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First of all, I wanted to apologize if I'm posting at a wrong section but please do move this thread if necessary.
Second, I know some of you have already read a bunch of problems regarding to this model of zenfone 5 but I'm still hoping that one day someone can help us A500KL users. I've spent sleepless nights browsing the internet for solutions. I've been through different websites like taiwanese, chinese, russian and many more but still can't seem to find any guides or solution to my problem.
The thing is, one day after booting my phone and making it to home screen a few seconds later it's restarting on it's own. restarted and same thing happened over and over again. I didn't mind losing my files so i went to recovery to do a factory reset hoping it will resolve the problem. But the moment I press enter, a bunch of errors saying E:failed to mount...... (invalid argument) showed up. It failed wiping to factory reset. i tried wiping cache but still gets a bunch of those error. I know little about flashing so I came to a place where they said that i have to download the stock firmware from asus website with the same version and same SKU. so i did that and stored the stock rom on my external SD card (can't save in internal since I can't boot to homescreen anymore. Just ending up in Asus logo loading forever.) but still no luck. I Searched some more and found a guide about flashing using AFT. I tried but still no luck, says it needs a .raw firmware. unfortunately anywhere i go there is no .raw firmware for my phone. so I explore some more and came across about bootloader. but recently i found out that my bootloader is locked. Neither can I flash using sideload.
My phone is not rooted, no custom recovery installed, no option to install update from ADB and can't install from recovery. BUT still able to go to recovery, boot until asus logo, when charging battery icon still shows. still vibrates when powered.
I really hope someone out there can help me with my current problem. I still think this can be done cause i don't think theres a problem with the hardware. Been searching for days and I really need to recover my phone. Oh and not to mention there are 2 more of this phone on my relatives and all of them have the same problem. So please help us A500KL users. Sorry for the long message, I'm just so desperate to recover my phone. God Bless
hi bro
well firstly bootloader unlock is NOT needed for sideloading stock firmware.i'm giving you the link to one of my tutorials,follow the procedure carefully.note one thing that do NOT download the firmware whose link is given in tutorial,instead use kitkat firmware of your phone(download from asus support page)....use only kitkat firmware pls.coz my experience says that flashing lollipop directly gives errors.http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone-5/help/bootlooped-bricked-returning-to-stock-t3358662
[email protected] said:
hi bro
well firstly bootloader unlock is NOT needed for sideloading stock firmware.i'm giving you the link to one of my tutorials,follow the procedure carefully.note one thing that do NOT download the firmware whose link is given in tutorial,instead use kitkat firmware of your phone(download from asus support page)....use only kitkat firmware pls.coz my experience says that flashing lollipop directly gives errors.http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone-5/help/bootlooped-bricked-returning-to-stock-t3358662
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Click to collapse
That method only work for A500/501 cg models. Not A500KL .It will not work. I already came across this problem. There is NO RAW FIRMWARE FOR ZENFONE 5 LTE
ChristopherXI said:
That method only work for A500/501 cg models. Not A500KL .It will not work. I already came across this problem. There is NO RAW FIRMWARE FOR ZENFONE 5 LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but when did i say that you need raw firmware??
what we are doing is flashing fastboot,recovery and then sideloading the zip firmware which is available on asus website...
[email protected] said:
hi bro
well firstly bootloader unlock is NOT needed for sideloading stock firmware.i'm giving you the link to one of my tutorials,follow the procedure carefully.note one thing that do NOT download the firmware whose link is given in tutorial,instead use kitkat firmware of your phone(download from asus support page)....use only kitkat firmware pls.coz my experience says that flashing lollipop directly gives errors.http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone-5/help/bootlooped-bricked-returning-to-stock-t3358662
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello bro.. your tutorial is well said but unfortunately Zenfone 5 LTE is different. Yes i do have a firmware downloaded at the official asus website and it doesn't contain any recovery.img and fastboot.img there's only boot.img inside. and yes its only kitkat. its WW 11.4.6.94
Lastly, zenfone 5 LTE doesn't have "apply update from ADB" option in recovery by default so sideloading is not really possible. I can only depend on fastboot with locked bootloader. so yeah that makes things difficult.
[email protected] said:
but when did i say that you need raw firmware??
what we are doing is flashing fastboot,recovery and then sideloading the zip firmware which is available on asus website...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You din't get what i mean.... His system partition is MESSED UP. The partition also contains fastboot and recovery partition. Flashing fastboot and recovery WILL FAIL. He will have to find AND RAW FIRMWARE NOT A ZIP FIRMWARE FROM ASUS.
I already searched for Raw firmware for zenfone 5 lte. There is no raw firmware for that model. Using that guide requires the raw firmware. In the process that tool will use the RAW firnware to fix the partition table.
Hopes that clears everything up
Hi Bazerald,
My 18-month old A500KL has exactly the same problem as you had described - startup never get pass the Asus logo screen, got a bunch of "E: failed to mount ....." error messages in Recovery. I was told by the Asus Service Centre technician that the problem was caused by a broken ROM and to revive the phone, a replacement of the mother board was required and they were charging megabuck for the job. I ended up taking my phone back without fixing and here I am browsing in this forum hoping to find an alternative solution.
Since I know everything else on my A500KL is still working except the internal ROM, what I am hoping to do is to find if there is a way to load the stock firmware onto an external SD card and boot up the phone from there, in other words, I would like to swap the internal and external memory. I can find a few discussions on this topic for the Samsung Galaxy, but I have yet to find a viable solution for our A500KL.
Any member has any suggestion on this idea?
ChristopherXI said:
You din't get what i mean.... His system partition is MESSED UP. The partition also contains fastboot and recovery partition. Flashing fastboot and recovery WILL FAIL. He will have to find AND RAW FIRMWARE NOT A ZIP FIRMWARE FROM ASUS.
I already searched for Raw firmware for zenfone 5 lte. There is no raw firmware for that model. Using that guide requires the raw firmware. In the process that tool will use the RAW firnware to fix the partition table.
Hopes that clears everything up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi friend
i'm really sorry,i just somehow missed the line saying that he has system error..
thanks for noting
Toki Yoki said:
Since I know everything else on my A500KL is still working except the internal ROM, what I am hoping to do is to find if there is a way to load the stock firmware onto an external SD card and boot up the phone from there, in other words, I would like to swap the internal and external memory. I can find a few discussions on this topic for the Samsung Galaxy, but I have yet to find a viable solution for our A500KL.
Any member has any suggestion on this idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I was hoping for the same thing here since xda is very popular for fixing tons of problems. I guess we'll just have to wait for THE ONE who can help us.. since A500KL doesn't seem have a raw firmware I'll be very happy if anyone can spend a time and make a raw firmware for us (if it's possible). Recovering the 3 A500KL here will be very rewarding.
Also, I'm trying to not depend too much on the raw firmawre cause the main reason is the messed up partition. Still searching for a way to fix it manually and getting some ideas on how it is done on other phones.
Unless you guys found a RAW firmware for the LTE model. It's preety much hopeless. Sorry........
does anyone know if repartitioning the messed up partition of A500KL manually is possible?
I got the same problem a few months ago. I searched through the Internet and found that many many people having such problem, I concluded that it is the quality of the chips (usually 15 months of usage), not software problem alone (the phone just died suddenly, I did nothing at all!!). This was the first time I had hardware failure in phones (in the past 20 years!). I WILL NEVER BUY ASUS phone again.
Ok guys, give me a sec and i'll find the firmware. Theres one on the website thats a revert firmware that will fix it. I had the same issue with mine. This firmware will revert it back to Kitkat. Yes.. Its DOES have the stock Recovery,Boot.img and System.img files.
This is the firmware your looking for Version WW_11.4.6.94 (Downgrade Version)
http://www.asus.com/us/support/Download/39/1/0/6/8/
ONLY FLASH THAT VERSION! Only Version WW_11.4.6.94 (Downgrade Version) (WorldWide) Version..
Only the Downgrade Versions have the complete files needed to repair a bad flash or root attempt.
Follow the directions Vaib posted on the previous page, but use the firmware file above.
Should fix the software,recovery and partition issue. Also, the bootloader unlock provided by Asus is hit and miss.
I've used it to root,but alot of the files are interlinked. So you run the risk of another app not working when trying to debloat the rom. As of now there is no Alternate non Stock Rom for the A500KL. Note: After flashing the WW firmware you phone will be recognized as an Asus "T00P". This is normal and doesnt cause any issues.
If all else fails, go here for more info on the A500KL. http://www.asus-zenfone.com/search/label/Zenfone 5 LTE
Good Luck. Happy Flashing
TabascoTX said:
Ok guys, give me a sec and i'll find the firmware. Theres one on the website thats a revert firmware that will fix it. I had the same issue with mine. This firmware will revert it back to Kitkat. Yes.. Its DOES have the stock Recovery,Boot.img and System.img files.
This is the firmware your looking for Version WW_11.4.6.94 (Downgrade Version)
http://www.asus.com/us/support/Download/39/1/0/6/8/
ONLY FLASH THAT VERSION! Only Version WW_11.4.6.94 (Downgrade Version) (WorldWide) Version..
Only the Downgrade Versions have the complete files needed to repair a bad flash or root attempt.
Follow the directions Vaib posted on the previous page, but use the firmware file above.
Should fix the software,recovery and partition issue. Also, the bootloader unlock provided by Asus is hit and miss.
I've used it to root,but alot of the files are interlinked. So you run the risk of another app not working when trying to debloat the rom. As of now there is no Alternate non Stock Rom for the A500KL. Note: After flashing the WW firmware you phone will be recognized as an Asus "T00P". This is normal and doesnt cause any issues.
If all else fails, go here for more info on the A500KL. http://www.asus-zenfone.com/search/label/Zenfone 5 LTE
Good Luck. Happy Flashing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tabasco , WW_11.4.6.94 (Downgrade Version) did not have recovery.img and fastboot.img inside as well.
kenooi1984 said:
Tabasco , WW_11.4.6.94 (Downgrade Version) did not have recovery.img and fastboot.img inside as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should have, unless i accidentally linked to the wrong one. Let me see what happened.
The downgrade version should have recovery and fast-boot. It kicks it from L to KK. Since the fast-boot and recovery aren't compatible from L to KK, it should flash it. When i boot looped mine trying to a flash an alternate recovery i re-flashed using the downgrade version to fix it. I guess possibility that it could be in another WW Version, but im pretty sure i remember flashing the first WW Downgrade. I'm going to look at WW_11.4.6.71 and see if it in there.
OK, WW_11.4.6.71 has a script to install recovery. So the recovery.img is in the firmware somewhere. Try WW_11.4.6.71 instead and see if that fixes it for you.
TabascoTX said:
It should have, unless i accidentally linked to the wrong one. Let me see what happened.
The downgrade version should have recovery and fast-boot. It kicks it from L to KK. Since the fast-boot and recovery aren't compatible from L to KK, it should flash it. When i boot looped mine trying to a flash an alternate recovery i re-flashed using the downgrade version to fix it. I guess possibility that it could be in another WW Version, but im pretty sure i remember flashing the first WW Downgrade. I'm going to look at WW_11.4.6.71 and see if it in there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for tried to check , i downloaded WW-11.4.6.107 it did not have it either.
due to my super slow internet speed ,it took me abt 3 hours to downloaded 1 firmware....... i wish to download all to check but...... poor me..
kenooi1984 said:
thanks for tried to check , i downloaded WW-11.4.6.107 it did not have it either.
due to my super slow internet speed ,it took me abt 3 hours to downloaded 1 firmware....... i wish to download all to check but...... poor me..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, WW_11.4.6.71 has a script to install recovery. So the recovery.img is in the firmware somewhere. Try WW_11.4.6.71 instead and see if that fixes it for you.
The recovery isnt exactly named recovery.img, there's a script that refers to installing the recovery from another location. So i'd try flashing the downgrade version after getting the phone into fastboot. And unfortunately it can be difficult to tell if the phone is actually in fastboot.
TabascoTX said:
OK, WW_11.4.6.71 has a script to install recovery. So the recovery.img is in the firmware somewhere. Try WW_11.4.6.71 instead and see if that fixes it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks , will try it later on.
Wow.
You people really didn't read the comments section throughly.
Trying normal or downgrade firmware will not work.
This procedure requires a RAW firmware.
And using the offline update tool provided by @dgadelha.
If any of you found a RAW firmware for the A500KL model.
You can easily adapt the script from his Offline update tool.
It will repartition the device.
AGAIN. trying normal firmware is not going to fix the problem
@Bazerald (i think that your a500kl is WW) Try: with stock recovery try wipe the phone (data, cache), flash the firmware downloadable from asus site UL-ASUS_T00P-WW-11.4.6.94-user, (not the downgrade version), if not success, try UL-ASUS_T00P-WW-12.4.5.22
Dear Seniors.
I am facing great hardship because my phone is stuck at boot logo.
No booting in recovery mode to flash another rom.
I did unlock bootloader of it by using tuliptool with success. After that i flashed custom rom in it. after reboot it is happening that.
Please suggest to recover it.
Did you flash twrp after unlocking? Did you make backup of stock ROM? Perhaps find a version of the factory firmware and flash that.
Dear I have no backup and i flashed TWRP recovery.......
It is to aware you that i did relock bootloader now my phone is working properly. but i am unable to enter recovery mode. !!!
Now my phone is running android 6.0.1 B02
But i am failed to root this rom uptill now due above mentioned problem.
modorate said:
Dear I have no backup and i flashed TWRP recovery.......
It is to aware you that i did relock bootloader now my phone is working properly. but i am unable to enter recovery mode. !!!
Now my phone is running android 6.0.1 B02
But i am failed to root this rom uptill now due above mentioned problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found software update notification but when i update an error accruing while update. (This update not compatible with this device"
In easy words......... my recovery.img has been corrupted. I have no idea to get rid of this situation.
I planned to unlock my Mini's bootloader this weekend. After reading this post, I decided to act later until the root cause has been figured out.
bao_gg said:
I planned to unlock my Mini's bootloader this weekend. After reading this post, I decided to act later until the root cause has been figured out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Several people myself included have been able to use tuliptool to successfully unlock and root the device.
mine is hard bricked too. but I think it is worse than the case listed on the op.
if you want to hard bricked these are the steps:
follow the procedure to install the Spanish ROM 6.1, than another android m b12, than finally the android seven......use tulip tool and install twpr fine, root ect. amazing ROM.......buuuuut......I lost my IMEI somewhere in this process, and the original FTM which had a small menu changes to another static one, without the menu.
I needed this menu to open the com port to fix the IMEI. than I had the brilliant idea to re-flash android M via twrp (without modifying the zip file to remove the recovery, something I knew so well from the older axon mini).
results:
-lost twpr because the stock ROM wrote over it,
-cannot boot the OS because I flashed android m but the phone had the aboot 7.
-i now have a brick
I need a genious to sujest something to bring it back to life........sh....t...sh...t.....sh...t
any chances I could inject aboot7 via ADB through my dead recovery which somehow the phone recognises? ADB shell still seems to be working
thanks
I am not responsible for your bricked phone or pigeon poo on your toupe. Do at your own risk.
Many thanks to @SupahCookie for idea and motivation!
INTENTIONALLY DOES --NOT-- LOCK BOOTLOADER!!!
Get factory images here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...ock-images-t3736767/post75236696#post75236696
THIS GUIDE IS FOR FACTORY/STOCK ROMs - NOT YOUR AVERAGE CUSTOM ROM which may not have bootloaders!!! (thanks!!!!! @echo92 )
FIX:
IF YOU ARE ABLE TO GET TO FASTBOOT THIS SHOULD WORK.
IF YOU HAVE 8.x bootloaders AND ARE DOWNGRADING TO 7, use "Alternative to RSDlite" below.
1 boot to win - 7 or 10 works fine.
2 boot phone to fastboot, and connect phone to computer.
3 start RSDlite
pick a ROM. I believe I used a 7.1.1 rom
3Nov9-ADDISON_NPNS26.118-22-2-8_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip
RSDlite installed it and fixed the problem.
- -
I was then able to use RSDlite to install @rafikowy 's signed 8.0 . - going up from 7 to 8.
- -
- -
If you are on 8.x bootloaders and want to go to 7.x bootloaders, use this (RSDlite throws an error and stops):
ALTERNATIVE TO RSDlite:
1 I used 7zip to extract that 7.1.1 zip (or any ROM zip) into a folder x,
2 add all the adb and fastboot junk to folder x,
3 add the attached file (rename it to flash.bat) to folder x.
4 boot phone to fastboot and connect to computer.
5 click on flash.bat - it throws a lot of "slot" errors but works just fine.
6 reboot your phone if it hasn't already and go through the 7.x install stuffs.
7 you will not show an IMEI if you are coming from an 8.x bootloader. However, it IS there.
NOTE: you may need to add a line to the flash.bat if there are more/less sparsechunk's in your FACTORY/STOCK ROM...
THIS IS NOT FOR CUSTOM ROMs!!!!!!!
EDIT: 3-8-19: I just did this myself to go back very briefly to 7.1 - be sure you don't flash TWRP to it if your going to take OTAs - it will brick it. boot to TWRP if you need TWRP briefly: fastboot boot twrpimg.img
----------
If you can boot to fastboot screen, you can do anything.
Never OTA a ROM if you have modified recovery (TWRP, etc) or if magisk is present.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mo...p-flashing-t3813498/post77011495#post77011495
I changed the attached file to add pause and reboot and exit to make it slightly more automated.
I have successfully used this many times going back and forth. If you can boot to fastboot screen, you can save your phone and flash anything you want.
You may wish to advise users that if they downgrade to Nougat not to use Nougat OTA updates. The reason being that a downgraded stock Oreo device may still have the Oreo bootloader on it. Thus, attempting to use Nougat OTA updates may hard brick their device (as the bootloader is likely corrupted, meaning no fastboot).
Users could either use the Feb 2018 NPN26.118-22-2-17 firmware from your link https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/addison/official/RETAIL/ as that was the last Nougat firmware (and thus no Nougat OTA updates) or avoid using OTA updates whilst downgraded.
echo92 said:
You may wish to advise users that if they downgrade to Nougat not to use Nougat OTA updates. The reason being that a downgraded stock Oreo device may still have the Oreo bootloader on it. Thus, attempting to use Nougat OTA updates may hard brick their device (as the bootloader is likely corrupted, meaning no fastboot).
Users could either use the Feb 2018 NPN26.118-22-2-17 firmware from your link https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/addison/official/RETAIL/ as that was the last Nougat firmware (and thus no Nougat OTA updates) or avoid using OTA updates whilst downgraded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I used the above GUIDE to go up and down a number of times on my phone (about 20 total) , installing and running on both 7 and 8, and then went down to a Nov 7.1.1 and let it ota all the way up to 8.0 and that is what I am using now. I found that when i used a factory zip, and the above procedure, it corrected the bootloaders to the appropriate version that i was flashing - either RSDlite or the more manual path which ignores the errors worked for me.
Using the above procedure , you get the correct bootloaders, which are in the zip.
Please correct me if i am wrong!
KrisM22 said:
Interesting. I used the above GUIDE to go up and down a number of times on my phone (about 20 total) , installing and running on both 7 and 8, and then went down to a Nov 7.1.1 and let it ota all the way up to 8.0 and that is what I am using now. I found that when i used a factory zip, and the above procedure, it corrected the bootloaders to the appropriate version that i was flashing - either RSDlite or the more manual path which ignores the errors worked for me.
Using the above procedure , you get the correct bootloaders, which are in the zip.
Please correct me if i am wrong!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's intriguing - we saw previously on Z Play that users downgrading their stock firmware (e.g. https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/help/hard-brick-moto-z-play-patch-abril-t3782927 )and then using OTA updates hard bricked their device (hence the number of users asking for a blankflash, as fastboot no longer works). I don't know if these users hard bricked by downgrading their firmware too far and then flashed an OTA radically different to their previous firmware, or whether it's a risk that's taken by any downgrading of firmware.
When you used fastboot, did you see any 'security downgrade errors' when you flashed the bootloader, and is your bootloader version now C180, as you've flashed the Oreo OTA?
echo92 said:
That's intriguing - we saw previously on Z Play that users downgrading their stock firmware (e.g. https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/help/hard-brick-moto-z-play-patch-abril-t3782927 )and then using OTA updates hard bricked their device (hence the number of users asking for a blankflash, as fastboot no longer works). I don't know if these users hard bricked by downgrading their firmware too far and then flashed an OTA radically different to their previous firmware, or whether it's a risk that's taken by any downgrading of firmware.
When you used fastboot, did you see any 'security downgrade errors' when you flashed the bootloader, and is your bootloader version now C180, as you've flashed the Oreo OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES - that's why I wrote these 3 guides - before, it was quite possible to wind up with a bootloader mix - esp depending on the zip you use! - factory/stock only!!!
I added a line to the guide saying that it is only intended to be used for the factory/stock zips as these have (I believe) the bootloaders appropriate to the ROM.
Many thanks for pursuing this! - I wonder if we'll have to exclude certain ROMs that are in the factory lists?????
echo92 said:
That's intriguing - we saw previously on Z Play that users downgrading their stock firmware (e.g. https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/help/hard-brick-moto-z-play-patch-abril-t3782927 )and then using OTA updates hard bricked their device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have TWRP (or I assume any custom recovery) present when you try to ota, it can download just fine and then reboot to the update. I had TWRP and wound up in a situation where my phone would only boot to twrp no matter what I flashed or restored. I booted phone to fastboot, RSDlite'ed that 11-09-17 factory zip and all was well. In that particular case I did not fully install 7.x but immediately RSDlite'ed rafikowy's 8.0 signed stock and went on with my testing. Since then I always boot to TWRP rather than intalling it and do my thing. (thanks @jceballos )
When you used fastboot, did you see any 'security downgrade errors' when you flashed the bootloader, and is your bootloader version now C180, as you've flashed the Oreo OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry - since it throws a million errors I never look at it if it works.
The particular build I am on at the moment - is BL: C1.82
This one started from that Nov '17 build and ota'ed all the way to 8.0 Apr.
I root and unroot as needed per rafikowy's method but using a boot to TWRP - never an install TWRP.
I'll put up a new guide ref ota and recovery and brick.
KrisM22 said:
If you have TWRP (or I assume any custom recovery) present when you try to ota, it can download just fine and then reboot to the update. I had TWRP and wound up in a situation where my phone would only boot to twrp no matter what I flashed or restored. I booted phone to fastboot, RSDlite'ed that 11-09-17 factory zip and all was well. In that particular case I did not fully install 7.x but immediately RSDlite'ed rafikowy's 8.0 signed stock and went on with my testing. Since then I always boot to TWRP rather than intalling it and do my thing. (thanks @jceballos )
Sorry - since it throws a million errors I never look at it if it works.
The particular build I am on at the moment - is BL: C1.82
This one started from that Nov '17 build and ota'ed all the way to 8.0 Apr.
I root and unroot as needed per rafikowy's method but using a boot to TWRP - never an install TWRP.
I'll put up a new guide ref ota and recovery and brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) If you have TWRP, then using an OTA will fail - as you've not got stock recovery (and likely other modifications, including possibly a system partition set to read-write status). As you noted, having TWRP seems to cause a bootloop when rebooting - I'm not sure if the OTA sets a boot flag to stay in recovery until the update is completed. For the G4/Plus, there's a possible solution by wiping the misc partition but I don't know if there's a similar partition for Z Play devices: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4/help/troubleshooting-twrp-boot-loop-ota-t3714325
The only other solution I've seen is a clean flash of the stock ROM to get your device booting properly.
Booting to TWRP rather than flashing would mean your stock recovery is still present on your device. The only downside is if you need to make modifications, you'd need your computer to boot to TWRP.
2)BL C1.82 seems to be the bootloader provided by the Oreo April 2018 security patch update, so your device looks to be on the right bootloader. It's still curious that the Nov 2017 firmware worked whereas countless other 'factory' stock ROMs caused hard bricks when downgraded to and then OTA updates were installed.
As you mentioned, custom ROMs don't have bootloaders and thus don't care about your bootloader version usually (though I've seen some ROMs require a certain bootloader). However, stock ROMs and stock OTA updates do have bootloaders, which is why downgrading can be risky.
echo92 said:
1) If you have TWRP, then using an OTA will fail - as you've not got stock recovery (and likely other modifications, including possibly a system partition set to read-write status). As you noted, having TWRP seems to cause a bootloop when rebooting - I'm not sure if the OTA sets a boot flag to stay in recovery until the update is completed. For the G4/Plus, there's a possible solution by wiping the misc partition but I don't know if there's a similar partition for Z Play devices: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4/help/troubleshooting-twrp-boot-loop-ota-t3714325
The only other solution I've seen is a clean flash of the stock ROM to get your device booting properly.
Booting to TWRP rather than flashing would mean your stock recovery is still present on your device. The only downside is if you need to make modifications, you'd need your computer to boot to TWRP.
2)BL C1.82 seems to be the bootloader provided by the Oreo April 2018 security patch update, so your device looks to be on the right bootloader. It's still curious that the Nov 2017 firmware worked whereas countless other 'factory' stock ROMs caused hard bricks when downgraded to and then OTA updates were installed.
As you mentioned, custom ROMs don't have bootloaders and thus don't care about your bootloader version usually (though I've seen some ROMs require a certain bootloader). However, stock ROMs and stock OTA updates do have bootloaders, which is why downgrading can be risky.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downgrading is a piece of cake if you don't use RSDlite - it throws an error and stops. Using the bat file it can happily throw all the errors it wants and all I care is at the end I have what I want.
It does indeed change the entire environment when you bat file the zip contents. You can bat file to get from 8 to 7 and then use RSDlite to flash a different 7 OR 8 zip file. There is no resulting difference in whether you RSDlite it or bat file it - the bat file simply comes from the .xml file that is within the zip. There is very little or no difference between that among addison factory/stock zips. Other zips are different (custom ROMs.)
Grab any factory/stock zip for addison and expand it and you will see modems, bootloaders, indeed absolutely everything you would find on that phone if you went to a store and bought it. SupahCookie simply added a couple lock command lines because it was intended for folks who somehow thought that if phone was locked they could take it back to the store and get their money back. Or some such. I found that ATT folk didn't care if you were on CM or whatever if you just needed to swap SIMs or whatever.
I DON'T want to lock the phone as it prevents me from modifying forever. Oh yeah that reminds me I was going to post the obligatory guide (again) about how to flash a white boot logo so you don't get that message - it's still there LOL but since the font is in white, you can't see it.
I have a Moto Z2 Play and used this to get out of a rather sticky situation.. My IEMI shows 0 now and I'm curious if there's a way to fix this? Also, You say you've done OTA updates? My phone is telling my I have some, is it safe to try?
Necrowr said:
I have a Moto Z2 Play and used this to get out of a rather sticky situation.. My IEMI shows 0 now and I'm curious if there's a way to fix this? Also, You say you've done OTA updates? My phone is telling my I have some, is it safe to try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for feedback and great on success.
IMEI will show zero if using oreo, It will show again if using N. Remember that if you go from O to N you need to use the "Alternative to RSD" as RSD will simply throw an error and stop.
If you have TWRP and/or Magisk you must get rid of them before ota - if twrp present you will soft brick and have to do alternative again - flash a stock recovery. Simply uninstalling/flash magisk will probably not be enough - it will likely d/l but error part way through update. If you are sitting on rafikowy's stock oreo, and haven't modified it, you should be fine. I know Apr and June are out there. I flashed his stock 8.0 and took June fine. Z2 should be no different though of course I can't guarantee it
If you have success, let us know what you have done so others looking in will know. Thanks!
KrisM22 said:
Thanks for feedback and great on success.
IMEI will show zero if using oreo, It will show again if using N. Remember that if you go from O to N you need to use the "Alternative to RSD" as RSD will simply throw an error and stop.
If you have TWRP and/or Magisk you must get rid of them before ota - if twrp present you will soft brick and have to do alternative again - flash a stock recovery. Simply uninstalling/flash magisk will probably not be enough - it will likely d/l but error part way through update. If you are sitting on rafikowy's stock oreo, and haven't modified it, you should be fine. I know Apr and June are out there. I flashed his stock 8.0 and took June fine. Z2 should be no different though of course I can't guarantee it
If you have success, let us know what you have done so others looking in will know. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually flashed to this: ALBUS_C_7.1.1_NPS26.118-24_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip Which is a 7.1.1 variant and it is showing 0 when I check settings and when I dial *#06#. However upon connecting to the computer and running mfastboot getvar imei it returned a value. I only did the steps above which would mean I don't have TWRP or Magisk (when I fastboot and click recovery I get "no command")
****** Additional information *********
XT1710-01 Duel Sim Variant
I started your steps, only being able to access fastboot. The device would throw an error (I don't recall exactly but it ended up showing me them in the bootloader logs) whenever I tried to start it, or go to recovery. #DefinitelyThoughtItWasDead
Necrowr said:
I actually flashed to this: ALBUS_C_7.1.1_NPS26.118-24_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip Which is a 7.1.1 variant and it is showing 0 when I check settings and when I dial *#06#. However upon connecting to the computer and running mfastboot getvar imei it returned a value. I only did the steps above which would mean I don't have TWRP or Magisk (when I fastboot and click recovery I get "no command")
****** Additional information *********
XT1710-01 Duel Sim Variant
I started your steps, only being able to access fastboot. The device would throw an error (I don't recall exactly but it ended up showing me them in the bootloader logs) whenever I tried to start it, or go to recovery. #DefinitelyThoughtItWasDead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What rom was on phone when you got it and what have you done to it? Has it ever run 8.x?
original country of phone?
The bat file will always throw a lot of slot errors.
https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/albus/official/RETUS/
or
https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/albus/official/RETAIL/
might have some stock ROMs of interest...
KrisM22 said:
What rom was on phone when you got it and what have you done to it? Has it ever run 8.x?
original country of phone?
The bat file will always throw a lot of slot errors.
might have some stock ROMs of interest...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It had 7.1.1 stock. I rooted it, and then flashed Resurrection Remix (which was yes 8.1 I believe) and the upgraded bootloader. I then found out my service wouldn't work with that.. so I attempted to flash back to stock which gave me a flurry of issues.. eventually getting to nothing but fastboot working. Flashed back to working with your guide to 7.1.1
If it helps in in fastboot it tells me BL: C0.CD
Necrowr said:
It had 7.1.1 stock. I rooted it, and then flashed Resurrection Remix (which was yes 8.1 I believe) and the upgraded bootloader. I then found out my service wouldn't work with that.. so I attempted to flash back to stock which gave me a flurry of issues.. eventually getting to nothing but fastboot working. Flashed back to working with your guide to 7.1.1
If it helps in in fastboot it tells me BL: C0.CD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Custom ROMs won't usually update the bootloader (even if they are newer) as stock ROMs typically only have the bootloader firmware.
You could look into flashing the stock Oreo albus 8.0 ROM https://forum.xda-developers.com/z2-play/how-to/fastboot-rom-oreo-retail-via-fastboot-t3786153 or the 8.0 June 2018 firmware https://forum.xda-developers.com/z2-play/how-to/fastboot-rom-albusretail8-0-0opss27-76-t3822195 but please check that firmware has been released for your device variant.
I don't know if updating your baseband to stock Oreo formally may fix your IMEI issue.
Necrowr said:
It had 7.1.1 stock. I rooted it, and then flashed Resurrection Remix (which was yes 8.1 I believe) and the upgraded bootloader. I then found out my service wouldn't work with that.. so I attempted to flash back to stock which gave me a flurry of issues.. eventually getting to nothing but fastboot working. Flashed back to working with your guide to 7.1.1
If it helps in in fastboot it tells me BL: C0.CD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"BL: C0.CD" even right after flashing that albus 7.1.1 using "alternative" above?
What happens if you flash one of the oreo roms from the links I gave you above?
Yeah, RR wouldn't change bootloaders... so you upgraded bootloaders independendently?- that could easily lead to a soft brick... -
I read RR on Z2 and it says nothing about bootloaders even though it says 8.1 based, so i wonder if it needs 7.x bootloaders? I did not read entire thread...
In a reverse, I would wonder if you put an 8 on there if you wouldn't see your IMEI. (On the Z if you flash 8 You won't see the IMEI until you return to 7.)(wondering if z2 is reversed)
KrisM22 said:
"BL: C0.CD" even right after flashing that albus 7.1.1 using "alternative" above?
What happens if you flash one of the oreo roms from the links I gave you above?
Yeah, RR wouldn't change bootloaders... so you upgraded bootloaders independendently?- that could easily lead to a soft brick... -
I read RR on Z2 and it says nothing about bootloaders even though it says 8.1 based, so i wonder if it needs 7.x bootloaders? I did not read entire thread...
In a reverse, I would wonder if you put an 8 on there if you wouldn't see your IMEI. (On the Z if you flash 8 You won't see the IMEI until you return to 7.)(wondering if z2 is reversed)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, right after flashing that is the BL that fastboot is showing me. I don't recall updating the bootloader so to speak, however RR did require an updated variant of twrp which I flashed 3.2.2 I believe to get (unsure if that would have changed the bootloader or not). I also tried flashing a stock Oreo (which you've stated stock Roms usually only have the bootloaders so maybe somewhere during this process I updated it?). I wish I had all the notes for what I did to give more precise information, but I'm in a position where I really need my phone so I kinda just panicked and started flashing things when my service wouldn't work.
I'm highly considering trying to run an OTA (though very afraid of bricking). - On a side note though, it wouldn't even tell me I had OTA's until I did the steps in the original post here (doing the different 7.1.1. and 8.0 flashes, it wouldn't ever tell me I had updates, and now it does).
*** Edit ***
Looks like I'm able to enter stock recovery, which makes me believe everything is stock at the moment.
Necrowr said:
Yes, right after flashing that is the BL that fastboot is showing me. I don't recall updating the bootloader so to speak, however RR did require an updated variant of twrp which I flashed 3.2.2 I believe to get (unsure if that would have changed the bootloader or not). I also tried flashing a stock Oreo (which you've stated stock Roms usually only have the bootloaders so maybe somewhere during this process I updated it?). I wish I had all the notes for what I did to give more precise information, but I'm in a position where I really need my phone so I kinda just panicked and started flashing things when my service wouldn't work.
I'm highly considering trying to run an OTA (though very afraid of bricking). - On a side note though, it wouldn't even tell me I had OTA's until I did the steps in the original post here (doing the different 7.1.1. and 8.0 flashes, it wouldn't ever tell me I had updates, and now it does).
*** Edit ***
Looks like I'm able to enter stock recovery, which makes me believe everything is stock at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flashed a stock O that would have changed bl to O, but doing the above with the stock 7.1.1 would have changed them back to N. No matter (other than academic) that you don't remember the path - flashing a stock anything reverts it to that point in time. However, IMEI may have been moved - don't know. It will likely show on EITHER 7.x or 8.x stock - just don't know which.
If you flash a stock 8.x from those links I gave you above, it should offer you ota, ASSUMING there are any at this point in time(Z has 2). Adding Magisk at any point seems to hose you for receiving any more ota's - don't understand why, even with magisk uninstall, so that would mean going back to the latest stock and losing what you have (which is why I try to take a TBPro and copy that backup to PC (because re-flashing 8.x stock will likely reset internal storage.).
yes, if you enter stock recovery, you are likely at stock, though you could reflash the latest 7 or 8 stock to be sure, depending on which you want to use as base. Since 8 is having security fixes released, I choose 8 and will likely have no more interest (no time!) in 7.
So, ran the OTA and it was fine running the update and staying on N. I also downloaded the OTA for Oreo, when trying to update the recovery error'd out. It looked like the error said "Error in modem unexpected results" or something similar.
Necrowr said:
So, ran the OTA and it was fine running the update and staying on N. I also downloaded the OTA for Oreo, when trying to update the recovery error'd out. It looked like the error said "Error in modem unexpected results" or something similar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did it offer to let you d/l it again? you could try that.
However, there exist O stock zips in those links I gave you so you could just flash the latest...
Chicken & egg situation caused by system & recovery SKU mismatch from the factory
Hi All,
I've been stuck on this for 2 days now and I thought maybe it would be quicker for someone here to point me in the right direction.
This thread isn't for my model of phone but it does help explain my problem in the most clear way.
https://www.asus.com/zentalk/thread-14962-1-1.html
This is what I have:
Asus Zenfone Max ZC550KL
- Z010D
- 8916
- 410
- 2GB
- CN Recovery
- WW System
The phone is stuck on android 5.0.2 and never received the OTA updates. or it did, but failed. I think the reason the phone has so many issues with updates is because the supplier of the phone side loaded the WW system image on top of a CN recovery. Apparently this is a no no.
So now I'm trying to fix the problem but I seem to be trapped in a chicken and egg type situation. I need to change the recovery firmware from CN to WW. To change the recovery firmware I first need to unlock the boot loader. When I try to install the unlock boot loader apk through adb it says "[INSTALL_FAILED_OLDER_SDK]". To unlock the boot loader I need to first update android. But I can't update android over OTA because that isn't working. I also can't update the firmware by copying the latest version from asus (8916-13.8.26.110) to the SD card because android doesn't notify me that it has found this update in the root directory. I can't even update the firmware by pushing it through adb. It says something like 'Can't install WW firmware on a CN phone'. Lastly I have also tried using the ASUS flash tool but that was unable to extract the firmware.zip. Apparently I need a raw firmware zip for aft to work but those are hard to come by.
I'm thinking my only option would be to either find an Asus boot loader unlocker that works on android 5.0.2 and the Z010D. Anyone know if this exists?
or force the normal asus boot loader unlocker to install on android 5.0.2. Anyone know if this is possible?
or find a raw firmware zip for the z010d to flash using AFT. Anyone seen this?
Any other suggestions?
Edit: I figured it out. Follow the instructions for using AFT here https://ainotech.com/how-to-flash-firmware-asus-zenfone-max-zc550kl-root-custom-twrp-recovery/
I used AFT v0.34 because the newer versions either couldn't see my phone or couldn't handle the zip file.
I also flashed the old v12 firmware they have listed because I couldn't find a newer version in raw format. (AFT requires raw zips). But it doesn't really matter if it's an old version because once AFT has flashed the WW recovery, you can freely update to whatever WW version you want using traditional methods. I didn't even manage to get that version running because of boot loops. But the recovery works perfectly. From there it was simply a matter of downloading the v13 zip from the asus website and flashing it from the recovery menu.
short story i installed a custom rom. Everything was fine but i was forced to go to stock due to a problem. It looks like i flashed the wrong files i flashed system.img,ramdisk,ramdiskrecovery and kernel.img. I extracted these files from a update that had the same model of my phone but for some reason now my phone is bricked. i was flashing stock firmware but now there's no os installed nothing at all, im a total noob with flashing on huawei phones. I thought this was going to work but no.
My bootloader its unlocked. erecovery doesnt work. i can only access the bootloader mode but my device is not detected while using adb commands. stock recovery works but i only have the following options:''download latest version and recovery'', ''reboot'' and ''shutdown''. is there a solution for this?
Editk guys my problem was fixed.
Same problem
Hello. I have the same problem. How did you fix this.