Some hand holding with firmware upgrades, running LOS+microg - Moto X4 Questions & Answers

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.

Related

Help me get some more usage out of this phone :/ Asking basic questions!

Hi guys!
So I'm probably not as good with phones as you, but I learned to install a ROM, I've tried many of them but then returned to CyanogenMod ROM that was offered on their site. The performance is not that good, it lags often and battery life is too bad! The questions I want to ask you are:
1. Which ROM do you think is the most stable and would be a better alternative to Jelly Bean CyanogenMod?
2. What ROM are you using and why? Experiences etc.
Thank you!
Kind of in the same boat, just three meters further out. Have been putting off buying a new pho.... embiggened touch-pad device with phone capability and less battery life, that should in a reasonable world come with a carrying case with a shoulder-strap, and a stock portfolio for the handset maker... for a few years. But finally caved in, and bought something on sale with a really good screen, a replaceable battery, and a 3,5mm jack not made exclusively out of conductive rubber.
But. Now that I had a new phone pad, I wouldn't have to worry about bricking my old phone. All that much. So I went through a bunch of excruciating testing and failing yesterday to get something without ram-crippling bloatware and google applications that essentially force the 4x to run constantly at max speed.
What I seemed to be running into was two types of problems: a lot of the roms (custom firmware) were made by someone who was simply testing something new at the time, experimented a lot, and then left the project behind (or simply focused on other handsets). That's not necessarily a problem, but it can mean that you have stability issues you might not expect, and that has not been tested or reported while the project was active. And that might actually stop you from getting far enough to install some app that changes cpu-governor, ram-handling, and so on (even things like the standard keyboard/language variant.. kind of essential that that works). Install instructions also tend to link to outdated bootloaders, or have workaround suggestions that worked at the time, but now are obsoleted completely. The second problem was the OpenGapps - some of the core apps conflict with the builds' own apps.
And then there's the fact that the kernel in these roms tend to be from when the project was last maintained. I can't seem to decipher exactly what's going on, but I think a lot of the early roms were based on an old kernel with inserts (like the original one from LG). While the older builds on new kernel branches tend to have better support, but then have certain types of functionality simply gone completely. I don't know why that is, but the experience with this on linux laptops and android devices is what made me hold off until I had something that could replace the 4x before starting to try out some of the experiment builds people have.
So I went through getting the bootloader unlocked, trying a billion different methods before realizing they were all workarounds for the non-eu handsets - just use the oem-unlock method with fastboot. It's really as simple as it sounds. Use the "all in one" thing on the forum, set up the drivers, get root, and things like that - and then install a new, updated bootloader. I think after one of the official LG updates, everyone can actually use the oem-unlock.
Then I chose the wrong bootloader, apparently.. the cwm touch thing - superb bootloader. But apparently has some quirks that prevents it from installing certain firmware packages. I think it has something to do with consistency checking. I liked the idea of a multiboot, and didn't see why that wouldn't be extremely easy on android (with a storage size vs. cfw package being basically infinite to naught). But apparently what you want(need) is the twrp bootloader, and it has to be the last version. I don't know why that is, but you really don't want to be stuck - after basically wrecking your only boot - with an uninstallable image on your sdcard. So if you try something else than the "best one", just be prepared for an exit strategy with a backup and things like that before trying to install new images. There's also no way on these bootloaders to simply run a test first, nor is there a very easy way to partition the on-phone storage without having to start configuring install packages, so this is kind of awful if you're not actually deep into the development toolchains already.
I'd really love it if some of the tutorials said things like: our build really doesn't need a thorough wipe, and you can happily choose the file system you'd like, and the one that actually makes sense. For example. Or "for this cfw, you can just install gapps later on, that's going to work perfectly - don't force the install before you get through our own intro stage", etc. Alas.
Then I went through slimkat, an aosp lineage based rom, an old 4.1 rom, a new 5.1 rom, which all had different game-breaking problems. One refused to install gapps (note: you'll need the gapps that fit with the android version - but some packages simply won't install, period), another build had no sound other than on the speaker. One hanged randomly, another didn't scale the processor cores.
The good news is that this isn't really a problem - once you're set up you can just keep wiping and installing new ones. But it might be a really good idea to make a backup of your initial rom/custom firmware, just in case (i.e., you root, install the bootloader, and once you're in the bootloader, you make a backup of your current "rom" that is installed now. Then you can just revert to that without any problems later. I obviously didn't do that, because I was just fumbling around).
Some of the issues I ran into also might have workarounds, but I don't know - how would I, there's no way to actually tell what the problem is, or what it's related to. The most useful ones in the end seemed to be Vanir 6.0-based, and the one I ended up with, something called Euphoria on lollipop/5.1. That one seems to have all the hardware functions and benefitting a lot from a later kernel. I haven't done incredible amounts of testing on it yet, but it seems to work a lot better than the original firmware ever did.
And when you choose a gapps package, just go with the pico version. You can install everything you need after that from the store (and it takes less time than pre-installing the infinite amounts of crap in the stock package).
In sum - while you can get pretty far with the 4x on just rooting it and uninstalling some of the infinitely memory-hogging google crap, along with installing a new governor for the cpu and things like that. You can actually get something extremely neat by installing a new "rom"/cfw, that doesn't necessarily have the "oh, but you just have to forgo feature X, Y and Z because open source" problems.
I'm sure a cfw-developer is going to see this one day and roll their eyes back in their heads. And will have some very sharp words about the kind of effort that went into making a specific kernel, insert and build combination to even boot. But the later kernels seem to work really well.
And thanks to that Euphoria thing, I'm probably not going to use my new padphone-thing as much as I would. Because that one is over the "just testing stuff, getting it to work" stage. There's things with the home-button bar lighting up when there's notifications, things like that, that kind of show someone who used the handset was maintaining the build.
Anyway - I really recommend that you try out some different types to find these really good roms that works well. I'm sure there are lots of unknown cfw packages out there that work.. you know, for the 300 people who use it every day. That might be some of the early cfw variants with old kernels. And it might clearly also be some of the new ones, which I really didn't expect. Honestly, was kind of expecting stripes across the screen and hangs, but that didn't happen.
Optionally, a dev who actually knows what they're talking about could maybe suggest a list of cfw that have the later kernels that work, or the same kernels that Euphoria has Really, trying to search the net now, and find possible candidates was not easy.

Took Nexus 6 out of drawer, now no sound from speaker, earphones work fine

Hi,
I just took my old Nexus six out of the drawer thinking I would start using it again but sadly the dreaded speaker death has occurred. Is there a series of steps I should take to try to fix it? Earphones work fine and Bluetooth works fine but nothing comes out of the top speaker at all even with the volume set to high. I'm on android version 7.11, pure Nexus v. 7.1.1.20170215-OFFICIAL, rooted, with the kernel Franco 3.10.40.
What should I try first, hardware fixes or software? It used to work, now is dead.
Roll back to stock first to verify whether this is a hardware or software issue. If it's software, install a ROM more current than Pure Nexus. Otherwise you'll have to hunt for a new speaker.
I will install stock first. Where would I find a new speaker if that's what it needs?
Update: rolled back to stock and sound works fine now. You are brilliant! Now have to decide what ROM to use. Any recommendations?
You first have to decide if you want VoLTE or wifi-calling. For that you need a Oreo rom, and the only one I know that is still updated is LineageOS 15.1.
Otherwise, you can take your pick from the Pie roms. I believe that they all work fine on the N6, it's more a question of which extra features you prefer.
runekock said:
You first have to decide if you want VoLTE or wifi-calling. For that you need a Oreo rom, and the only one I know that is still updated is LineageOS 15.1.
Otherwise, you can take your pick from the Pie roms. I believe that they all work fine on the N6, it's more a question of which extra features you prefer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any great advantage to upgrading from stock? Now that I've got the phone working pretty well I'm a little hesitant to start messing around with lineage or one of the pie ROMs. Will the phone run faster and have less lag and have better camera options if I upgrade the ROM?
Thanks again for helping me get my phone working again.
android94301 said:
Is there any great advantage to upgrading from stock? Now that I've got the phone working pretty well I'm a little hesitant to start messing around with lineage or one of the pie ROMs. Will the phone run faster and have less lag and have better camera options if I upgrade the ROM?
Thanks again for helping me get my phone working again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new roms have many more features, both from the newer Android, and from the efforts of the rom devs.
Of course, you may not need or even like the new features. Myself, I hate the new auto-brightness in Pie.
There are also some speed optimizations, but IMO they don't make a world of difference.
I believe that the camera driver is closed source, and therefore unchanged from stock. The camera app can however provide different amounts of options on top of the driver (Snap Camera in lineage has a lot of options) - but you should be able to get that by installing other camera apps on stock as well.
But most of all, I like to have the newest security fixes.
The bootloader has an option called: "factory mode" that has an app called: "CQATest"
After loading it choose "CQA Menu Mode"
Audio --> Loudspeaker
This will play an audio test file at full volume until you press the vol down or back button.
This is a useful application for general hardware testing too.

Stuck on rooted OOS 5.0.8 - Now what? OOS 9.x.x with(out) full wipe? Custom ROM?

Hi guys,
my OP3T is increasingly getting on my nerves and I'd love some input on what I should do next. I've been running rooted OxygenOS with TWRP and SuperSU - as far as I can tell, this is old technology. Every time Oneplus released an update, I'd download the full zip file, flash it in TWRP and flash SuperSU over it. Reboot and I'm up and running again right away.
Now with the OOS 9.x.x release issues, things are getting a bit more complicated - I think this might be the right point in time to do a full wipe, back up everything via Titanium Backup and start fresh with a new custom ROM that will (maybe) provide updates for the next year or two.
In general the OP3T is starting to get a little slow. Google Assistant is flakey (Sometimes doesn't activate properly on "OK Google", sometimes plays the beep and then doesn't record any commands, sometimes pops up behind the home screen icons so you can't read any of the text, sometimes just ignores the "OK Google") and the battery life is going downhill a little bit. I'm hoping a fresh wipe and maybe a new ROM will help here. I also need to take care of the earpiece issues - mine is clogged with dust, as are many Oneplus phones if Google results are anything to go by...
So I have a few options:
1. Sell the OP3T cheap (can't give it to my girlfriend because of the earpiece), buy a Pixel or some other phone
2. Upgrade the OP3T to OxygenOS 9.x.x and keep my data with this method (https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3t/how-to/guide-cope-9-0-3-5-0-8-firmware-barrier-t3941164)
3. Upgrade the OP3T to OOS 9.x.x, wipe everything and move to Magisk or something like that - what are my options here? Is Magisk the go-to method to get root these days?
4. Pick a custom ROM, wipe everything and just move to that. Anyone have a recommendation that's pretty much stock Android, stable and will likely receive regular security updates for the next one or two years? Easy updates with root would be a definite plus!
Any suggestions? Half of me is about ready to trash the OP3T and just get a Pixel now that I can't hear callers when I answer the phone
bemymonkey said:
...
Any suggestions? Half of me is about ready to trash the OP3T and just get a Pixel now that I can't hear callers when I answer the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could get the ear piece and microphone ports cleaned.
You could do a clean install.
You could install custom ROMs
You could upgrade.
These are all choice you make.
My personal choice: I'm keeping my phone for at least 4 years. I'd be happy very with just OOS (I think it's the best rom I've ever used), but I want security updates. And for that reason I use LineageOS (I've been using it and CM since 2012).
You make your choice based on what matters too you.
Sent from my OnePlus 3T using XDA Labs
Hi Bill,
thanks for your answer.
Of course it's a personal choice that I'll have to make - I'm just looking to get some more info and pros/cons for each choice before wasting my time. Cleaning my earpiece is something that'll take an hour or so of careful fiddling (Is there a permanent fix to get it dustproof? Maybe an aftermarket dust gasket of some kind?), and backup/wipe/flash/restore is something that'll certainly take a chunk out of one of my weekends. All in all that's probably 12 hours of my life I'm not getting back.
Mainly what I want to know is: Is wiping the phone flashing a custom ROM like LineageOS viable for reliable day to day use on the OP3T? How has your experience been compared to OxygenOS in regards to:
-Updates (both security and Android version) - Is the update process seamless now or is it still done purely by a flash from recovery?
-Stability (I'm seeing only nightly builds on the LineageOS page [https://download.lineageos.org/oneplus3] - are there stable or even milestone builds?)
-Feature completeness compared to OxygenOS... do things like double-tap-to-wake work?
-Root... as I asked in my OP, what method is standard these days? Lineage suggests its "AddonSU" package but everyone else seems to say Magisk ist the way to go...?
-Is anything broken?
?
Does anyone else have alternative suggestions in regards to ROMs that may be exactly what I'm looking for? Something that looks and feels exactly like OxygenOS?
bemymonkey said:
...
Mainly what I want to know is: Is wiping the phone flashing a custom ROM like LineageOS viable for reliable day to day use on the OP3T? How has your experience been compared to OxygenOS in regards to:
-Updates (both security and Android version) - Is the update process seamless now or is it still done purely by a flash from recovery?
-Stability (I'm seeing only nightly builds on the LineageOS page [https://download.lineageos.org/oneplus3] - are there stable or even milestone builds?)
-Feature completeness compared to OxygenOS... do things like double-tap-to-wake work?
-Root... as I asked in my OP, what method is standard these days? Lineage suggests its "AddonSU" package but everyone else seems to say Magisk ist the way to go...?
-Is anything broken?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updates: I dirty flash them in recovery once a month.
Security updates: Los gets them every month. OOS may get one more update, but that will be the last.
Completeness: I find Los as good as OOS. And Nlos (https://forum.xda-developers.com/on...elopment/rom-nlos-16-0-t3879405/post78433980) even has scrolling screenshots. Note: I don't care much about the camera as I rarely use it.
Root: I've been using Magisk since SuperSU became unsupported. I like it better than SuperSU. I have absolutely to problems with it.
Broken: nothing's broken for me.
But you would have known all of this if you read through the various threads. And there's no "best" rom as it's a subjective decision.
So jump in and try things for yourself.
Sent from my OnePlus 3T using XDA Labs

How likely is it that we will see TWRP and/or LineageOS soon?

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.

Downgrade to Android 8.1

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.
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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?

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