Is there a bare-bones guide to installing GSI on my Aljeter?

[pepijndevos]

There are of course some generic guides like
https://www.xda-developers.com/flash-generic-system-image-project-treble-device/
https://source.android.com/setup/build/gsi#flashing-gsis
and in this G6 Play subforum there is this guide for things such as root, twrp, decrypt, magisk
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3929928

But I do not want to root/decrypt my device unless needed and I ESPECIALLY don't want to install sketchy unofficial software from untrusted sources.
It seems TWRP does not officially support the Moto G6 Play, and it seems you can install without it.

So I have a few questions:
Do I need Dm-Verity & ForceEncrypt Disabler?
Do I need Magisk?
Do I need to disable verify boot (AVB) by flashing vbmeta.img?
How can I backup my phone without TWRP?
Any other particularities besides the generic GSI guide?
How badly can I mess up?

I've written Android apps, so I know my way around adb, but this is my first time flashing GSI.

 

[Spaceminer]

There are of course some generic guides like
https://www.xda-developers.com/flash-generic-system-image-project-treble-device/
https://source.android.com/setup/build/gsi#flashing-gsis
and in this G6 Play subforum there is this guide for things such as root, twrp, decrypt, magisk
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3929928

But I do not want to root/decrypt my device unless needed and I ESPECIALLY don't want to install sketchy unofficial software from untrusted sources.
It seems TWRP does not officially support the Moto G6 Play, and it seems you can install without it.

So I have a few questions:
Do I need Dm-Verity & ForceEncrypt Disabler?
Do I need Magisk?
Do I need to disable verify boot (AVB) by flashing vbmeta.img?
How can I backup my phone without TWRP?
Any other particularities besides the generic GSI guide?
How badly can I mess up?

I've written Android apps, so I know my way around adb, but this is my first time flashing GSI.

Do I need Dm-Verity & ForceEncrypt Disabler?
Yes, but you need to install twrp first in order to flash it, or it won't work properly. GSIs like to bootloop if you don't disable them.

Do I need Magisk?
Nope. I'd still recommend it though, because I'm not sure if the disabler removes AVB, and having it enabled can cause bootloops.

Do I need to disable verify boot (AVB) by flashing vbmeta.img?
Nope. This doesn't apply to us. We don't have "system as root". AVB is in the boot.img.

How can I backup my phone without TWRP?
You pretty much can't. Some partitions can be backed up with dd commands, but most of them can't be restored like this. You also need root to use them.

Any other particularities besides the generic GSI guide?
You'll need to manually replace the apn if you use Virgin/Sprint/Boost. You'll also need an overlay to enable auto brightness, and another one to fix the rounded screen corners.

How badly can I mess up?
Worst case scenario, you might encounter a bootloop. There isn't much you could do, that flashing stock firmware couldn't fix.

 

[pepijndevos]

Thanks for the info.

Between the post and your reply I just figured I'd attempt the generic guide.
I guess I'm lucky that I did not encounter a boot loop.
All is working great now.

I should look into adding this overlay maybe...

 

[Spaceminer]

Thanks for the info.

Between the post and your reply I just figured I'd attempt the generic guide.
I guess I'm lucky that I did not encounter a boot loop.
All is working great now.

I should look into adding this overlay maybe...

I have copies for our phone. Check the attachments. Here's all the steps.

1. Install your GSI.

2. Using twrp's file manager, a root browser, or ADB... copy the 2 apks below to /vendor/overlay and set permissions on them to 0644 or rw-r--r-- and reboot.

3. Using ADB or a terminal emulator, run the following commands.

adb shell or su from a terminal emulator.

[B]chcon u:object_r:vendor_overlay_file:s0 /vendor/overlay;chcon u:object_r:vendor_overlay_file:s0 /vendor/overlay/Autobright.apk[/B]

[B]chcon u:object_r:vendor_overlay_file:s0 /vendor/overlay;chcon u:object_r:vendor_overlay_file:s0 /vendor/overlay/Curves.apk[/B]

And reboot.

4. Open up adb or a terminal emulator once more. Enter these commands.

adb shell or su

cmd overlay list

cmd overlay enable android.auto_generated_rro__

cmd overlay enable com.android.systemui.Curve

*** You should see the changes immediately after this. You may need to reboot one more time to get auto brightness' options to show up in your settings.