[HELP THREAD] Ask ANY Question. Noob Friendly.

[immortalneo]

There are a lot of people joining XDA on a daily basis, and there are a lot of repetitive questions being asked
which clutter up the Development and 'Q & A' threads. Point them here. Feel free to ask or answer questions.

The idea of this thread is to get users to help other users with their problems/questions. People are usually
ridiculed for asking questions that other people deem stupid even though it may be a legitimate question. This
leads to new users being afraid to ask questions!

Only provide well mannered help towards users in this thread. Please do not spoon feed, but rather point in
the direction where that user can find an answer and educate himself. If you don't want to answer, at least
point out where to find the answer.


Before posting anything, I strongly advise you to read THIS thread.

Then, have a quick look at the names of threads in Post No. 2, you might find what you need right away.

Third. Even if you do get your question answered, please do come back and read threads in Post No. 2
(coming later as soon as we start getting the guides) to educate yourself. You'll be surprised how much time
and frustration it will save you in the future!


No abuse towards noobs tolerated here! That means:

NO TROLLING
NO NAME CALLING
NO RIDICULING
NO FLAMING​

ASK ANY QUESTION HERE! No question is stupid or irrelevant in this thread. You will either get an answer or will get pointed in the right direction.

*A Special Thanks to mark manning for his help in creating this thread*


HALL OF FAME

People who contributed most to this thread and helped countless number of people with their
problems/questions. In no particular order.

Bruce Wayne
post-mortem
SilentStrider
Ghostfreak NB
mayank9856
sgs22012
Zatta
ADDICT.ANK


These people also have the right to use the banner below:

Just add this code to your signature:

[URL="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2257421"][IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/41066660/Newbie%20Thread%20Sign.gif[/IMG][/URL]

 

[mrrocketdog]

You know, I'm not familiar with HTC devices, in Sony we used to precede the token with the IMEI, in the same CMD. Also, someone mentioned in other thread that device has to be put in download mode, not in fastboot mode.

wow , thank you mr. @SubwayChamp.
never would have thought of either 1 of those. will report back.
thank you ,
dave

 

[Droidriven]

i wan to use jodin3 on my mac to flash an unofficial twrp tar file to my smasung galaxy a750fn/ds but there isnt an ap slot only an pda
and my phone doesnt connect help pls

edit: i heard i needed samsung usb drivers but where do i find them for mac

Older versions of Odin have PDA slot, this changed to AP in versions after that. Use the PDA slot.

 

[Toni Cipriani]

1. Is it possible to install firmware designed for one phone on another? if not, why not?
2. If it fails to install the firmware, what is the worst thing that can happen? Is it possible to restore the phone in the worst case?

 

[qwertyuiop1289]

Is it possible to bring back old Android 11 quick settings on Android 12/12L/13? I'm not interested in Power Shade, Mi Control Center or anything related to them. I'm using unofficial LineageOS 20.0 on Redmi Note 7. I have Magisk and LSPosed.

 

[Droidriven]

1. Is it possible to install firmware designed for one phone on another? if not, why not?
2. If it fails to install the firmware, what is the worst thing that can happen? Is it possible to restore the phone in the worst case?

Devices that have the same CPU architecture can potentially share firmware but depending on the other accessory components such as the camera, digitizer, touchscreen, hardware buttons and the various sensors, everything may or may not work correctly or may work but work backwards or upside down. Results are not guaranteed and can still cause you to brick your device. Depending on what causes the device to brick, in most cases, it is possible to recover the device though sometimes it can be very technical and difficult

Flashing a firmware from a different device that has different architecture will certainly cause the device to be bricked, in most cases, it is hard bricked and unrepairable.

 

[SanskritFritz]

I use LOS16 on my Galaxy S7. The only problem I have with it is the lock screen: it is active in the sense that anyone can turn off or on wifi for example or activate any quick setting icon by swiping from the top. I also tried LOS20 for a short while but it suffers from the same problem. I found no setting available to turn quick settings icons off on the lock screen.
So my question is: is there a ROM for my S7 that fulfills the following expection:
* Quick settings icons are not active on the lock screen (in fact nothing should be active there, except the fingerprint reader and the password entry field).

 

[kraken-gz]

Hi, I just want to ask quick question.


Guides for Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A mention, a lot of (riva) model, but I have, MDG6 model that says in device.
But the phone is 16GB variant, Redmi Note 5A

So it should be fine?

I can use this TWRP?
And this bootloader method ?

I plan to flash Lineage 14.1 , it's also for (riva), but should be ok? right?

----------

other info:

Model number: Redmi Note 5A
Android Version: 7.1.2.N2G47H
MIUI version: MIUI Global 10.3.1 | Stable 10.3.1.0 (NDFMIXM)
Model name: MDG6
CPU 4-core Max 1.40 GHz
RAM 2 GB
Internal memory: 16 GB
basic version: 7_GENNS_PACK-1.136351.1.180278.1

 

[Droidriven]

I use LOS16 on my Galaxy S7. The only problem I have with it is the lock screen: it is active in the sense that anyone can turn off or on wifi for example or activate any quick setting icon by swiping from the top. I also tried LOS20 for a short while but it suffers from the same problem. I found no setting available to turn quick settings icons off on the lock screen.
So my question is: is there a ROM for my S7 that fulfills the following expection:
* Quick settings icons are not active on the lock screen (in fact nothing should be active there, except the fingerprint reader and the password entry field).

Only S7 owners/users would know. Or, in each ROM thread, there should be a "changelog" showing what features were added or removed.

Or, bite the bullet and flash each ROM available for S7 and check each ROM yourself. This is something that you can figure out for yourself if you take the time to put the effort in instead of asking to be spoonfed an answer to your question. We are more than glad to help, but, we do not spoonfeed.

 

[SubwayChamp]

Hi, I just want to ask quick question.


Guides for Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A mention, a lot of (riva) model, but I have, MDG6 model that says in device.
But the phone is 16GB variant, Redmi Note 5A

So it should be fine?

I can use this TWRP?
And this bootloader method ?

I plan to flash Lineage 14.1 , it's also for (riva), but should be ok? right?

----------

other info:

Model number: Redmi Note 5A
Android Version: 7.1.2.N2G47H
MIUI version: MIUI Global 10.3.1 | Stable 10.3.1.0 (NDFMIXM)
Model name: MDG6
CPU 4-core Max 1.40 GHz
RAM 2 GB
Internal memory: 16 GB
basic version: 7_GENNS_PACK-1.136351.1.180278.1

You are completely mistaken a different device for another, although you edited the hyperlink calling it as "Redmi Note 5a" you linked to the Redmi 5a forum.

Redmi 5a had two main variants (Rolex and Riva) but your device it's RN5a, in the version of 2 GB of RAM is code named Ugglite called in other market like Redmi Y1 lilte, also badly called Redmi Note 5a lite (appendix lite is not official), while the most (slightly) powered version and whith a larger screen is Redmi Note 5a Prime also called like Redmi Y1 for other market, code named Ugg.

You'll find, like both share similar specs, some development under Ulysse, code name, this is also suitable for the RN5a. This is the right forum for RN5a-XDA

 

[SanskritFritz]

Only S7 owners/users would know. Or, in each ROM thread, there should be a "changelog" showing what features were added or removed.

Or, bite the bullet and flash each ROM available for S7 and check each ROM yourself. This is something that you can figure out for yourself if you take the time to put the effort in instead of asking to be spoonfed an answer to your question. We are more than glad to help, but, we do not spoonfeed.

I don't think I asked to be spoonfed. I just hoped someone reading my post reacts with a short "yes, I use ROM X which fulfills your desire, try it". I'm not asking anyone to try all ROM's available to see if they fit my bill. As you already said, I can do that myself. So, while I appreciate your post and the willingness to help, your answer was completely unnecessary and a bit condescending (at least I felt so). Besides your post just stated the obvious which is the very definition of spoonfeeding.

 

[kraken-gz]

You are completely mistaken a different device for another, although you edited the hyperlink calling it as "Redmi Note 5a" you linked to the Redmi 5a forum.

Redmi 5a had two main variants (Rolex and Riva) but your device it's RN5a, in the version of 2 GB of RAM is code named Ugglite called in other market like Redmi Y1 lilte, also badly called Redmi Note 5a lite (appendix lite is not official), while the most (slightly) powered version and whith a larger screen is Redmi Note 5a Prime also called like Redmi Y1 for other market, code named Ugg.

You'll find, like both share similar specs, some development under Ulysse, code name, this is also suitable for the RN5a. This is the right forum for RN5a-XDA

I can't believe it.
That showed first in my search results, i could brick it without knowing.
Good I double checked.
Thanks

 

[Droidriven]

I don't think I asked to be spoonfed. I just hoped someone reading my post reacts with a short "yes, I use ROM X which fulfills your desire, try it". I'm not asking anyone to try all ROM's available to see if they fit my bill. As you already said, I can do that myself. So, while I appreciate your post and the willingness to help, your answer was completely unnecessary and a bit condescending (at least I felt so). Besides your post just stated the obvious which is the very definition of spoonfeeding.

With a device that old, you won't find many users in this thread that still use that device, or, the probability is very low, at least. Besides, when it comes to finding a ROM that works best for you, it is always best to try them for yourself because your results will be different than someone else's. Users of a different device would not be able to help you with suggestions because their ROMs and the S7 ROMs will not have the same settings and options. Looking around in the S7 forum and asking users there that actually use the S7 would get you a better answer.

Sorry, it may not seem like it to you, but, asking for a ROM with a specific setting or option for your own convenience instead of trying to find one for yourself is asking to be spoonfed. I know you were just trying to save time to make things easier and less trouble for yourself, but, that is the very meaning of looking to be spoonfed. Sad, but, true.

 

[SanskritFritz]

With a device that old, you won't find many users in this thread that still use that device, or, the probability is very low, at least.

Yeah, I first tried the S7 forum a month ago, no answer came, so I decided to ask in a more requently visited forum.

Users of a different device would not be able to help you with suggestions because their ROMs and the S7 ROMs will not have the same settings and options.

I disagree here, I think a specific ROM like LOS for example compiled for another phone will have the same specific setting I am talking about. I don't think lock screen settings change from device to device, but I might be wrong.

Sorry, it may not seem like it to you, but, asking for a ROM with a specific setting or option for your own convenience instead of trying to find one for yourself is asking to be spoonfed. I know you were just trying to save time to make things easier and less trouble for yourself, but, that is the very meaning of looking to be spoonfed. Sad, but, true.

Fair enough, I accept your view on this matter. I value your time you spent on me, and I continue to look for a suitable ROM. Trying them one by one is not what I will do since that phone is my daily driver, so I very much value the stability of it.
Peace man, life is wonderful.

 

[grimlet]

I ended up flashing stock rom on my phone (Realme 8i RMX3151) while using sp flash tool, apparently wiping or overwriting NVRAM in the process.
I lost the imei and googlekey attestation but managed to restore them using SN writer. However my touchscreen also became erratic and completely unusable, with the four quadrants of the screen also swapped around, and the X and Y axis swapped within them. I've requested help from the manufacturers with no result. I wonder if anyone knows what I have done and how I can fix it. My research so far leads me to think that lost the configuration/calibration data for the touchscreen, something which is no included in the downloadable stock rom. I wonder if I can somehow obtain this data file from an identical phone, either individually if I can identify it, or simply clone everything, in order to restore the required data.

I've read somewhere that I can fix this by flashing touch configuration file, not that that helps me much as I have no idea where to find it.

I'm not sure to what degree this problem, and any solution, might be device specific. I've found many threads of people in the same position, with a wide variety of phones, but no answers on how to solve it.

Does anyone have any knowledge about this issues or and pointers towards solutions?

 

[Droidriven]

Yeah, I first tried the S7 forum a month ago, no answer came, so I decided to ask in a more requently visited forum.


I disagree here, I think a specific ROM like LOS for example compiled for another phone will have the same specific setting I am talking about. I don't think lock screen settings change from device to device, but I might be wrong.


Fair enough, I accept your view on this matter. I value your time you spent on me, and I continue to look for a suitable ROM. Trying them one by one is not what I will do since that phone is my daily driver, so I very much value the stability of it.
Peace man, life is wonderful.

That's what I figured, the S7 forum is probably dead or very low activity so the odds are you may not get assistance there. S7 users would be the best source of info though, maybe someone will come through for you.

Yes, in general, LOS ROMs "should" have the same settings but, in most cases, different devices have different hardware-based built in stock features that other devices do not and are also built into the custom ROMs for that device to captolize on that devices built in hardware/software features. Device settings are their own thing in each ROM, it isn't a matter of there being "stock" LOS settings with each devices "other" settings on top the "stock" LOS settings, it is a bit more integrated. But even this example is only pertaining to LOS, when it comes to other custom ROMs based on LOS with other mods and tweaks, it gets even more messy.

In my time here I've had multiple devices using the same CM/LOS and CM/LOS based ROMs from the same era(i.e. CM 11 on multiple devices, LOS 14 on multiple devices, etc), there were things they all shared but also things that weren't the same It really just depends on what each developer chooses to include in their ROM or not, on a ROM by ROM, developer by developer basis.

I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just trying to tell you what I thought would get your best answer the soonest since finding someone familiar with the device and ROMs were slim, it was probably going to come down to you doing your own investigating anyway so that is direction I pointed you in.

 

[Novice_independence]

Hey, noob here, I have an obama Sense tw102 phone and i keep running into errors. I have read, searched, read, searched, and all that just to go from one error onto another that would send me back to square 1.

[The next paragraph is the story so far so skip to the next next paragraph for the technical issue]:
So i managed to get my hands on an obama phone and I tried to use it but It seemed very slow and crappy. Not only that, but my T-mobil sim wouldn't work with it. I actually already have a working phone with a sim but I wanted to install "Drauger OS" on my pc to replace windows and play games on it. Unfortunately I had issues with my pc regarding bluetooth, wifi and all kinds of crap and i ended up on a dead end where the only solution is to use my phone as an ethernet (hotspot tethering) but I can't do that with my original phone. I realized "if i jailbreak my obama phone, i will be able to insert the sim in it and then use that phone to connect my pc to the internet, to download the proper modules needed so i can play the games i want." With all that in mind i looked up a custom ROM video (link -

) but after watching it, I started having issues unlocking oem (im now pro at unlocking and locking oem) then i kept running back and forth into the errors "dtb not found", "booting failed (remote 'unknown reason')", "unlock this device to use this command" [i think i solved that one with oem unlocking] but now "adb not found" is the most common issue i see.

[The next paragraph is the technical issue, the next next paragraph is hardware 'clues' i've researched about my phone]:
My phone is stuck in fastboot, i cannot access the recovery, or the adb i was downloading a twrp.img and i think it occupied my storage space so now i can't delete it.
I am now following this guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/fastboot-unbrick-your-device-with-no-display.2949356/ and im stuck at "fastboot update update.zip"
I am pretty sure i don't have the right update.zip but i am also afraid that my obama phone wont have enough space for when I do find the right update.zip same with the "recovery.img" mentioned in that guide.
I know that my device is oem unlocked and i know how to delete cache.

[This next paragraph is the last and it's a set of hardware clues I've found out about my Sense tw102 phone]
Product name - msm8937
Variant - QRD eMMC
no bootloader or baseband version is showing
It's the equivalent of samsung 11 and its api lvl is 30 but im not sure whether that is 100% true or not.
The next additional details are provided by the chinese corporates (AKA USA FCC provision):

OET List Exhibits Report

OET List Exhibits Report

 

[SanskritFritz]

Yes, in general, LOS ROMs "should" have the same settings but, in most cases, different devices have different hardware-based built in stock features that other devices do not and are also built into the custom ROMs for that device to captolize on that devices built in hardware/software features. Device settings are their own thing in each ROM, it isn't a matter of there being "stock" LOS settings with each devices "other" settings on top the "stock" LOS settings, it is a bit more integrated. But even this example is only pertaining to LOS, when it comes to other custom ROMs based on LOS with other mods and tweaks, it gets even more messy. In my time here I've had multiple devices using the same CM/LOS and CM/LOS based ROMs from the same era(i.e. CM 11 on multiple devices, LOS 14 on multiple devices, etc), there were things they all shared but also things that weren't the same It really just depends on what each developer chooses to include in their ROM or not, on a ROM by ROM, developer by developer basis.

Thanks for the insight.

I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just trying to tell you what I thought would get your best answer the soonest since finding someone familiar with the device and ROMs were slim, it was probably going to come down to you doing your own investigating anyway so that is direction I pointed you in.

I didn't perceive it as rude, we just had different opinions about what it means being spoonfed. All the best. I'll probably buy a very cheap used S7 for experimenting and do my homework

 

[Droidriven]

Hey, noob here, I have an obama Sense tw102 phone and i keep running into errors. I have read, searched, read, searched, and all that just to go from one error onto another that would send me back to square 1.

[The next paragraph is the story so far so skip to the next next paragraph for the technical issue]:
So i managed to get my hands on an obama phone and I tried to use it but It seemed very slow and crappy. Not only that, but my T-mobil sim wouldn't work with it. I actually already have a working phone with a sim but I wanted to install "Drauger OS" on my pc to replace windows and play games on it. Unfortunately I had issues with my pc regarding bluetooth, wifi and all kinds of crap and i ended up on a dead end where the only solution is to use my phone as an ethernet (hotspot tethering) but I can't do that with my original phone. I realized "if i jailbreak my obama phone, i will be able to insert the sim in it and then use that phone to connect my pc to the internet, to download the proper modules needed so i can play the games i want." With all that in mind i looked up a custom ROM video (link -

) but after watching it, I started having issues unlocking oem (im now pro at unlocking and locking oem) then i kept running back and forth into the errors "dtb not found", "booting failed (remote 'unknown reason')", "unlock this device to use this command" [i think i solved that one with oem unlocking] but now "adb not found" is the most common issue i see.

[The next paragraph is the technical issue, the next next paragraph is hardware 'clues' i've researched about my phone]:
My phone is stuck in fastboot, i cannot access the recovery, or the adb i was downloading a twrp.img and i think it occupied my storage space so now i can't delete it.
I am now following this guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/fastboot-unbrick-your-device-with-no-display.2949356/ and im stuck at "fastboot update update.zip"
I am pretty sure i don't have the right update.zip but i am also afraid that my obama phone wont have enough space for when I do find the right update.zip same with the "recovery.img" mentioned in that guide.
I know that my device is oem unlocked and i know how to delete cache.

[This next paragraph is the last and it's a set of hardware clues I've found out about my Sense tw102 phone]
Product name - msm8937
Variant - QRD eMMC
no bootloader or baseband version is showing
It's the equivalent of samsung 11 and its api lvl is 30 but im not sure whether that is 100% true or not.
The next additional details are provided by the chinese corporates (AKA USA FCC provision):

OET List Exhibits Report

OET List Exhibits Report

OEM unlock only unlocked the bootloader, this only allows you to use custom software and mods.

SIM/carrier unlocking a device to use it on another network is a completely different thing, they are not related.

 

[SubwayChamp]

Thanks for the insight.

I didn't perceive it as rude, we just had different opinions about what it means being spoonfed. All the best. I'll probably buy a very cheap used S7 for experimenting and do my homework

May I'm wrong, but I think that such security level is implemented in Android itself, and would be "strange" or at least not "usual", that a developer includes this kind of things if the Android version doesn't include it itself.

Actually I have a Samsung device running Android 11, OneUI official, and at first screen where the PIN or pattern, or whatever security measure suppose to be here, you can't do anything but try to unlock it.



But if you shut off, a second, the screen, then power on, you can access to the tiles, and make whatever with them.


From what I remember is totally implemented in Android 13, don´t remember A12 though.

 

[Novice_independence]

OEM unlock only unlocked the bootloader, this only allows you to use custom software and mods.

SIM/carrier unlocking a device to use it on another network is a completely different thing, they are not related.

My phone is stuck in fastboot, i cannot access the recovery, or the adb i was downloading a twrp.img and i think it occupied my storage space so now i can't delete it.
I am now following this guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/fastboot-unbrick-your-device-with-no-display.2949356/ and im stuck at "fastboot update update.zip"
I am pretty sure i don't have the right update.zip but i am also afraid that my obama phone wont have enough space for when I do find the right update.zip same with the "recovery.img" mentioned in that guide.
I know that my device is oem unlocked and i know how to delete cache.

Now thanks to you i also know that sim unlocking is a completely different thing which i thank you for that but my device is still bricked