My Razer Phone 2 has, I believe, a bad battery. It shuts down without any warning whatsoever, often with as much as 40-50% remaining battery power (according to the battery indicator in the status bar). When plugged in, it operates completely normally.
I opened a support case with Razer. They initially told me, based on my serial number, that my phone was under warranty (I didn't think it was, as I bought it more than a year prior). Now, they're telling me it's not, and want me to pay a $99 diagnostic fee, and if the battery is bad, there'll be an ADDITIONAL charge (I'm guesstimating at least $200) for parts and labor. Rather than pay all that (and, on top of everything else, they're EXTREMELY slow in responding to me, often taking more than a week!), I found someone selling an OEM Razer battery for a Phone 2 on eBay, that they describe as "open box" (whatever that means), for roughly $100. I found a Razer Phone 2 tear-down video on YouTube, which makes getting to the battery seem not too terribly difficult, so I bought the battery and will attempt to replace it myself.
Anyway, once I do that, I want to re-flash the software onto my phone, and start from scratch with it. I have this app on my phone called Font Changer Lite, which I use to change the font system-wide on my phone (it requires root). Lately, it's been informing me, if I attempt to open it, that it requires system write access, which it doesn't have, and so it immediately closes. It worked fine when I first got the phone and rooted it, and I'm not sure what happened. I'm thinking it might be a result of my phone having Android 9 on it, now. When I rooted it, it was running 8.1, and I don't remember how it got 9 on it (it won't take OTA updates, since it's rooted) - give me a break; I'm old here, LOL! ? I did install TWRP, so maybe it got on there that way (it's been a while, and I don't remember exactly what procedure I followed to install TWRP).
Anyway, can I flash 8.1 from Razer's factory images, without bricking the phone (considering it's running 9, now)? I had a Nexus 6 that I somehow temporarily bricked by flashing an older version of Android (I was able to eventually recover it), and I don't want to do the same to my Razer Phone 2! I'm thinking (hoping?) that my Font Changer Lite app will work OK running on 8.1.
Thanks.
Welp, apparently there's no downgrading from Android 9 to 8.1, on these phones. I was able to replace my battery (it really wasn't difficult, at all), and now the phone operates just fine, exactly like when it was new.
However, I tried to flash the newest 8.1 release, and the phone just wouldn't boot up - it was just stuck forever at the swirling energy screen. I then flashed the most recent Android 9 release from Razer's factory images page, and it booted right up! So, I'm on Android 9, now, rooted and with TWRP.
Of course, my Font Changer Lite app is again complaining it doesn't have write access to the system partition, and it the closes, rendering it useless (it's an old app the developer stopped supporting years ago). So, I deleted it, but I'm able to use Root Explorer to change the font system-wide, by simply renaming copies of my preferred font (FuturaHandwritten) to whatever font I want to replace in System/Fonts, and it seems to be working perfectly.
One question I do have is, my phone is now again alerting me there's a system update, but it won't take (I'm sure because I'm rooted, or have TWRP as a custom recovery). It's relatively small (it was either 80 or 800 MB in size - I don't remember which; far smaller than a full system update), and said it contained security updates through July, 2020.
Is there any way to take or apply this update, without flashing back to stock, and then having to re-root/flash TWRP, and then having to go through and completely set my phone up, again (there's a LOT of time-consuming customization I perform on my phone, like changing the fonts)? I really don't want to have to do that!
Thanks.
dmw_4814 said:
Welp, apparently there's no downgrading from Android 9 to 8.1, on these phones. I was able to replace my battery (it really wasn't difficult, at all), and now the phone operates just fine, exactly like when it was new.
However, I tried to flash the newest 8.1 release, and the phone just wouldn't boot up - it was just stuck forever at the swirling energy screen. I then flashed the most recent Android 9 release from Razer's factory images page, and it booted right up! So, I'm on Android 9, now, rooted and with TWRP.
Of course, my Font Changer Lite app is again complaining it doesn't have write access to the system partition, and it the closes, rendering it useless (it's an old app the developer stopped supporting years ago). So, I deleted it, but I'm able to use Root Explorer to change the font system-wide, by simply renaming copies of my preferred font (FuturaHandwritten) to whatever font I want to replace in System/Fonts, and it seems to be working perfectly.
One question I do have is, my phone is now again alerting me there's a system update, but it won't take (I'm sure because I'm rooted, or have TWRP as a custom recovery). It's relatively small (it was either 80 or 800 MB in size - I don't remember which; far smaller than a full system update), and said it contained security updates through July, 2020.
Is there any way to take or apply this update, without flashing back to stock, and then having to re-root/flash TWRP, and then having to go through and completely set my phone up, again (there's a LOT of time-consuming customization I perform on my phone, like changing the fonts)? I really don't want to have to do that!
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so i have att unlocked razer phone 2 and have camera issue ( when you start camera app screen is black for about 40seconds and then camera starts but autofocus is not working, back camera functions normal) and most annoying sometimes while in call people cant hear me well. on roms site theres only 2 roms for att. 8.1 and 9 tried 8.1 and stuck on powered by android screen. then installed 9 and it worked but my issues still there...
what if I flash rom for global version? will it brick?
or maybe any other suggestions on how to fix this issues?
Related
I was given an 8gb Fire 7 5th gen I guess from the Black Fridays deals for xmas. What I would like to do is run it mostly as a digital calender, so keep it plugged in, running and having it display the calender most of the time only. Is this something I could do with it, easily?
Ideally I'd like to be able to touch the screen to wake it up, or have the calender events running on a screen saver somehow. I haven't even taken it out the box yet, but would pay to remove ads on the lock screen if I can get something set up so it can work that way for me.
Essentially I rely heavily on calenders over all my devices, as well as reminders, so it has to be linked with a google account.
Lifeformz said:
I was given an 8gb Fire 7 5th gen I guess from the Black Fridays deals for xmas. What I would like to do is run it mostly as a digital calender, so keep it plugged in, running and having it display the calender most of the time only. Is this something I could do with it, easily?
Ideally I'd like to be able to touch the screen to wake it up, or have the calender events running on a screen saver somehow. I haven't even taken it out the box yet, but would pay to remove ads on the lock screen if I can get something set up so it can work that way for me.
Essentially I rely heavily on calenders over all my devices, as well as reminders, so it has to be linked with a google account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This device could be configured to perform such a role but it would take some time to set-up (including a few 'hacks') and come with several caveats. Touch wake is not an option on this device (lacks hardware support) so the display would need to be on 7x24. There's also no ambient light sensor which could be an issue depending on your environment. Reliable Google integration requires rooting and a custom ROM...more work. Really depends how much of a project you want to make of it and the level of personal satisfaction after the last 'T' is crossed.
Davey126 said:
This device could be configured to perform such a role but it would take some time to set-up (including a few 'hacks') and come with several caveats. Touch wake is not an option on this device (lacks hardware support) so the display would need to be on 7x24. There's also no ambient light sensor which could be an issue depending on your environment. Reliable Google integration requires rooting and a custom ROM...more work. Really depends how much of a project you want to make of it and the level of personal satisfaction after the last 'T' is crossed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying. I had a think about it yesterday, and just having a read around, I decided to root it to stop OTA updates as I was on 5.0.1 I think, so I did that, then the guide went on to say about flashing a rom, so I figured why not and did that too :$
After a few problems, first being that I couldn't get the flashfire to work from the rootjunky site, I found the one included with the super tool and installed that through the computer. Flashing appeared to be fine, and it loaded into SlimLP fine. But it seems google play etc didn't get installed. After a lot of head scratching and trying to install apk's etc, I figured to reflash it and see what happened. This was a little problematic as now I couldn't connect via usb to do flashfire, so I eventually copied it over via sd card, and installed the apk that way, just reflashed the OS again and a google one, and this time play is there, working.
So I now have a fire running SlimLP saying its model number: KFFOWI, Android 5.1.1. And it's lovely. I have another fire 7 that I do use as a tablet now, and I wish I could do the same to that one, cept it OTA updated on it to fire os 5.3.2.1, and I guess I can't from reading around. It's stuttery compared to the newly flashed one. Oh well. I guess now I need to investigate calender apps, or lock screen widgets to give me what I want.
Thank you for reply, I read it, then though crikey that does sound complicated, however once I looked at locking down the OTA updates to at least allow me to do it later If I wanted, it kind just followed on.
Lifeformz said:
Thank you for replying. I had a think about it yesterday, and just having a read around, I decided to root it to stop OTA updates as I was on 5.0.1 I think, so I did that, then the guide went on to say about flashing a rom, so I figured why not and did that too :$
After a few problems, first being that I couldn't get the flashfire to work from the rootjunky site, I found the one included with the super tool and installed that through the computer. Flashing appeared to be fine, and it loaded into SlimLP fine. But it seems google play etc didn't get installed. After a lot of head scratching and trying to install apk's etc, I figured to reflash it and see what happened. This was a little problematic as now I couldn't connect via usb to do flashfire, so I eventually copied it over via sd card, and installed the apk that way, just reflashed the OS again and a google one, and this time play is there, working.
So I now have a fire running SlimLP saying its model number: KFFOWI, Android 5.1.1. And it's lovely. I have another fire 7 that I do use as a tablet now, and I wish I could do the same to that one, cept it OTA updated on it to fire os 5.3.2.1, and I guess I can't from reading around. It's stuttery compared to the newly flashed one. Oh well. I guess now I need to investigate calender apps, or lock screen widgets to give me what I want.
Thank you for reply, I read it, then though crikey that does sound complicated, however once I looked at locking down the OTA updates to at least allow me to do it later If I wanted, it kind just followed on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! A couple footnotes:
- being one of the lucky few with a 5.0.1 bootloader you can boot a custom/full recovery like TWRP as a alternative to FlashFire (from fastboot ready: 'fastboot boot <image_name>')
- the build of SlimLP for this device has not seen much love since originally posted; you may want to consider a ROM that sees more frequent updates
Post back if you need/want further info on either topic.
Davey126 said:
Great! A couple footnotes:
- being one of the lucky few with a 5.0.1 bootloader you can boot a custom/full recovery like TWRP as a alternative to FlashFire (from fastboot ready: 'fastboot boot <image_name>')
- the build of SlimLP for this device has not seen much love since originally posted; you may want to consider a ROM that sees more frequent updates
Post back if you need/want further info on either topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I do a bootloader after using flashfire? Also I considered a CM rom, vaguely recall using one for an Orange san fran years ago, but wasn't sure on latest, or best and it seems that I can't connect things like supertool through usb now, so could I do a CM rom on top of what I have already using flashfire, or would I need to do something else? I seem to remember having to do an XP machine to do the San Francisco phone way back as it wouldn't connect any other way
Lifeformz said:
Can I do a bootloader after using flashfire? Also I considered a CM rom, vaguely recall using one for an Orange san fran years ago, but wasn't sure on latest, or best and it seems that I can't connect things like supertool through usb now, so could I do a CM rom on top of what I have already using flashfire, or would I need to do something else? I seem to remember having to do an XP machine to do the San Francisco phone way back as it wouldn't connect any other way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CM 12.1 adaptation for this device is excellent; no worries there. I strongly recommend using (booting) TWRP for all future ROM updates. FlashFire is a great tool for those that do not have another option. You do! FlashFire will also work if you can not establish a USB connection.
If you opt to switch ROMs be sure to wipe the system and data (aka app/user) partitions before flashing the new image.
I re-did it all and now have CM 12.1 on it, however I've stalled beyond this as it's a far nicer tablet to use over my non-fiddled with Fire 7. So I'm now using the new one as my main tablet, and will stick the other one, wifi off, in the drawer and sit and wait to see if a roll back is available, or new method to root and flash comes along.
I've given this about a month now. I'm on Verizon but bought my S10e directly from Samsung, so no bloat.
Since the update these are my complaints
1. Clock on left, can't find an app to move it back to the right. (How stupid is Android / Samsung for forcing the clock in the first spot notifications appear?)
2. I can no longer swipe right on the virtual home button to switch back to the most recent app. (REALLY hate not having this anymore)
3. Can no longer adjust the grid pattern to be 3 wide for toggles when pulling the notification shade down. This means, if you have a toggle on the 6th spot on the initial toggle pull down, it CAN ONLY BE the second toggle on the second row when pulling the full list of toggles down. Super annoying if you've always had your flashlight on the far right
4. May or may not have been a change in 10, but only after updating to 10 did I notice I can no longer have exempt devices and block devices that have the WiFi password in the native hotspot app. It's all or nothing now. If this is in fact a change in 10, Android / Samsung should be ashamed of themselves. (Would love to know if this was in fact a change with v10)
5. Lock screen no longer shows Fast Charging status in perpetuity, it shows for a few seconds then reduces to just saying "charging." This phone has always been finicky with fast chargers so I rely on this information often
So the question: Can I flash back to Android P / 9 and prevent my phone from every taking 10 without having to root? I do not want a carrier-specifc firmware.
spearoid said:
I've given this about a month now. I'm on Verizon but bought my S10e directly from Samsung, so no bloat.
Since the update these are my complaints
1. Clock on left, can't find an app to move it back to the right. (How stupid is Android / Samsung for forcing the clock in the first spot notifications appear?)
2. I can no longer swipe right on the virtual home button to switch back to the most recent app. (REALLY hate not having this anymore)
3. Can no longer adjust the grid pattern to be 3 wide for toggles when pulling the notification shade down. This means, if you have a toggle on the 6th spot on the initial toggle pull down, it CAN ONLY BE the second toggle on the second row when pulling the full list of toggles down. Super annoying if you've always had your flashlight on the far right
4. May or may not have been a change in 10, but only after updating to 10 did I notice I can no longer have exempt devices and block devices that have the WiFi password in the native hotspot app. It's all or nothing now. If this is in fact a change in 10, Android / Samsung should be ashamed of themselves. (Would love to know if this was in fact a change with v10)
5. Lock screen no longer shows Fast Charging status in perpetuity, it shows for a few seconds then reduces to just saying "charging." This phone has always been finicky with fast chargers so I rely on this information often
So the question: Can I flash back to Android P / 9 and prevent my phone from every taking 10 without having to root? I do not want a carrier-specifc firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally someone else besides me that thinks Android 10 is completely worthless! Yes, you can flash back to Android 9, just flash the last Android 9 build for U1 firmware if you don't want carrier specific and freeze the forced update without root with the app "ccswe manager" found on the play store. Do note that flash back to 9 will probably erase everything too.
Someone, please call the wambulance for them 2
Player04 said:
Someone, please call the wambulance for them 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I like that someone thanked this post ?
If you're one who blindly takes all updates and is happy, more power to ya bro. ?
Let me guess, you loved Windows Vista when it was released
StoneyJSG said:
Finally someone else besides me that thinks Android 10 is completely worthless! Yes, you can flash back to Android 9, just flash the last Android 9 build for U1 firmware if you don't want carrier specific and freeze the forced update without root with the app "ccswe manager" found on the play store. Do note that flash back to 9 will probably erase everything too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Yeah, I won't love having to set everything back up, but it will be nice to get my phone working better again!
spearoid said:
Thanks! Yeah, I won't love having to set everything back up, but it will be nice to get my phone working better again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest you to flash Android 9 back using the "HOME_CSC" package in Odin (not the "CSC" one), this way it will act as an OTA update and keep your data (I used it to update my S7 coz it was rooted and I hadn't OTA updates anymore...). Anyway, take a backup before with Samsung Cloud just to keep your data safe in case something wrong happen. Idk really if this trick works on a downgrade (Android 10 to 9 in this case) but you should give it a try
spearoid said:
Haha, I like that someone thanked this post ?
If your one who blindly takes all updates and is happy, more power to ya bro. ?
Let me guess, you loved Windows Vista when it was released
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you whine about everything new that you don't like or know how to use?
Tagdu17 said:
I would suggest you to flash Android 9 back using the "HOME_CSC" package in Odin (not the "CSC" one), this way it will act as an OTA update and keep your data (I used it to update my S7 coz it was rooted and I hadn't OTA updates anymore...). Anyway, take a backup before with Samsung Cloud just to keep your data safe in case something wrong happen. Idk really if this trick works on a downgrade (Android 10 to 9 in this case) but you should give it a try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it doesn't matter if you flash using Home_CSC or just CSC, you'll have to wipe everything if you decide to downgrade
Really weird, i have android 10 and all the features you are talking about
spearoid said:
Haha, I like that someone thanked this post ?
If your one who blindly takes all updates and is happy, more power to ya bro.
Let me guess, you loved Windows Vista when it was released
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated every new released firmware. I dont have any problem with android 10. As matter of fact, i like android 10. Seems alot quicker than 9.
algnerd said:
Actually, it doesn't matter if you flash using Home_CSC or just CSC, you'll have to wipe everything if you decide to downgrade
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I just read it on another XDA thread yesterday but it wasn't useless to try it anyway xD
Player04 said:
I updated every new released firmware. I dont have any problem with android 10. As matter of fact, i like android 10. Seems alot quicker than 9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But battery drains faster... Even if I like One UI 2.0, this drain and some little bugs here and there are really annoying !
Tagdu17 said:
I would suggest you to flash Android 9 back using the "HOME_CSC" package in Odin (not the "CSC" one), this way it will act as an OTA update and keep your data (I used it to update my S7 coz it was rooted and I hadn't OTA updates anymore...). Anyway, take a backup before with Samsung Cloud just to keep your data safe in case something wrong happen. Idk really if this trick works on a downgrade (Android 10 to 9 in this case) but you should give it a try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I've finally gotten around to trying this.... And it's been a while since my flashing days... Used to be a regular activity of mine.... But this time around, every thing I try fails. Downloaded several firmwares from Sammobile.... The XAA and XAS CSC's..... I have the unlocked direct-from-Samsung model.... And Odin craps out with Auth! (Fail) something to that effect.
I've tried AP only, all 5 files, omitting Home CSC, omitting only BL... Running Odin as admin, not running as admin.... Only thing I haven't tried is a different USB cable n.. Have actually seen that matter in the old days
Makes me think my phone simply won't take this older version of firmware, but it seems that the research indicates this should be possible
spearoid said:
So I've finally gotten around to trying this.... And it's been a while since my flashing days... Used to be a regular activity of mine.... But this time around, every thing I try fails. Downloaded several firmwares from Sammobile.... The XAA and XAS CSC's..... I have the unlocked direct-from-Samsung model.... And Odin craps out with Auth! (Fail) something to that effect.
I've tried AP only, all 5 files, omitting Home CSC, omitting only BL... Running Odin as admin, not running as admin.... Only thing I haven't tried is a different USB cable n.. Have actually seen that matter in the old days
Makes me think my phone simply won't take this older version of firmware, but it seems that the research indicates this should be possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure you must use the CSC file and not the HOME_CSC. This will erase your data but if you really want to downgrade to Android 9, then that's the way to go...
Btw, if you did the February OTA update YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO PIE. Sadely, this OTA bumped a new bootloader version and if you installed it your phone will stay on Android 10 forever..
I mean, if your actual BL is like G970U1UEU4XXXX and not G970U1UES3XXXX, then it's not possible to downgrade.your S10
I actuallt froze the OTA after the January update so I can go back to Pie if I want. Not thrilled about having to wipe everything and start over if I do go back though.
I am in the same situation
So if I have bootloader 4 I can't go back to Android 9?
I have to ask this. I needed a new phone a month ago, and I chose to wait for this one instead of getting a Note 9, and now I still don't have a usable phone and have less than 20 days to return this one. When I did my research about my next phone I was told that Sony phones are developer-friendly and tend to have a clean Android experience, on top of that, this phone has a 3.5mm jack with a great DAC. Now I come to find out that not only does this phone come with bloatware/spyware, even though you can root it, in Android 10, OEMs have the system locked down as read-only, and while Magik can gimmick /system to remove apps, there is no way to delete apps installed in /oem.
Placing apps in a directory that is impossible to change is inexcusable, especially when they are:
1) A game no one wanted which will be irrelevant in 6 months
2) A FREE TRIAL APP
3) A social media application not everyone uses
It isn't by mistake that Sony did this, and it tells me that the pittance they get from Activision, Jay Z, and Microsoft matters more to them than I do as a customer. Some will say that it is possible to simply de-activate the apps, at least unlike Facebook, there are no background services still running and collecting your data, but I say that is irrelevant. I own my phone; I should be able to control what's on it.
I was still running Android 8 on my One Plus 3T that recently died, so I'm not familiar with how Android works today. We went from simple to hard, to harder. There is A/B, no more stock recovery, and apparently fastboot is dead and is replaced by a blank bootloader flash mode that only lets you know you are in it with a tiny blue LED? I don't know how viable TRWP and Linage are on a phone like this, which is why I am asking. There is only one thing I know for sure right now: I don't have much time to wait for custom ROMs built from the ground up to develop and mature.
You can disable verity and delete them. However, even if you could remove them, they'll just keep coming back with updates. Just disable them and move on with life.
LineageOS is pointless because you're going to lose the Sony camera. Why spend $1,200 if you're going to do that? At that point, just get a Pixel 4a for $350.
Some will say that it is possible to simply de-activate the apps, at least unlike Facebook, there are no background services still running and collecting your data, but I say that is irrelevant. I own my phone; I should be able to control what's on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You totally can. Again, this is about dm-verity, which most custom roms disable and spoof to appear enabled. However, if you're gonna do this on the official rom, it'll be your job to pretty much delete every single piece of bloatware every time you update your phone. It's much easier to simply disable the packages because the disable setting is retained through updates.
There is A/B, no more stock recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to pretty much every single device since Pixel 3. This is a Google thing, and has nothing to do with Sony.
apparently fastboot is dead and is replaced by a blank bootloader flash mode that only lets you know you are in it with a tiny blue LED?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I'll give you this one. Sony did a piss-poor job here. It took me several hours to figure out that:
Vol. Up + Insert USB cable = blue led = fast boot, for which you need to manually install the Google fastboot driver.
Vol. Down + Insert USB cable = green led = download mode, for NewFlasher flashing.
The only indicator is the blue/green LED, which indicates the various modes.
For future reference, I flashed the RU region firmware and it only came with 1 bloatware: Yandex. Best thing about it is, you can uninstall Yandex. So basically I have the 1 II without bloatware! (Except Facebook, but I use it anyway)
YandereSan said:
You can disable verify and delete them. However, even if you could remove them, they'll just keep coming back with updates. Just disable them and move on with life.
LineageOS is pointless because you're going to lose the Sony camera. Why spend $1,200 if you're going to do that? At that point, just get a Pixel 4a for $350.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of, thanks for being cool with your response
Second, I bought this phone for a few reasons, and the camera isn't one of them. For any given phone I want:
1) For it to be unlockable so I can install whatever recovery/kernel/OS I want on it. There aren't many phones like that anymore, at least not in the US.
2) Hardware that will last me at least four years.
3) A 3.5mm headphone Jack with a good DAC.
4) A good, large, color-accurate display.
5) Fingerprint reader.
5) Expendable storage (or a LOT of onboard storage and OTG as a compromise).
I have been using the menu button on the left and back button on the right for eight years now, and I can't fix that on this phone
You totally can. Again, this is about dm-verity, which most custom roms disable and spoof to appear enabled. However, if you're gonna do this on the official rom, it'll be your job to pretty much delete every single piece of bloatware every time you update your phone. It's much easier to simply disable the packages because the disable setting is retained through updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, the only updates I care about are security updates. If we get lineage or some other mature ROM that can do most of what I want, I'll ditch stock., I only need stock for now. If I do end up updating stock and getting those apps back, I don't mind spending another 5 minutes removing them after the update. I don't like disabled apps for three reasons:
1) If it doesn't disable background services. If you just disable Facebook, Facebook's other services will still keep tracking you and selling your personal information.
2) They still appear in the app menus and stuff, which I hate. It pisses me off seeing COD and a TRIAL for something I'll never, ever, use.
3) I am 99.9% some vulnerability can't exploit them, but I can be 100% sure if they aren't there.
As for why this is all the way it is, I did learn after the fact that it is mostly Google's BS and not Sony. Still, it sucks. I hope I can maybe flash DM variety and disable it on stock.
If I can disable DM variety I'm keeping the phone. If I can't and it doesn't seem like we'll get TWRP and Lineage then I guess I'm getting an Exynos Note 9. I really don't want to though, but those OEM apps WILL haunt me every time I use my phone, touch my phone, think about my phone, or am otherwise reminded I own this phone. Maybe I'm crazy, but that's irrelevant, because that's how it is.
I tried to flash dm variety and disable verification, etc, and it didn't unlock the system, so until TRWP comes to Android 10, it looks like stock in the US is out.
iArvee said:
For future reference, I flashed the RU region firmware and it only came with 1 bloatware: Yandex. Best thing about it is, you can uninstall Yandex. So basically I have the 1 II without bloatware! (Except Facebook, but I use it anyway)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are a god. I looked at the Russian firmware and it doesn't look like it's been dirtied by crazy Putin. You can systemlessy remove all the apps you don't want. I got Magisk and Xposed working on it. I also have 4G on t-mobile, and it lists 5GNR as an option, which the US version did not. To note, I do not have VoLTE or Wifi Calling (not that I care).
I'm going to try and flash the HK dual sim variant just to see if I can unlock the mythical sex sim slot, and also if also fits the bill. I realized that to test dual sim you need a dual sim tray. There is no way to get the Q51 tray to work for this. It doesn't seem that people are selling replacement parts for this phone yet, so right now I can't buy a Q2 tray to test it. I'll circle back around to this in a few months when it becomes time to flip the phone for a Q2, just to see if maybe I don't have to do that.
Thanks everyone for the replies. We could maybe use this as a general TRWP/LineageOS update thread, though I suspect someone will make a new thread as those pass certain milestones.
I have been running LineageOS+MicroG on my last 3 phones but am mostly a novice. LineageOS just packages things well enough that getting it installed is pretty easy. Most recently, I updated to 17.1 on my Payton device, and voila, I've got a problem where the phone reboots after powering on. Happens much faster with the radios on, much slower with safe mode and airplane mode on. So the obvious answer is usually "flash back to stock and try again". Here come my questions... Please keep in mind I also run Linux.
1. When people talk about going back to stock, doesn't this always entail losing your data? How do those of you who use your phone as a daily driver manage this? I've not heard great things about doing TWRP backups, and the amount of configuration I have to do at new-install time is crazy.
2. While running LineageOS or other such custom ROMs... How do you get "hardware updates": upgrades to things like modem/radio firmware that are outside the realm of the OS (if there is such a thing). I've had a few problems (including the current one) that I _suspect_ are related to running old "firmware" as I would normally call it. The solutions that I _think_ I've seen for this look like they are Windows-specific and also require going back to stock or losing your data. It's puzzling to me why updating hardware would require going back to stock, unless you need to let the stock OTA updates install in order to actually GET that firmware.
1) To my knowledge and at least for me, 'we' are using Android 9 firmware with Android 10 OS. I do not expect any further firmware updates.
2) I've been told that LOS is running slower on X4 compared to other ROMs such as Pixel Experience, but I can't speak for either as I use HAVOC. I can't speak for the rebooting issue though, I haven't looked at the X4 LOS thread much.
*3) LOS to my knowledge woln't work with MicroG because it doesn't allow for spoofing. HAVOC does, and personally I was using Android 9 w/ HAVOC and MicroG so I could use the GCam but due to personal reasons I had to install GPlay and so at the same time I also upgraded to Android 10. One point at least in my experience, the phone was getting more and more difficult to use over time but rebooting the phone fixed it completely. I almost never rebooted my phone back on 9 so it caught me off guard personally.
It sounds like you might be trying to go down a more privacy centered phone like I was until recently. Personally, I liked the Android 9 w/ HAVOC and MicroG. I can give you my list of apps I used but you probably know most of them (Simple Mobile Tools, OSMAND, K9, Fennec, NewPipe, VLC ect.) The launcher would get a little buggy (context menus would stop working after a while on app icons) and for some reason the audio would start for a split second, pause, for a sec, then continue. Other than that, it was great. I used that config setup for a year.
On a completely unrelated note, AT&T will most likely not work with the unlocked X4 after a couple of years, doesn't affect me but just a heads up.
hello
i've never downgraded/flashed any firmware on this device before, so before i do something that might be fatal/result in bricking my phone i would like to ask is it possible to downgrade a S20 FE android 13 to android 11? while my one ui version is 5.1 i haven't updated the security patch to the april one (the one that changes your binary) it's currently the 1 march 2023 one
i've already checked & downloaded a firmware with the correct binary number so now all i need to do is flash it
Welcome to XDA.
You're limited by the bootloader version to how far you can roll it back. If the bootloader was upgraded too, you're boned. The 5th digit from the rear is the significant digit that determines that. If the rom's 5th digit is the same or higher value you can flash it. If lower, no go.
kiyan_ said:
hello
i've never downgraded/flashed any firmware on this device before, so before i do something that might be fatal/result in bricking my phone i would like to ask is it possible to downgrade a S20 FE android 13 to android 11? while my one ui version is 5.1 i haven't updated the security patch to the april one (the one that changes your binary) it's currently the 1 march 2023 one
i've already checked & downloaded a firmware with the correct binary number so now all i need to do is flash it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I downgraded my S20 FE several times from 13 to 12 with the same binary (obviously) with no issues at all, so you can downgrade easily.
In my experience on samsung devices (literally I flashed a hundred times on different devices) it's very unlikely that you brick your device with odin, even if you use a wrong firmware for your device....the only thing that it may brick a device is because it has a hardware damage
rgrapow said:
Hi, I downgraded my S20 FE several times from 13 to 12 with the same binary (obviously) with no issues at all, so you can downgrade easily.
In my experience on samsung devices (literally I flashed a hundred times on different devices) it's very unlikely that you brick your device with odin, even if you use a wrong firmware for your device....the only thing that it may brick a device is because it has a hardware damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
This will depend on your variant.
on the G780G (binary 3) and G781B (binary 4)
You can download to android 11.
since it has the same binary.
Of course, you should do it from 0.
do not install via CSC_HOME.
The installation must be clean.
before all make backup.
blackhawk said:
Welcome to XDA.
You're limited by the bootloader version to how far you can roll it back. If the bootloader was upgraded too, you're boned. The 5th digit from the rear is the significant digit that determines that. If the rom's 5th digit is the same or higher value you can flash it. If lower, no go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it is the same value
mine G780GXXU3EWB2
the firmware i downloaded G780GXXU3AUH5
which would make both binaries '3' right? would this be okay?
rgrapow said:
Hi, I downgraded my S20 FE several times from 13 to 12 with the same binary (obviously) with no issues at all, so you can downgrade easily.
In my experience on samsung devices (literally I flashed a hundred times on different devices) it's very unlikely that you brick your device with odin, even if you use a wrong firmware for your device....the only thing that it may brick a device is because it has a hardware damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for your answer & sharing your experience, this is what i've been looking for
kiyan_ said:
yes it is the same value
mine G780GXXU3EWB2
the firmware i downloaded G780GXXU3AUH5
which would make both binaries '3' right? would this be okay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since it has the same binary.
Of course, you should do it from 0.
do not install via CSC_HOME.
The installation must be clean.
before all make backup.
rgrapow said:
the only thing that it may brick a device is because it has a hardware damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or if the battery has insufficient charge or capacity. Any time you flash a device you take some level of risk. A power outage with no or insufficient battery backup for the PC would also end badly.
The risk is also greater with Androids because it's not a small couple dozen MB flash that's done in seconds. Lots more time and data for things to go wrong. If my Canon pro cam had a bad flash, Canon would likely repair for free or a reasonable charge. Samsung will do neither of these... repair cost plus a new mobo loaded with the latest firmware. perfect.
mezacorleehone said:
on the G780G (binary 3)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes that is my phone variant
mezacorleehone said:
do not install via CSC_HOME.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may i ask why is that?
kiyan_ said:
yes that is my phone variant
may i ask why is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the CSC_HOME file
comes in the software you just downloaded.
unlike normal CSC.
The CSC_HOME is used to only update the system, without deleting anything.
in your case you are going to downgrade, use the normal CSC without _home.
thank you everyone for the help & answers
kiyan_ said:
thank you everyone for the help & answers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are welcome.
where possible we collaborate.
blackhawk said:
Or if the battery has insufficient charge or capacity. Any time you flash a device you take some level of risk. A power outage with no or insufficient battery backup for the PC would also end badly.
The risk is also greater with Androids because it's not a small couple dozen MB flash that's done in seconds. Lots more time and data for things to go wrong. If my Canon pro cam had a bad flash, Canon would likely repair for free or a reasonable charge. Samsung will do neither of these... repair cost plus a new mobo loaded with the latest firmware. perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm referring about samsung devices based on my experience (trial and error), I had a lot of bricks, soft bricks and I was able to solve it with odin.
kiyan_ said:
yes it is the same value
mine G780GXXU3EWB2
the firmware i downloaded G780GXXU3AUH5
which would make both binaries '3' right? would this be okay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, exactly. Why do you want to roll it back?
If it's a specific issue finding a work around may be easier.
Android 11 is no picnic either. I prefer Pie, Android 10 is ok; I'm running both and will likely never upgrade them.
Regardless you will need to lock it down so it can't do OTA upgrades/updates. That's the first thing I do on my Samsung's... once bitten, twice shy Upgrades and updates can and do break Samsung's... then you have find work arounds and fixes.
blackhawk said:
Yes, exactly. Why do you want to roll it back?
If it's a specific issue finding a work around may be easier.
Android 11 is no picnic either. I prefer Pie, Android 10 is ok; I'm running both and will likely never upgrade them.
Regardless you will need to lock it down so it can't do OTA upgrades/updates. That's the first thing I do on my Samsung's... once bitten, twice shy Upgrades and updates can and do break Samsung's... then you have find work arounds and fixes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
other than battery run out faster & the phone feeling a bit sluggish nothing specific....it's just i've already debloated my phone & disabled many features of the phone that i dont use and dont plan on updating my phone anymore and while that does help improve things quite significantly i just thought at this point why dont i just might aswell downgrade the phone
before i had this phone i was fine staying years with a phone that stopped receiving updates after android 6 lol just that it eventually ran its course and after several hardware problems & the phone giving up by itself (every 3 weeks or so it'll get stuck on bootloop for no reason) i assume it was time for me to buy a new one...too bad
rgrapow said:
I'm referring about samsung devices based on my experience (trial and error), I had a lot of bricks, soft bricks and I was able to solve it with odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad that's working well for you. I use to always be playing with my PC's like that. With Androids I took a more conservative approach; less down time, more play time.
I leave the firmware be on my 2 stock N10+'s. They run very good, fulfill their mission and it's simply not worth the risk or time. I don't allow firmware upgrades or updates. This N10+ in my hand is still running on Pie, firmware is 3.5 yo, and the current load will be 3 yo this June. No malware in all that time; security isn't an issue. Still fast, very stable with minimal maintenance. It's also heavily optimized and running well; I have zero incentive to change the playing field by altering the firmware.
My SQlite scores are lower than they should be in spite of my fast disk r/w scores so eventually I may do a factory reset to try to resolve that. Lol, that's the full extent of my ambition at the moment.
blackhawk said:
Upgrades and updates can and do break Samsung's... then you have find work arounds and fixes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep. i learned the hard way
i'm quite green at this stuff and at first i just thought "more upgrades & updates means good! i should get the most out of this device" but alas after some serious overheating & battery draining problems over loads of features i dont even use.....
kiyan_ said:
other than battery run out faster & the phone feeling a bit sluggish nothing specific....it's just i've already debloated my phone & disabled many features of the phone that i dont use and dont plan on updating my phone anymore and while that does help improve things quite significantly i just thought at this point why dont i just might aswell downgrade the phone
before i had this phone i was fine staying years with a phone that stopped receiving updates after android 6 lol just that it eventually ran its course and after several hardware problems & the phone giving up by itself (every 3 weeks or so it'll get stuck on bootloop for no reason) i assume it was time for me to buy a new one...too bad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything below Android 9 is suspectable to partition worming nasties like Xhelper. Run Android 9 or higher. Android 9 is relatively secure unless you do stupid things.
All Samsung's should be optimized. You will still have scoped storage running on Android 11 anyway. If you don't mind the UI of Android 13 I would try to find what's causing the issues.
Disable global power management then go after the power hogs on an individual case by case basis. A logging firewall is useful in finding them. Cloud, and social media apps are prime offenders. Try temporarily disabling Google play Services and see if this helps; Google backup Transport, Gmail and Playstore are dependencies of it. Enable as needed. 5G can also suck a lot of power and is inefficient when doing small bandwidth transfers. Wifi isn't needed if you have an unlimited data plan. Use Package Disabler or abd/ladb edits to take out the really problem apps that can't be resolved in settings. Don't go too nuts though; target the hogs and totally worthless apps like Digital Wellbeing. Most of the dozens a small Samsung system apps are best left alone as many modify the UI and consume very little resources. Understand what the app does and it's dependencies if any before disabling whenever possible.
Play with it...
blackhawk said:
Anything below Android 9 is suspectable to partition worming nasties like Xhelper. Run Android 9 or higher. Android 9 is relatively secure unless you do stupid things.
All Samsung's should be optimized. You will still have scoped storage running on Android 11 anyway. If you don't mind the UI of Android 13 I would try to find what's causing the issues.
Disable global power management then go after the power hogs on an individual case by case basis. A logging firewall is useful in finding them. Cloud, and social media apps are prime offenders. Try temporarily disabling Google play Services and see if this helps; Google backup Transport, Gmail and Playstore are dependencies of it. Enable as needed. 5G can also suck a lot of power and is inefficient when doing small bandwidth transfers. Wifi isn't needed if you have an unlimited data plan. Use Package Disabler or abd/ladb edits to take out the really problem apps that can't be resolved in settings. Don't go too nuts though; target the hogs and totally worthless apps like Digital Wellbeing. Most of the dozens a small Samsung system apps are best left alone as many modify the UI and consume very little resources. Understand what the app does and it's dependencies if any before disabling whenever possible.
Play with it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've done all that hahahah
other than youtube i don't have any other social media apps installed and i've already got rid of chrome & switched to a lighter browser
yep i like to experiment, i suppose the flashing stuff is the next step after all of that (yes have tried factory reset several times too, i don't mind as there aren't any important data in my phone but still, possibly getting a priceful item bricked over my messing around isn't something i'm too excited about, that's why i still like to ask around)
also what got me the idea was that i've also read from several people with the same device saying that with every android updates the phone gets even more sluggish
kiyan_ said:
yep. i learned the hard way
i'm quite green at this stuff and at first i just thought "more upgrades & updates means good! i should get the most out of this device" but alas after some serious overheating & battery draining problems over loads of features i dont even use.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I learned the hard way with Samsung's too.
After the upgrade to 13 did you do a factory reset? If not, now is the time. Don't use SmartSwitch; do a clean load by importing all the critic data yourself.
At the very least clear the system cache.
I use Package Disabler to disable about 70 apps. It's not as bad as it first seems. Android 10 literally has about 100 more new system apps than 9. Most of those new ones should be left alone. My disable list for the Android 9 N10+ vs the Android 10 one is almost identical though.
Samsung's do lots of cool things so don't be too concerned until you learn more about the features. Bixby got killed right out of the gate; it's a hog and it's EULA is one of the worst I've ever read.