switching between treble and nontreble - Xiaomi Redmi 4X Questions & Answers

Hello!
I am currently using a nontreble build (RR Nougat) and I want to try out a treble build (perhaps Havoc Pie) soon and I wonder what is needed to make sure I can switch back to my current setup without effort in case of problems. It would be nice if someone can give me some input and prevent me from shooting in my own foot
What partitions do I have to backup (using TWRP) and to whipe for making a clean install and still being able to revert everything?
I think there are parts of the data that can not be backed up with TWRP. Which data is affected of this, and will the be destroyed/modified when I install a treble build?
I am a bit nervous as I do not have much time for reverting in case of problems, and I cannot test my backup in advance.
Thanks!
theBoatman

theBoatman said:
Hello!
I am currently using a nontreble build (RR Nougat) and I want to try out a treble build (perhaps Havoc Pie) soon and I wonder what is needed to make sure I can switch back to my current setup without effort in case of problems. It would be nice if someone can give me some input and prevent me from shooting in my own foot
What partitions do I have to backup (using TWRP) and to whipe for making a clean install and still being able to revert everything?
I think there are parts of the data that can not be backed up with TWRP. Which data is affected of this, and will the be destroyed/modified when I install a treble build?
I am a bit nervous as I do not have much time for reverting in case of problems, and I cannot test my backup in advance.
Thanks!
theBoatman
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all you need treble supported twrp.
If you have your old rom zip.
Then just backup data
Then wipe everything just leave vendor partition.
If you dont like pie than again wipe everything just leave vendor.
Install the old zip with gapps
Then restore the backup of data.
Thats it.

Related

If I just flash a new full version instead of the OTA will nothing get deleted?

I've tried to look for the sultan otas but haven't found so if I just flash the whole ROM I should be fine right? Is there some other way to get the OTA from the updater if that deletes stuff?
Escabrera said:
I've tried to look for the sultan otas but haven't found so if I just flash the whole ROM I should be fine right? Is there some other way to get the OTA from the updater if that deletes stuff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll be fine. What you're doing is called dirty flashing. It's not always the most stable thing to do especially if subsequent versions have significant changes, but if the update is just adding things like security patches and minor bugs, go ahead. Be aware that it's best to clean flash, or wipe the system partition because there will be no chance of conflicting code. Even if you're unsure if flashing a whole ROM would delete data, you can always just make a backup on TWRP. In fact, always make a backup before doing something like this.
Inflection said:
You'll be fine. What you're doing is called dirty flashing. It's not always the most stable thing to do especially if subsequent versions have significant changes, but if the update is just adding things like security patches and minor bugs, go ahead. Be aware that it's best to clean flash, or wipe the system partition because there will be no chance of conflicting code. Even if you're unsure if flashing a whole ROM would delete data, you can always just make a backup on TWRP. In fact, always make a backup before doing something like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's just that I'm getting Google play services crashes constantly and 2 patches ago it wasn't happening so I'm trying to reflash the newest release. So I'll probably do a TWRP back up first. Does it also back up stuff like downloads and files on the phone?
Escabrera said:
It's just that I'm getting Google play services crashes constantly and 2 patches ago it wasn't happening so I'm trying to reflash the newest release. So I'll probably do a TWRP back up first. Does it also back up stuff like downloads and files on the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should probably also be reflashing the gapps as well since you are having issues with play services. In the case of TWRP, it doesn't back up files on the phone; rather it backs up the system partition, data (excluding storage), and some other optional stuff. Even if you were to clean flash, you wouldn't need to worry about your files (that is in the partition Internal Storage) because you almost never need to wipe media. A clean flash only requires you to wipe Dalvik, system, data, and cache. What you're doing is dirty flashing, where you wipe nothing and flash your zips over the existing ROM. The backup is just insurance in the instance that something goes wrong and you soft brick the phone.
i tried to flash it again and old updates with the issue still being there so i just nuked everything. I'm just going to use titanium backup plus having the files on a computer to get back to where i was before.

Help requested with updating Custom ROM.

Hello,
I currently have the following:
Phone: OnePlus 3T A3003
Recovery: TWRP 3.1.1-x | blu_spark v37
Rom: RR-N-v5.8.3-20170603-oneplus3-official
I installed all of this after hours of googling last year. I now want to upgrade but I am not finding many helping guides are upgrading (rather than installing from scratch).
I downloaded RR-O-v6.1.0-20180627-oneplus3-official and tried to install it via TWRP (after backing up and wiping some stuff). But I got the an error stating something along the lines of "this rom is for oneplus3/t" and your device is "". Googling lead me to believe I needed to update my recovery. So I downloaded TWRP-3.2.2-0oneplus3.img but I really have no idea if I should be installing this? Last time I installed the blu_spark variant but I have no idea why.
Anyway, my question is:
Given the above, please could someone give me a laymans guide to updating my Custom ROM and which things I should install and in which order.
Thank you!
Glendog1 said:
Hello,
I currently have the following:
Phone: OnePlus 3T A3003
Recovery: TWRP 3.1.1-x | blu_spark v37
Rom: RR-N-v5.8.3-20170603-oneplus3-official
I installed all of this after hours of googling last year. I now want to upgrade but I am not finding many helping guides are upgrading (rather than installing from scratch).
I downloaded RR-O-v6.1.0-20180627-oneplus3-official and tried to install it via TWRP (after backing up and wiping some stuff). But I got the an error stating something along the lines of "this rom is for oneplus3/t" and your device is "". Googling lead me to believe I needed to update my recovery. So I downloaded TWRP-3.2.2-0oneplus3.img but I really have no idea if I should be installing this? Last time I installed the blu_spark variant but I have no idea why.
Anyway, my question is:
Given the above, please could someone give me a laymans guide to updating my Custom ROM and which things I should install and in which order.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clean Flash:
1) Latest Official TWRP (Can be done from within old TWRP)
2) Reboot Recovery to new TWRP
3) Wipe
4) Latest Firmware (OB29)
5) ROM
6) OpenGapps Arm64 8.1 Nano or Pico
7) Root Optional
Don't forget to Nandroid first, and it might be a good idea to remove any security measures on your current setup too. (Fingerprint/Pin/Pattern)
Queue up the zips for Firmware/ROM/Gapps and flash in that order together.
Thank you,
Some follow up questions:
* What should I be wiping during step 3.
* Should I install TWRP 3.2.2, does it matter that I currently have the blu_spark variant? (I don't even know what blu_spark means)
* I am just reading about firmware. I am assuming I need OB29 to work with RR-O-v6.1.0-20180627-oneplus3-official? Is that a simple process?
Glendog1 said:
Thank you,
Some follow up questions:
* What should I be wiping during step 3.
* Should I install TWRP 3.2.2, does it matter that I currently have the blu_spark variant? (I don't even know what blu_spark means)
* I am just reading about firmware. I am assuming I need OB29 to work with RR-O-v6.1.0-20180627-oneplus3-official? Is that a simple process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just follow the steps. The TWRP you download will be an .img file. In the TWRP Install menu press the button for Image to flash the .img file.
For step 3, from the Wipe menu just swipe to wipe.
DirkGently said:
Just follow the steps. The TWRP you download will be an .img file. In the TWRP Install menu press the button for Image to flash the .img file.
For step 3, from the Wipe menu just swipe to wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, final question. I note you advised to remove security. I changed from 'Pin' to 'None' and gave me a warning about removing it which I agreed to. It still states my phone is encrypted however, and I still need to enter my PIN when restarting. Will this be a problem?
Thank you,
Glendog1 said:
Thank you, final question. I note you advised to remove security. I changed from 'Pin' to 'None' and gave me a warning about removing it which I agreed to. It still states my phone is encrypted however, and I still need to enter my PIN when restarting. Will this be a problem?
Thank you,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe removing your stored fingerprints removes the boot PIN. Don't stress if you can't do this, it's just an additional precaution.
DirkGently said:
I believe removing your stored fingerprints removes the boot PIN. Don't stress if you can't do this, it's just an additional precaution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pin/password and fingerprints are two different things. Fingerprints are just a convenient method of authenticating. Removing them does nothing for the actual security with is pin/password.
The reason for removing the lock screen password before taking a backup is that if you install a new ROM and set a password and then restore your older backup, you can't get past the lock screen password. So, remove the password before taking the backup and then you can restore it later and set a new password.
I find the better option is to not remove the password and then, if you need to restore the backup after having changed passwords, you can delete the passwords of the restored backup in TWRP from Advanced>Terminal with these commands:
Code:
cd /data/system
rm -f gatekeeper.* locksettings.*
Changing the pin/password to none doesn't wipe out the on-boot password. However, when setting up a new password and selecting to not set an on-boot password will remove the current on-boot password for some users, but not for others (it doesn't for me).
Sent from my OnePlus 3T using XDA Labs
Thanks guys.
I followed your instructions @DirkGently and it worked a charm.
What you recommend for rooting the device and is as simple as flashing a zip file like above?
Also, is the recovery on a separate partition? So if I mess around flashing firmware/rom/apps and mess up, I'll always be able to boot into the recovery partition and flash again?
Thanks,
Glendog1 said:
What you recommend for rooting the device and is as simple as flashing a zip file like above?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Magisk
Glendog1 said:
Also, is the recovery on a separate partition? So if I mess around flashing firmware/rom/apps and mess up, I'll always be able to boot into the recovery partition and flash again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and yes, but firmware may be tricky and messing up too much may render phone unusable. Messing with ROMs is fine though.
Thanks for the reply.
I note that on the Magisk page it states:
"If you plan to flash a custom kernel, flash it AFTER installing Magisk"
I have already installed a custom rom, will this be an issue?
Sorry for so many question. I get really nervous about this stuff!
Glendog1 said:
I have already installed a custom rom, will this be an issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's ok of you asking questions, that's what this forum is about.
You should have got no problems if you're running a kernel shipped with custom ROM. Custom kernel is like EX, Mady's Xtended, Franco and so on.
Glendog1 said:
Thanks for the reply.
I note that on the Magisk page it states:
"If you plan to flash a custom kernel, flash it AFTER installing Magisk"
I have already installed a custom rom, will this be an issue?
Sorry for so many question. I get really nervous about this stuff!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to worry about Kernel stuff. RR already includes Caesium Kernel. You chose a good ROM by the way!
Here's a little information about Firmware. The OP3 and OP3T have unified builds. This means that in some cases the same Custom ROM can be used on both. There is some device specific software though so this has to be separated out and treated as independent from the ROM. This is what we refer to as Firmware. When Oneplus release new builds they include the updated Firmware in their Official ROM. If you look at the Firmware thread i linked you to, you'll see that kamilmirza takes the Firmware from the Official OOS builds and makes them available as flashable .zip files that we can use on Custom ROMs. Bookmark his Thread for future use.
There is no need to stress about always being on the latest Firmware for your Custom ROM, just ensure it is the Firmware intended for your device. The version you flashed earlier will probably do you for a while. At the same time, if you do always want to be on the latest, there's no reason not to. There's little to be gained by it though. If you're following the RR thread you'll probably see people mention it when the ROM requires a new Firmware. Again, don't stress about it.
As far as flashing Firmware, you can do it any time. You can do it before flashing an updated build of your ROM, or on it's own in a separate visit to Recovery. It's not particular either way. I would stick with the Open Beta Firmware, which people usually abbreviate to OBXX, i.e OB29. Just remember what you flashed so that you know which version you are using.
Now that you're rocking your Custom ROM you're next questions will be about updating it. This can be done easily and safely by Dirty Flashing. I've done dozens of updated builds since my last clean flash and everything has gone perfectly every single time.
Dirty Flash:
1) Download new ROM build (and Firmware if applicable) to Internal Storage.
2) Boot into Recovery
3) Nandroid Backup
4) From Install Menu, flash Firmware (if applicable), and ROM.
5) Wipe Dalvik & Cache when prompted. (BillGoss will tell you it's not necessary. It doesn't hurt either way, so up to you!)
6) Reboot phone.
For a Dirty Flash, you do not need to use the 'Wipe' Menu at all.
I always take a new Nandroid before flashing an updated build. I will have had a whole week on the previous build so i know i'm not backing up a bug and the backup will be as recent as possible if a problem occurs. Once i boot back into the phone i delete the old Backup. The new one is there if i need it. Always have that one recent Backup, just in case. As i've said, RR is great and i'm yet to run into a problem with it. From now on you can Dirty Flash the updated weekly builds with little to worry about and with a Backup to fall back to if anything goes wrong.
I don't mention Magisk because i don't use it, and i don't advise others use it. Unless you need Root access for something specific, don't bother. Half the threads on XDA are about problems with Magisk. Avoid the added complication if you can. Now this statement will trigger the Magisk fans, but nobody has ever had a bug or failure with something that they did not flash in the first place. Keep it as simple as possible.

NON-TREBLE to TREBLE

I'm going to update my Device to Latest version of Havoc OS(which is treble, 08132018). I'm currently on 08012018 build which is non-treble.
I was wondering if what Treble Supported Recovery should I use.
And I also wanted to know if it's possible to keep my Applications and System Data and not having to format System and Data in the update process. I don't really want to lose any data and I certainly don't want to start over from the very start of personalizing my phone and the hassle of having to redownload/reinstall all the apps that I currently have installed right now.
To anyone who will help/guide me through the process of updating, I would be very thankful.
Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk
Sygnomi said:
I'm going to update my Device to Latest version of Havoc OS(which is treble, 08132018). I'm currently on 08012018 build which is non-treble.
I was wondering if what Treble Supported Recovery should I use.
And I also wanted to know if it's possible to keep my Applications and System Data and not having to format System and Data in the update process. I don't really want to lose any data and I certainly don't want to start over from the very start of personalizing my phone and the hassle of having to redownload/reinstall all the apps that I currently have installed right now.
To anyone who will help/guide me through the process of updating, I would be very thankful.
Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im using redwolf or orangefox for flashing treble roms. You may have app crashes or bootlop when dirty flash treble over non-treble. For user apps i suggest you to use titanium backup. backup your apps with tb flash treble rom then restore your apps. i never tested system apps but you can try it.
q0kHaN said:
Im using redwolf or orangefox for flashing treble roms. You may have app crashes or bootlop when dirty flash treble over non-treble. For user apps i suggest you to use titanium backup. backup your apps with tb flash treble rom then restore your apps. i never tested system apps but you can try it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying!
I don't have to wipe internal storage before flashing the Treble based ROM?
Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk
Sygnomi said:
Thank you for replying!
I don't have to wipe internal storage before flashing the Treble based ROM?
Sent from my Redmi 4X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your device dont have encyrption you dont have to wipe internal storage. for treble our device uses cust partition as vendor partition.

TWRP DATA backup - How does it work

Im on Superior OS - Android 10.
I wanted to know how does TWRP DATA backup work, and where can I have problems?
I was thinking of giving a try to Pixel Experience 10.
If I backup just DATA usign TWRP, install pixel, gapps, magisk and after that I restore DATA, will the rom work perfectly and I will have all my configuration, settings, etc; or it just will work perfectly if I restore it to a clean installation of Superior OS.
Following that question.
May I go and try Havoc - Android 9, and restore DATA from Android 10? Will there be any problems?
And the last one.
If I go from Android 9 to 10, may I restore DATA?
Thanks!
When changing operating systems it's always best to re-install all apps.
I believe TWRP backup doesn't backup apps & data. Stuff like photos, music etc will not be backed up. You'll need to back those up separately. If you use Titanium, that would do more but reinstall your apps from their source and then restore data.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab S5e using XDA Labs
TWRP absolutely backups and restores data... But you only want to do this to the same OS version. You will likely get a bunch of force closes, and instability if you attempt to restore to different version.
A fresh install is always recommended, but you may want to check out the app called "Migrate" - YMMV.
jhedfors said:
TWRP absolutely backups and restores data... But you only want to do this to the same OS version. You will likely get a bunch of force closes, and instability if you attempt to restore to different version.
A fresh install is always recommended, but you may want to check out the app called "Migrate" - YMMV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would add, "same OS version" yes, but even custom 10 to another custom 10, I would strongly advise re-installing everything.
The problem is that you don't know what the environment is in an operating system and each app looks at its environment while it is installing and sets itself up appropriately.
So you have problems and you waste your own and others' time trying to shoot needless problems just in the hope of saving a few minutes.
You might think, "well, this custom 10 is like that custom 10" but unless you compare the full build trees and sources, you really don't have the faintest idea. They are different, because, well, they ARE different!

Need help in flashing cutom roms

I got my device yesterday and today i have been trying to flash legion os 2.11 but i always keep getting error 7 even tried by installing global rom through mi flash tool but still got error 7 from twrp and oxfox both.
Can someone just guide me clearly on flashing roms on this k20 pro.
Currently i using global miui 11 11.0.4.0 rom but want to try other custom roms as well..
Ezio553 said:
I got my device yesterday and today i have been trying to flash legion os 2.11 but i always keep getting error 7 even tried by installing global rom through mi flash tool but still got error 7 from twrp and oxfox both.
Can someone just guide me clearly on flashing roms on this k20 pro.
Currently i using global miui 11 11.0.4.0 rom but want to try other custom roms as well..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the latest TWRP from here.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/k2...icial-twrp-xiaomi-redmi-t3944363/post79823568
If you still get the same problem, report back in this thread.
Robbo.5000 said:
Try the latest TWRP from here.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/k2...icial-twrp-xiaomi-redmi-t3944363/post79823568
If you still get the same problem, report back in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah finally the twrp 3.4 unofficial worked fine from global miui 11 rom i wiped everything and flashed indian vendor-firmware file and then flashed rom with fcrypt zip file nd worked fine...
Thanks for suggesting this file i was using youtube videos as guide and everyone was using oxfox or older twrp..
Ezio553 said:
yeah finally the twrp 3.4 unofficial worked fine from global miui 11 rom i wiped everything and flashed indian vendor-firmware file and then flashed rom with fcrypt zip file nd worked fine...
Thanks for suggesting this file i was using youtube videos as guide and everyone was using oxfox or older twrp..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a bit more time to reply now.
OFox is really designed to be used with MIUI. The majority of it's extra features are specific to running MIUI. I would only recommend it if you decide to stick with MIUI in the long run.
The TWRP I pointed to is from the dev who maintains the official TWRP for our device. The unofficial version you've installed is identical to the official version, but with the TWRP app removed. If you intend to stick with custom ROMs, I recommend you stick with TWRP from mauronofrio.
If you prefer to have your phone encrypted, then there was no need to flash fcrypt/DFE. There are a small number of users that continue to insist that we need to disable encryption, but it is not needed.
Having the phone unencrypted does make life a little easier when flashing, but if you prefer the security and want to know about living with an encrypted phone, reply back and I'll give you more details.
Robbo.5000 said:
I've got a bit more time to reply now.
OFox is really designed to be used with MIUI. The majority of it's extra features are specific to running MIUI. I would only recommend it if you decide to stick with MIUI in the long run.
The TWRP I pointed to is from the dev who maintains the official TWRP for our device. The unofficial version you've installed is identical to the official version, but with the TWRP app removed. If you intend to stick with custom ROMs, I recommend you stick with TWRP from mauronofrio.
If you prefer to have your phone encrypted, then there was no need to flash fcrypt/DFE. There are a small number of users that continue to insist that we need to disable encryption, but it is not needed.
Having the phone unencrypted does make life a little easier when flashing, but if you prefer the security and want to know about living with an encrypted phone, reply back and I'll give you more details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Legion Os which is Aosp based and it installed fine but then i tried Masik X 16 which again said this isn't for your device so had to make changes in updater script then it flashed fine.
Also i would like to know about decryption of storage and would it cause any issues in flashing roms again nd again..
Ezio553 said:
I tried Legion Os which is Aosp based and it installed fine but then i tried Masik X 16 which again said this isn't for your device so had to make changes in updater script then it flashed fine.
Also i would like to know about decryption of storage and would it cause any issues in flashing roms again nd again..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to be permanently decrypted, then you will not have any problems flashing ROMs. However, whenever you need to update the vendor and firmware, you will also need to flash the DFE script again.
If you want to be encrypted, then the best thing to do, every time you flash, is to temporarily remove encryption by removing all lockscreen security just before flashing, then once you've finished, restore encryption by adding back lockscreen security. However, if you restore MIUI, then choose to go to another custom ROM, you will need to format the data partition when flashing over MIUI, even if you've removed lockscreen security first.
Robbo.5000 said:
If you want to be permanently decrypted, then you will not have any problems flashing ROMs. However, whenever you need to update the vendor and firmware, you will also need to flash the DFE script again.
If you want to be encrypted, then the best thing to do, every time you flash, is to temporarily remove encryption by removing all lockscreen security just before flashing, then once you've finished, restore encryption by adding back lockscreen security. However, if you restore MIUI, then choose to go to another custom ROM, you will need to format the data partition when flashing over MIUI, even if you've removed lockscreen security first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok that means going from miui to aosp & vice versa - format data needed.
So this should similarly apply to all Miui based roms like xiaomi.eu or masik x or it is just for stock miui.
Ezio553 said:
Ok that means going from miui to aosp & vice versa - format data needed.
So this should similarly apply to all Miui based roms like xiaomi.eu or masik x or it is just for stock miui.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, you only need to format data when flashing over official MIUI. I don't know the details, but it is my understanding that encryption on MIUI does not follow standard practice, which is why it it's necessary to format data when flashing over MIUI. I don't believe this issue exists with MIUI based custom ROMs, or when reverting back to MIUI.
Though, there may be occasions, when flashing from one AOSP ROM to another, and the phone is encrypted, when you may get a bootloop. In this case booting to TWRP and formatting data, will fix the problem. This is why I earlier recommended temporarily removing lockscreen security, if you choose to have an encrypted phone, even though this is a rare occurrence.
Robbo.5000 said:
As far as I know, you only need to format data when flashing over official MIUI. I don't know the details, but it is my understanding that encryption on MIUI does not follow standard practice, which is why it it's necessary to format data when flashing over MIUI. I don't believe this issue exists with MIUI based custom ROMs, or when reverting back to MIUI.
Though, there may be occasions, when flashing from one AOSP ROM to another, and the phone is encrypted, when you may get a bootloop. In this case booting to TWRP and formatting data, will fix the problem. This is why I earlier recommended temporarily removing lockscreen security, if you choose to have an encrypted phone, even though this is a rare occurrence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info.
I tried custom miui rom and well flashing dfe worked fine so i think its just for official miui.

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