Rescue and Smart Assistant (LMSA)(Motorola/Lenovo Only)

[IronTechmonkey]

Success throwing most challenging of my devices at RSA:

Moto X4 which had been running LOS 16 or 17 and which had been problematic to initially configure. This particular device is the only one that I could not access even with RSD, and the boot loader screen indicated baseband is unknown even though it responded to fastboot commands. That paints a picture of a device where something happened to the baseband while LOS was being flashed. Consistent with that, while restoring the device with RSA, at the fastboot part there was an error where RSA said it could not see the device even though it seen from my typical fastboot folders The error occurred on two different computers but finally on one of the computers the flashing process proceeded. I never figured out exactly what the issue was however after a successful recovery and flash the baseband is now listed so it may not happen again.

Regarding ROM build version and root:, the version available through RSI was newer by 1 increment than the one from lollinet. After successful flash and recovery via RSA I used the boot.img file from the RSA download directory for that newer build for root.

The next device is a Moto Peregrine which can no longer connect to T-Mobile US prepaid service. The stock OS may be older by or 2 Android version than LOS was, but it will probably play nicer with the mobile network, especially regarding the provider related apps and services which get pushed through play store now more than in the past. I’m hoping that stock followed by those updates that are available might get this device back on mobile data. That being said, a first test on the most challenging device such as that x4 rarely goes that well so I might enjoy that for a few days before moving onto the next one… Or might get impatient and do it within hours. Who knows? In any event. Thanks again!

 

[IronTechmonkey]

Mini rant: Having to decide which device to work on is a nice problem to have but the RSA app logs you out after some short period time seemingly apart from the "remember me" setting". It's been less than a week since I prepared 2 computers for work on any of a few devices, making sure the RSA app was logged in and that all the devices responded to adb and fastboot,...... then 3 days later when I need it to work as previously tested I''m fumbling for a password because the account as entirely logged out for all computers. Not only is that a momentum breaker but it instills doubt as to why that occurred and effectively ended the project (updating 1 or 2 devices) for the night. It may seem on the edge of superstition but it's not. For workstation/device building or recovery getting off to a steady and consistent start each time is important, especially for assessing any deviation in the expected process. Tomorrow I should be less cranky and the login should still be remembered..

 

[IronTechmonkey]

The restoration of several devices coming from a mix of stock and LOS to stock Android 8, 9, 10, and 11 has gone well. Here are some observations, in particular about a few of the quirks where the PC program seems to get ahead of the android device and a few other things.

1) The login resetting itself is a minor inconvenience but in some cases the delay of entering credentials is overtaken by the need to accommodate permission prompts in Android; consequently a connection problem may be erroneously reported.

2) The more challenging devices have been ones which have recently been restored because they require updates to a variety of things before the RSA connection can work. A currently updated custom ROM seems easier perhaps because it has most of the requisite pieces in place.

3) Upon first connecting a freshly restored device it seems like the following must occur (not necessarily in this order):
- Installation of Google services (remaining from initial config and or specific to RSA).
- Installation of the Device Help android app.
- Android OS permissions (multiple)for Device Help app
- Android Device Help connection permission (runs at every connection).

Depending on how fast and up to date the device is this may be where the PC program seems to not wait for the Android device to prepare itself. If the PC program is smart enough to reconnect when the Android device is ready it does not indicate such, so I close the program and reopen it at such points.

4) For one particular device, Moto G7 power (Ocean), RSA found a slightly newer OS version that is one security update newer than the last one receives via OTA or available through lolinet. It is worth checking what RSA finds even if you think you’ve got the newest stock.

5) Moto is collecting a good bit of information through this utility. I did not audit the activity but this does seem evident from the number of warnings. That is their prerogative and does not bother me personally but for situations where privacy is mission-critical I would use a manual procedure. Also as a matter of course I do not select the option to register the device because it’s clear from the other required prompts that Motorola knows more about the devices after your use this than before anyhow.

6) For one device which is still receiving OTA security updates, Moto G power 2020 (Sofia), a new official security update was released a few days after I had restored that device with the previous version which incidentally offered a chance to see how long between OTA rollout and availability of update via RSA - the update was available via RSA within 1-2 days after OTA.

 

[Shuton]

Skip Data Wipe

There is a way to flash firmware without losing data
Open LMSA select Flashing/rescue
boot the device to Fastboot mode
Connect the device to PC
Let LMSA download the Firmware
Once the firmware is downloaded, don't continue with flashing.
Open C:\ProgramData\LMSA\Download\RomFiles
Select the firmware for the device you want to flash
Open the flashfile.xml with a text editor like notepad++ (https://notepad-plus-plus.org/)
Delete this line

<step operation="erase" partition="userdata"/>

save the changes
Continue the flashing with LMSA

Note: This is not guaranteed to work
Thanks to nicolap8
How to: flash stock without losing data (without reformatting) by nicolap8

Has anyone had success or failure with this method lately? I want to give this a shot but I am worried about losing my data that I really need so I thought to hear from other experiences before I take my chance on this.

 

[stealthrt]

Anyone know if this program can downgrade to a lower android version? I have all the stock firmware for my tablet so it’s the official images.

Some type of key combo to open a dialog box to manually select a firmware image possibly? Perhaps letting it download the latest firmware then go into the directory that it places it with and switch it out for the lower stock firmware?

 

[sd_shadow]

Anyone know if this program can downgrade to a lower android version? I have all the stock firmware for my tablet so it’s the official images.

Some type of key combo to open a dialog box to manually select a firmware image possibly? Perhaps letting it download the latest firmware then go into the directory that it places it with the lower stock firmware?

Sure it can work, if the bootloader is unlocked.
Edit: not recommended though

 

[harryspar]

I'm trying to run RSA for my Moto G Play 2021 and get this message:

I don't actually need to rescue the device, I just need the boot.img for magisk patching because the firmware version is so new that it's not in lolinet (GUAMNA_METROPCS_11_RZAS31.Q2-146-14-9)

 

[sd_shadow]

I'm trying to run RSA for my Moto G Play 2021 and get this message:

View attachment 5610601

I don't actually need to rescue the device, I just need the boot.img for magisk patching because the firmware version is so new that it's not in lolinet (GUAMNA_METROPCS_11_RZAS31.Q2-146-14-9)

You will need to downgrade or wait till new firmware is available

 

[stoag]

I would be grateful if someone could look at the pic and tell me if i have all the required things in place if I need to go ahead with the flash or do I run the file before I copy the rom in. Does it matter what .bat file from the converter is named and would I connect the phone and click on that file to start the process ,do i need any usb drivers and if so from where. and should i also have deleted fastboot erase ddr as well as user data?
Thanks again for any helpView attachment 5380897

You don't need some fancy converter to make the batch file. All the information you need is already in the flashfile.xml file. Just make a copy of it, rename the copy to something.bat, doesn't matter what it starts with, I made mine restore.bat. Then fix the syntax. The bat file should start where the xml file lists the "steps".
In my flashfile the first step is <step operation="getvar" var="max-sparse-size"/>. So I edit that line to say fastboot (operation) (var) and delete everything above it.

fastboot getvar max-sparse-size
Then there's some listed with MD5, filename, operation and partition. Those should be edited to say, fastboot (operation) (partition) (filename).

For example,
<step MD5="317e6feb759571d91ab4889094c0f0f0" filename="bootloader.img" operation="flash" partition="bootloader"/> becomes
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img

Another example is
<step MD5="7a79510c418dd6e49684bea5949f8bf0" filename="BTFM.bin" operation="flash" partition="bluetooth"/> becomes
fastboot flash bluetooth BTFM.bin

Same goes for any erase operations.
<step operation="erase" partition="carrier"/> becomes fastboot (operation) (partition)
fastboot erase carrier

You only have to skip erasing userdata to save it. The information in the ddr partition doesn't have to be skipped.

You can get usb drivers for just about any device on this page, https://www.xda-developers.com/download-android-usb-drivers/#download.

If you don't already have fastboot go here https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/ and just make sure both the zip from Motorola and the fastboot.exe files are in the same place, if not added to your $PATH environment variable.

I see a batch file existing in your screenshot. That file, as well as the fastboot files you have will all need to be in the same directory as your .xml file, assuming that you haven't added that folder to your $PATH.

Lastly, seriously... all the information you need is here already. Instead of being a big chicken, do the research and then complete the task. You shouldn't expect other people to do it for you.

Wow... I just realized this post is really old. ...meh... screw it, I'm posting anyway.

 

[stoag]

I'm trying to run RSA for my Moto G Play 2021 and get this message:

View attachment 5610601

I don't actually need to rescue the device, I just need the boot.img for magisk patching because the firmware version is so new that it's not in lolinet (GUAMNA_METROPCS_11_RZAS31.Q2-146-14-9)

There's a working copy of TWRP for the Moto G Play 2021. Just use that to dd a copy of the boot.img .. ?

 

[brokenn8]

Hi I have a moto g power 2022 edition and I was trying to generate the rom file inside of the downloads firmware but instead I just get 3 other files which all seem pretty useless. The files in my downloads folder for LMSA are download_resource, downloaded_resources, and speed. I have put my phone into fastboot multiple times and then connected to my pc and downloaded the corresponding software but nothing ever works. Could it be because the device is on the latest firmware at android 11?

 

[IronTechmonkey]

Hi I have a moto g power 2022 edition and I was trying to generate the rom file inside of the downloads firmware but instead I just get 3 other files which all seem pretty useless. The files in my downloads folder for LMSA are download_resource, downloaded_resources, and speed. I have put my phone into fastboot multiple times and then connected to my pc and downloaded the corresponding software but nothing ever works. Could it be because the device is on the latest firmware at android 11?

Firstly, I've got three consecutive years of the Moto G power on my desk, G7 2019 (Ocean), 2020 (Sofia), 2021 (Borneo), and having seen photographs of the 2022 model which you mention it is obvious that Motorola is moving the camera around for no reason whatsoever except to force obsolescence of the previous model. There is no justification for them moving it from corner to center once every model version. Okay with that rant concluded, onward to RSA.

You may not be looking in the correct place as the file names you mention are not part of any ROM but rather by implication of the file names would seem to be part of RSA app settings. On Windows 10 the default download directory should be C:\ProgramData\RSA\Download\RomFiles\[device model and build number] and in the case of the 3 aforementioned devices the respective device folders each contain 25-32 files about half of which are large archives of data and about half of which are free standing (such as boot.img - if after restoring a device I want to root it I'll use that boot.img file). If you get a successful download then before proceeding to the restoration you should be able to see the path to the file in the RSA UI.

IIRC a good connection to an identified device is required to perform the download for said device but the fact that you are running android 11 should not be an issue. I've used RSA to download and restore stock on all 3 of the referenced devices on running Android 10 and or Android 11.

 

[Teiji]

I have a Motorola G Power 2021 (Android 11) with Android June security update. Is it possible to flash it with May security update?

The June security update broke my SIM functionality, rendering the phone useless as a phone ("Invalid SIM card" error, can't call/text/modile data).

 

[IronTechmonkey]

I have a Motorola G Power 2021 (Android 11) with Android June security update. Is it possible to flash it with May security update?

The June security update broke my SIM functionality, rendering the phone useless as a phone ("Invalid SIM card" error, can't call/text/modile data).

2 days ago the same update was applied to my Moto G power 2021 (Borneo) with no problems. Unless you have a very solid reason to think the cause of the problem is the update you could be asking for more trouble by trying to downgrade. I suggest doing a full recovery with the latest build. Even if a failed or interrupted update caused the problem that would get fixed by a full recovery to the newest version.

 

[Teiji]

Thanks. Don't know why my phone was fked after that update. I did several factory resets from Settings but still the same error. Is full recovery with LMSA a better clean installation than the factory reset from Settings?

 

[sd_shadow]

Thanks. Don't know why my phone was fked after that update. I did several factory resets from Settings but still the same error. Is full recovery with LMSA a better clean installation than the factory reset from Settings?

Factory reset and flashing firmware are two very different things.
If the firmware didn’t flash correctly factory reset cannot fix that.
Factory reset just resets settings and wipes user data.

 

[IronTechmonkey]

Thanks. Don't know why my phone was fked after that update. I did several factory resets from Settings but still the same error. Is full recovery with LMSA a better clean installation than the factory reset from Settings?

Echoing what @sd_shadow said, and including an example from my own experience. The Moto RSA tool will restore the entire device (except for state of boot loader) including partitions and other things that may persist through flashing and restoring custom (Lineage) and stock images and when "resetting" device. On one device which functioned fine but reported an odd modem version in bootloader screen and occasionally had fastboot problems, those problem persisted through some flashing until doing a full RSA. If you do have some need to use an older Android version, it is often recommended and sometimes required to recover to latest stock anyhow.

 

[Teiji]

Echoing what @sd_shadow said, and including an example from my own experience. The Moto RSA tool will restore the entire device (except for state of boot loader) including partitions and other things that may persist through flashing and restoring custom (Lineage) and stock images and when "resetting" device. One one device which functioned fine but reported an odd modem version in bootloader screen and occasionly had fastboot problems, those problem pesisted through some flashing until doing a full RSA. If you do have some need to use an older Android version, it is often recommended and sometimes required to recover to latest stock anyhow.

Thank you both. When you say RSA, do you mean LMSA: Lenovo's Motorola Smart Assistant? Or is that a different program? Just trying to understand so I don't screw up because I'm a noob when it comes to these things lol.

 

[sd_shadow]

Thank you both. When you say RSA, do you mean LMSA: Lenovo's Motorola Smart Assistant? Or is that a different program? Just trying to understand so I don't screw up because I'm a noob when it comes to these things lol.

LMSA is the old name for RSA
It’s just a rebranding of same program, lmsa is still used for parts of the program.

 

[Teiji]

I did an RSA and it successfully flashed the latest firmware for my Motorola G Power 2021. But I'm still having "Invalid SIM card" issues. I bought this phone unlocked on ebay. And initially it works with my Tello SIM, but after Android June security update, it seems something trigger it to relock (my guess). I'm seeing "Boost" in the carrier part in RSA (pic). I'm also noticing a My Boost app on the phone even after the RSA rescue flashed.

Can anyone with a Motorola G Power 2021 Unlocked confirm what should the carrier part say?