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I'm kind of expert in the PC/laptop world, but a little rookie in Android and smartphones world. I don't get how a phone can get bricked.
As far as I know, an Android device has internal memory, and a portion of this internal memory is ROM (read-only memory), where the OS/firmware is installed. It's ROM because you don't want to mess around changing things of the OS, because you're not supposed to change things of the OS for the sake of a correct behavior of the phone.
The thing is that if you accidentally mess up something in the OS/firmware, you can, or should be always able to, re-install the OS again and start all over again. I mean, if I delete some Windows files in my PC and completely mess Windows up, I can always turn off the PC, turn it on, go to BIOS menu, boot from a Windows CD and re-install it. No problems at all.
1. So... where's the BIOS in Android? The recovery menu in Android is like the BIOS in Windows?
2. Bricking a phone is like damage the software of the hard disk drive (windows) or is it like mess up the BIOS?
3. Is there any difference between Operative System (android), firmware and ROM?
Well, ROM is memory, a physical drive/electronic device, completely different to a program/software/OS, but I'm referring to the conception you guys usually use (wrong I must say).
4. Why is it said that you flash a firmware, and not you install a firmware? Is it because it's done in a ROM, so it's called then flash?
Thanks!
rambomhtri said:
I'm kind of expert in the PC/laptop world, but a little rookie in Android and smartphones world. I don't get how a phone can get bricked.
As far as I know, an Android device has internal memory, and a portion of this internal memory is ROM (read-only memory), where the OS/firmware is installed. It's ROM because you don't want to mess around changing things of the OS, because you're not supposed to change things of the OS for the sake of a correct behavior of the phone.
The thing is that if you accidentally mess up something in the OS/firmware, you can, or should be always able to, re-install the OS again and start all over again. I mean, if I delete some Windows files in my PC and completely mess Windows up, I can always turn off the PC, turn it on, go to BIOS menu, boot from a Windows CD and re-install it. No problems at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm neither an expert in PCs or Android, so I might just be blowing hot air. I think the difference is that with a PC, it's designed to run Windows, thus Windows (obviously) will work on it (depending on version and processor compatibility). Linux runs because it's designed to run on that hardware. With Android however, everything is manufacturer-specific, and device-specific beyond that. If the firmware and kernel isn't written for that specific device, you'll brick your phone.
1. So... where's the BIOS in Android? The recovery menu in Android is like the BIOS in Windows?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda? Maybe? I don't know.
2. Bricking a phone is like damage the software of the hard disk drive (windows) or is it like mess up the BIOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could come from either. Flashing the wrong recovery (like TWRP for a Galaxy S3 Exynos instead of a Snapdragon model) would brick, and flashing the wrong ROM would brick as well.
3. Is there any difference between Operative System (android), firmware and ROM?
Well, ROM is memory, a physical drive/electronic device, completely different to a program/software/OS, but I'm referring to the conception you guys usually use (wrong I must say).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"ROM", in Android parlance, is indeed the OS. Sometimes also referred to as the firmware. Yes, both are misnomers. The use of "ROM" to refer to the OS I think comes from ROM image, when referring to gaming console emulation, but I could be mistake. "Firmware" typically refers to the programming in an electronic device that doesn't have a proper OS, per se. Like a basic mp3 player, VCR, cable modem, microwave oven, etc. It could be argued that Android is indeed a "firmware", by definition, even though "operating system" is more appropriate. Regardless, "ROM", and "firmware", in the Android world, both mean the OS.
4. Why is it said that you flash a firmware, and not you install a firmware? Is it because it's done in a ROM, so it's called then flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing installs, but installing isn't necessarily flashing. "Flashing" is typically done at the recovery level (or through ADB), in the form of zips, tars, and other formats. It isn't incorrect to say that you installed a Gapps package through recovery, or you installed a newer version of TWRP, even though such actions are commonly known as "flashing". However, one wouldn't say that you flashed Clash of Clans through the Play Store, because that's not what you're doing. Flashing can refer to both firmware and software. For example, you can flash apps (like a Gapps package) TWRP batch back-ups, or even individual apps, and these are all software. You can flash nandroid backups or ROMs, and these are operating systems (and software/data). You can also flash proper firmware, such as radios/modems. You can flash kernels. Again, it's not wrong to say you "installed" it, but saying "flashed" is a more appropriate (in the Android community) and specific term.
rambomhtri said:
I'm kind of expert in the PC/laptop world, but a little rookie in Android and smartphones world. I don't get how a phone can get bricked.
As far as I know, an Android device has internal memory, and a portion of this internal memory is ROM (read-only memory), where the OS/firmware is installed. It's ROM because you don't want to mess around changing things of the OS, because you're not supposed to change things of the OS for the sake of a correct behavior of the phone.
The thing is that if you accidentally mess up something in the OS/firmware, you can, or should be always able to, re-install the OS again and start all over again. I mean, if I delete some Windows files in my PC and completely mess Windows up, I can always turn off the PC, turn it on, go to BIOS menu, boot from a Windows CD and re-install it. No problems at all.
1. So... where's the BIOS in Android? The recovery menu in Android is like the BIOS in Windows?
2. Bricking a phone is like damage the software of the hard disk drive (windows) or is it like mess up the BIOS?
3. Is there any difference between Operative System (android), firmware and ROM?
Well, ROM is memory, a physical drive/electronic device, completely different to a program/software/OS, but I'm referring to the conception you guys usually use (wrong I must say).
4. Why is it said that you flash a firmware, and not you install a firmware? Is it because it's done in a ROM, so it's called then flash?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A BRICKED phone is a phone that can't be fixed,no matter how hard you try.In other words,bricking your phone is altering the OS of your device in a way that causes it to become unusable/inoperable.
A BRICKED phone will not be able to Boot/Display any information/Boot into Recovery Mode.And thus your device turns into a very costly BRICK or Paperweight.
I have never seen any BRICKED device but heard about 2-3 cases here on XDA.I guess there are slight chances of getting your phone bricked until you do something HORRIBLY wrong or you do something,you don't have any idea about.
AFAIU,following factors can lead your device to BRICKING.
1.Overwriting the Firmware of the device or System softwares.
2.Interrupting Firmware update process (Half-written firmware ).E.g. Your device loses power during the process/data cable is pulled out during adb or rooting (That's the reason you get notifications or warnings as “Do not power the device off” when performing firmware updates and "Make sure your Battery is charged")
3.Flashing a ROM/MOD/Kernel that's not compatible to specific Device and Carrier.
Hope this helps!!
Regards
Do tell...
optimusodd said:
A BRICKED phone is a phone that can't be fixed,no matter how hard you try.In other words,bricking your phone is altering the OS of your device in a way that causes it to become unusable/inoperable.
A BRICKED phone will not be able to Boot/Display any information/Boot into Recovery Mode.And thus your device turns into a very costly BRICK or Paperweight.
I have never seen any BRICKED device but heard about 2-3 cases here on XDA.I guess there are slight chances of getting your phone bricked until you do something HORRIBLY wrong or you do something,you don't have any idea about.
AFAIU,following factors can lead your device to BRICKING.
1.Overwriting the Firmware of the device or System softwares.
2.Interrupting Firmware update process (Half-written firmware ).E.g. Your device loses power during the process/data cable is pulled out during adb or rooting (That's the reason you get notifications or warnings as “Do not power the device off” when performing firmware updates and "Make sure your Battery is charged")
3.Flashing a ROM/MOD/Kernel that's not compatible to specific Device and Carrier.
Hope this helps!!
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That being said,
To my understanding so long as you flash your phones specific Kernel after flashing a carrier-incompatible ROM you will not BRICK. That is the only time I've bricked a device. It was an S3 and after 3 days of research I learned an SD card can be used to bring it back to life by basically flashing your .img onto it, albeit I could never boot the device without it again, though I could take it out afterward.
It was strange... but since using that device as a learning toy I believe that is something I learned from the experience, but correct me if I'm fatally wrong please before I get someone in trouble.
trinathaniel said:
That being said, To my understanding so long as you flash your phones specific Kernel after flashing a carrier-incompatible ROM you will not BRICK. That is the only time I've bricked a device. It was an S3 and after 3 days of research I learned an SD card can be used to bring it back to life by basically flashing your .img onto it, albeit I could never boot the device without it again, though I could take it out afterward. It was strange... but since using that device as a learning toy I believe that is something I learned from the experience, but correct me if I'm fatally wrong please before I get someone in trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Short answer: If you can boot into Fastboot Or Recovery mode,you are not Hard bricked and there is still some hope
The scenerio you are talking about is Soft Brick.In this case your device don't boot but you can still get into Recovery.To fix it you boot into Recovery and restore the backup / flash the system image.You don't need to flash a kernel to make it working.
A hard bricked device won't show any sign of life,you won't be able to boot into Fastboot or Recovery to run Fastboot commands / ADB shell commands / Flash any image or zip.
Hope this helps!!
Plug out your Phone on flash Befor he finish boting
optimusodd said:
Short answer: If you can boot into Fastboot Or Recovery mode,you are not Hard bricked and there is still some hope
The scenerio you are talking about is Soft Brick.In this case your device don't boot but you can still get into Recovery.To fix it you boot into Recovery and restore the backup / flash the system image.You don't need to flash a kernel to make it working.
A hard bricked device won't show any sign of life,you won't be able to boot into Fastboot or Recovery to run Fastboot commands / ADB shell commands / Flash any image or zip.
Hope this helps!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally understand what you're conveying and trust and believe when I say I've had my fair share of both types of Brick. What I mean is.... essentially the Kernel is going to be the defining difference between Hard Bricking vs Soft. For instance, I'm using a Note 5 Sprint (SM-N920P). If I were to flash BlahRom_N920T.zip then try and boot to system it'd definitely Hard Brick me, but if I were to flash an N920P Kernel immediately afterwards THEN boot to system out wouldn't. It might be kind of jacked up and buggy, but that's the determining factor as far as I understand.
Brand New OnePlus One rooted and with adware etc
I am a very newbie to not all but many of the particular issues in this post so would be grateful of any newbie taylored advice.
Background:
==============
I purchased a Oneplus one recently, stocked and fulfilled by amazon with amazon returns policy but seller was a chineese company.
It was advertised as 100% Original Oneplus One New Cell Phone
The phone arraived and appeared to already be rooted
evidence:
Barclays App says it is rooted and won't run. It ran fine on my Nexus 4
I can connect via adb and set to su straight away
The phone appeared to have arrived with significant malware / adware with popups and auto launch ad in browser pages and bloteware / PUPS(?), and other issues. After a great deal of research checking notifications and trial and error I disabled the following, some via settings\apps some via adb, pm ... disable ...
2048 (com.digiplex.game)
App Manager (com.shyz.steward)
Browser (com.android.browser)
Caller ID (com.android.tools.callassistant)
Clean Master (com.cleanmaster.mguard)
Cool Browser (com.cool.coolbrowser)
DU Speed Booster (com.dianxinos.optimizer.duplay)
Magic Photo (cn.dotui.magicphoto)
Videos (com.haolianluo.video)
and disabled gestures due to torch issues
The phone now seems quite stable.
I installed MalwareBytes, however None of the items it identifies is it able to disable/uninstall I set it not to scan automatically but it continues to tell me I have not responded to its list of issues, but I have responded by selected them, but on selection it tries to uninstall them but fails.
I was able to disable one of them via adb because it provided the package name for that one but:
CallerID.apk (disabled in settings\apps)
coolbrowser.apk (disabled in settings\apps)
201507140923731g.apk
AppStore.apk
I do not know how to uninstall (or disable at least on 2 of them) and I do not know how to refer to them from package manager because I don't have the package name.
Key Questions:
================
I am familiar with much of software engineering and programming but not with mobile phone OS / disk / memory / file system, etc. I am having a lot of difficulty getting to grips with the vocabulary, definitions and terminology depending what you read.
- Some say OnePlus from factory comes with cyanogenmod but is not rooted
- So one wonders how my phone go to be rooted if the seller is a retailer
- Some say if the phone is rooted the warentee is invalidated. What do you think?
- WhatsApp says the phone has a custom rom and watsapp may not work properly with a custom rom
It is very difficult to get to the bottom of exactly what the difference is between a stock rom
and a custom rom. Some seem to be saying cyanogenmod is a custom rom, but then others say what
comes on the phone from the mobile manufacturer is a stock rom, eg HT Sense or in the case of
OnePlus, cyanogenmod! Is it only a custom rom if it is somehow NOT proven to be a
custom rom validated by the mobile manufacturer in factory (i.e. stock rom)?
- Some say having a custom rom invalidates warrantee, is this right?
- How do i prove that the rooting and the custom rom were not introduced by me?
- I have thought about factory reset, but I cannot manage to find anything that tells
me what this actually means and does, only how to do it.
- does a factory reset actually do what it suggests. I have read that factory reset does
not involve going to the manufacturers site and obtaining an appropriate image and flashing
it to the phone so I do not quite understand how else it could guarantee it
- If a factory reset will just make it like it was when I received it then that I do not want.
- Can I and ought I to flash a fresh image on the phone to get it like it WOULD HAVE been
had I bought it from OnePlus factory on invite and not through a mediator
- Finally. There is a notification "System Update is ready" . When I select this it appears
to download something (next version of cyanogenmod I guess though I don't recognise the version
number against any cyanogenmod versions) then it restarts and goes to a recovery app.
At this stage it is not completely intuitive what one should do and it seems to want you
to navigate to a location.
Now, I think I could probably figure this out with some reading but two things come to mind:
1) Presumably for a from factory OnePlus phone this kind of ambiguous unintuitive update
process would not be going on for people who just bought their phone and knew nothing
so it suggests the phone is in a different state to that. I also read you need root
already to install a (good) recovery app.
2) I am loath to do this update since it is not clear whether the update is this retailers
system update and will reintroduce all that I have disabled to create stability. Therefore
up to now I have always selected just do nothing and reboot. I favor stability over
features.
I am kind of inclined now I have managed to get it stable to just stick with it as it is and just use it without any further updates / resets / flashes and without returning it, but...
Sorry to ask all these questions. I would be grateful of any advice. Can be given with the assumption that I understand foundational general stuff ram, rom (though this word seems to be used differently to what I'm used to), flash, image, partition etc, but not that I actually know all about how the android/cyanogenmod platform is laid out and behaves as an installation.
Thank you.
Hi, All Oneplus One phones comes with CyanogenMod without rooted. One must Unlock bootloader and Flash custom recovery and Flash SuperSu to get root access.
Yours already says rooted means either you bought the used phone or refurbished. However even when a phone is refurbished OnePlus company locks it and make it unrooted.
OnePlus Phones warranty doesn't get over bu rooting. OnePlus actually supports rooting. Warranty becomes void when you do something blunder while flashing and your devices becomes dead aka bricked.
What I am suspecting is the chinese seller bought new OnePlus and Installed different ROM as the chinese OPO comes with ColorOS which doesn't have PlayStore. Now in the procedure they introduced unwanted Adwares which may be Intentional or Unintentional.
Now you have 2 options.
Either ask Amazon for a refund.
Or if the time is passed then I suggest you to start fresh. If you have already custom recovery installed then go ahead and install fresh stock CyanogenMod ROM from xda.
sent from Bacon (OnePlus One)
Hi Abhinav_Rakesh,
Thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate your advice. I think I understood most of what you said, generally but I am still a bit unclear on some points:
Is there any way to tell if the phone is refurbished. I would rather it were new even if they have installed a different rom.
What do you mean by "time is passed" I have only had the phone a few days. I am in a quandary whether to return it or not, whether amazon will believe it was not me who rooted it and whether I will be able to get another one that is not just the same as this one anyway since you cannot get them direct from OnePlus any more.
I saw some kind of recovery screen over one reboot but did not do the install. How do I know if this is the "custom recovery" you describe, if it is not how do I obtain / get to "custom recover"?
Can you direct me to a script that shows me how to "install fresh stock CyanogenMod ROM from xda"? Will that completely blank out everything that the chineese company may have done on the phone, or might some stuff still be left behind? Is there a risk to that process, given that I at least have a fairly stable phone now? Will it include or do I have to get separately "PlayStore" so I can download my usual apps?
Thank you again, I really appreciate it?
i suggest you to start from fresh, since obviously your OPO is not in stock state and has been tampered with..
the (general) steps to make the OPO like new are as follows..
(1) connect it to a pc via usb cable
(2) in command prompt, issue "adb reboot bootloader" (and wait for it to boot into bootloader/fastboot mode)
(3) issue "fastboot oem unlock" (to unlock the bootloader.. all data will be wiped but the warranty is not voided)
(4) issue "fastboot flash recovery custom_recovery.img" (replace "custom_recovery.img" with the actual recovery file name)
(5) power off mobile and disconnect from pc
(6) press power button together with volume down button (to boot into custom recovery we just flashed)
(7) while in recovery, install rom image (which should be put in the internal storage beforehand)
(8) reboot to enjoy the reborn mobile
to be able the complete the above steps, you need to get some files in advance:
- adb.exe/fastboot.exe (which you should already have since you could do adb)
- custom recovery (TWRP suggested.. get the image for OPO, whose codename is bacon, at http://twrp.me/ ), and put it in your pc..
- stock or custom rom (the stock for OPO is cyanogenmod, and there is also a OnePlus provided OxygenOS rom.. go to respective sites to get a copy), and put it into the mobile's internal storage..
mind you that by doing so (the fastboot oem unlock step) all your mobile's data will be wiped..
@hardya Hi .. You can follow this link to restore your phone according to OnePlus Standards. This will remove all that chinese ads and all and will make it fresh.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2970390
sent from Bacon (OnePlus One)
I feel like i need to reanswer a some of your question even though some already have answered them. You seem very interested and it seems fair to clear up some things.
hardya said:
- Some say OnePlus from factory comes with cyanogenmod but is not rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a little misconception about what cyanogenmod is.
The offical Oneplus One comes preinstalled with CyanogenOS (or CM12S), which is derived from Cyanogenmod. It get's a bit complicated. Cyanogen is a company founded by the lead programmer of Cyanogenmod. CyanogenOS is a commercial product, that is licensed to phone manufactures.
Cyanogenmod is the codebase for CyanogenOS. CyanogenOS adds some functionalities that are not present in the community maintained Cyanogenmod. (e.g. a alternate dialing app, theme store, etc.)
The offical Oneplus One comes NON-rooted. You need to manually enable root.
Please keep in mind that it gets REALLY complicated from this point!
The Oneplus One debuted with CM11S (CyanogenOS, the commercial version of Cyanogenmod). Cyanogen (the company) promised users 2 years of support and updates for the owners on the Oneplus One. But Oneplus and Cyanogen had some major issues that resulted in ending the partnership.
Oneplus had to offer an alternative Android Firmware for their upcoming phone Oneplus Two. So they did another android version called OxygenOS. This was installed onto all Oneplus One phones from a certain date onward!
THIS is the OFFICAL Android Software Version for your Oneplus One!!!
See: https://oneplus.net/de/support/answer/how-can-i-download-oxygen-os
I would strongly recommend to install OxygenOS, as it is the easiest way of experience the phone as Oneplus intended it to be.
Most tutorials on here are a little bit older so they are offering guides which mention either CM11S, CM12S, Cyanogenmod or OxygenOS. (or if you are more familiar with other customroms, whatever you'd like to install! But this is something you should look into, when you are more familiar with what costumroms are and what they do! There are so many excellent guides on here, which i'd recommend you to read sometime!)
- So one wonders how my phone go to be rooted if the seller is a retailer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He rooted it either manually or used an android version (e.g. something downloaded off XDA or got one from some developer). Such versions are often called Customroms.
Also note, that there are no official retailers of Oneplus phones. They are officially offered from the website only. However, there are some shops in China, that offer Oneplus phones.
- Some say if the phone is rooted the warentee is invalidated. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most phone manufactures actually tell you that your warranty is void when rooting your phone.
Oneplus however is very, very supportive when it comes to rooting!
And of course installing other Android Versions and Roms!
See: https://oneplus.net/de/support/answer/will-rooting-or-unlocking-the-bootloader-void-my-warranty
- WhatsApp says the phone has a custom rom and watsapp may not work properly with a custom rom
It is very difficult to get to the bottom of exactly what the difference is between a stock rom
and a custom rom. Some seem to be saying cyanogenmod is a custom rom, but then others say what
comes on the phone from the mobile manufacturer is a stock rom, eg HT Sense or in the case of
OnePlus, cyanogenmod! Is it only a custom rom if it is somehow NOT proven to be a
custom rom validated by the mobile manufacturer in factory (i.e. stock rom)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogenmod is indeed a custom rom. (or sometimes aftermarket firmware)
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod
A stock rom is the firmware that is installed by the manufacturer. (in your case: CyanogenOS, called CM12S. the 12 stands for the version number of Cyanogenmod. 12 = Android 5, 13 will be Android 6. There was a CM11S version, when the phone debuted last year.). The S marks it as CyanogenOS, the commercial product. So CM12 would be the community maintained Cyanogenmod. CM12S the product by the company Cyanogen. As said before, it's a bit complicated, as the current OFFICIAL rom is OxygenOS
Your findings of software not present in the official stock Oneplus One rom (which is either CM12S or OxygenOS), suggests your software on the phone is actually a unofficial costum rom.
- Some say having a custom rom invalidates warrantee, is this right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See the answer to the rooting question. Almost all major phone manufactures void your warranty if you flash a custom rom. As it involves tampering with system files and most people are not very knowledgeable when it comes to "computery things". It's just a security measure, so that people won't sue the company when something bad happens (most likely deleting precious pictures, etc.)
Oneplus actually encourages people to try other roms. This made the Oneplus One a very popular phone for tinkerers and as you can see on this forum there are a lot of custom roms you can choose from.
- How do i prove that the rooting and the custom rom were not introduced by me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the seller was not so careful, there will be a notice, which can be read by software programs available here on XDA, that say how many times a custom rom was installed.
However, i think your main concern is, that you wouldn't be able to get support form Oneplus, because you think your warranty is not valid anymore. As said above, your concerns are not that problematic. Especially as you seem to be knowledgeable enough to actually fix things on your own!
- I have thought about factory reset, but I cannot manage to find anything that tells
me what this actually means and does, only how to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset will delete all your apps and reset the system to the state"it came out of the factory". So when you start up your phone, you need to set it up again. Enter your name, configure your WiFi settings, install your favorite apps.
However. Your photos and your music files will not be deleted! Be careful though. Resetting your system will delete your app settings. I just want to point that out, because the first time a did a factory reset and reinstalled everything i thought i lost all my Whatsapp photos. They were there in the Picture folder, but weren't linked to the images in my chat window! This is a bit complicated, but can be solved quite easily, if you know what your doing (backing up your apps with certain programs, e.g. Titanium Backup).
- does a factory reset actually do what it suggests. I have read that factory reset does
not involve going to the manufacturers site and obtaining an appropriate image and flashing
it to the phone so I do not quite understand how else it could guarantee it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset is a internal function of your phone (to be precise of your phones recovery!)
However, as most people said and your suspected is: Your phone does not run the official factory image, provided by Oneplus (or Cynaogen).
The official software can be obtained from
https://oneplus.net/de/support/answer/how-can-i-download-oxygen-os
- If a factory reset will just make it like it was when I received it then that I do not want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it will most likely to what you fear. It depends on what the retailer did. Most costum roms include software in their phones, that will be installed again with a factory reset. If your seller did install the programs AFTER the phones original state (e.g installing it from an appstore or from the APK's (Androids Software Packages)) they won't be present!
- Can I and ought I to flash a fresh image on the phone to get it like it WOULD HAVE been
had I bought it from OnePlus factory on invite and not through a mediator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely! I'd recommend you to flash a new image to your phone!
There are a lot of great programs here on XDA that offer easy and intuitive options of doing that, without even knowing anything about flashing programs! Try to take a look around and see what you can make of it.
I personally think they are great, but can be dangerous if you didn't read the proper instructions. I'm just saying, as they often delete EVERYTHING on your phone. So whatever you do to your phone, backup everything before!!!
But these simple programs are what you are looking for. They will install the firmware (Cyanogenmod or OxygenOS) that are bloatfree and as the Oneplus intended them to be.
- Finally. There is a notification "System Update is ready" . When I select this it appears
to download something (next version of cyanogenmod I guess though I don't recognise the version
number against any cyanogenmod versions) then it restarts and goes to a recovery app.
At this stage it is not completely intuitive what one should do and it seems to want you
to navigate to a location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This further suggests, that your are not running an official version. The official update process is fully automated and doesn't need any user intervention! From your description it doesn't do anything and you are stuck in recovery, that is waiting for user input. This is not the case with proper official roms!
Now, I think I could probably figure this out with some reading but two things come to mind:
1) Presumably for a from factory OnePlus phone this kind of ambiguous unintuitive update
process would not be going on for people who just bought their phone and knew nothing
so it suggests the phone is in a different state to that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely correct! See above.
I also read you need root
already to install a (good) recovery app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not need root to install a recovery. This is a bit complicated, as there are some misconceptions about what is what. You need to "unlock" your phone to install another recovery. This is not rooting, but is also restricted by many manufacturers. But as with rooting, Oneplus is offering support on unlocking your phone and there are lots of guides on how to do it.
2) I am loath to do this update since it is not clear whether the update is this retailers
system update and will reintroduce all that I have disabled to create stability. Therefore
up to now I have always selected just do nothing and reboot. I favor stability over
features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wise decision.
I am kind of inclined now I have managed to get it stable to just stick with it as it is and just use it without any further updates / resets / flashes and without returning it, but...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would strongly recommend to NOT leave it this way! As you yourself found out, there are chances that there are programs on the phone, that are not to be supposed to be there. I'm not saying that there is spyware on your phone, but it is most likely that there could be malicious code running in the background of your phone. I would strongly recommend NOT to use apps, that need sensitive information of yourself!
Try to look for guides and tutorials here on XDA and just install CM12S, Cyanogenmod or even better OxygenOS, the official ROM from Oneplus! OxygenOS is not everyone's favorite choice, but that way you can be sure, that NOTHING fishy is going on on your phone!
There is an easy app available from the offical oneplus site!
https://oneplus.net/de/support/answer/how-can-i-download-oxygen-os
Or use the app that is mentioned in the post above! Will to the same thing!
Use the instructions on there and you are much safer on using your phone than you are in the present state!
BUT PLEASE, PLEASE DO A BACKUP OF YOUR DATA! I mean, your photos, contacts and everything important before doing anything to your phone. I'm just stressing that out, as so many people complain afterwards that they lost everything, etc.! Not just because the process they did was unsafe, but becaus the didn't properly read the instructions that tell people that they should make a backup, BEFORE tampering the system. It says factory RESET, so it should be clear, that everything will be reset!
I'd suggest you return it and get one through official channels. Official OnePlus devices can only be purchased through the OnePlus store.
I'd suggest you to read this story:
https://medium.com/@tuesdev/as-many...ve-a-oneplus-2-invite-ba20ac8606ae#.qgq3fhmn7
Ctuiku,
Sorry I wasn't able to respond sooner. I really do appreciate your very clear and detailed response and it's care to address each point very clearly and to make clear distinctions between similar things gives me significant confidence in its accuracy.
I must say I appreciate the significant amount of time you have taken and I do hope that at least some of your responses were cut and pasted from text you had already written else where.
I think I may have a number of minor follow up questions, but for now I shall digest your advice and decide on my plan of action.
Thank you again for being so helpful and understanding.
Andrew
I actually didn't read much of it and the comments, but I'd suggest you to unlock the bootloader, flash TWRP, take a backup, wipe everything(not the internal storage of course) , and perform a clean flash of CM13.0 by sultanxda. It's the smoothest and the most stable ROM out there.
Well, that was all in brief. You gotta read(and understand) and perform. It's fun, just like programming. Keep flashing!
~noob (you gotta start from somewhere)
Ctuiku
Thank you again for all your help. Sorry for the delay in responding been busy with other things and also since had some time to digest...
THIS is the OFFICAL Android Software Version for your Oneplus One!!!
See: <I am not allowed to include this link in quote>
I would strongly recommend to install OxygenOS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This link appears to be out of date
or even better OxygenOS, the official ROM from Oneplus! OxygenOS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My search and his post
_forums_oneplus_net_threads_mirrors-for-official-oxygen-os-roms-and-ota-updates.387615
suggests you cannot get the official OxygenOS ROM from Oneplus, doesn't this pose some risks using TP apps to download and flash OS ROM?
There is an easy app available from the offical oneplus site!
<I am not allowed to include this link in quote>
Or use the app that is mentioned in the post above! Will to the same thing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't this pose some risks using TP apps to download and flash OS ROM?
Also the official link
_account_onepluscontent_com_downloads_tools_oneplus-one-reflash_zip
appears to be out of date
I cannot seem to find a way to find an official location or to identify the genuineness of CM12S image or OxyGenOS image. Is there some kind of published standard hash of the file or something? How does it work?
a lot of what I read, like on the oneplus site or the way links are named seems to suggest that OxygenOS is just for OnePlus Two. I believe that OnePlus One moved to OxygenOS at some point, but I don't want to apply an OS version to a device that is under resourced. Is there a version of OxygenOS that the OnePlus One should not go beyond.
P.S. How do I get your XDA user name to appear as a link?
iamelton
Thank you so much for your advice I really do appreciate the time you took to help me. Sorry for the delay in responding. Difficult circumstances.
regarding your point (7)
(7) while in recovery, install rom image (which should be put in the internal storage beforehand)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- I wonder if you would mind indicating where beforehand in this list putting the rom image in the internal storage ought to occurr?
- Also, so sorry, but I wonder would you mind elaberating just a little on how to put the rom image in the internal storage?
Regarding the files, I am happy with adb.exe, fastboot.exe, TWRP.
However I understand that the genuineness of OxygenOS images are not provided by OnePlus, is this right?
_forums_oneplus_net_threads_mirrors-for-official-oxygen-os-roms-and-ota-updates_387615
How do confirm the genuineness of OxygenOS images?
Is it a kind of hierarchy of trust, i.e. n users use and recommend this location for the images.
Or is there some kind of standard hash for the images that is published on secure OnePlus site?
I have similar issue / understanding issue with CM12S
It would appear after roaming around forums etc that the official Cyanogen OS (not mod/custom) are located below here _builds_cyngn_com_ but the site itself seems to have no web pages I visit cyngn.com_get-cyanogen-os but can find no page with a list of rom images and their corresponding dates, attributes and inclusions etc.
I hear that some versions of CM12S do not support 64GB (as per my OPO) but I seem to have no clear certified single source way to know exactly the name/url of the CM12S I should get.
I am probably misunderstanding the philosophy behind things, but it seems if anyone can do anything with the source you would think that OnePlus would into the bargin also provide users (of which there will be a variety) a "sure fire" way to get their (grey market?) phone to (original) factory standard. They still apparently cover it for warentee, so...
Many thanks
P.S. How do I get your XDA user name to appear as a link?
I have a Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid ( DTH-A1300L ) android version needs help in so many ways. I bought it because I really need one for one of my jobs, yet can't really afford the crazy overpriced insanity that is a new Wacom so the reason it was so cheap was "can't connect to the Play Store. I know, hella foolish, I thought I could fix it by rooting it, but this thing is like level 10 as there is so little info as no one wanted to touch them it seems. I did find one guy on this forum that at one point rooted I am fair to average at rooting and the understanding of all that surrounds it. I have happily and successfully rooted my phones and tablet but I am no pro and fairly good at having gaping invisible holes in my info or logic when it comes to things like this.
Most frustrating is this thing is stuck on android 4 . 1 . 1 for no good reason I can imagine. It has dev tools installed after factory data reset but no google apps. (It arrived factory data reset)
I tried the relevant framework and store and the delete the cache trick to no avail. It can not update and can not even get to the Play Store.
Sooo the bad news is; no Google apps. No updates offered and stuck on some weird what looks like not stock version of 4 .1 .1 Jellybean.
When I plug it into my PC via USB it does not even show up in device manager.
The good news is I rooted it. Checked with root checker (unfortunately for now its Kingroot)
1. I have no idea how to make a back up from here. (no USB connection to PC issue)
or
2. what rom will work as my device is not listed on any of them. It would be great to find the stock rom as I am afraid this things cool and weird cintiq mode, pen function like abilities may be disabled or rendered useless with just any android rom.
Is there anyway to somehow find the stock OS on my device through boot loader? A place to find my stock or like rom. A clever work around?
Thanks in advance. for any who take up the challenge and offer any help or thoughts.
Cheers
Anyone know
What clockwork or custom recovery should I use?
Duende101 said:
I have a Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid ( DTH-A1300L ) android version needs help in so many ways. I bought it because I really need one for one of my jobs, yet can't really afford the crazy overpriced insanity that is a new Wacom so the reason it was so cheap was "can't connect to the Play Store. I know, hella foolish, I thought I could fix it by rooting it, but this thing is like level 10 as there is so little info as no one wanted to touch them it seems. I did find one guy on this forum that at one point rooted I am fair to average at rooting and the understanding of all that surrounds it. I have happily and successfully rooted my phones and tablet but I am no pro and fairly good at having gaping invisible holes in my info or logic when it comes to things like this.
Most frustrating is this thing is stuck on android 4 . 1 . 1 for no good reason I can imagine. It has dev tools installed after factory data reset but no google apps. (It arrived factory data reset)
I tried the relevant framework and store and the delete the cache trick to no avail. It can not update and can not even get to the Play Store.
Sooo the bad news is; no Google apps. No updates offered and stuck on some weird what looks like not stock version of 4 .1 .1 Jellybean.
When I plug it into my PC via USB it does not even show up in device manager.
The good news is I rooted it. Checked with root checker (unfortunately for now its Kingroot)
1. I have no idea how to make a back up from here. (no USB connection to PC issue)
or
2. what rom will work as my device is not listed on any of them. It would be great to find the stock rom as I am afraid this things cool and weird cintiq mode, pen function like abilities may be disabled or rendered useless with just any android rom.
Is there anyway to somehow find the stock OS on my device through boot loader? A place to find my stock or like rom. A clever work around?
Thanks in advance. for any who take up the challenge and offer any help or thoughts.
Cheers
Anyone know
What clockwork or custom recovery should I use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Greetings and welcome to assist. If you have root yoy can try installing gapps through flashify it may work. For custom rom there is an excellent guide here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/guide-android-rom-development-t2814763
and for custom recovery an excellent guide here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/guide-how-to-compile-twrp-source-step-t3404024
Good luck
Sawdoctor
sawdoctor said:
Greetings and welcome to assist. If you have root yoy can try installing gapps through flashify it may work. For custom rom there is an excellent guide here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/guide-android-rom-development-t2814763
and for custom recovery an excellent guide here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/guide-how-to-compile-twrp-source-step-t3404024
Good luck
Sawdoctor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will see what I can find out and report back. Also editing from device to check date
sawdoctor said:
Greetings and welcome to assist. If you have root yoy can try installing gapps through flashify it may work. For custom rom there is an excellent guide here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central/android/guide-android-rom-development-t2814763
and for custom recovery an excellent guide here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/guide-how-to-compile-twrp-source-step-t3404024
Good luck
Sawdoctor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excuse my noobness. Flashify looks good, I installed it, but don't I need some image from somewhere either the stock OS or a new one for it to work? Not sure how to get Gapps from there.
It did I think, find something, a "restore kernel" and "stock recovery" I am unsure did it find my stock kernel and recovery and or ROM and I should boot from that? ( again apologies a-lot of new info and its getting a bit swirly) In otherwords since my device is not listed any where and at this point any working Android version will do, I am wrong to try and reboot from this? These devices are supposed to come stock on 4.2.2, so I am hoping perhaps incorrectly it will go back to that? That would be ideal at this point.
So I can work again whatever works.
Also I a bit concerned about the "date" I posted from on one of these. I think I posted from the Wacom. Perhaps the problem in deeper than I thought as that is Linux time 0?
I think it self corrected but originally it said I posted on Jan 1 1970...
As for custom ROM, I probably wont be able to make my own custom ROM, even though I would love to take to the time to learn, for now I have too many art and work related deadlines.
I was hoping for one that already existed that would work with my device.
Perhaps I misunderstood something about how all this works? Also I do not have Unbuntu. I should as I support an open internet, but WINE really does not run the Adobe products I need for work so
I am stuck with Windows.
Duende101 said:
Excuse my noobness. Flashify looks good, I installed it, but don't I need some image from somewhere either the stock OS or a new one for it to work? Not sure how to get Gapps from there.
It did I think, find something, a "restore kernel" and "stock recovery" I am unsure did it find my stock kernel and recovery and or ROM and I should boot from that? ( again apologies a-lot of new info and its getting a bit swirly) In otherwords since my device is not listed any where and at this point any working Android version will do, I am wrong to try and reboot from this? These devices are supposed to come stock on 4.2.2, so I am hoping perhaps incorrectly it will go back to that? That would be ideal at this point.
So I can work again whatever works.
Also I a bit concerned about the "date" I posted from on one of these. I think I posted from the Wacom. Perhaps the problem in deeper than I thought as that is Linux time 0?
I think it self corrected but originally it said I posted on Jan 1 1970...
As for custom ROM, I probably wont be able to make my own custom ROM, even though I would love to take to the time to learn, for now I have too many art and work related deadlines.
I was hoping for one that already existed that would work with my device.
Perhaps I misunderstood something about how all this works? Also I do not have Unbuntu. I should as I support an open internet, but WINE really does not run the Adobe products I need for work so
I am stuck with Windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just want to be able to install apps from the playstore then this is a simple alternative
https://www.xda-developers.com/unshackle-your-device-from-the-google-play-store-with-apkupdater/
If your phone is rooted then flashify can flash zips like gapps without the need for a custom recovery. If you are serious about trying to make your own rom/recovery then use a virtualbox in windows. http://www.osboxes.org/ has plenty of prebuilt virtual linux machines that will run on windows
Regards
Sawdoctor
I appreciate all your help. I got the "google of every kind from Gapps on has stopped" is over, which was intense as it popped up every few seconds, I somehow got that to quit by reloading the proper one from the APK Pure app which was an odd work around but nothing else was working. Still have this unsettling bare bones screen and none of the stock apps as well as it being stuck in 4.1.1. This device was made for 4.2. and I assume it was on here at one point.
I wonder if that alone could cause hardware issues. I thought about taking out the battery, until I realized that thing is inaccessible as a thing can be without wrecking the industrial glues and taking the entire thing apart which sounds
like an accident waiting to happen and possible making things worse. I imagine that is last case scenario.
Like I said I would love to make my stock reload, at this point that would be great as this thing seems unstable and no trick makes the play store work or allow me to sign into the device with my google email.
I think you are saying to make my own recovery/ROM of my own device I need to do the virtual box thing. Correct? Or is that for writing your own custom ROM? I can try that; make my own recovery that is, as it is not on CWM or TWRPs supported devices list so I have no choice and all in all would prefer the thing to load as if it was fresh out of the box not this 4.1. One serious hiccup I have found trying to use my PC is my device is not recognized as a storage device or otherwise. Not sure if this is due to the weird settings of Cintiq mode or simply because the thing is in a very weird state of 4.1.1. So that may make making changes via computer impossible. I am not the type to give up. Thanks again Saw
Here also is a sum up I added to a the just basic question of Can you find the Stock from a recovery device. Basically is there any way to return a device to stock with no ROMs available to do so, as in extract if from the device itself.
Additional backstory if helpful.
"I have a Wacom Cintiq Hybrid running Android 4.1 that is ( now ) rooted..
This is a very bad thing. The Real Stock ROM has palm rejection and all the drivers to make it work as a tool. So stock is the ideal but it is clearly not stock as my device supposedly came in the
box running 4.2 and with software and drivers to make it work properly with the pen. This has nothing. No software and the smallest amount of apps possible. Worse this is no custom ROM its on ( I think) as it would be the worst one ever and it was not rooted on arrival. I have no idea what happened before I got it. I may have made the mistake of rooting it really as I found out to my dismay there is no ROM support. So back to square one. I bought it ( very cheap for one of these ) "stuck and unable to go to the play store" and I did not realize until I got it, on a version of Android it was not meant for. Wacom is totally and woefully unhelpful in every way. They seem to want to quietly put this device behind them at the expense literally of their customers."
I'm fed up with people on this forum. I keep trying to engage people in a discussion, a conversation to explain some things to me and No one seems willing. It's like there are No Rooting gurus that can answer my simple questions. On a forum full of Android developers, I'm very disappointed, I thought i'd get tons of help. If you read this, Please consider staying to have a discussion/conversation with me.
Preface to The Discussion:
I have used both Android and Linux in the past, I know what Super User is, I use it in Zorin 12 Linux and own a rooted (kingroot) android tablet. I am trying to get information on rooting my Figo Atrium phone by trying to understand Rooting better in general. perhaps this discussion will make since to you and together you can help me find a way to root my phone - But I Must have a back and forth or I'll never understand this. - I know there are many exploits to root a phone used by tools like kingroot. I know these exploits are many and varied depending on your phone's CPU architecture, and software and not all root tools with work with my device. . I know the bootloader has to be unlocked and one must have USB Debugging enabled in Developer Options. I know some phone manufacturers make tools that help you root your phone (MTK Droid Tools) So far, none of these tools can root my phone.
Let's Start The Discussion Here:
I was able to not root but my Upgrade my phone from Lollipop to Marshmallow. I did this using SP Flash Tool and these instructions (which were badly translated and which as you can see by the comments in the video, I had to correct due to bad translation) See this video and comments by me to understand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEIJM2YjNzE - I used SP Flash Tool and a Rom Figo provided. After I figured out the botched instructions, I was able to upgrade my device with no problems.
Question 1: Isn't this essentially the same process that is used for Rooting? It proves my bootloader is unlocked and the phone does have the ability to flash a new Rom. <- Based on That, doesn't it seem to you that my phone would be in fact Rootable?
If you think so, tell me why, if you think Not, tell me why.
Question 2: If you think So, then: Someone suggested to me that using a tool like Magisk or SuperSU may be able to root my device. Does this seem likely to you based on what I've told you so far? No one in the SuperSU sub forum can answer this question.
If you think No, then we'll discuss this more. I'll wait for your replies. Thank you.
Rooting is, simply said, placing a 'su' binary in the system folder. SU means switch user, when you give that command you're instructing Android to give you root user privileage. OEM's don't want that to happen so they won't include it in their ROMs. Tools like supersu are made to copy that 'su' file to the system partition. There are a lot of ways to explain this, I'm just giving you something quick and easy to understand.
Now regarding your questions;
1) Flashing anything requires the bootloader to be unlocked on most phones. BUT MTK phones don't. (Except some HTC phones). SP Flash Tool can flash any partition without needing to unlock. It's dangerous security wise, but this means its also easier to root.
Infact all MTK phones are rootable. So don't worry about that.
2) How to root? The best way to root is with supersu. (You can also try magisk if you want to use Android Pay).
You need a custom recovery like TWRP first.
I found one here which is for your same CPU. https://www.needrom.com/download/twrp-recovery-13/
^I am just giving you a link to recovery which uses the same CPU so It may or may not work. PLEASE take a backup of your original recovery before doing anything.
Now download SuperSU zip file from here https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/supersu/download/zip/SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip
Don't open it, just keep it in your sd card.
Flash the recovery using SP Flash Tool (check only the recovery box and select this file). Now unplug the phone and press Volume Up+Power Button to boot into recovery.
Then if it says swipe to allow modifications, swipe.
Now goto Install->Select the Supersu.zip file you downloaded->Swipe and reboot.
That's it! You're rooted!
Thanks.. again, you've answered things others couldn't. Much appreciated.
You say, " You need a custom recovery like TWRP first.
I found one here which is for your same CPU. https://www.needrom.com/download/twrp-recovery-13/
^I am just giving you a link to recovery which uses the same CPU so It may or may not work. PLEASE take a backup of your original recovery before doing anything."
Lets say Twrp doesn't work. What is this for, just to re-flash your original rom in case twrp fails at making a backup? ( I assume the tool makes your installed rom flashable in case the root doesn't work and you need to revert back to your original system) I have the SP Tool and the Rom for Marshmallow that works with my device from Figo. Can I use that if Twrp fails - or am I not understanding what twrp is used for? Just checking before I start this. Otherwise, I'll try to follow your instructions to the letter and see what happens.
Still Looking ?
STILL Looking? IF so, a few thoughts .... It is a nice phone for the price. The newer version eventually coming out looks even nicer, and for now, it is still my backup phone to my Figo Gravity. Discovered Figos when I got totally fed up with BLU phones.
ONE - If you have upgraded your Atrium to Marshmallow, as I did, none of the rooting methods that worked on Lollipop will work, so forget about them.
TWO - Down in Developer Settings you need to make sure OEM unlocking is allowed.
THREE - ASSUMING you have a TWRP build that will work, it is pretty simple. Take the ROM image that FIGO sent you and replace the "recovery.img" file with the TWRP (re-name it recovery.img and save the old one as recovery.old JUST IN CASE) file. It will be much larger than the factory ROM recovery image and that's fine. The scatter table, if you read hex addresses, provides for enough space to do this. Flash ONLY the recovery (TWRP) image, and be sure to DOWNLOAD ONLY with the SP FLASH tool. If uncertain, DO NOT PROCEED. It can be a real pain in the arse to re-do things if you accidentally format or upgrade things you didn't mean to. ASSUMING that worked, you can boot into TWRP by holding down the power / volume buttons (I assume you are familiar with this sequence).
FOUR - it is entirely possible that the next time you boot the thing normally, TWRP will be blown away. Happened to me a few times. There is some setting down in the boot image that causes this and I will have to dig up my notes to see exactly what the heck it was. It required taking apart the boot image - I used Carliv - fixing the one setting, and then re-packing and re-flashing it, BUT, you can ALWAYS keep replacing the TWRP image as needed. Inconvenient, but better than a sharp stick in the eye.
FIVE - when booted into TWRP, you should be able to flash SU, which will give you root, and it should STAY rooted after that unless and until you uninstall SU. FLASHIFY is STRONGLY recommended as a VERY useful app for rooted devices. TWRP, if you are unfamiliar with it, is SO MUCH MORE than just a recovery replacement. Handiest whole device backup there is. Has saved my bacon on several devices through numerous acts of personal stupidity. :crying:
SIX - IF ALL ELSE FAILS, you can ALWAYS revert to the factory image ROM. Just DOWNLOAD ONLY rather than Upgrade and DO NOT Format.
Hi Everyone,
Living in Japan, we have no official channel to purchase a OnePlus handset here.
Really wanted to get a OnePlus 7 Pro as I felt it is the best model on the market as of today.
Knowing that, I got mine on Amazon Japan from a HK online shop which had very good reputation.
Now, the problem is these phones always come already opened as they say they need to confirm operation before sending it.
I have been reading news and article about this where we see more third party companies flash their roms with malware/ransomeware already built in...
In these situation, the best way to clean the phone is to do a full re-install of the OS.
I did review a bunch of article on XDA and it seems that now, due to the A/B partition setup, we can't just use official OnePlus image to load from the fastboot easily.
We have to rely on community provided too and stock rom to be able to do so....
When I raised the question to OnePlus and Oneplus forums, they mentioned to me that installed the updated like here (Page: support.oneplus.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4312/~/oxygen-os-for-oneplus-7-pro)would do the trick using the local update function.
What I was directed to do is use the recovery boot to delete system settings/cache and everything data user and then, run the local update. Doing so, that would do it while not using community tools.
Here are my questions and which I would hope to get your experience:
1 Is the process I did really does use a brand new clean OS and do not rely/integrate part of the OS that came with the handset originally (that was the target).
2 Is there a way for me using OnePlus only provided tools and image to fully delete the phone and install the OS (maybe I am thinking this too much like a PC which I have more experience with...)
3 The OS looks fine and no strange apps shows up at all but how can I be sure nothing dodgy is running? Is there tools I could use to confirm this?
Sorry if I sound paranoid. Ideally, I understand the best thing to do was to buy directly from Oneplus and work a way to have it shipped to Japan but thought it would be interesting for me to learn more about android.
With previous Oneplus, it was easier as they were provided this type of official file for recovery but they stopped...
Thank you again for your time and hopping to learn more about how new android setup works.
Is the bootloader locked? Is Widevine (Netflix HD) certification still there? You can check these things to see if the phone has been tampered with.
brissoukun said:
Hi Everyone,
When I raised the question to OnePlus and Oneplus forums, they mentioned to me that installed the updated like here (Page: support.oneplus.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4312/~/oxygen-os-for-oneplus-7-pro)would do the trick using the local update function.
What I was directed to do is use the recovery boot to delete system settings/cache and everything data user and then, run the local update. Doing so, that would do it while not using community tools.
Here are my questions and which I would hope to get your experience:
1 Is the process I did really does use a brand new clean OS and do not rely/integrate part of the OS that came with the handset originally (that was the target).
2 Is there a way for me using OnePlus only provided tools and image to fully delete the phone and install the OS (maybe I am thinking this too much like a PC which I have more experience with...)
3 The OS looks fine and no strange apps shows up at all but how can I be sure nothing dodgy is running? Is there tools I could use to confirm this?
Thank you again for your time and hopping to learn more about how new android setup works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good questions. Before you start, check the model number of your device through Settings > About. I'm assuming it's the international/global/unlocked version (GM1917).
With regard to question 1, a full build downloaded from the link you provided should contain every part of the OS, and flashing it through local update should overwrite anything that was there before. Before flashing, I would perform a full data wipe through recovery like you mentioned.
Q2: There is an MSM tool that will completely flash a system image for the OP7 Pro. I don't think they're generally intended for public use but they always get leaked anyways. They write an image (in the case of OnePlus, a .ops file) to the phone using a PC and USB connection. Here is a link to a thread which contains the MSM tool:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/guide-mega-unbrick-guide-hard-bricked-t3934659
Download the tool for the model of your phone (probably the international, firmware GM21AA), and extract its contents into a directory. In order for the tool to work, you need the OnePlus USB drivers installed on your PC. Plug the phone into your PC with it on, and enable USB file transfer. Open File Explorer and you should see a drive labeled "OnePlus drivers" or similar. Open it and run the driver setup executable file. You'll also need ADB to make your phone reboot into a mode that will allow the tool to perform its tasks. Here is a guide to installing ADB:
https://www.xda-developers.com/what-is-adb/
Once you've set that up, make sure the phone is plugged into the PC and the MSM tool is open. Make the phone boot into edl mode by typing
Code:
adb reboot edl
and once it says Connected next to a COM port in the tool, press start. Don't interrupt the process until it completes the download and the status message turns green. The phone should automatically reboot. This method is arguably more risky than using the local upgrade option, so do it at your own risk.
Q3: Make sure that OEM unlocking is turned off in developer settings and that the bootloader is locked (if the bootloader is unlocked, you'll see a yellow warning message after you power on the device from a power off state). Without an unlocked bootloader it would be pretty difficult to make any deep modifications to the device.
Hi @Zocker1304 and @TManchu,
Please let me thank you very much first for your kind and detailed reply, this is really welcome.
@Zocker1304:
I checked using the ADB/Fastboot connection that indeed, the Bootloader is locked so, that looks good.
Also installed (using a separate Google account) DRM Info app to confirm that the Widevine is properly installed and at L1 level which indeed again, looks good.
@TManchu
Thank you again for your very detailed reply! This was exactly what I needed as information.
I did already exactly as mentioned for the #1 so, it looks I should be good now with a proper rom from OnePlus (and did a full wipe in the Recovery boot mode)
For #2, I think I will skip that since as you rightly said, with #1, it should be fine so, prefer to keep with the recommended step.
For #3, we are covering what Zocker1304 mentioned too and I could confirm it.
My only concern about #3 was that you can actually relock the bootloader but (and please correct me If I am wrong), you can only do so if you are using stock OnePlus images (to date...seems like dev teams are working to have this changed? Bootloader locked with custom firmware?) which then means the image is safe.
I suppose the last item was my only open query for your thoughts but so far, the handset looks fine.
Thanks to you and the community, I have learned about the A/B partition scheme, msm tool, Fastboot/Recovery mode and Bootloader and ADB tools.
It is always good to learn more about the tech we use (especially phones, we have so many sensitive information stored into them today).
Not being careful could potentially means quite a lot of troubles down the road with Ransomeware/data leak tools.
Of course again, I could have simply purchased a JP phone from a brick and mortar shop next to my place and be fine with it. :silly:
brissoukun said:
.
For #3, we are covering what Zocker1304 mentioned too and I could confirm it.
My only concern about #3 was that you can actually relock the bootloader but (and please correct me If I am wrong), you can only do so if you are using stock OnePlus images (to date...seems like dev teams are working to have this changed? Bootloader locked with custom firmware?) which then means the image is safe.
I suppose the last item was my only open query for your thoughts but so far, the handset looks fine.
Thanks to you and the community, I have learned about the A/B partition scheme, msm tool, Fastboot/Recovery mode and Bootloader and ADB tools.
It is always good to learn more about the tech we use (especially phones, we have so many sensitive information stored into them today).
Not being careful could potentially means quite a lot of troubles down the road with Ransomeware/data leak tools.
Of course again, I could have simply purchased a JP phone from a brick and mortar shop next to my place and be fine with it. :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! I’ve just done some reading and from what I understand, re-locking the bootloader on anything other than a completely stock ROM will result in a bricked phone. I believe this is due to the way Android handles data encryption. If what you’ve heard is true, being able to lock your bootloader on a custom ROM would be great for device security. However, should something go wrong with the ROM having a locked bootloader might make it more difficult to fix.
I know that there are ways to sign system and boot images so that you can lock the bootloader with them installed, but I think that would still show a warning though I'm not sure.
Anyways, if all the build dates and numbers in the system info are correct, the firmware should be stock and as long as the bootloader is locked too, I don't believe you can tamper with that.
Hi Gents,
Thank you very much for the answer to the thread and much appreciated.
Apologies for not getting back to you all earlier as yesterday was family day...haha!
Well, since things looked good on the OS and the build, I went ahead and started to use the phone properly setting up my accounts. It did give me some incentive to get all my sensitive accounts setup with 2FA so that in case I get hacked with my passwords in the future...they would still need the 2fa (using Google Authenticator).
I did check also all system apps/running process and didn't see anything shady.
Just for reference, here were the type of articles I was refering too for the OS being plagued with malware even out of the box:
Page_theverge.com/2019/6/6/18655755/google-android-malware-triada-ota-rom-ads-spam-oem (sorry gents, new account, cannot put links yet)
However here, it seems it is due to lax review from the maker to third party tools which were including malware...
To have the same level on the oneplus I bought from the HK shop, they would have needed access to OnePlus Dev team to inject the malware in official image (knowing anyway I have re-installed a new image from the local update).
Otherwise, I was reading on the web about the fact to relock the bootloader with a custom roam and there seems to have a lot of messages but not concrete steps. It seems it depends a lot on phone model and brand.
When you are checking
Page_gizmochina.com/2019/06/10/relock-bootloader-oneplus-7-pro/
This is where you can read at the end:
"The above method only works if OnePlus 7 Pro is running on stock recovery and stock firmware. The ability to relock devices running custom recovery is expected in the next few weeks. "
That was published last month so, not sure if they got this to work on the OnePlus 7 pro yet.
So that's it, I am now using my new device which looks to work great and hopefully, won't get any bugs down the road.
I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me and will continue to learn about android.:good: