Downgrading bootloader version - Moto G5 Plus Questions & Answers

Does anyone know about this ?
The last version of the firmware that got OTA'ed to my phone is POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-8.
The only twrp backup of the firmware I have is while it was on POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-4.
When I tried to flash the phone with v 93-4 using fastboot, I got denied because of the version being older than that of the bootloader. But the problem is that I was able to erase prior to attempting writing ...
I need to re-install a stock rom in the phone, but POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-8 cannbot be found anywhere yet.
I though about twrp-flashing the phone with my 93-4 backup, but I am hesitant, I fear bricking the phone.
Is there any alternative to patience while waiting for POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-93-8_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip eventually appearing somewhere ?
Or, in other words, knowing that the last OTA to my phone installed v 93-8, is there any way to flash POTTER_RETAIL_7.0_NPNS25.137-35-5_cid50_subsidy-DEFAULT_regulatory-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip for instance ?

CanadianGixxerman said:
I though about twrp-flashing the phone with my 93-4 backup, but I am hesitant, I fear bricking the phone.
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Click to collapse
An older version (your twrp backup) will work with a newer bootloader, however you can't do any OTAs. An OTA will try to apply the same changes to the bootloader that were already made, resulting in a hard brick - though the OTA would fail anyway since you don't have an intact /oem partition. You will have a functional phone, and you can get back on track after 93-8 images or Oreo are released.
I know because I'm in a similar situation. I wanted to update from 93-4 to 93-8, and I had an intact /system image backup, but /oem was mounted before so I had to flash it via fastboot. Little did I know it was from the wrong channel (retus instead of reteu), resulting in the OTA updating everything except for oem and messing stuff up, so I just flashed a 93-4 twrp backup. Everything works, patiently waiting for Oreo.

bazinga137 said:
I just flashed a 93-4 twrp backup.
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Click to collapse
Just curious. Did you have a full system image backup through twrp or just the system partition? I have a twrp backup of 93-8 stock boot, logo, oem, recovery, and system PARTITIONS which I thought would allow me to restore and take ota. However, since doing that I've read that system needs to be the full IMAGE backup through twrp. Confused so I haven't restored to take the 93-10 update which I got notification of yesterday.

craigl14 said:
Just curious. Did you have a full system image backup through twrp or just the system partition? I have a twrp backup of 93-8 stock boot, logo, oem, recovery, and system PARTITIONS which I thought would allow me to restore and take ota. However, since doing that I've read that system needs to be the full IMAGE backup through twrp. Confused so I haven't restored to take the 93-10 update which I got notification of yesterday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I am not sure. I did a twrp back up with the default selected partitions. But it turned out that this backup is not reliable. The phone does boot up on it, but suffers from applications crashes all over. Last I discovered is that the phone itself was not working for a phone, meaning making receiving calls is not possible.

craigl14 said:
Just curious. Did you have a full system image backup through twrp or just the system partition? I have a twrp backup of 93-8 stock boot, logo, oem, recovery, and system PARTITIONS which I thought would allow me to restore and take ota. However, since doing that I've read that system needs to be the full IMAGE backup through twrp. Confused so I haven't restored to take the 93-10 update which I got notification of yesterday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It needs to be an image backup for OTAs. Unlike a regular backup, image backups are block-by block pristine copies, and restoring them preserves dm-verity and all /system checks. On the other hand the /oem partition cannot be backed up as an image (I asked GtrCraft, the official maintainer of twrp for some moto devices), and since OTAs also check if /oem has been tampered with, the update fails.
Updates will only pass if /oem has never been mounted, and you have a system image backup.

bazinga137 said:
It needs to be an image backup for OTAs. Unlike a regular backup, image backups are block-by block pristine copies, and restoring them preserves dm-verity and all /system checks. On the other hand the /oem partition cannot be backed up as an image (I asked GtrCraft, the official maintainer of twrp for some moto devices), and since OTAs also check if /oem has been tampered with, the update fails.
Updates will only pass if /oem has never been mounted, and you have a system image backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dumb question...How do I know if the oem partition is tampered with or has never been mounted? I am rooted with elementalx kernel and supersu. TWRP partition stock backup made immediately after taking 93-8 update and before flashing twrp, rooting, etc. I know I am hosed without the system IMAGE as far as ota's go, but I'm just trying to learn.

I'm in the same boat. Pretty much stuck on 93-8 forever until a new full image is released somewhere. I might just move onto a custom Oreo rom.

dunderball said:
I'm in the same boat. Pretty much stuck on 93-8 forever until a new full image is released somewhere. I might just move onto a custom Oreo rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I did that. I have tried a few cutom roms : Pixel Exprerience, Resurection Remix, AOSP extended, AOSiP and Dirty Unicorns. The latter and AOSiP are those I find the most reliable. Avoid PE and RR, too buggy, AOSP-E has issues with SIM/SDcard here.
But I will want to go back to stock moto rom when I can (ie : full 93-8 load fastboot flashable is released).
If moto had been quicker to release Oreo AND fix the wifi bug, I would not have given up on retus.

I guess I have an even more fundamental dumb question than my twrp restore issue and maybe it belongs in another thread. Aside from advanced excel formulas, I have no programming experience of any kind, let alone android. However, it seems to me that if I have a full firmware package for 93-4 (which I do) and a "blur" ota update file that takes it to 93-8 (which I do), I should be able to create a full 93-8 firmware package file myself from those two files without waiting on the file hosting sites. Maybe this is way too advanced a process but it seems to me this is 1+2=3 variety.

craigl14 said:
I guess I have an even more fundamental dumb question than my twrp restore issue and maybe it belongs in another thread. Aside from advanced excel formulas, I have no programming experience of any kind, let alone android. However, it seems to me that if I have a full firmware package for 93-4 (which I do) and a "blur" ota update file that takes it to 93-8 (which I do), I should be able to create a full 93-8 firmware package file myself from those two files without waiting on the file hosting sites. Maybe this is way too advanced a process but it seems to me this is 1+2=3 variety.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your device now being at 93-8 is what's in the way. It seems like you can restore your twrp 93-4 on it, but you won't be able to relock the BL, hence OTA will not work.

CanadianGixxerman said:
Your device now being at 93-8 is what's in the way. It seems like you can restore your twrp 93-4 on it, but you won't be able to relock the BL, hence OTA will not work.
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Click to collapse
Sorry for the confusion. My restore issue is with the fact that I did not make a full system image twrp backup of stock 93-8. If I had, I would be able to restore and take ota's (assuming the oem issue doesn't interfere which I don't know about).
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.

I'm on a slightly same boat as OP, but I don't have my backup since I thought it was on my SD and wiped my phone, with the backup only there. I was on 93-8 when I wiped. Would getting a 93-4 backup work?
This question might of been answered but I did not see it when I read through this thread.

craigl14 said:
Sorry for the confusion. My restore issue is with the fact that I did not make a full system image twrp backup of stock 93-8. If I had, I would be able to restore and take ota's (assuming the oem issue doesn't interfere which I don't know about).
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took a full backup of my system image through twrp, and I was on 93-8. I'll upload it when I have time and you can give it a try.

CanadianGixxerman said:
[...] but you won't be able to relock the BL, hence OTA will not work.
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Click to collapse
Why would you need to relock the BL to take an OTA?
craigl14 said:
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly you can't apply an OTA to the firmware images, if that's what you're thinking. They need to be signed by moto to be flashable through fastboot. And if you'd want to provide someone with a twrp backup of a firmware higher than theirs, their bootloader would need to be updated too, via an OTA.

bazinga137 said:
if that's what you're thinking.
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Thanks. That's exactly my question. So the answer is that Motorola controls the process. Makes sense. Any thoughts on my oem mounting question?

craigl14 said:
Thanks. That's exactly my question. So the answer is that Motorola controls the process. Makes sense. Any thoughts on my oem mounting question?
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Click to collapse
I really can't think of a way of checking the mount count of Android partitions, and I haven't found anything online.
I discovered the mount counter thingy when sweeping through logs of a failed OTA. I'm really not sure where the OTA script reads it from.

craigl14 said:
Sorry for the confusion. My restore issue is with the fact that I did not make a full system image twrp backup of stock 93-8. If I had, I would be able to restore and take ota's (assuming the oem issue doesn't interfere which I don't know about).
My last question is more fundamental and broader. There are quite a few people waiting on firmware updates. It just seems to me that if I have a full firmware package and an update package for that firmware, I should be able to create a newly updated full firmware package independent of what happens to be on my phone at any one time. Again, maybe really stupid and way beyond my capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a full backup of 93-8, but still i can't lock bootloader. We need complete firmware, until then, Lineage OS is the answer.
---------- Post added at 11:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 PM ----------
bazinga137 said:
Why would you need to relock the BL to take an OTA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea, i saw this first time now on Motorola. On any other manufacturers i could lock bootloader, and even get OTA updates just by flashing stock recovery and having unlocked bootloader was not a problem.

If your device was formally updated to NPNS25.137-93-8 (March 2018 security patch), then you could try to flash the NPNS25.137-93-4 (Jan 2018 security patch) update again as you previously tried (link to the Jan 2018 stock firmware for EU/US and Asia devices: https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/potter/official/RETAIL/ ). You may wish to ignore the security downgrade errors (you cannot downgrade bootloaders anyway, presumably to prevent you opening security vulnerabilities) when you flash, which should just be for GPT and bootloader. You may also see 'image signed with bad key' for recovery and boot as well, but verify those partitions, and the other partitions report [OKAY] after flashing. That way, you should have a NPNS25.137-93-4 system, with a NPNS25.137-93-8 bootloader, and when you boot you should have a device reporting with fully stock NPNS25.137-93-4. The next OTA you should receive is the NPNS25.137-93-8 OTA and then the NPNS25.137-93-10 April 2018 security patch OTA, which should bring you up to the latest stock firmware.
By reflashing the NPNS25.137-93-4 firmware, this should also restore your OEM partition to being untampered (read only status?), as should your system partition (which should be read only, I recall that swiping to allow modifications in TWRP sets your system partition to read-write, which causes the OTA to fail).
Normally, I would advise against downgrading and using OTA updates, as this is a prime way of hard bricking. However, in this case you are downgrading your device firmware to the firmware directly preceding the newest firmware you had (i.e. downgrading to NPNS25.137-93-4 from NPNS25.137-93-8), with the next OTA being NPNS25.137-93-8, which brings you back up to the build you had, this may be safe. To your device, you are flashing the same bootloader from the NPNS25.137-93-8 OTA as currently on your device, which should not hard brick.
If you previously had stock NPNS25.137-93-10, then I cannot recommend this procedure as you'll be downgrading two firmware versions (and you'll have to wait for newer stock firmware to be leaked), else if you try flashing NPNS25.137-93-4 onto the April 2018 firmware and try using OTA updates, you may hard brick and have a pricey paperweight. I also do not know if this will work by cross-flashing from the NPN25.137-92 series of updates either.
Of course, as the NPNS25.137-93-4 firmware is older than your bootloader, you will not be able to re-lock your bootloader (you'll need a newer firmware, probably the April 2018 or newer security patch stock firmware), but being back on full stock, you should be eligible for OTAs provided you only downgraded from NPNS25.137-93-8 (and that March 2018 security patch was the latest stock firmware on your device).
If you are truly concerned about hard bricking, then I would follow other member's suggestions in this thread and stay with TWRP flashables of the stock ROM, as they do not usually affect the bootloader.
Any questions or comments before you perform this procedure, please ask.

bazinga137 said:
I really can't think of a way of checking the mount count of Android partitions, and I haven't found anything online.
I discovered the mount counter thingy when sweeping through logs of a failed OTA. I'm really not sure where the OTA script reads it from.
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Thanks. Weird. Sorry for hijacking this thread. But if my process were to take OTA after which it reboots, then IMMEDIATELY reboot into bootloader, fastboot BOOT into twrp (not flash it) and take a backup of boot, logo, oem, recovery and system (FULL IMAGE), how would that change oem?

CanadianGixxerman said:
Well, I did that. I have tried a few cutom roms : Pixel Exprerience, Resurection Remix, AOSP extended, AOSiP and Dirty Unicorns. The latter and AOSiP are those I find the most reliable. Avoid PE and RR, too buggy, AOSP-E has issues with SIM/SDcard here.
But I will want to go back to stock moto rom when I can (ie : full 93-8 load fastboot flashable is released).
If moto had been quicker to release Oreo AND fix the wifi bug, I would not have given up on retus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's buggy about PE? I was just about to try it...

Related

XT-1644 Official Nougat Update?

My Phone Info:
Single sim 2gb ram + 16gb rom
Hello folks I've been searching for a nougat update for XT-1644, but unable to find over the xda if anyone of you havs upgraded your xt-1644 then kindly tell the procedure here, Thanks.
Here is my About Phone Info.
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/589c8f61b2eab/Screenshot_20170209-203359.png
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/589c8f48b01b2/Screenshot_20170209-203401.png
You mean a method like this? https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/xt1644-stock-marshmallow-to-nougat-t3540022
If you download the 93-14 Nougat firmware, that's the latest version. Nougat OTAs currently only exist for the 93-11 firmware.
echo92 said:
You mean a method like this? https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/xt1644-stock-marshmallow-to-nougat-t3540022
If you download the 93-14 Nougat firmware, that's the latest version. Nougat OTAs currently only exist for the 93-11 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry didn't find that,
One more question i have unlocked my bootloader will it work? I mean will i be able to flash this 7.0?
waseemmayaa said:
Sorry didn't find that,
One more question i have unlocked my bootloader will it work? I mean will i be able to flash this 7.0?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, your bootloader status won't matter - as long as that's all you've done. As I understand it, the update via stock recovery only cares if the rest of your phone has been modified - if you've still got a stock bootloader, stock recovery and stock kernel (from MM, provided it's up to date), it should work and you should be eligible for future OTAs.
The only hurdle I could see happening is that the build of Marshmallow expected by the OTA and your phone's current OS build do not match, in which case it won't install. Thus, you may have to consult one of the fastboot Nougat 93-11 or 93-14 threads to install, which you'll have to do if your system is modified past the bootloader.
Here are a couple for your perusal:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/moto-g4-plus-xt1640-43-athene-npj25-93-t3549369
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/android-7-0-install-nougat-official-t3531612
echo92 said:
Yes, your bootloader status won't matter - as long as that's all you've done. As I understand it, the update via stock recovery only cares if the rest of your phone has been modified - if you've still got a stock bootloader, stock recovery and stock kernel (from MM, provided it's up to date), it should work and you should be eligible for future OTAs.
The only hurdle I could see happening is that the build of Marshmallow expected by the OTA and your phone's current OS build do not match, in which case it won't install. Thus, you may have to consult one of the fastboot Nougat 93-11 or 93-14 threads to install, which you'll have to do if your system is modified past the bootloader.
Here are a couple for your perusal:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/moto-g4-plus-xt1640-43-athene-npj25-93-t3549369
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/android-7-0-install-nougat-official-t3531612
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the brief info, it means i have to flash it via fastboot and if that works fine then I'll be able to get OTA, but for your info, I've unlocked bootloader and installed Official TWRP but if i flash any of the firmware (given above) will i face bootloop kinda stuffs? I am scared if something goes wrong then i will even not able to restore nandroid backup. Hope you gotta help me.
Thanks.
waseemmayaa said:
Thanks for the brief info, it means i have to flash it via fastboot and if that works fine then I'll be able to get OTA, but for your info, I've unlocked bootloader and installed Official TWRP but if i flash any of the firmware (given above) will i face bootloop kinda stuffs? I am scared if something goes wrong then i will even not able to restore nandroid backup. Hope you gotta help me.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you've received a response in the other thread regarding if XT1644 will accept the update; given you've flashed TWRP, if you wish to be very safe, I would suggest re-installing your Marshmallow ROM so you have a stock install before proceeding to Nougat. There's nothing stopping you from directly flashing Nougat, and the fastboot method for either Nougat build may correctly overwrite the relevant files, the only way is to try the procedure. Don't use the TWRP backup images of Nougat - they don't contain updates to your baseband modem and other core parts of your device - they are only meant to be used once your entire phone is updated to Nougat.
If you wish to restore back to stock MM before flashing Nougat, here's links to stock firmware for XT1644: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/xt1644-firmware-t3454980
But either way, read all the instructions first, ensure you've got all the firmware and tools you need installed/downloaded, your phone has at least 50 % battery and plenty of time, and you should be okay.

apply OTA to rooted phone?

i have an unlocked rooted but otherwise stock G4P and it has an OTA but fails to install. Is there a full ROM I can apply which won't wipe? Or some other way which is not involving a full wipe?
nigelhealy said:
i have an unlocked rooted but otherwise stock G4P and it has an OTA but fails to install. Is there a full ROM I can apply which won't wipe? Or some other way which is not involving a full wipe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried, failed, and eventually gave up. I haven't had the motivation to do a full wipe/flash, but I tried everything else I could think of before giving up.
hp420 said:
I tried, failed, and eventually gave up. I haven't had the motivation to do a full wipe/flash, but I tried everything else I could think of before giving up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you tryied reinstall the full stock rom & recovery (through Fastboot) without wipe?
rafaelrgi said:
Did you tryied reinstall the full stock rom & recovery (through Fastboot) without wipe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a twrp backup of my system partition, which I restored, then fastboot flashed the stock kernel, and wiped caches. Safetynet passed, but the ota would not flash. It said there was an unexpected change in the system, or something to that affect.
I'm not aware of any true, untouched flashable rom zip available. I suppose it wouldn't take long to make one, I just didn't have one available to me.
hp420 said:
I had a twrp backup of my system partition, which I restored, then fastboot flashed the stock kernel, and wiped caches. Safetynet passed, but the ota would not flash. It said there was an unexpected change in the system, or something to that affect.
I'm not aware of any true, untouched flashable rom zip available. I suppose it wouldn't take long to make one, I just didn't have one available to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To install the OTA update the stock recovery is required, and Twrp is a custom recovery.... after restore the backup you should reinstall the stock recovery before apply the OTA.
rafaelrgi said:
To install the OTA update the stock recovery is required, and Twrp is a custom recovery.... after restore the backup you should reinstall the stock recovery before apply the OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, didn't see you were asking about fastboot. no, I didn't flash the factory image. I didn't want to go that far and didn't really care enough to do a full wipe
Have you tried Magisk? Could potentially work
hp420 said:
I had a twrp backup of my system partition, which I restored, then fastboot flashed the stock kernel, and wiped caches. Safetynet passed, but the ota would not flash. It said there was an unexpected change in the system, or something to that affect.
I'm not aware of any true, untouched flashable rom zip available. I suppose it wouldn't take long to make one, I just didn't have one available to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A TWRP backup restore doesn't fix the issue. You have to reflash SYSTEM , BOOT(if modified), RECOVERY(if modified), and OEM through fastboot. That is a "block flash," instead of TWRP, which is "file based restore."
apply OTA to rooted phone
Could someone please give me this zip ota moto g4 play I need this file since I thank you.
VR25 said:
A TWRP backup restore doesn't fix the issue. You have to reflash SYSTEM , BOOT(if modified), RECOVERY(if modified), and OEM through fastboot. That is a "block flash," instead of TWRP, which is "file based restore."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about other partitions :
gpt, bootloader, adspso, modem
Must they be restored ?
Just after OTA, is it possible to make a raw image backup with TWRP in R/O mode ?
hamelg said:
What about other partitions :
gpt, bootloader, adspso, modem
Must they be restored ?
Just after OTA, is it possible to make a raw image backup with TWRP in R/O mode ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You only need to restore SYSTEM, OEM, BOOT AND RECOVERY images. That's all you'll ever need. NEVER touch other partitions, unless you are upgrading.
To make RAW image backups of SYSTEM and OEM partitions, use terminal in TWRP
Or "adb shell" from your computer (running as root)
adb shell
ls -al /dev/block/platform/soc/7824900.sdhci/by-name
This command will give you the names of the SYSTEM and OEM partitions of your device, Moto G4 Plus. For example, for Moto Z Play (my device), they are mmcblk0p53 and mmcblk0p51 respectively.
So, the commands would be (again, that's an example for MOTO Z PLAY):
Backup
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p53 of=/sdcard/system.img
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p51 of=/sdcard/oem.img
Restore
dd if=/sdcard/system.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p53
dd if=/sdcard/oem.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p51
Thanks much VR25.
With your help, I have successfully applied the latest OTA
hamelg said:
Thanks much VR25.
With your help, I have successfully applied the latest OTA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Confused. The VR25 guidance is when you had taken a full backup when stock, how to restore back to stock to then apply the OTA. You are describing how to apply the OTA on a rooted device without a pre-rooted backup?
You don't need backups to apply the latest OTA.
Get the stock corresponding to your device.
flash LOGO, SYSTEM, OEM, BOOT AND RECOVERY images.
Apply November OTA
Apply February OTA
I did that without wiping my data.
If you want to avoid reset to stock & apply all OTAs, you must have a binary backup of system partition, not a file based backup (see comment #8).
I asked about this issue here :
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72029402&postcount=55
hamelg said:
You don't need backups to apply the latest OTA.
Get the stock corresponding to your device.
flash LOGO, SYSTEM, OEM, BOOT AND RECOVERY images.
Apply November OTA
Apply February OTA
I did that without wiping my data.
If you want to avoid reset to stock & apply all OTAs, you must have a binary backup of system partition, not a file based backup (see comment #8).
I asked about this issue here :
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72029402&postcount=55
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is the stock for my device
Where is the OTA for my device
My device is the USA unlocked G4P XT1607
nigelhealy said:
Where is the stock for my device
Where is the OTA for my device
My device is the USA unlocked G4P XT1607
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly this question, but then the XT1602. Flashed the stock parts, but no message of an OTA and they are nowhere to be found. Or does anyone have latest stock version full ROM?
TheEvilVirus said:
Exactly this question, but then the XT1602. Flashed the stock parts, but no message of an OTA and they are nowhere to be found. Or does anyone have latest stock version full ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, others were just saying too high a level to not actually helpful. As I did this last week I'll tell you now is as step by step as I can to actually try to be helpful.
Firstly you need to know you will wipe data, there's no avoiding it, that I could find so backup everything, that can be a mix of TWRP backup of data to SDCARD external, USB OTG, or Titanium backup to online / SD / OTG. In my case I prefer to simply install everything and configure everything from scratch.
Follow this guide to return to stock.
In my case I'm on Ubuntu Linux desktop, fastboot got a "no permissions" type message so I had to sudo in front.
The stock for your device, well look at your device Status page now before you start, Settings -> About Phone -> it says Software Channel "retus" so when I go to the list of ROMs in the above guide go to mirrors.lolinet.com - firmware - moto - harpia - official - then I went to Retus, you'd go to a different one probably.
Note these are old stock ROMs I think from September so there have been one or two updates since then.
Follow the step by step guide, basically lots of fastboot commands.
The step where it says fastboot oem lock it bawks and say fastboot oem lock begin and that will do another wipe, so given a later fastboot oem unlock would do a 3rd wipe I didn't do the oem lock, I left mine unlocked and that worked fine.
Let it boot, setup, you will then be in an old stock ROM, then if it doesn't offer to do an update, go into Settings, System Updates, and trigger it to look. It will then download and apply a stock OTA ontop of the stock ROM. In my case it was 1 OTA, 1 update, then that that complete. You then are on stock current ROMs.
Then root and whatever you want.
But note, to get to the impending N OTA, you'll probably have to right back to the top here because your rooted Moto G4 Play will likely refuse the future OTA as the system is modified, so you'd have to repeat, return to an old stock ROM and then let it go through the 1 or 2 or 3 OTAs to get to that future release.
Hence you'd be doing the return to stock twice.
If the mirrors could be updated to newer stocks it would bypass the OTA. My other phone - the OnePlus3T they offer mirrors of full ROMs, they are far easier to use because if you are rooted you download the full ROM not just the delta incremental of the change of the OTA, and then you can flash in recovery the full ROM and it ignores the system state, and no wiping of data. The fact the mirror site is out of date is causing the need to wipe so the OTAs work on an unmodified system.
Fortunately I have multiple phones so I can use another for the few hours this all takes.
works great, I just flash it and without wiping data
hamelg said:
You don't need backups to apply the latest OTA.
Get the stock corresponding to your device.
flash LOGO, SYSTEM, OEM, BOOT AND RECOVERY images.
Apply November OTA
Apply February OTA
I did that without wiping my data.
If you want to avoid reset to stock & apply all OTAs, you must have a binary backup of system partition, not a file based backup (see comment #8).
I asked about this issue here :
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72029402&postcount=55
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
works great and finally my phone can upgrade the OTA updates:laugh::good:
VR25 said:
To make RAW image backups of SYSTEM and OEM partitions, use terminal in TWRP
Or "adb shell" from your computer (running as root)
...
Restore
dd if=/sdcard/system.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p53
dd if=/sdcard/oem.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p51
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is time to apply the may OTA MPIS24.241-15.3-21.
I restored the vanilla system.img MPIS24.241-15.3-16 with dd, but it didn't work. The OTA failed with the error "system partition has unexpected content" because the sha1sum was incorrect.
Here is the solution :
Before restoring with dd, you must check "Mount System partition read only" is enable in the MOUNT menu of TWRP.
With TWRP 3.1, you need no more to use dd. Now, the feature "system image backup" is available

Please backup first

My only question, why do all these people keep hard bricking their phones? Please, your first step after unlocking your bootloader should be a full Nandroid backup, and download of the stock recovery. That way you have the full stock system, kernel and recovery in case of any mistake, OTA, or any other reason to go back to pure stock. If you need to back to stock, restore your backup, then flash the stock recovery in fastboot. Boom, pure stock, able to accept OTA updates, no issues. Please, for the love of God, make a backup before you make any modifications to your phone. Rant over, thanks for your patients.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
riggerman0421 said:
My only question, why do all these people keep hard bricking their phones? Please, your first step after unlocking your bootloader should be a full Nandroid backup, and download of the stock recovery. That way you have the full stock system, kernel and recovery in case of any mistake, OTA, or any other reason to go back to pure stock. If you need to back to stock, restore your backup, then flash the stock recovery in fastboot. Boom, pure stock, able to accept OTA updates, no issues. Please, for the love of God, make a backup before you make any modifications to your phone. Rant over, thanks for your patients.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I also flash the same fastboot ROM on which my device was while on stock (considering I was on the latest update and was trying to flash the fastboot ROM of the same version) if I forgot to make a nandroid backup?
psychopac said:
Can I also flash the same fastboot ROM on which my device was while on stock (considering I was on the latest update and was trying to flash the fastboot ROM of the same version) if I forgot to make a nandroid backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That should be okay, though be aware that doing so may erase your data in the process. If you need to, make a backup of your device as it currently is in nandroid/TWRP and move it off your device. That way, if anything happens, then you may be able to copy the TWRP backup back and restore your device.
---------- Post added at 05:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:26 AM ----------
riggerman0421 said:
My only question, why do all these people keep hard bricking their phones? Please, your first step after unlocking your bootloader should be a full Nandroid backup, and download of the stock recovery. That way you have the full stock system, kernel and recovery in case of any mistake, OTA, or any other reason to go back to pure stock. If you need to back to stock, restore your backup, then flash the stock recovery in fastboot. Boom, pure stock, able to accept OTA updates, no issues. Please, for the love of God, make a backup before you make any modifications to your phone. Rant over, thanks for your patients.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, in the majority of hard brick cases, a backup won't save your device, as it's not the system side of things that causes headaches, it's the underlying bootloader.
The main reason is, from what I've observed, is users flashing either the wrong firmware for their device (e.g. US firmware on an Indian device or vice versa) or attempting to downgrade their firmware. Either method can leave you with a mismatched bootloader and system. OTA updates check what system you have for installation purposes, but appear to assume the bootloader is the same patch level as your system. (Should they check for bootloader as well? That check would go some way to preventing hard bricks, but appears Motorola assumes you wouldn't flash firmware not intended for your device or downgrade...)
Thus, because you have a mismatched bootloader and system patch level, you can run into hard bricks when users attempt to subsequently take OTA updates, especially with bootloaders updated to May 2017 or newer.
E.g. a user flashed the US retail NPNS25.137-35-5 with May 2017 firmware onto their device, but wanted to revert back to the Indian firmware. They flashed back to NPN25.137-15 (Jan 2017 security patch) without being able to flash the bootloader, since bootloaders do not permit downgrading of bootloaders generally, and especially after the May 2017 patch. So you have a May 2017 bootloader but a Jan 2017 system. The OTA update downloads and begins flashing believing that your system is Jan 2017 and applies updates to your bootloader thinking it too is at the Jan 2017 patch level too. Of course, it's not - it's May 2017 - and thus causes a hard brick.
The current resolution for hard bricks is blankflashes to reset the bootloader. The only other resolution is that users do not downgrade their firmware, and are very careful with what they flash, and only flash the same firmware as they had or newer firmware that is a direct update of their existing firmware. Alternatively, flashing TWRP images of stock ROMs may be preferable, as these images only flash the system side of things (like a TWRP nandroid backup), so do not affect the bootloader.
echo92 said:
That should be okay, though be aware that doing so may erase your data in the process. If you need to, make a backup of your device as it currently is in nandroid/TWRP and move it off your device. That way, if anything happens, then you may be able to copy the TWRP backup back and restore your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's absolutely okay with me as I always like to clean flash ROMs and I don't mind the data partition being erased.
echo92 said:
That should be okay, though be aware that doing so may erase your data in the process. If you need to, make a backup of your device as it currently is in nandroid/TWRP and move it off your device. That way, if anything happens, then you may be able to copy the TWRP backup back and restore your device.
---------- Post added at 05:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:26 AM ----------
Unfortunately, in the majority of hard brick cases, a backup won't save your device, as it's not the system side of things that causes headaches, it's the underlying bootloader.
The main reason is, from what I've observed, is users flashing either the wrong firmware for their device (e.g. US firmware on an Indian device or vice versa) or attempting to downgrade their firmware. Either method can leave you with a mismatched bootloader and system. OTA updates check what system you have for installation purposes, but appear to assume the bootloader is the same patch level as your system. (Should they check for bootloader as well? That check would go some way to preventing hard bricks, but appears Motorola assumes you wouldn't flash firmware not intended for your device or downgrade...)
Thus, because you have a mismatched bootloader and system patch level, you can run into hard bricks when users attempt to subsequently take OTA updates, especially with bootloaders updated to May 2017 or newer.
E.g. a user flashed the US retail NPNS25.137-35-5 with May 2017 firmware onto their device, but wanted to revert back to the Indian firmware. They flashed back to NPN25.137-15 (Jan 2017 security patch) without being able to flash the bootloader, since bootloaders do not permit downgrading of bootloaders generally, and especially after the May 2017 patch. So you have a May 2017 bootloader but a Jan 2017 system. The OTA update downloads and begins flashing believing that your system is Jan 2017 and applies updates to your bootloader thinking it too is at the Jan 2017 patch level too. Of course, it's not - it's May 2017 - and thus causes a hard brick.
The current resolution for hard bricks is blankflashes to reset the bootloader. The only other resolution is that users do not downgrade their firmware, and are very careful with what they flash, and only flash the same firmware as they had or newer firmware that is a direct update of their existing firmware. Alternatively, flashing TWRP images of stock ROMs may be preferable, as these images only flash the system side of things (like a TWRP nandroid backup), so do not affect the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the point of having a backup. You don't have to flash anything in fastboot. You have your OWN firmware backed up on YOUR OWN DEVICE and don't have to worry about any mismatch issues.I have been rooting and flashing custom ROMs for 5 years on 7 different devices( this is the first phone I have not rooted...yet). The first thing I always do after installing a custom recovery is make a full backup. That way if I do something wrong, I always have the stock ROM to go back to. I firmly believe all unlocking and rooting guides should have this step included and not listed as optional but as required. This would help prevent a lot trouble from users flashing the wrong firmware on their phones.
For what it is worth, I have rooted and ROMed: LG Optimus V, Nexus 7 (WIFI tablet), HTC One V, Samsung Galaxy 3, HTC Desire 820, Asus Transformer TF101 (tablet) and Motorola Moto G3. On all these devices I had a full backup of the stock system.
riggerman0421 said:
That is the point of having a backup. You don't have to flash anything in fastboot. You have your OWN firmware backed up on YOUR OWN DEVICE and don't have to worry about any mismatch issues.I have been rooting and flashing custom ROMs for 5 years on 7 different devices( this is the first phone I have not rooted...yet). The first thing I always do after installing a custom recovery is make a full backup. That way if I do something wrong, I always have the stock ROM to go back to. I firmly believe all unlocking and rooting guides should have this step included and not listed as optional but as required. This would help prevent a lot trouble from users flashing the wrong firmware on their phones.
For what it is worth, I have rooted and ROMed: LG Optimus V, Nexus 7 (WIFI tablet), HTC One V, Samsung Galaxy 3, HTC Desire 820, Asus Transformer TF101 (tablet) and Motorola Moto G3. On all these devices I had a full backup of the stock system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with what you wrote, a backup in TWRP and having the same stock ROM is essential to a safe and working device... A stock ROM is always useful in flashing the stock recovery and other stock firmware prior to taking an OTA update. With TWRP backups, you now have to be careful not to allow modifications before you take the backup, else the OTA detects the system partition is no longer readonly, if I recall.
Course, this would be much easier if Motorola/Lenovo released the stock firmware rather than having to depend on leaks, but I'm guessing they don't want to deal with users that flash the incorrect firmware for their device.
I have never flashed a phone before.
It seems I have a virus/malware that's inserted itself into the ROM on my phone. I perform a factory wipe and reset but the malware is there on the fresh install, redirecting webpages to a pop-up about Amazon or Walmart gift cards. Backing up the stock ROM seems not an option for me. Is it possible to download a stock ROM somehow?
vantastic415 said:
I have never flashed a phone before.
It seems I have a virus/malware that's inserted itself into the ROM on my phone. I perform a factory wipe and reset but the malware is there on the fresh install, redirecting webpages to a pop-up about Amazon or Walmart gift cards. Backing up the stock ROM seems not an option for me. Is it possible to download a stock ROM somehow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have all the stock firmwares posted here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/how-to/stock-firmware-npn25-137-67-5-fastboot-t3694738
And TWRP flashable stock ROMs here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5-plus/development/rom-twrp-flashable-stock-builds-t3675616

Some questions regarding flashing the stock firmware

Hello, so basically when I was on the June update of my Moto G4 Plus, build NPJS25.93-14-8, software channel reteu, model XT1642 when I decided to unlock my bootloader and flash RR. Now I want to go back to the stock firmware for several reasons, but I have some questions about flashing it. I know how to flash it trough fastboot, but I have some other questions.
1. What are the risks if I flash it?
2. Can I just restore my twrp backup for the fully stock rom, flash the stock recovery and update to the last build through ota? will that work?
3. Will there appear other problems I have to worry about?
4. Can I just flash the June patch through fastboot so that I don't have to flash the updated modems, fsg, bootloader, etc. but instead update them through ota after flashing the stock firmware? Or will that cause bugs?
Thanks for the help and please don't throw hate at me, the last device that I hade with android had android 4.4 and a MediaTek chipset, then I switched to Windows Mobile till last year.
1) As long as you flash the same or newer stock firmware as the latest on your device, you should be okay.
As of writing, if you flash the June 2017, Sept 2017 or Dec 2017 stock firmwares (NPJS25.93-14-8, NPJS25.93-14-10 or NPJS25.93-14-13 respectively) then you shouldn't run into issues and be okay to take OTA updates provided you do a full flash. By a full flash, I mean flashing GPT, bootloader, system, OEM, DSP, modem and the erase steps. If you're flashing the NPJS25.93-14-8 firmware, flashing the same firmware should do nothing to your GPT, bootloader or modem, but is a good routine to ensure your device is clean.
As you're switching from RR to stock firmware, a data wipe/erase is recommended - you may be able to use Titanium Backup or another backup app to preserve your app data, then restore it after flashing the stock ROM (though ensure the backup is off your device). You will have to root your stock ROM to use Titanium Backup however.
The risks come when you flash stock firmware of an older patch level than the stock firmware currently on your device (custom ROMs do not matter in this regard) - strictly speaking, it's not the act of downgrading but attempting to take OTA updates whilst downgraded that causes hard bricks. In most cases, if not all, I've noted that a mismatch of the bootloader patch level and the system patch level are what cause issues for most users. You cannot downgrade bootloaders, so downgrading leads to the following situation:
Say you're on the June 2017 firmware:
June 2017 bootloader, June 2017 system (or RR).
You downgrade to Marshmallow or an earlier build of Nougat (say in this case Dec 2016 Nougat firmware):
June 2017 bootloader (bootloader will block downgrades with a security downgrade error), December 2016 firmware.
You try to take an OTA update. However, OTA updates are only designed for updating, and appear to assume (from looking at the script) your system patch level is the same as your bootloader. If you did not downgrade, this assumption would hold. However, as you've downgraded, you'll get this:
March/June 2017 bootloader *, March 2017 system.
Due to the OTA having authorisation to flash to your bootloader without prior checks, the older OTA corrupts your newer bootloader (as denoted by the *), leading to a hard brick. We do have a blankflash at the moment to help with this, though the easiest way to avoid this situation is to only flash firmware of the same or newer build that what is on your device. Motorola does not support downgrading and assumes the user takes responsibility for downgrading.
2)In theory yes. However, if TWRP was allowed to make modifications before you took the backup, the subsequent OTA might fail as your system partition would be detected as not read-only. Furthermore, you'd need a stock logo.bin, so if you've flashed a logo.bin to hide the bootloader unlocked warning, you'd have to pull that from the NPJS25.93-14-8 stock ROM. TWRP to my knowledge does not back that up.
3)As long as you take your time, and have not downgraded/hard bricked in the past, you should be okay. Ensure you back up as much data with Titanium Backup as previously mentioned, and ensure that you do a full flash, so your GPT, bootloader and system are at the same patch level. As mentioned previously, having your device on the same patch level should mean you have fewer issues with OTAs and stability.
4)I'm not sure what you mean by the June patch, do you mean the June OTA update, or do you mean the June stock ROM?
echo92 said:
1) As long as you flash the same or newer stock firmware as the latest on your device, you should be okay.
As of writing, if you flash the June 2017, Sept 2017 or Dec 2017 stock firmwares (NPJS25.93-14-8, NPJS25.93-14-10 or NPJS25.93-14-13 respectively) then you shouldn't run into issues and be okay to take OTA updates provided you do a full flash. By a full flash, I mean flashing GPT, bootloader, system, OEM, DSP, modem and the erase steps. If you're flashing the NPJS25.93-14-8 firmware, flashing the same firmware should do nothing to your GPT, bootloader or modem, but is a good routine to ensure your device is clean.
As you're switching from RR to stock firmware, a data wipe/erase is recommended - you may be able to use Titanium Backup or another backup app to preserve your app data, then restore it after flashing the stock ROM (though ensure the backup is off your device). You will have to root your stock ROM to use Titanium Backup however.
The risks come when you flash stock firmware of an older patch level than the stock firmware currently on your device (custom ROMs do not matter in this regard) - strictly speaking, it's not the act of downgrading but attempting to take OTA updates whilst downgraded that causes hard bricks. In most cases, if not all, I've noted that a mismatch of the bootloader patch level and the system patch level are what cause issues for most users. You cannot downgrade bootloaders, so downgrading leads to the following situation:
Say you're on the June 2017 firmware:
June 2017 bootloader, June 2017 system (or RR).
You downgrade to Marshmallow or an earlier build of Nougat (say in this case Dec 2016 Nougat firmware):
June 2017 bootloader (bootloader will block downgrades with a security downgrade error), December 2016 firmware.
You try to take an OTA update. However, OTA updates are only designed for updating, and appear to assume (from looking at the script) your system patch level is the same as your bootloader. If you did not downgrade, this assumption would hold. However, as you've downgraded, you'll get this:
March/June 2017 bootloader *, March 2017 system.
Due to the OTA having authorisation to flash to your bootloader without prior checks, the older OTA corrupts your newer bootloader (as denoted by the *), leading to a hard brick. We do have a blankflash at the moment to help with this, though the easiest way to avoid this situation is to only flash firmware of the same or newer build that what is on your device. Motorola does not support downgrading and assumes the user takes responsibility for downgrading.
2)In theory yes. However, if TWRP was allowed to make modifications before you took the backup, the subsequent OTA might fail as your system partition would be detected as not read-only. Furthermore, you'd need a stock logo.bin, so if you've flashed a logo.bin to hide the bootloader unlocked warning, you'd have to pull that from the NPJS25.93-14-8 stock ROM. TWRP to my knowledge does not back that up.
3)As long as you take your time, and have not downgraded/hard bricked in the past, you should be okay. Ensure you back up as much data with Titanium Backup as previously mentioned, and ensure that you do a full flash, so your GPT, bootloader and system are at the same patch level. As mentioned previously, having your device on the same patch level should mean you have fewer issues with OTAs and stability.
4)I'm not sure what you mean by the June patch, do you mean the June OTA update, or do you mean the June stock ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking your time and answering my silly questions. 4) I mean the June stock ROM. And I've forgotten...
5) If you relock the bootloader, will you be able to unlock it again? How exactly does this work? The device gets another ID that you use again on the Moto site? Or you unlock it with the key that you used the first time you unlocked?
6) I have seen people that flashed the stock firmware through fastboot without relocking the bootloader and the software status shown in bootloader mode changed from "Official" (like mine) to "Modified" and the phone would show "Your device has failed verification and may not boot propertly." instead of the one with the unlocked bootloader. Just like here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OQQn105Bp8 . Though I have seen that some of these packages on xda are "Signed by Moto". So the problem does not occur when flashing those images?
corlatemanuel said:
Thanks for taking your time and answering my silly questions. 4) I mean the June stock ROM. And I've forgotten...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have stock backup of current firmware, restore it and check build number in settings >about.
5) If you relock the bootloader, will you be able to unlock it again? How exactly does this work? The device gets another ID that you use again on the Moto site? Or you unlock it with the key that you used the first time you unlocked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no benefits for relocking. if you want to lock you can, and it can be unlocked with same key.
6) I have seen people that flashed the stock firmware through fastboot without relocking the bootloader and the software status shown in bootloader mode changed from "Official" (like mine) to "Modified" and the phone would show "Your device has failed verification and may not boot propertly." instead of the one with the unlocked bootloader. Just like here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OQQn105Bp8 . Though I have seen that some of these packages on xda are "Signed by Moto". So the problem does not occur when flashing those images?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true, that Modified status comes when you try to modify stock ROM, for various meaning, say installing mods in system (not in case of systemless), or if you try to remove/add apps to system/oem, when you change something in stock ROM, then you will get modified status. (Modification in custom ROM will not change it, only stock ROM does.)
So if you have official status right now, you don't need to worry about it.
Otherwise, to remove modified status,
You need to take OTA, (which can be dangerous as echo92 told you above.),
Bootloader relocking is not necessary to remove Modified, you can still take OTA and it will work..
> Flash June's patch (if you are 100% sure about current firmware)
> take OTA of September
Taking OTA makes it again official. (There was no update for bootloader in September patch, if not official again, December will make it..)
____Mdd said:
You have stock backup of current firmware, restore it and check build number in settings >about.
There are no benefits for relocking. if you want to lock you can, and it can be unlocked with same key.
Not true, that Modified status comes when you try to modify stock ROM, for various meaning, say installing mods in system (not in case of systemless), or if you try to remove/add apps to system/oem, when you change something in stock ROM, then you will get modified status. (Modification in custom ROM will not change it, only stock ROM does.)
So if you have official status right now, you don't need to worry about it.
Otherwise, to remove modified status,
You need to take OTA, (which can be dangerous as echo92 told you above.),
Bootloader relocking is not necessary to remove Modified, you can still take OTA and it will work..
> Flash June's patch (if you are 100% sure about current firmware)
> take OTA of September
Taking OTA makes it again official. (There was no update for bootloader in September patch, if not official again, December will make it..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok then, since I'm 100% sure that I was on NPJS5.93-14-8 I'll flash that firmware, but where exactly do I find the one that I need? Doesn't the region matter? I'm on XT1642, in Europe, on the software channel reteu. So which one package do I use? I found 2 of them on AFH from tywinlannister7. And also, quite many people flashed the wrong modem and got into trouble, from what I've seen on xda. So any precautions I should take in that matter?
P.S. I don't want to flash the December patch since it updates the bootloader and there is no blankflash for that version yet... Also can't find the September one.
corlatemanuel said:
Ok then, since I'm 100% sure that I was on NPJS5.93-14-8 I'll flash that firmware, but where exactly do I find the one that I need? Doesn't the region matter? I'm on XT1642, in Europe, on the software channel reteu. So which one package do I use? I found 2 of them on AFH from tywinlannister7. And also, quite many people flashed the wrong modem and got into trouble, from what I've seen on xda. So any precautions I should take in that matter?
P.S. I don't want to flash the December patch since it updates the bootloader and there is no blankflash for that version yet... Also can't find the September one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One by tywinlennister7, it is fine and confirmed working on different retails, (retin, retus, retla, many others.)
I have seen modem and other critical problems when one flashes old firmware (marshmallow roms), those all problems happened when old (MM) firmware is flashed.
You can take backup of all partitions by TWRP (fsg, data, system, boot, firmware, all options in shreps twrp), this all things can be helpful in case if something wrong happens, internal memory will be wiped so move them to external... Then flash....
About December, it's your wish to update or not.
If you are worried about blank-flash, then let me remind you again, you will need blank-flash only if you downgrade and take OTA. When you update to December's patch update, remove all older firmware on your computer and keep December's firmware zip only. If you need to flash stock, flash it, not other old..
List of Nougat firmware:
NPJS25.93-14-8 (June 2017) : https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=889764386195918175
This build appears to be targeted towards India, Brazil, EU and UK users, other territories may apply. This updates to NPJS25.93-14-10 (Sept 2017):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9tngVBGIajVQkQtLUUxR2NOTnc/edit
NPJS25.93-14-13 is the December 2017 update from NPJS25.93-14-10: https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=745849072291698845
As ____Mdd has mentioned, the blankflash is only useful if you hard brick your device, and even then that usually only happens if you go flashing older firmware than what's on your device and then take an OTA update. If you don't downgrade, then you won't have a use for the blankflash normally.
If you want to be sure you're getting the right updates, you can flash the NPJS25.93-14-8 stock ROM, which should leave your device on the same patch level (if it was previously on NPJS25.93-14-8 and you're certain about that), then let the OTA updates download the correct patch. As your device firmware should all be on the same patch level, OTA updates should be okay. Bear in mind you may not receive the December 2017 OTA yet, as I've only seen it deployed to India/Mexico so far. It should be coming to EU soon if it's not arrived.
____Mdd said:
You can take backup of all partitions by TWRP (fsg, data, system, boot, firmware, all options in shreps twrp), this all things can be helpful in case if something wrong happens, internal memory will be wiped so move them to external... Then flash....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I was busy this week but I'm back with just a couple more questions:
Which partitions should I back up with the Partition Backup app and with TWRP? What format should I choose for the Partition Backup app?
Can I lock the bootloader after flashing and booting the stock ROM or do I have to do it while flashing?
I have restored my TWRP backup for NPJS5.93-14-8 and rooted it for the backup app. Is there any other helpful information about my device that I should share with you?
What should I install on my PC? I currently have mfastboot-v2 on my C:\ drive in the adb folder, should I install the Minimal ADB and Fastboot as I have seen people using it for the stock ROM flash? Also, do I need to install any drivers in particular?
echo92 said:
2)In theory yes. However, if TWRP was allowed to make modifications before you took the backup, the subsequent OTA might fail as your system partition would be detected as not read-only. Furthermore, you'd need a stock logo.bin, so if you've flashed a logo.bin to hide the bootloader unlocked warning, you'd have to pull that from the NPJS25.93-14-8 stock ROM. TWRP to my knowledge does not back that up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So If I use this guide and relock the bootloader would I be okay? https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/guide-sucsessfull-ota-update-rooting-t3472658
Also, relocking wipes Data and Internal Storage, right?
corlatemanuel said:
Ok, I was busy this week but I'm back with just a couple more questions:
Which partitions should I back up with the Partition Backup app and with TWRP? What format should I choose for the Partition Backup app?
Can I lock the bootloader after flashing and booting the stock ROM or do I have to do it while flashing?
I have restored my TWRP backup for NPJS5.93-14-8 and rooted it for the backup app. Is there any other helpful information about my device that I should share with you?
What should I install on my PC? I currently have mfastboot-v2 on my C:\ drive in the adb folder, should I install the Minimal ADB and Fastboot as I have seen people using it for the stock ROM flash? Also, do I need to install any drivers in particular?
So If I use this guide and relock the bootloader would I be okay? https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/guide-sucsessfull-ota-update-rooting-t3472658
Also, relocking wipes Data and Internal Storage, right?
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Click to collapse
1) If you want to make a backup, I would make a backup with the standard TWRP partitions selected (should be all of them but without cache). I've not used the Partition Backup app so cannot comment as to which formats to use, but standard formats for system and cache should be ext4, and data as f2fs.
2)Generally if you want to lock your bootloader, you should flash the stock ROM first, then boot to the stock ROM. In Settings > Developer Options, you will want to turn on OEM unlocking. Then, you can re-lock your bootloader with a full flash of all the commands. For more info and things to be aware of, have a look at this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74971791&postcount=497 Be aware that if you choose to lock your bootloader, you may not be able to use backups of data you made as TWRP and backup apps may require an unlocked bootloader. Anything you kept on internal storage should be transferable back to your device though.
Re-locking likely wipes data and internal storage, so ensure you back up and keep the back ups off your device - on your computer is the best location - until you are done. Also, be warned that any SD cards you have formatted and adopted as internal storage will be unreadable and need erasing, unless you retain the encryption key. So if you have an adopted SD card, back that up too.
3)I would install Minimal ADB and fastboot (v1.4.2 or newer) as most of the newer guides are based on fastboot rather than mfastboot (which is Motorola's version of fastboot, if I recall). You may wish to have the Motorola device drivers installed too - https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_detail/a_id/79106/p/30,75,27,
4)That guide is quite old, plus only restores your device back to a state where OTA updates would be possible (i.e. flashing stock recovery, system, OEM). That guide you linked will not re-lock your bootloader. If you want the commands to re-lock your device bootloader, this guide should help: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/stock-rom-npjs25-93-14-4-march-1-t3608138 Again, heed the warnings I note in the above link.
echo92 said:
1) If you want to make a backup, I would make a backup with the standard TWRP partitions selected (should be all of them but without cache). I've not used the Partition Backup app so cannot comment as to which formats to use, but standard formats for system and cache should be ext4, and data as f2fs.
2)Generally if you want to lock your bootloader, you should flash the stock ROM first, then boot to the stock ROM. In Settings > Developer Options, you will want to turn on OEM unlocking. Then, you can re-lock your bootloader with a full flash of all the commands. For more info and things to be aware of, have a look at this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74971791&postcount=497 Be aware that if you choose to lock your bootloader, you may not be able to use backups of data you made as TWRP and backup apps may require an unlocked bootloader. Anything you kept on internal storage should be transferable back to your device though.
Re-locking likely wipes data and internal storage, so ensure you back up and keep the back ups off your device - on your computer is the best location - until you are done. Also, be warned that any SD cards you have formatted and adopted as internal storage will be unreadable and need erasing, unless you retain the encryption key. So if you have an adopted SD card, back that up too.
3)I would install Minimal ADB and fastboot (v1.4.2 or newer) as most of the newer guides are based on fastboot rather than mfastboot (which is Motorola's version of fastboot, if I recall). You may wish to have the Motorola device drivers installed too - https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_detail/a_id/79106/p/30,75,27,
4)That guide is quite old, plus only restores your device back to a state where OTA updates would be possible (i.e. flashing stock recovery, system, OEM). That guide you linked will not re-lock your bootloader. If you want the commands to re-lock your device bootloader, this guide should help: https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4-plus/how-to/stock-rom-npjs25-93-14-4-march-1-t3608138 Again, heed the warnings I note in the above link.
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Click to collapse
So shreps' twrp can also backup the modems? I am on the 64-bit twrp from lannister7 (too lazy to check his name ) and it doesn't show the modems in "Backup", it only shows firmware, fsg, hw and ol the other stuff. And also, I have to flash the firmware twice if I want to lock the bootloader? I can imagine some really bad situations if you flash it with the OEM lock command included, some sh*t happens, you get an error and the device gets bricked whilst also being locked, and not being able to unlock it because of the "OEM Unlocking" option not being accessible, since the device would be bricked. So if I understand correctly, the OEM lock begin and OEM lock commands fully wipe the device, even the system, causing the need to flash everything again? Or the OEM lock commands require you to flash the stock ROM again because of safety issues?
corlatemanuel said:
So shreps' twrp can also backup the modems? I am on the 64-bit twrp from lannister7 (too lazy to check his name ) and it doesn't show the modems in "Backup", it only shows firmware, fsg, hw and ol the other stuff. And also, I have to flash the firmware twice if I want to lock the bootloader? I can imagine some really bad situations if you flash it with the OEM lock command included, some sh*t happens, you get an error and the device gets bricked whilst also being locked, and not being able to unlock it because of the "OEM Unlocking" option not being accessible, since the device would be bricked. So if I understand correctly, the OEM lock begin and OEM lock commands fully wipe the device, even the system, causing the need to flash everything again? Or the OEM lock commands require you to flash the stock ROM again because of safety issues?
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Click to collapse
Don't think shrep's TWRP backs up the modem, only the FSG partition (which appears to be half of the modem/baseband function). Modems are provided in the stock firmware anyhow.
Yes, you have to flash the firmware first (without OEM locking commands), then enable OEM unlocking in Settings>Developer Options, as I mentioned in the other post I wrote. Else, you may not be able to re-lock your bootloader. With OEM unlocking enabled, if a flash failed, you may still be able to unlock your bootloader and flash a custom ROM. Hence, this way gives you a way out, as you have OEM unlocking enabled, hence I recommending that you flash twice. After enabling OEM unlocking, then you flash fully with the OEM locking commands included.
Again, this is why I always say have plenty of time and do not rush this process, as this is critical to your device properly functioning, and to read up as much as you can on the pros and cons of the process.
The two OEM lock begin commands at the beginning of the locking command list will erase your device. Entering the first of those commands will prompt you and alert you to the fact your device is going to be erased. It only erases your data and likely your internal storage/cache, it should not erase any other partitions as they are usually not user modifiable.
If you are certain that your device is fully stock and at the same patch level, then you can use the OEM lock begin commands and OEM lock commands to lock your bootloader. However, if any of your device firmwares is not on the same patch level as your bootloader, you will likely have a boot failure as the firmware fails the bootloader verification checks (as the bootloader expects only firmware of the same patch level). Hence, I strongly recommend to re-flash the firmware to ensure you have clean stock firmware with matching patch levels.
Again, this process of re-locking your bootloader will mean no TWRP (no backups) or root or Titanium Backup.
echo92 said:
Don't think shrep's TWRP backs up the modem, only the FSG partition (which appears to be half of the modem/baseband function). Modems are provided in the stock firmware anyhow.
Yes, you have to flash the firmware first (without OEM locking commands), then enable OEM unlocking in Settings>Developer Options, as I mentioned in the other post I wrote. Else, you may not be able to re-lock your bootloader. With OEM unlocking enabled, if a flash failed, you may still be able to unlock your bootloader and flash a custom ROM. Hence, this way gives you a way out, as you have OEM unlocking enabled, hence I recommending that you flash twice. After enabling OEM unlocking, then you flash fully with the OEM locking commands included.
Again, this is why I always say have plenty of time and do not rush this process, as this is critical to your device properly functioning, and to read up as much as you can on the pros and cons of the process.
The two OEM lock begin commands at the beginning of the locking command list will erase your device. Entering the first of those commands will prompt you and alert you to the fact your device is going to be erased. It only erases your data and likely your internal storage/cache, it should not erase any other partitions as they are usually not user modifiable.
If you are certain that your device is fully stock and at the same patch level, then you can use the OEM lock begin commands and OEM lock commands to lock your bootloader. However, if any of your device firmwares is not on the same patch level as your bootloader, you will likely have a boot failure as the firmware fails the bootloader verification checks (as the bootloader expects only firmware of the same patch level). Hence, I strongly recommend to re-flash the firmware to ensure you have clean stock firmware with matching patch levels.
Again, this process of re-locking your bootloader will mean no TWRP (no backups) or root or Titanium Backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well how can I backup the modem, modemst1 and modemst2 partitions then? that app that I mentioned doesn't work, It doesn't backup anything, and the shreps TWRP doesn't include modem backup. Need help ASAP, everything else is ready except for the backup.
P.S. I'm really tired of my G4 Plus having the icon of a keyboard in This PC )
Edit: I'm dumb, just realised that the FSG IS the modemst1 and modemst2, right?
corlatemanuel said:
Well how can I backup the modem, modemst1 and modemst2 partitions then? that app that I mentioned doesn't work, It doesn't backup anything, and the shreps TWRP doesn't include modem backup. Need help ASAP, everything else is ready except for the backup.
P.S. I'm really tired of my G4 Plus having the icon of a keyboard in This PC )
Edit: I'm dumb, just realised that the FSG IS the modemst1 and modemst2, right?
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Click to collapse
Let me clarify my recent post of backup of modem,
All issue i have seen related to corrupted modems and HW partition are happened when one tried to flash older firmwares, those are marshmallow firmwares..
Till then, i have never seen any modem or corrupted hw partition while flashing latest firmwares..
Just make sure your downloaded firmware is latest or same as you have right now..
corlatemanuel said:
Well how can I backup the modem, modemst1 and modemst2 partitions then? that app that I mentioned doesn't work, It doesn't backup anything, and the shreps TWRP doesn't include modem backup. Need help ASAP, everything else is ready except for the backup.
P.S. I'm really tired of my G4 Plus having the icon of a keyboard in This PC )
Edit: I'm dumb, just realised that the FSG IS the modemst1 and modemst2, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As ____Mdd has mentioned, backups of modem is only required if you've flashed the wrong firmware at some point (due to the different variants of stock firmware). You've given us no indication of that.
modemst1 and modemst2 are, as I understand it, caches and temporary storage of details that are normally wiped during a stock ROM flash, and are then re-filled when the device reboots. FSG is different to modemst1 and modemst2 I think, being one part of the modem/baseband firmware.
As we've both mentioned, modem and FSG are both provided by the stock ROM (as NON-HLOS.bin and fsg.mbn).
I have made it! I've flashed the stock rom without any problem or error!
I want to thank you all because I wouldn't have been able to flash this without your help! I have also locked the bootloader, then I updated to September update and, shortly afterwards, to December update. Now, if I will ever flash custom ROMs again (which has a high probability) I will know how to restore to the stock ROM. So thanks, and I will leave the thread open if anyone will have the need of assistance with this process, or maybe I will have other questions in the future! So, for the third time, thanks for your valuable help guys!

Unlocked bootloader and OTA updates

Will i recive OTA update if i unlock the bootloader?
Androidtroll said:
Will i recive OTA update if i unlock the bootloader?
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Click to collapse
Yes. Just unlocking the bootloader still allows everything to work normally, though you can't install otas if you mounted or modified /system and /oem partitions, or have twrp recovery.
Otherwise your phone should still function as if it weren't unlocked.
In addition to the above reply - if you do modify your system and want to flash back to stock firmware, please check if you can download the correct firmware for your device. I see from your history you have a retEU device, so the latest series of firmwares would be the NPNS25.137-93 series (with NPNS25.137-93-10 being the April 2018 security patch). I'd suggest checking to see if there is a stock ROM matching your current build before you unlock the bootloader (either at https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/potter/official/RETAIL/ or https://firmware.center/firmware/Motorola/Moto G5 Plus/Stock/ or https://androidfilehost.com/?a=show&w=files&flid=171014 ) though it seems the latest firmware that's been leaked is NPNS25.137-93-4 (the Jan 2018 security patch build). Just as a headsup, firmware.center has a cryptominer that could keep your CPU at 100 % if you have their page open.
If you download and flash the NPNS25.137-92-10 firmware, which is the April 2018 security patch for Brazil/India devices, you may be able to re-lock your bootloader and get back to full stock, but you may not be able to receive OTA updates (as the NPNS25.137-92 series of updates do not appear to be deployed to the retEU channel), so be careful which firmware you flash.
You can still unlock your bootloader without having the latest firmware to hand, but until the firmware matching your stock firmware before you unlocked or newer is available, you may not be able to re-lock your device. You may be able to flash older stock firmware for EU devices, but please do not use OTA updates if you flash older stock firmware, else you may hard brick your device.
Good luck whichever way you decide.
bazinga137 said:
Yes. Just unlocking the bootloader still allows everything to work normally, though you can't install otas if you mounted or modified /system and /oem partitions, or have twrp recovery.
Otherwise, your phone should still function as if it weren't unlocked.
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Click to collapse
Yes the Same thing Happened
I had TWRP recovery and I installed the Security Patch
my Phone Stuck at TWRP
but it has One solution
First, take the data backup of all in twrp at your sd card
now install any custom Rom
Reboot your device and check the rom is working or not
do reboot and go back to your Twrp and Restore the backup
I tested it and It worked perfectly
echo92 said:
In addition to the above reply - if you do modify your system and want to flash back to stock firmware, please check if you can download the correct firmware for your device. I see from your history you have a retEU device, so the latest series of firmwares would be the NPNS25.137-93 series (with NPNS25.137-93-10 being the April 2018 security patch). I'd suggest checking to see if there is a stock ROM matching your current build before you unlock the bootloader (either at https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/potter/official/RETAIL/ or https://firmware.center/firmware/Motorola/Moto G5 Plus/Stock/ or https://androidfilehost.com/?a=show&w=files&flid=171014 ) though it seems the latest firmware that's been leaked is NPNS25.137-93-4 (the Jan 2018 security patch build). Just as a headsup, firmware.center has a cryptominer that could keep your CPU at 100 % if you have their page open.
If you download and flash the NPNS25.137-92-10 firmware, which is the April 2018 security patch for Brazil/India devices, you may be able to re-lock your bootloader and get back to full stock, but you may not be able to receive OTA updates (as the NPNS25.137-92 series of updates do not appear to be deployed to the retEU channel), so be careful which firmware you flash.
You can still unlock your bootloader without having the latest firmware to hand, but until the firmware matching your stock firmware before you unlocked or newer is available, you may not be able to re-lock your device. You may be able to flash older stock firmware for EU devices, but please do not use OTA updates if you flash older stock firmware, else you may hard brick your device.
Good luck whichever way you decide.
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Click to collapse
I would unlock the bootloader just to try to fix the camera (then edit the system files), not for flash twrp / custom rom
Androidtroll said:
I would unlock the bootloader just to try to fix the camera (then edit the system files), not for flash twrp / custom rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just unlocking the BL wouldn't be enough to edit system files. You'll need root privileges to do so and for that you will have to flash/boot TWRP to install a root app like magisk.
So all the useful information @echo92 posted above is significant for you.
Sent from my Moto G5 Plus using XDA Labs
Is there a way to take TWRP off or disable to still grab the security patches? Or is clean install/backup (like Rutambh mentioned) the only option? The reason I ask I needed TWRP to install camera mod, so it would be nice to still get those OTA's. I tried to just fastboot boot TWRP but it would just hang at it's logo. Flash was only option.
Frawgg said:
Is there a way to take TWRP off or disable to still grab the security patches? Or is clean install/backup (like Rutambh mentioned) the only option? The reason I ask I needed TWRP to install camera mod, so it would be nice to still get those OTA's. I tried to just fastboot boot TWRP but it would just hang at it's logo. Flash was only option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If anything in /system or /oem is tampered like installing a camera mod (or just mounting system r/w) the only way to receive future OTA updates is flashing your current ROM incl. stock recovery via fastboot.
Sent from my Moto G5 Plus using XDA Labs

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