Downgrading Android 6.0 - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey everyone, I need a little help downgrading my android 6.0 to 5.1. I've looked online and found several ways to do it but I need help figuring out which is the best method. In one method it shows to flash the 5 .img files (recovery, uderdata, system, etc.) I found another method where the user uses NRT and does it in one click. In another method I don't have to flash all the files in my image folder, only flash-all.bat and need to wipe cache partition in my recovery, also wipe date/factory reset. Each of these methods is different from the other and has me really confused on which is the correct one, as you can tell I m fairly new to this so please excuse my inexperience, any help would be gladly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Why?

Just a learning experience. Would you happen to know how I should go about this?

They are all correct.
The nrt is runs a script just like flash-all.bat. Manually flashing individual img files has been automated by nrt and flash-all.bat.

Wow, thanks a lot for the information. So either route I take will give me a favorable result. Once downgraded would I need to root my phone again?

Yes, you'll have to re-root.
But why downgrade rather than just apply another 6.0 or 6.0.1? I don't understand why people want to go backwards.

I will eventually go back to 6.1 but since I'm new to the scene in just trying to learn. Thanks for answering my question.

helpplzz said:
I will eventually go back to 6.1 but since I'm new to the scene in just trying to learn. Thanks for answering my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are doing it to learn about flashing it would be the same to just flash 6.1 again, same process. Also, it the theme of learning the process, it is best to follow the guide in general and flash each file in fastboot separately, the flash-all.bat or NRT are just going to do all the things for you and you will learn nothing.

Related

[Q] Need some guidance for updating PA4+Beta3

Hello,
I recently hopped over from stock to Paranoid Android 4 Beta (0).
This is my first experience messing around with the backend of Android, but I did jailbreak my iPhone a few times, I'd hope that helps my comprehension of all of this.
I currently have the Paranoid OTA installed, and it's telling me there are new versions,
I've downloaded the files and they are on the phone, but whenever I install it restarts and nothing happens. It stays on the current version, I'm doing the
I've been ticking to Backup, wipe the data, cache and dalvik but not the systen.
When it boots back up (it's instant, I'm still on beta(0).
Any help or guidance is appreciated, sorry if this is the wrong place!
phntem said:
Hello,
I recently hopped over from stock to Paranoid Android 4 Beta (0).
This is my first experience messing around with the backend of Android, but I did jailbreak my iPhone a few times, I'd hope that helps my comprehension of all of this.
I currently have the Paranoid OTA installed, and it's telling me there are new versions,
I've downloaded the files and they are on the phone, but whenever I install it restarts and nothing happens. It stays on the current version, I'm doing the
I've been ticking to Backup, wipe the data, cache and dalvik but not the systen.
When it boots back up (it's instant, I'm still on beta(0).
Any help or guidance is appreciated, sorry if this is the wrong place!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I´m guessing you have a custom recovery installed?.
Get the latest paranoid update from HERE and the latest gapps from HERE.
Boot into recovery and flash ROM GAPPS and if necessary SuperSU and then reboot. Should work.
lichti1901 said:
I´m guessing you have a custom recovery installed?.
Get the latest paranoid update from [removed] and the latest gapps from [removed]
Boot into recovery and flash ROM GAPPS and if necessary SuperSU and then reboot. Should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there Litchi,
Thanks for posting.
I'm so bad at this stuff, I used the Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh. I really am a bit clueless on what custom recoveries have been installed. What I can tell you is that I have Paranoid Android 4 Beta with the corresponding GAPPS.
I tried doing Clockword Mod for backups but eventually just stopped trying, and used the backup provided in the toolkit (nandroid I think).
I installed the Paranoid OTA hoping that it would take care of me having to do it through my PC again since the drivers were such a mess last time.
Could you just provide a bit more detail as to the steps I'd need to take for that? I hate being so illiterate at this stuff.
Really appreciate any more help you can give! Thanks.
phntem said:
Hi there Litchi,
Thanks for posting.
I'm so bad at this stuff, I used the Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh. I really am a bit clueless on what custom recoveries have been installed. What I can tell you is that I have Paranoid Android 4 Beta with the corresponding GAPPS.
I tried doing Clockword Mod for backups but eventually just stopped trying, and used the backup provided in the toolkit (nandroid I think).
I installed the Paranoid OTA hoping that it would take care of me having to do it through my PC again since the drivers were such a mess last time.
Could you just provide a bit more detail as to the steps I'd need to take for that? I hate being so illiterate at this stuff.
Really appreciate any more help you can give! Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really need to read the sticky at the top of this forum called [FAQ] [REF]★ All you need to know about Android | Read this before you post/root ! ★
It gives you all the information you need to know. We pretty much all here advise against using toolkits for the exact reason in your post, it leaves you knowing nothing about your system, what you have got or the knowledge to use it. These toolkits are seen as a shortcut, but please be aware, there are NO shortcuts
Please read through that thread a few times. Don't flash anything else until you understand the process, what you have got and how to use it. Please don't take this the wrong way but you are not ready to flash things yet. Even if you have already flashed something, there are holes in yoru knowledge that can have disastrous consequences.
rootSU said:
You really need to read the sticky at the top of this forum called [FAQ] [REF]★ All you need to know about Android | Read this before you post/root ! ★
It gives you all the information you need to know. We pretty much all here advise against using toolkits for the exact reason in your post, it leaves you knowing nothing about your system, what you have got or the knowledge to use it. These toolkits are seen as a shortcut, but please be aware, there are NO shortcuts
Please read through that thread a few times. Don't flash anything else until you understand the process, what you have got and how to use it. Please don't take this the wrong way but you are not ready to flash things yet. Even if you have already flashed something, there are holes in yoru knowledge that can have disastrous consequences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken,
Thanks for the help SU! I never really checked out this website, but I had seen the name around.
Appreciate the link.
Does anyone know why the Paranoid OTA application ITSELF isn't doing the work for me though?
phntem said:
None taken,
Thanks for the help SU! I never really checked out this website, but I had seen the name around.
Appreciate the link.
Does anyone know why the Paranoid OTA application ITSELF isn't doing the work for me though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may be an issue with the CWM recovery which is what I assume you have installed with the toolkit, as thats about standard...
In android, /sdcard on the nexus 5 isn't actually an /sdcard. /sdcard is actually /data/media/0 so whenever you are looking in what you think is in /sdcard, you're not... it's /data/media/0. It's been like this since 4.2 Jelly Bean, when multiuser support was added to android. The theory is there will be multiple /sdcards, for each user that logs in. The default user is use "0". With me so far?
Before multi-user support, /sdcard for devices with no physical sdcard, was simply /data/media. Now, CWM never bothered to update it's code to point to /data/media/0, so even today, basic CWM doesn't know the full location of your /sdcard. If the updater downloads the files to /sdcard (which it should), then tells CWM to look in /sdcard for the files to flash, the files cannot be seen because CWM is looking in the wrong place.
Essentially, you should look at ditching CWM and it's antiquated configuration in favour of Philz Recovery or TWRP. Both use /data/media/0 correctly as /sdcard
rootSU said:
It may be an issue with the CWM recovery which is what I assume you have installed with the toolkit, as thats about standard...
In android, /sdcard on the nexus 5 isn't actually an /sdcard. /sdcard is actually /data/media/0 so whenever you are looking in what you think is in /sdcard, you're not... it's /data/media/0. It's been like this since 4.2 Jelly Bean, when multiuser support was added to android. The theory is there will be multiple /sdcards, for each user that logs in. The default user is use "0". With me so far?
Before multi-user support, /sdcard for devices with no physical sdcard, was simply /data/media. Now, CWM never bothered to update it's code to point to /data/media/0, so even today, basic CWM doesn't know the full location of your /sdcard. If the updater downloads the files to /sdcard (which it should), then tells CWM to look in /sdcard for the files to flash, the files cannot be seen because CWM is looking in the wrong place.
Essentially, you should look at ditching CWM and it's antiquated configuration in favour of Philz Recovery or TWRP. Both use /data/media/0 correctly as /sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thanks for the patience and information.
Should I unroot and go back to stock via the toolkit, essentially resetting it all?
That's about the last question I have for you,
Appreciate the help!
phntem said:
Awesome thanks for the patience and information.
Should I unroot and go back to stock via the toolkit, essentially resetting it all?
That's about the last question I have for you,
Appreciate the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I would read that thread to understand the process and then download one of the alternative recoveries and get yourself to the point where you can fastboot flash the recovery
phntem said:
Awesome thanks for the patience and information.
Should I unroot and go back to stock via the toolkit, essentially resetting it all?
That's about the last question I have for you,
Appreciate the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please forget the toolkit!
The only thing you need is fastboot.
download TWRP or CWM recovery.img and flash it in fastboot. Boot into bootloader, connect the device with usb cable to PC, open cmd in windows and type following:
fastboot devices Enter ... that should give you a number, means your device is connected
fastboot flash recovery nameofrecovery.img Enter .... that will flash the recovery of your choice to your device. Then from bootloader you can select with volume up + down to boot to recovery. Do that - in recovery you can select what you want to do. Flash rom + gapps + supersu and you are ready to go.
Here is a good link for learning how to use fastboot. beginners-guide-on-how-to-setup-and-use-fastboot/
Learning fastboot is highly recommended - its the same what fastboot does, with 1 difference --> you know what you do

[Q] Deleted system, only TWRP left.. what now?

Hi
I accidentally deleted with TWPR the system of my OnePlus One and it seems I cannot install a new rom.
I downloaded gapps and the original Oneplus One rom (zip) file and also the android stock. None of them works. It seems I need a
different format/special rom do recover from this. To make things more complicated I have a Mac and most instructions I've found are for windows.
Is there any rom I can transfer after mounting and flash via TWPR? I don't know much about android development so I appreciate technical details in replies.
Thanks!
Exactly which zip files are you trying to flash? What are the filenames?
Transmitted via Bacon
use a toolbox and an option to flash to stock
gfusion said:
Hi
I accidentally deleted with TWPR the system of my OnePlus One and it seems I cannot install a new rom.
I downloaded gapps and the original Oneplus One rom (zip) file and also the android stock. None of them works. It seems I need a
different format/special rom do recover from this. To make things more complicated I have a Mac and most instructions I've found are for windows.
Is there any rom I can transfer after mounting and flash via TWPR? I don't know much about android development so I appreciate technical details in replies.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i assumed you fixed this since we have not heard back from you. Just an fyi - can you at least let people in your thread trying to help know you have been successful in doing what it is you were trying to do.
If not then simple download any rom transfer to your phone and flash it with TWRP and thats it. May I also suggest you dont use a toolkit since it will not give you the knowledge to fix your phone in the future
Indeed, i fixed it last night. Thank you very much.
It was too late for me to be able to do the captcha (actually, even now it's difficult).
I was using the Mac OnePlus One toolkit which is a real life safer. I already learned quite a bit but I was grateful to have the support of the toolkit. There are quite some hoops to jump through and I needed to use fastboot. Due to some reason I wasn't able to just flash a rom.
Cheers
Gfusion
playya said:
i assumed you fixed this since we have not heard back from you. Just an fyi - can you at least let people in your thread trying to help know you have been successful in doing what it is you were trying to do.
If not then simple download any rom transfer to your phone and flash it with TWRP and thats it. May I also suggest you dont use a toolkit since it will not give you the knowledge to fix your phone in the future
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gfusion said:
Indeed, i fixed it last night. Thank you very much.
It was too late for me to be able to do the captcha (actually, even now it's difficult).
I was using the Mac OnePlus One toolkit which is a real life safer. I already learned quite a bit but I was grateful to have the support of the toolkit. There are quite some hoops to jump through and I needed to use fastboot. Due to some reason I wasn't able to just flash a rom.
Cheers
Gfusion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a hint. Fastboot IS how you flash a new room for the first time had you not used the tool kit you would have seen this and done it that way lol

Factory Reset Failed

Hello everyone, I have recently bought my new phone Blu Pure XL and I rooted it successfully. So as things go on I accidentally uninstall Xposed .apk and I flashed the Xposed Framework again (Which was a huge mistake); My phone would be stuck on the 2nd Boot Blu Logo screen and I read to wipe the cache. When that didn't work I just wiped everything, but.... *Sigh* Thats when things went beyond my realm of understanding. My phonr won't let me factory reset it because basically nothing is mounted.
As seen here: (make sure the "H" is connected with the "T".)
h ttp://i.imgur.com/TKHxh7R.jpg
Can anyone help? If so, how?! Anything and everything will be helpful!
Thanks!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/pure-xl/help/guide-unbrick-softbricked-blu-pure-xl-t3371981
Possible Solution Found!
tbirdguy said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/pure-xl/help/guide-unbrick-softbricked-blu-pure-xl-t3371981
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for providing this possible solution for me and I will try it out right now! I've come across this thread many of times, but I've overlooked it because it said nothing about important folders being unmounted.
Thanks!
This will definitely work... all the info you need is in that thread; read it; then read it some more, then read it one more time... then go ahead and read it again lol...
SP flash tool is your friend;
although I have few idea on possibly easier solutions (no sp flash learning curve lol)
look into flashing TWRP 2.8 from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/pure-xl/development/twrp-twrp-blu-pure-xl-allview-x2-xtreme-t3269596 using fastboot;
then you maybe can flash the BLU ROM from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/pure-xl/general/rom-blu-pure-xl-stock-rom-t3382722 and hope it fixes your issue (if you already have twrp make sure u are using 2.8; 3.0+ has issues with partition corruption (kinda sounds like what happened to you)
if your partition table is messed up follow the unbrick thread especially the section about flashing the condor COMPLETE rom via fastboot then reflashing to BLU (the condor ROM flash fixes the partitions so you can flash the BLU stuff)
Wish you luck and once again READ (I can be kind of an ass when it comes to questions asked without research, just FYI lol, but I do try to help those who help themselves!)

mob30p to mob30m help (total newb)

hi,
my phone is practically useless with this latest update. the issues are well documented, so i won't go into that. what i would like to do is get my phone back to mob30m, or anything else that will fix the volume issues. google is taking forever to get this fixed.
my problem is, i am a complete novice, when doing these kinds of things. i have been looking around at forum threads to try to get the skinny, but a lot of this is contradictory. my specific aim is to do the following.
unlock bootloader
root
install twrp (or similar)
download the appropriate file to get back to mob30m.
and install that.
i need to know what is the most current (tried) methods of doing these steps.
any help would be greatly appreciated. i'm assuming there might be multiple links i have to look at to get these results, but just perusing these fora is baffling me.
thanks
All you need to do is download the appropriate stock rom and flash it to your phone using fastboot commands.
You'll need an unlocked bootloader which will cause a full wipe of your data on the phone.
You can also use this if you have a PC - http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/
It can unlock the bootloader, flash a recovery, flash a ROM, root and other technical stuff.

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.

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