[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:

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[SubwayChamp]

Ok, thanks. I made a bash script based on the flashfile.xml file that was packed with the stock rom. Question: When I run 'fastboot getvar current-slot', it says I'm on slot b; however, in the flashfile, everything is pointing to slot a. So tee.img is set to flash to tee_a, wbmeta.img to vbmeta_a, and so on.

Should I rename all these to _b?

it depends, if your device is failing, and not booting, firstly, it´s trying to boot to slot b, and probably because this slot has not all the images ready, it can´t get it, so you probably have to target to the other slot, I mean, A.

 

[SubwayChamp]

i have an issue with a s5 sm-900f,every time i flash a rom using twrp,it goes to the rom splash screen for a few mins then boots back into twrp recovery,it does this after wiping dalvic+ cash rom too,any idea why?,it does it with every rom i try to flash.

It needs, either:
- Formatting data.
- The right stock firmware, as base.
All this assuming you´re doing it fine.

 

[m3vuv]

It needs, either:
- Formatting data.
- The right stock firmware, as base.
All this assuming you´re doing it fine.

ive done that now odin 3.14.4 is hangng so cant reflash twrp!

 

[3×5]

it depends, if your device is failing, and not booting, firstly, it´s trying to boot to slot b, and probably because this slot has not all the images ready, it can´t get it, so you probably have to target to the other slot, I mean, A.

Well, my botched flashing job was all to slot b. I just ran

fastboot --set-active=a

to see if that slot was bootable. It wasn't. In fact, I can't even get past the boot logo now, which means I can't get back into fastboot to switch the slot back. What should I do?

edit// nevermind, I was able to get back into fastbootd. So should I stay on slot a and also flash a? All the tutorials I've read say you should be flashing to your active slot.

My flashfile looks like this:

        <step operation="getvar" var="max-sparse-size"/>
        <step operation="oem" var="fb_mode_set"/>
        <step MD5="4f12c5578dc49991b425b8912c8696b4" filename="PGPT" operation="flash" partition="gpt"/>
        <step MD5="198da0cd77f8224be9db79ef1ee7262b" filename="preloader.img" operation="flash" partition="preloader"/>
        <step MD5="3f5abc8e349f3e1f5543b0d584f8bd5c" filename="lk.img" operation="flash" partition="lk_a"/>
        <step MD5="944c0baca04ee96291c030eaf550aac7" filename="tee.img" operation="flash" partition="tee_a"/>
        <step MD5="1559cdf64c39ac77de4b91b708f33a47" filename="mcupm.img" operation="flash" partition="mcupm_a"/>
        <step MD5="04d76cf184612501dad2d5ddf69f0518" filename="pi_img.img" operation="flash" partition="pi_img_a"/>
        <step MD5="337c84ce9fe1c9084394a2c7d4e576f8" filename="sspm.img" operation="flash" partition="sspm_a"/>
        <step MD5="77c9e99051699762b777300221db6c03" filename="dtbo.img" operation="flash" partition="dtbo_a"/>
        <step MD5="588a535baf3ef86abfc207dc81e8a380" filename="logo.img" operation="flash" partition="logo_a"/>
        <step operation="erase" partition="nvdata"/>
        <step MD5="9edc85e5a715f589180cb9be561ea34c" filename="spmfw.img" operation="flash" partition="spmfw_a"/>

That's only part of it. but if I run fastboot getvar max-sparse-size, I get:

getvar:max-sparse-size FAILED (remote: Unknown variable)
finished. total time: 0.000s

and if I run fastboot oem fb_mode_set, I get

...
FAILED (remote: Unable to open fastboot HAL)
finished. total time: 0.000s

This is the case whether I'm on slot a or slot b. And when I try to flash any of the images above the 'erase nvdata' line, they all say 'remote: No such file or directory'.

 

[SubwayChamp]

ive done that now odin 3.14.4 is hangng so cant reflash twrp!

What does "Odin is hanging" mean? Can you upload some SS?, and what did you do to get it? Is your device recognized effectively through Odin, with a "Added" legend, and/or through device manager under PORT COM Modem or similar?

 

[SubwayChamp]

Well, my botched flashing job was all to slot b. I just ran

fastboot --set-active=a

to see if that slot was bootable. It wasn't. In fact, I can't even get past the boot logo now, which means I can't get back into fastboot to switch the slot back. What should I do?

edit// nevermind, I was able to get back into fastbootd. So should I stay on slot a and also flash a? All the tutorials I've read say you should be flashing to your active slot.

My flashfile looks like this:

        <step operation="getvar" var="max-sparse-size"/>
        <step operation="oem" var="fb_mode_set"/>
        <step MD5="4f12c5578dc49991b425b8912c8696b4" filename="PGPT" operation="flash" partition="gpt"/>
        <step MD5="198da0cd77f8224be9db79ef1ee7262b" filename="preloader.img" operation="flash" partition="preloader"/>
        <step MD5="3f5abc8e349f3e1f5543b0d584f8bd5c" filename="lk.img" operation="flash" partition="lk_a"/>
        <step MD5="944c0baca04ee96291c030eaf550aac7" filename="tee.img" operation="flash" partition="tee_a"/>
        <step MD5="1559cdf64c39ac77de4b91b708f33a47" filename="mcupm.img" operation="flash" partition="mcupm_a"/>
        <step MD5="04d76cf184612501dad2d5ddf69f0518" filename="pi_img.img" operation="flash" partition="pi_img_a"/>
        <step MD5="337c84ce9fe1c9084394a2c7d4e576f8" filename="sspm.img" operation="flash" partition="sspm_a"/>
        <step MD5="77c9e99051699762b777300221db6c03" filename="dtbo.img" operation="flash" partition="dtbo_a"/>
        <step MD5="588a535baf3ef86abfc207dc81e8a380" filename="logo.img" operation="flash" partition="logo_a"/>
        <step operation="erase" partition="nvdata"/>
        <step MD5="9edc85e5a715f589180cb9be561ea34c" filename="spmfw.img" operation="flash" partition="spmfw_a"/>

That's only part of it. but if I run fastboot getvar max-sparse-size, I get:

getvar:max-sparse-size FAILED (remote: Unknown variable)
finished. total time: 0.000s

and if I run fastboot oem fb_mode_set, I get

...
FAILED (remote: Unable to open fastboot HAL)
finished. total time: 0.000s

This is the case whether I'm on slot a or slot b. And when I try to flash any of the images above the 'erase nvdata' line, they all say 'remote: No such file or directory'.

Flash the images without a suffix, _a nor _b, this will target to the active slot. Some partitions may result to not be mounted currently.

 

[3×5]

Flash the images without a suffix, _a nor _b, this will target to the active slot. Some partitions may result to not be mounted currently.

OK. I will switch back to slot b and flash the way you described. What about the unknown commands and 'no such file or directory' responses? Fastboot will say it sent the file successfully, then say 'no such file or directory' when it tries to write.

 

[SubwayChamp]

OK. I will switch back to slot b and flash the way you described. What about the unknown commands and 'no such file or directory' responses? Fastboot will say it sent the file successfully, then say 'no such file or directory' when it tries to write.

Probably you need to unlock, also, the critical partitions, or after of some failed attempts and so, your device needs the stock ROM to recover from.

 

[3×5]

Probably you need to unlock, also, the critical partitions, or after of some failed attempts and so, your device needs the stock ROM to recover from.

To be clear, I am trying to flash the stock ROM now. That is where I'm having the problem. I got the ROM from here. There are four listed, and I grabbed the third one, though I'm not sure the difference between these.

Edit: also, I ran fastboot flashing unlock, fastboot flashing unlock_critical, fastboot flashing unlock critical, every combination I could think of. All of them say 'Unrecognized command'. I downloaded the latest platform-tools from Google and when I run adb version, it says 'Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41'.

 

[3×5]

Probably you need to unlock, also, the critical partitions, or after of some failed attempts and so, your device needs the stock ROM to recover from.

An update: I rebooted out of Fastbootd and now I'm just in Fastboot. In Fastboot, all the commands are working. So if I run fastboot getvar max-sparse-size, I get the correct response. I can even flash this PGPT file to gpt. So far, all the commands are working in fastboot, but I read that you can only flash super partitions if you're booted into fastbootd. Is that wrong?

 

[3×5]

Probably you need to unlock, also, the critical partitions, or after of some failed attempts and so, your device needs the stock ROM to recover from.

Hey, just so you know, I was able to flash the stock ROM and it seems to work perfectly! The problem was what I said: the phone had to be in fastboot and NOT fastbootd. I read it had to be the other way around, but this must be outdated info. I hope this helps anyone else who's stuck!

 

[SubwayChamp]

Hey, just so you know, I was able to flash the stock ROM and it seems to work perfectly! The problem was what I said: the phone had to be in fastboot and NOT fastbootd. I read it had to be the other way around, but this must be outdated info. I hope this helps anyone else who's stuck!

Oh man, all this nightmare for nothing, unfortunately, you didn´t read one of my last posts:
- All the images have to be flashed finely through fastboot, including super partition, it´s in sparse format because of a huge size, so any of the images can fit in a specific address.
- Just for some images, you need to use fastbootd, due to dynamical partitions, like system image, within other images (product, odm, vendor, etc) are placed inside the super partition.

 

[ILikeOldStuff]

I've been using ADB for some years on several devices but recently ran into a snag. On the same machine (an older desktop running XP) where it has always worked before, I recently tried to use it but got an odd error message:

E:\platform-tools> adb version​

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.32​

Revision 57224c5cff69-android​

​

E:\platform-tools> adb devices -l​

List of devices attached​

* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *​

ADB server didn't ACK​

*failed to start daemon *​

error: cannot connect to daemon: No error​

error: cannot connect to daemon: No error​

​

I tried to google it but everything I found either assumed there was a problem with eclipse, with wifi, with not using correct cables, not installing drivers, etc. But NOTHING about a case where it used to work but for some reason no longer does.

I do not (and never did have) have eclipse, nor even the android SDK installed, just the much smaller platform-tools thing. The desktop box does not have any wifi radio hardware so I can rule those out. It also is not a usb port or cable issue as I can still transfer files through MTP.

It is not really a device issue as it suddenly started happening on ALL android devices including ones I used it on before. And it isn't a case where the device updated to change anything as these are older devices running FroYo, IceCreamSandwich, Jellybean, and Oreo, where updates stopped many years ago.

I don't think it is a device driver issue as all devices I tried do show up properly in device manager.

The last time it worked was 25Sep2022 when I adjusted some permissions on the BetterBatteryStats app. I did not need it again until recently when it started doing the above error message.

Has anyone seen anything similar or have an idea how to fix it?

 

[AdPhone]

Hello everyone.
Problem with Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T.
Can't make or receive calls, sms and data transfer works normally, different SIM cards were checked, the effect is the same.
The phone was restored to factory settings, uploaded a new system via MiFlash and the problem persists.
In addition, the microphone in the voice recorder does not work, the proximity sensor and the light sensor are broken.
There is one strange way to fix the problem with the voice recorder and calls, specifically you need to enter the FQC Test and perform the tests 6.(LED) and 7.(Touchpanel selftest) after doing these tests and confirming POSITIVE in the phone, calls and the voice recorder start working until phone restart.
Proximity sensor and light sensor do not work definitively.
Has anyone encountered such a problem and knows a solution?

 

[enjoliveur]

Hello,
I want to install sureLock from 42gears on my Redmi 9C phone but since 42gears doesn't have an Enterprise Agent for the device and since the Xiaomi is not partnered with them, they want me to reach out to the Xiaomi and have the unsigned EA signed by the Xiaomi
In the end I am to send them the result.

I am merely repeating what they ask from me.
I don't know how this works.

Is it possible to ask Xiaomi to sign an apk?
Can somebody please explain how this works and how I can get this done?

Thanks for your help

The apk is here
Url : https://mars.42gears.com/support/inout/xiaomi/unsigned/enterpriseagentv4.69.apk
SHA1 : 7e71a7e671878c0bdeff9534ba8f1e5bdd74e1ba
SHA256 : c86d982f3cba796d166aa067e8314c2399dae076206adb2ad45e8fbe11e2affc
SHA3-512 : 74792f606c73cde2eaffca2fa908b4fba7a9b8ea2a33e466eeeba937ca5d6842ccce99f4cf5c79539818180dc20d24c11bd3c64985b83e5b84f52cb335eb9930

 

[DanielMode]

Adaway is blocking to join the Peacock website with Opera after login....how can i find the blocked pieces at the blacklist and put them onto whitelist.?

 

[lm8lm8]

hi guys
how could I find out the .mbn qualcomm volte profile file for the FREE MOBILE isp to enable volte and vowifi?
how could I get it?
I followed the following ones, as :

[WORKING] Force enable VOLTE - VOWIFI on OxygenOS Beta 11

Hello! This is my guide to enable or activate VoLTE/VoWIFI on Oneplus 6T OxygenOS 11 Beta Before I install OSS 11 Beta, my VoLTE is working fine and I used this method to enable it but after I upgrade it to OSS 11 beta, The VoLTE is not working...

forum.xda-developers.com

[Guide] VoLTE + VoWiFi working for German carriers

[UPDATE] Updated QPST version + new how to Exciting news, jamal2367 from https://jamal2367.com has developed a way to get VoLTE + VoWifi working for many countries + carriers. If you are on Vodafone and you are having problems with...

forum.xda-developers.com

but unfortuately, my F/M ISP just released out his volte and vowifi services only end of 2021 (almost 2022), means I guess that only mid-2022 models are stock-working with it, and I guess forum posts before 2022 can't bring its profile?

thank you vm!

 

[SubwayChamp]

Hello everyone.
Problem with Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T.
Can't make or receive calls, sms and data transfer works normally, different SIM cards were checked, the effect is the same.
The phone was restored to factory settings, uploaded a new system via MiFlash and the problem persists.
In addition, the microphone in the voice recorder does not work, the proximity sensor and the light sensor are broken.
There is one strange way to fix the problem with the voice recorder and calls, specifically you need to enter the FQC Test and perform the tests 6.(LED) and 7.(Touchpanel selftest) after doing these tests and confirming POSITIVE in the phone, calls and the voice recorder start working until phone restart.
Proximity sensor and light sensor do not work definitively.
Has anyone encountered such a problem and knows a solution?

Is a second-hand device? Did you unlock bootloader? When, this issue started to appear, I mean, what happened in the transition where device was fine, and then the issue begins?

 

[SubwayChamp]

Adaway is blocking to join the Peacock website with Opera after login....how can i find the blocked pieces at the blacklist and put them onto whitelist.?

In the AdAway site you can find more info about, you can edit (and add) a specific entry to the host file.

 

[AdPhone]

Is a second-hand device? Did you unlock bootloader? When, this issue started to appear, I mean, what happened in the transition where device was fine, and then the issue begins?

The phone was used for over 2 years, changed the owner in one family and factory settings were restored, immediately after that the problem began, bootloader unlocked by MiUnlock (I couldn't upload the software without it)