Database Info

decrypt /data

move fstab using official recovery ( adbpull /vendor/etc/fstab.kirin970 and fstab.kirin970.data - remove "avb" and encryption from userdata, replace the encryption line on data with 'encryptable')
format /data in unofficial recovery
install magisk in official recovery
for some reason it only works in that order, if you try and do it all in official or unofficial recovery it doesnt work and magisk recognizes encryption on data.
after each step reboot bootloader and flash respective recovery, then fastboot reboot unplug and hold power and vol up to go straight into recovery and continue, if you boot you have to start over)
when installing magisk zip you should see that it doesnt say keep force encrypt.
and if you go in settings you have the option to encrypt.

virtyx said:
move fstab using official recovery ( adbpull /vendor/etc/fstab.kirin970 and fstab.kirin970.data - remove "avb" and encryption from userdata, replace the encryption line on data with 'encryptable')
format /data in unofficial recovery
install magisk in official recovery
for some reason it only works in that order, if you try and do it all in official or unofficial recovery it doesnt work and magisk recognizes encryption on data.
after each step reboot bootloader and flash respective recovery, then fastboot reboot unplug and hold power and vol up to go straight into recovery and continue, if you boot you have to start over)
when installing magisk zip you should see that it doesnt say keep force encrypt.
and if you go in settings you have the option to encrypt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there
I´m struggling to get lineage 15.1 to install without google framework errors
You mention offical and unofficial recovery. I guess you are talking about twrp
when you say move fstab do you mean remove?
Could this encryption be my problem with lineage and gapps not installing as it should?

buenso80 said:
Hi there
I´m struggling to get lineage 15.1 to install without google framework errors
You mention offical and unofficial recovery. I guess you are talking about twrp
when you say move fstab do you mean remove?
Could this encryption be my problem with lineage and gapps not installing as it should?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After you install lineage format /data that should work
Totally irrelevant to OP

If i hadn't tried that i wouldn't ask here.
Not TOTALLY irrelevant, as my question is about the official and unofficial twrp having trouble mounting and wiping before flashing rom..
Please stop trolling

virtyx said:
move fstab using official recovery ( adbpull /vendor/etc/fstab.kirin970 and fstab.kirin970.data - remove "avb" and encryption from userdata, replace the encryption line on data with 'encryptable')
format /data in unofficial recovery
install magisk in official recovery
for some reason it only works in that order, if you try and do it all in official or unofficial recovery it doesnt work and magisk recognizes encryption on data.
after each step reboot bootloader and flash respective recovery, then fastboot reboot unplug and hold power and vol up to go straight into recovery and continue, if you boot you have to start over)
when installing magisk zip you should see that it doesnt say keep force encrypt.
and if you go in settings you have the option to encrypt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you format data, isn't the device going to be empty?
Only time I've done this before I had to copy a ROM via MTP in recovery and then flash with no Verity.
So forgive me if I'm wrong but if I format data, won't I end up with no operating system?

dladz said:
If you format data, isn't the device going to be empty? J
Only time I've done this before I had to copy a ROM via MTP in recovery and then flash with no Verity.
So forgive me if I'm wrong but if I format data, won't I end up with no operating system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/system is where the system lives
/data is userdata and applications
Noting wrong with formatting, you will lose all apps and data though

virtyx said:
/system is where the system lives
/data is userdata and applications
Noting wrong with formatting, you will lose all apps and data though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Legend, thanks for clearing that up.
:good:
I know off topic, but out of interest with the p20 pro, if you did find yourself with no OS how would you get back to a functional phone?
There's no custom ROMs to flash, just never been in this situation before.
Hypothetically

dladz said:
Legend, thanks for clearing that up.
:good:
I know off topic, but out of interest with the p20 pro, if you did find yourself with no OS how would you get back to a functional phone?
There's no custom ROMs to flash, just never been in this situation before.
Hypothetically
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use hurupdater and download the firmware from firmwarefinder on your of
Happened a lot of times for me

Just as a headsup, you dont need to decrypt anything when you just wanna do some changes once and are proper admin level on your desktop machine, ive moved a whatsapp message history from previous phone (also taken from protected space there) to P20P just by attaching it to pc in file transfer mode and then adding myself as full control user in the security tabs of the several system folder properties i went in to, worked like a charm.
The point im trying to make: Android and Windows finally understand each others permission systems (not sure since how long as ive been away from android for a few years) so you can just attach it and use Windows perm system to give yourself access where needed, lots easier & faster then making a bunch of changes to your phone in effect disabling encryption, something you in most cases dont really want to do permanently anyway, so this is a nice workaround that doesn't touch your phone's encryption settings but still lets you mess about with system files.
Just my 2 cents.

virtyx said:
move fstab using official recovery ( adbpull /vendor/etc/fstab.kirin970 and fstab.kirin970.data - remove "avb" and encryption from userdata, replace the encryption line on data with 'encryptable')
format /data in unofficial recovery
install magisk in official recovery
for some reason it only works in that order, if you try and do it all in official or unofficial recovery it doesnt work and magisk recognizes encryption on data.
after each step reboot bootloader and flash respective recovery, then fastboot reboot unplug and hold power and vol up to go straight into recovery and continue, if you boot you have to start over)
when installing magisk zip you should see that it doesnt say keep force encrypt.
and if you go in settings you have the option to encrypt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did everything step by step, the encryption is gone and yet I still get that stupid permission denied error when I try to do a backup in TWRP. So. F*cking. Annoying.
Update: when I press the "Install" button in TWRP, it shows giberish, but if I go to Advanced>File Manager everything has it's proper name. WTF?!
Hmmm, If I don't tick "Vendor" in the backup, I get this error:
Can not create 'data/media/0/2021-01-20--07-26-51' folder (No such file or directory).
Failed to make backup folder.
Update on update: oof, now everything that's in the internal storage is gibberish, even in the OS.

TWRP unable to wipe or format `Failed to mount '/system' (Device or resource busy)`

I'm trying to install LineageOS and then GAPPS on my Pixel XL from TWRP recovery. I'll try to `Advance Wipe` the `/systems` directory and `Format Data`, but I continue to get multiple errors:
Code:
Failed to mount '/system' (Device or resource busy)
Code:
Failed to mount '/vendor' (Device or resource busy)
And
Code:
Unable to wipe 'System'
Code:
Unable to wipe '/system'
If I just continue with `adb sideload lineageos.zip` most of the time it stops about halfway (PowerShell shows `47%`) through and then TWRP shell shows:
Code:
Installing zip file '/sideload/package.zip'
Step 1/2
Step 2/2
I then try to `sideload` the `gapps.zip` file and get another error saying `/system` doesn't have enough space. I've tried sideloading several different gapps versions including their smallest `pico` zip fie of `91.39 MiB`.
I am able to then boot into LineageOS, but no GAPPS show and I'm not able to run any new apps installed via APK without them crashing.
My assumption is that I need to fully wipe `system` and format it, but I've been trying for two days now and still get the above `(Device or resource busy)` errors. Any help would be much appreciated!

Make sure you have the latest tools.
Latest TWRP for marlin is 3.3.0-0
Latest platform-tools is 29.0.1

Not sure what's the cause of this, but if you want to wipe and start fresh I think the best option is reflash the stock factory image that completely wipes everything and restores everything stock.
Then, you can retry wiping the device using the latest TWRP (currently, marlin is 3.3.1-0, the zip is 3.3.0-0, try just boot it and don't flash the zip), flash LOS and then gapps.
Also, as pointed by @post-mortem, make sure you are using the latest adb version when flashing the factory image, just to avoid any potential issue.

Don't use 3.3.1-0. Try 3.3.0-0. I had the same issue.

Why doesn't TWRP Team provide an answer as to why this happens? It appears to affect everyone with the latest official Pixel ROM.

Twrp is for Android pie and has trouble mounting stock Android 10. They have announced this on their website. This shouldn't matter since you're installing lineage. You don't need to wipe system before installing lineage because it installs into the inactive slot. You need to sideload lineage then reboot into recovery to switch slot's. The instructions are on the lineage website.

Did OP manage to solve this issue?

Gapps installation problem - LineageOS 16 + Oneplus 7 Pro

I'm trying to install the OpenGapps package for LineageOS 16 on my new Oneplus 7 Pro, but have a problem installing it.
First I tried the "open_gapps-arm64-9.0-micro-20190827.zip" package, but it told me its the wrong platform. Is it not arm64?
Second I tried to install the "open_gapps-arm-9.0-micro-20190827.zip", but gives me an error 70, saying I do not have enough space.
Maybe someone have a solution for this?
Thanks

Try MindtheGapps. I've seen this work for some.
http://downloads.codefi.re/jdcteam/javelinanddart/gapps

oryanh said:
Try MindtheGapps. I've seen this work for some.
http://downloads.codefi.re/jdcteam/javelinanddart/gapps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried it. Still does not work.
I got it semi, but still not working. Seems like the problem is within the way the partitions getting handled. My old Oneplus 5t had a boot, recovery, system partitions. The new one includes the recovery inside the boot it seems instead.
Here's how far I am now:
1) Unlocked the phone
2) Installed TWRP
3) Install Lineage ( This overwrites the TWRP so you have to install it again )
4) Reboot straight from TWRP after flashing the Lineage... back into the Bootloader/Fastboot mode and install the TWRP again.
5) Boot back into TWRP recovery and now I'm able to install OpenGapps ARM64 version.
But after this I cant boot the OS anymore...

cbadk said:
Tried it. Still does not work.
I got it semi, but still not working. Seems like the problem is within the way the partitions getting handled. My old Oneplus 5t had a boot, recovery, system partitions. The new one includes the recovery inside the boot it seems instead.
Here's how far I am now:
1) Unlocked the phone
2) Installed TWRP
3) Install Lineage ( This overwrites the TWRP so you have to install it again )
4) Reboot straight from TWRP after flashing the Lineage... back into the Bootloader/Fastboot mode and install the TWRP again.
5) Boot back into TWRP recovery and now I'm able to install OpenGapps ARM64 version.
But after this I cant boot the OS anymore...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Format data in twrp then try boot again should work

liam_davenport said:
Format data in twrp then try boot again should work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still no luck. Tried many things now... but here's what happens:
1) Installing the TWRP
2) Format data partition and everything else
3) Reboot back into TWRP
4) Install Lineage ( At this point I'm able to boot into Lineage just fine )
5) Trying to install Open GApps at this point gives me:
Code:
# Begin Open GApps Install Log
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
# End Open GApps Install Log
INSTALLATION FAILURE: This Open GApps package cannot be installed on this
device's architecture. Please download the correct version for your device.
# Begin User's gapps-config
# End User's gapps-config
It says I need to install the ARM instead of ARM64...
But if I go back into the bootloader and flash the twrp and boot back into the recovery, I'm able to install Open GApps ARM64 just fine. Seems like a weird "device's architecture" detection problem in the Open Gapps or maybe it could be the TWRP... not sure...
Also after this it will no longer boot.
Kinda weird problem....

cbadk said:
Still no luck. Tried many things now... but here's what happens:
1) Installing the TWRP
2) Format data partition and everything else
3) Reboot back into TWRP
4) Install Lineage ( At this point I'm able to boot into Lineage just fine )
5) Trying to install Open GApps at this point gives me:
Code:
# Begin Open GApps Install Log
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
# End Open GApps Install Log
INSTALLATION FAILURE: This Open GApps package cannot be installed on this
device's architecture. Please download the correct version for your device.
# Begin User's gapps-config
# End User's gapps-config
It says I need to install the ARM instead of ARM64...
But if I go back into the bootloader and flash the twrp and boot back into the recovery, I'm able to install Open GApps ARM64 just fine. Seems like a weird "device's architecture" detection problem in the Open Gapps or maybe it could be the TWRP... not sure...
Also after this it will no longer boot.
Kinda weird problem....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't wipe system afaik vendor LOS generates it's own, Also might be in the wrong slot make sure the slot changed when rebooting back to recovery to install gapps, I used MindTheGapps latest version from OP worked great.

liam_davenport said:
Don't wipe system afaik vendor LOS generates it's own, Also might be in the wrong slot make sure the slot changed when rebooting back to recovery to install gapps, I used MindTheGapps latest version from OP worked great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have not wiped the System and Vendor partition after I installed Lineage... It boots just fine... just not if I install Open GApps....
Tried MindTheGapps latest version, but still no luck.

Okay got it working. The problem was the A/B partition layout they have in this phone... Was not aware of this.
This article describes it pretty well: https://lineageos.org/Changelog-19/
So yeah this is what I did:
1) Boot into Bootloader/Fastboot mode
2) Flash the boot partition with fastboot flash boot twrp-3.3.1-52-guacamole-unified.img
3) Restart into TWRP - Format the data partition and clean the system partition etc.
3) Restart into recovery TWRP once more to get the data partition ready
4) Now you can transfer the lineage-16.0-20190827-nightly-guacamole-signed.zip over to memory.
5) Now flash the zip file and let it complete. This will overwrite the boot partition with TWRP and replace it with Lineage's own boot/recovery image.
6) Now reboot into Lineage's recovery. Now select Apply update > Apply from ADB and send the "MindTheGapps-9.0.0-arm64-20190615_031441.zip" file to the phone with "adb sideload MindTheGapps-9.0.0-arm64-20190615_031441.zip" - You might have to confirm the zip file....
After this is done, the phone should be ready for use.

cbadk said:
Okay got it working. The problem was the A/B partition layout they have in this phone... Was not aware of this.
This article describes it pretty well: https://lineageos.org/Changelog-19/
So yeah this is what I did:
1) Boot into Bootloader/Fastboot mode
2) Flash the boot partition with fastboot flash boot twrp-3.3.1-52-guacamole-unified.img
3) Restart into TWRP - Format the data partition and clean the system partition etc.
3) Restart into recovery TWRP once more to get the data partition ready
4) Now you can transfer the lineage-16.0-20190827-nightly-guacamole-signed.zip over to memory.
5) Now flash the zip file and let it complete. This will overwrite the boot partition with TWRP and replace it with Lineage's own boot/recovery image.
6) Now reboot into Lineage's recovery. Now select Apply update > Apply from ADB and send the "MindTheGapps-9.0.0-arm64-20190615_031441.zip" file to the phone with "adb sideload MindTheGapps-9.0.0-arm64-20190615_031441.zip" - You might have to confirm the zip file....
After this is done, the phone should be ready for use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am facing the same A/B slot problem with my Moto Z2.
After setp 5), did you let the lineage OS fist then reboot into recovery, or did you go straight to the lineage recovery?

Thank you so much for this. I finally fot it sorted. I did find that sometimes you have to ubplug the USB cable and plug it in again to be recognised, but I got it going. Goodby Google!!!!
I am using Gentoo Linux with adb to do this.

Question LineageOS: "Can't load Android System" on first boot.

My new Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro is showing an error screen after some time, like in this post:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/cant-load-android-system-lineageos.4314035/
It reads "Can't load Android system. Your data may be corrupt. If you continue to get this message, you may need to perform a factory data reset and erase all user data stored on this device"
This happened so far:
I just unlocked the boot loader of my new phone after week of waiting.
I followed the official lineage instructions to install the OS: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/vayu/install
Everything worked including the sideloading via db.
I downloaded those two files for the LineageOS-Site:
- Recovery via fastboot: lineage-18.1-20211203-recovery-vayu.img (recovery works, I can still boot into recovery)
- System via adb: lineage-18.1-20211203-nightly-vayu-signed.zip
I also added Gapps via adb: "open_gapps-arm64-11.0-nano-20211204.zip"
Both adb transfers exited successfully.
After the first error screen
- I tapped Try again,
- When the error occurred again, I tapped "Factory data reset," but the error still occurred. The phone is new, no user data is on the phone.
- I booted into recovery and reset all the data I could. When I tap "Format system partition" it throws an error "E: Failed to open /dev/block/dm-0: No such file or directory. System wipe failed."
- Then I repeated the adb sideload. The error occurs again.
- I removed the SIM card, as someone in the forum suggested this could be a problem source. The error still occurs.
What can I do now?
----
Update [2021-12-05 Sun 20:09]
It seems to be a Problem with the GApps Version.
What I did Try so far is:
- Install 03-12-LOS and latest GApps via LOS recovery (didn't work)
- Install 03-12-LOS and latest GApps via TWRP recovery (didn't work)
- install LOS Build from 26-11-2021 without GApps (works)
- Install LOS Build from 26-11-2021 with latest GApps (didn't work)
- Install LOS Build form 26-11-2021 with GApps from 25-11-2021 (works)

Just use TWRP, flash ROM and AFTER flashing ROM Format Data where you have to type "yes". (Format, not Wipe)
Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro
Disclaimer:Team Win strives to provide a quality product. However, it is your decision to install our software on your device. Team Win takes no ...
twrp.me

Thanks for the Idea. At the moment it has not solved the problem.
This is what I did:
- Flash TWRP
Code:
fastboot flash recovery TWRP-3.5.2-vayu-Nebrassy-2.img
- copy lineage-18.1-20211203-nightly-vayu-signed.zip and "open_gapps-arm64-11.0-nano-20211204.zip" to the Poco device
- install via "install" option, wipe cache at the end of installation
- Format files (via "Wipe" -> "Format Data" -> type "yes")
- Reboot
After some time of the animated Lineage OS logo, the phone reboots into TWRP.
To me this seems very similar to the Lineage recovery before.
Any ideas what could be wrong?

You probably wiped System or Vendor partition or something, you are not supposed to do that.
Most likely you have to reflash MIUI now first. Make sure it's atleast version 12.5.X.X.
Flashing instructions are really simple, this apply to all ROM's.
FIRST INSTALL?:
Remove any fingerprint, PIN, or password in MIUI
Unlock the bootloader
Transfer ROM to internal storage
Install any suitable recovery
Flash ROM zip file
Do a data wipe in recovery (format data)
Reboot to the system, wait and enjoy
FLASHING UPDATES?:
Download via OTA Updater and let it automatically install; OR
Download an update, transfer to internal/external storage (always check file sha256)
Flash ROM zip and reboot.
Do not wipe anything else or add any additional steps. (maybe except Gapps if ROM doesn't have them included)
ps.
In first post there is no mention if you did Format Data or not and when you did it. Like i said before - you have to Formata DATA AFTER flashing ROM . Not before.
This happened so far:
I just unlocked the boot loader of my new phone after week of waiting.
I followed the official lineage instructions to install the OS: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/vayu/install
Everything worked including the sideloading via db.
I downloaded those two files for the LineageOS-Site:
- Recovery via fastboot: lineage-18.1-20211203-recovery-vayu.img (recovery works, I can still boot into recovery)
- System via adb: lineage-18.1-20211203-nightly-vayu-signed.zip
I also added Gapps via adb: "open_gapps-arm64-11.0-nano-20211204.zip"
Both adb transfers exited successfully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

k3lcior said:
In first post there is no mention if you did Format Data or not and when you did it. Like i said before - you have to Formata DATA AFTER flashing ROM . Not before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed the LOS Install Guide: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/vayu/install But this procedure does not seem to bee the cause (see below).
Download the LineageOS installation package that you would like to install or build the package yourself.
Optionally, download an application package add-on such as Google Apps (use the arm64 architecture).
If you are not in recovery, reboot into recovery:
With the device powered off, hold Volume Up + Power. When Xiaomi/POCO/Redmi splash appears, release Power and keep pressed Volume Up until recovery appears.
Now tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one).
Return to the main menu.
Sideload the LineageOS .zip package:
On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from ADB” to begin sideload.
On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb sideload filename.zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so this is what I did (the part that works):
- I downloaded the latest possible stock ROM from https://www.xda-developers.com/down...ut-several-xiaomi-redmi-mi-poco-devices/#vayu The fastboot ROM is more than 5GB.
- Extract the file "vayu_eea_global_images_V12.5.3.0.RJUEUXM_20211015.0000.00_11.0_eea_05cc38de43.tgz"
- then connect the phone via USB cable in fastboot mode and:
Bash:
cd ~/Downloads/vayu_eea_global_images_V12.5.3.0.RJUEUXM_20211015.0000.00_11.0_eea
/bin/bash ./flash_all.sh
- The default MIUI starts flawless, as it dit the first time I turned on the phone. So far so good.
What didn't work:
1. I installed the LOS Recovery again and flashed the OS and Gapps. Only after that I did step 3 - formating. The result ist the same bootloop as in the beginning.
2. I flashed the stock MIUI ROM again (which woks fine). Then I flashed TWRP, transfered the OS and GApps file and installed. I did not wipe anything, just used "format data" like above.
In both cases the OS does not start. After a while displaying the LOS-logo the phone reboots to recovery.
What did work:
I downloaded lineage-18.1-20211126-nightly-vayu-signed.zip, one version before the latest verion and the corresponding recovery lineage-18.1-20211126-recovery-vayu.img
I flashed only the OS, and no GApps -- and it launched successfully. Installing with the latest GApps failed again.

Install older gapp, not all gapp is compatible

Samsung devices (2) stuck in system boot splash

HI,
I have 2 Samsung devices with TWRP installed, and I can access the TWRP recovery menu. When I install the flash ROM and try to boot, devices are stuck in system boot forever.
Device 1: SM-T800, with LineageOS 14.1 previously. I opened an email and the device got hacked, so I did a factory reset (which failed), then re-flashed the latest TWRP and recovered rescue mode. Now when I flash the Lineage ROM (from TWRP) the device does not boot to system but keeps showing the splash screen. I think the hack might have placed immutable files under system. could I format this partition to zero it out via ADB? What other choices are there?
<EDITED>
Device 2: Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 - I solved this so i removed this section.
Thank you for any help.

Beeblebrox-BSD said:
HI,
I have 2 Samsung devices with TWRP installed, and I can access the TWRP recovery menu. When I install the flash ROM and try to boot, devices are stuck in system boot forever.
Device 1: SM-T800, with LineageOS 14.1 previously. I opened an email and the device got hacked, so I did a factory reset (which failed), then re-flashed the latest TWRP and recovered rescue mode. Now when I flash the Lineage ROM (from TWRP) the device does not boot to system but keeps showing the splash screen. I think the hack might have placed immutable files under system. could I format this partition to zero it out via ADB? What other choices are there?
Device 2: Galaxy S3 GT-I9300, with working TWRP. This device is giving a "Failed to mount /efs (Invalid argument)" error. The previous setup was shared storage with sdcard and encryption on both internal and sdcard. The sdcard got corrupted, hence the error. This post suggests running
Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modemst1
but the device does not have identifiable boot device under /dev/block. I think this might work if I can identify the boot partition name?
Thank you for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash a custom ROM for i9300 via TWRP. Download a custom ROM for i9300 and the appropriate Gapps to go with the ROM, store them on external sdcard. When you are in TWRP, before you flash your ROM, select the "Wipe" option, then select "advanced wipes", on the next menu, choose the system partition, data partition, cache partition and dalvik cache partition then swipe the slider to wipe. Then go back to home screen in TWRP and choose the "Install" option, then choose your ROM file and your Gapps file then swipe to flash. When the flash is finished, select the "Reboot system" option and see if it boots into system.
If that doesn't work, we will take some steps further back and try starting from the beginning.
Keep in mind that some of the custom ROMs for i9300 may have a different partition structure and partition sizes than the stock firmware for i9300 has and may require resizing certain partitions such as the system partition by flashing a custom PIT file like the Galaxy S2 had to do before it flashed certain custom ROMs.

Hi, thanks for the input.
* I had already solved the GT-I9300 issue before your post (I should have added to thread rather than edit the original post). I solved issue with that device by including system partition in the wipe.
* For the SM-T800, I used a LineageOS-14.1 that I had stored somewhere. That also did not work, until I only flashed Lineage and did not include any GApps. If I really need it, I can always flash later. I assume the latest GApps 7.1 build conflicts with older ROMs.
An unexpected problem was the lack of current ROMs for the 2 devices. SM-T800 has nothing other than last build Lineage-14-1-20190205. The I9300 has several unofficial ROMs floating around for newer Android versions, but they are all debug/dev builds with enabled options that drain the battery very quickly.
If anyone comes across a decent ROM for either of these devices please LMK. Thanks.