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I made a clean ROM based on the factory ROM for the Lenovo A789, A660 and P700i
Cleaned up ROMs:
- A789_S227_cybermaus_V2 (below)
- A789_S228_cybermaus_V2.1 (further below)
Ported ROMs (ported from P700i):
- A789_ROW_S105_cybermaus_ICS_V3 (further below)
- A789_ROW_S106_cybermaus_ICS_V3.1 (Further below)(also for A660 and P700i)
- A789_ROW_S107_cybermaus_ICS_V3.2 (Further below)(also for A660 and P700i)
The current and advised rom to use is A789_ROW_S106_cybermaus_ICS_V3.21
Based on factory ROM A789_S227_120827, and located in my Dev-Host. It is as close to factory as possible, which I hope will be good for stability. It is a flash-utility ROM, because it also holds the latest preloader, uboot and recovery. Assuming those are OK, followup fixes will be update.zip style.
Summery of changes:
- Rooted the phone with Chainfire SuperSu
- Set to boot in US-english, changed name of ROM
- Added MoreLocale for extra languages in 3rd party apps
- Removed Chinese apps, incl Chinese keyboard, removed SmsReg.apk
- Left Lenovo Security (anti-malware) and Lenovo (Go) Launcher intact
- Added Google GAPPS, Play Store, Maps, etc
- Added MobileUncle toolbox, SManager (root explorer). Titanium backup (free version)
- Added fix for location services
- Added CWMT recovery image (modded from 593cn.com)
- Added Skype, Whatsapp, and some others, as auto-install into userdata upon wipe
- Prepared busybox (you need to run script /system/xbin/installbusybox as root if you want it)
- Replaced bootup animation with clean Lenovo butterfly
- Replaced all some audio files with english named ones (thanks mabuc)
- Caller ID bug still present, sorry
- Just as a reminder, these ROMS have English and Chinese only.
Instructions:
By default, the ROM will not overwrite USERDATA or FAT. If you want a clean slate, first extract empty.userdata.rar and/or empty.fat.rar
- Read bgcngm flash tutorial.
- Read it again
- Start Flash Tool (v3.1222, in my Dev-Host)
- Load scatter file
- Take out USB cable and replace battery
- Press the download button in the flash tool
- Connect the USB cable
- Wait for the flashing to complete
A789_S228_cybermaus_V2.1 (no longer current, Use V3 instead)
Based on factory ROM A789_S228_120913, and located in my Dev-Host. Similar to V2, but newer, and a few extra fixes. It should be noted that the S228 is listed to solve unexpected crashes, so an important update in itself.
I do not have a A789, so it is a blind build. Until I get positive feedback, consider untested. Don't be the first to try if you are not experienced.
Summery of changes:
- Same as on V2, and additional
- Removed 2 more chinese apps that I forgot last time
- Prepared busybox (you need to run script /system/xbin/installbusybox as root if you want it)
- Added a tweak so USB-Debug notification is no longer shown
- Added a tweak so Wifi works on all 14 international channels (rather than only the 11 US ones, may be undone if you set a different locale)
Instructions:
This is a update.zip type ROM. So you need the custom recovery, see post #3,
A789_ROW_S105_cybermaus_ICS_v3.03
Based on P700i_ROW_S105_120920, see this separate post.
A789_ROW_S106_cybermaus_ICS_v3.11
Based on P700i_ROW_S106_121001, see this separate post.
Please note that this ROM I also build for the P700i and A660. See same post.
A789_ROW_S107_cybermaus_ICS_v3.2
Based on P700i_ROW_S107_121221, see this separate post.
Please note that this ROM I also build for the P700i and A660. See same post.
Below:
Post #2: Small review and fix of location services
Post #3: Custom recovery image
Post #4: Root your phone / install GAPPS
Also, many issues for the A789 are similar to those of the A750, so if you have questions, do search that Lenovo A750 thread to.
Thanks
Also thanks to bgcngm for his help, and to jazzor for his help
=================
BTW: Due to new forum rules, resulting in a large number of people that cannot post into developer threads and that subsequently PM me, I open op a new Q&A thread.
I am not going to be policing, so you can post where you like, but I invite everyone to use this new thread for any Q&A, and this thread for ROM releases and deep development talk only.
Consequently, if you PM'ed me, look for your reply in this new thread
Thanks
====================
PS: do drop me a reply if you use or tried it! Or press the 'thanks' button.
So, I got my first glimps at the A789. So to speak. My colleague was holding it while we were audio-skype, so I did not actually see it.
His A789 came with a Etotalk ROM by Dean, which I now suspect is a reworked Smileyvvv ROM with Sony Experia interface. Not bad, but as you know, I am a 'factory ROM' guy. My colleague may also be, because he had already replaced the the SE launcher with GO Launcher, which is the default Lenovo one. Also my colleague said it jammed a few times, which it still has not done on my factory A750 ROM.
Most of the phone worked, but a few tips for others out there:
- The phone still has the Called-ID bug. Even though it is newer 4.0,4. I know some of you claim this is solved on ICS Mediatek, but I still claim it is solved in *some* of the cases, not all, it also depends on how your provider sends the caller ID info. Anyway, you can work around it with the prefixer app as reported before.
- It did not come with the MobileUncle tool, but with the Etotalk tool. Which was not updated for the new MT6577 chip, so it had no Engineer Mode. Install the latest MU tool (version 20120813v2.2.0 its in my Dev-Host), so you get one with MT6577 Engineer mode.
- Recovery Mode was hard to get into. Like the newest A750 preloader, you have to press the power putton *just before* you press both volume buttons. But it did came with the CWMR Touch, though its Touch function was broken, so buttons only. They probably simply tried recovery images of other models, and did not properly build one with the A789 kernel, but it does not matter, it works well enough.
- Location services did not work. Update the phone with the ICS_locationfix_v1.3 update using recovery mode. While you are in recovery, also wipe cache. And finally, go into MobileUncle tool, the MTK Engineer mode, and in location settings, change the NetLoc from MEDIATEK to GOOGLE. Now your location services should work.
Lenovo A789 Recovery
I created a recovery image for the Lenovo A789 based on ClockWorkMod Touch 5.5.0.4. However, I do not own a A789, so until I have reports of it working, consider it untested. You can download it from my Dev-Host: File A789_S22x_recovery_cybermaus.rar
NOTE: It has come to my attention this recovery works well, except the nandroid backup function, which is broken. If you value nandroid backup, install the APKHOT one below.
While doing this, I also found a full APKHOT distro which had what seems to be a CLockWorkMod (non-Touch) recovery in it, so I extracted that and also uploaded it. That too you can download from my Dev-Host: File A789_S22x_recovery_apkhot.rar
Both of them you will have to flash using the flash tool, using bgcngm's excellent manual, and the V3.1222 of the flash utilities and drivers, also in my Dev-Host. If you flashed my V2 ROM, you do not need to do this, as the recovery is already part of that.
Once you have the recovery installed, you can enter it by pressing both VolumeUp/Down while booting the phone. Due to an issue with the preloader, it may be needed to press the power button slightly before both volume buttons. If the phone seems stuck, it means the preloader messed up, remove battery and try again.
Inside the recovery (the Touch variant) you can navigate not only by its physical buttons, but also by screen buttons, and by gestures: swipe up/down for up/down, left for back and right for enter.
The first few people using this, please report your findings, good or bad.
PS: As alwasy, thanks to bgcngm for his unpack utilities, which I used to modify the recovery.img
Lenovo A789 Root; GAPPS, Location DIY
Its been mentioned before, but if you have a working recovery (like above, hopefully), you can always yourself root your phone. Simply install (from inside the recovery) chainfire's "CMW installable ZIP"
Link to his post: (ignore his big red requires root warning)
The file you need is labeled "CWM installable ZIP" at the bottom.
Direct link to the file you need to install via recovery update.zip
And while you are at it: You probably also want to install the latest Google Mobile Services (better known as GAPPS) from CyanogenMod V9:
Explaining wiki from CyanogenMod
The file you need is called gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip and can be found here
You probably also want to wipe your cache partition after doing this.
To complete this DIY of fixing factory ROM: On Chine phone typically the location services do not work. Update the phone with my A750 V1.3 update using recovery mode. (it works on the A789 because it is a minor update, but *DO NOT* any of the other A750 updates on the A789. I repeat, do *NOT* flash A750 on A789). While you are in recovery, also wipe cache. And finally, go into MobileUncle tool, the MTK Engineer mode, and in location settings, change the NetLoc from MEDIATEK to GOOGLE. Now your location services should work.
Good luck
PS: If either update.zip refuses to install, remember to turn off the checksum and assert checks in the recovery.
And thanks to Chainfire for his work, and the team at CyanogenMod for theirs.
cybermaus said:
Before I can help, please provide some info:
Can you tell me what ROM you have?
Which flash tools did you use to root?
Also, do you have a working recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hwonggc said:
I fix the proximity thingy. it's caused by my lousy screen protector. But i've got another bigger problem now. I've accidentally uninstalled the default system home screen. I cant assess anything now. I tried flashing a recovery inside but it still doesn't work as factory. I use SP flash tool v3.1.222.00
---------- Post added at 06:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 AM ----------
dont think my recovery is working. Could you please provide me with a working recovery? =(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a recovery is on the todo.
But for now, you did not answer my questions yet:
- Can you tell me what ROM you have? Or had. Original Lenovo Factory, Etotalk-Dean, some other?
- Which flash tools did you use to root? Or rather, which files did you flash using that tool to deal with root. Actually, the fact that you had to root it yourself probably means you had factory ROM, but please confirm.
As stated, I am uploading S221 original to my Dev-Host. Flash that with the flash tool. On short notice, that is all I can do. On longer notice, I will help you, but give me some time.
Edit: In fact: You you already have messed up your recovery, and I do not have a A789 to play with myself, you may be my guinea pig for the recovery build. So I will work on that today. (as today is not a working day for me anyway). If you do not mind being a tester. After all, the damage is already done, and you apparently already know how to flash using the utility.
EDIT: @ hwonggc : Please test recovery in post#3. Just update your post below with results, or PM me. I would like to avoid too many new posts on this while we are testing.
cybermaus said:
Yes, a recovery is on the todo.
But for now, you did not answer my questions yet:
- Can you tell me what ROM you have? Or had. Original Lenovo Factory, Etotalk-Dean, some other?
- Which flash tools did you use to root? Or rather, which files did you flash using that tool to deal with root. Actually, the fact that you had to root it yourself probably means you had factory ROM, but please confirm.
As stated, I am uploading S221 original to my 4Shared. Flash that with the flash tool. On short notice, that is all I can do. On longer notice, I will help you, but give me some time.
Edit: In fact: You you already have messed up your recovery, and I do not have a A789 to play with myself, you may be my guinea pig for the recovery build. So I will work on that today. (as today is not a working day for me anyway). If you do not mind being a tester. After all, the damage is already done, and you apparently already know how to flash using the utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes yes. I had the factory rom. I got the phone just yesterday evening and this afternoon it's half dead already. I use smart phone flash tool to root using a file i got from http://www.fight.org.ua/publications...novo_A789.html. Everything was fine until I deleted the original home UI and the apex launcher also. So there isn't anything I can do. I'm downloading the S223 from some russian site and try, hopefully I can find some luck there. Downloading slowly~ sighhhh.
---------- Post added at 07:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 AM ----------
BTW~ i'm willing to test out your rom too! I wouldn't want to sound too demanding, put please please put in the play store will ya?
I posted the custom build, see first post. It may take a while before I can get it uploaded, I am on a bad link.
Also, there have been 20 downloads on the recovery image. Come on guys, someone must be able to provide feedback about it working or not!
A789_S227_cybermaus_V2 ROM is working
Hello
Thanks for Your work.
Your A789_S227_cybermaus_V2 ROM is working.
Simple Flashing and start without problems. Now I must check some functions.
Thx again
basell
Edit:
The 3g connections don't work at first run. After restore they start but in My opinion with less sensitivity (compare to stock rom). It's look like A789 loose some frequency on witch can work.
Edit2:
And they have some strange behavior - After couple min of data connection (on 3G) they disconnect with information - "Restricted access changed" and the same is when I try to choose network manually. After that sometimes they login to 3G sometimes they change to EDGE.
In Stock version (S221) was not this kind of problems.
Edit3:
In place with good 3G signal I have no problem with data transfer.
How Can I check on witch frequency (2100,900,850) I have connected My data transfer?
Thanks for testing
Well, I definitely did not mess with any of the 3G stuff. So if it is true that 3G is less sensitive, then I would claim it is true for the factory S227 vs factory S221, and not directly related to my cleanup of it.
But (sorry to say so) I have learned to take claims of improved or degraded radio sensitivity with a grain of salt, even for the factory ones.
Having said that: Restoring S221 radio into S227 firmware is easy. The radio is separate firmware file, and I can extract the S221, S223 and S227 firmware in a separate file, so you can test. Were you actually using factory S221, or some other?
As to whether it is using 2100, 900 or 850: I can probably figure out how to get that info, *BUT* reality is that your provider most likely has only one frequency anyway. Most, pretty much all, EU providers are on 2100. The phone could not get to 900, simply because your provider does not have that frequency in the air (not for 3G anyway). And 850 is not supported at all on this phone.
Anyway, inside MU utility, engineer mode, bandmode, you can check/set the frequencies that are supported.
But please run a proper test if 3G is really degraded. As stated. it is so often a empty claim, I am somewhat careful to follow it. You want me to extract the 3 versions of firmware files in update.zip files?
Also, what country/vendor are you? please list the MMC and MNC from inside the APN settings.
Hi
If You will prepare this files I can test it tomorrow.
I'm from Poland and I have two frequency on data transfer - 2100 and 900. But I don't know if A789 use only one or change them. The place I'm test the signal is poor and I don't see if I work on 2100 or 900.
If You can, pleas tell me what kind of tests I can do to do that properly
Ok, here they are. update.zip type.
I only have S221 and S227, but the firmware files were indeed different, in more than just their timestamps. Of course, normally I would assume newer is better. So to make it clear: below files only replace the radio&dsp firmware, not the phone firmware.
Try to test honestly for yourself. Same conditions, same place, same time (because network load can make a difference)
It is possible that 3G really is degraded in S227, but as mentioned, I learned to not jump to conclusions just because the network is having a bad day.
WARNING: I retracted the two attachment, because I made a typo in the installer script. While the firmware is for the A789 (MT6577), the installer script is for the A750 (MT6575). Sorry. I will upload the correct ones in a moment.... Anyone that took a copy of these files before Oct 14, delete them!!!
I suspect the install would simply have failed, no harm done, but best to get rid of all copies anyway
BTW: basell, is that why you asked how to install? Really, if you ask for help, you should provide a bit more info. Anyway, I attached newer scripts, if you still want to try.
sorry for My question but :
How to install this firmware?
Like any update.zip on android. Go into recovery (see post #3) and apply the update.zip
i have the problem that the netlocation doesn't work with google maps, i flashed the cyber update 1.3, nothing changed, what should I do now?
And this is on what phone and ROM?
Anyway, to quote myself: "While you are in recovery, also wipe cache. And finally, go into MobileUncle tool, the MTK Engineer mode, and in location settings, change the NetLoc from MEDIATEK to GOOGLE. Now your location services should work."
many thanks, Cybermaus, netlocation works again after your instruction
Hi,
Thank you very much for building the ROM !!
I am using it for 3 days now and I am happy to report no problems with it. Everything works and most important: no more freezes !!!
my A789 came with the Etotalk by Dean ROM which was mostly OK, but was freezing from time to time (some days not at all, other days several times a day - most of the times when hanging up a call or, when trying to do wake it from standby: I was pressing the power button, but the screen would not light up).
Other things I like about this ROM:
- all phone functions work great
- Google Play works perfectly
- is rooted
- it has the Lenovo battery app, which is great! I am not 100% sure if this is the reason, but the battery life went from 1 day to 2 days
- I had no issues flashing it
- CWMT recovery works
Also, so far, I did not experience any 3G issues
I have written a small review of the Lenovo Security app, which you guys may want to put back on your phone if it was cooked out of it.
jman0 said:
Thinking it twice, I've remembered another reason. One of the things I like most about the apkhot rom I'm using is that the external sdcard is mounted on /sdcard and not /mnt/sdcard2, which avoids problems with many apps. I tried one of the newest apkhot roms, based on s227, and none of the tricks to exchange /sdcard and /mnt/sdcard2 worked with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that is actually an easy change to perform, just change the /etc/fstab.vold
However, if you go into settings->storage, the first option is default write disk. Change it from USB storage(the internal SD) to SD (the external SD)
So no hacking is needed at all.....
I've been running your rom for around 6 hours now. Everything runs fine. The 3G connection worked without much trouble. The only thing I haven't been able to do is performing a backup with the CWM Touch Recovery. So, I've just flashed the recovery I had on the apkhot rom I was using, using Mobileuncle tools, and now I've been able to create a backup.
So far, so good, and I've noticed a slight performance increase, too.
Alright, noob here. Since I cannot post in the PACMAN development thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2164406) I will put this here.
- Problems installing PACMAN ROM
- After receiving "Errors Flashing", failures, downgraded recovery to TWRP 2.3.3.0
- 2.3.3.0 displayed "Error 7"
- Searching on error 7 led me down the path of the assert checks
- updater-script assert command in PACMAN ROM package is checking for model "ville".
- My HTC One S Special edition returns "villeplus" from "adb shell getprop ro.product.device"
My understanding is that the North American S4 and the Special Edition share identical hardware, only differing in drive size (16 vs. 64GB), so I am assuming any ROM designed for the ville will work on my phone.
Assuming it will I should be able to edit the "updater-script" file, but when I extract it windows is telling me that 23 files are duplicates. I'm not sure if this is because its windows vs. Linux that I'm extracting it on?? In any case, I don't seem to be able to modify the file without adversely affecting the integrity of the archive. Also would assume replacing the file will affect the MD5 hash which I believe TWRP checks when loading the ROM?
So first off, can someone confirm that this ROM will be compatible with my phone and 2, any suggestions on modifying the updater-script file within the archive?
Update
I was able to modify the updater-script file tonight using file X-Plore and text edit, so now the script is looking for "villeplus" rather than ville. My phone is S-OFF which I read means that it does not do signature checks... however, I'm not sure if that also means it bypasses MD5 checksums - I suspect not since I'm pretty sure I saw it verifying MD5 previously. So, since I tampered with the ZIP it still may not work.
My real question now that remains is even if it will work, do I want to flash a ROM built for the ville to my villeplus. The more I read about custom ROMs the more it appears that they are extremely specific to models.
I am still extremely curious to try it... rumor has it that curiosity didn't work out so well for the cat though. :-/
merovingian_a51 said:
I was able to modify the updater-script file tonight using file X-Plore and text edit, so now the script is looking for "villeplus" rather than ville. My phone is S-OFF which I read means that it does not do signature checks... however, I'm not sure if that also means it bypasses MD5 checksums - I suspect not since I'm pretty sure I saw it verifying MD5 previously. So, since I tampered with the ZIP it still may not work.
My real question now that remains is even if it will work, do I want to flash a ROM built for the ville to my villeplus. The more I read about custom ROMs the more it appears that they are extremely specific to models.
I am still extremely curious to try it... rumor has it that curiosity didn't work out so well for the cat though. :-/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, i have to fully disappoint you.
The villeplus is having the exact same hardware as the ville. Theoretically ideal. Unfortunately, HTC decided to make it a "/data/media" device unlike its brother, the ville.
Explained: the Ville has a partition for the SDCard and its mounted with its own mountpoint, /sdcard.
The Villeplus has a partition for the SDCard too, but its mounted inside the /Data partition as /data/media. This means a lot of problems from every imaginable aspect.
I spend a week together with Torxx from ViperOneS to get Viper to run on it and we found out that a.) the Kernel needs to be adjusted and b.) some libs and etc. which is real dev work and which no dev in the OneS section has time for.
Later i spent another two weeks with Philz and mdmower trying to at least get recovery to mount the sh.it thing as USB, which turned out to be impossible at this time as it is only possible through the MTP protocoll, which no recovery supports as of yet.
Since i am a n00b myself i did not entirely understand the nature of the problem, but it seems to be very complex.
At some point i suggested to actually rewrite the partitions on the phones so they would work the same way as on the ville. I even tried myself and flashed a Ville RUU to my Villeplus (it works, doesnt break anything) but with the same effect as custom roms: my SD was then in Data/media and the internal apps memory and RAM were shifted to somewhere else with not enough space so the phone kept running out of space and crashed often. Also all system components trying to access stuff on the SD failed to find their stuff and crashed.
Since we don't actually have means to change the chip controller programming so it offers the partitions differently to the ROM we cannot go that way either (Zarboz tried to explain it to me but i failed understanding it, somehow the device pathes are put into the actual chip and not part of any RUU, so to change them one would need to have some special software tool like we could have done on the HD2 back then).
The only viable way would be to adjust ROM modules and Kernel to this structure, which won't happen as no dev has this device and there are like maybe 5 active users here.
You are out of luck my friend. Sorry. I too was full of hope and gave it up when all devs i contacted signalled that there is no benefit for them and they wouldn't waste their time basically.
Sneakyghost said:
Unfortunately, i have to fully disappoint you.
The villeplus is having the exact same hardware as the ville. Theoretically ideal. Unfortunately, HTC decided to make it a "/data/media" device unlike its brother, the ville.
Explained: the Ville has a partition for the SDCard and its mounted with its own mountpoint, /sdcard.
The Villeplus has a partition for the SDCard too, but its mounted inside the /Data partition as /data/media. This means a lot of problems from every imaginable aspect.
I spend a week together with Torxx from ViperOneS to get Viper to run on it and we found out that a.) the Kernel needs to be adjusted and b.) some libs and etc. which is real dev work and which no dev in the OneS section has time for.
Later i spent another two weeks with Philz and mdmower trying to at least get recovery to mount the sh.it thing as USB, which turned out to be impossible at this time as it is only possible through the MTP protocoll, which no recovery supports as of yet.
Since i am a n00b myself i did not entirely understand the nature of the problem, but it seems to be very complex.
At some point i suggested to actually rewrite the partitions on the phones so they would work the same way as on the ville. I even tried myself and flashed a Ville RUU to my Villeplus (it works, doesnt break anything) but with the same effect as custom roms: my SD was then in Data/media and the internal apps memory and RAM were shifted to somewhere else with not enough space so the phone kept running out of space and crashed often. Also all system components trying to access stuff on the SD failed to find their stuff and crashed.
Since we don't actually have means to change the chip controller programming so it offers the partitions differently to the ROM we cannot go that way either (Zarboz tried to explain it to me but i failed understanding it, somehow the device pathes are put into the actual chip and not part of any RUU, so to change them one would need to have some special software tool like we could have done on the HD2 back then).
The only viable way would be to adjust ROM modules and Kernel to this structure, which won't happen as no dev has this device and there are like maybe 5 active users here.
You are out of luck my friend. Sorry. I too was full of hope and gave it up when all devs i contacted signalled that there is no benefit for them and they wouldn't waste their time basically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, Sneakyghost, I can't thank you enough for your prompt (I just PM'd him last night folks) and very thorough response.
I'm wondering why HTC did this - thinking maybe to prevent/protect users from tampering with the device - perhaps other ROMs wouldn't run on it in a stable fashion.. or they just don't want people messing with custom ROMs. Perhaps this was a new architecture for them (wondering if the One and One X followed this same design?).
In any case, looks like I'll be sticking to looking at launchers and custom widgets. I'm actually quite happy with 4.1.1 and Sense (maybe because I'm new to Android, not sure), I mainly wanted to try experiment with custom ROMs, and learn about how all this stuff works. At least till the M4 comes out anyways..
Thanks again so much for your response, it is much appreciated and well explained.
Sneakyghost said:
... Unfortunately, HTC decided to make it a "/data/media" device unlike its brother, the ville.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh the irony, the (unreleased) 4.2 update for ville actually reformats partitions for data media. I don't think the update will ever be officially available to US users, but it is funny nonetheless.
This, my friend, is indeed ironic, if not even sad.
Considering what it means, I come to understand that porting ROM's from Ville to Villeplus would have gotten much easier then. Only that it is too late.
Torxx and I gave up due to the amount of work attached to the previous system structures, but if the Ville turns into a datamedia device with that update, many ROM devs and chefs would have to deal with it plus HTC would have done the most difficult part already anyway...
What a shame that this comes so late now and doesn't even get released probably...
mobile post
Hi guys,
for those of us who are waiting for at least the M1 of CM12 before switching lanes, I did a build of Carbon (and a few of CM11, previously) for our Photons.
This is an odexed ("user", not "userdbg") build, running on the cm-12.1 kernel branch and using the latest available f2fs_tools. It also features a modified init which can use either f2fs or ext4 for /cache and /data - so switching to f2fs is highly recommended, but not mandatory. Superuser is included.
This is esentially for those who switched to CM12 just for f2fs; it's miles faster than cm12, and a bit more responsive that the old official cm11 nightlies.
A word of warning. TWRP's "change filesystem" function formats the partition (PhilZ does too, but at least it makes that explicit).
So what you want to do when switching from an ext4 ROM is,
before you begin: copy everything in the internal sdcard somewhere on the external sdcard; this is needed, since the "internal sdcard" is actually a folder in /data;
in TWRP, begin by creating a backup of /data (that saves everything except the "internal sdcard" and /cache - that's why you need step #1);
do the FS change for both /data and /cache
restore the /data backup, on the freshly formatted /data partition; ignore the "different filesystem" warning, it's inconsequential;
install the ROM;
once you booted the phone, copy back the old contents of the internal sdcard
You only need to do this when you change filesystems, which will be exactly once if you like my ROMs And obviously, if you don't, you have to use the exact same procedure before flashing an ext4 ROM, if you don't want to lose data.
Though, in all fairness, I'd recommend flashing this cleanly - unless you're upgrading from an ext4 Carbon build.
A note on the radio
I have included a tool called radio-tool (of my own design) that allows people to enable/disable the US GSM lock and individual network bands;
if you're having the SIM mod, and are from, or have business in, the US, you can use it to kill the CDMA and Sprint LTE bands altogether, as well as to enable US GSM bands and disable the US GSM lock;
the source code is here
Use (as superuser)
Code:
radio-tool [dbg] [{+|-}opt [...]]
where opt is one of
uslock - US GSM lockout
cdma - CDMA bands (CDMA800 / CDMA1800 / CDMA2000 1xEV-DO)
usgsm - US GSM/HSPA bands (GSM850, GSM1900, WCDMA850, WCDMA1900)
eugsm - EU GSM/HSPA bands (GSM900, GSM1800, WCDMA900, WCDMA2100)
sprlte - Sprint LTE (LTE25, 1900)
vzwlte - Verizon LTE (LTE13, 700)
Download:
ROM: CARBON-KK-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-20150526-moto_msm8960.zip
Recoveries: TWRP-2.8.6.0-20150526-f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl-xt897.img, PhilZ-6.59.0-20150520-crkk_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl-xt897.
You do not need to use a su app with this; but if you want to, please use the latest SuperSU. Attempting to use a different, or older, su app could result in no radio.
Changes from stock Carbon:
alternative mount points support - this enables the ROM to work with either f2fs or ext4 for /data and /cache
tuned mount settings - kickass speed with both ext4 and f2fs
256MB of lz4-compressed swap space (zram0)
built on gcc-4.8-sabermod
build.prop tweaks - this defaults to GSM/WCDMA - plus a few radio and network tweaks;
added a few goodies that are present in CM builds (Term, Apollo, Calendar, CMWallpapers, VideoEditor, plus the cmdline utils);
removed the stats and the update apps (for obvious reasons)
added Romanian (programmers) keyboard support in Asanti Keypad
built with: twrp 2.8.6.0, cm12.1 kernel, cm12.1 f2fs-tools, cm12.1 e2fsprogs, cm12.1 exfat, cm12.1 fuse.
(this will allow me to pick up any improvements in kernel, file systems, and recovery, with great ease )
Quirks:
MTP doesn't start by default in TWRP, despite the fact that it claims to be enabled; disable and re-enable MTP, and it will work
in PhilZ' mount menu, entries for cache and data are duplicated; this is cosmetic - mounting and umounting works just fine, regarless which of the two entries for each partition you choose
.
Older, CM11 vanilla builds:
Download:
cm-11-20150427-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.zip - repo syncs, builds with TWRP, uses branch cm-12.1 of the kernel, uses latest available f2fs-tools
Use latest SuperSU with any of the CM ROMs - older, or different, su apps might make the radio not work.
NOTE. These ROMs are actually moto_msm8960_jbbl, so they should work on all devices for which official moto_msm8960_jbbl builds did, as long as they're still on the JB bootloader (jbbl) and you have a device-specific recovery that supports f2fs. A suitable PhilZ touch for non-xt897's can be found on the AtrixHD thread, courtesy of @palmbeach05, or you could use PhilZ-6.59.0-20150506-crkk_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl-mb866 (note, despite the -mb866 suffix, it should work on any moto_msm8960_jbbl device except xt897).
The current repo is available here. To use,
repo init -u https://github.com/mionica/android.git -b cr_kk_gcc-4.8
repo sync
. build/envsetup.sh
breakfast carbon_moto_msm8960_jbbl
edit the .repo/local_manifests/roomservice.xml, changing the device project for android_device_motorola_moto_msm8960_jbbl to
Code:
<project path="android" name="mionica/android_device_motorola_moto_msm8960_jbbl" remote="mionica" revision="cr_kk_xt897" />
repo sync again
finally, (cd vendor/carbon && ./get-prebuilts).
After you do that, you're good to go - (optional) configure ccache (if it's your first build), (optional) enable ccache, choosecombo, then mka carbon 2>&1 | tee BUILD.LOG.
If you're not sure how to do any of these, either just use the provided ROM, or search on youtube for "building CyanogenMod" - that should help, I know it helped me Anyway, this thread is not the right place for learning how to build Android.
Mirrored for archival purposes.
This server WILL BE SLOW. You've been warned.
http://lionspaws.net/cm-11-20150401-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl/
98e652a97965ba5d88cb9068fe7d4dbe *cm-11-20150401-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.zip
Using it for the last few days, seems good so far. Thanks
taking a break
Quick one. I'll take a break from this for now - my little sister's phone broke down, so she got my Photon. I just ordered one from the States today, but between that arriving and cornholiogsm doing the SIM mod, it might take a while (US to Ireland to Czech Republic to Ireland - and Tomas is pretty busy in my experience).
Thanks much for building this!
Forgive my ignorance, I've been using CM11 a while but other than the initial installation in which I followed wiki instructions, have only ever updated thru the phone. But since there hasn't been an update in a couple months, I'm considering installing this, particularly to solve the google service problems. If it makes the phone faster with better file system and ram stuff, that's a bonus, although concerned that might cause problems in the future. I don't fully understand what you mean by messed up build and odexed user stuff means. Basically I wonder can I just install this on top of the latest CM11 nightly without issues ("dirty flash")? My "recovery" is recovery-clockwork-6.0.4.4-xt926 clock but I only used that cuz that was what the wiki said, I've never used it since the initial install.
If the answer is yes, and I understand your post right, these are the install steps:
1. Download cm-11-20150408-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.zip
2. Download & install TWRP-2.8.6.0-20150408-cm11_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.img
3. Change filesystem of /cache and /data to f2fs using TWRP
4. Install cm-11-20150408-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.zip using TWRP
You said something about flash SuperSU alongside this. I don't recall having to do that before, can you provide a little more info?
Do I need to reinstall gapps, and if so, is it the same as I used before, gapps-kk-20140606-signed.zip?
And a couple more easy questions I could probably find by searching... how do I install that twrp....img file, can I do that thru clockwork... and how do I get into clockwork anyway, I remember it was holding some volume key during power or something but last time I tried to guess weird things happened with robots getting operations and such so if you happen to know the right keys/etc that would be convenient... will twrp replace clockwork and have the same keys to get boot to it, if not, what keys?
And last but not least... when CM11 M13 finally comes out, will I be able to upgrade to that from this, or perhaps because of the stuff you've taken from CM12 (f2fs/zram/etc) maybe I can't, or maybe I can if I set the filesystem back to default with TWRP first? How bout if one day I decide to use Lollipop (which I may never do anyway as I understand it's only recommended for phones with more than 1GB memory), will I be able to upgrade to CM12 the same way as regular CM11 user? I'd always used official stuff so this unofficial is making me nervous, but I really want my google stuff working right again and my battery to last all day like it used to...
Wait what wiki told you to use CWM for xt926!? CM's wiki?
enigma9o7 said:
Thanks much for building this!
Forgive my ignorance, I've been using CM11 a while but other than the initial installation in which I followed wiki instructions, have only ever updated thru the phone. But since there hasn't been an update in a couple months, I'm considering installing this, particularly to solve the google service problems. If it makes the phone faster with better file system and ram stuff, that's a bonus, although concerned that might cause problems in the future. I don't fully understand what you mean by messed up build and odexed user stuff means. Basically I wonder can I just install this on top of the latest CM11 nightly without issues ("dirty flash")? My "recovery" is recovery-clockwork-6.0.4.4-xt926 clock but I only used that cuz that was what the wiki said, I've never used it since the initial install.
If the answer is yes, and I understand your post right, these are the install steps:
1. Download cm-11-20150408-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.zip
2. Download & install TWRP-2.8.6.0-20150408-cm11_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.img
3. Change filesystem of /cache and /data to f2fs using TWRP
4. Install cm-11-20150408-UNOFFICIAL_f2fs-moto_msm8960_jbbl.zip using TWRP
You said something about flash SuperSU alongside this. I don't recall having to do that before, can you provide a little more info?
Do I need to reinstall gapps, and if so, is it the same as I used before, gapps-kk-20140606-signed.zip?
And a couple more easy questions I could probably find by searching... how do I install that twrp....img file, can I do that thru clockwork... and how do I get into clockwork anyway, I remember it was holding some volume key during power or something but last time I tried to guess weird things happened with robots getting operations and such so if you happen to know the right keys/etc that would be convenient... will twrp replace clockwork and have the same keys to get boot to it, if not, what keys?
And last but not least... when CM11 M13 finally comes out, will I be able to upgrade to that from this, or perhaps because of the stuff you've taken from CM12 (f2fs/zram/etc) maybe I can't, or maybe I can if I set the filesystem back to default with TWRP first? How bout if one day I decide to use Lollipop (which I may never do anyway as I understand it's only recommended for phones with more than 1GB memory), will I be able to upgrade to CM12 the same way as regular CM11 user? I'd always used official stuff so this unofficial is making me nervous, but I really want my google stuff working right again and my battery to last all day like it used to...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with @arrrghhh you should use what your device maintainers recommend you use. I would also recommend you looking at what bootloader you have before trying this as there are KKBL builds in a different thread on I believe the RHD section. Odexed is like what you get from the manufacturer. It has .apk and odex files in it. odex assist the apk files. 6.0.4.4 is outdated, as 6.0.5.1 is the most recent. The install method you just recited is exactly what the OP just said. Per the OP, SU was not built into the 4/8 ROM, so you need to flash it as well. Yes you should be able to flash that Gapps, you just have to update your Gapps after finishing setup via playstore. Lollipop is able to be used on your device, as it currently has official builds. 5.0 had issues, 5.1 just got its official release yesterday. As far as unofficial builds go, I refer you to epinter and krystianp who both took an older device and provided unofficial updates that were very stable, despite the neverending work on a custom kernel. Furthermore, you can go talk to Quarx about unofficial builds, since his builds has been running the Defy for years. So being nervous about an unofficial build is like saying you're nervous about using a generic brand of something vs the more publicized item. Battery life will always be an issue if you have a bad setup (wifi and bt on all the time, max bright screen, hrs of listening to music or streaming, etc.)
@enigma9o7 Personally, I can't wait to do an unofficial cm11 build based on the cm11 m13 code base - with f2fs, and I expect, by then, zram (if it proves useful on cm11 at all - this thing works unreasonably well to begin with ). So I wouldn't worry about m13, as I'm pretty sure to release a parallel build on its side.
Now, I'm a bit impaired re. testing equipment atm but I have a mind to keep building this weekly or so anyway, while I judge the commits to be low-risk, and resume the riskier stuff once I get the new toy. Was away from Dublin this week, hence from my home PC , but that gets fixed tonight...
mionica said:
@enigma9o7 Personally, I can't wait to do an unofficial cm11 build based on the cm11 m13 code base - with f2fs, and I expect, by then, zram (if it proves useful on cm11 at all - this thing works unreasonably well to begin with ). So I wouldn't worry about m13, as I'm pretty sure to release a parallel build on its side.
Now, I'm a bit impaired re. testing equipment atm but I have a mind to keep building this weekly or so anyway, while I judge the commits to be low-risk, and resume the riskier stuff once I get the new toy. Was away from Dublin this week, hence from my home PC , but that gets fixed tonight...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One question i did have that i was wondering, when you built the kernel, did you set it up for GSM, CDMA, or both? I know we've talked via pm about things, but i've gotten it to boot up with your kernel, but no signal and baseband unknown
Sent from my ATRIX HD using XDA Free mobile app
palmbeach05 said:
One question i did have that i was wondering, when you built the kernel, did you set it up for GSM, CDMA, or both? I know we've talked via pm about things, but i've gotten it to boot up with your kernel, but no signal and baseband unknown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm will have to check. For me it's working in the EU using GSM/HSPA on the xt897 with the SIM mod.
I used the stock config from the cm12.1 xt897 kernel - I'll have to diff that with the cm11 one.
Another possibility is that it wouldn't work because of SElinux mismatches between kernel and userland. The following has to be in the fstab:
Code:
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem /firmware ext4 ro,nosuid,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,barrier=1,[b]context=u:object_r:radio_efs_file:s0[/b] wait,check
If it doesn't, on the xt897 you get no WiFi, but I expect results might vary by device
All I'm saying is, it might or might not be a kernel config, would have to check when I get to my PC.
mionica said:
I used the stock config from the cm12.1 xt897 kernel - I'll have to diff that with the cm11 one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reviewed the entire changelog from cm-11.0 to HEAD, and couldn't find anything that looked even remotely radio-related, so I reckon it's most likely the SElinux thing. And now that I built a TWRP that has a chance of running on AHD, I guess you could tell me whether that's the case
arrrghhh said:
Wait what wiki told you to use CWM for xt926!? CM's wiki?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, pretty sure. All started a year ago when I was looking for an android smartphone with a keyboard, this one was rated best, wikipedia itself said CM was required for kitkat, so looked into CM, found their installation wiki http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_xt897 which step #2 is install clockworkmod recovery. Right now if I follow the link it leads to recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.3-asanti.img, but I'm pretty sure at the time I originally installed it lead to that version I used, which did work fine for installing CM as I do have it installed. But it's possible something else lead me to that version, I can't really remember for 100% sure, but I definitely started from CMs wiki.
---------- Post added at 10:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------
palmbeach05 said:
I would also recommend you looking at what bootloader you have before trying this as there are KKBL builds in a different thread on I believe the RHD section
....
The install method you just recited is exactly what the OP just said. Per the OP, SU was not built into the 4/8 ROM, so you need to flash it as well.
...
Yes you should be able to flash that Gapps, you just have to update your Gapps after finishing setup via playstore.
...
So being nervous about an unofficial build is like saying you're nervous about using a generic brand of something vs the more publicized item.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. My understanding is there is no KKBL for Photon Q anyway, but anyways I've always used the msm...jbbl roms.
Okay, will add installing SU to install steps.
Since I already have that version of gapps, my question is do I need to reinstall it then update everything. Shouldn't it already be good? I didn't have to reinstall gapps with the official nightlies, so want to know if I really need to for this.
My concern with unofficial is not that I dont trust it or think it's less stable, just that it may make it more difficult in future to upgrade or get back onto official path as I may not be able to follow the same steps as everyone else.
I'm still unsure if it's okay to dirty flash over CM11 nightly. I do actually use my phone for work so don't want to mess it up... but really want google stuff working again and can't keep waiting forever for official cm11.
enigma9o7 said:
Yep, pretty sure. All started a year ago when I was looking for an android smartphone with a keyboard, this one was rated best, wikipedia itself said CM was required for kitkat, so looked into CM, found their installation wiki http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_xt897 which step #2 is install clockworkmod recovery. Right now if I follow the link it leads to recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.3-asanti.img, but I'm pretty sure at the time I originally installed it lead to that version I used, which did work fine for installing CM as I do have it installed. But it's possible something else lead me to that version, I can't really remember for 100% sure, but I definitely started from CMs wiki.
---------- Post added at 10:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------
Thanks. My understanding is there is no KKBL for Photon Q anyway, but anyways I've always used the msm...jbbl roms.
Okay, will add installing SU to install steps.
Since I already have that version of gapps, my question is do I need to reinstall it then update everything. Shouldn't it already be good? I didn't have to reinstall gapps with the official nightlies, so want to know if I really need to for this.
My concern with unofficial is not that I dont trust it or think it's less stable, just that it may make it more difficult in future to upgrade or get back onto official path as I may not be able to follow the same steps as everyone else.
I'm still unsure if it's okay to dirty flash over CM11 nightly. I do actually use my phone for work so don't want to mess it up... but really want google stuff working again and can't keep waiting forever for official cm11.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can dirty flash this ontop of an existing CM11 after switching /data and /cache from ext4 to f2fs. Gapps will be fine since they install on the /system partition.
Sent from my ATRIX HD using XDA Free mobile app
Switched to Carbon, but preserved most of the goodies from CM; links in the first post.
Also added a note on how to hack your radio to disable CDMA/LTE - so you could go with this phone in the US and never register on Sprint's network (unless they have a GSM/WCDMA network in place too, which should be fine).
I decided to give it a try with your latest CM11. I installed the TWRP from your first post, was able to backup fine, but don't see how to reformat as f2fs....
enigma9o7 said:
I decided to give it a try with your latest CM11. I installed the TWRP from your first post, was able to backup fine, but don't see how to reformat as f2fs....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There should be an option to wipe things, go there
Sent from my ATRIX HD using XDA Free mobile app
palmbeach05 said:
There should be an option to wipe things, go there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, found it.
And now I'm stuck. But I bet it's an easy solution.
I changed filesystems, restored data & cache, installed cm (04/27), installed superuser (wasnt sure if needed, but figured it couldnt hurt), and I booted.
No wifi or phone service but I'm hoping the last step will fix that, restoring sdcard0. However, I can't figure out how to copy that back. I used ES File Explorer to copy it to a folder in sdcard1 before I started. But now I can't paste it back to /storage, always told copy fails. There is a 0 byte file called sdcard0 there, if I delete it, it comes back. Since it's not a directory I can't change to it and copy the contents of my previous save into it... I tried deleting it and making a folder called sdcard0 before it recreated the 0 byte file but that failed too.
I thought maybe I'd try command line, but I'm no expert there... I su'd and tried similar things as in EX but similar results.
I thought I'd try to copy it back with TWRPs file manager, but I couldn't figure out where to put it, there was no /storage directory, so I tried putting it in / and that started copying for a while but before it was done it rebooted and just hung at the TeamWin screen until I powered off...
So yeah. Dunno how to restore sdcard0. Help please....
edit: maybe superuser doesn't work? I tried to use default "file manager" and it wont let me switch to root mode. Then I noticed that while trying ES File Manager again I didnt see the popup about "root granted" or something like that that I normally see. But superuser is installed, its in the apps menu and runs and a quick look thru the settings seems okay to me, but I don't recall ever setting anything before.
edit2: I'm giving up and going to try to go back to last cm11 nightly and hope my phone starts working again. I tried reflashing multiple times, eventually tried supersu instead of superuser and that worked to get root explorer working, but I still couldn't copy over sdcard0 using ES anyway, but using default filemanager I could start (although I hate that filemanager cuz I dont know how to change directories, usually have to tap about 15 times before it opens a folder), but it would always start then reboot before it finished. So I still dunno how to copy that back.
enigma9o7 said:
No wifi or phone service but I'm hoping the last step will fix that, restoring sdcard0. However, I can't figure out how to copy that back. I used ES File Explorer to copy it to a folder in sdcard1 before I started. But now I can't paste it back to /storage, always told copy fails. There is a 0 byte file called sdcard0 there, if I delete it, it comes back. Since it's not a directory I can't change to it and copy the contents of my previous save into it... I tried deleting it and making a folder called sdcard0 before it recreated the 0 byte file but that failed too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Superuser is probably not a smart choice on KK. Use SuperSU instead.
The very first boot is somehow handled differently - I discovered this when I worked on integrating SuperSU into a catch-all zip of mine (alongside Windows Mobile ringtones, Midnight Commander, patched hosts, and a few other goodies). I got no radio with my package, but if I flased SuperSU instead, it worked.
It took me a coupe of tries to find the culprit - a flag file in /etc that SuperSU created after the first boot (and I attempted to create that from my zip). Made my zip not create that, and bang! everything worked just fine. Btw, removing that file after the first boot had no effect, the phone'd be screwed until you wiped /data.
Now, the fact that SuperSU handles the first boot differently kinda makes me think that older su's might very well not work (properly) on KK - and what you're reporting seems to confirm that.
I would strongly suggest going Carbon instead; that includes a working su. It's essentially CM with a different boot logo and a good few extra customization options (which you can safely ignore if you're not into that sort of thing).
So if you didn't go back yet, try either
flashing carbon and being done with it, everything will work;
flash the cm rom alongside supersu, not any other root app,
Either way, root will work, phone will work, and you'll be able to copy stuff around to your heart's desire.
As for a FM, I strongly suggest an app called Total Commander. The UI is atrocious as of late (the author is obviously better at coding than designing icons ), but it' probably the most complete FM solution for Android, bar none. And it's free, without adds; wait til you try it in landscape
I'm sorry for you inconvenience, but I also somehow feel it's earned - the OP said SuperSU back before Carbon replaced CM; because that's what I was using, and it worked for me - no guarantees if you went your own way. I've re-added the limitation and made it bold+orange in the CM part of the post (Carbon has its own, fully working, su).
Added the 2015.05.03 build of Carbon; links to 2015.04.30 removed.
At this stage, CM users should have everything they liked about CM, already compiled in (except for WhisperPush, the point of which I don't quite see).
Changelog from 2015.04.30:
added Calendar (!!!) - why on earth would the Carbon guys build an ROM without this?!
built on gcc-4.8.x-sabermod-20150429
added CMWallpapers, Video Editor
added the previously-missed vim, unrar, zip and gdbserver
synced with upstream; in particular, there was a noteworthy GPU memory allocation improvement in the kernel
Todo:
add an app for messing with the NV settings (enable/disable bands, enable/disable US GSM lockdown)
enable zram.
Added the 2015.05.05 build of Carbon; links to 2015.05.03/04 removed.
Changelog from 2015.05.04:
set default governor to msm-dcvs - better out-of-box performance
imported the cm-12.1 init support (including swap enabling)
Changelog from 2015.05.03:
support for fstab alternatives, cm12-style (my own code in fs_mgr); now you can use the ROM with either f2fs or ext4 for /cache and /data
massively improved FS performance for both ext4 and f2fs - tuned the fstab settings for best performance;
added radio-tool to enable/disable US GSM lock and groups of radio bands (CDMAs, US GSM/HSPA, EU GSM/HSPA, Sprint LTE, Verizon LTE) - see spoiler in first post
Todo:
figure out why swapping doesn't want to start, despite the device being there and mkswap succeeding (error -16).
Updating the recovery to a 20150505 build is highly recommended.
Hello fairly new here, I found a post relating to Android sensors breaking during the upgrade to Android 10 and I also have all of my sensors broken currently.
A post on the Pixel 3 forum has the solution: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3-xl/how-to/android-10-sensors-bug-t3964904
Does anyone have working sensors that would be willing to provide their persist.img for me to dd and fix my sensors?
If there are any other solutions I'd appreciate it!
jkent900 said:
Hello fairly new here, I found a post relating to Android sensors breaking during the upgrade to Android 10 and I also have all of my sensors broken currently.
A post on the Pixel 3 forum has the solution: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-3-xl/how-to/android-10-sensors-bug-t3964904
Does anyone have working sensors that would be willing to provide their persist.img for me to dd and fix my sensors?
If there are any other solutions I'd appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about broken sensors on the 7/Pro?
TheKnux said:
Are you talking about broken sensors on the 7/Pro?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I was having issues with broken sensors.
I had saved my original boot/EFS/modem files in TWRP. Restoring them also restored my sensors. Caution as it also made it so my sim would not connect so I went back and did the unbrick/edl msm tool and now everything is back up and working!
if your sensors are broken after android 10 it has nothing to do with persist partition
the persist partition is never written, so if its broken its a problem with android 10 not reading persist properly.
wait for the fix instead of messing with partitions you cant restore if you break it.
jkent900 said:
Correct. I was having issues with broken sensors.
I had saved my original boot/EFS/modem files in TWRP. Restoring them also restored my sensors. Caution as it also made it so my sim would not connect so I went back and did the unbrick/edl msm tool and now everything is back up and working!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar problem with broken sensors when I tried updating (I rolled back to Pie for now)
That thread is in regards to TWRP saving logs to /persist causing the tiny partition to fill.
I would recommend using a terminal emulation app with the 'df' command and look for persist in the results. My persist partition is only 15% utilised and doesn't contain any twrps files or a cache folder (as the Pixel guys are seeing), so I presume that our problem is something different.
If you're adamant about trying to flash it anyway, you can find the images and commands here...but I wouldn't recommend it if you don't absolutely know what you're doing:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/rom-stock-fastboot-roms-oneplus-7-pro-t3931424
(fyi... if you use the flash-all.bat included in that thread, it will wipe your storage if you don't edit out the -w flag)
Yeah I had used that tool to rollback to pie. I think that might have been where my problems started.
Using the msm tool I believe my phone is completely back to stock and currently just have twrp/magisk and going to wait until either the official Android 10 or maybe the next beta. Dark mode is the biggest feature I'm looking forward to.
Hmm I have a bit of a similar problem but not in this scenario.
Had Oxygen OS 10, all was good.
Flashed OOS 9 (prerequisite for Havoc OS 2.9 based on Android Pie).
Then I discovered no sensor works anymore in Havoc OS (also with sensor test app).
> adb shell
> su -
> mount | grep persist --> found sda2
> df -kh ---> have just 15% used on it
I flashed a persist just out of curiosity if it brings any benefit (files are the same after).
Sensors still do not work.
Is using MSM tool the only way to bring my sensors back?
I'm a bit reluctant to have to restore all my data again and lose half a day but if it's the only way...then I will proceed.
After many hours of trial and error, I now understand how to get RR and Lineage to boot with latest firmware updates. NO MORE BLINKING BLACK/GREY SCREEN!
Tested with Resurrection Remix 16.1 and Lineage 15.1 (Oreo)
Simply flash the boot and vendor images to their corresponding partitions using fastboot. Find the proper images from this Tmobile firmware,. https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=11410963190603878004 This method preserves IMEI and Baseband.
Nano/pico gapps work as well. HideProps magisk module can set your fingerprint to Moto E5 Play and get around that unregistered Google sh**. I edit /vendor/etc/fstab.qcom myself with vi and inside TWRP terminal shortly after flashing vendor partition. I do this because zips and other copies held me up. All I change is forceencrypt to encryptable in the data line of the fstab. Magisk 19.3 patches for verity. Another thing I do is move /vendor/lib/libeffects.so to /vendor/lib/soundfx/libeffects.so. Doing this will keep music/audio from studdering when screen is off. Last thing, TWRP 3.3.1 formats data as ext4 by default. We want to format with f2fs or you get corrupted data messages at boot. Happy flashing!
##
I find the earliest of these metro pcs firms have a working vendor image.
https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/james/official/Metropcs/
I got bluetooth working today, and lots of clues where I found the fix...
####Bluetooth
Now that I can set it up from a clean install, here's the basics for Bluetooth...
You'll need files from the stock system image. You can use a backup to get these or also use simg2img with dd and 7zip, I'll make a zip installer when I have more time.
1. Copy the following files, from stock image directory "/system/etc/" to the "/vendor/etc/" directory on device
mixer_paths* (14 files)
audio_* (5 files)
media_profiles* (3 files)
Edit the file /system/etc/ld.config.26.txt
add this text to the very end of line 61 :/system/${LIB}/vnd-sp/hw
You're done! If you did everything as described, and it doesn't work, check the permissions of the files you add to vendor partition with other xml files in same directory. I did mine on the device while running, it worked in place, without rebooting device. The GSI system is new to me, however the "Same Proccess HAL(hardware abstraction layer)" voodoo can likely be configured correctly to fix screen and port other GSIs' to our device.
Any chance of getting lamens terms step by step instructions on how to do this? That is the model I have and really liked those roms when I tried unsuccessfully to make them work last year.
edit: 9/21 6pm
I think it's because mine is TMO variant.
Mattswad said:
Any chance of getting lamens terms step by step instructions on how to do this? That is the model I have and really liked those roms when I tried unsuccessfully to make them work last year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying based on this now. I'll update you.. been trying for TOO LONG lol it's almost the same time you posted 2 days ago!
---------- Post added at 04:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:45 AM ----------
I've been up all night trying to get either one to work.. I think I came close but I am stuck at a looping blank screen.
If you could step through a bit more for us? I'd REALLY love to have lineageOS on it.
mrbox23 said:
After many hours of trial and error, I now understand how to get RR and Lineage to boot with latest firmware updates. NO MORE BLINKING BLACK/GREY SCREEN!
Tested with Resurrection Remix 16.1 and Lineage 15.1 (Oreo)
Simply flash the boot and vendor images to their corresponding partitions using fastboot. Find the proper images from this Tmobile firmware,.
Nano/pico gapps work as well. HideProps magisk module can set your fingerprint to Moto E5 Play and get around that unregistered Google sh**. I edit /vendor/etc/fstab.qcom myself with vi and inside TWRP terminal shortly after flashing vendor partition. I do this because zips and other copies held me up. All I change is forceencrypt to encryptable in the data line of the fstab. Magisk 19.3 patches for verity. Another thing I do is move /vendor/lib/libeffects.so to /vendor/lib/soundfx/libeffects.so. Doing this will keep music/audio from studdering when screen is off. Last thing, TWRP 3.3.1 formats data as ext4 by default. We want to format with f2fs or you get corrupted data messages at boot. Happy flashing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Metro PCS version
Moto e5 Play XT1921-3
Mattswad said:
I have the Metro PCS version
Moto e5 Play XT1921-3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh That is excellent news. I am about to take a focus supplement, and dive into trying again I'll let you know. I found a few more of MrBox23's posts and I think I MAYBE onto something.... wish me loads of luck. If it works for me I THINK it should work for you, but you might need to start with a diff image than me, or use a different boot and vendor img than I will.. not sure if I can help you find those files or not..
I'll be back later to update what I find.
Sorry I haven't been on for awhile. I'll go ahead and post my working vendor and boot images. On Google drive for download. Doing this will trash your speaker if you play music very loud at all, expect that. I do not understand how to fix it. Other than that it's a daily driver. I have been asked about encryption this and that.. You have to modify fstab.qcom within vendor partition. Also the TWRP for this device will format your data partition as ext4 while the ramdisk and init stack are configured for f2fs(if you try and boot with ext4 data, you get corrupted/encrypted data message). You have to change data partition back to f2fs in TWRP every time you format that partition. Or you could modify the TWRP image like I did to fix it permanent.
Files will be uploaded soon, make sure you understand what's involved before getting into this. I'll answer questions best I can, but this is for those who are dediced and willing to get down on some bootloops to figure it out, especially if you're not used to this sort of thing. Some magisk modules will cause bootloops, do those one at a time and gapps separately. I seriously recommend taking apart the firmware from OP and focus on getting to the aosp boot animation, THEN take care of verity/root and fstab. You're formatting data partition anyway you might as well successfuly backport the graphics first.
Vendor image TWRP backup, put this on its own with boot image. I keep it as vendor_fixed for easy reference. The fstab is already patched if you use mine.
Boot image TWRP backup, it is patched with magisk (19.4 likely) install magisk on your own anyhow. KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL VENDOR/BOOT PARTITIONS! There's stuff in there that you might want later on. Like the /vendor/etc/wifi folder for example or the pieces from the original ramdisk.
Vendor and boot with md5 sums to verify integrity.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1-2KO_iRFTjLv6pyx-7Qmhi8kWZBpVIWD
Wipe everything, including internal storage(after backing up a working system).
Format data partition back to f2fs in advanced wipe options.
Get LineageOS 15.1 beta or RR you can find these here on XDA.
Flash Lineage zip its the old style zip install that copies idividual files, not an image, the boot image it installs needs to be replaced per instructions that follow.
Or flash RR system image from official repository link is found here on XDA.
If you flash a system image with TWRP you'll need to reboot back into recovery right after and resize the system partition in advanced wipe options or your system partion will be incorrect size afterwards, if flashing system with fastboot(recommended) then skip the resize instruction.
After you have a system installed, restore the vendor and boot images from the link. A good approach would be to backup your existing boot/vendor as a pair, then replace originals with downloaded images.
The first time I got this to work, I used fastboot to flash partitions, like this.... I followed instructions within Metro PCS firmware(one of those xml files has the fastboot commands, including some oem options that specify a particular mode) Then i flashed ...RR system, followed by boot/vendor images from firmware referenced in OP. I finished that with fastboot -w option, that was when it worked for me. I dealt with the fstab and boot verity patching AFTER I first saw the default Android boot animation. Once you see that plain white "android" with the slow moving left to right animation, your in. From what I can tell our device needs the older kernel within the boot image and the libs/binaries from the vendor image to get the screen working correctly. Your trading your working speaker, for a working screen. I have attempted to find exactly what it is that's different between the two, but it's over my head. Overall it's relatively stable, go easy with magisk modules, some of them will cause kernel panic(bootloop) use a recovery based magisk tool to disable offending module if this happens. Sometimes the device will not boot normally, usually this means the cache was erased(its okay) for whatever reason and I wait it out, otherwise I restore the vendor_fixd backup I made. I have not had gone back to stock ROM, however I have had to flash the vendor partition to get it booting, usualy happens if i flash a module or when updates break substratum theme.
Good luck!
Oh email me for quick response, within reason.
mrbox24 at gmail
Bonus screenshot and the TWRP 3.1.1 I modified with correct data format. If you have an sdcard with second partition it will show up as "linux" named after the chroot partition from mine.
Screenshot shows LSM kernel found here, yes it works.
mrbox23 said:
The first time I got this to work, I used fastboot to flash partitions, like this.... I followed instructions within Metro PCS firmware(one of those xml files has the fastboot commands, including some oem options that specify a particular mode) Then i flashed ...RR system, followed by boot/vendor images from firmware referenced in OP. I finished that with fastboot -w option, that was when it worked for me.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for this! (and the files)
questions...
1.) Your files in your zip extract as boot.emmc.win and vendor_image.emmc.win ...
Should we rename them to boot.img and vendor_image.img before flashing?
2.) Is your file TWRP-3.1.1_JAMES_T_f2fs-data.img already fixed to format data as f2fs?
3.) where is the option in Twrp to backup vendor and boot images?
I'm almost ready to dive in...
aka.bugle said:
thank you for this! (and the files)
questions...
1.) Your files in your zip extract as boot.emmc.win and vendor_image.emmc.win ...
Should we rename them to boot.img and vendor_image.img before flashing?
2.) Is your file TWRP-3.1.1_JAMES_T_f2fs-data.img already fixed to format data as f2fs?
3.) where is the option in Twrp to backup vendor and boot images?
I'm almost ready to dive in...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes TWRP is fixed for f2fs data, also the correct version is 3.3.1 latest for device.
Those files are ready to be RESTORED, not flashed in TWRP. You would replace files in an existing backup with those. I have a fresh backup made from from the earliest metro pcs firmware. I am about to upload. What device do you have?
mrbox23 said:
Yes TWRP is fixed for f2fs data, also the correct version is 3.3.1 latest for device.
Those files are ready to be RESTORED, not flashed in TWRP. You would replace files in an existing backup with those. I have a fresh backup made from from the earliest metro pcs firmware. I am about to upload. What device do you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. thanks.. So far I have three, 1921-2 At&t (new, prepaid, bootloader unlockable so far, daily phone), an xt1921-5 unlocked bootloader, sim locked to sprint, so far been unable to get another rom to boot, and an xt1921-3 metropcs Gsm unlocked, boot loader unlocked, and now booted to lineage 15.1 thanks to you and phh. Wifi works, and gapps go seem to not crash, I did the register a non-stock rom hoop jump with google. Camera nothing but gray or crashes. Everytime it boots, clock time is wrong. haven't really tested much yet.
Really want to be able to get camera functioning, and test an At&t sim in it before switching it to my daily device. I read that the camera fix was committed to 15.1 but I'm lost as how to apply those patches even if I could find them.
aka.bugle said:
Cool. thanks.. So far I have three, 1921-2 At&t (new, prepaid, bootloader unlockable so far, daily phone), an xt1921-5 unlocked bootloader, sim locked to sprint, so far been unable to get another rom to boot, and an xt1921-3 metropcs Gsm unlocked, boot loader unlocked, and now booted to lineage 15.1 thanks to you and phh. Wifi works, and gapps go seem to not crash, I did the register a non-stock rom hoop jump with google. Camera nothing but gray or crashes. Everytime it boots, clock time is wrong. haven't really tested much yet.
Really want to be able to get camera functioning, and test an At&t sim in it before switching it to my daily device. I read that the camera fix was committed to 15.1 but I'm lost as how to apply those patches even if I could find them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think those patches are applied at source code level. meaning it would be in a future release. My camera works running Resurrection Remix, on xt-1921-3 try copying [email protected] from stock /system/lib/hw to /vendor/lib/hw, making sure to keep permissions same as others in vendor/lib. im willing to read logs, does your att run lineage? if so, does bluetooth work?
I make custom scripts and have a custom build.prop, for example this.....
resetprop 'media.camera.ts.monotonic' 0
resetprop 'persist.camera.HAL3.enabled' 1
resetprop 'audio.deep_buffer.media' true
Those three lines are saved to a file called mediafix.sh in /data/adb/service.d to be ran at boot. it helps with media and camera issues. As well as a one line file called led-chg.sh
echo battery-charging > /sys/class/leds/charging/trigger
Which turns on the light, otherwise never used, in front of phone when charging.
I think it's important to use a/the real fingerprint from an e5 device along with other properties. To get the best out of the hardware and least error messages during boot. I go through logcat/dmesg and attempt to fix what's broken, like the camera on lineage(works without trouble on rr remix btw). I used hidepropsconf module at first and a sprint fingerprint, but later began using the one found in info.txt of firmware zip.
ill post my work in progress build.prop(hosting it with new vendor and boot images on gdrive) which noticeably improves overall performance and lends to less log errors, or lags and crashes.
I find the vendor/boot firmware here(oldest 2018) https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/james/official/Metropcs/ to work best. Audio is completely a loss though. My speaker is blown now and no Bluetooth unless running stock, not even the headphone jack works. All sound comes from the one speaker, even with headphones plugged in I'm at a loss with that issue.
I also modify the boot image. turns out the 1921-3(possibly others?) uses the sdk26 8.0 android ld(library config) instead of the ld.config.27.txt that matches its sdk level. in fact if i try to force the 27 lib config, the gray/black screen comes back. it boots up, i know because my charger light comes on, but no screen. Anyhow i change the os level in boot config to 8.1.0, this gets me to where i am now with only bluetooth(mixerpath/lib issues i suspect) and a couple missing ui features due to what i imagine originate from missing whitelists in /system/etc/permissions xml files.
Another thing of note is how i spoof the mac adress for wifi, this(and other things) is done by modifying the kernel command line config in boot.img. my second e5 play xt-1921-3 has a broken screen, and serves exclusively as a wifi-repeater, captive-portal, and ssh server/tunnel. i spoof the busted screen wifi mac, with an old device mac address that is still registered on xfininity wifi network. it repeats that connection to my other devices. very efficiciently at that. with 3+MiB/s average. it took some hacking but after i found out the oem partition on this device can be formatted, and removed from the ramdisk/system all together, without consequence(not to lineage, bootleggers, or rr remix that is) and be re-purposed to whatever else. its roughly 700MB in size perfect for a debian chroot with my custom wifi repeater and misc servers. running in its own dedicated internal(FAST)partition. This device, and its kernel level mac spoofing with the now almost phased out WCNSS qualcom configurable wifi firmware, is incredible. the busted screen one has been on every day non stop functioning as a repeater, router with captive portal, and dhcp service, for almost two months. it automatically connects to wifi, kills the android zygote/system server, kills its backlight and starts up a hotspot and sshserver/captive portal, all without cell service, and without any interaction.
Anyway, new mpcs files up soon.....
mrbox23 said:
I think those patches are applied at source code level. meaning it would be in a future release. My camera works running Resurrection Remix, on xt-1921-3 try copying [email protected] from stock /system/lib/hw to /vendor/lib/hw, making sure to keep permissions same as others in vendor/lib. im willing to read logs, does your att run lineage? if so, does bluetooth work?
###bugle added### my Att is an xt1921-2, can't even unlock the bootloader... But 30 bucks isn't bad for a new screen and a new speaker. ###
Another thing of note is how i spoof the mac adress for wifi, this(and other things) .
Anyway, new mpcs files up soon.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Years ago, I used to compile Gentoo to run on some archaic hp tablets... Now I just run Linux mint on somewhat newer hardware. This gave me a limited skillset to get an old Moto mb300 running with gingerbread and CyanogenMod. Everything worked, had them for over 4-5 years, just started really messing up over the summer. Miss the real keyboard.
Thanks so much for the tips and insights. It'll take some time to absorb everything in your post.
aka.bugle said:
Years ago, I used to compile Gentoo to run on some archaic hp tablets... Now I just run Linux mint on somewhat newer hardware. This gave me a limited skillset to get an old Moto mb300 running with gingerbread and CyanogenMod. Everything worked, had them for over 4-5 years, just started really messing up over the summer. Miss the real keyboard.
Thanks so much for the tips and insights. It'll take some time to absorb everything in your post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My first "Android" phone was the HTC HD2 wich was actually a Windows phone that can boot linux from the sdcard. I came across it while learning how to get linux booting on laptops. I was fascinated with booting a mini linux on a portable device. I learned about Android and linux in that way, at the same time. Kernel, ramdisk, java machine, broadband cellular modem, and wifi radio in my pocket. I abandoned windows entirely, to this day lol
Right you are! @mrbox23 ... I've got camera on RRemix on the metro 1921-3!
I'm gonna put the lineage/no camera issue on the back burner for when I try to use your older boot/vendor img trick (boot Lineage 15.1) on the unlocked 1921-5.
(I only have a 1Mb/s dsl connection here, takes about 4-5 hours for a 1 gig file to dl)
So, for the Metro 1921-3, I can't find libeffects.so or even the soundfx folder to copy into. (studder fix)
Your script 2 files for media/camera and charge led, other than making them executable (0755? 0700?) will they be called (without any other mod) being in /data/adb/service.d ?
I think it's important to use a/the real fingerprint from an e5 device along with other properties. To get the best out of the hardware and least error messages during boot. I go through logcat/dmesg and attempt to fix what's broken, like the camera on lineage(works without trouble on rr remix btw). I used hidepropsconf module at first and a sprint fingerprint, but later began using the one found in info.txt of firmware zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pulled one out of my Att phone that is a james xt1921-2 but has a locked bootloader, all stock ... I used #getprop ro.build.fingerprint.. not sure if i should use this, or wait to see your build.prop...
ill post my work in progress build.prop(hosting it with new vendor and boot images on gdrive) which noticeably improves overall performance and lends to less log errors, or lags and crashes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the best to you and yours in 2020. Meeeerrrry eXksMix, hic up'
Yes to service.d with those three. I ditched the camera ones though, footej or another camera is nice. Im close to figuring out what the vndk library thing.
hosting current prop setups, between resetprop in service.d and modifying build prop. other goodies too. I turned oem partition into swap space, and added permissions to priv-app xml's enabling more RR features, like hold back to kill app.
mrbox23 said:
Yes to service.d with those three. I ditched the camera ones though, footej or another camera is nice. Im close to figuring out what the vndk library thing.
hosting current prop setups, between resetprop in service.d and modifying build prop. other goodies too. I turned oem partition into swap space, and added permissions to priv-app xml's enabling more RR features, like hold back to kill app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mediafix line 2... set or resetprop?
1 resetprop 'media.camera.ts.monotonic' 0
2 setprop 'persist.camera.HAL3.enabled' 1
what are these last lines in mediafix for?
16 resetprop net.dns1 1.1.1.1
17 resetprop net.dns2 1.0.0.1
and i'm guessing the deb.sh is for your wifi repeater? swap space in oem?
how is mpcs.prop called? where is its proper folder?
can you host a copy of libeffects.so ?
@mrbox23 Bluetooth working! check.
aka.bugle said:
@mrbox23 Bluetooth working! check.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
something I just noticed here recently is that's all the audio output now. I can't test cellular calls, Hangouts only works when i restore that vendor path Back to where it was. My camera broke again to. I want to reach out to phh here or github.
Well that's a big bug, sorry. I've reverted the metro 1921-3 to stock for now, but on the positive side, I tried using your older boot/vendor imgs trick on the 1921-5 (Sprint)... and success! it boots Lineage 15.1 and bluetooth works, I haven't tried using the GSM Att Sim yet and still no camera, (I haven't tried your other camera recommendations yet.) One step closer for the 1921-5.