Install OS with full wipe over magisk and modified boot - Google Pixel 3a Questions & Answers

If I want to run the August os with full wipe, is there any reason to unroot or re-install stock boot before running the .bat? I want a complete return to stock and new set-up. Before Pixel/Pie, this was never an issue but wanted to be sure

Nope, when flashing the stock factory image with the "flash-all.bat" it automatically wipes everything (even the internal storage), and then it flashes the all stock system.
No need to do it manually since it does that itself.

Tenn3r is spot on.
Just to reinforce what he said however, you will loose ALL data on the "SD card" if you run the full install. Make sure you copy anything you want to keep to another device prior to wiping. I'm use to running phones with a physical SD card and you could wipe the main memory/drive without effecting the SD card. But since the Pixels don't have a physical SD card, that space is on the main memory/drive and it does get wiped.

Thank you both. I'm aware of what a full wipe does but the warnings are always applicable. This dual slot thing on Pie is new for me (owned most Nexus devices from GNex on) as is Magisk.
I've been having issues that I want to make sure do not relate to "stuff" I have done or installed. Safe Mode hasn't provided me with any clues so waited for this Aug update to wipe.

Related

Can't format G-Tab, nvflash does nothing, all apps and settings are still there!

Okay I am super confused. I've successfully used FORMAT utility and also nvflash restore...but the tablet won't format!!! All my apps and settings are still there when I nvflash restore it!
I ran the nvflash_gtablet.bat from the Format utility..and it looked liked it worked: at the end of the process the tablet showed the red font with the kernel mismatch and bootloader not found, or something along those lines..
Just to be safe, I did it a second time. lol
Then I used nvflash restore to restore it back to original shipping.
I noticed right away something was wrong when as soon as it booted to the tap and tap home screen, the screen started to go dim after 15 seconds (that was the screen timeout time I'd set before formatting and all that).
But I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I checked the app drawer, and all my apps are there!!!! Not only that, it connected to my password protected wifi right away!!
Can someone please help me delete the f_ck out of this thing? I want there to be NOTHING left, so I can get a clean start.
The reason I wanted to format is because, I'm having a sound issue with my gtablet (whenever entering the volume control and adjusting the volume the processes always force closes...no matter what ROM I'm on). I wipe data, try to start fresh, but the problem always occurs after a few hours of use on any ROM (even the brand new TNT 5).
And I don't know if this matters or not, I'm on Windows 7, 64 bit...but I obviously have the USB drivers working because I'm using these utilities.
Please somebody? Today is my only day off work for a long long time.
I "THINK" I remember reading that you could flash CWM and from there wipe user data, then run nvflash to get back to stock recovery. Never tried it myself & I'm new here, so take the info for what it is worth.
Don't panic....
I don't think you have anything to worry about. If you read the post (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=974422), it states in rather large red letters at top :"This fully erases the ROM but this will NOT affect the internal SD card. You MUST be able to use nvflash to restore the stock firmware."
Since your apps are installed on the internal SD, that's why you see them when you reload the ROM.
Edit: If I were you, I'd run the Format and load stock, then reload Clockwork and format the internal SD. That should get you back to a rather vanilla slate.
You can also refer to the posting below as another source. If you go down to the Homebrew link found in the posting, it's is used to revert the gtab back to it's original TnT state.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=842000&highlight=stock
format and nvflash do not erase personnal data, a full reflash of difference firmware might format your personnal data, if you want to wipe out data, use the Factory wipe in the CW menu
Ronin916 said:
I don't think you have anything to worry about. If you read the post (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=974422), it states in rather large red letters at top :"This fully erases the ROM but this will NOT affect the internal SD card. You MUST be able to use nvflash to restore the stock firmware."
Since your apps are installed on the internal SD, that's why you see them when you reload the ROM.
Edit: If I were you, I'd run the Format and load stock, then reload Clockwork and format the internal SD. That should get you back to a rather vanilla slate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you all for your replies. But I am a little confused still. AFAIK the apps aren't on the sd card...wouldn't I be able to see them when I mount the sd card on the computer?
ksc6000,
Storage devices on the G-Tablet are named as follows:
/sdcard -- main memory
/sdcard2 -- external mini-SD card
/usbdisk -- USB key
Rev

[Resolved] Issues updating CM10.0 to 10.1 (T-Mobile GS3)

So I have had CM10 on my phone for probably 8 months now (almost since I got the phone) and have had no issues with the ROM whatsoever.
I got a notification about an updated version of CM10 today and went ahead and downloaded and installed it, but when I finished the update, I had no personal data left on the phone, could not set up accounts to recover the data, could not (and still can't) recover backups through ROM Manager, and cannot recover backups through CWM. I get an error message which I can't remember at the moment and leads to a bricked phone upon reboot until I do a fresh install of CM10.0.
I read after I started having the issues that I wasn't supposed to directly upgrade from the CM Updater with an S3, but it was already too late. Supposedly the issue is something along the lines of an emulated version of my phone's internal storage? If that makes sense. So whenever it's pulling a piece of information it's looking in the spot it should be in, but on a non-physically-existent SD card, essentially. That's what I gathered anyways.
I have a 32gb external SD Card that is also in use with my S3. I have tried moving my ROM Backups to there and recovering from the External SD Card, but the same error message occurred, although ROM Manager was at least able to find the backups after they were moved (I also had to change the setting and request that it prefer to look through an external SD Card).
So I have a usable ROM as far as the software itself, but I no longer can use any accounts or information that is stored with them or any of the same widgets (not a game-breaker) as I was able to previously. Is there a way to fix this? I've never just been completely stuck before >.<
jkremis said:
So I have had CM10 on my phone for probably 8 months now (almost since I got the phone) and have had no issues with the ROM whatsoever.
I got a notification about an updated version of CM10 today and went ahead and downloaded and installed it, but when I finished the update, I had no personal data left on the phone, could not set up accounts to recover the data, could not (and still can't) recover backups through ROM Manager, and cannot recover backups through CWM. I get an error message which I can't remember at the moment and leads to a bricked phone upon reboot until I do a fresh install of CM10.0.
I read after I started having the issues that I wasn't supposed to directly upgrade from the CM Updater with an S3, but it was already too late. Supposedly the issue is something along the lines of an emulated version of my phone's internal storage? If that makes sense. So whenever it's pulling a piece of information it's looking in the spot it should be in, but on a non-physically-existent SD card, essentially. That's what I gathered anyways.
I have a 32gb external SD Card that is also in use with my S3. I have tried moving my ROM Backups to there and recovering from the External SD Card, but the same error message occurred, although ROM Manager was at least able to find the backups after they were moved (I also had to change the setting and request that it prefer to look through an external SD Card).
So I have a usable ROM as far as the software itself, but I no longer can use any accounts or information that is stored with them or any of the same widgets (not a game-breaker) as I was able to previously. Is there a way to fix this? I've never just been completely stuck before >.<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HY, try to flash cm again from theyre website (dont update it), but this time,erase cache 3 times with the command;fastboot erase cache,this may solve your problem.IF I HELPED PLEASE PRESS THANKS!!!!
johnyvlad said:
HY, try to flash cm again from theyre website (dont update it), but this time,erase cache 3 times with the command;fastboot erase cache,this may solve your problem.IF I HELPED PLEASE PRESS THANKS!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be clear, you're saying to try and flash CM10.0 and then do not update when prompted from the notification? The other part was clear enough lol.
Edit: Tried the above and did not fix the problem, but I didn't use fastboot specifically because I have a Samsung phone.
The error I'm getting is "unable to mount /system" when I try and restore a backup.
Bump. Still haven't figured this out.
Problem solved.
Re-flashed CM10.1; doing full data, cache, and dalvik wipes before and after the flash; and the problem was corrected.

CM13 with micro SD card GT-P311x

Hello,
I have managed to take my tablet from KitKat to Lollipop and then Marshmallow using cm-13.0-20160802. Everything was working fine up to a point when I was in Japan and then I started experiencing problems with Wi-Fi connections. Following the boot, I was getting a message stating that "Process system isn't responding...". Restarting the tablet was some sort of a solution to be able to use Wi-Fi.
Back to home, I was determined to obtain the most recent version of cm-13.0 hoping to solve the issue but I was not simple. First, let me say that I have a micro SD of 32 Gig, which was integrated as internal memory. My recovery program was TWRP 3.0.0-0. I have tried to follow the steps as explained on Android-Andi FAQ page. I might have made an error somewhere but anyhow, the end result was an empty tablet. Everything was gone including backups saved on the external SD.
To fix this, I have restored my tablet to 4.2.2, rerouted it, went to Lollipop with cm-12.1 and finally to Marshmallow cm-13.0-20161007. Again, my external SD card is now integrated and viewed as internal memory using the feature that comes with cm-13. I have just found out that 2 other releases of cm-13 have been made available since. TWRP is now 3.0.2-7 and was used to back up Lollipop as well as EFS.
I would like to proceed with the update but I would prefer to take an easy way, not the long one as I was forced to. Here is my question: considering that my external SD is viewed as being internal storage, what should I do in order to update my current version of cm-13 to a more recent version?
Regards
You have two options
a.) Doing a dirty flash. Install the rom then wipe cache and dalvik. Then reboot
b.) Clean flash. Wipe /system, /data, dalvik, and cache then install the rom. Then wipe cache and dalvik again and reboot.
Wiping Data (Internal storage not /data) is usually not needed unless you want to encrypt the device.
Don't forget to use the latest recovery.
Cheers
Thanks Lightracer for your reply.
By the time I received your reply, I had figured out my problem. I can now update my rom with my external sd card has being viewed as internal storage without loosing everything.
For your information, I do use the latest recovery tool. By the way, I prefer the clean approach.
Thanks again for your involvement.

Messed up this time

My K1 has been stock rooted for awhile now, and this past weekend I decided to flash a rom on it. I downloaded everything and went into TWRP to start wiping per instructions.
In my haste I selected to wipe EVERYTHING! Internal, SD, cache- the whole works. Abbot the time the wipe finished, I thought "Oh no, I did not leave anything on there to give the tablet instructions!" No new ROM, no old one either.
I have left it in TWRP since Saturday, afraid to reboot it. I fear it will permanently brick because there isn't anything on there. It is still in TWRP, plugged in.
I tried using am OTG flash drive but TWRP does not see it. I took the SD card out & loaded the new ROM on it, but TWRP does not see it either.
I am using a Linux Mint terminal with ADB commands to do this. Sudo ADB devices sees it, shows the serial #, and says Recovery.
How do I get a ROM on this device and get it functional again? Can I reboot it? To bootloader, or to recovery again? What is my next step?
I am an amateur with Linux, so please, keep the commands simple!
Thank you!
Don't worry it's not broken. Just put your SD card in and mount it (click mount and check usb otg or sd card or whichever media you're using) and you should be able to see your media when you click install and expand devices.
You can also connect your tablet to your pc and simply drag and drop files into its internal storage, your linux pc should be able to see your shield if it's in twrp. Just open nemo (win+E) and place the files you want to flash. Just make sure if you're transfering files from linux to give it a few more minutes after transferimg before unmounting your tablet and starting to flash.
I LOVE YOU, MAN!!! I tried mounting (had not seen that in TWRP before) the SD card, but it still did not see it. I put the OTG drive back in and mounted, it saw it! I proceeded to flash the rom. I had a hard time installing gapps, I am going to reinstall it tomorrow.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help!
biknut1 said:
I LOVE YOU, MAN!!! I tried mounting (had not seen that in TWRP before) the SD card, but it still did not see it. I put the OTG drive back in and mounted, it saw it! I proceeded to flash the rom. I had a hard time installing gapps, I am going to reinstall it tomorrow.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem
Make sure you've downloaded ARM and not ARM64 gapps for your android version (7.1.1 or 8.1 depending which ROM you use, you can find the version on the bottom of the first post).
I downloaded the link in the Rom post, but I will double check. Thanks again!
biknut1 said:
I decided to flash a rom on it. I downloaded everything and went into TWRP to start wiping per instructions.
In my haste I selected to wipe EVERYTHING! Internal, SD, cache- the whole works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe already lessons learned, but a couple points I often tell folks on these forums:
- The TWRP default WIPE option (which only wipes data, Dalvik and cache) says "this is the only wipe you need most of the time". It says that for good reason, and they mean it when they say that! This default works great for flashing ROMs. Some folks will swear by wiping "system" when flashing a ROM. But this is already done when you flash the ROM, so it really is redundant.
- The option to wipe other partitions (besides the default) is labeled "Advanced" and again, it is called that for good reason. My advice would be, to not wipe anything under this section, unless you know exactly what it is, and what the result will be. There are sometimes valid reasons to do so, such as you want to completely wipe internal storage, and start fresh (various ROMs and apps dump a lot of extraneous stuff there, that never gets cleaned up unless you do so by some manual means). But again, you need to be prepared, such as not having your backups or ROM (that you intend to flash) on the partitions you are about to wipe.
- If/when you do choose to use the Advanced wipe features, always double check (triple check, for that matter) what you are about to wipe. It is easy to click the wrong box, and there will not be any confirmation of what you are wiping once you swipe. It's easy (maybe too easy) to intend to wipe something harmless like cache, but accidentally tap SD card or internal storage.
@redpoint73- Believe it or not, I know that! I did want to wipe the SD Card, and the rest of the tablet, so i could get rid of everything old that was making it lag. Good thought, just not all at one time. Lesson learned!
Nothing was harmed, tablet is better, gained some Linux experience, so all around it was a win!

So many years on forum, still many times i manage to brick/bootloop my phone.. Help!

I need some explanation to make things clear..
1) First and most important. If you want to make a clean install, what you have to wipe? Should you format data also, and why? Format data affects system? Can you format data and still boot into rom? When you format/wipe all, is there something left in the phone? If no, then why still i can see in mount settings, that the folders still have Mb/Gb inside them? What are they? I guess you can';t delete everything from the phone? For example now i am stuck on custom animation bootloop. So there is still data left.
2) Format data make your encrypted or decrypted? Or just removes all encryption and if a) you install a rom you go automatically encrypted, b) you install a rom and flash no_verity you go decrypted?
3) If i go decrypted, the only way to go encypted is to install stock OS and why?
4) When is necessary to have the stock rom flashed in order to flash custom rom afterwards? If you want to install a different android version from the one that you have? Any other reason? Is it necessary to install the whole stock image, or just enough to install firmware + radio?
5) If you wipe/format all, the phone has some firmware,radio,vendor etc stored inside or it's empty 100%?
6) Is it 100% safe to install a TWRP through TWRP?
And now let's say the problem i had. But i think i know where was the problem.. I had installed android pie + xXx no_limits on my oneplus5 and i was decrypted. Some months later i decided to try something else, so i installed an AOSP android 10 version. I just wipe/format system,data,dalvik,cache then flashed rom, gapps, magisk. But i had some bugs on this version, lags and huge battery drain. Also whenever i was booting into TWRP it moved me on Mount --> Decrypt screen.. And i don't know why?
Now that i try to figure i know that the problem was i install a custom android 10 rom, without first installing the android 10 stock rom? In order to get the proper firmware etc? Or what? The instructions for installing the rom are the following, which i followed them 100% :
NOTE:
WE ARE ENCRYPTED (FILE BASED FORCED ENCRYPTION). So if you are unencrypted format data partition or use any no_verity solution you want. We don't support it.
1. Download the ROM and GApps and transfer them to your device.
2. Boot to recovery (TWRP recommended). Bluspark twrp recovery recommended.
3. Wipe the System, Cache, and Data (you might need to format the data partition in some cases!).
4. Flash firmware. Actual one is 9.0.11. Download.
5. Flash the ROM Zipfile.
6. Reboot to TWRP recovery.
7. Flash the GApps (optional, needed for e.g. Google Playstore to work) and Magisk (optional too if you want a root solution).
8. Reboot and set up your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ROM should contain everything you need to enjoy Android Q. You don't need to install any Add-ons, simply download the latest ROM and GApps, then follow the flashing instructions and go!
If you want the device to run the ROM "rooted", you can flash a root solution of your choice after the ROM Zipfile.
It is STRONGLY recommended to fully wipe your device before flashing and please avoid restoring system apps and system data with Titanium Backup (or with any backup/restore app) as this can cause stability issues that are very hard to debug, restoring regular apps is fine though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only system app i restored was the Vanced youtube, but i don't this is the source of my problems.
Thanks in advance!
Guys i think i cleared some things on my mind..
When you install a rom you go encrypted. So you have to FORMAT data RIGHT AFTER installing the rom and then flashing no_verity? Am i right? When you format data do you lose Magisk also?
lazostat said:
I need some explanation to make things clear..
1) First and most important. If you want to make a clean install, what you have to wipe? Should you format data also, and why? Format data affects system? Can you format data and still boot into rom? When you format/wipe all, is there something left in the phone? If no, then why still i can see in mount settings, that the folders still have Mb/Gb inside them? What are they? I guess you can';t delete everything from the phone? For example now i am stuck on custom animation bootloop. So there is still data left.
2) Format data make your encrypted or decrypted? Or just removes all encryption and if a) you install a rom you go automatically encrypted, b) you install a rom and flash no_verity you go decrypted?
3) If i go decrypted, the only way to go encypted is to install stock OS and why?
4) When is necessary to have the stock rom flashed in order to flash custom rom afterwards? If you want to install a different android version from the one that you have? Any other reason? Is it necessary to install the whole stock image, or just enough to install firmware + radio?
5) If you wipe/format all, the phone has some firmware,radio,vendor etc stored inside or it's empty 100%?
6) Is it 100% safe to install a TWRP through TWRP?
And now let's say the problem i had. But i think i know where was the problem.. I had installed android pie + xXx no_limits on my oneplus5 and i was decrypted. Some months later i decided to try something else, so i installed an AOSP android 10 version. I just wipe/format system,data,dalvik,cache then flashed rom, gapps, magisk. But i had some bugs on this version, lags and huge battery drain. Also whenever i was booting into TWRP it moved me on Mount --> Decrypt screen.. And i don't know why?
Now that i try to figure i know that the problem was i install a custom android 10 rom, without first installing the android 10 stock rom? In order to get the proper firmware etc? Or what? The instructions for installing the rom are the following, which i followed them 100% :
The only system app i restored was the Vanced youtube, but i don't this is the source of my problems. Formatting data does not effect system in most cases.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) a clean install involves wiping system, data, cache and dalvik cache. All of these partitions must be wiped in order to remove data things that might conflict with the new software that you intend to flash. Yes, you can wipe data and still boot into your ROM. Yes, there are things still on the phone even after wiping the device, but, the things left behind are in partitions that are separate from what you can actually wipe, these other, separate partitions contain all the other stuff that is essential for your device to be able to function. These parts have nothing to do with the ROM that you are using and have nothing to do with what you have installed in your data partition. TWRP does not wipe /data/media partition(internal storage), /data/media is where your personal user data is stored, such as, photos, videos, downloaded files, data from apps such as games, etc. Basically, /data/media contains things that you have stored that are not apps. Your internal storage will still have all the files and folders that were there before you did the wipe. If you want to wipe internal storage, you have to specifically select your internal storage when you use TWRP to wipe the device, it will not wipe internal storage by default. If you still have a custom animation even after wiping the device, it is probably because the boot animation is in your system partition, that can only be removed by selecting the /system partition when using TWRP to wipe the device.
2) Formatting data "should" remove encryption. No, flashing a new ROM after removing encryption will not encrypt the device again unless you specifically choose to encrypt the device in its settings. Flashing no verity only eliminates issues involved with rooting a device and getting root to actually work without corrupting the device.
3)I'm not sure but I think you can encrypt a device without using stock.
4) It depends on which device you have, what your current firmware version is and what you are trying to flash. Some devices require a certain firmware to be installed before flashing certain custom ROMs but it is a case by case scenario. There is no specific answer to this, there is only the question of whether your specific device requires this or a question of whether the custom ROM that you are trying to flash requires this. This is best answered by reading the thread where the ROM is posted, if your device requires installing a certain stock firmware before flashing the custom ROM, it will tell you that somewhere in the thread for that ROM. Whether you need to install the entire firmware or just parts of the firmware also depends on which device you are using in some cases, you might only need the modem or only the bootloader or maybe both, or maybe none, or maybe the complete firmware.
5) As I stated above, there are partitions on the device that do not get wiped when using TWRP to wipe the device. If it wiped EVERYTHING, the device would no longer function at all, it wouldn't be able to power on, it wouldn't be able to boot into any of its modes and you wouldn't be able to flash anything at all on the device, not even it's original stock firmware. There are software elements that MUST remain on the device in order for it to continue to function.
6) It is perfectly safe to use your existing version of TWRP to flash another TWRP version, assuming the new TWRP is also built for your specific model number.
If you have installed a custom ROM and you are having issues, you need to go to the thread where you got the ROM and post your issues/questions there. The users there will know more about your device and what you actually need to do and the developer may also need to fix things in their ROM to solve the issues that you are experiencing.
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