks for the info. :good:

Stock recovery and upgrading Lollipop with future OTAs after rooting

Hello everyone,
I'm back to a nexus 6 after a very short stint with a 6+.
A little background for my questions: This is the very first time that I rooted a phone. I'm rooting to only install these 3 apps:
adaway
titanium backup
greenify
I do not plan on using any custom ROMs or kernels.
I see from all the guides and tutorials that people also create a custom recovery whenever they root. I haven't done that yet and wasn't sure if I had to. I would like to maintain the stock recovery that I have currently so that I can go back to stock if I unRoot. My questions are:
1. Am I wrong in thinking that I can still use the stock recovery if I unRoot?
2. When a new OTA comes out and I flash it (since I'm rooted an no longer can install them automatically), will that also upgrade my still stock recovery properly?
3. Following up on the previous question, when I upgrade manually because I'm rooted, would that be a fresh install where I have to go in and configure things the way I like them again (system settings, apps and their settings, root the phone again, etc)?
Thanks in advance!

LordGrahf said:
Hello everyone,
I'm back to a nexus 6 after a very short stint with a 6+.
A little background for my questions: This is the very first time that I rooted a phone. I'm rooting to only install these 3 apps:
adaway
titanium backup
greenify
I do not plan on using any custom ROMs or kernels.
I see from all the guides and tutorials that people also create a custom recovery whenever they root. I haven't done that yet and wasn't sure if I had to. I would like to maintain the stock recovery that I have currently so that I can go back to stock if I unRoot. My questions are:
1. Am I wrong in thinking that I can still use the stock recovery if I unRoot?
2. When a new OTA comes out and I flash it (since I'm rooted an no longer can install them automatically), will that also upgrade my still stock recovery properly?
3. Following up on the previous question, when I upgrade manually because I'm rooted, would that be a fresh install where I have to go in and configure things the way I like them again (system settings, apps and their settings, root the phone again, etc)?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. No, you're not wrong. Recovery will stay stock and can be used normally
2. You can't simply flash the new OTA. This will not work manually nor automatically.
3. All you need to do is not flash the user data image and you will not loose your data, settings etc. You will loose root however. See bellow.
Google posts android stock images for each device typically before OTA hits your phone. That's what you want to grab and use for the update. Just make sure you don't run the automatic scripts that come with those images because you need to avoid flashing user data image.
OTA zip file does you no good unless you get your system back to unmodified stock.

Thank you sir!

obsanity said:
1. No, you're not wrong. Recovery will stay stock and can be used normally
2. You can't simply flash the new OTA. This will not work manually nor automatically.
3. All you need to do is not flash the user data image and you will not loose your data, settings etc. You will loose root however. See bellow.
Google posts android stock images for each device typically before OTA hits your phone. That's what you want to grab and use for the update. Just make sure you don't run the automatic scripts that come with those images because you need to avoid flashing user data image.
OTA zip file does you no good unless you get your system back to unmodified stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on the OP, it sounds like he has only rooted. Thus, the OTA will work fine. No need to flash image files.
Edit: I see that at least one other member has stated that an unroot still did not allow OTAs to function. That's a bit strange and unique. Not sure what root is modifying to prevent the OTA.

I'm kinda curious myself. I had no idea root killed OTA's. Maybe I wouldn't have done that if I knew that. I'm very new to the Nexus device. It's my 1st. I unlocked the bootloader and rooted already.
Sent from Mark's Nexus 6

crowbarman said:
Edit: I see that at least one other member has stated that an unroot still did not allow OTAs to function. That's a bit strange and unique. Not sure what root is modifying to prevent the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is pretty scary. So you can unroot and GI back to stock and still can't update in anyway?

I have always side-loaded OTAs, I have never flashed anything.
After installing an OTA, on the next reboot, Android takes some time to optimize all your apps. Does this also happen after flashing a new system image? Thanks!

LordGrahf said:
This is pretty scary. So you can unroot and GI back to stock and still can't update in anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure what you mean by GI, but according to some others, after uninstalling root via SuperSU an OTA will still not install. This should not be the case unless the boot or recovery images are modified. Easily fixed by following the procedures above to fastboot the stock images on your phone.
kjnangre said:
I have always side-loaded OTAs, I have never flashed anything.
After installing an OTA, on the next reboot, Android takes some time to optimize all your apps. Does this also happen after flashing a new system image? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it behaves exactly the same.

crowbarman said:
Based on the OP, it sounds like he has only rooted. Thus, the OTA will work fine. No need to flash image files.
Edit: I see that at least one other member has stated that an unroot still did not allow OTAs to function. That's a bit strange and unique. Not sure what root is modifying to prevent the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root on Lollipop is not what it used to be. There are files that need to be modified in order to allow root. That's why this time OTA will fail if you are rooted.
Un-rooting however, will allow OTA as long as it is done properly and all traces are covered up and returned to stock. If it does fail after you have un-rooted, go back to the developer of that un-root method and let the know they missed something.
Here is the best way to un-root. Flash all of the old stock images besides user data image.

obsanity said:
Root on Lollipop is not what it used to be. There are files that need to be modified in order to allow root. That's why this time OTA will fail if you are rooted.
Un-rooting however, will allow OTA as long as it is done properly and all traces are covered up and returned to stock. If it does fail after you have un-rooted, go back to the developer of that un-root method and let the know they missed something.
Here is the best way to un-root. Flash all of the old stock images besides user data image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sense. Is there a manual root procedure or list of required modifications for root out there? I did some precursors searches but Came up empty. Can't tell what's missing in SuperSU unroot without those details.

crowbarman said:
That makes sense. Is there a manual root procedure or list of required modifications for root out there? I did some precursors searches but Came up empty. Can't tell what's missing in SuperSU unroot without those details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Explanation from Chainfire:
https://plus.google.com/113517319477420052449/posts/S5zoKTzKUW1

obsanity said:
Explanation from Chainfire:
https://plus.google.com/113517319477420052449/posts/S5zoKTzKUW1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. A good read, but I'm surprised nobody has demanded more details than 'patched the policies in SELinux'. Not that I don't trust Chain fire (I do) , but who really knows what has been done to our phones?

crowbarman said:
Thanks for this. A good read, but I'm surprised nobody has demanded more details than 'patched the policies in SELinux'. Not that I don't trust Chain fire (I do) , but who really knows what has been done to our phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the problem with Chainfire's work... he does not release source.
Again, best un-root method is to flash original images less user data.

obsanity said:
That's the problem with Chainfire's work... he does not release source.
Again, best un-root method is to flash original images less user data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing this info. Its a bit concerning tbh. Is there a cleaner way to root other than using superSU?

LordGrahf said:
Thanks for sharing this info. Its a bit concerning tbh. Is there a cleaner way to root other than using superSU?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm afraid not but Chainfire's is probably the cleanest possible. Koush was the one with an open source solution but he hasn't updated his to 5.0 yet.

obsanity said:
I'm afraid not but Chainfire's is probably the cleanest possible. Koush was the one with an open source solution but he hasn't updated his to 5.0 yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an argument that publishing the method would allow Google to close it that much quicker, I suppose.

crowbarman said:
Thanks for this. A good read, but I'm surprised nobody has demanded more details than 'patched the policies in SELinux'. Not that I don't trust Chain fire (I do) , but who really knows what has been done to our phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The base changes and reasoning for those changes are actually documented on my website. Specific policy adjustments are present in plain text in the supolicy executable, as any hex editor will show you. Those who really wanted to know rather than whine about OSS, know.
By far most policy adjustments just drop audit log output for contexts that are already permissive, though.
All that information is still completely useless unless you understand SELinux in detail and how it's implemented on Android, though.

I assume that the encryption doesn't get in the way of being able to flash the images?
When I went from 5.0 to 5.0.1 on my old Nexus 5 all I did was flash the two new 5.0.1 images I extracted from the full factory image, then re-rooted. This is far cleaner than reverting back to the previous image then doing an OTA. I've not had to update my N6 yet so I don't know if my method will work still, but I hope it does.

Chainfire said:
The base changes and reasoning for those changes are actually documented on my website. Specific policy adjustments are present in plain text in the supolicy executable, as any hex editor will show you. Those who really wanted to know rather than whine about OSS, know.
By far most policy adjustments just drop audit log output for contexts that are already permissive, though.
All that information is still completely useless unless you understand SELinux in detail and how it's implemented on Android, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the additional information.
I did spend a fair amount of time reading your documentation but failed to utilize a hex editor. I am not 'whining' about the lack of open source, rather, simply mildly surprised, but your website aptly describes the challenges with 5.0. Many are used to various root methods being available.
Your solution is fine with me.. I love your work.
Edit: I thought I'd add that the discussion has devolved from the OP, which was whether an OTA can be applied after uninstalling root. The answer was no, due to the unknowns about what still might be modified following the uninstall via SuperSU.

How to downgrade/improve performance over custom Titan ROM (ViperOS 7.1.2)?

Hi, I've been using my Moto G Titan (dual-sim) for about 4 years now, mostly with custom rom the whole time (CM 12.1 back then). I upgraded to a Moto G3 TE (and used custom roms from xda here) over a year ago. So then on this phone (titan) I updated the firmware and ROM and passed it on to my wife. I put on Viper OS 7.1.2 on it and initially it was working great. Over time though it increasingly slowed down and clearing the cache and such didn't seem to help (my wife didn't really complain much because she never liked using smart phones anyway and she just thought it *has* to be a poor user experience). I also had my phone (Moto G3 TE) stolen about a month ago, so while I'm waiting to get a new phone my wife and I are sharing this phone (Titan) with two different accounts. Talk about sloooooooooow! So now I realize I REALLY need a different rom. Or is it possible the RAM or something is just old and no longer working right?
I've read on here that many people suggest downgrading to stock lollipop or something like that. Others suggest a custom Marshmallow rom. I honestly don't care too much what I downgrade to as long as the most common apps (gmail, facebook, whatsapp - ones for keeping in touch and getting work done, that sort of thing) are working. Oh, and pinterest, that's the one thing my wife loves. I would like to keep an OS version that allows me to used mixed storage (mixed between adopted/portable) if possible, because that helps me with the low amount of internal memory. But I can give that up if necessary, because above all I want it to be smooth, because this lag is ridiculous! Sometimes a phone call comes in and it's ringing but it takes so long for the screen that shows I can accept/reject the call to pop up that by then the caller has already hung up (like over 10 seconds sometimes)! So yeah, I really want a rom that's responsive again and can do those most basic apps.
My questions is: if I'm on ViperOS 7.1.2 and if lollipop or marshmallow (whether stock or custom) is best - then how do I downgrade to those? I have TWRP and root and all that on here already and I'd love it if I could just do it by TWRP since that'd be the easiest for me. But I'll do whatever I need to as long as I can truly understand the step-by-step directions and not brick this phone. (Since right now it's the ONLY phone my wife and I have to work with until I get a new one in another month or two... and even still I'd like my wife to be able to use this one more easily.) I read somewhere that if I have a newer firmware maybe I can't return directly to an older OS? Any information on how to switch OS without messing up my phone would help a lot!
So, please give me a suggestion as to which OS gives you great responsiveness/speed (doesn't lag you down for phone calls especially, but no lag on any other basic programs would also be great). And regarding the OS you suggest, please tell me what steps I need to take to switch/downgrade to it and/or anything else I need to do to keep it going fast. I found this post, but to be honest, it's just not very clear to me what I'd actually have to *do*: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/general/opinion-best-rom-experience-t3546088 So if you could give me a clear step-by-step guide (or point me to one or more threads/posts that I'd link the processes together), that'd be SUPER helpful! Thanks in advance for any help any of you can offer!

madagascaradam said:
Hi, I've been using my Moto G Titan (dual-sim) for about 4 years now, mostly with custom rom the whole time (CM 12.1 back then). I upgraded to a Moto G3 TE (and used custom roms from xda here) over a year ago. So then on this phone (titan) I updated the firmware and ROM and passed it on to my wife. I put on Viper OS 7.1.2 on it and initially it was working great. Over time though it increasingly slowed down and clearing the cache and such didn't seem to help (my wife didn't really complain much because she never liked using smart phones anyway and she just thought it *has* to be a poor user experience). I also had my phone (Moto G3 TE) stolen about a month ago, so while I'm waiting to get a new phone my wife and I are sharing this phone (Titan) with two different accounts. Talk about sloooooooooow! So now I realize I REALLY need a different rom. Or is it possible the RAM or something is just old and no longer working right?
I've read on here that many people suggest downgrading to stock lollipop or something like that. Others suggest a custom Marshmallow rom. I honestly don't care too much what I downgrade to as long as the most common apps (gmail, facebook, whatsapp - ones for keeping in touch and getting work done, that sort of thing) are working. Oh, and pinterest, that's the one thing my wife loves. I would like to keep an OS version that allows me to used mixed storage (mixed between adopted/portable) if possible, because that helps me with the low amount of internal memory. But I can give that up if necessary, because above all I want it to be smooth, because this lag is ridiculous! Sometimes a phone call comes in and it's ringing but it takes so long for the screen that shows I can accept/reject the call to pop up that by then the caller has already hung up (like over 10 seconds sometimes)! So yeah, I really want a rom that's responsive again and can do those most basic apps.
My questions is: if I'm on ViperOS 7.1.2 and if lollipop or marshmallow (whether stock or custom) is best - then how do I downgrade to those? I have TWRP and root and all that on here already and I'd love it if I could just do it by TWRP since that'd be the easiest for me. But I'll do whatever I need to as long as I can truly understand the step-by-step directions and not brick this phone. (Since right now it's the ONLY phone my wife and I have to work with until I get a new one in another month or two... and even still I'd like my wife to be able to use this one more easily.) I read somewhere that if I have a newer firmware maybe I can't return directly to an older OS? Any information on how to switch OS without messing up my phone would help a lot!
So, please give me a suggestion as to which OS gives you great responsiveness/speed (doesn't lag you down for phone calls especially, but no lag on any other basic programs would also be great). And regarding the OS you suggest, please tell me what steps I need to take to switch/downgrade to it and/or anything else I need to do to keep it going fast. I found this post, but to be honest, it's just not very clear to me what I'd actually have to *do*: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/general/opinion-best-rom-experience-t3546088 So if you could give me a clear step-by-step guide (or point me to one or more threads/posts that I'd link the processes together), that'd be SUPER helpful! Thanks in advance for any help any of you can offer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you are currently running android nougat. I suggest you Cosmic Os 7.1.2 AOSP based.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/development/rom-cosmic-os-t3576987
I've been using it over more than 2-3 months as my daily driver. It doesn't lag and 300+ RAM is always free with no apps open in background.
Still if you want to downgrade to marshmallow or lollipop, you'll have to do it using a PC or laptop.

!!!!!!!Root2!!!!!! said:
As you are currently running android nougat. I suggest you Cosmic Os 7.1.2 AOSP based.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/development/rom-cosmic-os-t3576987
I've been using it over more than 2-3 months as my daily driver. It doesn't lag and 300+ RAM is always free with no apps open in background.
Still if you want to downgrade to marshmallow or lollipop, you'll have to do it using a PC or laptop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, that sounds like a good start! Thanks for your suggestion! I'll wait for a few more responses and info before I decide what route to try first. If I do want to downgrade, what method do I use from PC or laptop? I've used the quickboot/adb shell commands with no trouble before, but only because I've seen step-by-step guides that tell me *what* to put in the adb shell, etc. So, can you help give me a guide on how I'd downgrade or point me to one that has a downgrade that's really fast?

madagascaradam said:
OK, that sounds like a good start! Thanks for your suggestion! I'll wait for a few more responses and info before I decide what route to try first. If I do want to downgrade, what method do I use from PC or laptop? I've used the quickboot/adb shell commands with no trouble before, but only because I've seen step-by-step guides that tell me *what* to put in the adb shell, etc. So, can you help give me a guide on how I'd downgrade or point me to one that has a downgrade that's really fast?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't recommend downgrading to Lollipop or Marshmallow as they lack RAM management and heat up the phone while gaming plus Ui is not that good. Android Nougat has better RAM management with fluid performance and battery backup is good as well.
Here's Stock Marshmallow TWRP backup thread and it's detailed enough so that you won't brick your phone
Take a Nandroid backup before.
First, what's the model of your Titan and country?

I think it's not a good idea to downgrade to older stock as it might lead to device getting bricked .... luckily I have never faced such as an issue as I always stick to custom ROMs for my Titan ....I request you to look up Titan downgrade brick stories and get a better idea about how to avoid it ....
Also have you tried using Aex 5.6 on your phone with evolution kernel? it used to work brilliantly on mine before I jumped on to renans los 16 pie builds

!!!!!!!Root2!!!!!! said:
I don't recommend downgrading to Lollipop or Marshmallow as they lack RAM management and heat up the phone while gaming plus Ui is not that good. Android Nougat has better RAM management with fluid performance and battery backup is good as well.
Here's Stock Marshmallow TWRP backup thread and it's detailed enough so that you won't brick your phone
Take a Nandroid backup before.
First, what's the model of your Titan and country?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the extra advice. You didn't actually include the link for the thread though. Were you just waiting for my model # (below)? But yes, I'm used to doing the Nandroid backups through TWRP so that's no challenge for me.
It's an XT1068. I bought it from Amazon US but I'm living in Madagascar and have used it here most the time I've had it. It's also worked for me in South Africa and USA though too.
Anyway, I'll appreciate the link to the stock marshmallow twrp backup thread, in case that's the route I decide to go! I won't be doing any gaming on it though (wife's phone) and just need it to work well enough for phone calls, messages, and other important aspects of life. And yeah, I like the newer UI, but if it's too slow, I can't do much with it! So I'll have to think about the other suggestions people have given here and also weigh it in with the possibility of downgrading to marshmallow with that detailed step-by-step so I won't brick my phone.

clockstoper said:
I think it's not a good idea to downgrade to older stock as it might lead to device getting bricked .... luckily I have never faced such as an issue as I always stick to custom ROMs for my Titan ....I request you to look up Titan downgrade brick stories and get a better idea about how to avoid it ....
Also have you tried using Aex 5.6 on your phone with evolution kernel? it used to work brilliantly on mine before I jumped on to renans los 16 pie builds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks also for your advice. I've never been bricked either, but I don't want to start, especially since we're down to 1 phone in my family right now! If someone can tell me that downgrading is definitely way smoother (as I've seen written on a few threads here, but without detailed instructions on how to do it) and if they say I can do it without bricking, then I might take that route. I haven't tried AEX on this phone, though I was using it on my Moto G3 TE before it got stolen. So yeah, that's a good idea if you say it works great. Can you link to a thread for me? Particularly when you say "with evolution kernel"... in the past I don't think I've tried a different kernel for my rom, I've always just followed step-by-steps for flashing a custom rom and gapps, that sort of thing. So if I have to do an extra step for the evolution kernel, please also tell me how or where to find the thread about it. Thanks again for your help!

madagascaradam said:
Thanks for the extra advice. You didn't actually include the link for the thread though. Were you just waiting for my model # (below)? But yes, I'm used to doing the Nandroid backups through TWRP so that's no challenge for me.
It's an XT1068. I bought it from Amazon US but I'm living in Madagascar and have used it here most the time I've had it. It's also worked for me in South Africa and USA though too.
Anyway, I'll appreciate the link to the stock marshmallow twrp backup thread, in case that's the route I decide to go! I won't be doing any gaming on it though (wife's phone) and just need it to work well enough for phone calls, messages, and other important aspects of life. And yeah, I like the newer UI, but if it's too slow, I can't do much with it! So I'll have to think about the other suggestions people have given here and also weigh it in with the possibility of downgrading to marshmallow with that detailed step-by-step so I won't brick my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/general/moto-g-indian-xt1068-marshmellow-6-0-t3313148

The links to Aex and evolution kernel for titan
madagascaradam said:
Thanks also for your advice. I've never been bricked either, but I don't want to start, especially since we're down to 1 phone in my family right now! If someone can tell me that downgrading is definitely way smoother (as I've seen written on a few threads here, but without detailed instructions on how to do it) and if they say I can do it without bricking, then I might take that route. I haven't tried AEX on this phone, though I was using it on my Moto G3 TE before it got stolen. So yeah, that's a good idea if you say it works great. Can you link to a thread for me? Particularly when you say "with evolution kernel"... in the past I don't think I've tried a different kernel for my rom, I've always just followed step-by-steps for flashing a custom rom and gapps, that sort of thing. So if I have to do an extra step for the evolution kernel, please also tell me how or where to find the thread about it. Thanks again for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/development/rom-aospextended-rom-v5-8-t3829769
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/development/kernel-evolution-kernel-t3514843

clockstoper said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/development/rom-aospextended-rom-v5-8-t3829769
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g-2014/development/kernel-evolution-kernel-t3514843
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! How do I use a different kernel than the one that comes with the ROM? Do I flash/install AEX first and *then* follow those directions for the evolution kernel? Or do I do the kernel first and then AEX? And I'm assuming I download the first kernel download link on that page (the one that says Marshmallow/Nougat Roms and "R10")? Basically, I'd really appreciate it if you'd offer more information on what it means to switch kernels and how to do that? Thanks again for your help!

Download Aex then install it first
madagascaradam said:
Thanks a lot! How do I use a different kernel than the one that comes with the ROM? Do I flash/install AEX first and *then* follow those directions for the evolution kernel? Or do I do the kernel first and then AEX? And I'm assuming I download the first kernel download link on that page (the one that says Marshmallow/Nougat Roms and "R10")? Basically, I'd really appreciate it if you'd offer more information on what it means to switch kernels and how to do that? Thanks again for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install rom first then make a backup of only boot install kernel after that , there is a another version of evolution kernel with overclock enabled if you feel that evolution is slow try evolutionX ,it's bit of a battery hog but runs like butter.
Switching kernels gives you access to better features in you kernel like updated tweaks, governors overclock ,undervolt ,sound gain boost etc which the stock kernel doesn't provide in most cases .....only few kernels are as up-to-date with extra features as evolution imo so try it if you don't like how it performs you can tweak it more with kernel aduitor ,for faster feeling phone I normally disable all animations under devoloper options .you can also flash evolutionx to see if it suits you or not just restore the boot backup you made and flash it then test ......
Get the kernel for Oreo as Aex 5.8 is Oreo
Before flashing plz make sure twrp is updated
Always backup important data into your mircosd card or PC
I recommend a full wipe ( system ,data, internal storage,caches) with twrp and then install the new ROM
Do let me know how it goes ....

clockstoper said:
Install rom first then make a backup of only boot install kernel after that , there is a another version of evolution kernel with overclock enabled if you feel that evolution is slow try evolutionX ,it's bit of a battery hog but runs like butter.
Switching kernels gives you access to better features in you kernel like updated tweaks, governors overclock ,undervolt ,sound gain boost etc which the stock kernel doesn't provide in most cases .....only few kernels are as up-to-date with extra features as evolution imo so try it if you don't like how it performs you can tweak it more with kernel aduitor ,for faster feeling phone I normally disable all animations under devoloper options .you can also flash evolutionx to see if it suits you or not just restore the boot backup you made and flash it then test ......
Get the kernel for Oreo as Aex 5.8 is Oreo
Before flashing plz make sure twrp is updated
Always backup important data into your mircosd card or PC
I recommend a full wipe ( system ,data, internal storage,caches) with twrp and then install the new ROM
Do let me know how it goes ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, thanks for the advice! My weekend is busy but I'm going to give it a go on Monday or Tuesday and let you know how it turns out!

clockstoper said:
Install rom first then make a backup of only boot install kernel after that , there is a another version of evolution kernel with overclock enabled if you feel that evolution is slow try evolutionX ,it's bit of a battery hog but runs like butter.
Switching kernels gives you access to better features in you kernel like updated tweaks, governors overclock ,undervolt ,sound gain boost etc which the stock kernel doesn't provide in most cases .....only few kernels are as up-to-date with extra features as evolution imo so try it if you don't like how it performs you can tweak it more with kernel aduitor ,for faster feeling phone I normally disable all animations under devoloper options .you can also flash evolutionx to see if it suits you or not just restore the boot backup you made and flash it then test ......
Get the kernel for Oreo as Aex 5.8 is Oreo
Before flashing plz make sure twrp is updated
Always backup important data into your mircosd card or PC
I recommend a full wipe ( system ,data, internal storage,caches) with twrp and then install the new ROM
Do let me know how it goes ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, so I had a busy week and I'm just now getting to this. Do I still need to flash a superuser image in order to get superuser working on this (like for fx explorer root or those sort of things)? I have this superuser package I used last time I installed the ViperOS (that's super slow that I'm replacing now): SR1-SuperSU-v2.82-SR1-20170608224931.zip Do I still need that? I can't seem to find an updated one on here or maybe it's buried because it's too old. Maybe people don't use SuperSU anymore? Just wondering. Thanks for any help! And I'll let you know how the new image goes later today.

Use magisk it's way better
madagascaradam said:
Hey, so I had a busy week and I'm just now getting to this. Do I still need to flash a superuser image in order to get superuser working on this (like for fx explorer root or those sort of things)? I have this superuser package I used last time I installed the ViperOS (that's super slow that I'm replacing now): SR1-SuperSU-v2.82-SR1-20170608224931.zip Do I still need that? I can't seem to find an updated one on here or maybe it's buried because it's too old. Maybe people don't use SuperSU anymore? Just wondering. Thanks for any help! And I'll let you know how the new image goes later today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plus it has all the modules ....very useful ....
Link magisk
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445

clockstoper said:
Plus it has all the modules ....very useful ....
Link magisk
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again! So, I did try SuperSU since it looked like it'd be easy (just install that app) and the Magisk thing said better to go back to stock rom in order to make it work. But SuperSU then was a big headache, after a lot of work I got rid of it, and installed Magisk (without going back to stock rom) and everything was good. Any particular modules you'd suggest using with Magisk?
But overall: I followed your advice and everything seems good. This is my first time to use Oreo and I do like it so far. I haven't turned of animations yet, but I might soon. It's still running fairly fast like I'd expect. I still have to install a few apps on my account and I'll wait and see if that slows anything down. But my wife's account has all her stuff on it, everything logged in, and it seems like it's still smooth. I'm going to give it a few days to a week and see if anything slows it down before I report back to you.
I did have a few questions though: under the AEX extensions, it says "system app remover" and I tried to remove a couple weird apps I don't need on there (like "retro music player" - I don't have any idea how that even got there). I had to enable root for it, but it still doesn't seem to have disappeared. Any idea how to fully get rid of non-wanted system apps?
In that same area for removing system apps (built into the AEX extensions) it looks like there are quite a few theme "apps" already inside it, including even some dark themes for contacts (which I'd really appreciate). But I can't find in the rom anywhere to enable themes. If I download the substratum app, will it automatically give me access to those built-in themes or want? If you know anything about this let me know.
Also, under the aex extensions is an option for weather on the lock screen, but the weather service doesn't seem to be working at all yet. Any idea on that?
Even if you don't know about those things, that's OK, maybe I'll post and ask those questions in the AEX thread and see if anyone has anything to say there.
Overall, everything has worked great so far though, which is great and I appreciate all the advice you've given me! I'll just give it some time to see if it stays fast with regular use, and of course I need to keep making a few tweaks to it.

Glad it worked out
madagascaradam said:
Thanks again! So, I did try SuperSU since it looked like it'd be easy (just install that app) and the Magisk thing said better to go back to stock rom in order to make it work. But SuperSU then was a big headache, after a lot of work I got rid of it, and installed Magisk (without going back to stock rom) and everything was good. Any particular modules you'd suggest using with Magisk?
But overall: I followed your advice and everything seems good. This is my first time to use Oreo and I do like it so far. I haven't turned of animations yet, but I might soon. It's still running fairly fast like I'd expect. I still have to install a few apps on my account and I'll wait and see if that slows anything down. But my wife's account has all her stuff on it, everything logged in, and it seems like it's still smooth. I'm going to give it a few days to a week and see if anything slows it down before I report back to you.
I did have a few questions though: under the AEX extensions, it says "system app remover" and I tried to remove a couple weird apps I don't need on there (like "retro music player" - I don't have any idea how that even got there). I had to enable root for it, but it still doesn't seem to have disappeared. Any idea how to fully get rid of non-wanted system apps?
In that same area for removing system apps (built into the AEX extensions) it looks like there are quite a few theme "apps" already inside it, including even some dark themes for contacts (which I'd really appreciate). But I can't find in the rom anywhere to enable themes. If I download the substratum app, will it automatically give me access to those built-in themes or want? If you know anything about this let me know.
Also, under the aex extensions is an option for weather on the lock screen, but the weather service doesn't seem to be working at all yet. Any idea on that?
Even if you don't know about those things, that's OK, maybe I'll post and ask those questions in the AEX thread and see if anyone has anything to say there.
Overall, everything has worked great so far though, which is great and I appreciate all the advice you've given me! I'll just give it some time to see if it stays fast with regular use, and of course I need to keep making a few tweaks to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ROM still has some unimplemented stuff system app remover in extensions
As for modules is use viper4android to tweak sound and
Terminal debloater to remove unwanted system apps via terminal
You need to enable it via developer options ...
And about the theme apps you found in system apps remover ,those are simply the colour overlays the system uses for automatically setting system theme based on wallpaper colour, to manually set theme you can try going into system>display >ui theme and try changing stuff there it has the pre-installed colour schemes .......
You will find the option to change the system fonts there too.....
For weather you need to enable the service by going into weather>service ......
Also to keep things smooth use greenify and greenify all the apps that don't need to run in the background .....enable agressive doze there .....
Also go into settings>extensions>system>app ops side scroll to boot up and take away boot permission from any and every app that you don't use immediately after powering your phone .....it helps speed up the phone a lot .
Go to extentions and general tweaks and turn on disable FC notifications too...
Get sd maid free and do cleanup of system cleaner and corpse finder every month end .....
Go to dialer>three dots >settings then enable proximity speakerphone it very good feature ......
Happy it all worked out for yaa ...
I have a question though ,did you do a full format in twrp ?
I mean the format data option where you need to type yes to proceed . That speed up lag on my phone after I moved from stock so next time you might wanna try that before installing a new ROM....

report
madagascaradam said:
Thanks again! So, I did try SuperSU since it looked like it'd be easy (just install that app) and the Magisk thing said better to go back to stock rom in order to make it work. But SuperSU then was a big headache, after a lot of work I got rid of it, and installed Magisk (without going back to stock rom) and everything was good. Any particular modules you'd suggest using with Magisk?
But overall: I followed your advice and everything seems good. This is my first time to use Oreo and I do like it so far. I haven't turned of animations yet, but I might soon. It's still running fairly fast like I'd expect. I still have to install a few apps on my account and I'll wait and see if that slows anything down. But my wife's account has all her stuff on it, everything logged in, and it seems like it's still smooth. I'm going to give it a few days to a week and see if anything slows it down before I report back to you.
I did have a few questions though: under the AEX extensions, it says "system app remover" and I tried to remove a couple weird apps I don't need on there (like "retro music player" - I don't have any idea how that even got there). I had to enable root for it, but it still doesn't seem to have disappeared. Any idea how to fully get rid of non-wanted system apps?
In that same area for removing system apps (built into the AEX extensions) it looks like there are quite a few theme "apps" already inside it, including even some dark themes for contacts (which I'd really appreciate). But I can't find in the rom anywhere to enable themes. If I download the substratum app, will it automatically give me access to those built-in themes or want? If you know anything about this let me know.
Also, under the aex extensions is an option for weather on the lock screen, but the weather service doesn't seem to be working at all yet. Any idea on that?
Even if you don't know about those things, that's OK, maybe I'll post and ask those questions in the AEX thread and see if anyone has anything to say there.
Overall, everything has worked great so far though, which is great and I appreciate all the advice you've given me! I'll just give it some time to see if it stays fast with regular use, and of course I need to keep making a few tweaks to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how it ended?

clockstoper said:
The ROM still has some unimplemented stuff system app remover in extensions
As for modules is use viper4android to tweak sound and
Terminal debloater to remove unwanted system apps via terminal
You need to enable it via developer options ...
And about the theme apps you found in system apps remover ,those are simply the colour overlays the system uses for automatically setting system theme based on wallpaper colour, to manually set theme you can try going into system>display >ui theme and try changing stuff there it has the pre-installed colour schemes .......
You will find the option to change the system fonts there too.....
For weather you need to enable the service by going into weather>service ......
Also to keep things smooth use greenify and greenify all the apps that don't need to run in the background .....enable agressive doze there .....
Also go into settings>extensions>system>app ops side scroll to boot up and take away boot permission from any and every app that you don't use immediately after powering your phone .....it helps speed up the phone a lot .
Go to extentions and general tweaks and turn on disable FC notifications too...
Get sd maid free and do cleanup of system cleaner and corpse finder every month end .....
Go to dialer>three dots >settings then enable proximity speakerphone it very good feature ......
Happy it all worked out for yaa ...
I have a question though ,did you do a full format in twrp ?
I mean the format data option where you need to type yes to proceed . That speed up lag on my phone after I moved from stock so next time you might wanna try that before installing a new ROM....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the extra advice! A lot of that certainly helped. It was actually slowing down again a bit within a few days, but greenify made an immediately noticeable difference, as well as a few of those other things you mentioned.
The weather thing still isn't working even though I have it enabled. Maybe because I'm in Madagascar and most services don't cover weather here?
I couldn't find the dialer either, so I couldn't get to its settings. I'm interested in what the proximity speakerphone does though.
I didn't do any format where I needed to type "yes" to proceed, but when I did wipe I chose every aspect of the storage and wiped all of it (even the memory card). So maybe that was just a simple delete rather than an actual format. I'll keep this in mind though next time I flash a system from start. Though I had the memory card formatted as mixed storage (gave 10 GB of it to the system ["expanded"] and the rest for normal portable use) and the expanded portion reads funny now in the storage settings - as if it had 128 GB and 118 GB were already used. That's strange, but it doesn't seem to affect anything so I'm not worrying about it.

Dialer is the phone app ..
madagascaradam said:
Thanks for all the extra advice! A lot of that certainly helped. It was actually slowing down again a bit within a few days, but greenify made an immediately noticeable difference, as well as a few of those other things you mentioned.
The weather thing still isn't working even though I have it enabled. Maybe because I'm in Madagascar and most services don't cover weather here?
I couldn't find the dialer either, so I couldn't get to its settings. I'm interested in what the proximity speakerphone does though.
I didn't do any format where I needed to type "yes" to proceed, but when I did wipe I chose every aspect of the storage and wiped all of it (even the memory card). So maybe that was just a simple delete rather than an actual format. I'll keep this in mind though next time I flash a system from start. Though I had the memory card formatted as mixed storage (gave 10 GB of it to the system ["expanded"] and the rest for normal portable use) and the expanded portion reads funny now in the storage settings - as if it had 128 GB and 118 GB were already used. That's strange, but it doesn't seem to affect anything so I'm not worrying about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The dialer app is what you use to call a number typing it ,it is the phone app with the telephone icon ,tap the three dots on the top right side there you will find settings ....
About the weather try changing the weather provider to Yahoo ....might work.. .
Also try getting the universal GMS doze module in magisk it stops Google services from slowing the phone ...
I personally don't use gapps at all, I have yalpstore for my app needs. if Google is not that important for you then maybe in the future you might try ROM without it .....
Hope it helps.....

The great adventure of rooting the XZ1C

Hello everyone,
I have to say I am completely lost regarding the whole rooting process for the XZ1C. I usually manage to get where I want just by carefully reading the forums, but with this device, I feel overwhelmed by information. And I sometimes feel like what I am reading contradicts what I though I understood from previous reads...
I will try to sum up what I know so far.
First of all, I have a just-out-of-the-box Sony model G8441 with firmware 47.1.A.12.179 / Oreo 8.0.0 (never been connected to the outside world yet), and I want to properly root the device and install TWRP with no loss of feature.
What I think I understand:
To root, I first need to unlock the bootloader, which seems to be a trivial operation. However, this will break some functionalities due to DRM keys being erased. Once it is done, there is no way, ever, to get them back. There are however ways to "trick" DRM-related functionalities into believing DRM keys are still there.
Alternatively, there seems to be a way to backup the DRM keys prior to unlocking the BL, and this backup can somehow be reused and injected back into the unlocked device. If true, then this would certainly be a preferable method than the previous one, which would then be obsolete. However, it obviously doesn't look obsolete when I read the related topics, so I must be missing something...
Another thing I noted (but do not quite understand): There are ROMs for this device that "include" a DRM fix.
Last important thing I read: there is a paid "do-it-all" tool which takes my locked device and, with one click, makes it unlocked - rooted - DRM-fixed - TWRP-enabled. Now that sounds really good! Maybe too good?
As far as i know (but I learn new stuff every day on this topic) this DRM stuff is the main difficulty here. I understand that the rest of the process (root + TWRP) will be much simpler (although I'm old-school and completly missed all this magisk trend...!)
What I don't understand:
I read that some people downgrade to Oreo to be able to root properly, and at the same time, I read that Pie removed the restrictions on unlocked bootloader. So I still have no idea if I should connect and receive Sony updates, or avoid them.
Another thing I don't get, is how many ways do we have to root this thing? In the past, I was used to see, for a specific device, always one major and widly used rooting method. Here I fail to identify it...
What I think I will do:
1. Backup TA partition with j4nn's tool. This will probably imply flashing an older firmware right? Is there any link that could help me with this flashing process? (I only know Odin - did I mention old-school?) I saw this page for generic sony Z devices, but the thread is from 2013 and now closed. Is it still up-to-date or is there a newer thread?
2. Unlock bootloader and restore TA partition.
3. Wait for Sony updates? Or should I first hide unlock status?
3bis. Alternaltively to waiting for updates, maybe I can just flash the latest build? (47.2.A.8.24 if I am not mistaken)
4. Flash modpunk's TWRP.
5. Flash janjan's Boot.img to get root functionalities?
Alternaltively to all the above (except maybe step 1 that I will probably do in any case), buy the paid all-in-one tool (Xperifix), plug, click and wait... But will I really end up the same as with the manual way?
I saw a few other methods in the forums but it seems my brain is currently refusing to bring them back...
That's all I have right now. I would really appreciate if you guys could share some insight and tell me what you think about this, whether there are missing steps, useless steps, incorrectly ordered steps, silly steps, or if I'm just completely wrong about the whole thing.
Feel free also to correct me on the assumptions I made at the beginning.
Thank you very much for reading this repulsive piece of text.

SunJu22 said:
I would really appreciate if you guys could share some insight and tell me what you think about this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By the looks of it you have done a great deal of research on the project.
Yes, go down the route of backing up your TA partition first, but that is not a small step in itself, it's pretty complicated and if you get that working then the rest of the project will be a breeze.
You don't say what version of firmware you want to end up on. If you want to end up on Pie then forget the DRMfix . But if you're staying on Oreo and can't be bothered with lots of files & flashing, then this is the easy way out, I bought the paid version and can verify it works.
More recently I ended up janjan's kernel (Oreo build). Hidden root (Google Pay works), lots of performance tweaks, DRM completely working.
It's unlikely that anyone will bother making a DRM fix for Pie as the camera works and there are only a couple of other features that get disabled.
It sounds like you're not the sort of person who's only going to read the first couple of pages of a thread (or the last) flash the xxxxxx and then complain when it's broken.
The people on the forum here are very helpful and if you go into any of the threads you mentioned in your post with a question, you'll get a reply.
Good luck.

I agree, there is a lot of information out there and different methods of achieving what you want - very confusing if you have not been following the threads since the beginning.
In my opinion, the preferred method is j4nn's method outlined here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xp...devonly-exploits-temp-root-to-backup-t3795510
Use that post as your main guide (the final step in that guide, #13, is how you will achieve root). You will use Newflasher to flash the various firmwares along the way (this is linked from j4nn's procedure in step #2). User munted made a very detailed pdf file that fills in some of the details on j4nn's procedure - see the following post and download the pdf attached: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78255334&postcount=382
Most of the other methods out there came before j4nn's work - they didn't include DRM backup/restore.
If you follow j4nn's procedure, you won't need to use the janjan kernel as you assumed - janjan method is different and does not overlap with j4nn.

SunJu22 said:
Feel free also to correct me on the assumptions I made at the beginning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't point out that I was one of the early 'jumpers' who unlocked their bootloader without any backups, so I have been forced into always using fixes and all the information I have is based on having to fix your phone for it to work, but that's all changed now. I'm so out of date :-/
 @camaro322hp is right, if you follow j4nn's method correctly you'll be rooted with no DRM loss. All of the other stuff is not required.

Thank you Digesteve and camaro322hp for your help.
From what I understand the XZ1C didn't get as much love as other devices, thus there was a long period of tinkering before a "do-it-all guide" could be considered "the" solution. That could explain all these different approaches that are proposed. Like you said camaro322hp it's rather difficult to jump on this train, and I can only guess how interesting this ride has been.
Anyway, I didn't see that the TA backup thread from j4nn also encompassed all the information I needed; I am glad to finally know that there is indeed a centralized "do-it-all guide" . To make it easier for XZ1C newcomers, I think j4nn should update his opening post to make this clearer.
Since I managed to grab the attention of 2 XZ1C power users, I would like to ask you: Did you keep stock? Did you try alternative ROMs? Do you like some of them? Do you prefer Oreo or Pie?
For information, the most up-to-date experience I have on a Android phone is my LG90 with CyanogenMod 11 (KitKat 4.4.4! Yes sir!). I heard that it's becoming less and less useful to flash a custom ROM due to major OS improvements, but I would still enjoy the simplest and lightest Android possible.

SunJu22 said:
Did you keep stock? Did you try alternative ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've always been on stock, the camera is an important part of what I want from my phone and although there's lots of alternative camera apps, there's no competition to the stock camera app. Then I theme it black with swift installer and just uninstall or freeze any apps I don't want with Titanium Backup. I have stuck with Oreo, everything works perfect and I remember seeing so many people jumping to 9 then wanting to go back to 8 because they didn't like it. Something about changing the way the drop down menu works, among other things, but having never installed it, I'm not the person to comment on if it's any good or not.
I have been watching the XZ1c thread and Lineage is gaining ground, it even has a stock camera now. I would have thought something like that with miniGapps is going to be pretty lightweight and very similar to your carbon rom of before. At the moment this is based on 8, but is working well. Depends how keen you are to move to Pie.

Thank you Digesteve.
One thing I still don't understand. Part of the process is to hide unlock status. If I do this, FOTA will be applied and I will automatically end up on Pie, right? Should I skip this step if I want Oreo?
EDIT: when you say "a stock camera", you mean the Sony camera?

@SunJu22 I've stuck with the Sony ROM. A rooted stock ROM meets all my needs, so I've never felt the need to experiment with custom ROMs. There are some custom options out there that people seem fairly happy with, so if that's your thing, I'd encourage it.
Without going into too much detail, I'm still on Oreo for the moment, for a variety of reasons, but I don't know of anything that would keep me from recommending Pie.

One thing you should note is that once you unlock, there is no going back. AFAIK there is no known or working method to relock the bootloader.

SunJu22 said:
FOTA will be applied and I will automatically end up on Pie, right? Should I skip this step if I want Oreo?
EDIT: when you say "a stock camera", you mean the Sony camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm not entirely sure why having your rooted phone try and update itself is an advantage, but something I'd recomend avoiding.
Stock camera is the Sony camera, yes.

Thank you everyone, I believe I now have enough information to jump into this with confidence. The adventure begins, and will be reported in this thread for future reference, in the hope that it will help others like me!

Well, I am a bit sad... I wanted to report my "adventure" here in detail, but I'm afraid I have nothing to say.
Indeed, following the procedure from j4nn with a printed copy of munted's awesome guide, I managed to do all I wanted on the first attempt.
I don't have anything to add to this guide, everyone wanting to root their XZ1C can do it just by reading the opening post from j4nn and the mentioned guide. It takes a bit of time but nothing complicated thanks to the clear and detailed explanations.
I now have a fully functional rooted XZ1C (including camera) on Pie with Magisk root and TWRP.
Thank you all again from pointing me to the right direction.
I however have a slight disappointment. I wanted to start with Oreo and make an Nandroid backup before moving to Pie, but I didn't find Oreo builds on Xperifirm. So I jumped straight to Pie.
In case I want to test Oreo, I read that a downgrade is more complicated than an upgrade, but apart from the fact that a factory reset is needed for downgrade, I couldn't find an explanation for this. Any idea?
Last but not least: I looked for the latest Oreo build version number but couldn't find it. Do you guys know what it is and where I can download it?
I guess this will be all for this thread after this. Although it is very convenient to have my own thread to ask questions rather than finding the relevant page for each one, I don't want to annoy you too much...
EDIT: Please ignore the last question. I found out last Oreo build is 47.1.A.16.20, and I found the files via the download link in the opening post of the Lineage thread.

SunJu22 said:
In case I want to test Oreo, I read that a downgrade is more complicated than an upgrade, but apart from the fact that a factory reset is needed for downgrade, I couldn't find an explanation for this. Any idea? Lineage thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an easy solution to downgrade:
Newflasher

Hi, I've been thinking about rooting my XZ1c for a long time now. So, do I understand correctly that the ONLY disadvantage compared to non-rooted device is not possible to receive the OTA updates from Sony anymore?

mEREHAIGE said:
Hi, I've been thinking about rooting my XZ1c for a long time now. So, do I understand correctly that the ONLY disadvantage compared to non-rooted device is not possible to receive the OTA updates from Sony anymore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you can flash a kernel to hide the bootloader unlock flag, this will mean that you will receive OTA updates, although depending on how you're rooted an update will most likely break your phone, so not that useful.

*made a thread*

Thanks--rooted withOUT adventure too
Very happily rooted now. Just wanted to say a quick thanks and add a few notes:
1. j4nn's renoroot to enable TA key backup and restore is fantastic. My advice: use and donate
2. munted's guide is excellent. clear and thorough...a rare combination.
3. do expect that renoroot may need to be restarted a couple of times. it took me 3 or 4 attempts to get temp root to pull the TA keys, although it took only 1 effort to get root back to restore.
4. topjohnwu's magisk is, of course, a key component to all this. Thx and $s there too.
I did a few things slightly differently/additionally than SunJu22.
5. I am on T-Mobile US, so I opted to create a hybrid Pie FW to get wifi calling and VoLTE. There are a number of discussions on this. I did it by combining the vendor**.sin and system**.sin files from custom-CH FW with the other files from custom-US FW. Of course (a) use IDENTICAL release numbers only, e.g. 47.A.2.10.28 w/ 47.A.2.10.28 and (b) you still need to delete .TA and persist files from the hybrid before you flash it.
Note: I don't really care about these features, but I have *heard* that T-mobile won't allow BYOD on their band-12 sites if they don't have VoLTE. Don't know if it is true (or where it is true) but figured why not?
6. I decided (for now, at least) to leave boot and recovery stock. So, I am using fastboot to run TWRP or a rooted kernel. Thanks again to j4nn for the method.
Note: I don't plan on allowing FOTA upgrades---I just like passing all the security checks and being able to *see* if updates are available.
That's all. Fine work in development and guides has made life simple and happy for me

kirkzp said:
Very happily rooted now. Just wanted to say a quick thanks and add a few notes:
1. j4nn's renoroot to enable TA key backup and restore is fantastic. My advice: use and donate
2. munted's guide is excellent. clear and thorough...a rare combination.
3. do expect that renoroot may need to be restarted a couple of times. it took me 3 or 4 attempts to get temp root to pull the TA keys, although it took only 1 effort to get root back to restore.
4. topjohnwu's magisk is, of course, a key component to all this. Thx and $s there too.
I did a few things slightly differently/additionally than SunJu22.
5. I am on T-Mobile US, so I opted to create a hybrid Pie FW to get wifi calling and VoLTE. There are a number of discussions on this. I did it by combining the vendor**.sin and system**.sin files from custom-CH FW with the other files from custom-US FW. Of course (a) use IDENTICAL release numbers only, e.g. 47.A.2.10.28 w/ 47.A.2.10.28 and (b) you still need to delete .TA and persist files from the hybrid before you flash it.
Note: I don't really care about these features, but I have *heard* that T-mobile won't allow BYOD on their band-12 sites if they don't have VoLTE. Don't know if it is true (or where it is true) but figured why not?
6. I decided (for now, at least) to leave boot and recovery stock. So, I am using fastboot to run TWRP or a rooted kernel. Thanks again to j4nn for the method.
Note: I don't plan on allowing FOTA upgrades---I just like passing all the security checks and being able to *see* if updates are available.
That's all. Fine work in development and guides has made life simple and happy for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now riddle me this cause I'm on Tmo USA as well and I did the hybrid work fine as well but heres the question, does googlepay and banking apps still work with a unlocked bootloader or did you flash a modified kernel to hide the unlocked status.
Sitting on the fence about unlocking mine so I can do a full nandroid before trying out some gsi pie roms infact this is the first phone I haven't unlocked or least put twrp on since my samsung sidekick 4g o.o

kernel with hide-unlock
T_Tank said:
Now riddle me this cause I'm on Tmo USA as well and I did the hybrid work fine as well but heres the question, does googlepay and banking apps still work with a unlocked bootloader or did you flash a modified kernel to hide the unlocked status.
Sitting on the fence about unlocking mine so I can do a full nandroid before trying out some gsi pie roms infact this is the first phone I haven't unlocked or least put twrp on since my samsung sidekick 4g o.o
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full disclosure: I don't use Google pay or too many banking apps, so YMMV. But, I am using j4nn's kernel with unlock hidden. (See link in my note 6.) You can flash this, or you can leave in your stock kernel and merely fastboot to this. From what I have seen, it hides most - if not all -- indicators that the phone is rooted and the BL in unlocked.

Does somebody has :
G8441_1310-7123_47.1.A.16.20-R7B_Customized_CE1.ftf ?
Only backup i did not make, and its gone from XperiFirm.
Still have the feeling battery life was better in Oreo, and would be nice for experimenting.
Would be nice.
Thanks in advance.

Question How to install latest firmware without losing data?

This is the first time I've needed to do something like this, so I'm a little confused. I've downloaded the latest firmware update for the Tab S8+ and have patched the AP file with Magisk. However, I'm not sure what to do in order to keep all of my data after flashing it. Is there something I need to change to make this happen? We don't have TWRP yet, so I want to be extra careful in doing this, so I won't have to painstakingly reinstall and reconfigure everything all over again.

From my understanding of this post's step 3, sub-step 9:
If your tablet was already rooted, and you're just updating:
Click CSC and select the HOME_CSC_XXX_XXX.tar.md5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whereas the first time you root you'd use CSC, which would wipe the device. HOME_CSC doesn't wipe the device. I'd go as far as deleting or moving the normal CSC file so that there's less chance you'll accidentally flash it.

Did you have any luck with it? I had successfully rooted with a magisk patched AP. Then I tried to flash an updated firmware, where I also magisk patched the AP file, and I also flashed the HOME_CSC because I wanted to keep my data. This however has somehow resulted in a soft brick. Reflashing to the previous firmware is also not possible as the bootloader had updated from U1 to U2.
Now it seems like my only way out seems to be to reflash the stock AP. Any idea if this would wipe my internalSD?

emko7 said:
Did you have any luck with it? I had successfully rooted with a magisk patched AP. Then I tried to flash an updated firmware, where I also magisk patched the AP file, and I also flashed the HOME_CSC because I wanted to keep my data. This however has somehow resulted in a soft brick. Reflashing to the previous firmware is also not possible as the bootloader had updated from U1 to U2.
Now it seems like my only way out seems to be to reflash the stock AP. Any idea if this would wipe my internalSD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange. I've updated twice (after already being rooted) with no issue so far (following the steps here closely). Had you disabled (and updated) any Magisk Modules you had installed before updating, in case there were compatibility issues?
As far as I'm aware, flashing any AP file will not wipe your internal storage, and only flashing the (non-home) CSC will wipe your internal storage. The answer to that question might also depend on what is actually the issue that caused your soft brick if it wasn't just some weird fluke.
Edit: @SavXL answered this question better here. (I was mistaken)
Good luck to you, I hope you salvage your information. I still haven't done this, but I plan on using SyncThing to sync my internal storage with my computer once a day when it's on Wi-Fi. I use Google Photos for pictures and video, but just for anything else, I'd like the extra backup. Of course, I use Swift Backup also, although I back up to the cloud only so it doesn't take up any internal storage space, nor abuse my Micro SD card with heavy file writing.

@emko7 I see now that you posted about this in I believe four threads. I know you are or were in a tough situation - we've all been there before (or a lot of us have), but please don't post looking for help on the same thing in multiple places. PIck an existing thread if appropriate, or create a new Question thread if an existing thread doesn't make sense, and stick with it.
Besides being against XDA Developers Forum Rules , it also created the situation where multiple users are helping you in multiple places, which may be duplicative of each other or at cross-purposes.
Thank you, and still good luck to you!
Rule 5:
5. Create a thread topic or post a message only once, this includes external links & streaming media.
As a large forum, we don't need unnecessary clutter. You're free to edit your message as you like, so if you do not receive an answer, revisit your message and see if you can describe your problem better. Not everyone is online at the same time so it might take a while before you receive an answer.
You can bump your unanswered question once every 24 hours
Duplicate threads and posts will be removed
Always post in an existing thread if a topic already exists, before creating a new thread.
Use our search function to find the best forum for your device.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse

roirraW edor ehT said:
@emko7 I see now that you posted about this in I believe four threads. I know you are or were in a tough situation - we've all been there before (or a lot of us have), but please don't post looking for help on the same thing in multiple places. PIck an existing thread if appropriate, or create a new Question thread if an existing thread doesn't make sense, and stick with it.
Besides being against XDA Developers Forum Rules , it also created the situation where multiple users are helping you in multiple places, which may be duplicative of each other or at cross-purposes.
Thank you, and still good luck to you!
Rule 5:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that, was just looking for relevant information wherever I could find it.
The only thing I done differently from the guide is that I also flashed the CP file when updating. It displayed PASS. But it just wouldn't boot. I didn't disable any Magisk modules beforehand, didn't occur to me to do that.
I had syncthing setup on my Download folder, and I did make a TitaniumBackup of all of my apps. What I didn't do is backup all of my videos and photos. Had some screen recordings on there that I still needed also.
I was under the impression that flashing a stock rom, or going from root to unrooted would wipe data. It may not, but I'm not willing to test it yet. I also don't really want to wait around for a TWRP release because who knows how long that will take.
The only other thing I've come across that may help is this script that I can flash from recovery. It may need some tweaking to make it compatible with my device and to actually backup the correct partitions. So I'm still trying to figure out if it's a viable option as it's made for a fairly old samsung model originally. This is where I found it.
How to Copy and Delete files in Android Using Recovery Mode?
After rooting my SCH-i589, I did several experiments with my cell phone and several times I faced problems like auto restart due to inadequate or missing
www.isrgrajan.com

emko7 said:
Sorry about that, was just looking for relevant information wherever I could find it.
The only thing I done differently from the guide is that I also flashed the CP file when updating. It displayed PASS. But it just wouldn't boot. I didn't disable any Magisk modules beforehand, didn't occur to me to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you mind if I ask why you were flashing the CP file?
emko7 said:
I had syncthing setup on my Download folder, and I did make a TitaniumBackup of all of my apps. What I didn't do is backup all of my videos and photos. Had some screen recordings on there that I still needed also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks. When I had SyncThing set up on a different device before, I ended up just syncing the whole root level (and everything below) of internal storage. It was definitely more than I needed to but I knew I didn't only want my Download folder and I didn't have to want to remember to add new folders as my use of the device progressed.
emko7 said:
I was under the impression that flashing a stock rom, or going from root to unrooted would wipe data. It may not, but I'm not willing to test it yet. I also don't really want to wait around for a TWRP release because who knows how long that will take.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with newer Samsung devices is definitely lacking. This was the first (rootable) Samsung device I've had since my Galaxy S3 although, from memory, a lot has stayed the same, and I've been used to the Google Pixel process for everything for the last 5 1/2 years.
I would definitely go by how @SavXL answered your question regarding what would wipe your device, as they're definitely more experienced with recent Samsung devices than I am.
emko7 said:
The only other thing I've come across that may help is this script that I can flash from recovery. It may need some tweaking to make it compatible with my device and to actually backup the correct partitions. So I'm still trying to figure out if it's a viable option as it's made for a fairly old samsung model originally. This is where I found it.
How to Copy and Delete files in Android Using Recovery Mode?
After rooting my SCH-i589, I did several experiments with my cell phone and several times I faced problems like auto restart due to inadequate or missing
www.isrgrajan.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I'm no help in this area. I hope you find a solution that works for you.

roirraW edor ehT said:
Would you mind if I ask why you were flashing the CP file?
That sucks. When I had SyncThing set up on a different device before, I ended up just syncing the whole root level (and everything below) of internal storage. It was definitely more than I needed to but I knew I didn't only want my Download folder and I didn't have to want to remember to add new folders as my use of the device progressed.
My experience with newer Samsung devices is definitely lacking. This was the first (rootable) Samsung device I've had since my Galaxy S3 although, from memory, a lot has stayed the same, and I've been used to the Google Pixel process for everything for the last 5 1/2 years.
I would definitely go by how @SavXL answered your question regarding what would wipe your device, as they're definitely more experienced with recent Samsung devices than I am.
Unfortunately, I'm no help in this area. I hope you find a solution that works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose I was just going through the firmware and adding every file, didn't realise I could skip that one.
Yeah not a bad idea using SyncThing on the whole root level. I might do that once I eventually regain access to my tablet.
Thanks for your help