[INFO/WARNING]The Risks of Downgrading, and the impacts of GPT.BIN and MOTOBOOT.IMG

[Liam0o]

KidJoe Have A look Here - http://motox-brasil.blogspot.in/2015/03/tutorial-motox-fazendo-downgrade-do.html?m=1 Wats U r View On it ?

Whoever wrote that guide should put a warning on it, step 6 removes the part of the script that flashes gpt/bootloader so whoever follows it will end up with mismatched partitions, 4.4.4 may boot but taking an OTA on it would be high risk of bricking

You'll basically be left with the Brazilian 5.0.2 bootloader and partition table with 4.4.4 system/modem which is a recipe for disaster

If anyone desperately regrets flashing the brazilian 5.0.2 then use a custom rom for now and pray that a 5.0.2 SBF becomes available for your model

 

[perfoliate]

KidJoe Have A look Here - http://motox-brasil.blogspot.in/2015/03/tutorial-motox-fazendo-downgrade-do.html?m=1 Wats U r View On it ?

Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks to me like they are removing the lines for the items that can't be downgraded to get it all to flash without errors. Problems may still arise later because of the mismatched parts.
Edit: ^^^post above beat me to the post, and I agree completely [emoji32]

 

[KidJoe]

KidJoe Have A look Here - http://motox-brasil.blogspot.in/2015/03/tutorial-motox-fazendo-downgrade-do.html?m=1 Wats U r View On it ?

As @Liam0o and @perfoliate have already replied... Step 6 of those instructions causes you to be set up that when you flash via RSDlite, it will skip flashing GPT.BIN and MOTOBOOT.IMG. And in the past that has been problematic either immediately, or when attempting to take an OTA later.

That is exactly what I am describing in Point #2 of the original post in this thread.

It was also described by someone here on XDA, again, there wasn't a warning on it.. ( like here -> http://forum.xda-developers.com//mo...est-brazil-t3057509/post59517991#post59517991 for example)

Oh, and situations like this -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/moto-x-qa/screwed-t3059954 are what we are trying to avoid by advising people of the risks, suggesting warnings/cautions be placed on any instructions, and outright suggesting people do NOT attempt to downgrade. This person was one of the lucky ones.

 

[jesan9]

i have some questions:

1) i have a XT1053 DE, i flashed the soak for XT1053 and my bootloader says 30.BC, i have no intentions to go back to stock, but can i restore a TWRP backup from the 4.4.4 stock and then flash the new OTA when it will be available?
2) if i flash using mfastboot only the system.img and boot.img from the 4.4.4 without touching the GPT.BIN and MOTOBOOT.IMG, will be good?
3)if i stay with the soak test, i will be able to get the official OTA?

thx and sorry for my english if is something wrong

 

[whgp]

Thank you KidJoe :good:
I like your threads

 

[perfoliate]

i have some questions:

1) i have a XT1053 DE, i flashed the soak for XT1053 and my bootloader says 30.BC, i have no intentions to go back to stock, but can i restore a TWRP backup from the 4.4.4 stock and then flash the new OTA when it will be available?
2) if i flash using mfastboot only the system.img and boot.img from the 4.4.4 without touching the GPT.BIN and MOTOBOOT.IMG, will be good?
3)if i stay with the soak test, i will be able to get the official OTA?

thx and sorry for my english if is something wrong

I would not take any OTA's at this point until its known as safe to do so. I would stay where you are or on a custom ROM until a new SBF is released for the xt1053 that has the same or newer bootloader and other secure parts.

 

[jesan9]

I would not take any OTA's at this point until its known as safe to do so. I would stay where you are or on a custom ROM until a new SBF is released for the xt1053 that has the same or newer bootloader and other secure parts.

oh ok, thx for the answer...

 

[Smash2Bash]

I have an XT1053 and I believe I have flashed the full AT&T 4.4.4 and then I flashed the T-Mobile Dev edition 4.4.4 and I wasn't bricked...not knowing I could be bricked...but what's odd is..so were the bootloaders the same? Because if one was different shouldn't I be bricked? I flashed modem and all wondering if my AT&T service would increase. And currently after flashing the Brazilian 4.4.4 and then OTA..once again.. How in the world am I not bricked? Not doubting anyone's info. Just wondering really...

 

[Darth]

I have an XT1053 and I believe I have flashed the full AT&T 4.4.4 and then I flashed the T-Mobile Dev edition 4.4.4 and I wasn't bricked...not knowing I could be bricked...but what's odd is..so were the bootloaders the same? Because if one was different shouldn't I be bricked? I flashed modem and all wondering if my AT&T service would increase. And currently after flashing the Brazilian 4.4.4 and then OTA..once again.. How in the world am I not bricked? Not doubting anyone's info. Just wondering really...

You didn't flash a previous Android version, you flashed the same version, so bootloader version never changed. ?

 

[Smash2Bash]

You didn't flash a previous Android version, you flashed the same version, so bootloader version never changed. ?

Gotcha, I fully understand now. Thank you! ?

 

[s5610]

1) i have a XT1053 DE, i flashed the soak for XT1053 and my bootloader says 30.BC, i have no intentions to go back to stock, but can i restore a TWRP backup from the 4.4.4 stock and then flash the new OTA when it will be available?

I think yes. Bootloader isn't downgraded, so you are safe. Make 5.0.2 and 4.4.4 backups, and you can interchange them freely. Modem can remain be from 5.0.2 1053 T-Mobile. Don't use Brazilian!

2) if i flash using mfastboot only the system.img and boot.img from the 4.4.4 without touching the GPT.BIN and MOTOBOOT.IMG, will be good?

Yep.

3)if i stay with the soak test, i will be able to get the official OTA?

Yes. Or you find service firmware, it will appear after a while, as usual )

 

[jesan9]

I think yes. Bootloader isn't downgraded, so you are safe. Make 5.0.2 and 4.4.4 backups, and you can interchange them freely. Modem can remain be from 5.0.2 1053 T-Mobile. Don't use Brazilian!

Yep.

Yes. Or you find service firmware, it will appear after a while, as usual )

I did the backup before (4.4.4) and after the ota update just in case

thank you so much for your answer... it really helps and i appreciate it:good:

 

[s5610]

I did the backup before (4.4.4) and after the ota update just in case

thank you so much for your answer... it really helps and i appreciate it:good:

Thanks for thanking me ))) You can also download XT1053 5.0.2 modem for your phone (search here).

He will be in final release, I think.

 

[r_diaz13]

@KidJoe question for you. I received the soak teat invite for my 1053, long story short, after I upgraded I started seeing this funny message (low ram space I think). Said I needed 250mb free ram blah blah blah. I used the factory image for my unlocked 1053 from moto (4.4.4) was able to flash all files manually and the phone didn't die. Lucky me. My issue now is I'm pretty much wipes clean on my phone as I start restoring data I begin seeing that error again. I even tried installing xposed but the minute I flashed the zip file necessary I saw the error. Could be the something wrong with my partitions?

 

[KidJoe]

i have some questions:

1) i have a XT1053 DE, i flashed the soak for XT1053 and my bootloader says 30.BC, i have no intentions to go back to stock, but can i restore a TWRP backup from the 4.4.4 stock and then flash the new OTA when it will be available?
2) if i flash using mfastboot only the system.img and boot.img from the 4.4.4 without touching the GPT.BIN and MOTOBOOT.IMG, will be good?
3)if i stay with the soak test, i will be able to get the official OTA?

thx and sorry for my english if is something wrong

For #1 and #2, please see posts 21, 22, and 23 of this thread.

For #3. It depends on how far along in the process this Leak was. In the past, unless some catastrophic issue is found, Soaks are usually the exact same as the final software pushed to everyone. So if this really is a SOAK test meant for a wider audience, the there would be no "official OTA" that is different than what you have. If however these files were meant as some kind of intermediate testing version, to a small targeted group, then you likely wont get the next OTA, and/or wont be able to apply it manually.

Signing up on the Moto Feedback Network (MFN), Motorola will have your IMEI on record. They push these test files selectively. If you were not officially invited, they wont have your IMEI as being part of the test, so If they change versions mid stream, etc, they can't push new things to you. And since the OTA's have a pre-flash validation check requiring you be on a particular version, if you are not, it wont install.

 

[KidJoe]

I think yes. Bootloader isn't downgraded, so you are safe. Make 5.0.2 and 4.4.4 backups, and you can interchange them freely. Modem can remain be from 5.0.2 1053 T-Mobile. Don't use Brazilian!

I think NO. as already explained, when gpt.bin and motoboot.img are mismatched to the rest of ROM, other issues can/will arise.

Yep.

Again, its not 100% that you can say "yep." It is risky, and mismatch between the GPT.BIN and Motoboot.img has been shown to cause issues in the past, therefore its relevant to advise that it is risky and might cause issues.

Yes. Or you find service firmware, it will appear after a while, as usual )

To date, except for the Developer Edition ones, the SBF files have LEAKED... Moto hasn't officially posted them. In other words they are basically grabbed by someone who has access at some point from Moto's servers (or somewhere along the chain), who then posts the file on the internet for us... So we can't always count on this ever happening, nor can we have any expectations that a particular firmware will actually get leaked, or when it will be leaked.

The Asia retail 4.4.4 SBF took several months before it finally leaked causing a few people to be stuck, waiting.

Because leaks are unofficial, are Moto intellectual property, etc it could stop at any time. Thankfully it hasn't yet, and hopefully it will continue.

 

[KidJoe]

@KidJoe question for you. I received the soak teat invite for my 1053, long story short, after I upgraded I started seeing this funny message (low ram space I think). Said I needed 250mb free ram blah blah blah. I used the factory image for my unlocked 1053 from moto (4.4.4) was able to flash all files manually and the phone didn't die. Lucky me. My issue now is I'm pretty much wipes clean on my phone as I start restoring data I begin seeing that error again. I even tried installing xposed but the minute I flashed the zip file necessary I saw the error. Could be the something wrong with my partitions?

So you went... XT1053 4.4.4 -> Lollipop "Soak" update for XT1053 -> XT1053 4.4.4 SBF...

For every MFN test I'd been invited too, Moto setup a hidden area in their forum to discuss it. If you were truly invited to the test by MFN, and the error happened while on the Lollipop test they sent you, I would have posted the question and relevant info there before taking any actions. I don't know if they will take the bug submission and offer help now that you downgraded to 4.4.4.

At this point, I don't have any suggestions for you. Sorry.

 

[s5610]

del

 

[r_diaz13]

So you went... XT1053 4.4.4 -> Lollipop "Soak" update for XT1053 -> XT1053 4.4.4 SBF...

For every MFN test I'd been invited too, Moto setup a hidden area in their forum to discuss it. If you were truly invited to the test by MFN, and the error happened while on the Lollipop test they sent you, I would have posted the question and relevant info there before taking any actions. I don't know if they will take the bug submission and offer help now that you downgraded to 4.4.4.

At this point, I don't have any suggestions for you. Sorry.

I posted the results issues on the private forum but didn't get a response from the moderator.

 

[KidJoe]

KidJoe Have A look Here - http://motox-brasil.blogspot.in/2015/03/tutorial-motox-fazendo-downgrade-do.html?m=1 Wats U r View On it ?

already answered a few posts ago.