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[Q] Recovery/Back up/Flashing ROMs CONFUSED

Hello! I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge.
First of all here is my phone info
Rooted RAZR maxx hd with unlocked bootloader (XT926)
My main objective is to flash custom ROMs and see if any are better and faster than stock.
My problem is I have no idea what I'm doing. I can't seem to find any threads that are simple enough for me to understand what I need to do and in what order I need to do those things.
Supposedly I need to back up my phone which seems to be the same thing as having a recovery???
If there is a thread that simplifies backing up and using a custom recovery please post a link.
I don't understand how to back up my phone, or if I use my computer or phone to do said back up.
I don't understand how to use the app ROM manager, my phone isn't listed on it when I try to download clockworkmod. So I downloaded a file cwm.img and I don't know what the heck to do with it?
I think I have adb on my computer?
I'm so confused and there's too much information and it makes no sense to me. Can someone please help me or post links to SIMPLE walk throughs of what I need to do and tell me what order I'm supposed to do them in?
I'm sorry if you think I haven't searched because I've been searching for a long time over a few days and all I've found is information that is too complex for me.
I appreciate any help! I'm new and I don't want to hurt my phone.

boost4life17 said:
Hello! I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all here is my phone info
Rooted RAZR maxx hd with unlocked bootloader (XT926)
Mine is a Razr HD (XT925) But it's mainly the same except roms and some tools (and probably some other things I don't know...)
My main objective is to flash custom ROMs and see if any are better and faster than stock.
Which is the idea I had a week ago
My problem is I have no idea what I'm doing.
I was exactly in the same position since this is my first smartphone ever ^^
I can't seem to find any threads that are simple enough for me to understand what I need to do and in what order I need to do those things.
Well I had to search a while cause I first of all wanted to backup the most I could before doing anything.
Supposedly I need to back up my phone which seems to be the same thing as having a recovery???
This is a good thinking But there are limitations on what you can do without making the first thing which is rooting your phone "and then unlocking it".
If there is a thread that simplifies backing up and using a custom recovery please post a link.
I don't understand how to back up my phone, or if I use my computer or phone to do said back up.
The first thing I could do, was to backup the Apps/Contacts/etc... by using some apps like : MyBackup
The thing is : these applications are limited until you are rooted, because you wont be able to save apps data like your game scores or whatever
The second way to backup, is to make an entire backup of your system and data, which can only be made after unlocking the bootloader (by installing a custom recovery).
Be careful, unlocking your bootloader will ENTIRELY WIPE the data you have so make backups BEFORE.
I don't understand how to use the app ROM manager, my phone isn't listed on it when I try to download clockworkmod. So I downloaded a file cwm.img and I don't know what the heck to do with it?
Not sure about it because I never got that app before unlocking my bootloader.
I think I have adb on my computer?
To get adb on your computer, you need Android-SDK.
I'm so confused and there's too much information and it makes no sense to me. Can someone please help me or post links to SIMPLE walk throughs of what I need to do and tell me what order I'm supposed to do them in?
If you need more infos, dont hesitate to ask me on your post Ill subscribe to it in case of
I'm sorry if you think I haven't searched because I've been searching for a long time over a few days and all I've found is information that is too complex for me.
I can understand, personnaly im working in IT and I understand how this can be a pain when you have no knowledge at all on that subject :/
I appreciate any help! I'm new and I don't want to hurt my phone.
Once again, good thinking, but even thought, going where you are going is very risked.
And I can tell...because I nearly bricked my phone...as you can see here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2631547

boost4life17 said:
Hello! I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge.
First of all here is my phone info
Rooted RAZR maxx hd with unlocked bootloader (XT926)
My main objective is to flash custom ROMs and see if any are better and faster than stock.
My problem is I have no idea what I'm doing. I can't seem to find any threads that are simple enough for me to understand what I need to do and in what order I need to do those things.
Supposedly I need to back up my phone which seems to be the same thing as having a recovery???
If there is a thread that simplifies backing up and using a custom recovery please post a link.
I don't understand how to back up my phone, or if I use my computer or phone to do said back up.
I don't understand how to use the app ROM manager, my phone isn't listed on it when I try to download clockworkmod. So I downloaded a file cwm.img and I don't know what the heck to do with it?
I think I have adb on my computer?
I'm so confused and there's too much information and it makes no sense to me. Can someone please help me or post links to SIMPLE walk throughs of what I need to do and tell me what order I'm supposed to do them in?
I'm sorry if you think I haven't searched because I've been searching for a long time over a few days and all I've found is information that is too complex for me.
I appreciate any help! I'm new and I don't want to hurt my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Start
Use Recovery Tools from play to flash your fav img.
TWRP check my Problems post in HD gen. Pocket proof, easy
Not pocket proof:
CWMR be careful of the double touch conformation!-you can use the keys til you are versed w/ the input flukes that inspired Philz recovery. Otherwise solid & simple.
I use Philz which may support everything in Rom Manager soon.
RM works w/ Photon Q recovery works on all the msm8960 phones, xt907, 925, 926, mb886. keys only.
All recoveries
Just because you can format it, it still may not be supported in the backup or even the xml restore (/persist)
edit
Get a SANDISK 64 GB CARD, FORMAT FROM RECOVERY to default format-fat32. Then when in doubt BACKUP.
All for now
bye

No offense intended, but if it's too difficult for you, than you probably shouldn't touch the phone until you understand everything. Before you start modding, you need to know how to recover it so we don't have another brick. Once you start to understand the minor things, it will be like a light switch and the more complex things will start to make sense.

Hybris95 said:
First of all ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be careful, unlocking your bootloader will ENTIRELY WIPE the data you have so make backups
>>>>
This only happens on a moto factory UL.
Not the one for the xt907, 926 & mb886.
I do believe a 925 can save themselves the bother of the factory path if they do not mind it being not reversible. Yet both are irreversibly noticeable.

aviwdoowks said:
Be careful, unlocking your bootloader will ENTIRELY WIPE the data you have so make backups
>>>>
This only happens on a moto factory UL.
Not the one for the xt907, 926 & mb886.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that I thought XT926 were close enough from XT925 (which is the only device I own) to have the same unlocking process.
My bad ^^

well if you're already unlocked and rooted, use this
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_xt925
follow the instructions, go to the development forum, download TWRP, CWM whichever floats your boat, and just use adb and fastboot.
id reccomend a backup, nandroid, titianium, etc.

djvita said:
well if you're already unlocked and rooted, use this
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_xt925
follow the instructions, go to the development forum, download TWRP, CWM whichever floats your boat, and just use adb and fastboot.
id reccomend a backup, nandroid, titianium, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is post # 5 true for you & your 925 unlock?
Thanks

RikRong said:
No offense intended, but if it's too difficult for you, than you probably shouldn't touch the phone until you understand everything. Before you start modding, you need to know how to recover it so we don't have another brick. Once you start to understand the minor things, it will be like a light switch and the more complex things will start to make sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an excellent point. When I first got into this a couple of years ago, I soft bricked my Bionic. I was able to recover it, but I could have avoided the problem if I had read a little more first. Now I read, read, read before trying something new. I found YouTube videos very helpful when I was a noob. Rootjunky is one resource, online and on YouTube. rootjunky.com
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

aviwdoowks said:
Is post # 5 true for you & your 925 unlock?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i supposedly backed up with cwm, but the last time i got in that option, it did not find that backup.
at least there is a firmware superthread, but my cwm is for 4.4 only, so id have to flash another cwm to go back to stock jb
i find a titanium backup to be better, just backup my sms/calls, wifi keys, and user apps...

RikRong said:
No offense intended, but if it's too difficult for you, than you probably shouldn't touch the phone until you understand everything. Before you start modding, you need to know how to recover it so we don't have another brick. Once you start to understand the minor things, it will be like a light switch and the more complex things will start to make sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense taken! I appreciate the constructive criticism. That is why I posted this question. I am reading all I can and I won't be attempting anything more until I understand the concepts. I just didn't know where to go for a more simple explanation of these concepts since apparently I'm not as intelligent as 90% of you guys on this forum!
I have already rooted and unlocked my phone so that's a good start haha. I will now follow the advice given in this thread and hopefully learn enough to understand these more complex concepts!
I appreciate everyone's information and responses!
Thanks ya'll
Jess

Good to hear you've placed these flammers where they have to be ^^
Anyway Nice job on what is done, the hardest and risky is still to come :/
Envoyé de mon XT925 en utilisant Tapatalk

its easy, the scripts i used are noob friendly, most important part is to backup your info!

djvita said:
yes i supposedly backed up with cwm, but the last time i got in that option, it did not find that backup.
at least there is a firmware superthread, but my cwm is for 4.4 only, so id have to flash another cwm to go back to stock jb
i find a titanium backup to be better, just backup my sms/calls, wifi keys, and user apps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
???
Cwm=Cwmr?
Recovery is made for phone not any particular rom.

I'm glad you didn't take offense. Just keep learning, you are off to a good start.
Sent from my Droid RAZR MAXX HD using xda app-developers app

[Q] factory reset

I got my phone rooted , got the last update XNPH05Q installed but have a lot of problems
How can I do a factory reset ?
I read that sometimes it is also ok to flash the rom but where do I find that rom ?
I also have a backup on my PC from 22/11/2014 just after I have rooted my phone .
Some good advice please ?

Turn the phone off, hold vol down and power at the same time, boot into recovery and wipe data. That will erase the OS and you'll reboot into the setup phase.

so I will come back in the original OS ? CyanogenMod(11S) ?
And why not use factory settings on the device ?

Correct me if im wrong but wouldnt that just get you into a bootloop because there is no OS at all ?
But im Not an expert.
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515m using XDA Free mobile app

None of those answers are correct. A factory reset only resets user data (apps and settings), it will not erase the OS, it will not put the phone into a bootloop, it will not return the phone to a previous OS. All it does is erase your apps and settings.
@zaiko2000, I'm assuming the backup you have was made by TWRP? If so, you can just restore that to roll back.
Transmitted via Bacon

Thanks for the quick reply but one more question . Wouldn't it be better to start from the beginning ? I mean go back to the original state since I rooted the phone and then installed the update .
Can I do that with the factory reset or do you think install the backup again is better ?
I found also a bacon root kit what seems to be easy .

zaiko2000 said:
Thanks for the quick reply but one more question . Wouldn't it be better to start from the beginning ? I mean go back to the original state since I rooted the phone and then installed the update .
Can I do that with the factory reset or do you think install the backup again is better ?
I found also a bacon root kit what seems to be easy .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most valuable piece of advice I can give you is to stay away from toolkits, they're more trouble than they're worth, plus they allow you to do things to your phone without actually knowing what's going on, which bypasses some very crucial learning and experience, and it's that experience that'll get you out of trouble in future when/if something goes wrong.
Anyway, the best way to do it is probably to start fresh, and the best way to start fresh is by wiping and flashing the stock images with fastboot. You'll find full instructions in section 8 of my guide thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2839471
The download I provide there is for the most recent update, so if you want the previous version you can get out from here:
http://builds.cyngn.com/factory/bacon/cm-11.0-XNPH44S-bacon-signed-fastboot.zip
The fastboot commands are the same.
Transmitted via Bacon

Did it this afternoon and it worked fine !!!!
Great job and many thanks !!!

Downgrade?

Hi there,
My phone has android 6.0.1 and i want it downgraded to android lollipop because ive got problems with android 6.0.1.
Im a total noob with all this stuff, so can someone please advise step by step how i can do this? I have the MOTO G 3rd Gen, SKU is "XT1541", Ram is 1GB and ROM 8GB. My current system version is 24.61.55.osprey_reteu.reteu.en.EU reteu. Build number is MPI24. 107-55. This phone will accept any phone network. Can someone please help? thanks in advance!

There are multiple threads discussing downgrading, it can be done if your device has the bootloader unlocked (which wipes data and voids the warranty)... There are some inherent dangers in doing so, some immediate and some long-term dealing with future updates which have the potential to brick the device.
What are the issues you are having, many times it is better to solve those then to downgrade.

acejavelin said:
There are multiple threads discussing downgrading, it can be done if your device has the bootloader unlocked (which wipes data and voids the warranty)... There are some inherent dangers in doing so, some immediate and some long-term dealing with future updates which have the potential to brick the device.
What are the issues you are having, many times it is better to solve those then to downgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some apps wont run well on android 6.0.1 such as facebook etc (personal and buisness use) and my phone generally ran better with the previous android version. The phone does not have a warranty on it anyway so that does not matter. Trust me, it really cudnt be much worse than it is atm, ive factory reset it and its just not up to standard as it was with android 5. I did have android 6.0 which i didnt like and then i got 6.0.1, which was putting ice on the cake, (in a bad way!). I am 1000% sure i want to downgrade my device. Can you help?

Ryanm353 said:
Some apps wont run well on android 6.0.1 such as facebook etc (personal and buisness use) and my phone generally ran better with the previous android version. The phone does not have a warranty on it anyway so that does not matter. Trust me, it really cudnt be much worse than it is atm, ive factory reset it and its just not up to standard as it was with android 5. I did have android 6.0 which i didnt like and then i got 6.0.1, which was putting ice on the cake, (in a bad way!). I am 1000% sure i want to downgrade my device. Can you help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much to it... Unlock the bootloader, factory reset, then use the lollipop factory image from the factory images thread, gpt.bin will fail, just continue to flash everything all the way through. Follow the instructions in how to flash factory images, it's all done in fastboot.
Sent from my Motorola XT1575 using XDA Labs

acejavelin said:
Not much to it... Unlock the bootloader, factory reset, then use the lollipop factory image from the factory images thread, gpt.bin will fail, just continue to flash everything all the way through. Follow the instructions in how to flash factory images, it's all done in fastboot.
Sent from my Motorola XT1575 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. But can you explain all that in more detail step by step? I need clear instructions on how to do all that as ive literally no idea about anything.

Ryanm353 said:
Thanks. But can you explain all that in more detail step by step? I need clear instructions on how to do all that as ive literally no idea about anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense, but this is not something to be taken lightly... there are many steps.
First, backup all your data... it will be lost.
Start by reading the first few posts in this thread... This will give the basics of what is needed to be done, what tools you need, how to do it, and the factory firmware images (you will need the correct one for your device, all the ones available are in this thread.
Next, read the first two posts in this thread... this is the instructions in detail of exactly how to flash a firmware image. Pay attention to the warnings and follow the linked threads with more information and make sure you understand all of it.
Once you have read and understand this part, you need to get fastboot working... this tool is essential to making all this work. Both of the threads I mentioned above have links to the drivers and Minimal ADB & Fastboot you will need. Install them and make sure they are working.
Now you can unlock the bootloader, this will wipe all data on your device. The instructions and process are done directly with Moto here.
Once you have unlocked the bootloader, reboot and start the bootloader and follow the instructions in the threads above, noting that the part where enter the command "fastboot flash partition gpt.bin" will likely fail because you are downgrading, but no other pieces should fail, if they do enter them again (radios are known to need to be done 2-3 times sometimes before taking), and continue all the way to the end. Pay attention to the number of sparcechunks in your image, it can will vary and you need to flash all pieces in order for your device, there could be anywhere from 5-9 pieces.
Keep a log of everything, it is much easier to tell what happened if something goes wrong by looking at the terminal log (scroll back of the terminal window) than just guessing.
TBH... I am not endorsing this method, but it generally does work, and although it is difficult to brick the Moto G 2015 it is not impossible. After you are done, you will need to root the device and freeze the updater service so you are not constantly prompted to update, and taking an OTA update can be problematic since your bootloader and/or partition table will not match the rest of the ROM correctly.
Personally I think since you have to unlock the bootloader anyway, you are probably better off just looking for a custom ROM like CM13, Resurrection Remix, or something like that since there are lots of rock solid Marshmallow aftermarket ROMs. Or if you are dead set on Lollipop, using CyanogenMod 12.1 instead of downgrading.
I know there is a downgrade utility out there, and not to take away from the developers work but I would suggest avoiding it.

Unlock Bootloader on locked phone

Hi all,
I've been trying to access data on my phone since one day it would not recognise the screen pattern anymore and I don't want to lose my data by wiping it.
Sadly, everything on the phone is locked: lockscreen, bootloader and usb debugging. It also doesn't have a custom recovery.
I have tried booting twrp and orangefox, but it was not possible because of the locked bootloader.
Does anybody have an idea what I can do; either a different way to get my data back, or another way to unlock bootloader?
thanks!

[Android][Guide]Hacking And Bypassing Android Password/Pattern/Face/PI
- DISCLAIMER - This Is For Educational Purposes Only You Shall Not Use This On Other People Phones Without Permission Under Any Circumstances I'm Not Responsible For Any Eventual Errors And Misbehaving Of Your Devices Files And Tutorials Are...
forum.xda-developers.com
I hope that could help, but..
I'm not sure if you could get back ur data safely.

Azhar_Fahry said:
[Android][Guide]Hacking And Bypassing Android Password/Pattern/Face/PI
- DISCLAIMER - This Is For Educational Purposes Only You Shall Not Use This On Other People Phones Without Permission Under Any Circumstances I'm Not Responsible For Any Eventual Errors And Misbehaving Of Your Devices Files And Tutorials Are...
forum.xda-developers.com
I hope that could help, but..
I'm not sure if you could get back ur data safely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, sadly none of these work since most of them need me to boot into recovery mode - on op6 the recovery is also secured by the pattern I couldn't wait anymore and wiped the phone by now.

shoerri said:
Hi all,
I've been trying to access data on my phone since one day it would not recognise the screen pattern anymore and I don't want to lose my data by wiping it.
Sadly, everything on the phone is locked: lockscreen, bootloader and usb debugging. It also doesn't have a custom recovery.
I have tried booting twrp and orangefox, but it was not possible because of the locked bootloader.
Does anybody have an idea what I can do; either a different way to get my data back, or another way to unlock bootloader?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Getting bootloader unlocked there is no other way than formatting data which deletes all files in internal storage. And it also needs USB debugging enabled and proper driver installed in the computer. Upon reading your situation it seems that you device is not working properly. Only think I can suggest is to use MSM tool to revert back your device as like what it is when you first bought it. But then it will format your internal storage.

Question S22 ultra

hi, I need some info, is it possible to restore the phone which, when first turned on, lets you choose the language etc etc like when it's new without doing a restore? perhaps by deleting something

nobody can tell me

massimomax74 said:
nobody can tell me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you are describing is the normal behaviour of an Android phone on first boot after reset (or when fresh from factory). There is nothing to restore, the phone is not yet set up and there is no data on it....
If the phone was indeed not new/reset: If you need some help it would be helpful to describe more in detail what happened, what you did to get there and/or what you are trying to achieve ....
Just my 2 cents

I agree with above post. What are you wanting to restore? In my opinion you will have to factory reset if you want to start from scratch. Unless your device is International and you are rooted with Twrp and you created a backup...then you would have something to restore.