Hi all,
I installed the TWRP recovery for my mate 7 - 09 version, with lollipop 5.1. But then I unknowingly wiped something I shouldn't have: I think it was the system folder. No backups were made
My phone keeps starting up to the huawei logo and then reboots\turns off. I can get into fastboot&rescue mode, but that's it. No recovery, no 3-button fix (as far as I know).
The second problem is that I cannot get my device to be recognised by my pc. adb devices doesn't give me any results.
I don't feel like I can install the drivers properly as well. Pherhaps thats the problem? How can I do this? I have a driversetup from a mate7 download, but double clicking it doesnt show any prompts.
Anyone who can help me in any way is more than welcome!
dekraan said:
Hi all,
I installed the TWRP recovery for my mate 7 - 09 version, with lollipop 5.1. But then I unknowingly wiped something I shouldn't have: I think it was the system folder. No backups were made
My phone keeps starting up to the huawei logo and then reboots\turns off. I can get into fastboot&rescue mode, but that's it. No recovery, no 3-button fix (as far as I know).
The second problem is that I cannot get my device to be recognised by my pc. adb devices doesn't give me any results.
I don't feel like I can install the drivers properly as well. Pherhaps thats the problem? How can I do this? I have a driversetup from a mate7 download, but double clicking it doesnt show any prompts.
Anyone who can help me in any way is more than welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Buddy, here's what you can try to do:
1.) Boot connect your phone to your computer.
2.) Next, boot your phone to fastboot.
3.) Next, open command prompt from the folder where your ADB files are stored.
4.)On CMD type:
fastboot devices
5.) If your device appears then you have 2 options now. You can either:
a.) Flash Stock recovery.img or
b.) Flash back TWRP
6.) If choosing option a.) you can then save stock firmware within dload folder on your external sd card then force upgrade via 3 btn method.
7.) If choosing option b.) you can boot to twrp then either sideload a custom rom or try to save on your external sd and flash
blitzkriegger said:
Hey Buddy, here's what you can try to do:
1.) Boot connect your phone to your computer.
2.) Next, boot your phone to fastboot.
3.) Next, open command prompt from the folder where your ADB files are stored.
4.)On CMD type:
fastboot devices
5.) If your device appears then you have 2 options now. You can either:
a.) Flash Stock recovery.img or
b.) Flash back TWRP
6.) If choosing option a.) you can then save stock firmware within dload folder on your external sd card then force upgrade via 3 btn method.
7.) If choosing option b.) you can boot to twrp then either sideload a custom rom or try to save on your external sd and flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give that a try, thank you. With step 1, you just mean: connect the phone through usb to the computer, right?
When I rooted the phone, I did so on my work laptop, so I am hoping I can get it recognised there, but lets see what happens at home.
EDIT:
Ok, i've typed in fastboot devices, and it gave me one line with a 16-digit code (numbers and letters) some white space and then the word fastboot. What does that mean?
That should meen it recognizes your phone in fastboot mode. Next step is to flash as stated in step 5 that in the instructions.
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using Tapatalk
dekraan said:
I'll give that a try, thank you. With step 1, you just mean: connect the phone through usb to the computer, right?
When I rooted the phone, I did so on my work laptop, so I am hoping I can get it recognised there, but lets see what happens at home.
EDIT:
Ok, i've typed in fastboot devices, and it gave me one line with a 16-digit code (numbers and letters) some white space and then the word fastboot. What does that mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT AGAIN:
Ok, this is what I did. I downloaded the well known mate7 package, extracted the b119 tools folder and I put the twrp_2.8.7.0_mate7_5.1.img file from this forum (the TWRP for 5.1) inside this folder.
Then, I open cmd inside the folder, and I typed: fastboot flash recovery twrp_2.8.7.0_mate7_5.1.img. This is what happens:
target reported max download size of 471859200 bytes
sending 'recovery'(12644 KB)...
OKAY [ 1.302s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [ 0.455s]
finished. total time: 1.756s
Now, I finally managed to get back into TWRP! I've only got 2% battery though (but I see a + which I think means charging...EDIT: yes, it is on 3% now. Better leave it like this...).
It tells me this:
TWRP has detected an unmodified system partition.
TWRP can leave your system partition unmodified to make it easier for you to take official updates. TWRP will be unable to prevent the stock rom from replacing TWRP and will not offer to root your device. Installing zips or performing adb operations may still modify the system partition.
I decided to swipe, to allow modifications.
So, I've got twrp back! For lollipop. This probably means I have to flash the lollipop rom? I will download the update.zip file next and put it on my sd card (using my pc and a microsd adapter...)
Keep you posted!
Ok, this is not working.
I put update.zip on my sd-card, and tried to install it. This is what I get:
Installing 'sd-ext/update.zip'...
checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file found
E:unknown command [errno]
file_getprop: failed to stat
E: error executing updater binary in zup 'sd-ext/update.zip'
Error flashing zip 'sd-ext/update.zip'...
Updating partition details...
...done
EDIT:
I tried to sideload but on my pc I get:
error: protocol fault (no status)
And on my TWRP I get:
You need adb 1.0.32 or newer to sideload to this device.
EDIT:
Updated my adb to 1.0.32 for windows, and rebooted everything. Now i'm at 6% of sideload. Hoping this will work!
EDITn the PC everything seems to go ok, but on my phone it says: E:Zip signature verification failed:1
What should I try next?
dekraan said:
Ok, this is not working.
I put update.zip on my sd-card, and tried to install it. This is what I get:
Installing 'sd-ext/update.zip'...
checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file found
E:unknown command [errno]
file_getprop: failed to stat
E: error executing updater binary in zup 'sd-ext/update.zip'
Error flashing zip 'sd-ext/update.zip'...
Updating partition details...
...done
EDIT:
I tried to sideload but on my pc I get:
error: protocol fault (no status)
And on my TWRP I get:
You need adb 1.0.32 or newer to sideload to this device.
EDIT:
Updated my adb to 1.0.32 for windows, and rebooted everything. Now i'm at 6% of sideload. Hoping this will work!
EDITn the PC everything seems to go ok, but on my phone it says: E:Zip signature verification failed:1
What should I try next?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't advise you to flash lollipop firmware first. It's more prudent to go back to kitkat first as I believe Lollipop needs kitkat as base
1.) Put stock kitkat update.app on dload folder of your memory card. Also make sure you have the LO9 stock kitkat recovery.
2.) With your phone connected to pc, go to twrp and reboot to bootloader.
3.) Once on bootloader open cmd on your tools folder then fastboot flash the stock kitkat recovery.
4.) Once done, fastboot reboot then force upgrade to install stock firmware.
5.) Once you have stock kitkat follow the drill to reach lollipop
blitzkriegger said:
I don't advise you to flash lollipop firmware first. It's more prudent to go back to kitkat first as I believe Lollipop needs kitkat as base
1.) Put stock kitkat update.app on dload folder of your memory card. Also make sure you have the LO9 stock kitkat recovery.
2.) With your phone connected to pc, go to twrp and reboot to bootloader.
3.) Once on bootloader open cmd on your tools folder then fastboot flash the stock kitkat recovery.
4.) Once done, fastboot reboot then force upgrade to install stock firmware.
5.) Once you have stock kitkat follow the drill to reach lollipop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thank you for your advice. I have but one question remaining: what stock kitkat update should I use? And where can I find the right recovery that goes with it?
I've tried several recovery_stock.img I found, and it does take away TWRP, so it might have done the trick. Only problem is that I cannot force upgrade to install whats on my sd-card....The phone keeps turning on (after a long push) and after seeing the logo for a little while, it turns off (short vibration)... Is there another way?
dekraan said:
Hi, thank you for your advice. I have but one question remaining: what stock kitkat update should I use? And where can I find the right recovery that goes with it?
I've tried several recovery_stock.img I found, and it does take away TWRP, so it might have done the trick. Only problem is that I cannot force upgrade to install whats on my sd-card....The phone keeps turning on (after a long push) and after seeing the logo for a little while, it turns off (short vibration)... Is there another way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should flash B137SP03 firmware. You can also refer to this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/help/5-1-to-4-4-2-bootloop-t3132888
1.)Prepare the Stock B137SP03 firmware on your SD card
2.)Download the fastboot.zip guide and extract it to a separate folder.
3.) next connect your phone to your computer and go to fastboot mode.
4.) Flash the boot.img and recovery.img you find on that guide.
5.) Once done, do the force upgrade with the B137 firmware.
blitzkriegger said:
You should flash B137SP03 firmware. You can also refer to this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/help/5-1-to-4-4-2-bootloop-t3132888
1.)Prepare the Stock B137SP03 firmware on your SD card
2.)Download the fastboot.zip guide and extract it to a separate folder.
3.) next connect your phone to your computer and go to fastboot mode.
4.) Flash the boot.img and recovery.img you find on that guide.
5.) Once done, do the force upgrade with the B137 firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've followed the guide you are reffering to. And I flashed the boot and recovery, and managed to get the roll back force installed. But for the life of me, I cannot get my phone to force install the B137 zip. I just can't get into force install mode. Are there tips or tricks? I am holding power up and down, and then press power untill I feel a short vibration. But all it does it show me the huawei logo screen and then shuts down again.
Very frustrating!
EDIT:
ok, I noticed that when my sd-card is not inserted, the phone easily boots into the force install mode. It shows the logo for a couple of seconds, screen goes black and then the force install loads. So this is what I did: insert the sd card half way, press vol up and down, and power on. Then after the logo when the screen goes black, insert the sd-card all the way and when the phone goes to force install mode, it can find the update!
Now installing.... hope this helps someone else out there!
Worked! And I am up and running again! Thank you for saving my mate
I got my Mate bricked and i've been trying to figure out how to solve it. I tried lots of things from different guides, but just an hour ago I found this guide and it worked! I can't tell you how happy I am right now, thanks guys!
aleksik said:
I got my Mate bricked and i've been trying to figure out how to solve it. I tried lots of things from different guides, but just an hour ago I found this guide and it worked! I can't tell you how happy I am right now, thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear both of you guys have your mates up and running again. As long as a phone turns on and is not dead as a brick there's always hope it can be restored
Hi everyone, I have the same problem with my mate 7, i was messing with unlocking bootloader(which I succesfully have done), couldn't get my phone rooted so installed TWRP recovery for Lollipop(which was already installed when i bought the phone). Ended up with soft bricked phone(no OS, no recovery at all).
I tried different tutorials how to fix it, none of them worked(including that one unfortunatelly).
I have taken some pictures to show you what the problem is but cannot post them until reach 10 posts on forum
Basically, i can get into fastboot mode by holding volume down with power button. Windows and Hisuite don't recognise my device but in fastboot mode i can check devices connected. Typing "fastboot devices" i get "P6Q7M14A15008421 fastboot", which i guess is my device indeed.
After that i try flashing boot.img and recovery.img(which are reported OK). Then rebooting with 3 button(vol up and down, power) and Huawei logo screen appears for a bit and goes into white screen saying "rescue mode" and at the bottom: "Error Func NO: 10(FUNC_BOOT_RECOVERY) Error NO:2". Trying rebooting into recovery mode(vol up and power) it shows similar "recovery mode" screen but with different errors: "Error! Func NO:12(FUNC_LOAD_IOM3) Error NO:1".
That's it! It seems like i cannot flash my device successfully for some reason. What Windows version did you guys use?? I tried Win 8.0 and Win 10, maybe i should use older systems? Please help, i had my phone for a week only and broke it(
I can't help you much because I don't have enough knowledge about these kind of things.. I use Windows 7 and from my previous experiences I can say that working with Windows 8 can be frustrating. PS. I bricked my Mate 12hrs after buying it
muzammil84 said:
Hi everyone, I have the same problem with my mate 7, i was messing with unlocking bootloader(which I succesfully have done), couldn't get my phone rooted so installed TWRP recovery for Lollipop(which was already installed when i bought the phone). Ended up with soft bricked phone(no OS, no recovery at all).
I tried different tutorials how to fix it, none of them worked(including that one unfortunatelly).
I have taken some pictures to show you what the problem is but cannot post them until reach 10 posts on forum
Basically, i can get into fastboot mode by holding volume down with power button. Windows and Hisuite don't recognise my device but in fastboot mode i can check devices connected. Typing "fastboot devices" i get "P6Q7M14A15008421 fastboot", which i guess is my device indeed.
After that i try flashing boot.img and recovery.img(which are reported OK). Then rebooting with 3 button(vol up and down, power) and Huawei logo screen appears for a bit and goes into white screen saying "rescue mode" and at the bottom: "Error Func NO: 10(FUNC_BOOT_RECOVERY) Error NO:2". Trying rebooting into recovery mode(vol up and power) it shows similar "recovery mode" screen but with different errors: "Error! Func NO:12(FUNC_LOAD_IOM3) Error NO:1".
That's it! It seems like i cannot flash my device successfully for some reason. What Windows version did you guys use?? I tried Win 8.0 and Win 10, maybe i should use older systems? Please help, i had my phone for a week only and broke it(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like the wrong boot.img or recovery.img has been flashed. May I know what Mate 7 model you have and which Lollipop firmwre version your phone came last with?
Try to obtain boot.img and revoery.img for your lollipop version then flash that via fastboot
blitzkriegger said:
Sounds like the wrong boot.img -recovery.img has been flashed. May I know what Mate 7 model you have and which Lollipop firmwre version your phone came last with?
Try to obtain boot.img and revoery.img for your lollipop version then flash that via fastboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone mt7-09l, european version 16gb. Came with lollipop 5.1 when I bought it but I think I have formatted it via twrp recovery so it shouldn't matter what boot and recovery version I am trying to flash, should it? I'll extract boot and recovery from b308 today andtry that, see if this works. If not, only thing I can try is using win7 and that's it really, no more possibilities
dekraan said:
I've followed the guide you are reffering to. And I flashed the boot and recovery, and managed to get the roll back force installed. But for the life of me, I cannot get my phone to force install the B137 zip. I just can't get into force install mode. Are there tips or tricks? I am holding power up and down, and then press power untill I feel a short vibration. But all it does it show me the huawei logo screen and then shuts down again.
Very frustrating!
EDIT:
ok, I noticed that when my sd-card is not inserted, the phone easily boots into the force install mode. It shows the logo for a couple of seconds, screen goes black and then the force install loads. So this is what I did: insert the sd card half way, press vol up and down, and power on. Then after the logo when the screen goes black, insert the sd-card all the way and when the phone goes to force install mode, it can find the update!
Now installing.... hope this helps someone else out there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm stuck on this stage, no errors while flashing but no boot either. Shows logo then like a spark a bit of music and animation (1 sec maybe) and reboot, so on and on and on...
muzammil84 said:
My phone mt7-09l, european version 16gb. Came with lollipop 5.1 when I bought it but I think I have formatted it via twrp recovery so it shouldn't matter what boot and recovery version I am trying to flash, should it? I'll extract boot and recovery from b308 today andtry that, see if this works. If not, only thing I can try is using win7 and that's it really, no more possibilities
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were on Lollipop when everything went sour, you should do what I did, thanks to advice from @blitzkriegger:
You should flash B137SP03 firmware. You can also refer to this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate...tloop-t3132888
1.)Prepare the Stock B137SP03 firmware on your SD card
2.)Download the fastboot.zip guide and extract it to a separate folder.
3.) next connect your phone to your computer and go to fastboot mode.
4.) Flash the boot.img and recovery.img you find on that guide.
5.) Once done, do the force upgrade with the B137 firmware.
I used the full steps from the link in there: flashed the right boot and recovery through fastboot. Then I flashed the rollback zip from my sd-card, and then I flashed the B137 zip from my sd-card. I can't tell you more about it, obviously
brack11 said:
I'm stuck on this stage, no errors while flashing but no boot either. Shows logo then like a spark a bit of music and animation (1 sec maybe) and reboot, so on and on and on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been there, done that. Very frustrating! I've tried several things, none of which are probably the right way, but they worked for me. sometimes....
Can you get into stock recovery (vol+ and power)? What I tried several times was wipe cache, and then hold the powerbutton untill my phone turned off. That worked occasionally to get the device totally turned off. Then try to get to force update with your sd-card half way in, and flip it in totally when the logo dissapears and the screen is black. I also tried to shut down the constant starting up by going into fastboot/recovery mode and then holding power down. As long as it takes. Good luck! And hopefully someone can give you proper advice...
Okay so yesterday I decided to finally try to install TWRP to flash a custom rom on the system, but never thought it would give so much headache. My drivers were bad, the system locked and android 11 updating making the phone all sorts of bugs, I was anxious to get rid of it, and I did somehow. I was unable to flash TWRP into the recovery as the system partition type is different than usual for it seems, but the recovery partition was all weird, "no command" was stuck in the screen even after a hard reset through there. So I got Magisk and got Root and used Smart Flash to install TWRP through the running system and it landed successful. But when going to the recovery the TWRP screen was flickering, but I could send ADB commands yet and boot normally, I just couldn't access the recovery functions yet. So I flashed a different version of the TWRP with the IMG and the zip folder and nothing worked then I realized that maybe I should erase the partition before flashing it and then the murder. I found a tutorial on erasing stuff, but the whole process cost me more than twelve hours as I messed with so many things and was kinda learning the hows and dos.
But then I saw the command "fastboot erase system -w" that was a shortcut for all cleanup processes and I was wanting to wipe it again even to recover my google backup and be able to use my messenger apps. But it did erase, of course, the whole system and everything, simply destroying everything, but yet stuck in the fastboot screen. What I did? Well, I downloaded the TGRZ of an older version of xiaomi mi a3 firmware, the android 10, as I was tired and thought that maybe if I downgraded it I would get my phone to get rid of android 11 bugs and sleep for good till tomorrow, that is today. I ran the script to wipe anything and install the system over it and it did successfully, then the message "successfully installed, press any key to finish" but then the prompt closed and the phone tried to reboot but fell into a hard brick. The computer recognizes the device as the name "QUSB_BULK_CID:0411_SN:EFCF04FD" and the hardware ID "USB\VID_05C6&PID_9008" matches the original.
So is there anything I could do yet? Phone warranty ended in january and that's why I tried that process, it is any worth?
BillyWroth said:
Okay so yesterday I decided to finally try to install TWRP to flash a custom rom on the system, but never thought it would give so much headache. My drivers were bad, the system locked and android 11 updating making the phone all sorts of bugs, I was anxious to get rid of it, and I did somehow. I was unable to flash TWRP into the recovery as the system partition type is different than usual for it seems, but the recovery partition was all weird, "no command" was stuck in the screen even after a hard reset through there. So I got Magisk and got Root and used Smart Flash to install TWRP through the running system and it landed successful. But when going to the recovery the TWRP screen was flickering, but I could send ADB commands yet and boot normally, I just couldn't access the recovery functions yet. So I flashed a different version of the TWRP with the IMG and the zip folder and nothing worked then I realized that maybe I should erase the partition before flashing it and then the murder. I found a tutorial on erasing stuff, but the whole process cost me more than twelve hours as I messed with so many things and was kinda learning the hows and dos.
But then I saw the command "fastboot erase system -w" that was a shortcut for all cleanup processes and I was wanting to wipe it again even to recover my google backup and be able to use my messenger apps. But it did erase, of course, the whole system and everything, simply destroying everything, but yet stuck in the fastboot screen. What I did? Well, I downloaded the TGRZ of an older version of xiaomi mi a3 firmware, the android 10, as I was tired and thought that maybe if I downgraded it I would get my phone to get rid of android 11 bugs and sleep for good till tomorrow, that is today. I ran the script to wipe anything and install the system over it and it did successfully, then the message "successfully installed, press any key to finish" but then the prompt closed and the phone tried to reboot but fell into a hard brick. The computer recognizes the device as the name "QUSB_BULK_CID:0411_SN:EFCF04FD" and the hardware ID "USB\VID_05C6&PID_9008" matches the original.
So is there anything I could do yet? Phone warranty ended in january and that's why I tried that process, it is any worth?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should never try to install software for another board (mi mix 3 global is codenamed "perseus")...
If you are unable to reach fastboot and recovery, you may refer to this, since it sounds like your phone is in EDL mode:
Reboot to EDL mode from FASTBOOT!
Reboot to EDL mode from FASTBOOT! No more Test Point Method needed Technical Details: Redmi Note 3 support rebooting to EDL in Android Bootloader aboot module (the "reboot-edl" command) but fastboot utility doesn't recognize "reboot-edl" in the...
forum.xda-developers.com
I never encountered this issue so only do this if you're absolutely sure you have no other means of flashing anything on it (i.e. through fastboot), and use the appropriate firmware at all times for your specific model
CriGiu said:
You should never try to install software for another board (mi mix 3 global is codenamed "perseus")...
If you are unable to reach fastboot and recovery, you may refer to this, since it sounds like your phone is in EDL mode:
Reboot to EDL mode from FASTBOOT!
Reboot to EDL mode from FASTBOOT! No more Test Point Method needed Technical Details: Redmi Note 3 support rebooting to EDL in Android Bootloader aboot module (the "reboot-edl" command) but fastboot utility doesn't recognize "reboot-edl" in the...
forum.xda-developers.com
I never encountered this issue so only do this if you're absolutely sure you have no other means of flashing anything on it (i.e. through fastboot), and use the appropriate firmware at all times for your specific model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well it seems I recovered it back, I bricked it and somehow it just got into EDL mode without cable or opening it up. So I found a tutorial back on reddit showing how use GFIL to install the stock rom back. I used android 10 stock rom before bricking it, but as I just flashed everything on empty partitions it didn't work, it seems that the Qualcomm setup needs some kind of previous work to set everything up. Anyways I managed to boot it, but now I'm aware that I should use Lineage recovery instead of TWRP as Mi A3 support is lacking, that's why after installing it I got it flickering (no compatible version with the latest Android 11 firmware).
BillyWroth said:
well it seems I recovered it back, I bricked it and somehow it just got into EDL mode without cable or opening it up. So I found a tutorial back on reddit showing how use GFIL to install the stock rom back. I used android 10 stock rom before bricking it, but as I just flashed everything on empty partitions it didn't work, it seems that the Qualcomm setup needs some kind of previous work to set everything up. Anyways I managed to boot it, but now I'm aware that I should use Lineage recovery instead of TWRP as Mi A3 support is lacking, that's why after installing it I got it flickering (no compatible version with the latest Android 11 firmware).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello, im having maybe a similiar case with my phone (in this case its a MI A3) i installed "succefully" evolution x 6.3 on my phone and everthing was ok with a few bugs, the only problem was that mi cannot connect to internet, so i decided to restart the phone and now my phone just don't turn on, the power button don't respond and i cannot start up my phone and its just a black screen, if u remeber ¿can u pass the tutorial that u saw on reddit? maybe it can help me
What happened
Attempted to update from Android 11 > 12 using Magisk, following the steps here. This resulted in a bootloop.
I attempted to re-flash my old patched magisk boot image that I still had, and while it does boot, I have the following issues:
The issues
-I have no sound (which is at a system level and not a hardware level, I get errors depending which app I try to use, and videos will not play unless I mute them)
-I am not rooted
-I cannot update using the Android system updater; I get error "Something went wrong. To finish updating, restart your device". Restarting does not do anything (Note: It says "Update to Android 11" on the prompt, even though it says I'm currently using Android 11 RQ1A.210205.004)
-Upon boot it says "System UI is not responding", but I haven't noticed any issues related to this other than the popup.
What I've tried
-I tried patching a Magisk 12 boot image and flashing that with fastboot. When I do this, it boots to the fastboot menu with "Error Boot Prepare". I used Sunfish SQ1A, non-Verizon/non-Vodaphone versions, which I'm pretty sure is correct for my non-5g ATT Pixel4a. I also attempted the November release of 12, same results.
-Doing some research, it sounds like the "no sound, can't update" issue is fairly common when an update fails. A common fix I saw was to wipe the cache partition. When I booted to recovery mode, it says "No commands", so I cannot wipe from there. When I attempted "fastboot erase cache" I got error "FAILED (remove: 'Not allowed to erase (cache)'). Every search I did for this error says to enable OEM Unlocking in dev options, which was already enabled.
Not sure what else to try from here. I would be happy to either update to 12, or to keep 11 and just get my audio/root back.
Thanks
Continuing my research, I'm getting mixed results in regards to cached partition, and if it even exists for the 4a (meaning my attempts are pointless)
This article gives instructions on how to clear it (which don't work for me, but a lot of things aren't working on the phone at the moment haha)
Whereas THIS article states that systems with an A/B slot (like the 4a) do not have a cache partition.
To "get back to normal" I would probably dirty flash the version of Android 11 you had in before...
When I did the Android 12 update, I found lots of warnings that "dirty flashing" breaks from Android 11 to Android 12, so I didn't do my usual process. Instead, I sideloaded the full OTA package in order to do the upgrade. That might even work from your current state...
After the upgrade I used Magisk 23 (release, not canary) to patch the boot.img (which I extracted from the factory image), used fastboot boot patched.img and then used Magisk to install (direct). You can flash from fastboot but I don't do that.
My normal "dirty flash" upgrade looks like this:
1 download the factory image
2 extract it and the embedded zip until you have boot.img
3 send that to the phone and use Magisk manager to patch it. Send it back to the pc
4 replace the -w in the flash_all script with --skip-reboot. Add these 3 extra lines to the end.
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot boot patched.img
5 run the script
6 use Magisk manager to install (direct)
I attempted to sideload both the recent 11 OTA package, and the 12 OTA package. After each one, the results were the same, I got a generic error of "status 1" on the phone (fastboot on my computer completed fine without issues).
I then attempted your dirty flash method with a couple versions of android 11. Again, the script completed successfully each time, but I hit a bootloop when trying to start (G logo with the loading bar for 20+ minutes).
After this, I was completely unable to even flash my old magisk image that was working previously. That would result in the same bootloop.
I attempted the recovery menu option to perform a factory reset (i backed up everything previously). That said it completed, and then the same bootloop happened.
I went to the pixelrecovery site on chrome, and it just gets stuck on "checking software" until the site eventually times out.
Not sure where to go from there, I've pulled out my old phone to use in the meantime.
I finally managed to get it working, I used the android flash website via chrome. It failed the first time, but worked after that, and managed to get an Android 12 image booted. It made me re-lock my bootloader, and it also did a complete wipe (so me trying the failed factory reset earlier didn't mess me up anyway, apparently had to do it regardless).
From there I was able to go through the normal rooting steps, unlock bootloader, patch with magisk, fastboot flash boot magist_patched.img, everything is working fine now.
I feel like I must have done something wrong in the process to get it this broken, and unfortunately this isn't too much of a tutorial for anyone with the same problems (since I ended up essentially just wiping it and starting from scratch), but it is what it is.
Thank you for the suggestions!