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[Q] Need some guidance for updating PA4+Beta3

Hello,
I recently hopped over from stock to Paranoid Android 4 Beta (0).
This is my first experience messing around with the backend of Android, but I did jailbreak my iPhone a few times, I'd hope that helps my comprehension of all of this.
I currently have the Paranoid OTA installed, and it's telling me there are new versions,
I've downloaded the files and they are on the phone, but whenever I install it restarts and nothing happens. It stays on the current version, I'm doing the
I've been ticking to Backup, wipe the data, cache and dalvik but not the systen.
When it boots back up (it's instant, I'm still on beta(0).
Any help or guidance is appreciated, sorry if this is the wrong place!

phntem said:
Hello,
I recently hopped over from stock to Paranoid Android 4 Beta (0).
This is my first experience messing around with the backend of Android, but I did jailbreak my iPhone a few times, I'd hope that helps my comprehension of all of this.
I currently have the Paranoid OTA installed, and it's telling me there are new versions,
I've downloaded the files and they are on the phone, but whenever I install it restarts and nothing happens. It stays on the current version, I'm doing the
I've been ticking to Backup, wipe the data, cache and dalvik but not the systen.
When it boots back up (it's instant, I'm still on beta(0).
Any help or guidance is appreciated, sorry if this is the wrong place!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I´m guessing you have a custom recovery installed?.
Get the latest paranoid update from HERE and the latest gapps from HERE.
Boot into recovery and flash ROM GAPPS and if necessary SuperSU and then reboot. Should work.

lichti1901 said:
I´m guessing you have a custom recovery installed?.
Get the latest paranoid update from [removed] and the latest gapps from [removed]
Boot into recovery and flash ROM GAPPS and if necessary SuperSU and then reboot. Should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there Litchi,
Thanks for posting.
I'm so bad at this stuff, I used the Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh. I really am a bit clueless on what custom recoveries have been installed. What I can tell you is that I have Paranoid Android 4 Beta with the corresponding GAPPS.
I tried doing Clockword Mod for backups but eventually just stopped trying, and used the backup provided in the toolkit (nandroid I think).
I installed the Paranoid OTA hoping that it would take care of me having to do it through my PC again since the drivers were such a mess last time.
Could you just provide a bit more detail as to the steps I'd need to take for that? I hate being so illiterate at this stuff.
Really appreciate any more help you can give! Thanks.

phntem said:
Hi there Litchi,
Thanks for posting.
I'm so bad at this stuff, I used the Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh. I really am a bit clueless on what custom recoveries have been installed. What I can tell you is that I have Paranoid Android 4 Beta with the corresponding GAPPS.
I tried doing Clockword Mod for backups but eventually just stopped trying, and used the backup provided in the toolkit (nandroid I think).
I installed the Paranoid OTA hoping that it would take care of me having to do it through my PC again since the drivers were such a mess last time.
Could you just provide a bit more detail as to the steps I'd need to take for that? I hate being so illiterate at this stuff.
Really appreciate any more help you can give! Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really need to read the sticky at the top of this forum called [FAQ] [REF]★ All you need to know about Android | Read this before you post/root ! ★
It gives you all the information you need to know. We pretty much all here advise against using toolkits for the exact reason in your post, it leaves you knowing nothing about your system, what you have got or the knowledge to use it. These toolkits are seen as a shortcut, but please be aware, there are NO shortcuts
Please read through that thread a few times. Don't flash anything else until you understand the process, what you have got and how to use it. Please don't take this the wrong way but you are not ready to flash things yet. Even if you have already flashed something, there are holes in yoru knowledge that can have disastrous consequences.

rootSU said:
You really need to read the sticky at the top of this forum called [FAQ] [REF]★ All you need to know about Android | Read this before you post/root ! ★
It gives you all the information you need to know. We pretty much all here advise against using toolkits for the exact reason in your post, it leaves you knowing nothing about your system, what you have got or the knowledge to use it. These toolkits are seen as a shortcut, but please be aware, there are NO shortcuts
Please read through that thread a few times. Don't flash anything else until you understand the process, what you have got and how to use it. Please don't take this the wrong way but you are not ready to flash things yet. Even if you have already flashed something, there are holes in yoru knowledge that can have disastrous consequences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken,
Thanks for the help SU! I never really checked out this website, but I had seen the name around.
Appreciate the link.
Does anyone know why the Paranoid OTA application ITSELF isn't doing the work for me though?

phntem said:
None taken,
Thanks for the help SU! I never really checked out this website, but I had seen the name around.
Appreciate the link.
Does anyone know why the Paranoid OTA application ITSELF isn't doing the work for me though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may be an issue with the CWM recovery which is what I assume you have installed with the toolkit, as thats about standard...
In android, /sdcard on the nexus 5 isn't actually an /sdcard. /sdcard is actually /data/media/0 so whenever you are looking in what you think is in /sdcard, you're not... it's /data/media/0. It's been like this since 4.2 Jelly Bean, when multiuser support was added to android. The theory is there will be multiple /sdcards, for each user that logs in. The default user is use "0". With me so far?
Before multi-user support, /sdcard for devices with no physical sdcard, was simply /data/media. Now, CWM never bothered to update it's code to point to /data/media/0, so even today, basic CWM doesn't know the full location of your /sdcard. If the updater downloads the files to /sdcard (which it should), then tells CWM to look in /sdcard for the files to flash, the files cannot be seen because CWM is looking in the wrong place.
Essentially, you should look at ditching CWM and it's antiquated configuration in favour of Philz Recovery or TWRP. Both use /data/media/0 correctly as /sdcard

rootSU said:
It may be an issue with the CWM recovery which is what I assume you have installed with the toolkit, as thats about standard...
In android, /sdcard on the nexus 5 isn't actually an /sdcard. /sdcard is actually /data/media/0 so whenever you are looking in what you think is in /sdcard, you're not... it's /data/media/0. It's been like this since 4.2 Jelly Bean, when multiuser support was added to android. The theory is there will be multiple /sdcards, for each user that logs in. The default user is use "0". With me so far?
Before multi-user support, /sdcard for devices with no physical sdcard, was simply /data/media. Now, CWM never bothered to update it's code to point to /data/media/0, so even today, basic CWM doesn't know the full location of your /sdcard. If the updater downloads the files to /sdcard (which it should), then tells CWM to look in /sdcard for the files to flash, the files cannot be seen because CWM is looking in the wrong place.
Essentially, you should look at ditching CWM and it's antiquated configuration in favour of Philz Recovery or TWRP. Both use /data/media/0 correctly as /sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thanks for the patience and information.
Should I unroot and go back to stock via the toolkit, essentially resetting it all?
That's about the last question I have for you,
Appreciate the help!

phntem said:
Awesome thanks for the patience and information.
Should I unroot and go back to stock via the toolkit, essentially resetting it all?
That's about the last question I have for you,
Appreciate the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I would read that thread to understand the process and then download one of the alternative recoveries and get yourself to the point where you can fastboot flash the recovery

phntem said:
Awesome thanks for the patience and information.
Should I unroot and go back to stock via the toolkit, essentially resetting it all?
That's about the last question I have for you,
Appreciate the help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please forget the toolkit!
The only thing you need is fastboot.
download TWRP or CWM recovery.img and flash it in fastboot. Boot into bootloader, connect the device with usb cable to PC, open cmd in windows and type following:
fastboot devices Enter ... that should give you a number, means your device is connected
fastboot flash recovery nameofrecovery.img Enter .... that will flash the recovery of your choice to your device. Then from bootloader you can select with volume up + down to boot to recovery. Do that - in recovery you can select what you want to do. Flash rom + gapps + supersu and you are ready to go.
Here is a good link for learning how to use fastboot. beginners-guide-on-how-to-setup-and-use-fastboot/
Learning fastboot is highly recommended - its the same what fastboot does, with 1 difference --> you know what you do

How does a non-techy get Cyanogenmod installed on a Samsung Galaxy Ace 3?

Apologies if this is not really the place for this question but I don't know where else to go for an answer. I have just purchased a Z1 after years of putting up with Samsung bloatware etc and it has changed my life! I would like to transform my wife's phone experience as well. She can only really use a small phone and has been happy with her Ace 3 until recently, when it started to get slow and erratic. In desperation she has bought an iPhone 5 but this has not been a happy experience at all! I cannot find any new small Android phones that come with Cyanogen pre-installed so I am wondering if we can get it installed on her old Ace 3. From the discussions in this forum I guess this can be done but, not having any technical training in this subject, I really dont understand much of what is being said. I have no idea how to go about this.
So is there either a very simple manual on what to do or else a UK-based expert who can do this for me (for a fee, obviously)?

you can look from the android development section. but, it may vary to your phone model. there is a instructions to on how to install a cyanogenmod os on your ace 3. at least you are familliar with custom recoveries like cwm or twrp, you should install it first on your phone via odin in your pc.

You guys know so much
Hi, PAPlinskie, and thanks so much for getting back to me. I really appreciate it. I have looked at the page you refer to and I just don't understand it! (I don't know what cwm or twrp or Odin are) I guess you guys don't realise just how much you know. I suspect that the answer to my question is probably that there isn't an absolute layman's guide so I will probably have to look for someone to do it for me. Thanks for trying anyway.

Garth Horigan said:
Hi, PAPlinskie, and thanks so much for getting back to me. I really appreciate it. I have looked at the page you refer to and I just don't understand it! (I don't know what cwm or twrp or Odin are) I guess you guys don't realise just how much you know. I suspect that the answer to my question is probably that there isn't an absolute layman's guide so I will probably have to look for someone to do it for me. Thanks for trying anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first I didn't want to flash Custom ROM's on my phone for fear of breaking it... But All I had to do was just follow instructions to the "T" and I had no hiccups...
Okay, so lemme clear some things up for you.
Odin is an Application which you run on a Windows machine, (Your PC). It serves as a bridge to allow you to put custom software such as custom recoveries and allows you to fix a broken device (If the software is the problem)
TWRP & CWM are both custom recoveries. You can think of the stock recovery mode in Android like Safe Mode in Windows, It allows you to Wipe your entire phone or perform other recovery options if you are unable to access the phone when you turn it on. A custom recovery allows all these functions, but on top of that, allows you to flash (install) files to your phone, Like your CyanogenMod.
In a nutshell, if you want CyanogenMod on your Ace 3, you will have to:
1. Install drivers on your PC so that it recognises your phone
2. Using ODIN, flash a custom Recovery
3. Download a CyanogenMod port found here on the forums.
4. Install (Flash) it in your Custom recovery.
The guides here on XDA are really good, all you have to do is do your homework, read, understand and you will have no problems.
Good Luck with your quest on Custom ROMS:good:

The coward's way out!
Sayrian said:
At first I didn't want to flash Custom ROM's on my phone for fear of breaking it... But All I had to do was just follow instructions to the "T" and I had no hiccups...
Okay, so lemme clear some things up for you.
Odin is an Application which you run on a Windows machine, (Your PC). It serves as a bridge to allow you to put custom software such as custom recoveries and allows you to fix a broken device (If the software is the problem)
TWRP & CWM are both custom recoveries. You can think of the stock recovery mode in Android like Safe Mode in Windows, It allows you to Wipe your entire phone or perform other recovery options if you are unable to access the phone when you turn it on. A custom recovery allows all these functions, but on top of that, allows you to flash (install) files to your phone, Like your CyanogenMod.
In a nutshell, if you want CyanogenMod on your Ace 3, you will have to:
1. Install drivers on your PC so that it recognises your phone
2. Using ODIN, flash a custom Recovery
3. Download a CyanogenMod port found here on the forums.
4. Install (Flash) it in your Custom recovery.
The guides here on XDA are really good, all you have to do is do your homework, read, understand and you will have no problems.
Good Luck with your quest on Custom ROMS:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have taken the coward's way out. I went into my local neighbourhood PC techie shop and asked if they knew of a reliable local phone engineer who could install Cyanogen for me. The boss' assistant said he does that sort of thing for a hobby and was happy to do it for me in return for a donation to his drone fund! He seems to made a cracking job of it and my wife is overjoyed to have her Ace back in a turbo-charged state.
Many thanks for your help and I am only sorry I was not brave enough to act on it.

Garth Horigan said:
I have taken the coward's way out. I went into my local neighbourhood PC techie shop and asked if they knew of a reliable local phone engineer who could install Cyanogen for me. The boss' assistant said he does that sort of thing for a hobby and was happy to do it for me in return for a donation to his drone fund! He seems to made a cracking job of it and my wife is overjoyed to have her Ace back in a turbo-charged state.
Many thanks for your help and I am only sorry I was not brave enough to act on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's okay. We all know how daunting these things can be because you don't want to brick your device.
Maybe in the future you will be able to try it yourself.

Question TWRP coming?

Just saw the following article from XDA regarding TWRP v3.5 being released. I'm hopeful that this means that for devices that ship with Android 10 that TWRP will be able to decrypt the data partition in order to facilitate a complete backup.
That said, does anyone know how long it typically takes for TWRP to be supported on a new device (i.e. G-Stylus 2021)? Just curious what the norm is. Thanks!

That's a good question. I don't know how long it should take, but after reading the article you linked it seems that successfully porting TWRP to these newer phones will take a lot longer than on the older ones. Hopefully someone's already started working on TWRP 3.5 for the 2021 models, but I haven't heard any actual news on that yet.
I would love to be able to get a full backup of my device in case I really screw something up later on. If I had any level of programming skills I would certainly make an attempt at it myself.

DM.IDOL said:
That's a good question. I don't know how long it should take, but after reading the article you linked it seems that successfully porting TWRP to these newer phones will take a lot longer than on the older ones. Hopefully someone's already started working on TWRP 3.5 for the 2021 models, but I haven't heard any actual news on that yet.
I would love to be able to get a full backup of my device in case I really screw something up later on. If I had any level of programming skills I would certainly make an attempt at it myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd look around on github

THIS is a TEST build for the Moto G stylus XT2115-1 minsk_t
(please mind that i have never done this before and i am at least trying to figure out how to create custom recoveries. i just need a good teacher with a little time. .)​
*Touch Screen does not work. OTG mouse necessary.*
(not too sure how to fix this error)
*Mount points were for testing*
(modied fstab files in ramdisk to fix mount points)
*modified ramdisk and split_image from Moto G 9 plus unofficial 3.5.1 twrp*
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/recovery-unofficial-twrp-for-g9-plus-odessa.4195729/
i tried to put a recovery together for this device but im not sure where i went wrong or what to do next. booting into this recovery works but /vendor and /system_root have denied permissions. when it is flashed within twrp and rebooted to recovery or system the screen says no OS installed press power to power off. If anyone can help me figure this one out i would be greatly appreciative. If you need anything i can pull from my device just let me know. Anyone willing to help work on this recovery and figure out what needed to be fixed i would greatly appreciate it!
*EDIT*
i got /data to back without digest verification. Was not able to try to restore the backup as i got NO OS error when i rebooted to restore.
*EDIT*
i was able to figure out pretty much everything except the touch part of the recovery. it has a novatek_ts (NVT-ts)
not sure what to do to enable the drivers for twrp. any feed back would be great.
*EDIT*
Found the driver. I'll post it here and see what you can do. I'll also work on it as I'm still learning where stuff should go in the recovery. And also seems to b that i cannot access external sd from twrp either.
*EDIT*
resolved sd card issues. mountpoint was incorrect. only thing left to get working is touchscreen and not have to use otg mouse.
updated twrp for minsk_t is in files now.
*EDIT*
I found the proper elements to configure the recovery's touchscreen capabilities. Will be recompiling later on today. After I have tested it I will post the new working TWRP recovery. Thanks everybody.

*deleted*

sosthenisRR said:
*deleted*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this is fully functioning now right? Is there any reason to use this over the OrangeFox recovery that has been posted?
Also, if I did install OrangeFox, and decided I wanted to install this later, would it be as simple as flashing using fastboot from ADB, overtop of OrangeFox? Or would the procedure be a little more complex?

Brick. Stuck at "Qualcomm Crashdump"

Hi all,
My op6 is stuck, unable to reboot normally with the famous Qualcomm Crashdump mode message.
The phone has the bootloader unlocked, with TWRP recovery.
1 day ago I could access the recovery even reboot with the power+volume buttons, but it got to a point where it crashes all the time, unable to do anything.
Currently is only able to enter fastboot mode.
I have heard about the MSMDownload Tool.
- Does this tool keep the files/data in the internal memory?
For me the most important thing is to be able to recover the data.
The qualcom dumpcrash mode returns several different messages like:
- stack-protector kernel stack is corrupted in:--schedule*0xB90/OXOd0 (not exact numbers)
- fatal exceptinforece_signalinject.isra.8
Is there any chance of trying something?
I am extremely anxious and worried about the situation
Please help.

Ganapatya said:
Hi all,
My op6 is stuck, unable to reboot normally with the famous Qualcomm Crashdump mode message.
The phone has the bootloader unlocked, with TWRP recovery.
1 day ago I could access the recovery even reboot with the power+volume buttons, but it got to a point where it crashes all the time, unable to do anything.
Currently is only able to enter fastboot mode.
I have heard about the MSMDownload Tool.
- Does this tool keep the files/data in the internal memory?
For me the most important thing is to be able to recover the data.
The qualcom dumpcrash mode returns several different messages like:
- stack-protector kernel stack is corrupted in:--schedule*0xB90/OXOd0 (not exact numbers)
- fatal exceptinforece_signalinject.isra.8
Is there any chance of trying something?
I am extremely anxious and worried about the situation
Please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to start: it's good thing that you can get into fastboot mode. From there you should be able to do a complete re-install of your device, e.g. using the official LineageOS instructions.
Now to your situation: unfortunately you don't write too much about it like, is your phone running stock OOS or some custom ROM? If it's a custom ROM I'd say you open a topic in the according thread. Then: how much do you know about flashing recoveries, ROMs etc.
Regarding your data: in your current situation it may be extremely difficult if not impossible to secure any personal data now. How I understand it you cannot access the crucial partitions from the bootloader, at least I never heard of methods to get there. Although, people more knowledgeable than me may know of ways. So I do hope you are having recent backups at hand, on your PC or where-ever.
In that case I would start all over (and that's how I got out of a similar situation several months ago): flash recovery, flash latest OOS to both slots, factory reset / wipe everything (to remove any encrypted data you won't be able to access anyways), flash you ROM of choice incl. other part like GAPPS, if needed, do basic setup and then finally try to recover anything that is in you backups.
I wish you a lot of patience and good luck, you'll need it, I'm afraid.

lm089 said:
to start: it's good thing that you can get into fastboot mode. From there you should be able to do a complete re-install of your device, e.g. using the official LineageOS instructions.
Now to your situation: unfortunately you don't write too much about it like, is your phone running stock OOS or some custom ROM? If it's a custom ROM I'd say you open a topic in the according thread. Then: how much do you know about flashing recoveries, ROMs etc.
Regarding your data: in your current situation it may be extremely difficult if not impossible to secure any personal data now. How I understand it you cannot access the crucial partitions from the bootloader, at least I never heard of methods to get there. Although, people more knowledgeable than me may know of ways. So I do hope you are having recent backups at hand, on your PC or where-ever.
In that case I would start all over (and that's how I got out of a similar situation several months ago): flash recovery, flash latest OOS to both slots, factory reset / wipe everything (to remove any encrypted data you won't be able to access anyways), flash you ROM of choice incl. other part like GAPPS, if needed, do basic setup and then finally try to recover anything that is in you backups.
I wish you a lot of patience and good luck, you'll need it, I'm afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply.
is your phone running stock OOS or some custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock OOS, android 10, last release.
Then: how much do you know about flashing recoveries, ROMs etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have basic experience installing customs roms, rooting, twrp, unlock fastboot...following tutorials, of course.
Regarding your data: in your current situation it may be extremely difficult if not impossible to secure any personal data now. How I understand it you cannot access the crucial partitions from the bootloader, at least I never heard of methods to get there. Although, people more knowledgeable than me may know of ways. So I do hope you are having recent backups at hand, on your PC or where-ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here someone says that in theory it would be possible if you have the usb debugging enable, but silly me I had it open but I deactivated it I think, so I'm not sure if I have access or not.
OnePlus 6 Stuck At "Qualcomm Crashdump" Screen All A Sudden | Data Retrieval Critical
Hi good people at XDA. This is my first post on this website and I am absolutely hoping to receive help from you all to find a way out of the depressing and extremely anxious situation I'm in. I was using my OP6 normally today and while I was...
forum.xda-developers.com
Code:
adb devices
mkdir "C:\RECOVERED_DATA"
adb pull /sdcard C:\RECOVERED_DATA
and then finally try to recover anything that is in you backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but if I do all that flashing process any backups that are in the internal memory will be erased, right?
I had photos, files, whatsapp chat history, documents...etc and they were all in the internal memory. It is not a great loss but it is important for me to be able to recover it.
in your current situation it may be extremely difficult if not impossible to secure any personal data now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for me it is more important to recover the files than to recover the phone. your words are discouraging
I have read other posts and maybe being able to install on top (dirty install) the same rom I have, would leave the system as it, is being able to access my files. Not even installing the whole rom but extracting the boot image from the rom and then installing it. but I don't know if I can install a rom or boot image from fastboot, or if I need to have a working TWRP first.
It is said here:
- https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...over-without-data-loss.4080725/#post-82257413
- https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...over-without-data-loss.4080725/#post-82261087

Ganapatya said:
your words are discouraging
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
of course that is not my intention. I just try to be realistic
As I wrote in my post, my knowledge is quite basic. I know what I read , and what I experienced with my different devices. So again: you may find instructions and real-life stories showing you ways out of there.
My experience is that you cannot connect your OP6 phone to your PC via ADB while in bootloader / fastboot mode.
a) It's either one or the other: bootloader <=> fastboot or recovery / system <=> adb. Other devices may have different options but we're not talking about Samsung but about OP.
b) I did some additional research last night but I couldn't find a single source talking about *read* access to user data from fastboot. All you can do there is flash i.e. overwrite partitions
c) keep in mind that most probably your personal data are encrypted. So even if you find a way to access your personal data from bootloader / fastboot you may not be able to read it
d) I never used MSMtool, never had to. But I did some more research about it. It looks as if you could re-flash stock ROM using that tool but to the cost of wiping everything. At least that is what the tutorials I found are saying
That said I'd say you don't have much to lose and can go trying out some things.
From my experience the qualcomm crashdump error can have it's source in a malfunctioning recovery solution; I had that when flashing a wrong TWRP version that would not be in harmony with the previously flashed OOS firmware.
From what I read our devices don't have a separate recovery partition, instead it somehow lives somewhere/somehow in the boot partition (experts: please don't crucify me if that is wrong ). So if that is the case one idea would be to extract the boot image from the stock ROM image then flash that to /boot/ from fastboot. Don't know whether that really works and helps, but in theory you would have a default boot partition and kernel *without* a conflicting recovery solution.
In case you're successful you may be able to boot into system and make backups of everything that's valuable to you.
Again: this is extremely wild guessing here, and you'll have to read in a bit on how to properly extract parts of the ROM image.
I also would *strongly* recommend that you continue asking for help in a more technical thread like the LOS19.1 one or Funk Wizard's thread about unlocking and flashing our OP6.
I wish you all luck you need!

I think your best bet it a HW solution, get someone to:
1. replace the modem IC, it's the possible cause of the qualcomm crash
2. solder a direct connection to the internal memory so you can recover your data

The struggle... (64 bit recovery porting)

I've got the Oukitel WP16 which a 64 bit and has an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 MT6771V on Android 11. Actually a pretty decent rugged phone. Originally tried to root it through fastboot and bricked it about 2 weeks after getting it. For the life of me, I couldn't bring it back to life. Finally after 4 months of it just sitting in a drawer, I went about flashing it to bring it back to life a little differently than I was before and it stuck. Very thankful that it was working again because in those months I had destroyed 3 of your average break if you touch them phones. However me being me, getting it going again wasn't enough. So I gave rooting it a try again. Got it! Rooted with Magisk. Now because I have one of those devices I believe is under rated and under developed, I can't find any kind of development done on it whatsoever and want to build/port TWRP so I'm able to try a GSI ROM. My problem is that every tutorial I read or watch has nothing like what is my stock ROM. Either names of files are different or I find the files in other folders, I've got more folders than what I'm trying to port, and, I would need to double check again, but I wanna say that I've even found them in different partitions. So my question is, what do I do? Like fstab is not in the recovery but in something else. That something else that has fstab in it, my port doesn't have that folder at all. And there are others like that. I've tried several, I repeat SEVERAL different tutorials and cannot figure out what to do. I know it's beyond the capabilities of the tool, but I even tried one of those Hovatek port tools. Obviously didn't work because of the kernel. So to say I'm lost is an understatement. This isn't the first phone I've tried this with. Had another 64 bit with the same chipset that actually had a unofficial TWRP built for it. But when it came to try to port a ROM, I was left with files in different folders and things that weren't in the ROM i was trying to port. I eventually just have up because I kind of had to since scuba diving with the phone here in the Mexican Caribbean finally took it's toll on the phones external hardware. But yeah, back to my only question. What do I do in this situation? I'm mainly concerned about it because this WP16 has a night vision camera on it which I use quite often and don't want to lose that. Recovery has nothing to do with the camera but the ROM I'd like to port will. So figuring out what to do with the recovery could eventually lead me to my answer with the ROM. Anyway, kind of a long winded explanation just to get to what may seem like a simple question to some. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

finnroth69 said:
I've got the Oukitel WP16 which a 64 bit and has an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 MT6771V on Android 11. Actually a pretty decent rugged phone. Originally tried to root it through fastboot and bricked it about 2 weeks after getting it. For the life of me, I couldn't bring it back to life. Finally after 4 months of it just sitting in a drawer, I went about flashing it to bring it back to life a little differently than I was before and it stuck. Very thankful that it was working again because in those months I had destroyed 3 of your average break if you touch them phones. However me being me, getting it going again wasn't enough. So I gave rooting it a try again. Got it! Rooted with Magisk. Now because I have one of those devices I believe is under rated and under developed, I can't find any kind of development done on it whatsoever and want to build/port TWRP so I'm able to try a GSI ROM. My problem is that every tutorial I read or watch has nothing like what is my stock ROM. Either names of files are different or I find the files in other folders, I've got more folders than what I'm trying to port, and, I would need to double check again, but I wanna say that I've even found them in different partitions. So my question is, what do I do? Like fstab is not in the recovery but in something else. That something else that has fstab in it, my port doesn't have that folder at all. And there are others like that. I've tried several, I repeat SEVERAL different tutorials and cannot figure out what to do. I know it's beyond the capabilities of the tool, but I even tried one of those Hovatek port tools. Obviously didn't work because of the kernel. So to say I'm lost is an understatement. This isn't the first phone I've tried this with. Had another 64 bit with the same chipset that actually had a unofficial TWRP built for it. But when it came to try to port a ROM, I was left with files in different folders and things that weren't in the ROM i was trying to port. I eventually just have up because I kind of had to since scuba diving with the phone here in the Mexican Caribbean finally took it's toll on the phones external hardware. But yeah, back to my only question. What do I do in this situation? I'm mainly concerned about it because this WP16 has a night vision camera on it which I use quite often and don't want to lose that. Recovery has nothing to do with the camera but the ROM I'd like to port will. So figuring out what to do with the recovery could eventually lead me to my answer with the ROM. Anyway, kind of a long winded explanation just to get to what may seem like a simple question to some. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Your device already have TWRP [Firmware version: OUKITEL_WP16_RU_V04_20220621 ] but you not need Custom Recovery for install GSI. Use stock recovery.
About GSI with a night vision camera support so is much expensive solving that. You can try but need very experience and patience of the tests and solutions.

lopestom said:
Seriously? Thank you! I'm guessing the link is gonna be in 4pda being that it's Russian? I've spent a month searching and haven't found anything whatsoever. And since I don't read Russian, I always overlook 4pda even though it's been a great resource in the past. And yes, I'm aware you don't "need" custom recovery for GSI's. It does make things a little easier for me though.
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Click to collapse

The recovery issue will be solved since there is a recovery out there. That still doesn't solve the mystery and problem i have of files being in different places though. In that case what do I do if the files isn't in the same place in the port as it is in the stock, or the other way around? Add the stock file to the same folder it is in for the port? Or should I make a new folder in the port that's name is the same as in the stock? If neither, what do I do?

finnroth69 said:
Seriously? Thank you! I'm guessing the link is gonna be in 4pda being that it's Russian? I've spent a month searching and haven't found anything whatsoever. And since I don't read Russian, I always overlook 4pda even though it's been a great resource in the past. And yes, I'm aware you don't "need" custom recovery for GSI's. It does make things a little easier for me though.
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No! Search my repository in the github in the release option.
finnroth69 said:
The recovery issue will be solved since there is a recovery out there. That still doesn't solve the mystery and problem i have of files being in different places though. In that case what do I do if the files isn't in the same place in the port as it is in the stock, or the other way around? Add the stock file to the same folder it is in for the port? Or should I make a new folder in the port that's name is the same as in the stock? If neither, what do I do?
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As I wrote before, it is very difficult to solve issues like the original stock ROM camera. There are even one or two people who managed to get this to work.
Now what you don't understand: If you want a Custom ROM, use GSI and adapt, solve, analyze and test by changing some stock ROM files in GSI. You must understand that you need experience and time. You can even compile a Custom ROM - any GSI - specifically for your device. So you just need to have the source code of your device, have the GSI source code and know how to compile the file so that you can do the tests. Again, you must understand that you need experience and time.
If you haven't researched what is GSI and still think that Custom ROMs portability that happened before until Android 7.1 then look, read and update yourself.
In your questions, be as detailed as possible. You write a lot of parts and you scramble the words.
As for having GSI normally I already wrote where there is an instruction to install and you follow. As for TWRP, look it up on my github.
As for solving something in the GSI, if you managed to install it and still used the phh options to try to fix any bad part, then it is only you who will be able to solve any error/adaptation/bug/extra installations that there.

Trust me when I say I understand what you're saying. I have done some testing I have watched tutorials, I have studied. but everything that I have seen is basically switching a file from a folder on the stock ROM to a folder in the ported ROM with the same name as what's in the stock ROM, and possibly adding a little script to something. What I'm trying to figure out is what I asked. Fstab is not in recovery on my phone's stock ROM. It is in something else. But fstab is in and a part of recovery for TWRP. So even though there might be a TWRP for my phone doesn't help me to know if I should be creating that same folder that's in my stock ROM in the ported one for fstab or other files that are like it. I have downloaded the TWRP from your profile and I've gone to the 4pda and discovered that you're the dev who ported it with and without encryption. Nice work and thank you! I would like to move beyond being a flash baby though. So I'm simply trying asking that one specific question to help me learn because it is something I am lost on. Whether it is to port recovery, port a ROM, or whatever, I don't know what to do when the location of the files I need to port from the stock aren't matching with the with the location of the files in the port itself. Fstab is just one example. I'm gonna send you a friend request. Later when I fire up my laptop, I'll take screenshots to physically show you exactly what I mean. Please be patient and don't get upset at me for trying to learn. As well as please take your time in responding. It's no rush since I've got a business to run and this is something I'm trying to teach myself on the side. It really is something I'm lost on, and if I'm lost on it, how many others has it confused as well?

As for the camera app issue. We can forget I asked that also. I understand completely what you're saying about it being far beyond my reach right now. Thank you for the heads up on that.

Mr. Lopestom can you please help me with your recovery images? I cannot seem to get any of them to boot. I've tried the with script found on 4pda, without that script, I've tried flashing an empty vbmeta, but nothing is getting the images to boot. See attachment for script I'm talking about. Attachment only shows me running it, but I have tried without.

What sense does it make to flash an empty VBMETA ? You typically pull the existing VBMETA and pass this file to Fastboot what rewrites 2 bytes in that file.

finnroth69 said:
Mr. Lopestom can you please help me with your recovery images? I cannot seem to get any of them to boot. I've tried the with script found on 4pda, without that script, I've tried flashing an empty vbmeta, but nothing is getting the images to boot. See attachment for script I'm talking about. Attachment only shows me running it, but I have tried without.
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The problem is not in the vbmeta file. You can use this one if you can: Post in thread 'Looking for a walkthrough on installing a custom ROM on a BLU G90 PRO' https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...om-rom-on-a-blu-g90-pro.4253737/post-85180967
The big fact is that the company put a recovery.img stock file inside /vendor/etc/ and you should know how to deal with it. So only removing this recovery.img and repacking modified vendor.img made by u; install that in your device so you can have TWRP.

jwoegerbauer said:
What sense does it make to flash an empty VBMETA ? You typically pull the existing VBMETA and pass this file to Fastboot what rewrites 2 bytes in that file.
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I'm not sure to be honest with you. Like I told lopestom, I'm just trying to teach myself as I can in my free time. A lot of what I do is imitate what I see or read. While reading post about flashing twrp i had read something about flashing an empty vbmeta file.