I'm currently on rooted 4.4 (19.5.3), and I'm debating whether to flash to 4.4.4 or wait till Android L is released. I'm still on locked bootloader and I'm not in a hurry to unlock it via Sunshine if I'm staying with 4.4. Sunshine is great BTW, unlocked the wife's Moto X with it. But even with her phone, I kept it on 4.4.2 to stay on the older bootloader because the way I understand it, once you upgrade to 4.4.4, you will not be able to downgrade to anything lower. So, my logic is, keep it on 4.4, locked, until the landscape is clear unless there are real compelling reasons to unlock and upgrade now. So that is the question, are there any advantages to upgrading other than security and other small improvements? I've flashed the 4.4.4 radios and it didn't improve my reception at all, if anything, it made it worse! It switches to 3G at the house a lot where it used to stay at 4G but I don't care since I'm on wifi. The only thing I really want is the KK dialer which 4.4.4 does not have. I've also switched to the AOSP email apks which I love. Other little interface changes were applied with GravityBox and other Xposed modules. I'm pretty happy where the phone is, what are you guys' thoughts?
Here is the change log you should weight against; https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/100660
I know the bluetooth issue was enough for me to upgrade, finally fixed that issue. Not sure but don't you have to upgrade to this version before upgrading to the next version, if it is L or not?
Thanks for that link. What was the Bluetooth issue in your case? I've Bluetooth'd to my cars just fine. I don't know if 4.4.4 is an prerequisite for Android L, but I've read that it has a new boot loader that can't be downgraded. So if I felt like trying a JB ROM capable of overclocking, I'm out of luck. Not that I would go that route, I really like KK. Just wished it was closer to stock like the Moto X. Which as Topsnake pointed out is a good reason to unlock boot loader to flash his ROM. LOL. I think the bottom line is, I want to wait so I don't close off doors like the guys that upgraded to 4.4.4 before Sunshine came out did.
Johnny Wong said:
Thanks for that link. What was the Bluetooth issue in your case? I've Bluetooth'd to my cars just fine. I don't know if 4.4.4 is an prerequisite for Android L, but I've read that it has a new boot loader that can't be downgraded. So if I felt like trying a JB ROM capable of overclocking, I'm out of luck. Not that I would go that route, I really like KK. Just wished it was closer to stock like the Moto X. Which as Topsnake pointed out is a good reason to unlock boot loader to flash his ROM. LOL. I think the bottom line is, I want to wait so I don't close off doors like the guys that upgraded to 4.4.4 before Sunshine came out did.
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Click to collapse
Well if you unlock your guaranteed root regardless of any updates
IMHO, I would just hang off updating to 4.4.4. Here's why:
1. If you change your mind, you can unlock the bootloader and that is rarely a negative thing.
2. You can root your phone and flash custom recoveries. Having root permissions gives you unbelievable control and customization. Custom recoveries will definitely save you some unnecessary grief in case you make a mistake. It's very hard to brick your phone with a good recovery like TWRP or CWM.
3. You can flash Android L based ROMS which I'm sure will be coming out soon. ASOP, AOKP and stock unbloated ROMS give your phone a brand new life and a bit more battery life.
You can just unlock your phone's BL and stay in 4.4, just like now...
Johnny Wong said:
Thanks for that link. What was the Bluetooth issue in your case? I've Bluetooth'd to my cars just fine. I don't know if 4.4.4 is an prerequisite for Android L, but I've read that it has a new boot loader that can't be downgraded. So if I felt like trying a JB ROM capable of overclocking, I'm out of luck. Not that I would go that route, I really like KK. Just wished it was closer to stock like the Moto X. Which as Topsnake pointed out is a good reason to unlock boot loader to flash his ROM. LOL. I think the bottom line is, I want to wait so I don't close off doors like the guys that upgraded to 4.4.4 before Sunshine came out did.
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Click to collapse
Yes you are correct, once you move to 4.4.4 you cannot go back due to the new boot-loader not being backwards compatible. My Bluetooth issues were with any Bluetooth device it would constantly blip randomly via my car or anything connected via Bluetooth. Moto pushes out the updates to devices in order (i.e. you have to go from 4.2 to 4.4 to 4.4.4 to L), but if you obtain the update files manually you may be able to skip 4.4.4 and go straight to the next one (if that even is L or not), but that is a big maybe.
Related
I understand the Moto G LTE never came with JB, but I'm curious what your thoughts on the possibility of taking the JB build for the regular Moto G and installing it on the LTE model?
The reason I'm asking is because I use to own the non-LTE Moto G. It came with KitKat out of the box, but through one of the great threads here on this site I was able to downgrade it to 4.3. The benefits for me were two fold, at least an additional 1-1.5 hour of screen on time, and most importantly the old webkit. I'm willing to sacrifice battery, but the lost of the old webkit is the most frustrating part. In a nutshell, The text reflow and zoom settings found in browsers such as Opera/Dolphin just don't compare to what I was able to get with webkit browsers that are not crippled by KitKat.
My thoughts on this matter:
- JB from the non-LTE Moto G is probably already 80% compatible with the LTE model
- Problem points: missing drivers for new radio and gyroscope.
- OS probably already supports sd card
I'm curious what your thoughts are on this? Has anyone tried flashing the Moto G JB rom on to the G? Is anyone working on JB roms for this phone?
StOrmCatz said:
I understand the Moto G LTE never came with JB, but I'm curious what your thoughts on the possibility of taking the JB build for the regular Moto G and installing it on the LTE model?
The reason I'm asking is because I use to own the non-LTE Moto G. It came with KitKat out of the box, but through one of the great threads here on this site I was able to downgrade it to 4.3. The benefits for me were two fold, at least an additional 1-1.5 hour of screen on time, and most importantly the old webkit. I'm willing to sacrifice battery, but the lost of the old webkit is the most frustrating part. In a nutshell, The text reflow and zoom settings found in browsers such as Opera/Dolphin just don't compare to what I was able to get with webkit browsers that are not crippled by KitKat.
My thoughts on this matter:
- JB from the non-LTE Moto G is probably already 80% compatible with the LTE model
- Problem points: missing drivers for new radio and gyroscope.
- OS probably already supports sd card
I'm curious what your thoughts are on this? Has anyone tried flashing the Moto G JB rom on to the G? Is anyone working on JB roms for this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why should devs work on 4.3? We have 4.4 and we'll have "L" soon
Sent from my SM-T210R using XDA Free mobile app
The lazy buggers, haha jelly beans feels like GB to ICS now.. No one wants it.. I guess there's the excitement of seeing " a update is available "
StOrmCatz said:
I'm curious what your thoughts are on this? Has anyone tried flashing the Moto G JB rom on to the G? Is anyone working on JB roms for this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an interesting thought. Have you unlocked the boot loader on your LTE model? If so, why not try flashing the main system partition from one of the stock Moto JB builds for the non-LTE G, clear your cache and userdata, try booting it, and see what happens? (I'd leave everything else untouched...radio firmware/baseband, bootloader, probably even the partition table.) My guess: assuming that the KK partition table on the LTE model has a space big enough to accommodate the system partition, it will probably boot up just fine. The question is going to be whether any of the radios (cellular or WiFi) work at all in the stock JB (included drivers might not work).
-- Nathan
nlra said:
It's an interesting thought. Have you unlocked the boot loader on your LTE model? If so, why not try flashing the main system partition from one of the stock Moto JB builds for the non-LTE G, clear your cache and userdata, try booting it, and see what happens? (I'd leave everything else untouched...radio firmware/baseband, bootloader, probably even the partition table.) My guess: assuming that the KK partition table on the LTE model has a space big enough to accommodate the system partition, it will probably boot up just fine. The question is going to be whether any of the radios (cellular or WiFi) work at all in the stock JB (included drivers might not work).
-- Nathan
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately my bootloader is not unlocked. I'm kind of waiting it out a bit just in case I need warranty. However, it's definitely something worth trying when I decide to unlock and there is still no good alternative to the old webkit. Any ideas what the risks could be with a bad system partition? Is it possible for that to brick the phone or cause something irreversible? As it's I imagine just the OS software, I'd expect possibly a boot loop. But I'm not familiar enough to know if could cause other issues.
StOrmCatz said:
Any ideas what the risks could be with a bad system partition? Is it possible for that to brick the phone or cause something irreversible?
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Click to collapse
I don't see how. You aren't touching anything especially low-level. You would be leaving the bootloader alone, the partition table alone, the modem/baseband firmware alone...if the system image from the non-LTE version cannot boot for whatever reason (likely lack of proper hardware support for whatever is different), you would just force it back into fastboot mode and reflash the system image you were using before.
Oh, you will probably also need to flash over boot.img (which is the Linux kernel, not the bootloader...bootloader is motoboot.img) in addition to system.img, since the two are generally paired together. But, again, I can't fathom how a bad kernel could brick the phone. Just flash back boot.img and system.img from the stock Moto G LTE release you were on before, and everything should be back to normal.
If you ever end up trying this, please report back and let us all know how it went. I will be most curious to know if it works.
-- Nathan
nlra said:
I don't see how. You aren't touching anything especially low-level. You would be leaving the bootloader alone, the partition table alone, the modem/baseband firmware alone...if the system image from the non-LTE version cannot boot for whatever reason (likely lack of proper hardware support for whatever is different), you would just force it back into fastboot mode and reflash the system image you were using before.
Oh, you will probably also need to flash over boot.img (which is the Linux kernel, not the bootloader...bootloader is motoboot.img) in addition to system.img, since the two are generally paired together. But, again, I can't fathom how a bad kernel could brick the phone. Just flash back boot.img and system.img from the stock Moto G LTE release you were on before, and everything should be back to normal.
If you ever end up trying this, please report back and let us all know how it went. I will be most curious to know if it works.
-- Nathan
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Click to collapse
Thanks Nathan for the helpful responses! I have decided to go a different route and customize a KitKat rom with the classic 4.3 webview. I figure when the time comes, it'll be easier to go with supported Android versions than going backward. As there are no custom roms yet available for the Moto G LTE, I've instead made one for the non-LTE variant based on CM11. I've made a thread here looking for people to try it out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g/help/trying-moto-g-falcon-cm11-build-classic-t2822006
I own a Verizon SCH-I535 that had version 4.1.2 and after months of avoiding the Verizon update I stupidly pressed install now instead of later. I did have enough mind to take the battery out before it could reboot but my question is can I still root? And can I still use the 4.1.2 method? I don't want to install any roms just wish to uninstall any bloat apps.
I had a very similar issue some time ago. Check out my thread at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2607252
I went in a few circles, soft bricked my phone, but was able to recover. I think the important thing is to verify if your bootloader has been locked or not; boot into odin/recovery mode and checkout the messages posted in my thread. If the bootloader is not locked yet then you have options. If it is locked, you should probably just reboot the phone and let it do it's thing as the locked bootloader cannot be reverted.
Depends on how important this is to you. My wife got the 4.3 update and loves it, but she is not the type to do any customization. I now have a CM 10 d2vzw and am happy. It I were to do this again, I would probably verify you have an unlocked bootloader and re-flash the complete stock 4.1.2 image as I did. Issue is, you will probably lose a lot of data & settings, but things like pictures, etc. should sitll be there. Once the stock 4.1.2 is there you will want to root and disable updates, or else flash a new rom.
The 4.3 update (and anything after it) locks the bootloader. If that's a big deal to you, then you need to push some custom roms. If not, towelroot works on everything so far, so you'd be able to reroot (pretty hassle free) and do what you want.
Has anyone attempted this? The latest 5.0.1 is no good for me. I wonder if i can just flash 5.0 on top of it with out losing data or experiencing other problems.
i dont know if you are going to experience issues but what you can do is to copy, the data and obb folders, and backup the apps with titanium backup in your sd card.
dowgrade on stock tablet
Since an asnwer still hasnt been posted, Id like to know if it is possible to downgrade from 5.0.1 to 5.0. My tablet has never been rooted and has a locked bootloader, and I would prefer of it were to stay like that. Im thinking something similar to Odin on a GS4
andreinept said:
Since an asnwer still hasnt been posted, Id like to know if it is possible to downgrade from 5.0.1 to 5.0. My tablet has never been rooted and has a locked bootloader, and I would prefer of it were to stay like that. Im thinking something similar to Odin on a GS4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U would have to unlock your boot loader. There are instructions on nvidia's site explaining the process. After looking into this, i think the only way to downgrade requires wiping all data. I think i may just hold out until they release a new update. Fortunately nvidia releases updates fairly quick.
Thanks for the help
Does anybody else have graphic glitches such as green colours appearing purple, and even when I panic and restart it remains even on the boot logo then goes away after a bit (no particular remedy, it just goes). There doesnt seem to be any particular action that makes it do that, it just spazzes out for a bit. Is this a driver glitch or just my particular device?
Im hoping its a driver glitch of sorts and not my device malfunctioning
i had upgraded my mexi-maxx to lollipop a few months ago and could no longer stand it. outside of being picky with my phone, the GPS didn't work as I had hoped.
i reverted back to kitkat by means of a TWRP backup I had. Had some issues with doing so. some of my images would not work, but a stock on of KK did. could not use any of @ChazzMatt images either; nor factory images as RSD pinged a FAIL. started getting worried, but just about all good now.
the phone now boots directly to bootloader mode and i have to choose 'start' to boot into system.
is there a way to change this? thanks all.
You can try Brazil 22.34.16 lollipop build, it is the most stable 5.0.2 for moto maxx / turbo atm. Your issue is caused by the incompability with the lollipop bootloader and 4.4 kitkat twrp image. Take a copy of your nandroid backup to your pc and flash 4.4.4 images except gpt.bin.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/help/tutorial-how-to-flash-official-firmware-t3074724 ( following 5.step )
Then flash twrp recovery and restore your 4.4.4 nandroid, it will be fine this time.
Semseddin said:
You can try Brazil 22.34.16 lollipop build, it is the most stable 5.0.2 for moto maxx / turbo atm. Your issue is caused by the incompability with the lollipop bootloader and 4.4 kitkat twrp image. Take a copy of your nandroid backup to your pc and flash 4.4.4 images except gpt.bin.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/help/tutorial-how-to-flash-official-firmware-t3074724 ( following 5.step )
Then flash twrp recovery and restore your 4.4.4 nandroid, it will be fine this time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. really dislike LP as a whole. are there advantages i'm not seeing? battery was the same, wasn't really faster, GPS terrible (used stock rooted and CM12.1)
want to make sure I understand what i'm doing. according to thread you linked to (thank you btw I could not find that earlier too busy freaking out) because i took the LP OTA i have the upgraded LP bootloader, but I do not need to downgrade it to go back to KK? meaning LP BL is backwards compatible?
snowboardwcu said:
Thanks. really dislike LP as a whole. are there advantages i'm not seeing? battery was the same, wasn't really faster, GPS terrible (used stock rooted and CM12.1)
want to make sure I understand what i'm doing. according to thread you linked to (thank you btw I could not find that earlier too busy freaking out) because i took the LP OTA i have the upgraded LP bootloader, but I do not need to downgrade it to go back to KK? meaning LP BL is backwards compatible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to downgrade to 4.4.4 with stock images except gpt.bin or else, it is normal having issues like you're facing. Lollipop bootloader is meant to work on lollipop system. Anyway, just flash 4.4.4 full images with mfastboot except gpt.bin, then flash your twrp recovery and restore your kitkat nandroid. It will be fine.
I downgraded my xt1225 back in time with the same tutorial and it works fine.
this works perfectly. old twrps work again.
trying to the india version of LP as some are saying its vetter, installed and then put cm12.1 back on. gonna give it a week or so and see if GPS locks better. if not, back to kitkat. thanks for the help.
snowboardwcu said:
this works perfectly. old twrps work again.
trying to the india version of LP as some are saying its vetter, installed and then put cm12.1 back on. gonna give it a week or so and see if GPS locks better. if not, back to kitkat. thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
India firmware is as bogus as a software can get and they didn't deploy patch ota's to fix its issues. Your best stock lolipop bet is brazil 5.0.2
Semseddin said:
India firmware is as bogus as a software can get
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Click to collapse
bogus as in not official or bogus as in crap sw&support? again, no interest in using stock LP. cm12.1 fits all my needs except the double swipe to pattern unlock, which from what i read i'm stuck with.
at this point i'm only interested in the best driver set for the phone. interested in getting better GPS lock and hopefully better reception at work, in the middle of a giant metal building (kitkat worked much better IMO WRT to reception and LTE/HSPA+ handover)
Semseddin said:
India firmware is as bogus as a software can get and they didn't deploy patch ota's to fix its issues. Your best stock lolipop bet is brazil 5.0.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
snowboardwcu said:
bogus as in not official or bogus as in crap sw&support? again, no interest in using stock LP. cm12.1 fits all my needs except the double swipe to pattern unlock, which from what i read i'm stuck with.
at this point i'm only interested in the best driver set for the phone. interested in getting better GPS lock and hopefully better reception at work, in the middle of a giant metal building (kitkat worked much better IMO WRT to reception and LTE/HSPA+ handover)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were just running stock LP -- which you say you do not want to do -- then @Semseddin is correct that Brazil and Mexico factory images are better than India. Just because they both have newer updates India was never given.
In my images thread you can see,
Brazil: QUARK_RETBR_5.0.2_LXG22.33-12.13_cid12_subsidy-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip
vs
India: QUARK_RETEU_INDIA_5.0.2_LXG22.33-12.11_cid7_subsidy-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip
Then, @Jaocagomez has an OTA which takes it to:
OTA to 22.34.16 Brasil Retail Stock Lollipop 5.0.2 /// Blur_Version.22.34.16.quark_retbr.retbr.en.BR.zip
But CM12.1 beats all that by having 5.1.1.
Yes, CM 12.1 (5.1.1) is still using the stock 5.0.2 kernel source -- because Motorola has not yet released 5.1 kernel source they gave to the XT1254 Droid Turbo back at the beginning of July. But it's still 5.1.1 with 5.02 kernel source, NOT 5.0.2. with 5.02 kernel source. It's a vast improvement! Stock 5.0.2 was too laggy for me.
So, for me running CM12.1 (or another 5.1.1 custom ROM) gives me the best of both worlds. I have the latest kernel source/radio that Motorola has released for our phones, while still having 5.1.1.
_________
Now having said all that, my wife and I have two XT1225.
I flashed both to India LP 5.0.2, then flashed CM.
I also re-flashed the India radio and bootloader (5.0.2) found in the CM12.1 op post just to make sure.
I have no problem with GPS. I use GPS every day. But I use TopNTP. See this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62320192&postcount=624
_____
The only issues I have with CM12.1 is my phone seems to lock on to HSPA when leaving Wi-Fi network even though there are strong LTE signals around -- and even though I have "LTE Preferred" chosen. As I drive it will eventually move from HSPA to LTE, but takes like 15-20 minutes.
If I stop the car, remove and put back in the SIM card 2 or 3 times, then it finally locks onto LTE network that was there all along!
It was a change CM made to APNs/telephony back end of July that seems to cause this. (I kept my wife's phone on the July 29 nightly. We will be in the car, she will have LTE and I will have HSPA. Arghhh.)
But I put up with it, and keep flashing new nightlies -- hoping it will be fixed -- and also because other than that CM12.1 is very smooth and much better than stock 5.0.2. I don't want to flash my phone back to July 29 nightly. I still have it -- but I would have to wipe my phone completely and reinstall for it to work. I already tried just flashing that older nightly over a newer one and I got boot loops. I restored latest back up from recovery and haven't bothered since.
Fixed this issue. See here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63048064&postcount=696
ChazzMatt said:
The only issues I have with CM12.1 is my phone seems to lock on to HSPA when leaving Wi-Fi network even though there are strong LTE signals around -- and even though I have "LTE Preferred" chosen. As I drive it will eventually move from HSPA to LTE, but takes like 15-20 minutes.
If I stop the car, remove and put back in the SIM card 2 or 3 times, then it finally locks onto LTE network that was there all along!
It was a change CM made to APNs/telephony back end of July that seems to cause this. (I kept my wife's phone on the July 29 nightly. We will be in the car, she will have LTE and I will have HSPA. Arghhh.)
But I put up with it, and keep flashing new nightlies -- hoping it will be fixed -- and also because other than that CM12.1 is very smooth and much better than stock 5.0.2. I don't want to flash my phone back to July 29 nightly. I still have it -- but I would have to wipe my phone completely and reinstall for it to work. I already tried just flashing that older nightly over a newer one and I got boot loops. I restored latest back up from recovery and haven't bothered since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been on a plain rooted 4.1.2 rom for years. I now need to update for a couple apps I use to work. Can someone give me some brief feedback and point me in the right direction so I can update my phone without locking the bootloader?
I like the plain set up I have now, so maybe I just need to update to the highest version without locking BL. Thanks.
I thought about trying this---> File: cm-10.1-20130315-NIGHTLY-d2vzw.zip, but all links that I've found are dead. Anyone know where I might find this file? Thanks
CM is dead. The leftovers rose from the ashes as Lineage OS.
Look them up. Pretty stable.
Jump straight into Marshmallow or Nougat. I'm still on CM12.1 Lollipop, but the newer stuff should work fine. There are threads for all of it, so do good reading before you start.
Thanks for answering my thread. I haven't messed around with my phone in years. I guess what you're saying is since I've never took the OTA 4.3, I can load an advanced CM without locking my bootloader.
phonetool....thanks for the input. I tried Nougat but I had issues with my 3G data and a couple other little things.
I decided to go with 12.1 Lollypop and it is great. All my apps work and 3G fires right up.