Security updates - Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Questions & Answers

I recently flashed Nougat QB2 and it works great. I have noticed that AT&T has released security patch level updates QC2 (1st March) and QD4 (1st April) since. Does anyone know how important it is to keep up to date with security patch levels? Is it ok to stay on QB2 for a while?
P.s. I'm overseas so can't get the OTA updates

Did you flash QB2 directly from Odin? I have downloaded it but wasn't sure if using Odin was the accepted method? I am running the engineering rom now PL4 and it is very laggy and would like to update to hopefully something faster and less laggy?

Yep flashed QB2 with Odin. Certainly seems to be buttery smooth and working without issue so far.
I obtained the link here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-active/how-to/g891a-android-n-offical-odin-package-t3581042

Thanks Scroob hoping someone was going to answer my question. Did you have to factory reset? Did flashing wipe the phone?

No problem,
Unfortunately yes. it does reset the phone. Smart switch definitely helps ease the pain of reinstalling all the apps but its a pain re-configuring the phone none the less.

if you update via the sdcard with the zip in recovery, and exit at the right time (you gotta be ready and quick) you can get away with not having it totally reset everything

Related

[ROM][TAR] SM-N910P Stock OF5 Odin Flashable

This is NOT ROOTED. Its the original TAR file for people who need an Emergency Recovery for their phones, and don't want to wait hours for it to download from slow file hosts.
Edit: New link added 6/21/16
Download Link: Google Drive
Do NOT rename the tar file, it may cause Odin to fail the md5 check.
Code:
(N910PVPU3BOF5_N910PSPT3BOF5_N910PVPU3BOF5_HOME.tar.md5)
Instructions:
1. Download and Extract tar above and download Odin
2. Put phone into download mode (power off, then power button + Volume Down, then volume up when prompted)
3. Open Odin (right click > open as administrator)
4. Load stock tar into the PDA slot
5. Start flashing
6. Grab some popcorn because it will take a while
7. Profit
@random45, PSA: more direct link available here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61880147&postcount=14
itskapil said:
@random45, PSA: more direct link available here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61880147&postcount=14
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not for the Note 4...
random45 said:
That is not for the Note 4...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@random45 Corrected.. ! pls check now.
Here's the OF5 TAR: http://www.theandroidsoul.com/download/download-sprint-galaxy-note-4-update-n910pvpu3bof5/
I just used this and it worked flawlessly. Thank you.
Thanks alot
This link is dead, it's actually deemed "dangerous", which of course is crap... Does anyone have a link to this firmware?
grmcrkrs said:
This link is dead, it's actually deemed "dangerous", which of course is crap... Does anyone have a link to this firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but the next update up though
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3250864
Sent from my Not4 Mod using Tapatalk
Does anybody still have this firmware version available? The latest marshmallow updates are destroying Galaxy phones left and right with no solution other than paying Samsung to fix the problem and waiting 2 weeks without your device.
random45 said:
This is NOT ROOTED. Its the original TAR file for people who need an Emergency Recovery for their phones, and don't want to wait hours for it to download from slow file hosts.
Download Link: MediaFire
Do NOT rename the tar file, it may cause Odin to fail the md5 check.
Code:
(N910PVPU3BOF5_N910PSPT3BOF5_N910PVPU3BOF5_HOME.tar.md5)
Instructions:
1. Download and Extract tar above and download Odin
2. Put phone into download mode (power off, then power button + Volume Down, then volume up when prompted)
3. Open Odin (right click > open as administrator)
4. Load stock tar into the PDA slot
5. Start flashing
6. Grab some popcorn because it will take a while
7. Profit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tommacco said:
Does anybody still have this firmware version available? The latest marshmallow updates are destroying Galaxy phones left and right with no solution other than paying Samsung to fix the problem and waiting 2 weeks without your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its still in my mediafire folder. I'll upload it to another site since mediafire has flagged it
Edit: Here is the new link
Thank you so much. I will let you know if this actually fixes my woes.... this ROM may become a major fix for a lot of people while Samsung continues to argue with us that there isn't a problem worth filing a bug report for.
random45 said:
Its still in my mediafire folder. I'll upload it to another site since mediafire has flagged it
Edit: Here is the new link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bah, giving me a software revision check error in odin. I guess this means I have to replace the bootloader? samsung is killing me here, they issued a faulty update and blocked off all means of recovery... won't buy one of these devices again.
tommacco said:
Bah, giving me a software revision check error in odin. I guess this means I have to replace the bootloader? samsung is killing me here, they issued a faulty update and blocked off all means of recovery... won't buy one of these devices again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know what problem you're experiencing but most likely you can't go back to Android 5.0 through Odin.
Did you try OG5 or higher stock tar? Actually, I'd recommend OK1 or latest. If older ROMs are your goal, backup, wipe everything but extSdCard and Odin OG5 and up to match bootloader of ROM, flash the ROM. Do not Odin any tar below OG5.
If the ROM is Android 5.0 or KitKat, I think you still need to flash an Odin tar that's Android 5.1 and you need to flash an Android 5.1 kernel, like Beastmode 2.2 Flash ROM and then kernel before booting.
Can't imagine latest ROMs are to blame for ruining your phone. Marshmallow is a bit if a prude until you get familiar with it and setup properly. But if that's not to your liking, give Moar 2.1b a try. Backup and wipe as above and Odin back to OK1 if you don't have a backup. Follow the OP install instructions.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
samep said:
Don't know what problem you're experiencing but most likely you can't go back to Android 5.0 through Odin.
Did you try OG5 or higher stock tar? Actually, I'd recommend OK1 or latest. If older ROMs are your goal, backup, wipe everything but extSdCard and Odin OG5 and up to match bootloader of ROM, flash the ROM. Do not Odin any tar below OG5.
If the ROM is Android 5.0 or KitKat, I think you still need to flash an Odin tar that's Android 5.1 and you need to flash an Android 5.1 kernel, like Beastmode 2.2 Flash ROM and then kernel before booting.
Can't imagine latest ROMs are to blame for ruining your phone. Marshmallow is a bit if a prude until you get familiar with it and setup properly. But if that's not to your liking, give Moar 2.1b a try. Backup and wipe as above and Odin back to OK1 if you don't have a backup. Follow the OP install instructions.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock OTA update from Sprint (PE1) started all these shenanigans with the phone, and it's done the same for many people across a few different carriers from what I've seen on the internet.
tommacco said:
The stock OTA update from Sprint (PE1) started all these shenanigans with the phone, and it's done the same for many people across a few different carriers from what I've seen on the internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated bootloader and baseband only to PE1 and flashed a custom ROM. Later flashed a custom PE2 ROM. The ROMs are Note 4our by @freeza beta 2 and beta 3.
I see nothing wrong with PE1 or PE2. Did you try a factory reset? It does seem data from Lollipop can interfere with custom ROMs on Marshmallow. Main issue I saw with that was ItsOn on the root folder: /carrier/ItsOn The apk in that folder can partially activate on a factory reset and continually reboot a phone trying to setup the ItsOn bootstrapper but cannot so the cycle continues until you fix it. Wiping internal memory and factory reset prior to custom ROM (especially after stock tar update) will help but the developers may have removed that possibility in recent ROMs.
OTA may be suspect too but may only apply if rooting it. ItsOn and Knox don't play nice with root.
I'm not aware of cross carrier issues though?
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
samep said:
I updated bootloader and baseband only to PE1 and flashed a custom ROM. Later flashed a custom PE2 ROM. The ROMs are Note 4our by @freeza beta 2 and beta 3.
I see nothing wrong with PE1 or PE2. Did you try a factory reset? It does seem data from Lollipop can interfere with custom ROMs on Marshmallow. Main issue I saw with that was ItsOn on the root folder: /carrier/ItsOn The apk in that folder can partially activate on a factory reset and continually reboot a phone trying to setup the ItsOn bootstrapper but cannot so the cycle continues until you fix it. Wiping internal memory and factory reset prior to custom ROM (especially after stock tar update) will help but the developers may have removed that possibility in recent ROMs.
OTA may be suspect too but may only apply if rooting it. ItsOn and Knox don't play nice with root.
I'm not aware of cross carrier issues though?
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done factory reset, wiped cache partition, reflashed PE1 and PE2 to no avail. This all started with OTA updates- I didn't touch the software or try flashing anything myself until these problems persisted and didn't go away with factory resets. I've seen others report these same issues in sprint/other forums, seems they ran into similar issues with recent OTA updates of the S5 as well. Sprint claims they're aware of this and are working with Samsung, Samsung support claims it's my problem and I have to pay to get them to reflash the latest update (which I've proven to myself is futile), in the meantime I'm left with a device that is essentially crippled by these frequent restarts and crashes. That's what I get for sticking with stock software ::sigh::. I may start exploring custom ROMs, which I tend to not trust due to the obvious security concerns, so I'm not left with a $700 brick as Sprint and Samsung worry exclusively about devices launched in the last 6 months.
tommacco said:
I've done factory reset, wiped cache partition, reflashed PE1 and PE2 to no avail. This all started with OTA updates- I didn't touch the software or try flashing anything myself until these problems persisted and didn't go away with factory resets. I've seen others report these same issues in sprint/other forums, seems they ran into similar issues with recent OTA updates of the S5 as well. Sprint claims they're aware of this and are working with Samsung, Samsung support claims it's my problem and I have to pay to get them to reflash the latest update (which I've proven to myself is futile), in the meantime I'm left with a device that is essentially crippled by these frequent restarts and crashes. That's what I get for sticking with stock software ::sigh::. I may start exploring custom ROMs, which I tend to not trust due to the obvious security concerns, so I'm not left with a $700 brick as Sprint and Samsung worry exclusively about devices launched in the last 6 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's things like Carrier IQ, ItsOn, Knox, infrequent kernel updates (well that may be corrected now with monthly security updates) and bloat that prohibits my trust of carrier and manufacturer to get things right where my battery doesn't drain, phone doesn't lag and get warm for no apparent reason. Just hate the feeling that someone else just used my phone when I wake it out of standby.
I may have to agree to those terms to run the software but it doesn't prohibit developers from using open source code and methods to make things work better. IMO, that improves personal security rather than put me at risk. It may only be network meta data that Sprint retrieves with ItsOn but that doesn't come without a loss of battery and resources (induced drain and lag).
I trust little but the ROMs I run are mostly stock. Just have the garbage removed or under control with some added custom features. But I still can't deal with Sprint Zone running on my phone but I may not be in the majority on that one. I freeze it.
You mentioned checking custom ROMs out, freeza has a PE1/PE2 ROM out that takes an additional step to prevent some of the things I've brought up with rooted phones. It may help with your frequent reboots. I'm running it with PE1 bootloader and baseband until those flashes are available for PE2 in the bootloader baseband thread.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
samep said:
It's things like Carrier IQ, ItsOn, Knox, infrequent kernel updates (well that may be corrected now with monthly security updates) and bloat that prohibits my trust of carrier and manufacturer to get things right where my battery doesn't drain, phone doesn't lag and get warm for no apparent reason. Just hate the feeling that someone else just used my phone when I wake it out of standby.
I may have to agree to those terms to run the software but it doesn't prohibit developers from using open source code and methods to make things work better. IMO, that improves personal security rather than put me at risk. It may only be network meta data that Sprint retrieves with ItsOn but that doesn't come without a loss of battery and resources (induced drain and lag).
I trust little but the ROMs I run are mostly stock. Just have the garbage removed or under control with some added custom features. But I still can't deal with Sprint Zone running on my phone but I may not be in the majority on that one. I freeze it.
You mentioned checking custom ROMs out, freeza has a PE1/PE2 ROM out that takes an additional step to prevent some of the things I've brought up with rooted phones. It may help with your frequent reboots. I'm running it with PE1 bootloader and baseband until those flashes are available for PE2 in the bootloader baseband thread.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I don't really trust Sprint at all to be honest with you, or any US carrier for that matter... my options seem to be limited toward trying to deal with this nonsense, flashing custom ROMs for which I can't verify the security integrity (sure a lot of folks doing this stuff mean well, but it only takes one bad actor and all of the sudden what little privacy I have is gone), or switching to Apple who thoroughly QAs all of their releases, gives loaners out when problems arise, etc. None of those options are particularly appealing to me unfortunately.
---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:51 PM ----------
samep said:
I updated bootloader and baseband only to PE1 and flashed a custom ROM. Later flashed a custom PE2 ROM. The ROMs are Note 4our by @freeza beta 2 and beta 3.
I see nothing wrong with PE1 or PE2. Did you try a factory reset? It does seem data from Lollipop can interfere with custom ROMs on Marshmallow. Main issue I saw with that was ItsOn on the root folder: /carrier/ItsOn The apk in that folder can partially activate on a factory reset and continually reboot a phone trying to setup the ItsOn bootstrapper but cannot so the cycle continues until you fix it. Wiping internal memory and factory reset prior to custom ROM (especially after stock tar update) will help but the developers may have removed that possibility in recent ROMs.
OTA may be suspect too but may only apply if rooting it. ItsOn and Knox don't play nice with root.
I'm not aware of cross carrier issues though?
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems as though the PD1 firmware (had to remove the cache.img.ext4 and repackage it) has since fixed these problems. I will update this thread if I noticed the problems again, but if anyone else is coming across the problems I noticed I would highly suggest atttempting this line of remediation since Sprint and Samsung support will not help you.
tommacco said:
Yeah I don't really trust Sprint at all to be honest with you, or any US carrier for that matter... my options seem to be limited toward trying to deal with this nonsense, flashing custom ROMs for which I can't verify the security integrity (sure a lot of folks doing this stuff mean well, but it only takes one bad actor and all of the sudden what little privacy I have is gone), or switching to Apple who thoroughly QAs all of their releases, gives loaners out when problems arise, etc. None of those options are particularly appealing to me unfortunately.
---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:51 PM ----------
It seems as though the PD1 firmware (had to remove the cache.img.ext4 and repackage it) has since fixed these problems. I will update this thread if I noticed the problems again, but if anyone else is coming across the problems I noticed I would highly suggest atttempting this line of remediation since Sprint and Samsung support will not help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why did you repackage cache? It only contains csc related things and I assume won't flash with odin unless the entire tar is repacked with a different md5

Lollipop Update issue

I have a Note 4 on Sprint, still running KitKat. Here's my problem:
I really don't want the Lollipop update. I don't want it because I love KitKat so much and I tried Lollipop out on my friend's phone and hated the look and feel of it. I don't want it to finish downloading because I hardly have any space on my phone as it is.
I don't want to
-root my phone
-factory reset my phone
-trip Knox
Right now, I'm pretty angry because I'd like to use WiFi, but can't because every time I turn it on the update starts to download. I tried going into settings and turning off auto update, but that didn't stop it. I also tried filling my device storage so that there were less than 800 megabytes left, but that had no effect on the update either, it just continues downloading. I realize that there are similar posts on this issue, but none of them really apply to me. Thank you in advance for any help.
Just update it then use a kk theam the update will help i dont think you can stop the ota update
chad.420.419 said:
Just update it then use a kk theam the update will help i dont think you can stop the ota update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying, but that really doesn't help me at all. As I said several times over in my original post, I don't want the update at all. I'm constantly hearing about people choosing to keep KitKat, so there must be some way. And even if I could apply a theme to my whole phone without being rooted, it wouldn't fix all the other problems that I have with lollipop.
But the 3 things to consider or note before you begin:
1) if you update beyond OB7, the bootloader gets upgraded to one with a reactivation lockable bootloader. That will prevent you from being able to Odin back to KitKat. You need to disable auto update and stop the update notices before they start; otherwise the nags persist and you may accidentally update.
2) the lollipop file system is different than KitKat do better off formatting your data and wiping cache and dalvik-cache and powering down and pulling battery prior to Odin OB7 stock tar. Let it boot and setup wizard prior to Odin of TWRP (uncheck auto reboot for recovery flash only), boot into TWRP recovery and flash the ROM.
3) dalvik gets built on initial boot of lollipop ROMs; the stock tar still not much quicker. You'll likely see the phone hang at the second boot splash screen with blue LED slowly blinking before you see the app optimization and app start pop-ups. You can expect that with lollipop. Give it 30 minutes to boot before you panic. To avoid CPU heating and slowing the process, remove your phone from its case and ventilate if it gets too warm. You need to start with battery charged to about 80% to full to be safe. It's best to not try and update apps or restore apps until you've flashed and booted the custom ROM. More apps means the process takes longer. You can format the data again prior to flashing the custom ROM to speed things along. If possible, backup your media, and downloads that you want to keep and wipe internal sdcard to get a cleaner start with lollipop. That's optional but don't lose your keepsakes. What you flash should be on extSdCard to avoid the wipe-loss if it.
BTW, the post you're referring to may have been an attempt to recover phone after attempting to downgrade to OB7 or KitKat. It's since been discovered that although Odin wouldn't downgrade, there's a possibility to flash older ROMs in recovery and immediately flash a 5.1.1 rooted kernel to get it to boot without looping. That doesn't have to apply to you; the general rule is to Odin flash the tar that matches the ROM you want to flash in recovery. But again, if you upgrade beyond OB7, you cannot go backwards with Odin. Only few exceptions apply; generally it is forward, not backwards. OB7 is the divide that separates the simple from more complex conditions. So these last 3 paragraphs shouldn't apply to you as long as you're wanting to stay with OB7 or KitKat.
Just for an idea of what to consider in other lollipop updates. The ram optimization got a bit crazy after OB7 and continued until it improved in OJ6. Personally, I think OJ6 and OK1 updates are the best lollipop updates yet. You'll certainly find more security updates in those updates. But lollipop 5.1.1 also introduced the need to root the kernel but Chainfire has recently brought us a patch to use stock kernel again; it's married from experimental to beta. I've mostly ran with stock kernel on my phone, especially before lollipop 5.1.1
Things were once simpler but got a tad more complex as time and updates followed OB7.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
7H3N3RD said:
I have a Note 4 on Sprint, still running KitKat...
I don't want to
-root my phone
-factory reset my phone
-trip Knox
Right now, I'm pretty angry...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a tough ask for a definitive answer, IMO. IDK if it can be done but I'll offer an idea for discussion. Consider pros and cons and alternatives and even constructive differing because l don't know if it's been tried and proven to stop the persistent update on stock KitKat. There are root alternatives but your request is taken into some consideration below.
Odin stock tar will not trip Knox or require root. There are 2 stock tars for KitKat (those end with NIE and NK2, last 3 letters only, NIE being the original, NK2 the last KitKat update).
My theory is that you could...
1) Odin the first tar, NIE stock tar is linked below, let it download the OTA for NK2 but postpone the update long enough to go into Settings/System update/Auto update and uncheck the option.
2) Turn phone off and boot into recovery. It should find the NK2 update and prompt to apply it. If not there's an option to apply from cache, I think.
3) Once booted, make sure the auto update is still unchecked.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95784891001612590
The instructions for Odin stock tar are found here but early posts in that thread may be relative to Odin if stock KitKat tar. The stock tar above is actually linked in post #2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56853325&postcount=1
If auto update resets during the process, it most likely promptly starts the OTA download, negating the effort. No guarantees but reason the risks before you proceed. That's the whole theory, if someone knows the system update gets reset to auto or if that's not enough to prevent it, please advise. On a rooted Lollipop phone, uncheck auto update seemed to be enough to prevent the OK1 update from downloading and being persistent to update... I may have overlooked something in my simple theory. Did I?
Don't be angry with me if it doesn't work. Your data may not be lost but backup what you can on PC via USB, particularly photos, media and downloads on internal memory before you start. KIES may actually work to backup a lot on a stock un-rooted phone but be careful about what you restore; don't want to start the persistent update again if you succeed in preventing it.
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
You definitely can stop it from nagging you to update by turning off notifications (I think you turn it off for Google services framework, and if not that, it's Google play services). This worked for me when I stayed on kitkat.
But deleting the downloaded update file is an issue without root. It lies in /cache or /cache/FOTA directory I believe, which you can't access without root. You may be able to wipe cache with stock recovery, but I'm not sure if it has that option (I'm not on stock recovery so can't check) or if it even works for what you want. Perhaps you can try deleting the cache for Google services framework or Google play services, not sure if the works either. Just some thoughts which may help you

July Verizon Update running very hot!

Can I just flash the June update and go back?
No issues when I used the July update (non-Verizon), but yes you can go back
If you don't mind setting up your phone again you might want to try a factory reset before going back to June. Sometimes after an OTA update or an accumulation of OTA updates over time something in the phone gets corrupted (cache, old app data, code that isn't properly updated or erased in an update) and the best thing to do is a factory reset to start fresh.
rickysidhu_ said:
No issues when I used the July update (non-Verizon), but yes you can go back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for responding.
jhs39 said:
If you don't mind setting up your phone again you might want to try a factory reset before going back to June. Sometimes after an OTA update or an accumulation of OTA updates over time something in the phone gets corrupted (cache, old app data, code that isn't properly updated or erased in an update) and the best thing to do is a factory reset to start fresh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good suggestion. Thanks for responding.
STraver said:
Can I just flash the June update and go back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine did as well, I suspected teh July update.
5 days in though it seems to have cooled off and is working at the temps I am accustomed to ~30c at idle.
parakleet said:
Mine did as well, I suspected teh July update.
5 days in though it seems to have cooled off and is working at the temps I am accustomed to ~30c at idle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay thanks. That's good to know. For now I have flashed back to June. I may flash July and factory reset as was suggested above. For the past few months I have been updating by removing the "-w" from the flashall batch file and maybe it's caught up with me. I also tried wiping the davlik cache in twrp but that doesn't seem to work.
STraver said:
Okay thanks. That's good to know. For now I have flashed back to June. I may flash July and factory reset as was suggested above. For the past few months I have been updating by removing the "-w" from the flashall batch file and maybe it's caught up with me. I also tried wiping the davlik cache in twrp but that doesn't seem to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try just clearing your cache partition from settings > storage. It may help in some cases too if cache is corrupted.
Factory reset will pretty much guarantee fix.
STraver said:
That's a good suggestion. Thanks for responding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome.
---------- Post added at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 PM ----------
milan187 said:
Try just clearing your cache partition from settings > storage. It may help in some cases too if cache is corrupted.
Factory reset will pretty much guarantee fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be right that adding -w caused your problem. There is always a possibility that some user data in an app that gets saved can cause problems after the phone is updated.
jhs39 said:
You're welcome.
---------- Post added at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 PM ----------
You might be right that adding -w caused your problem. There is always a possibility that some user data in an app that gets saved can cause problems after the phone is updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I factory reset and installed the July update. The phone is fine now and not not hot but it seems a lot faster too. The only issue I ran into was that evidently my apps weren't being backed up to my google account, so I had to manually install them again. Thanks for your advice!
STraver said:
Well I factory reset and installed the July update. The phone is fine now and not not hot but it seems a lot faster too. The only issue I ran into was that evidently my apps weren't being backed up to my google account, so I had to manually install them again. Thanks for your advice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had that happen after a factory reset or Rom flash in the past too even though I knew my apps were being backed up--they are by default unless you turn the feature off. I don't know why that happens but sometimes it does. I'm glad everything is working fine now. Sometimes giving your phone a fresh start by doing an occasional factory reset or completely clean flash is the best thing you can do. The fact that it seems to be running faster now is very likely true. Again, glad you got it sorted out. I'm actually running the beta of O and if you like how the Pixel runs on Nougat I think you will be even happier when O officially rolls out in August. The boot time on O is almost instant, battery life is slightly better and should improve more if more apps optimize their code for O, and the phone runs very snappy even though O is still in beta.
jhs39 said:
I've had that happen after a factory reset or Rom flash in the past too even though I knew my apps were being backed up--they are by default unless you turn the feature off. I don't know why that happens but sometimes it does. I'm glad everything is working fine now. Sometimes giving your phone a fresh start by doing an occasional factory reset or completely clean flash is the best thing you can do. The fact that it seems to be running faster now is very likely true. Again, glad you got it sorted out. I'm actually running the beta of O and if you like how the Pixel runs on Nougat I think you will be even happier when O officially rolls out in August. The boot time on O is almost instant, battery life is slightly better and should improve more if more apps optimize their code for O, and the phone runs very snappy even though O is still in beta.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. So O is supposed to become available in August. Will my older apps still work or will they all have to be updated by the developers? Also- for future updates would I be better off doing an OTA vs a complete flash (with the -w taken out)? In any case it sounds like at least every other month I should do a reset and reinstall anyway. What is the risk in just not updating every month? Thanks!
STraver said:
Interesting. So O is supposed to become available in August. Will my older apps still work or will they all have to be updated by the developers? Also- for future updates would I be better off doing an OTA vs a complete flash (with the -w taken out)? In any case it sounds like at least every other month I should do a reset and reinstall anyway. What is the risk in just not updating every month? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've encountered a handful of apps that don't work on O but they probably will by the official launch date. But an app being optimized to help provide better battery life is something that goes on in the background that you won't notice unless you are a programmer that can analyze code or knowledgeable tech writers shame app devs publicly who don't do it. Android O has the ability to limit an apps background processes so it uses less battery but my understanding is that it only happens if the app developers voluntarily write code that allows O to do that to the app and a lot of devs are probably not going to do that if it is voluntary.
I'm not sure what your setup is but if you are manually flashing updates presumably you have a custom recovery and possibly root. Some Pixel users have reported successfully flashing OTA updates anyway because of the dual partitions on the Pixel but it wipes out your custom recovery and root and returns you to full stock and I'm not sure doing that works reliably. I don't know that the Flashfire/Flashify (I don't remember which app goes with TWRP) works on the Pixel. I don't have any experience flashing OTA updates manually via bootloader rather than the full monthly update. Personally I was never a fan of removing -w from a full flash because it can always lead to potential problems that aren't necessarily completely obvious. I always prefer to clean flash to give the phone a clean start, but that's just my own preference. I didn't like to dirty flash custom Roms either --i would always do a clean flash every month and set up my phone from scratch.
jhs39 said:
I've encountered a handful of apps that don't work on O but they probably will by the official launch date. But an app being optimized to help provide better battery life is something that goes on in the background that you won't notice unless you are a programmer that can analyze code or knowledgeable tech writers shame app devs publicly who don't do it. Android O has the ability to limit an apps background processes so it uses less battery but my understanding is that it only happens if the app developers voluntarily write code that allows O to do that to the app and a lot of devs are probably not going to do that if it is voluntary.
I'm not sure what your setup is but if you are manually flashing updates presumably you have a custom recovery and possibly root. Some Pixel users have reported successfully flashing OTA updates anyway because of the dual partitions on the Pixel but it wipes out your custom recovery and root and returns you to full stock and I'm not sure doing that works reliably. I don't know that the Flashfire/Flashify (I don't remember which app goes with TWRP) works on the Pixel. I don't have any experience flashing OTA updates manually via bootloader rather than the full monthly update. Personally I was never a fan of removing -w from a full flash because it can always lead to potential problems that aren't necessarily completely obvious. I always prefer to clean flash to give the phone a clean start, but that's just my own preference. I didn't like to dirty flash custom Roms either --i would always do a clean flash every month and set up my phone from scratch.
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Okay that's good to know thank you!
You're welcome.

Pixel XL 1 not getting OTA Updates

Hi,
am using a Pixel XL 1 on Android 8.1, bootloader unlocked, patch level of February. Now I have the problem that since about December no OTA updates are shown/offered at all. Therefor I always had to manually update.
Even the manual triggering of searching for updates, which has recently been changed so that the devices explicitly should get the currently available update, does not work.
The device was rooted, but I have unrooted it (Magisk) now, and is running the standard firmware from Feburar on it.
Does anyone have any clue why my device is not offered any OTA updates?
Anyone?
What kind of recovery do you have installed? Stock or TWRP?
Kream24 said:
What kind of recovery do you have installed? Stock or TWRP?
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Stock. So everything should be as vanilla as possible! I'm really clueless.
i don't get it either. pixels running a non-stock os should get notifications about a new update. they won't install successfully though. i'm guessing, but maybe going through the unroot process to get rid of magisk did not return your os to completely stock. maybe some junk was left behind and that's causing your issue.
my suggestion is to flash a full factory image to start fresh. i would edit the flash-all.bat script to remove the -w option to keep data. if that doesn't work, put the -w option back and rerun to wipe data and flash the factory image. if you really want to see if that fixes your problem, flash an older image like the february or january one, and see if the update notification comes back. or flash the march image to be up to date and wait until april to see if you get the update notification.
altwu said:
i don't get it either. pixels running a non-stock os should get notifications about a new update. they won't install successfully though. i'm guessing, but maybe going through the unroot process to get rid of magisk did not return your os to completely stock. maybe some junk was left behind and that's causing your issue.
my suggestion is to flash a full factory image to start fresh. i would edit the flash-all.bat script to remove the -w option to keep data.
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That's what I've did already No difference.
if that doesn't work, put the -w option back and rerun to wipe data and flash the factory image.
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It's just the hassle installing everything from scratch again.
I wish recovery/backup was as easy as on iOS. Without necessity of any tricks, root etc.
Is this phone enrolled in the Android Beta Program ? I've had trouble getting OTA updates on my phone after the beta program ended for it until I un-enrolled from the program, then I got updates like normal. There will be warnings about having to wipe the device, but if your on the the stock/stable version already you won't have to.
shaneledford said:
Is this phone enrolled in the Android Beta Program ? I've had trouble getting OTA updates on my phone after the beta program ended for it until I un-enrolled from the program, then I got updates like normal. There will be warnings about having to wipe the device, but if your on the the stock/stable version already you won't have to.
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Tried that one as well. I was on a beta at some point, but unsubscribed from the beta. Also tried to unsubscribe again, but it the well know link took me to a page where it said that there is no beta, hence I couldn't try to unsubscribe again.
When you flashed the full factory image did you use the newest march update? if you did then you wouldnt get anything because you are already current
Gotta say, exactly the same problem.. stuck on 8.0 November lol. Haven't found a solution, too lazy to manually flash for now. Let me know if you find a solution!
have you tried deleting the data and cache on the google services app?

[Q] Fingerprint not working on mate se after feb update

I have a mate SE (BND-L34) that was on 8.0. Back in September of 2018, I unlocked it and rooted using another thread in this forum. All was working fine until a few days ago when I tried to install xposed using magisk. That bricked the phone. TWRP came up but boot looped. Finally got to the point where my only option was to let it download a stock image through wifi. I did, and then it had a couple updates available, and I let it update to build number BND-L34 8.0.0.352(C567). It also shows android security patch of February 1, 2019. That took the phone back to completely stock. All data wiped, no unlocked warning at bootup.
correction: At bootup, it does still give me the unlocked warning.
So anyway, All seemed to be working and I could add fingers to the list and they will unlock the phone fine. Then I installed an app that could use the fingerprint to unlock it, and I found that it did not work at all. The app waits for the fingerprint to be detected and it never happens. So I tried a different app, and same thing, just waits for the detect to happen. Again, the finger print unlocks the phone without hesitation, every time.
This makes me think that one of the updates is causing a problem. I've done some searching both on xda and google, and come up with nothing. Like no one else has seen this problem.
So I have a few questions:
1) Has anyone else seen this problem?
2) Can I use firmware finder to install a previous build, like the one from January or even the one from September? I don't have TWRP or root, just the stock image.
3) If I can't use firmware finder to downgrade, is there another way? Like through adb or something.
update:
Here's the answer to questions 2 & 3 above:
I was able to use firmware finder to download the January build .351. I couldn't get firmware finder to flash it. I then installed twrp into recovery using the image I found here https://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-7x/development/oreo-twrp-complete-backup-t3764500. I followed the steps in this post https://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-7x/how-to/tested-unbrick-bnd-l24-t3811645 to flash the .351 image. I just used the files I downloaded from firmware finder instead of the ones list there.
And since no one has replied, I'm guessing that this problem is mine alone. Also, going back to 8.0.0.351 did not solve the problem.
I finally rolled all the way back to 8.0.0.344(C567) (first Oreo, I think, from September) and now the fingerprint sensor works for applications. I have no idea why. Maybe there was a security update in the Jan build that disabled the fingerprint if the phone was unlocked. But it seems unlikely since no one else saw the same problem. I can't be the only person with an unlocked BND-L34 that let the phone update to the latest ota.
So I have another question: is there any way to stop the phone from looking for ota updates? It's damn annoying to have that "update available" thing pop up every day.
Delete
electric bill said:
So I have another question: is there any way to stop the phone from looking for ota updates? It's damn annoying to have that "update available" thing pop up every day.
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Yeah, I posted the same thing a month or so ago and ended up figuring it out. Since you are rooted, the same solution I used will work for you. Froze the EMUI System Update process with Titanium Backup.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hon...ation-t3897144
Welp
It was working, then I tried to install magisk, but it wouldn't install with twrpimgmount_ramdisk.img so I flashed twrp_p10_lite_0.4.img and then magisk 18.1. After that, fingerprint stopped working for apps . I tried re-flashing 344 build, factory resets, different twrp versions, running the magisk uninstall zip, I even re-locked the bootloader. No dice. This phone is back to stock now just the way I got it, no mods, no twrp, no root, and it still has a problem. I just can't figure it out. I think I'm done.
I really liked the phone. It has great features for a $200 phone. I could still use it without the fingerprint password feature, but I really liked that... alot. I certainly have the root procedure down.... I might buy another one and try again, or I might look for something else in that price range and say fu huawei.
electric bill said:
It was working, then I tried to install magisk, but it wouldn't install with twrpimgmount_ramdisk.img so I flashed twrp_p10_lite_0.4.img and then magisk 18.1. After that, fingerprint stopped working for apps . I tried re-flashing 344 build, factory resets, different twrp versions, running the magisk uninstall zip, I even re-locked the bootloader. No dice. This phone is back to stock now just the way I got it, no mods, no twrp, no root, and it still has a problem. I just can't figure it out. I think I'm done.
I really liked the phone. It has great features for a $200 phone. I could still use it without the fingerprint password feature, but I really liked that... alot. I certainly have the root procedure down.... I might buy another one and try again, or I might look for something else in that price range and say fu huawei.
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it's a problem with the app. If I restore an older version with titanium, it works fine.
Hi, I unlocked my mate SE boot-loader and rooted it. After upgrading to BND-L34 8.0.0.352, My TWRP disappeared and lost root. I tried used fastboot to reflash TWRP and failed. Could you confirm if your TWRP worked on version 352? Even I reverted my rom back to 344 using "Firmware finder", I still could not install custom any recovery. Could you help?

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