Flash Stock ROM missing META-INF directory - Moto G4 Questions & Answers

Kinda makes this noob sick. I just got a new Moto G4 X1625 (not Amazon). Next came the steps to unlock the bootloader with Motorola and to install TWRP. Everything had gone so easily by following some how-to steps I jumped to the next step of installing SuperSU without doing a backup – thinking it was simply adding an app. Big mistake! Reboot and now always stuck on the logo boot animation.
Okay, so I found and tried use TWRP to install ATHENE_6.0.1_MPJ24.139-13.1_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip in an attempt to get back to stock. No luck there since install always aborts with a "Could not find 'META-INF/com/google/android/update-binary' in the zip file."
I checked a couple of other ROMs and that META-INF directory doesn't seem to be included in them either.
What do I need to do just to get back to normal eliminating the effects of that SuperSU install? Help greatly appreciated.

That file you downloaded is not a flashable file.
Instead, read this linky

Thanks for the helpful clue @t0mm13b. I followed the approach at <http://www.stechguide.com/download-stock-firmware-of-moto-g4-and-g4-plus/> and executed the listed commands from my MacOS Terminal. They did the job resulting in a fresh install after bootup.
2-1/2 questions…
1. Are flashable ROM files readily available? The ones I found all seemed missing the META-INF directory. Will they be .img files and not .zip?
2. Is TWRP not useful for these stock ROMs?

The ones I found all seemed missing the META-INF directory. Will they be .img files and not .zip?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a general rule of thumb, read the accompanying text to the link of the download, on a web page where you find one. It will tell you if it's flashable or not.
Factory images, just like what you had to carry out previously, never have, and do not have the `META-INF` directory. They usually contain img files that requires `fastboot flash`.
On the other hand, OTAs and flashable zips will have that in their respective zip file.

Thanks again @t0mm13b for the clarification. I often didn't see info about whether a ROM is flashable in link or web page text, but it may have just been assumed based on being aware of what the zip contains.

Related

Recovery image

For some reason I am not able to load the recovery images so that I can flash the rom to Madaco's ui.
When I download the recovery image it downloads as a .IMG I have unzipped it and put in in my superboot folder, run command and find the folder, but it does nothing.
Is there a special application to download .IMG? I have tried winzip a few others.
I have also used the Terminal Emulator and placed the file directly on my SDcard and opened the file from there, but nothing happens.
Any Suggestions???
Thanks in advance.
wrong place to ask a ?
you are really totally wrong here. also, if the *.img file is in a *.zip file it probably means it has been made into a update.zip that can be flashed... i can be wrong though...
in general, nothing here that has *.zip extension is generally to be opened with WinZip... the *.zip files here are update zips that can be flashed (e.g. a ROM, a radio, etc.).
best advice would be to guide you to Amon_Ra's recovery image thread (first page of Nexus One Android Development).
you can also search "Amon_Ra"
there is the topic recovery image
Everything you need is in this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611829

[How To] Create a custom firmware for SmartQ Ten3 T15

These are the steps explaining you how to create a custom firmware based on the SmartQ firmware releases.
Warning : Creating a firmware and changing the files may cause your device to stop working, I won't be held responsible for any damage caused by this.
Creating a firmware file is actually very easy, not much is involved and nothing more than some basic software is required to create the files. If you don't understand the steps below than maybe you shouldn't fiddle around with this and wait for other members to create these.
There is nothing explained here about the flashing itself, as I will create a seperate How-To about that with pictures explaining the steps of the recovery.
Also there is nothing explained about kernel building itself, I have no clue how to do that and I'll leave that up to SmartQ.
Use the instructions below to make your own Firmware file with the software you want in it and make all configuration changes you want.
1. If you haven't already download the latest official firmware from SmartQ.
2. Extract the zip file. You then have 2 files, a Chinese .txt file with the release notes. And a file called "SmartQT15".
3. Rename the file "SmartQT15" to "SmartQT15.zip". Accept any warning about making the file useless, as in fact you are making it useful.
4. Extract the zip file. Then you end up with 4 new folders :
"boot" - This will be the files required for booting the OS. And possibly the recovery.
"data" - The user apps and data are in this folder.
"META-INF" - The certificate SmartQ used is in this folder and also the update script that manages the update process.
"system" - The actual Android OS.Stay clear of the boot folder, unless you are 100% sure about what you are doing, this may cause a bricked device without the possibility to reflash.
Add apps to the app subfolder in the data folder. Make sure if you do add apps to set the permissions in the update script file and make changes accordingly. The data-extra.tar file is extracted during the update process.
In the "META-INF\com\google\android" folder you can find the updater-script file, you can edit this with Notepad++. This file tells the CWM based recovery what to do and in this file the permissions are set for apps. Also is it required to edit this if you want to create a pre-rooted firmware.
Be carefull what to change in the system folder it can cause your OS not to boot, but it should be no problem to revert back to another build that did work previously as you didn't touch the boot folder and the recovery should work normally.
Once you have made all the changes you wanted to do. You follow the steps back.
5. zip the 4 folders backup using Winzip or WinRAR, whatever suits you best (You can use compression, I tried out Fast, Normal, Good compression in WinRAR and the firmware flashed without problems). Make sure you have the 4 folders in the "root" of your zip file. Use for filename "SmartQT15.zip"
6. Rename the "SmartQT15.zip" file to "SmartQT15" and accept any warning again about changing the extension of your file.
You have now created a flashable firmware file for the SmartQ Ten3 T15.
Copy his file to the root of an empty microSD card and follow my How-To about flashing Custom Firmwares.
Don't use the guide to flash original SmartQ firmwares as this won't work, by changing the firmware package you break the firmware signature and the recovery will check for this during flashing.
Signature checking can be disabled though in the recovery as I will explain in the new How-To.
If you have any questions feel free to post below and I'll do my best to answer them, all the above is based on my experience and from what I could find out on the Internet.

[Q] Nexus 7 ar install help

To avoid filling the forum with question i'm just going to create this thread and ask all my questions here.
I finally rooted my nexus 7 on my mac and now am hoping to install a USB ROM, i couldnt post a link but it seems to be most popular for in car installs.
I downloaded the file and compressed it to a .zip file then tossed it onto the android. Next i booted into clockwork recovery the selected install zip from sd card>Choose zip from sd card> 0/>cm-10.zip>yes - install cm-10.zip
After this the tablet says
Finding update package...
opening update package...
installing update...
installation aborted...
Can anyone help me and/or tell me what i'm doing wrong? all help is appreciated. Thankyou
Mperkins92 said:
To avoid filling the forum with question i'm just going to create this thread and ask all my questions here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A more acceptable procedure is to find - via SEARCHING - closely related threads first, and post your questions in those threads. That demonstrates to people that you've actually tried to help yourself by searching. If you actually have something unique to say, in that circumstance you start a new thread.
"Help me install a ROM" is not a new idea here on XDA, whether you have a problem with it or not.
Mperkins92 said:
I downloaded the file and compressed it to a .zip file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's already a .zip file to begin with when you download it. Is your Mac uncompressing it automatically when you download it?
If so, use something other means (not Safari?) to download it. FTP. Wget. Firefox for Mac.
Then, if the ROM developer publishes rom file MD5 signatures, validate that you can compute the same checksum on the file downloaded to your computer.
If you then subsequently copy it to something else (such as the tablet), check the file length and/or the MD5 signature of the copied file as well.
Was there not some additional message on the screen besides "installation aborted"? Details are important.
The most probable guess at the moment (from your narrative) is that you borked the download and/or did something else that made the custom recovery unhappy.
BTW, when you install a new ROM for the first time, you generally:
(a) make a full Nandroid backup first (using the custom recovery)
(b) perform a "factory reset" in the custom recovery,
(c) flash of the ROM file.
Attempting the last step without the first two is just begging for trouble.
good luck

Clean install of stock VZ from Kitkat to Lollipop with one batch file

Hi all,
The usual DISCLAIMER: I am in no way responsible for any and all damage the following does to your phone.
I'm new to this whole flashing ROM business, having started by flashing stock Lollipop upgrade to my LG G3 as I was using it on Ultra Mobile and therefore wasn't getting OTA updates. I've now done the same with my brand new Moto Maxx (US) xt1250, which has the exact same phone as the xt1254 (as I'm sure all of you know but it bears repeating just in case).
I found the easiest way to install all of the upgrades to Lollipop from stock Kitkat was just to download these files:
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/?dir=Droid Turbo/Firmware
I then extracted them into ADB + Fastboot folder one at a time, going in this order:
VRZ_XT1254_KDF21.128-15_15_CFC.xml.zip
VRZ_XT1254_SU2-12_12_CFC.xml.zip
VRZ_XT1254_SU3TL-38_38_CFC.xml.zip
VRZ_XT1254_SU4TL-44_44_CFC.xml.zip
After copying the first group of files into the ADB/fastboot folder and starting up my phone in bootloader, I'd simply click on the batch file for that group (for example the VRZ_XT1254_KDF21.128-15_15_CFC.bat file) to install the first Rom. Then I'd unzip the files for the second lot xml files, allow it to replace the files that had the same name, and then click on the batch file for that Rom.
However, all this was a bit tedious, and I imagine that some people might like to be able to just go direct to the latest 5.1 OTA of stock verizon without all this copying and pasting. So I renamed the files for the first xml batch with a "1" in front, the second with a "2" and so on, and renamed all the commands in the batch xml files to include these modifications. I then put all of the batch file commands together, but also removed some of the unnecessary commands (like "pause", "%fastboot% oem fb_mode_set" and "%fastboot% oem fb_mode_clear") to give you one single batch file.
IN SUMMARY:
I have at your disposal all of the images with modified names, and a single batch command that'll install the upgrades sequentially, which you can do by simply copying all of these files into adb/fastboot folder and clicking on "VRZallupgrades".
I tested this on my droid, and it works great!
My question is this: Would anyone find this helpful? I'm currently uploading all 8GB of files to mega.nz on ****ty hotel internet, but it should be done by tomorrow morning.
Rhuagh3 said:
Hi all,
The usual DISCLAIMER: I am in no way responsible for any and all damage the following does to your phone.
I'm new to this whole flashing ROM business, having started by flashing stock Lollipop upgrade to my LG G3 as I was using it on Ultra Mobile and therefore wasn't getting OTA updates. I've now done the same with my brand new Moto Maxx (US) xt1250, which has the exact same phone as the xt1254 (as I'm sure all of you know but it bears repeating just in case).
I found the easiest way to install all of the upgrades to Lollipop from stock Kitkat was just to download these files:
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/?dir=Droid Turbo/Firmware
I then extracted them into ADB + Fastboot folder one at a time, going in this order:
VRZ_XT1254_KDF21.128-15_15_CFC.xml.zip
VRZ_XT1254_SU2-12_12_CFC.xml.zip
VRZ_XT1254_SU3TL-38_38_CFC.xml.zip
VRZ_XT1254_SU4TL-44_44_CFC.xml.zip
After copying the first group of files into the ADB/fastboot folder and starting up my phone in bootloader, I'd simply click on the batch file for that group (for example the VRZ_XT1254_KDF21.128-15_15_CFC.bat file) to install the first Rom. Then I'd unzip the files for the second lot xml files, allow it to replace the files that had the same name, and then click on the batch file for that Rom.
However, all this was a bit tedious, and I imagine that some people might like to be able to just go direct to the latest 5.1 OTA of stock verizon without all this copying and pasting. So I renamed the files for the first xml batch with a "1" in front, the second with a "2" and so on, and renamed all the commands in the batch xml files to include these modifications. I then put all of the batch file commands together, but also removed some of the unnecessary commands (like "pause", "%fastboot% oem fb_mode_set" and "%fastboot% oem fb_mode_clear") to give you one single batch file.
IN SUMMARY:
I have at your disposal all of the images with modified names, and a single batch command that'll install the upgrades sequentially, which you can do by simply copying all of these files into adb/fastboot folder and clicking on "VRZallupgrades".
I tested this on my droid, and it works great!
My question is this: Would anyone find this helpful? I'm currently uploading all 8GB of files to mega.nz on ****ty hotel internet, but it should be done by tomorrow morning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not necessary to flash anything other than VRZ_XT1254_SU4TL-44_44_CFC.xml.zip. This file contains the full firmware package and does not need previous updates to build upon.
TheSt33v said:
It is not necessary to flash anything other than VRZ_XT1254_SU4TL-44_44_CFC.xml.zip. This file contains the full firmware package and does not need previous updates to build upon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seriously? Wow. major noob moment. With my Lg G3 it definitely wasn't possible to flash straight to 5.1
Thanks for the heads up

Unroot & Re-pack firmware?

I had 50pc japan version of s5(sc-04f), installed rom 'G900F.STOCK.FOR.SCL23.FULL.MINHQUAN'. The downside of this rom is that its pre-rooted. I managed to unroot it by goin in supersu & click 'full-unroot'. But i had multiple devices to flash, so is there a way for me to re-pack this firmware again after i unroot it? So that i could flash it to my other devices without root.
wee2000 said:
I had 50pc japan version of s5(sc-04f), installed rom 'G900F.STOCK.FOR.SCL23.FULL.MINHQUAN'. The downside of this rom is that its pre-rooted. I managed to unroot it by goin in supersu & click 'full-unroot'. But i had multiple devices to flash, so is there a way for me to re-pack this firmware again after i unroot it? So that i could flash it to my other devices without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best bet is to post this question within the following Q&A thread that's specific to your device.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2700073
Good Luck!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I DO NOT provide support via PM unless asked/requested by myself. PLEASE keep it in the threads where everyone can share.
ok done, thx 4 the info
just in case if i missed the reply there, hope someone could reply me here?
when i extract the ZIP file, i got
METE-INF folder
boot.img
system.img
just in case if i missed the reply there, hope someone could reply me here?
when i extract the ZIP file, i got
METE-INF folder
boot.img
system.img
wee2000 said:
just in case if i missed the reply there, hope someone could reply me here?
when i extract the ZIP file, i got
METE-INF folder
boot.img
system.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should we search for this firmware or you can provide a link to its thread?
the link is here : https://choimobile.vn/threads/6-0-1-scl23-stock-rom-g900f-full-port-v3-by-huaminhquan93.37412/
wee2000 said:
the link is here : https://choimobile.vn/threads/6-0-1-scl23-stock-rom-g900f-full-port-v3-by-huaminhquan93.37412/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally, if it's 6.0.1 and rooted systemlessly, you need to replace boot.img with a stock one and remove SuperSU app from system.img.
This ROM intended to be flashed from TWRP, so it's an ext4 image.
You can mount it to a linux system on your PC and remove anything you want.
I havent done anything like this before. Could u give me some links or guides? My PC is running Windows 10.
wee2000 said:
I havent done anything like this before. Could u give me some links or guides? My PC is running Windows 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, here' a simpler way:
1. Make changes on one phone.
2. Make a TWRP backup of boot and system partitions.
3. Restore this backup on other phones. They must have TWRP installed, a 6.0.1 bootloader and modem.
You'll have to rename backup's folder path and to wipe cache/data/system before restore.
can i use winrar to extract & compile the rom, without linux? So that i will have a much faster flashing process for all other units..
wee2000 said:
can i use winrar to extract & compile the rom, without linux? So that i will have a much faster flashing process for all other units..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I've managed to download that ROM at last.
The things look even simpler.
To prepare an "unrooted" ROM:
1. Download the zip form this post and unpack updater-script somewhere.
2. Make a copy of V3.G900F.STOCK.FOR.SCL23.FULL.MINHQUAN.zip, open it with Windows Explorer and replace V3.G900F.STOCK.FOR.SCL23.FULL.MINHQUAN.zip\META-INF\com\google\android\updater-script with the file you've unpacked from the attachment.
3. Try to flash ans see if it's what you need.
thx so much, already passed all units to the buyer. ill try that on next batch restock, may iknow if there's a way to get the service menu shortcode *#0*# to work again? This rom doesn't has the service menu.
bbsc said:
Ok, I've managed to download that ROM at last.
The things look even simpler.
To prepare an "unrooted" ROM:
1. Download the zip form this post and unpack updater-script somewhere.
2. Make a copy of V3.G900F.STOCK.FOR.SCL23.FULL.MINHQUAN.zip, open it with Windows Explorer and replace V3.G900F.STOCK.FOR.SCL23.FULL.MINHQUAN.zip\META-INF\com\google\android\updater-script with the file you've unpacked from the attachment.
3. Try to flash ans see if it's what you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've replaced the updater-script in the zip file, but supersu is still there

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