Welcome to my first tutorial! Please make suggestions in this thread on how to improve it. I will try to be a comprehensive as possible but also as general as possible since flashing firmware to Motorola phones is a pretty consistent process.
Disclaimer:
Please note, like almost everything else on XDA-Developers.com doing this process without fully understanding it can possibly brick the phone (although if it probably already is) thus, I cannot be held liable for any damages caused by following this process.
In other words, the person performing the work performed in this post is fully responsible for their actions on this phone.
/Disclaimer
Before starting with the flashing a Motorola phone, please review the following information:
Now, prepare the computer for the flashing process
Flashing Time!
Once the preparation has completed, flashing is very straightforward. Extract the downloaded firmware files to a folder on your hard disk, then use RSD Lite to load the XML file up. Power on the phone into fastboot mode again, and plug in the phone into an internal USB port on the computer, then press the start button. If everything is successful the phone should begin booting into the stock system. The flashing process usually takes 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the files and the power of the phone. If there are any failures, be sure to read the "Before getting started" section again, and hopefully someone on the forum can help recover the phone with you!
Disclaimer:
Please note, like almost everything else on XDA-Developers.com doing this process without fully understanding it can possibly brick the phone (although if it probably already is) thus, I cannot be held liable for any damages caused by following this process.
In other words, the person performing the work performed in this post is fully responsible for their actions on this phone.
/Disclaimer
Before starting with the flashing a Motorola phone, please review the following information:
- In most cases firmware versions CANNOT be downgraded
- Firmware from other regions can sometimes be flashed, but not always, this is why it is always recommended to stick with the same firmware branch that is already on the phone
- The phone that will be flashed should be fully charged, the fastboot flashing process only allows for phones that are over 50 or 60% to be flashed.
If the phone that is trying to be flashed is under 50 or 60%, purchase a "factory adapter" - http://shop.teamblackhat.info/Factory-Adapters-motadapt.htm or make one - http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1077414
- Use a USB 2.0 port that is directly connected to the motherboard of the computer (preferably on the back of a desktop, or internal ports on a laptop)
Now, prepare the computer for the flashing process
- Download the latest Motorola USB & Charging Drivers from http://www.motorola.com/Support/CA-EN/Support-Home/USB-Drivers-and-PC-Charging-Drivers
- Download the latest available RSD Lite software (~6mb) - As of March 4th 2013, it is 6.1.4 and can be downloaded from here : http://d-h.st/KNN
- Ensure the computer can detect the phone in fastboot mode (I have seen a number of problems with different versions of Windows, if it doesn't work on one PC, try a different one). To perform the test, power off the phone completely and boot it into fastboot mode. Unfortunately since Motorola phones are all built uniquley, this tutorial cannot cover all of the different methods to boot a phone in fastboot, but the most common method is to hold the VOLUME UP button and VOLUME DOWN button while pressing POWER. A menu will most likely appear, use the VOLUME DOWN button and navigate to "AP Fastboot", now press the VOLUME UP button. The phone should say it is OK to Program like in the following screen
Next, connect the USB cable to the computer, it should detect and install a driver. Check in device manager for a "Mot Single ADB Interface" under ADB Interface. If it is not listed, try to force the drivers to look in the "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Motorola Shared\Mobile Drivers\Drivers" folder.
Once the driver is loaded, open up RSD Lite and the internal codename should be listed under one of the ports. In RAZR HD (GSM) it says Fastboot VANQUISH_U S.
- At this point, I would recommend to download the firmware to the computer that will be used for the flashing (once the phone is detectable in RSD Lite, that is a good indication the computer can detect the phone, navigate to http://motofirmware.center and locate the correct firmware and version that should be loaded on the phone. If the firmware is not listed there, please put a request into the firmware team (supply the default.prop and build.prop files). They are pretty good with locating firmware! The firmware files are generally large (ranging anywhere between 200mb and 1500mb) so now would be a good time to top-up that phone charge (if possible). If it isn't possible to charge the phone, don't worry, the phone will automatically turn off if it doesn't detect a flashing process after a few minutes.
Flashing Time!
Once the preparation has completed, flashing is very straightforward. Extract the downloaded firmware files to a folder on your hard disk, then use RSD Lite to load the XML file up. Power on the phone into fastboot mode again, and plug in the phone into an internal USB port on the computer, then press the start button. If everything is successful the phone should begin booting into the stock system. The flashing process usually takes 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the files and the power of the phone. If there are any failures, be sure to read the "Before getting started" section again, and hopefully someone on the forum can help recover the phone with you!
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