[Q] [HELP] Bricked Google Pixel 2 - Google Pixel 2 Questions & Answers

Hi, I have the Verizon Pixel 2 (bought last week at Target) and unlocked the bootloader with the lock_critical command. I put Magisk on it and it was going fine. Then I tried installing Viper4Android and got the following error on every reboot:
Android System
There's an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was annoyed, so I did a factory reset. It didn't go away, so I downloaded the 8.1 Dec image and did a flash-all. Still didn't go away. I realized the error might have been due to a problem with the vendor on one of the slots, so I decided to do a full flash after setting each slot as primary (using "fastboot --set-active=_a")
Now I'm getting an error on the bootloader and it won't boot.
Bootloader: mw8998-002.0066.00
Baseband: g8998-00164-1710262031
Product Revision: walleye MP1
Serial Number: <removed>
UFS: 64 GB Samsung
DRAM: 4096MB Samsung LPDDR4
Boot-slot: a
Console: DISABLED
Secure Boot: yes (PRODUCTION)
Device State: unlocked
ERROR: LoadImageAndAuth Failed: Load Error
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any ideas what this means? I downloaded Minimal ADB and Fastboot v1.4.2 and re-downloaded the factory image and I'm still getting the same problem. I'm honestly shaking right now and really upset. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!!!
Also, I have only had the device for 5 days. I know that I have messed with it (not sure about warranty), but would Target give me a new phone since I'm within 14 days?
Thanks!

Where did you get the minimal ADB/Fastboot? What images are you trying to install?
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

PiousInquisitor said:
Where did you get the minimal ADB/Fastboot? What images are you trying to install?
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
Should I download the full version from Google or would this be sufficient? I downloaded the image from https://developers.google.com/android/images, as usual.

IceColdBruschi said:
I got Minimal ADB and Fastboot from here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
Should I download the full version from Google or would this be sufficient? I downloaded the image from https://developers.google.com/android/images, as usual.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's unlikely that the Fastboot from that link is updated. You should download it directly from Google.
You should try and install the latest January patch. Installing an older version won't work.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

PiousInquisitor said:
It's unlikely that the Fastboot from that link is updated. You should download it directly from Google.
You should try and install the latest January patch. Installing an older version won't work.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!! I feel like an idiot, but I think it's working now. I just downloaded platform-tools from https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html and flash-all worked just fine like normal. I'll try it out for a while to make sure I don't see any errors or anything, but it seems to be okay. Thanks again!

IceColdBruschi said:
Hi, I have the Verizon Pixel 2 (bought last week at Target) and unlocked the bootloader with the lock_critical command. I put Magisk on it and it was going fine. Then I tried installing Viper4Android and got the following error on every reboot:
I was annoyed, so I did a factory reset. It didn't go away, so I downloaded the 8.1 Dec image and did a flash-all. Still didn't go away. I realized the error might have been due to a problem with the vendor on one of the slots, so I decided to do a full flash after setting each slot as primary (using "fastboot --set-active=_a")
Now I'm getting an error on the bootloader and it won't boot.
Any ideas what this means? I downloaded Minimal ADB and Fastboot v1.4.2 and re-downloaded the factory image and I'm still getting the same problem. I'm honestly shaking right now and really upset. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!!!
Also, I have only had the device for 5 days. I know that I have messed with it (not sure about warranty), but would Target give me a new phone since I'm within 14 days?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That "internal problem" message is from Magisk. It's from the dtbo.img being modified by Magisk. There is actually a lot of posts about it already.

kinfam said:
That "internal problem" message is from Magisk. It's from the dtbo.img being modified by Magisk. There is actually a lot of posts about it already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I saw that, but I thought that doing a flash-all would totally reset the phone. But that obviously didn't work when adb was out of date.

Related

New to Nexus, stuck in Fastboot! Please Help!

Hey guys,
I'm brand new to the Nexus S but I'm not new to flashing/rooting etc. However I am having an issue here.
I successfully unlocked my bootloader today, and flashed CWM Recovery, rooted, and finally flashed CM7. I wanted to try Netarchy's kernel, so I installed Kernel Manager from the market and tried that way (been wanting to try out that app anyways). Well, I got an error, something about insufficient memory. The error message said I should reboot and try again.
So I rebooted.
Well now I am stuck in fastboot menu with "NO BOOT OR RECOVERY IMG" at the top of the screen.
So, I copied CWM recovery back into my AndroidSDK\Tools folder, and did
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
but I just keep getting
Code:
error: cannot load "recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img"
I reinstalled drivers and tried again. Same error.
I double checked file name, tried renaming the recovery image file name, made sure it was in the same directory as fastboot.exe. If I do
Code:
fastboot devices
it DOES see my phone. I just can't get the recovery image to flash!
Can someone please help me???
Does your computer show the extensions of the files?
E.G. does fastboot appear as "fastboot" or "fastboot.exe" ?
And I'd recommend using 3.0.2.5 rather than 3.0.2.4. 3.0.2.4 is known to have bugs with it working. Your phone needs to be in bootloader mode in order for this command to work. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=988686
Originally, just fastboot. But I changed the folder view to not hide known extensions so I could double check an make sure I hadn't named it recovery.img.img or something. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the issue.
matt2053 said:
Originally, just fastboot. But I changed the folder view to not hide known extensions so I could double check an make sure I hadn't named it recovery.img.img or something. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm. thats where I was going towards. Try fastboot flashing the 3.0.2.5 recovery, its also weird that it says no boot img.
What kind of Nexus S do you have? 9020A, 9020T, 9023?
zephiK said:
Hm. thats where I was going towards. Try fastboot flashing the 3.0.2.5 recovery, its also weird that it says no boot img.
What kind of Nexus S do you have? 9020A, 9020T, 9023?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
9020T
I think maybe Kernel Manager formatted those partitions, tried to flash the kernel, error, but no rollback or backup.....
Trying your link now.
matt2053 said:
9020T
I think maybe Kernel Manager formatted those partitions, tried to flash the kernel, error, but no rollback or backup.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally flash kernels manually. I'm going to upload this bootloader, I couldn't find it on XDA anymore but its a bootloader img that was from 2.3.3. it's the I9020XXKA3 bootloader
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?sn9fu022r88w2n7
MD5: BBA9E3926224CA5C9B4DF891F50F1A90
(verify its MD5 hash.. if you don't know how, google HashTab)
place the file in /sdk/tools/
assure your phone is in bootloader mode (with android in the back)
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
what happens? BE SURE that your phone is indeed 9020T before flashing this (incase anybody else with another model attempts this)
zephiK said:
I personally flash kernels by myself. I'm going to upload this bootloader, I couldn't find it on XDA anymore but its a bootloader img that was from 2.3.3. it's the I9020XXKA3 bootloader
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?sn9fu022r88w2n7
MD5: BBA9E3926224CA5C9B4DF891F50F1A90
(verify its MD5 hash.. if you don't know how, google HashTab)
place the file in /sdk/tools/
assure your phone is in bootloader mode (with android in the back)
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
what happens? BE SURE that your phone is indeed 9020T before flashing this (incase anybody else with another model attempts this)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I usually flash them myself too. I was just interested in trying out the app because I've used some very cool stuff from the dev (shinzul) in my HTC Evo days.
I got the same error on the CWM 3.0.2.5.
I will try flashing the bootloader now. Thanks for taking the time.
matt2053 said:
I usually flash them myself too. I was just interested in trying out the app because I've used some very cool stuff from the dev (shinzul) in my HTC Evo days.
I got the same error on the CWM 3.0.2.5.
I will try flashing the bootloader now. Thanks for taking the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just found it awkward that your phone said:
"NO BOOT OR RECOVERY IMG"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know the results.
my bootloader appears as:
FASTBOOT MODE
PRODUCT NAME - HERRING
HW VERSION - REV 11
BOOTLOADER VERSION - I9020XXKA3
BASEBAND VERSION - I9020XXKB3
CARRIER INFO - TMB
SERIAL NUMBER - <removed>
LOCK STATE - UNLOCKED
and the navigational stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmmm well I got "error: cannot load 'bootloader.img'."
I'm beginning to wonder if the problem is on my PC side, with fastboot or something.
matt2053 said:
Hmmmmm well I got "error: cannot load 'bootloader.img'."
I'm beginning to wonder if the problem is on my PC side, with fastboot or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're placing it in /sdk/tools right? The Android SDK has to be matched up with 2.3.X.
Try starting all over. Uninstall drivers for your phone. Redownload the Android SDK.
As a last resort, you can try Odin but I haven't had any experience with it on the Nexus S so I can't help you with that but if you want to try Odin thats your choice.
Part 1 will get you started: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=895545
It's very possible you have a bad version of the SDK. So try this, if it doesn't work try Odin imo.
zephiK said:
you're placing it in /sdk/tools right? The Android SDK has to be matched up with 2.3.X.
Try starting all over. Uninstall drivers for your phone. Redownload the Android SDK.
As a last resort, you can try Odin but I haven't had any experience with it on the Nexus S so I can't help you with that but if you want to try Odin thats your choice.
Part 1 will get you started: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=895545
It's very possible you have a bad version of the SDK. So try this, if it doesn't work try Odin imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes that was where I placed it.
I'm reinstalling SDK and drivers. I don't think we'll need Odin. I think my fastboot was just wonky. I had installed/moved/reinstalled/uninstalled the SDK several times today trying to get the stoopid drivers installed. PDANet was the only thing that ever worked!
matt2053 said:
yes that was where I placed it.
I'm reinstalling SDK and drivers. I don't think we'll need Odin. I think my fastboot was just wonky. I had installed/moved/reinstalled/uninstalled the SDK several times today trying to get the stoopid drivers installed. PDANet was the only thing that ever worked!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if anything... if you have another system, you could try it on that system. you could also try it in another USB socket.
i mean, i dont think its your drivers but it doesnt hurt to see if it thats the problem.. your device was detected.
so your phone is unable to start up (get past google) and not able to get into recovery?
Holy **** I finally got it.
I had to enter the filepath and file. Derp.
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
^^^^^ Did Not Work ^^^^^
Code:
fastboot flash recovery c:\android\tools\recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
^^^^^ Did Work ^^^^^
Whew, I was scared there for a bit!
THANKS for your help dude!!!
matt2053 said:
Holy **** I finally got it.
I had to enter the filepath and file. Derp.
Code:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
^^^^^ Did Not Work ^^^^^
Code:
fastboot flash recovery c:\android\tools\recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
^^^^^ Did Work ^^^^^
Whew, I was scared there for a bit!
THANKS for your help dude!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... WOW! i thought you knew that.
if you want the first command to work you have to do:
cd C:\android\tools\
fastboot flash recovery recovery.. blah blah blah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but congrats it was all you!
Yeah I must have had a brain fart. I obviously did it correctly earlier in the day when I flashed Clockwork originally. I was thinking the environment variable editing I did handled the need for the directory but I guess that's only for the command not the file.
Well, all is good now anyway!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

[Help] Trying to flash factory image

I was running the latest Beta version, DP3 ut I was having all sorts of issues. Went to opt out of beta program, but did not receive an OTA for over a week, so I decided to revert back to 7.1.2 manually. I went through the whole process, unlocked my bootloader, flashed the bootloader.img file, flashed the radios, but when I got to flashing the factory image zip file, I'm getting an Error. Falied to load [name of file]. Not Enough Space.
What could be wrong here? How can I get the factory image to flash? Any help would be appreciated.
NickPorter said:
I was running the latest Beta version, DP3 ut I was having all sorts of issues. Went to opt out of beta program, but did not receive an OTA for over a week, so I decided to revert back to 7.1.2 manually. I went through the whole process, unlocked my bootloader, flashed the bootloader.img file, flashed the radios, but when I got to flashing the factory image zip file, I'm getting an Error. Falied to load [name of file]. Not Enough Space.
What could be wrong here? How can I get the factory image to flash? Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now, relock the bootloader, unlock it again.
Download full 7.12 image
Unzip to where Android SDK locates
Run fastboot flash-all
Wait to end
bush911 said:
Now, relock the bootloader, unlock it again.
Download full 7.12 image
Unzip to where Android SDK locates
Run fastboot flash-all
Wait to end
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this something I would be able to do from a command prompt? That's what I have been doing. I am able to access fastboot, i.e. I can [fastboot reboot-bootloader] and it works on my device. Thanks.
Damn, you shouldn't relock the bootloader. ??
You don't even need to opt in/out, just flash all
Sent from my Pixel using XDA-Developers Legacy app
piperx said:
Damn, you shouldn't relock the bootloader. ?
You don't even need to opt in/out, just flash all
Sent from my Pixel using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just attempted the flash-all method, everything seemed to go smoothly but, once again, when it came to flashing the system image, Error: not enough space...
NickPorter said:
I just attempted the flash-all method, everything seemed to go smoothly but, once again, when it came to flashing the system image, Error: not enough space...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are using the wrong version of fastboot. Get it from google.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html
And yea, NEVER relock the bootloader unless you are about to put it in a box and send it in for warranty. That is horrible advice.
TonikJDK said:
You are using the wrong version of fastboot. Get it from google.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html
And yea, NEVER relock the bootloader unless you are about to put it in a box and send it in for warranty. That is horrible advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not familiar with Android SDK much at all, I have it installed. Where do I begin? Any help would be great.
I don't know about windows, but in linux you don't need android sdk, or driver's, it just works, someone that uses that other operating system will chime in
Sent from my Pixel using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Does anyone have a way I can back out of this process at the very least? My bootloader is unlocked and bootloader.img and radios have been flashed to my device. Since I cannot flash the system image, I know the phone will not boot if I leave the bootloader menu.

cannot flash Bootloader on unlocked Pixel 2

I have a Google version Pixel 2 and have unlocked the bootloader (unlocked/relocked multiple times) and cannot flash any bootloader. I have tried flashing the "production" BL and the Dev Preview BL. I get the same error each time.
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'bootloader_a' (38728 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.110s]
writing 'bootloader_a'...
(bootloader) Updating: partition:0 @00002000 sz=0000B000
FAILED (remote: Command Flash Error)
finished. total time: 0.125s
I have tried using the fastboot flashing unlock and fastboot flashing unlock_critical commands. I have relocked the BL then booted into the OS and used ADB to reboot to the BL, I still get the same error. I have tried changing the active slot to with no change.. I have tried the google version of platform tools, minimal adb, and another adb version I had from previous phones. I have downloaded the latest drivers from google no change.. I can flash and format other partitions, just not the BL (although I haven't tried format/erase bootloader, and I don't plan to)
I have tried different USB C cables, Google OEM, Samsung OEM, AUKEY .. different USB ports, different computers (although both with Windows 10 64bit).
Any suggestions?
lazarus2297 said:
I have a Google version Pixel 2 and have unlocked the bootloader (unlocked/relocked multiple times) and cannot flash any bootloader. I have tried flashing the "production" BL and the Dev Preview BL. I get the same error each time.
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'bootloader_a' (38728 KB)...
OKAY [ 0.110s]
writing 'bootloader_a'...
(bootloader) Updating: partition:0 @00002000 sz=0000B000
FAILED (remote: Command Flash Error)
finished. total time: 0.125s
I have tried using the fastboot flashing unlock and fastboot flashing unlock_critical commands. I have relocked the BL then booted into the OS and used ADB to reboot to the BL, I still get the same error. I have tried changing the active slot to with no change.. I have tried the google version of platform tools, minimal adb, and another adb version I had from previous phones. I have downloaded the latest drivers from google no change.. I can flash and format other partitions, just not the BL (although I haven't tried format/erase bootloader, and I don't plan to)
I have tried different USB C cables, Google OEM, Samsung OEM, AUKEY .. different USB ports, different computers (although both with Windows 10 64bit).
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your not the only one there are others that have had similar issues, though i don't know the fix.
There is a script somewhere on another thread that might help. I will link.
---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 AM ----------
Hey you go.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pi...ol-deuces-bootloop-recovery-flashing-t3704761
Hopefully something in that will help
Just to be clear, are you using the latest fastboot? That's often an issue.
Some have had trouble with computers with usb-c ports. Have you tried a computer with usb-a and, of course, a usb-a to usb-c cable.
razrlover said:
Your not the only one there are others that have had similar issues, though i don't know the fix.
There is a script somewhere on another thread that might help. I will link.
---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 AM ----------
Hey you go.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pi...ol-deuces-bootloop-recovery-flashing-t3704761
Hopefully something in that will help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope that didn't work same error as before..
What's weird is although i can't flash the bootloader using this script did flash the Dev Preview.. So I know that fastboot is working correctly it will just not flash the bootloader..
foosion said:
Just to be clear, are you using the latest fastboot? That's often an issue.
Some have had trouble with computers with usb-c ports. Have you tried a computer with usb-a and, of course, a usb-a to usb-c cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have latest everything, i have even tried older versions i have from previous downloads
i am using OEM Google USB a to USB C cable.. I have tried USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. Running CMD "as administrator" and also tried not using the "as admin" command..
I even dug out my old Windows 7 64bit machine and get the same error.. It's maddening..
lazarus2297 said:
Nope that didn't work same error as before..
What's weird is although i can't flash the bootloader using this script did flash the Dev Preview.. So I know that fastboot is working correctly it will just not flash the bootloader..
I have latest everything, i have even tried older versions i have from previous downloads
i am using OEM Google USB a to USB C cable.. I have tried USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. Running CMD "as administrator" and also tried not using the "as admin" command..
I even dug out my old Windows 7 64bit machine and get the same error.. It's maddening..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if this question will help, are you flashing the bootloader into the correct slot? I had issue early on with this and found that I needed to direct the flash to the correct slot. Just a thought
phonefreedom said:
I'm not sure if this question will help, are you flashing the bootloader into the correct slot? I had issue early on with this and found that I needed to direct the flash to the correct slot. Just a thought
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly sure but I have tried changing the active slot to a or b.
I am using the command Fastboot flash bootloader "filename.img" (no quotations) I don't know how I would tell it to flash a specific slot other than whatever is the current active slot..
lazarus2297 said:
Nope that didn't work same error as before..
What's weird is although i can't flash the bootloader using this script did flash the Dev Preview.. So I know that fastboot is working correctly it will just not flash the bootloader..
I have latest everything, i have even tried older versions i have from previous downloads
i am using OEM Google USB a to USB C cable.. I have tried USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. Running CMD "as administrator" and also tried not using the "as admin" command..
I even dug out my old Windows 7 64bit machine and get the same error.. It's maddening..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lazarus2297 said:
Not exactly sure but I have tried changing the active slot to a or b.
I am using the command Fastboot flash bootloader "filename.img" (no quotations) I don't know how I would tell it to flash a specific slot other than whatever is the current active slot..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+Natahranta had shared the following with me and I hope it helps in your case...
"Download factory image from Google, unpack it, insidebis another zip, there is boot.img file
Flash it to both slots A and B. It must be the same version/update your phone was on.
fastboot flash boot_a boot.img
fastboot flash boot_b boot.img
If you're not sure which exactly stock rom build your phone is on, use the flash_all.bat to flash the whole image on your phone, to be sure you have no mismatch between system and boot. Just remove "-w" from the bat file so it doesn't erase your user data"
So i got it working here is what I did..
I used the factory image to flash back 100% stock and relocked the bootloader, I then signed my device up for the Dev Preview, and surprisingly I got the notification to install DP pretty quickly. After DP installed I rebooted into the bootloader and noticed that my bootloader version had changed to the DP BL version. I then unlocked with the standard Fastboot Flashing Unlock command and unlocked the bootloader. After the phone rebooted I shut it down and booted into the BL and flashed the stock BL (a downgrade) it was successful, so i flashed the DP BL version and it was successful as well. Rebooted normally into the OS and all is well.
Hopefully this will help anyone else having the same problem.
lazarus2297 said:
I have relocked the BL then booted into the OS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any suggestions for your issue. But don't relock it, ever. You are playing with fire, if it goes bad and it's locked you are done.
lazarus2297 said:
So i got it working here is what I did..
I used the factory image to flash back 100% stock and relocked the bootloader, I then signed my device up for the Dev Preview, and surprisingly I got the notification to install DP pretty quickly. After DP installed I rebooted into the bootloader and noticed that my bootloader version had changed to the DP BL version. I then unlocked with the standard Fastboot Flashing Unlock command and unlocked the bootloader. After the phone rebooted I shut it down and booted into the BL and flashed the stock BL (a downgrade) it was successful, so i flashed the DP BL version and it was successful as well. Rebooted normally into the OS and all is well.
Hopefully this will help anyone else having the same problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this problem and created a thread about it a month ago: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2/help/failed-remote-command-flash-error-t3701929. A couple other people in that thread are now also reporting the problem.
No one seemed to know what the " FAILED (remote: Command Flash Error)" means. I never figured it out.
At the time of the November update, however, I was able to sideload OTA images with adb without problem. I assume that the OTA method also updates the bootloader, like the Dev Preview did for you. I couldn't tell with the November update, though, because it had the same version of the bootloader in it as the one that shipped with the phone.
So I'm wondering if simply sideloading the current December OTA image with adb would accomplish the same thing you did, without having to lock the bootloader, unlock it again, and go through the pain of wiping the device. I wonder if there was just something weird about the original version of the bootloader. Weirdness like this was discussed early on with the Pixel 2 in this XDA article: https://www.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-failing-flash-factory-images/ If I'm right, then once one sideloads the December OTA image and gets a new bootloader, there may not be an issue flashing bootloaders with fastboot in the future. I assume that the Dev Preview also used the OTA method to update the device.
In other words, I'm wondering if the step of unlocking and relocking the bootloader was not necessary. You just had to do it to get the Developer Preview (right?).
Just guessing here. I haven't had time yet to try this.
Okay, I tried my idea above and I was correct. Simplying sideloading the December OTA image updates the bootloader. After that the problem is solved. I can successfully flash the bootloader .img file directly (from the factory image zip) using fastboot. So I assume going forward there should not be any problems flashing factory images, instead of sideloading OTA images.
This solution also avoids having to lock and unlock the bootloader and wipe the whole device in the process.
cb474 said:
Simplying sideloading the December OTA image updates the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My problem is that I have TWRP installed and it won't sideload nor flash the OTA file. I am trying to figure out how to flash the factory recovery. Unlike the factory images of before, there is no obvious recovery image in the zip.
-----------
Nevermind. I figured out that recovery is part of boot now. I flashed the factory boot and flashing OTA now.
snovvman said:
My problem is that I have TWRP installed and it won't sideload nor flash the OTA file. I am trying to figure out how to flash the factory recovery. Unlike the factory images of before, there is no obvious recovery image in the zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really sure how to solve that problem. Perhaps you should ask in the TWRP thread. I thought that when you install TWRP it backs up the recovery and has a way to restore it. But I could be wrong about that. You're correct that the recovery image does not seem to be included in the factory image zip like it used to be. I have seen other people mention that.
cb474 said:
I'm not really sure how to solve that problem. Perhaps you should ask in the TWRP thread. I thought that when you install TWRP it backs up the recovery and has a way to restore it. But I could be wrong about that. You're correct that the recovery image does not seem to be included in the factory image zip like it used to be. I have seen other people mention that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying. Silly me, I was thinking the old way of doing business, where the recovery had its own image/partition. I figured out that recovery is part of boot, so I flashed boot and got the factory recovery back. I'm on 8.1 now.
snovvman said:
Thanks for replying. Silly me, I was thinking the old way of doing business, where the recovery had its own image/partition. I figured out that recovery is part of boot, so I flashed boot and got the factory recovery back. I'm on 8.1 now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you solved your problem. Interesting to know how the recovery works now. Perhaps that will be useful knowledge for me in the future. I'm kind fo waiting until TWRP comes out of beta and hopefully works in a more straightforward way, until I get into that. It is sad that the great old days of the Nexus devices being so developer friendly seem to really be over.
cb474 said:
Glad you solved your problem. Interesting to know how the recovery works now. Perhaps that will be useful knowledge for me in the future. I'm kind fo waiting until TWRP comes out of beta and hopefully works in a more straightforward way, until I get into that. It is sad that the great old days of the Nexus devices being so developer friendly seem to really be over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you know, TWRP for the first gen Pixels never left beta. They worked well enough... For Pixel 2s, I use the current beta for backups and they are handy for certain things. For now I am booting to TWRP to flash Magisk. For me, it is more convenient than patching.
cb474 said:
Glad you solved your problem. Interesting to know how the recovery works now. Perhaps that will be useful knowledge for me in the future. I'm kind fo waiting until TWRP comes out of beta and hopefully works in a more straightforward way, until I get into that. It is sad that the great old days of the Nexus devices being so developer friendly seem to really be over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php
kendong2 said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That link leads to nothing.
---------- Post added at 01:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:11 AM ----------
snovvman said:
So you know, TWRP for the first gen Pixels never left beta. They worked well enough... For Pixel 2s, I use the current beta for backups and they are handy for certain things. For now I am booting to TWRP to flash Magisk. For me, it is more convenient than patching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I saw that. I'm just hoping with what was learned from the original Pixel and given that supposedly most phones will eventually use the A/B partition scheme that maybe TWRP will advance further on the Pixel 2. I really miss nandroid backups. I miss LineageOS too. Everything was so much simpler on my old Nexus 4. And I wasn't constantly feeling like I was going to brick my device every time I tried to do something.
cb474 said:
That link leads to nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, did that on the phone. Was supposed to go here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74704694&postcount=155
TWRP 3.2.0.0 final release (as I understand it) has been announced a few days ago. Don't know why the thread title still says beta.
This is freaking weird. Anyway, followed post #11 to sideload DEC OTA zip in stock recovery, and now finally I have a bootloader that is 0066 on both slot a and b. Thanked @cb474 !

Cannot Boot/Install TWRP On New Pixel 3

So I just picked up a Pixel 3 while on sale to replace my failing Nexus 5 that was literally falling apart. I managed to unlock the bootloader easily. Used a USB C to USB A cable from my Nintendo Switch used for charging the controller for unlocking the bootloader. Next step was to install TWRP and eventually Magisk.
So I followed the instructions to install TWRP from the TWRP website and grabbed the latest image and zip. Initially when I ran the command to boot the image, I would get a "too many links" error. Everything I found in relations to this said I needed a better cable. Odd but okay. I had planned to pickup a new one anyways for transferring music and pictures and such. Got it today, reboot into fastboot and now the command completes successfully with no error. Unfortunately instead of booting into TWRP temporarily as per the instructions, to then install the ZIP for TWRP, the phone boots straight into Android. I have tried the following commands. The first being from the official TWRP guide, and the second being from another guide I had found.
fastboot.exe boot twrp-3.2.3-0-blueline.img
fastboot.exe boot recovery twrp-3.2.3-0-blueline.img
Obviously both result in the same issue. Namely the phone simply reboots right into Android. I am using the latest Platform SDK tools from google, and am using the most up to date drivers for the phone. I am at a loss of what I might be missing. I do see info about boot slots A and B (My phone is B), but nothing in relation to that as far as installing TWRP is concerned. Any help would be appreciated!
What Android version is your Pixel 3 device running?
BobPony said:
What Android version is your Pixel 3 device running?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android 10. Latest OTA.
Ultratails42 said:
Android 10. Latest OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Twrp doesn't work on 10. Maybe it will some day but not now.
jd1639 said:
Twrp doesn't work on 10. Maybe it will some day but not now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I see that now. Looked it up after they asked the android version. Here's hoping they update it soon to work with 10.
Ultratails42 said:
Yeah. I see that now. Looked it up after they asked the android version. Here's hoping they update it soon to work with 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want, you can downgrade to Android 9 using the factory images with the flash-all script. But, it requires to have the bootloader unlocked.

If you're new PSA: TWRP doesn't work with Feb Update

I just spent the last 3 hours trying to figure out why I couldn't flash TWRP after updating to the February security update. Turns out its apparently a commonly known fact that it doesn't work, but I wasn't able to find a single post specifically about it, so I'm just posting this here so that it hopefully helps someone.
What happens is: you flash the TWRP image, but when trying to boot into the recovery, it brings you to the fastboot bootloader and doesn't let you into TWRP. There is no (as far as I found) direct solution to this. However, you can use a stock boot image and use the Magisk Manager app to patch it, and then install the patched image perfectly fine. That way you still at least have a phone rooted with Magisk
Is there going to be a fix for twrp for the February update? Im asking because I recently bought a essential phone and was looking into rooting with magisk.
Vandan.Patel said:
Is there going to be a fix for twrp for the February update? Im asking because I recently bought a essential phone and was looking into rooting with magisk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not likely to happen. No updates for this device for the past few years.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
DAE1964 said:
Not likely to happen. No updates for this device for the past few years.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might be the wrong thread but how do you downgrade from the feburary update to the January update. Do i need to factory reset my device or any specific instructions?
Vandan.Patel said:
This might be the wrong thread but how do you downgrade from the feburary update to the January update. Do i need to factory reset my device or any specific instructions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just install the January build from essential it will format the data
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
DAE1964 said:
Just install the January build from essential it will format the data
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.essential.com/developer/current-builds
Just to confirm I just flash the January 2020 Release | Q 10 - Q Release 5 - QQ1A.200105.007 to my device with the instructions listed on the site and that is it correct? All my data will be cleared automatically?
Vandan.Patel said:
https://www.essential.com/developer/current-builds
Just to confirm I just flash the January 2020 Release | Q 10 - Q Release 5 - QQ1A.200105.007 to my device with the instructions listed on the site and that is it correct? All my data will be cleared automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
Just backup your data to computer 1st
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
I just tried to download the Jan update using firefox but received "Blocked by X-Frame-Options Policy", tried on chrome and it failed too. Finally I tried IE and it worked.
Just curious if anyone has tried dirty-downgrading just the January boot.img?
I didn't lose any data when I downgraded from February to January, what are you all talking about? Just flash the OTA.
DAE1964 said:
Just install the January build from essential it will format the data
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, fastboot flash the January OTA and you will NOT lose your data.
Vandan.Patel said:
https://www.essential.com/developer/current-builds
Just to confirm I just flash the January 2020 Release | Q 10 - Q Release 5 - QQ1A.200105.007 to my device with the instructions listed on the site and that is it correct? All my data will be cleared automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you fastboot flash the OTA you don't lose data. I've done it several times to both my daily driver and my backup ph-1 and I've had no problems.
aleph23 said:
Just curious if anyone has tried dirty-downgrading just the January boot.img?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but I assume it will work as expected
This is the closest workaround we've found so far:
Bill720 said:
I got it working... kind of
That's too bad, given the importance of this final software update. At any rate, I worked on this for a few hours yesterday and found what I consider to be a viable solution by taking advantage of the ever-irritating "slots" function.
Basically, with the January 2020 Rom (stock, rooted, and EdXposed) on both slots, I used TWRP to install the PH1-OTA-QQ1A.200105.032.zip to one of the slots. I booted the phone and verified that it had received the Febuary Rom (032) on that slot and was still running the January (007) on the other. I used Fastboot to apply the FebRoot.img image to the slot that I had upgraded to 032 and restarted.
With that done, and after verifying that everything was working as expected, I now had one slot with a fully rooted/working 007 and, most importantly, one with a fully rooted/working 032 (Febuary 2020). To have some access to TWRP, I installed the same old "Dec_boot_patched_TWRP.img" on the slot with the old January (007) Rom that I wouldn't be using anymore. That slot now has only TWRP. When I need to use it, I just flip over to slot A, do whatever needs to be done in Twrp, switch back to slot B, and boot normally.
While this is a bit annoying, the only times I ever should need to use TWRP anymore will be for emergency recovery purposes (in case of broken Magisk/EdXposed module updates) and for doing backups. The 30 extra seconds that I'll have to spend (maybe 2-3 times per year) are worth it in exchange for not having to dismiss the ever-irritating update nags ever few days. Even if Twrp never gets updated, I'm happy with leaving it as-is, since this setup is essentially 100% functional.
For anyone who might be playing along at home, here are some of the most useful commands, all compiled into one place, in no particular order:
adb reboot fastboot
adb reboot recovery
adb shell getprop ro.boot.slot_suffix (this one tells you what slot you're currently on, after booting up, or from within TWRP)
fastboot getvar current-slot
fastboot --set-active=a
fastboot --set-active=b
fastboot reboot recovery
fastboot flash boot_b FebRoot.img (or, alternatively fastboot flash boot_a FebRoot.img)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could also stay on the previous build indefinitely, but nobody found a good way to get rid of the update nags.

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