[UPDATE/KEEP ROOT GUIDE] SEP 2020 (RP1A.200720.009) "FLAME" Magisk/Stock Boot Images

[i5lee8bit]

[UPDATE/KEEP ROOT GUIDE] SEP 2020 (RP1A.200720.009) "FLAME" Magisk/Stock Boot Images

PLEASE READ ALL ADDITIONAL NOTES IN THE FIRST 2 POSTS!!!
THIS IS A MAJOR UPDATE TO A NEW VERSION OF ANDROID AND CONSEQUENTLY COMES WITH A MUCH HIGHER RISK OF BOOTLOOPING IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL.

PLEASE DROP A QUICK THANKS IF YOU STILL FIND THESE GUIDES HELPFUL! :good:
(I PERSONALLY AM WAITING TO UPDATE TO ANDROID R (WAITING ON GRAVITYBOX) SO I WON'T BE ABLE TO HELP AS MUCH - PLEASE BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER AND HELP EACH OTHER OUT! )​

***IF YOU ARE STILL ON AUGUST / ANDROID 10 BUILD AND WANT TO UPGRADE TO CURRENT OCTOBER 2020 BUILD: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND FOLLOWING THIS SEPTEMBER UPDATE GUIDE FIRST (TO FIRST ENSURE YOU PROPERLY UPGRADE TO ANDROID 11, ELIMINATE ANY POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH BOOTLOOPING, MAKE SURE ALL MODULES ARE UP TO DATE AND COMPATIBLE, ETC). ONCE YOU ARE SUCCESSFULLY UPGRADED TO SEPTEMBER BUILD ANDROID 11, LET IT SETTLE AND PLAY AROUND FOR A WHILE BEFORE YOU FOLLOW THE OCTOBER UPDATE GUIDE.***


IMPORTANT!! THESE FILES / THIS THREAD IS FOR PIXEL 4 "FLAME" ONLY, NOT PIXEL 4 XL "CORAL"!!

**IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO PATCH THE STOCK BOOT IMAGE YOURSELF, FROM YOUR OWN DEVICE, USING MAGISK MANAGER. WHILE THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THE FILE I PROVIDED BELOW WILL BE IDENTICAL (USE A FILE HASH CHECKSUM TOOL IF YOU'RE CURIOUS), THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE THEY MAY HAVE SMALL, BUT SIGNIFICANT, VARIANCES**
Thanks for the info and link, @wrongway213
Link to @topjohnwu's post: https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1272136975022084097?s=19


ALL FILES BELOW ARE FOR "RP1A.200720.009, Sep 2020"!
Magisk Canary v21.0 Patched Boot Image: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=10763459528675562381
Factory Untouched Boot Image: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=10763459528675562110
Factory Untouched DTBO Image: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=10763459528675562111

[SAFETYNET INFO]: Again, I'm not updating myself yet, so I'm not sure about this. I will update this info as others report back. On Android 10, using the MagiskHide Props Config module (or an alternate module created by Displax, though I prefer Didgeridoohan's module) and choosing option 2 - Force BASIC key attestation would force BASIC HW attestation and allow SafetyNet to pass again. This works perfectly for me, and I even run additional mods including EdXposed. I'm not sure if this works on Android 11, and I won't be able to confirm myself for a while. If anybody tries it, please let me know and I'll update this section. The module and info on using it can be found here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/ap...just search for it in the Magisk Manager app.

 

[i5lee8bit]

READ THIS ENTIRE POST BEFORE PROCEEDING!

ADDITIONAL PRELIMINARY STEPS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS MONTHS - DO NOT SKIP!!!!:
A. Make sure all of your Magisk / EdXposed modules are updated for compatibility with R. For example:
* Magisk Module: Riru (Riru - Core) v21.3
* Magisk Module / EdXposed version: EdXposed v.0.5.0.6-android_r (4561) [this is a Canary build]
B. Recommend disabling any Magisk and/or Xposed modules that have not been tested with Android R.
C. Install latest Magisk Manager build: https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases/download/manager-v8.0.2/MagiskManager-v8.0.2.apk
D. Regular reboot the phone to make sure updates are applied before proceeding with the rest of the update process.

---------------------------​

EASY UPDATE / SEAMLESS KEEP-ROOT UPDATE PROCESS (using a PC - a very intuitive, effective, and relatively safe method).
** You can only follow this guide verbatim if coming EXACTLY from build "10.0.0 (QQ3A.200805.001, Aug 2020)". But the general idea is the same for other builds, you just need the correct files for your device.

flame-qq3a.200805.001-factory-dtbo.img: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=8889791610682911608
flame-qq3a.200805.001-factory-boot.img: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=8889791610682911606
September 2020 sideload OTA zip: https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/flame-ota-rp1a.200720.009-6dde3195.zip

DO NOT BOOT BACK INTO O/S UNTIL ALL STEPS ARE COMPLETED - THIS ENSURES EVERYTHING BOOTS BACK UP WITH MAGISK / EDXPOSED ALL RUNNING PROPERLY RIGHT AWAY

1. boot into bootloader
----------------
** I was on custom kernel, so I needed to flash BOTH the stock boot and dtbo images
2. fastboot flash boot flame-qq3a.200805.001-factory-boot.img
3. fastboot flash dtbo flame-qq3a.200805.001-factory-dtbo.img
......* these steps to restore stock recovery; dtbo.img also necessary for some kernel installations.
......* won't hurt to flash both anyway, so if you're unsure, go ahead and do both.
-----------------
4. use volume keys to change selection to boot to Recovery Mode
......- when you reach the android symbol with No Command, hold power button, tap volume up, in case you've forgotten
5. choose option "Apply update from ADB"
6. adb sideload flame-ota-rp1a.200720.009-6dde3195.zip
7. Once the OTA sideload is done, Reboot to bootloader (you'll also notice it's now on the other slot after OTA flashed)
8. fastboot flash boot flame-rp1a.200720.009-magisk_patched-21.0.img
9. done, start the phone
(Optional - Flash custom kernel. If you had a custom kernel, you need to re-flash it)

This is a 100% seamless update that requires no additional / re-setup of any of my Magisk or EdXposed setups. All of the factory files can be found here https://developers.google.com/android/images. boot.img and dtbo.img are in their corresponding full Factory Image zips, and the ota zip is under Full OTA Images.

---------------------------​

ADDITIONAL NOTES FROM @sidhaarthm, WHO TESTED FOR ME - THERE'S SOME GOOD INFO HERE TO HELP PREP YOU BEFORE UPDATING YOUR PHONE (NOTE, THIS WAS DONE BEFORE MAGISK MANAGER 8.0.x BECAME STABLE, AND WAS FOR PIXEL 4 XL):

Okay, so I just successfully completed the steps and I'm booted into Android 11 without issues.

Here are my observations, notes and findings:

Pre-requisites:
- I installed the Canary Build of Magisk apk - it basically overwrote the existing installation of Magisk and worked straight away. I remained on the 'stable' update channel.
- I uninstalled all the Accent and Colour Mods from Tulsadiver as he is yet to update the mods for R11 (although he's confirmed its' possible and will publish it soon).
- I also deleted the AK3 Helper module from Magisk that gets flashed with Kirisakura Kernel since I was about to to flash the stock kernel anyway.
- I left the GPay SQlite Fix, Systemless Hosts, Busybox, V4A and AML Modules in Magisk enabled and as is.

Upgrade Notes:
- Followed your instructions to the T and the upgrade process was a breeze.
- I did extract the boot file from the factory ROM and patched it in Canary Magisk myself on my P4XL, but I chickened out at the last minute and flashed the boot file you had provided anyway. Reason being the flashed boot IMG I generated was 33,292 KB vs the one you had provided (and the ones I saw posted in other threads) were all 33,332 KB. So there was definitely some differences there and I just didn't want to risk it at that point.
- The phone got a bit hot during the upgrade process - around 40C+ but I suppose that's alright. Its' cooled down now and running okay.
- I did not flash any Kernel yet since I am waiting for the next official Kirisakura Kernel release for R11.

Findings:
- My P4XL booted first time, no bootloops etc - finalised the upgrade in a couple of minutes and everything thereafter seems smooth as butter.
- GPay works perfect without any tinkering (that's a big plus!)
- Device is rooted and all Root apps (AdAway, TiB etc), all work as normal. Camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, everything works, no issues whatsoever.
- Face Unlock works as normal and so do all the apps that use the biometric API to unlock (banking apps etc).
- SafetyNet fails on ctsProfile (evalType Hardware) but it was the same before upgrading to R11, so not surprised.
- Viper FX doesn't work post upgrading to R11 - that's expected and people have already reported the same 'failed at patching system' error on the main thread. Hopefully we get an upgrade at some point. Really gutted about this one as I love V4A!

Big thanks to @sidhaarthm for being an awesome and detailed tester!

-------------------​

Issues after updating?

If you end up unable to boot or bootlooping afterwards, you most likely have an old Magisk module that isn't playing nice with the new build. There are 2 main things you can do:

1. Flash the new factory untouched boot image. You will of course lose root, and all modules will be disabled. However, it should at least get you able to boot back up quickly and have a working phone if you're in a bind.

2. I would recommend checking Tulsadiver's thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4/how-to/magisk-modules-disabler-booting-magisk-t3991739
Instead of reverting to stock boot image, fastboot boot (NOT FLASH) Tulsadiver's boot image. This will boot your phone in Magisk Core-Only Mode, with all modules disabled but root retained. From here you can open Magisk Manager and disable suspect modules. Before rebooting, go to Magisk Manager's settings and disable Magisk Core-Only Mode. Once you disable the incompatible module, the phone should boot back up.
- See this post (or thread) for more tips / context / an example: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=82509691&postcount=16


Coming from an earlier build than August 2020?

Download the September 2020 Full Factory Image .zip file and extract it. BEFORE RUNNING THE FLASH-ALL BATCH / SHELL FILE, EDIT THE FILE AND REMOVE THE "-w" FLAG FROM THE LAST FASTBOOT LINE. If you fail to remove -w, your phone will be wiped when it reaches this step. After flashing the full factory image, your phone will automatically reboot into O/S. From here, reboot back into bootloader, and flash the new Magisk patched boot image.

Since this is a major jump to a new version of Android, I don't want to recommend this yet until someone tests it. If anybody tries this way successfully, please let me know so we can update this part. Thanks!

 

[i5lee8bit]

Link to October 2020 update guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4/how-to/update-root-guide-oct-2020-rp1a-201005-t4175957

P.S.: Yes, I know this is very late to post last month's update, but life has been super busy for me, my wife, and the "new" member of our family <3 <3 <3. Plus, the Pixel 4 is not my phone but my wife's phone, and on top of that I haven't updated either of us to Android 11 yet. I really wanted to make sure I wasn't leading everyone who follows my guides into bootloop / bricking hell, so along with the help of a great tester and an abundance of caution, I only released the September guide for the Pixel 4 XL. Then I just never got around to doing the same for the Pixel 4. Whoops, my bad. Anyway, there's some great news brewing on the GravityBox scene, and hopefully I'll be updating our phones in the near future and I can get back on top of these guides without worrying that there may be any issues that I can't help out with, not having performed the upgrades myself.

Anyway, enjoy! And please let us know if you have any issues.

 

[vdevl]

Link to October 2020 update guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4/how-to/update-root-guide-oct-2020-rp1a-201005-t4175957

P.S.: Yes, I know this is very late to post last month's update, but life has been super busy for me, my wife, and the "new" member of our family <3 <3 <3. Plus, the Pixel 4 is not my phone but my wife's phone, and on top of that I haven't updated either of us to Android 11 yet. I really wanted to make sure I wasn't leading everyone who follows my guides into bootloop / bricking hell, so along with the help of a great tester and an abundance of caution, I only released the September guide for the Pixel 4 XL. Then I just never got around to doing the same for the Pixel 4. Whoops, my bad. Anyway, there's some great news brewing on the GravityBox scene, and hopefully I'll be updating our phones in the near future and I can get back on top of these guides without worrying that there may be any issues that I can't help out with, not having performed the upgrades myself.

Anyway, enjoy! And please let us know if you have any issues.

thanks mate ive been waiting for this!! i did not feel like accidentally bricking or doing factory clean/. i followed the guide exactly and i updated all magisk modules to latest versions available and downloaded latest xposed canary yahfa. everything working buttery smooth with no hic cups at all. thank you for continuing to make thes guides :good::good::good:
also happy to report the magiskprophide module seems to be working for me and i pass safetynet! i will also take your advice and wait a bit before ota ing to october build. thanks again mate!

 

[JakeKane08]

strange issue after updating...

Link to October 2020 update guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-4/how-to/update-root-guide-oct-2020-rp1a-201005-t4175957

P.S.: Yes, I know this is very late to post last month's update, but life has been super busy for me, my wife, and the "new" member of our family <3 <3 <3. Plus, the Pixel 4 is not my phone but my wife's phone, and on top of that I haven't updated either of us to Android 11 yet. I really wanted to make sure I wasn't leading everyone who follows my guides into bootloop / bricking hell, so along with the help of a great tester and an abundance of caution, I only released the September guide for the Pixel 4 XL. Then I just never got around to doing the same for the Pixel 4. Whoops, my bad. Anyway, there's some great news brewing on the GravityBox scene, and hopefully I'll be updating our phones in the near future and I can get back on top of these guides without worrying that there may be any issues that I can't help out with, not having performed the upgrades myself.

Anyway, enjoy! And please let us know if you have any issues.

Thanks again! I do have a strange issue after updating that hasn't happened before and I can't seem to track down. Updated per instructions, same as I do pretty much every month, however this time (I use the 3 button home buttons) my home and task button don't work. They flash to indicated that I have pressed them, but no luck. Also noticed that dark theme is not holding after reboot... No issues popped up during install. Tried process a second time, again no issue, same deal. Also tried booting into safe mode and the issue is in safe mode as well...anything else to try before wipe and reset? I don't believe its related to this process, just hoping someone has any ideas or experienced this after the latest update...I just can't seem to find anyone having the same issue...

 

[i5lee8bit]

Thanks again! I do have a strange issue after updating that hasn't happened before and I can't seem to track down. Updated per instructions, same as I do pretty much every month,

1) however this time (I use the 3 button home buttons) my home and task button don't work. They flash to indicated that I have pressed them, but no luck.

2)Also noticed that dark theme is not holding after reboot...

3) No issues popped up during install. Tried process a second time, again no issue, same deal. Also tried booting into safe mode and the issue is in safe mode as well...anything else to try before wipe and reset? I don't believe its related to this process, just hoping someone has any ideas or experienced this after the latest update...I just can't seem to find anyone having the same issue...

1) We still haven't updated to Android 11, so unfortunately I'm not sure if I can be of much help. Actually, I hate gesture navigation and plan to use 3-button myself, so hopefully this doesn't happen to us, lol. I would start with something simple and quick - try to toggle 3-button navigation off (system, settings, navigation option or wherever it is), then back on. Maybe try rebooting in between? Then of course see if there are any modules (Magisk or Xposed) that may be messing with the setting. I would think GravityBox, but it isn't compatible with Android 11 yet... If you have EdXposed, try disabling the module to disable Xposed and see if it still happens. If that still doesn't work, perhaps try booting into Magisk core-only mode, or just flash the stock boot and dtbo images (for the current month you're on) for testing to see if it works, then flash the magisk-patched boot image again afterwards to re-root. Maybe booting non-rooted / all modules disabled will easily tell you if the problem is an uncooperative module.

2) Actually, I've had this issue since as long as I can remember in owning the device (well, on my P4XL, and also happens on my wife's P4). We both have the setting for auto dark mode (morning / evening auto setting). We're still both on Android 10 and it does the same thing. If it's on dark mode and the phone is rebooted, it boots back into light mode. We would have to toggle it back manually. However, I do believe it does automatically switch to dark theme on the next scheduled time/day. Yeah, it's been like that for literally as long as I can remember, unfortunately. Kinda annoying but meh, whatever.

I'm also not sure what happens if you follow the guide twice, only because you would already be on the current month, then flashing the previous month's boot/dtbo images, and OTA'ing to what you're already on. I doubt it would permanently break anything though, but maybe try flashing your current build's dtbo image just to be safe? Not sure if the OTA directly updates the dtbo partition. For example:
Round 1: You follow my guide for September update. You are currently on August build. You are flashing the stock August boot / dtbo images to revert recovery to stock for your current patch level, then flashing the September OTA. You are now on all September images. You then flash the Magisk patched September boot image to re-root.
Round 2: You follow the guide again. You are already on September build, yet you're flashing the August boot / dtbo images to revert recovery to stock - but for a month back. See what I'm saying? But at least you said you got no errors. I would assume the 2nd round of following the guide didn't hurt anything, but this is also why I say maybe try flashing the stock dtbo image for the current month you're on.

Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. Still waiting to update, and having working 3 button navigation is a MUST for both my wife and I! Not trying to have an Apple Pixel here.

 

[JakeKane08]

1) We still haven't updated to Android 11, so unfortunately I'm not sure if I can be of much help. Actually, I hate gesture navigation and plan to use 3-button myself, so hopefully this doesn't happen to us, lol. I would start with something simple and quick - try to toggle 3-button navigation off (system, settings, navigation option or wherever it is), then back on. Maybe try rebooting in between? Then of course see if there are any modules (Magisk or Xposed) that may be messing with the setting. I would think GravityBox, but it isn't compatible with Android 11 yet... If you have EdXposed, try disabling the module to disable Xposed and see if it still happens. If that still doesn't work, perhaps try booting into Magisk core-only mode, or just flash the stock boot and dtbo images (for the current month you're on) for testing to see if it works, then flash the magisk-patched boot image again afterwards to re-root. Maybe booting non-rooted / all modules disabled will easily tell you if the problem is an uncooperative module.

2) Actually, I've had this issue since as long as I can remember in owning the device (well, on my P4XL, and also happens on my wife's P4). We both have the setting for auto dark mode (morning / evening auto setting). We're still both on Android 10 and it does the same thing. If it's on dark mode and the phone is rebooted, it boots back into light mode. We would have to toggle it back manually. However, I do believe it does automatically switch to dark theme on the next scheduled time/day. Yeah, it's been like that for literally as long as I can remember, unfortunately. Kinda annoying but meh, whatever.

I'm also not sure what happens if you follow the guide twice, only because you would already be on the current month, then flashing the previous month's boot/dtbo images, and OTA'ing to what you're already on. I doubt it would permanently break anything though, but maybe try flashing your current build's dtbo image just to be safe? Not sure if the OTA directly updates the dtbo partition. For example:
Round 1: You follow my guide for September update. You are currently on August build. You are flashing the stock August boot / dtbo images to revert recovery to stock for your current patch level, then flashing the September OTA. You are now on all September images. You then flash the Magisk patched September boot image to re-root.
Round 2: You follow the guide again. You are already on September build, yet you're flashing the August boot / dtbo images to revert recovery to stock - but for a month back. See what I'm saying? But at least you said you got no errors. I would assume the 2nd round of following the guide didn't hurt anything, but this is also why I say maybe try flashing the stock dtbo image for the current month you're on.

Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. Still waiting to update, and having working 3 button navigation is a MUST for both my wife and I! Not trying to have an Apple Pixel here.

Sorry for the late reply and confusing with versions I was actually working with September images the entire time. I hadn't actually flashed back August images. After I installed the September OTA and it didn't work, I applied the entire September image to see if something in the OTA broke. No luck there either. I ended up backing everything up and performing a system wipe/recovery. Happy to report that all is working and actually working much better than before. Device is quite snappy and battery has improved, I find that at the end of the day I have about 10-15% more battery than I had before. I'm sure that this is probably due to less bloat and/or something was definitely not working right on the system.