Related
This guide is intended to be an all-in-one resource for people coming to Samsung phones after using other devices. It is a general introduction to the S4 and a glossary/explanation of terms you may see here in the forums.
This thread is slightly out of date but the info is still good, I will be updating again soon!!! Remember to hit thanks if this was useful
Disclaimer "Just because I am trying to be helpful does not make me responsible for anything that you do to your phone. Playing with any of this stuff could destroy your phone"
The layout of this post is as follows:
Welcome
FAQ
Glossary of terms
First off, welcome to XDA
The XDA community is home to the most talented and helpful phone developers on the planet.
These developers spend lots of their free time working on making all of our phones better. You should be nice and respectful to them and follow the rules. WHY? If the statement above isn’t enough reason then think selfishly, the less time they are dealing with redundant questions, the more time they have to develop stuff for all of us!
Help them help you by following the following basic rules:
1.If you are confused or have a question, the first thing to do is READ! Read lots, look things up both on xda and using google.
2.If after searching you still have not answered your question, then post in the Q&A forum.
3.Asking for ETAs on ROMs, updates, etc. is considered rude.. DON’T DO IT!
4.Don’t report bugs to a developer unless:
a.You know 100% that it hasn’t already been reported,
b.You know how to reproduce it
c.You can get a logcat of the problem (more on this later)
Some advice if you are new to all this and don’t want to ruin your phone:
1.Be patient. Don’t be the first or even the tenth person to flash anything. Wait until you see others using whatever Rom or kernel with success.
2.If you have any doubts about what you are doing, read more. Don’t flash.
3.Make sure you are in the forum for your device, not some similar or related device.
FAQ:
Q. Is my bootloader locked?
A. Only if you have an AT&T or Verizon phone
******* Info for AT&T users *******
Q. What is LOKI?
A. Loki is an exploit for phones with locked boot loader that allows us to bypass the locked boot loader in order to install custom roms or recoveries. More Loki info down below
Q. Whats the deal with MF3?
A. MF3 is the current firmware from AT&T that comes on any new phone. Your phone may also auto update to MF3 if you are not careful. MF3 patched the ability to use Loki to install custom roms/recoveries so if you are on MF3 things are much more difficult.
Q. How can I keep my phone from updating to MF3?
A. If you want to avoid the update, you should root your phone and freeze the following three apps using titanium backup or some similar app.
1. AT&T Software update Vxx_x_xxxx_x_x
2. FWUpgrade x.x.x
3. LocalFOTA vx_xxxx_x_x
Why flash?
by flashing your device you can make your phone act differently, look different, and enable new or disabled options. you could ,for example:
enable native tethering
enable call recording
change the look of your phone
add custom toggle buttons
overclock or undervolt
increase battery life
etc..
Kernel vs Rom vs Recovery vs Modem
Kernel is the layer between the phone hardware and the rom. it controls things like Wi-Fi power, touch sensitivity, possible range of screen brightness, phone logging, and processor max and min speed. kernel must be designed not only for your device but also for the type of rom you are using (Sammy rom or Aosp) some kernels support all roms, others are specific.
Rom is the operating system of your phone. there are three main categories of roms.
roms that are based off of the Samsung stock rom (Sammy rom)
roms that are based off of Android open source project aka AOSP (AOSP, AOKP)
roms based off of the miui project (these used to be a branch of AOSP but recently they have also used Sammy base for miui)
recovery is a partition that you can access at boot by holding down a combination of keys. (volume up and home button in the case of our sgs4) every phone has recovery stock but it doesn't do much. you can replace stock with clockwork mod recovery which is extremely useful for flashing all kinds of things and making backups before you do. There are other alternative recoveries besides clockwork but that seems to be the most common. TWRP is also gaining popularity these days. You can easily switch between recoveries and or upgrade your current recovery. All that needs to happen is for a new image to be flashed onto the recovery partition. See the rooting guide for more info on how to flash a custom recovery.
modem is a file that controls the cell radio of the phone. Helps determine what frequencies to use and settings for a particular network. It is important when flashing a radio that you flash a radio that is for the AT&T sgs4
Methods for flashing files - Odin vs mobile Odin vs. clockworkmod(cwm) vs adb
Odin is the internal Samsung tool for flashing. I believe it only exists on Windows platform. This tool is mostly used to initially flash an insecure kernel or rooted kernel, OR to return to completely stock rom.. Files for flashing in odin generally should end in .tar or .tar.md5 although sometimes they come zipped and the tar is inside the zip. Read more about Odin before using it as it can easily break your phone. !!!as a general rule make sure you never check the "partition" checkbox EVER!!!
Mobile Odin (THIS TOOL DOES NOT SUPPORT ALL S4 MODELS...make sure you check that it specifically works with yours first. I think at this time it works on your phone unless you have locked bootloader but STILL DOUBLE CHECK) is a phone based version of Odin made by the very talented developer Chainfire. It can be installed on a rooted phone and used to flash the same .tar based files as the desktop version. Mobile odin has a few advantages. 1 you can use it from your phone. 2 it can auto root a stock rom (nice if you want to try out a brand new update that has not been rooted yet)
clockworkmod(cwm) or TWRP is recovery based tool that can make backups of your entire phone, flash new roms, kernels etc.., and do many other useful tasks. Once you have this on your phone my guess is that most of your flashing will be done through this tool. The files for flashing through clockworkmod are .zip files.
ADB is the android develpment bridge. It allows for command line interface with your phone through its debugging options. ADB can do most anything as I understand it. In my several years of flashing I have only had to use it once, and i could have waited for someone to come up with another solution. In general as a noob i recommend you stay away from ADB.
open source vs Samsung base(aka Touchwiz or TW) vs miui
Open Source Roms such as AOSP/AOKP are built using Google's open source android code as a base. The developers then add functionality specific to the device. The advantages of these builds are that they often have tons of options built in to the rom that change the behavior and look of the phone. They usually allow you to change the toggles in your notification pull down, change the battery display, make all kinds of adjustments to sounds, vibration etc... Some people also prefer the "vanilla" android look and feel. These roms often provide "bleeding edge" concepts, design, and modifications. The Disadvantages of these roms is that some of the hardware coding is done closed source by the phone manufacturers, which means that things like Infrared, bluetooth, camera, video recording, and MHL video out often don't work or take much longer to get working by the developers. Basically anything that relies on the Samsung framework will not work in an open source build. This means Svoice, Snote, and the Samsung camera app will not work.
Samsung based roms (aka Touchwiz/TW) are taken from the Samsung original phone software and modified by the developer. Usually, these roms are modified in order to be faster and to make changes to some of the features. Expect to see changes to the stock rom like: debloated (ATT and samsung software removed), de-odexed (explained later), enable tethering, unlimited sms recipients, added notification toggles, etc. Most of these changes are made to: make the phone faster, improve battery life, make the phone easier to theme. The advantage of these roms is that they still use the Samsung framework so all the proprietary stuff like camera, bluetooth, MHL still work, the disadvantage is that they will never be as customisable as open source roms.
MIUI is a rom that focuses on theming. Official MIUI (Chinese) gets updated weekly on Friday and then there are lots of miui developers who adapt it to other languanges and make some tweaks to it. MIUI can be built from AOSP source or Samsung source and depending will have different features. The first MIUI rom for our phone just appeared in these forums and it is based off of AOSP. MIUI has a unique look and is also highly customizable through theming. There are tons of themes available for download through the rom itself and you can mix and match any part of any theme you want. This includes icons, lockscreen style, etc.. Some people criticize while others praise MIUI for being very "iphone like". This is because the icons look more iphone like and there is no app drawer in the MIUI launcher. However, you can still use any launcher you like within MIUI.
odexed vs de-odexed
odexed is how the phone comes stock from Samsung. Odexed means that system files and apps are split into two pieces and kept in different places on the phone. This is done to speed things up a bit. However, it makes it harder to theme the phone because the apps are split up. Most custom roms choose to de-odex (basically regroup the files back into one) so that custom themers can make themes more easily for the phone.
Flashing "dirty" vs flashing "clean"
Clean
Doing a clean install of a rom means erasing or formatting all the data from the previous rom before you flash the new one. This is the prefered way to flash a rom to ensure that it will run smoothly. It is necessary if you are switching from one rom type to another (CM to Samsung base). In order to do a clean flash you need to boot into recovery and select the following options: wipe user data (this wipes all apps and personal data, but not your photos/videos), wipe cache, advanced>wipe dalvik cache, storage/mounts>format system. This will ensure that no trace of the former rom is left on the phone. Beware that at this point your phone will not boot until you install a new rom. I suggest using titanium backup to backup apps and smsbackup+ for texts to make getting your new rom configured easy.
Dirty
Doing a dirty install means just flashing a new rom right over the top of the old one without wiping any data. The advantage to this is that you don't lose any apps or account info. The disadvantage is that you open up the possibility for problems. Generally you only want to flash this way if you are upgrading a rom (CM10 nightly to the next nightly, or from one samsung based rom to another). If you decide to flash over the top and have any issues, you should not report bugs, but try flashing clean first.
Logcat
Logcat is a way to access the android system log for everything that is going on behind the scenes. This tool is used to help developers pinpoint problems in a rom. If you want to actually be helpful to a dev when reporting a bug, you should really learn to use this tool. I am no expert on logcat but you can find some good information in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1726238
What is the Bootloader?
The bootloader is basically what it sounds like...it loads the boot image of the device. Basically it is one of the first things to run on the phone and it shows the phone where to find the boot image and how to start. The bootloader is also responsible for allowing access to the recovery part of the phone.
Locked Bootloader?
This seems to confuse a lot of users so here goes: The AT&T and Verizon versions of our phone have a locked bootloader. What does this mean? To the noob, it means that the devs had to figure out how to bypass or unlock this part of the phone in order to be able to boot custom recoveries such as CWM and TWRP. Getting a custom recovery means being able to backup the phone as well as flash custom roms. Luckily for us, Djrbliss (make sure and thank him! his thread is here:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292157) figured out how to bypass the locked bootloader. The exploit he used is known as Loki. Please remember that the loki exploit is not the same thing as unlocking the bootloader, it is a bypass/trick. AT&T and Verizon have fixed the exploit that allowed loki to work in there newest firmware. Loki patch will not work for MF3 firmware or later.
Loki
refers to the exploit that allows us to run custom recoveries as well as custom roms. You only need to have a loki'd rom if you have a model with a locked bootloader (AT&T). Thankfully, you can install a custom recovery that will auto-Loki any rom you flash so that you can install almost any rom built for our model phone (see below). I strongly recommend flashing an auto loki recovery if you have a phone with locked bootloader. I use this one here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2291956
Compatible Roms
you should be able to run any rom built for AT&T, TMobile, or the I9505 international model (NOT I9500!!) as long as you flash with an auto loki recovery. You can check out this thread for more info. Make sure and thank TheAxman! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2295557
You may have to manually set the APN. If you encounter problems with the rom look in that roms thread for answers.
Sticky!!
Well damn, I thought I knew a lot, but after reading this thread, I really didn't. Well done. :good:
Incredible resource for those coming in from a different ecosystem.
Thanks much!!
Thread stuck!! Nice work!
Got my new At&t Samsung Galaxy S4 and this will definitely help me!!
this is another thread that really helped me as well these two have really helped me so far i have rooted several divices and just relied on everyone else and not i am starting to take a lot more of an interest ant these threads have been the most helpful
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42055644#post42055644
WoW
Great work! I'm sure this thread will be very helpful to a lot of people (Myself included). Tanks bro! :victory:
More! More! :d
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
KINGDROID25 said:
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly are you trying to do?
If you want to install a custom ROM or kernel, you need a custom recovery. The ROM or Kernel developer will have LOKI-fied it for you.
For TWRP (my custom recovery of choice) Download GooManager from the Play Store and install.
Inside the goo.im app, go to menu>Install OpenRecovery Script
then you can boot into recovery to apply kernels, ROMs, etc to your hearts desire
joeybear23 said:
What exactly are you trying to do?
If you want to install a custom ROM or kernel, you need a custom recovery. The ROM or Kernel developer will have LOKI-fied it for you.
For TWRP (my custom recovery of choice) Download GooManager from the Play Store and install.
Inside the goo.im app, go to menu>Install OpenRecovery Script
then you can boot into recovery to apply kernels, ROMs, etc to your hearts desire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its tht ez just root and add custom recovery??.. The whole loki thing is what's been throwing me off
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
KINGDROID25 said:
Its tht ez just root and add custom recovery??.. The whole loki thing is what's been throwing me off
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes... the difficult part is if you are a developer. They make our lives much easier.
joeybear23 said:
Yes... the difficult part is if you are a developer. They make our lives much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx ima root tonight I jus need to get a copy of the stock firmware
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
KINGDROID25 said:
Thanx ima root tonight I jus need to get a copy of the stock firmware
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock Firmware:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
That is a HUGE download, but the process is simple.
im not a newb but i need to boost my post count lol...soooo spam
KINGDROID25 said:
I've been searching high and low ive read everything and maybe im not understanding but after I root my phone how do I do the whole loki thing??... I'm eager to start flashing roms... Ive read of some recoveries that do this is that an accurate assessment??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have updated the OP to explain Loki, hope that helps :good:
Noob here first time posting I rooted my phone and installed cwm using casual method, created backup and installed mint rom love it but after a couple of post I see I didn't backup EFS should I be worried?
I'm not sure what the deal is with backing up the IMEI number on our phones yet. I have not seen anyone post about losing their IMEI yet so I wouldn't be too worried. On the s3 only the international model phones could be backed up by saving the efs folder. The backup process for AT&T phones was much more complex. I assume the same holds true on the s4. Will update when I find out more
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
I wanted to make sure Thx. Is it to late to back EFS or can I just restore my backup and do it?
Hi,
I have a very basic question with regards to Android OS. Why can't we easily update the Android OS to newest version; just like we do it for say a Windows PC? I understand that there are hardware limitations for OS updates.. similar to say for example Win7 not supporting older hardware. But if want to update to the newest android version for my phone.. why are there "custom ROMs" posted in forums? What are the contents that go in these Custom ROM? I am interested in the programming part of this.
Also, second question is where do I get the say for example Jelly Bean ROM that I modify to suit for my phone?
Thanks.
--
M
PS:
Note: Please feel free to move this thread to appropriate category, if this does not belong here
MadhaviJ said:
Hi,
I have a very basic question with regards to Android OS. Why can't we easily update the Android OS to newest version; just like we do it for say a Windows PC? I understand that there are hardware limitations for OS updates.. similar to say for example Win7 not supporting older hardware. But if want to update to the newest android version for my phone.. why are there "custom ROMs" posted in forums? What are the contents that go in these Custom ROM? I am interested in the programming part of this.
Also, second question is where do I get the say for example Jelly Bean ROM that I modify to suit for my phone?
Thanks.
--
M
PS:
Note: Please feel free to move this thread to appropriate category, if this does not belong here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it depends on a whole lot of things.
1) The bootloader on the atrix2 is locked. This means that you can not actually flash a custom kernel without using something like kexec. This also means that for ANY real android updates, that they MUST come from motorola, or at least be signed by motorola (like the leaked JB asia version we have, that will NOT run on at&t phones, without major and fairly dangerous work). And Motorola abandoned this phone after ICS for the most part.
2) You can flash any "custom" rom be it based on stock or a compiled ROM like cyanogenmod, AOKP, etc. they just can not use the kernel that comes with it, and there are some very special files and trickery to make that happen when compiling the ROM.
3) This phone is locked done at more than just the bootloader, there are other parts of the phone that they have signatures on that do not allow you to go up or down in versions of android, unless you have a special developer version, or one of the MEARET/SEARET versions of the phone, or you made that fairly dangerous mod, I mentioned before.
The Custom ROMs have some nice acceleration tweaks, UI tweaks, and removal of all the crap and bloat apps that come from most providers. These "Custom" Roms are usually all opensource, just like Linux/Android, and you have the chance to customize it even farther with some C code and Java, if you like.
Here is a link to the Cyanogenmod page, and a couple other "custom" ROM pages:
http://www.cyanogenmod.org/
http://en.miui.com/
http://aokp.co/
There are many many more ^^
Now to make a custom ROM you will need a Linux install someplace (a VM at least, but the compile may run way longer), some C++ and java knowledge (even just a small amount will help a little), be good at using google to fix your compile errors, and a whole lot of patience.
I always suggest a new person who would like to learn to dev, start easy and try their hand at a stock rom first using the kitchen it is much easier, and you can do some nice things and learn. Once you get that down, and learn the trouble shooting part of ROM building, you may try your hand at "custom" ROMs, or you can do what some have done and just jump into the "custom" ROM thing, but it is a little harder, and will take more time to get it down.
You can also do as a few other have done, and learn how to port roms from other like phones, but I never could get them to function as they should with ALL parts working, there was almost always something that did not work well enough for me to want to use a ROM I ported. Though others have had huge success with this, and you could PM them to ask their secrets.
Here is my post on where to get the tools needed to start working with your stock ROM, using the kitchen and other tools with Linux:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1404442
jimbridgman said:
Well, it depends on a whole lot of things.
1) The bootloader on the atrix2 is locked. This means that you can not actually flash a custom kernel without using something like kexec. This also means that for ANY real android updates, that they MUST come from motorola, or at least be signed by motorola (like the leaked JB asia version we have, that will NOT run on at&t phones, without major and fairly dangerous work). And Motorola abandoned this phone after ICS for the most part.
2) You can flash any "custom" rom be it based on stock or a compiled ROM like cyanogenmod, AOKP, etc. they just can not use the kernel that comes with it, and there are some very special files and trickery to make that happen when compiling the ROM.
3) This phone is locked done at more than just the bootloader, there are other parts of the phone that they have signatures on that do not allow you to go up or down in versions of android, unless you have a special developer version, or one of the MEARET/SEARET versions of the phone, or you made that fairly dangerous mod, I mentioned before.
The Custom ROMs have some nice acceleration tweaks, UI tweaks, and removal of all the crap and bloat apps that come from most providers. These "Custom" Roms are usually all opensource, just like Linux/Android, and you have the chance to customize it even farther with some C code and Java, if you like.
Here is a link to the Cyanogenmod page, and a couple other "custom" ROM pages:
http://www.cyanogenmod.org/
http://en.miui.com/
http://aokp.co/
There are many many more ^^
Now to make a custom ROM you will need a Linux install someplace (a VM at least, but the compile may run way longer), some C++ and java knowledge (even just a small amount will help a little), be good at using google to fix your compile errors, and a whole lot of patience.
I always suggest a new person who would like to learn to dev, start easy and try their hand at a stock rom first using the kitchen it is much easier, and you can do some nice things and learn. Once you get that down, and learn the trouble shooting part of ROM building, you may try your hand at "custom" ROMs, or you can do what some have done and just jump into the "custom" ROM thing, but it is a little harder, and will take more time to get it down.
You can also do as a few other have done, and learn how to port roms from other like phones, but I never could get them to function as they should with ALL parts working, there was almost always something that did not work well enough for me to want to use a ROM I ported. Though others have had huge success with this, and you could PM them to ask their secrets.
Here is my post on where to get the tools needed to start working with your stock ROM, using the kitchen and other tools with Linux:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1404442
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Jim. That was very helpful. I'm going through the links that you've provided and find them useful.
Any more questions... I'll post them in this thread.
--
M
Hi Guys.
I am a bit out of date. Haven't done something here for about 2 years, and can't even remeber how I did my last flash of the rooted stock rom on my device.
Is there any way I can see, if my phone is already prepared for any flash method? Or are there no more different options out there these days?
If it doesn't matter, which one you would advise me to use? I am interessted to flash the CM (hammerheadcaf).
Thank you for any help. Cheers
s0urce said:
Hi Guys.
I am a bit out of date. Haven't done something here for about 2 years, and can't even remeber how I did my last flash of the rooted stock rom on my device.
Is there any way I can see, if my phone is already prepared for any flash method? Or are there no more different options out there these days?
If it doesn't matter, which one you would advise me to use? I am interessted to flash the CM (hammerheadcaf).
Thank you for any help. Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fist the bootloader must be unlocked.Then you need to flash a custom recovery ("normal" TWRP for stock/aosp based roms or CAF TWRP for CM 12.1 CAF).
Also check which bootloader version is required for the rom you are planning to flash.
Of course this is a quick overview of the requirements, but you will find plenty of detailed information about every step here in the Nexus5 forum. Good luck!
Pretoriano80 said:
Fist the bootloader must be unlocked.Then you need to flash a custom recovery ("normal" TWRP for stock/aosp based roms or CAF TWRP for CM 12.1 CAF).
Also check which bootloader version is required for the rom you are planning to flash.
Of course this is a quick overview of the requirements, but you will find plenty of detailed information about every step here in the Nexus5 forum. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thank you for ur answer. My problem is not to find details about flashing a specific ROM. My question was more about, how to find out, which kind of flashing I have done the last time on my phone? So I would know, if I can skip a big part of the tutorials or if I need to do everything from scratch.
Well, those steps are meant for flashing in general not only a specific rom and from my point of you it doesn't matter how you used to flash in the past (but maybe i'm missing something here or didn't understood your question).
Basically flashing the Nexus5 two years ago was same as now (but might different than other devices) but most likely you will need a newer revision of your recovery, a bootloader upgrade (and if necessary unlock your bootloader if you locked it in the past). So just check this information against your current configuration and you will find out if you can skip a step or not (and also different roms could come with different requirements, like the CAF buils).
Hi,
I'm MadWolF_x. My Question is - Is there Any beta version for k20Pro/Mi9T which doesn't Require Pc and Other things? Just download Package and install.
Not me alone, there are lots and lots of people Asks and Seeks this question.
madwolfbad1 said:
Hi,
I'm MadWolF_x. My Question is - Is there Any beta version for k20Pro/Mi9T which doesn't Require Pc and Other things? Just download Package and install.
Not me alone, there are lots and lots of people Asks and Seeks this question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there are that many people looking for it and none have found it, then that is quite a bit of evidence that suggests it probably doesn't exist, otherwise, one of you would have found something.
If you are like the rest of us and use mobile devices all the time and you want to be able to flash, update, modify or repair the devices yourself then you need to invest in a PC whether you like it or not. If you do not want to invest in a PC then be prepared to not be able to do these kinds of things with your devices.
Droidriven said:
If there are that many people looking for it and none have found it, then that is quite a bit of evidence that suggests it probably doesn't exist, otherwise, one of you would have found something.
If you are like the rest of us and use mobile devices all the time and you want to be able to flash, update, modify or repair the devices yourself then you need to invest in a PC whether you like it or not. If you do not want to invest in a PC then be prepared to not be able to do these kinds of things with your devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh Good God. I just did. And thank you for letting me know that there are * None * how about I create one? Ttyl soon Senior Member
madwolfbad1 said:
Oh Good God. I just did. And thank you for letting me know that there are * None * how about I create one? Ttyl soon Senior Member
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may out there, who knows? It doesn't hurt to keep looking. As for making your own, as far as I know, there is no way to officially sign whatever you might create in order for it to flash at all via stock recovery, adb sideload or stock system update center.
Droidriven said:
It may out there, who knows? It doesn't hurt to keep looking. As for making your own, as far as I know, there is no way to officially sign whatever you might create in order for it to flash at all via stock recovery, adb sideload or stock system update center.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get hurt man. As we all own flagships and some of us doesn't like what rom we use. I've been reading threads after threads, doing things my own, sleepless nights, weeks!!!! At some point i thought lets just post something which is most searched.
Reaching Finish line sometimes looks tough but i believe maybe I can. And don't get offended about what i wrote because * Own A Pc * comment made me go nuts. Not everyone knows about xda. They search on YouTube. Instead of reading people chooses to listen. I know how it feels to actually reading what you wrote. Well i should be thankful to those who made me feel bad, cause if i Never felt bad, i would never had any clue about my true potential.
I work alone, i don't have people helping me out. I've never found someone who works more for others, never found someone who can handle mental pressure like i do. And definitely, you will never know with whom you had this conversation \Peace/
madwolfbad1 said:
Don't get hurt man. As we all own flagships and some of us doesn't like what rom we use. I've been reading threads after threads, doing things my own, sleepless nights, weeks!!!! At some point i thought lets just post something which is most searched.
Reaching Finish line sometimes looks tough but i believe maybe I can. And don't get offended about what i wrote because * Own A Pc * comment made me go nuts. Not everyone knows about xda. They search on YouTube. Instead of reading people chooses to listen. I know how it feels to actually reading what you wrote. Well i should be thankful to those who made me feel bad, cause if i Never felt bad, i would never had any clue about my true potential.
I work alone, i don't have people helping me out. I've never found someone who works more for others, never found someone who can handle mental pressure like i do. And definitely, you will never know with whom you had this conversation \Peace/
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Can you unlock your bootloader or is it already unlocked? If either of these is yes then you have a chance if the stock source code for your device is available. If the stock source is available, you might be able to build your own custom recovery and custom ROMs. If the stock source code isn't available then true custom ROMs are out of the question but you could still try making your own modified stock ROMs using your stock ROM as a base then modifying it with elements from other devices that have your exact same CPU architecture/chipset. Or you could port stock ROMs from other similar devices with the same architecture/chipset using your device's stock ROM as a source to convert the other device's ROM to be compatible with your device. Mind you that any part of all of that will require an unlocked bootloader and TWRP custom recovery.
You can also try finding a GSI ROM that is compatible with your device's CPU architecture/chipset but that will also require unlocked bootloader and TWRP.
Well, Thank you
Droidriven said:
Can you unlock your bootloader or is it already unlocked? If either of these is yes then you have a chance if the stock source code for your device is available. If the stock source is available, you might be able to build your own custom recovery and custom ROMs. If the stock source code isn't available then true custom ROMs are out of the question but you could still try making your own modified stock ROMs using your stock ROM as a base then modifying it with elements from other devices that have your exact same CPU architecture/chipset. Or you could port stock ROMs from other similar devices with the same architecture/chipset using your device's stock ROM as a source to convert the other device's ROM to be compatible with your device. Mind you that any part of all of that will require an unlocked bootloader and TWRP custom recovery.
You can also try finding a GSI ROM that is compatible with your device's CPU architecture/chipset but that will also require unlocked bootloader and TWRP.
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Well thank you. That was helpful. Everyone is trying almost same thing. I'm trying something which is unique and different. Can't say much. Publicly i don't post anything, or write. This post was worth it. Being only a listener is bad which i Realized.
Your an Amazing Person, be Amazing. Will you please leave your personal email address? Thanks
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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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.